Students of the Institute of Communication Studies (ICS) at Punjab University (PU) staged a protest against the university administration on Wednesday over the removal of Dr Ahsan Akhtar Naz from the post of director on sexual harassment charges.
Dr Naz was removed on January 21 after an employee at ICS Radio complained of harassment. The dean of social and behavioural sciences had recommended that the director be removed in order to allow the conduct of an independent and impartial inquiry into the matter, said a PU spokesman.
Just after noon on Wednesday, students of the institute came out of the building shouting slogans calling for the reinstatement of Dr Naz. The protesters said that the institution needed a head to look after it as classes were starting to be delayed. They said that there was a conspiracy against Dr Naz by some teachers. They noted that he had been cleared of harassment charges from the same person two years ago.
The post of ICS director remains vacant as the next most-senior faculty member, Dr Affirah Hamid, had refused to take acting charge of the post. The allegation of harassment was made by Azka Shahid, assistant news editor at ICS Radio in grade 14, in an application to the vice chancellor. “I have written in my application that Dr Naz had an immoral conversation with me in his office. I didn’t write that he verbally abused me in any way,” Shahid told The Express Tribune.
According to university records, Shahid had also filed a harassment complaint against Naz in 2010. She later withdrew her complaint, handing in a written statement that the charges were false and she had been put up to them “by some people”.
Shahid said that she had withdrawn her complaint in 2010 because she had been threatened.
Dr Naz, talking to The Express Tribune, denied any wrongdoing.
“I didn’t behave immorally with Azka or anybody in my office. This lady was earlier used by some people against me in 2010 and now the same episode is being repeated,” he said.
“I wasn’t removed from the post back then but I have been now. At that time Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr Jameel Anwar conducted the inquiry and declared me innocent. Azka gave a written statement accepting that her allegations were false.”
Scuffle with reporters
ICS faculty members and staff scuffled with reporters trying to cover the protest. The reporters were trying to get inside the building but the doors were slammed shut on them, with one journalist, Adeel Mustafa, receiving bruises.
The Education Reporters Association (ERA) later met and condemned the incident. “It is condemnable that reporters are manhandled at the department they are covering. Some reporters just wanted to get inside the building to ask teachers why the students were protesting outside, but instead of giving their version teachers locked down the gates from the inside and misbehaved with reporters,” said ERA President Rab Nawaz.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2013.