The members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education and Professional Education in a meeting held on Thursday recommended referring the sexual assault case of a male student at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Member of National Assembly Najibuddin Awaisi. The committee also recommended calling the FIA director general and inspector general of police Islamabad in the next meeting.
The members of the committee stated that this issue should be taken as a test case and criticised the university administration for defaming the victim. A member, Hamid Hameed, asked about the action taken against the alleged video of the university’s Vice President Nabi Bakhsh Jamani.
The rector of the university responded that action was taken against the students and a management committee was formed in this regard.
He maintained that the painful incident took place on June 18, adding that he oversees university policy matters. “We took immediate action and a committee formed by the president is working on this incident. The committee after reviewing the case will suggest further steps to be taken,” he stated.
The committee member said that earlier, an inappropriate video surfaced from IIUI and became viral. The university is putting its own fault on the child, the member remarked, demanding why human rights watch is silent over this issue.
Read Student rape at IIUI exposes loopholes
The incident took place on June 18 and was reported on June 21 while the first information report was lodged on June 24. If it was a crime then the one who delayed the legal proceedings is the culprit, the committee maintained.
Members lamented that delay in legal proceedings ends the case and there should be a detailed inquiry of the incident.
Moreover, the members of the committee further expressed their displeasure over not starting summer vacations in the federal educational institutions from the start of July like Punjab.
Responding to this, the Federal Secretary for Education Farah Hamid said the federal government was reviewing the decision of summer vacations in educational institutions, adding that there will be a meeting with the education minister in this regard.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the HEC ordinance. Ali Nawaz Awan said the appointment of HEC chairman should be based on performance. If you do a good job, extend the term, he added.
Another member, Mehnaz Aziz, was disappointed over bringing HEC ordinance overnight, stating that the former HEC chairman wrote a letter in which he asked for an audit of some institutions of Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, from where the controversy began.
She called for rejecting the ordinance and moving to Parliament, adding, “There should be a method of testing one’s performance”.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2021.
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