The news of the blackmailing scandal at University of Balochistan (UOB) Quetta on October 14 shocked everyone in Balochistan. The security staff of the university had unlawfully installed CCTV cameras, which they used to record candid movements of the students. Later, the recorded videos were allegedly used to blackmail students, most of them female, for money and sexual favours. This inhumane practice had been happening for more than a year.
The revelation of this scandal breathed fresh life into student organizations of the province, which had been tamed long ago under the pretext of security. Almost all student organizations of the province representing all ethnicities jointly protested against the culprits of the UOB scandal. For the first time in many years, massive sit-in protests were organized outside the UOB gate.
Despite the mounting public pressure, university administration was adamant about not leaving charge of their office. Vice-Chancellor (VC) of UOB Dr Javed Iqbal, who is the prime accused in this scandal, reluctantly quit his office temporarily. Political parties termed this move as a pressure diffusing tactic and not an act of remorse.
The PTI-appointed Governor of Balochistan asked student organizations not to issue statements on this case. This attitude was also interpreted as a means to protect the VC because the governor is the chancellor of all public universities in Balochistan, including UOB.
Likewise, the provincial government led by Chief Minister Jam Kamal has not been very proactive in this matter. The chief minister’s only action on this issue has been a formal statement condemning the blackmailing in UOB. Facing pressure from the opposition, the Balochistan government constituted a parliamentary committee to probe this matter. However, state machinery and resources of the provincial government are nowhere to be seen in this case.
All these factors point to an attempt to cover up the case and protect the VC and other influential people involved in this crime. Four low-level staff members of UOB have already been suspended and it seems that they will be scapegoated to protect the big guns involved in this case. However, this would not be easy to do due to the growing public pressure on this case and also the role of Balochistan High Court (BHC).
As per the media advisory released by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the agency started probing this scandal on August 26 on the directions of BHC. Then on October 14, someone from the FIA leaked this scandal to the media and that’s how the world came to know about it. This proves that judges of BHC are actively pursuing this case and they will not be very pleased with any attempts to cover it up.
The first hearing of the UOB scandal in BHC was on Tuesday. Chief Justice of BHC Justice Jamal Mandokhail led the bench which heard this case. Justice Mandokhail made it clear during the proceedings of the case that culprits will not be spared irrespective of how influential they are. He also asked the government to arrest all accused in this scandal and stated that temporary suspension was not enough.
During the hearing, it was also revealed that so far no victim of the blackmailing scandal has appeared before the investigators of the FIA. This might result in the culprits getting off on technical grounds because it will be difficult to establish a case against the accused in the absence of testimonies of the victims.
However, more than 200 victims registered their complaints via WhatsApp with Mahajabeen Sheran, the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on this scandal. This proves that due to the social dynamics of Balochistan, female victims are not comfortable appearing before investigators of the FIA. However, they can still share their ordeal with a woman member of assembly.
In this context, justice can only prevail if the complaints submitted to chairperson of the parliamentary committee are admitted as evidence in the case. The FIA has also reportedly confiscated cameras used in this scandal and videos of the victims. All of these shreds of evidence should be more than enough to prosecute the culprits in this case.
Four things must be done to prevent another scandal like this from happening again. Firstly, all culprits accused in this case, including the top administration officials of the UOB, must be immediately arrested. For this to happen, the Balochistan government has to set aside all its compulsions and act in the best interests of the province. This will be the first step towards dispensing justice in this case.
Secondly, it must be ensured that a robust sexual harassment prevention and reporting mechanism set up in UOB. Presently, there is no such mechanism and it contributed to this scandal because the culprits knew that the affected students had no mechanism to report sexual harassment. The establishment of such a mechanism will also restore confidence of the students and their parents in UOB. This confidence has been badly shattered due to this scandal.
The third step which should be taken is the establishment of a provincial higher education commission. This would take the control of universities away from the governor to the provincial government. This exercise has already been done in Sindh and Punjab quite successfully. With the establishment of the provincial higher education commission, institutes will no longer have to suffer under the one-man dictatorship of the federally-appointed governor of the province.
Lastly, student organizations must be given space to operate in all universities of the province. Student unions act as an effective bulwark against all sorts of exploitation of students. If student organizations were not forced out from UOB by the administration, then a scandal like this could not have happened in the first place. Still, it is not too late and this step can result in accountability of the universities in the future.
The author is a journalist and researcher based in Quetta. He can be reached on Twitter @iAdnanAamir
The revelation of this scandal breathed fresh life into student organizations of the province, which had been tamed long ago under the pretext of security. Almost all student organizations of the province representing all ethnicities jointly protested against the culprits of the UOB scandal. For the first time in many years, massive sit-in protests were organized outside the UOB gate.
Despite the mounting public pressure, university administration was adamant about not leaving charge of their office. Vice-Chancellor (VC) of UOB Dr Javed Iqbal, who is the prime accused in this scandal, reluctantly quit his office temporarily. Political parties termed this move as a pressure diffusing tactic and not an act of remorse.
The PTI-appointed Governor of Balochistan asked student organizations not to issue statements on this case. This attitude was also interpreted as a means to protect the VC because the governor is the chancellor of all public universities in Balochistan, including UOB.
Almost all student organizations of the province representing all ethnicities jointly protested against the culprits of the UOB scandal
Likewise, the provincial government led by Chief Minister Jam Kamal has not been very proactive in this matter. The chief minister’s only action on this issue has been a formal statement condemning the blackmailing in UOB. Facing pressure from the opposition, the Balochistan government constituted a parliamentary committee to probe this matter. However, state machinery and resources of the provincial government are nowhere to be seen in this case.
All these factors point to an attempt to cover up the case and protect the VC and other influential people involved in this crime. Four low-level staff members of UOB have already been suspended and it seems that they will be scapegoated to protect the big guns involved in this case. However, this would not be easy to do due to the growing public pressure on this case and also the role of Balochistan High Court (BHC).
As per the media advisory released by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the agency started probing this scandal on August 26 on the directions of BHC. Then on October 14, someone from the FIA leaked this scandal to the media and that’s how the world came to know about it. This proves that judges of BHC are actively pursuing this case and they will not be very pleased with any attempts to cover it up.
The first hearing of the UOB scandal in BHC was on Tuesday. Chief Justice of BHC Justice Jamal Mandokhail led the bench which heard this case. Justice Mandokhail made it clear during the proceedings of the case that culprits will not be spared irrespective of how influential they are. He also asked the government to arrest all accused in this scandal and stated that temporary suspension was not enough.
During the hearing, it was also revealed that so far no victim of the blackmailing scandal has appeared before the investigators of the FIA. This might result in the culprits getting off on technical grounds because it will be difficult to establish a case against the accused in the absence of testimonies of the victims.
However, more than 200 victims registered their complaints via WhatsApp with Mahajabeen Sheran, the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on this scandal. This proves that due to the social dynamics of Balochistan, female victims are not comfortable appearing before investigators of the FIA. However, they can still share their ordeal with a woman member of assembly.
In this context, justice can only prevail if the complaints submitted to chairperson of the parliamentary committee are admitted as evidence in the case. The FIA has also reportedly confiscated cameras used in this scandal and videos of the victims. All of these shreds of evidence should be more than enough to prosecute the culprits in this case.
Four things must be done to prevent another scandal like this from happening again. Firstly, all culprits accused in this case, including the top administration officials of the UOB, must be immediately arrested. For this to happen, the Balochistan government has to set aside all its compulsions and act in the best interests of the province. This will be the first step towards dispensing justice in this case.
Secondly, it must be ensured that a robust sexual harassment prevention and reporting mechanism set up in UOB. Presently, there is no such mechanism and it contributed to this scandal because the culprits knew that the affected students had no mechanism to report sexual harassment. The establishment of such a mechanism will also restore confidence of the students and their parents in UOB. This confidence has been badly shattered due to this scandal.
The third step which should be taken is the establishment of a provincial higher education commission. This would take the control of universities away from the governor to the provincial government. This exercise has already been done in Sindh and Punjab quite successfully. With the establishment of the provincial higher education commission, institutes will no longer have to suffer under the one-man dictatorship of the federally-appointed governor of the province.
Lastly, student organizations must be given space to operate in all universities of the province. Student unions act as an effective bulwark against all sorts of exploitation of students. If student organizations were not forced out from UOB by the administration, then a scandal like this could not have happened in the first place. Still, it is not too late and this step can result in accountability of the universities in the future.
The author is a journalist and researcher based in Quetta. He can be reached on Twitter @iAdnanAamir