Pakistan: Physics teacher at Lahore university accused of sexual harassment by internal committee after student complains

On August 27, a committee at the Government College University (GCU) in Lahore, Pakistan accused a teacher at the institute guilty of sexually harassing female students after a complaint was filed in July.

According to local media, a member of the Old Ravian Facebook group had posted screenshots and pictures of a teacher of the GCU Physics Department and alleged quoting a student that she and her friends were repeatedly failed by the teacher in examinations and were also sexually harassed by him.

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The Facebook group member reportedly said he decided to speak on behalf of the student who alleged that the teacher wanted to remain in contact with her and her friends.

In the post, the teacher was accused of compelling the students to attend his video calls and one of the students decided to expose him and took some screenshots in which he was shirtless and apparently drunk.

As per local media, the post stated that the student turned off her Wi-Fi after taking the screenshots while the teacher started making calls on her mobile number and had sent messages asking her to attend the call.

According to Pakistan media reports, the post included call logs, messages and screenshots of video calls, demanding that the institute’s Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Asghar Zaidi take notice of the incident.

The administration had suspended the teacher after the complaint was lodged against him in July.

Social media users had also asked for action to be taken.

In a thread on Twitter, a user, @Lumber_one_Dr, claiming to speak on behalf of those allegedly accused, wrote: “We want this teacher to be disqualified and punished strictly for harassing his female students. We want this message to spread so that more confident students could speak up against him. This message is addressed to the students of GCU Lahore and especially Vice Chancellor Dr. Asghar Zaidi.”

At the time, Zaidi had ordered an inquiry into the sexual harassment complaint made on behalf of a student against a teacher of Physics Department and constituted a committee to look into the matter, local media reported.

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Committee submits report

On August 27, the committee submitted its report to the vice chancellor after an investigation into the allegations.

The teacher was accused of sending ‘immoral’ messages on WhatsApp to female students and making video calls inappropriately dressed.

“The report will be forwarded to the anti-harassment committee to recommend imposition of penalty on the teacher,” he was quoted as saying.

The educator said the teacher was suspended for all types of duties soon after the filing of complaints against him.

Zaidi also said the anti-harassment committee would submit its recommendations within a week.

“Action under PEEDA Act (Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act) will also be taken against the teacher as he is found guilty of harassment,” he added.

No reports of action taken against the accused by the police or a case being filed have emerged so far.

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