Government to thwart harassment on campuses: Ghani

Information minister says impartial probe underway into medical varsity incidents

KARACHI:

Sindh Information and Labour Minister, Saeed Ghani, has said the provincial government has been making the best possible efforts to do an impartial probe into the recent incidents of harassment against female students in universities. Those guilty of such unlawful acts are brought to justice regardless of their status and position.

The Sindh Information and Labour Minister gave assurance to this effect on Friday while speaking at a press conference along with the provincial Minister for Universities and Boards, Muhammad Ismail Rahoo, here at the Sindh Assembly building on Friday.

Sindh Universities and Board Minister told media persons that vice-chancellors of the affected universities in the province on whose campuses the harassment incidents had been reported in the recent past were sent on leave to ensure impartial inquiry.

He said that the aggrieved students and their concerned parents regarding the impartial conduct of the probe into the harassment incidents were being removed by the government.

Rahoo said that officials who were in charge of any such inquiry could be changed to the satisfaction of the concerned parents and students.

He said that a committee would be formed comprising the people associated with an outside university to transparently and impartially probe any harassment of the female students on the campus.

He recalled that the Sindh government had instituted a judicial probe into the case of female student Namrita Chandani who had been found dead in her hostel room in 2019 in Larkana.

He said the relevant provincial authorities had been taking steps to ensure that findings of the judicial inquiry were duly implemented. At the same time, due precautionary steps should also be taken to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.

He said the Vice-Chancellor of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University Lyari had been sent on leave as allegations of harassment had been pending against him.

Rahoo informed the media that the police had lodged the First Information Report of harassment and violence against Nursing House Officer Parveen Rind from Nawabsah. At the same time, the in-charge of the hostel and assistant in-charge had also been suspended after the incident.

Speaking on occasion, Saeed Ghani said that it was wrong to assume that street crimes shouldn't have taken place had the Safe City Project become operational in Karachi.

He said the Safe City Project had been operational in Islamabad, but the crime incidents had been rising in the federal capital city. He said that the Chief Minister had been trying to overcome the issue of street crimes in Karachi.

He said the provincial police force was in much better condition than in 2008 when the Pakistan People's Party had come into power in Sindh.  He said that the performance of PPP's Sindh government to improve the working of police should be compared with the output of the past governments in the province.

He said that target killings of the police officials were common  till 2008, but the PPP government thwarted the phenomenon.

Saeed Ghani expressed remorse that a producer of a private TV news channel had lost his life earlier in the morning during a street robbery attempt in the city.

The minister said the Sindh government would do its best to catch criminals involved in the incident and punish them.

He said the Sindh government would also ensure that utmost support was extended to the bereaved family of the TV news producer who had lost his life due to the tragic incident in the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2022.