Sexual harassment in higher education remains a critical challenge in Pakistan, with Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan serving as a high-profile case study for both systemic failure and eventual accountability. Case Background: The 2020 Harassment Scandal
In early 2020, Gomal University gained national attention when Professor Hafiz Salahuddin, the director of linguistics and humanities and head of the Islamic Studies department, was forced to resign following a private TV sting operation. The investigation, conducted by the program Sar-e-Aam, provided audio-visual evidence of indecent behavior toward female students.
Following the exposure, the university administration acknowledged that it had already been investigating 12 separate cases of harassment. Institutional Response and Sacking of Staff
The scandal prompted a broader cleanup within the institution. In March 2020, the university sacked four additional staff members for "proven grave misconduct" related to the sexual harassment of girl students:
Dr. Bakhtiar Khan: Faculty member at the Institute of Business Administration. Imran Qureshi: Assistant Professor at the same institute. Hikmat Ullah: Game supervisor. Hafeez Ullah: Lab attendant. professor rashid munir sex scandal in gomal university
The Vice-Chancellor at the time, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, stated that these actions were taken after formal inquiries and recommendations by the university's syndicate. Legal and Administrative Aftermath
The aftermath of the scandal revealed complexities in university governance. In October 2021, the provincial ombudsperson declared Dr. Bakhtiar Khan "absolutely innocent," reversing his dismissal and fining several university officials for misusing their authority and causing mental torture. This highlighted the need for rigorous, evidence-based investigation protocols to distinguish between legitimate claims and administrative overreach. Conclusion
The Gomal University scandal serves as a stark reminder of the power imbalances within academic institutions. While the exposure of Professor Salahuddin demonstrated the role of media in driving accountability, the subsequent legal reversals and the number of concurrent cases indicate a need for more robust internal anti-harassment committees and clearer disciplinary frameworks to ensure a safe learning environment for all students.
The number of cases of violence against women have ... - Facebook Sexual harassment in higher education remains a critical
The Rashid Munir scandal served as a mirror for the pervasive issues within the Pakistani higher education system.
To add layers of moral complexity, the narrative often introduces a second woman—Arifa, a fellow professor or a family friend—who genuinely loves Rashid. Arifa is practical, available, and socially acceptable. She represents the easy path, the life of comfortable companionship without the turmoil of loving Saba.
The Unrequited Dynamic: Rashid respects Arifa. He is kind to her. He might even marry her in some adaptations out of loneliness or family pressure. But the audience knows—and Arifa painfully realizes—that his heart remains with Saba. In a devastating scene, Arifa finds Rashid’s diary, filled not with academic notes but with poems about Saba’s eyes, written years after they last spoke. Arifa’s tears are the quiet death of her own hopes. This secondary storyline reinforces the idea that for Rashid, true love is singular and irreversible.
Every great tragic hero has an origin wound. For Professor Rashid Munir, that wound is Zara Munir (née Hussain) . Although Zara appears only in flashbacks and fragmented diary entries across the narrative, her presence is the lens through which all subsequent relationships are viewed. Erosion of Trust: Such scandals severely damage the
Their relationship was the classic "power couple" trope turned tragic. They met at Oxford during a Rhodes scholarship mixer. She was an art restorer; he was a rising star in political economics. Their love story was defined not by grand gestures, but by intellectual foreplay—arguing over Kierkegaard at 2 AM, correcting each other’s thesis margins, and planning a future where they would "decolonize the curriculum."
The Romantic Tragedy: Zara died of a rare autoimmune disease three years into their marriage. The storyline avoids the cliché of a sobbing widower. Instead, Rashid Munir internalized the loss as a thesis. He stopped restoring paintings and started hoarding data. In Season 2 of the series, a bottle of her favorite perfume is found unopened in his desk drawer—ten years after her death.
This relationship set the template for Munir’s romantic dysfunction: He does not seek a partner; he seeks a ghost. He compares every new woman to a memory that has been polished by time into perfection. His romantic storylines are thus haunted by the "Zara Standard"—an impossible bar of wit, beauty, and tragic depth that no living woman can meet.