The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has received a formal request to include the names of the former Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Islamia University Bahawalpur and the director of security in the Exit Control List (ECL).
Sources privy to the FIA said that the recommendations have been forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs to take action and restrict the travel of Dr. Athar Mahboob, the former VC of the university, and the security director.
Notably, Dr. Athar Mahboob’s attempted departure to the United States from Karachi Airport was intercepted by the FIA.
SC moved seeking prevention of sharing of alleged videos
Earlier, the issue of Islamia University Bahawalpur video scandal had also reached the Supreme Court, as a lawyer filed a petition seeking prevention of the alleged videos from being made public.
Advocate Zulfiqar Bhatta had also requested in his petition that no investigation officer, including the Punjab police chief, should be transferred without the permission of the Supreme Court.
The judicial commission formed by the Punjab government should be stopped from working until the police investigation is complete.
The police and FIA should also be ordered to complete the investigation within 15 days, the plea sought.
The petitioner says that details related to the incident should not be provided to any political figure without the court’s permission.
The alleged video clips are being made public by unrelated persons, hence their sharing should be stopped so that students are not blackmailed.
The petitioner maintains that sharing the alleged videos of students may endanger their lives.
A transparent investigation is not possible due to the interference of political persons. The petition makes the federation, the Punjab government and the FIA among others as parties.
Objections to plea for judicial commission upheld
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court heard the petition seeking formation of a judicial commission to inquire into the obscene videos scandal.
The court upheld the objections of the registrar’s office and declared the objection appeal inadmissible.
The petitioner should refer to the court’s Bahawalpur Bench, the registrar office’s objection states.
Justice Anwar Hussain heard the petition of a citizen, Mashkoor Hussain.
The petition has made the FIA, the Punjab police chief, the caretaker Punjab chief minister among others as parties to the case.
The Islamia University Bahawalpur is an educational institution where a tragic scandal of immoral videos came to light.
The petition states that the chief security officer of the university was arrested in the scandal.
The issue is very sensitive, and the court should order the formation of a judicial commission or tribunal to inquire into the matter.
Fact-finding committee
Previously, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) had taken action in response to the alleged harassment of students and faculty members at Islamia University Bahawalpur by forming a five-member fact-finding committee.
The committee, led by Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan Vice Chancellor Professor Dr. Muhammad Ali, includes members such as Lieutenant General (R) Moazzam Ijaz, Professor Dr. Najma Najam, Professor Dr. Tahira Aziz Mughal, and HEC Advisor P&D & Finance Dr. M. Mazhar Saeed.
The committee has been given a specific mandate to conduct a comprehensive and unbiased investigation into the allegations. It will gather information from various sources, including print, electronic, and social media, to establish the truth behind the reported incidents.
With a sense of urgency, the committee had been asked to submit its investigation report within three weeks.
Based on its findings, appropriate corrective and disciplinary actions will be taken against those found responsible for the harassment. Additionally, the committee is also tasked with presenting recommendations to prevent such instances of sexual harassment in universities in the future.
