‘Disgraced professor sacked months ago’

Former head of department was recently arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency for blackmailing a student

ISLAMABAD:

A university in Islamabad said on Monday that a former head of department, who was recently arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency for blackmailing a student, had been sacked months ago and was no longer a faculty member as claimed by several news outlets.

“Mr Barri (sic) procured his appointment in Iqra University on October 11, 2002, through fraud and misrepresentation based on fake educational documents and degrees,” said the university.

Bari was terminated on March 10 and had challenged the decision in Islamabad High Court (IHC), which ruled in the university’s favour in April.

Last week, Muhammad Rizwan Bari was arrested for impersonating a student on social media and sending defamatory and obscene content to people using accounts made in her name. He was booked under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.

The university said in its statement that its former assistant professor, who was a director in the business administration department of the university, was arrested for acts that took place ‘post-termination’ and were committed by him in a personal capacity.

It warrants mention that Bari had previously been issued a show-cause notice by the university on February 17 seeking a written explanation why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for having “questioned the decision of the competent authority regarding the change of signatory status of the campus”, according to the IHC order. He was also told to vacate the campus premises.

The case of Bari is the most recent instance of a teaching and administrative staff’s involvement in illegal action against students.

The most recent such case involved multiple videos of students of the Islamia University Bahawalpur, with claims of blackmail. Previously, students of universities in Balochistan and Bahawalpur reported major scandals of secret filming of students and blackmail, including demanding sexual favours.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2023.