KARACHI: Sindh Information and Labour Minister, Saeed Ghani, has said the provincial government has been making the best possible efforts to do transparent and impartial probe into the recent incidents of harassment and violence against female students in universities in the province to make sure that those guilty of such unlawful acts are brought to justice regardless of their status and position.
The Sindh Information and Labour Minister gave assurance to this effect on Friday while speaking at a press conference along with the provincial Minister for Universities and Boards, Muhammad Ismail Rahoo, here at the Sindh Assembly building on Friday.
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Sindh Universities and Board Minister told media persons on the occasion that vice-chancellors of the affected universities in the province on whose campuses the harassment incidents had been reported in the recent past were sent on leave to ensure impartial inquiry.
He said that reservations of the aggrieved students and their concerned parents regarding the impartial conduct of the probe into the harassment incidents were being removed by the government.
Rahoo said that officials who were in charge of any such inquiry could be changed to the satisfaction of the concerned parents and students.
He said that a system was being evolved under which a committee would be formed comprising of the people associated with an outside university to transparently and impartially probe any incident of harassment of the female students on the campus.
He recalled that the Sindh government had instituted a judicial probe into the case of female student Namrita Chandani who had been found dead in her hostel room in 2019 in Larkana.
He said the relevant provincial authorities had been taking steps to ensure that findings of the judicial inquiry were duly implemented while due precautionary steps should also be taken to ensure that such incidents shouldn’t take place in the future.
He said the Vice-Chancellor of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University Lyari had been sent on leave as allegations of harassment had been pending against him.
Rahoo informed media persons that the police had lodged the First Information Report of the incident of harassment and violence against Nursing House Officer Parveen Rind from Nawabsah while the in-charge of the hostel and assistant in-charge had also been suspended after the incident.
Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Information Minister said that it was wrong to assume that the incidents of street crimes shouldn’t have taken place had the Safe City Project become operational in Karachi.
He said the Safe City Project had been operational in Islamabad but the crime incidents had been on the rise in the federal capital city. He said that the Chief Minister had been making efforts to overcome the issue of street crimes in Karachi.
He said the provincial police force was in much better condition as it had used to be in 2008 when the Pakistan People’s Party had come into power in Sindh.
He said that the performance of PPP’s Sindh government to improve the working of police should be compared with the output of the past governments in the province.
He said that target killings of the police officials had been taking place in Karachi till 2008 as the phenomenon didn’t exist anymore now owing to the efforts of the provincial government.
Saeed Ghani expressed remorse that a producer of a private TV news channel had lost his life earlier in the morning during a street robbery attempt in the city.
He said the motorcycle of the killer dacoits had been found from the spot, as efforts would be made to bring to justice the murderers involved in the incident.
The Information Minister said the Sindh government would do its best that criminals involved in the incident were caught and handed down stern punishment.
He said the Sindh government would also ensure that utmost support was extended to the bereaved family of the TV news producer who had lost his life due to the tragic incident in the city.
