LHC restrains PU professor Iftikhar Baloch’s restoration

Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry on Thursday restrained Punjab Governor Latif Khosa from issuing any order for restoration of former Punjab University (PU) Professor Dr Iftikhar Hussain Baloch, who was dismissed by the PU Syndicate for sexual harassing a female student. The court issued the order on a petition filed by Shabina Gul, a student of PhD at the PU College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, who was sexually harassed by Baloch and on whose application, the professor was sacked. The court also issued notices to the Punjab government and respondents, including the Punjab governor, for further proceedings on the issue.
Shabina Gul filed the petition rough her counsels Imtiaz Rashid Siddiqui and Barrister Qadir Bakhsh, challenging the powers and jurisdiction of the Punjab governor as PU chancellor to interfere in internal affairs of the varsity after media reports said that the governor had directed the PU VC to restore Baloch. After being dismissed, the professor had appealed to the Punjab governor, who taking action, held a meeting with the PU VC and others and allegedly asked the VC to restore Baloch.
The petitioner submitted that after passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the governor was just a symbolic head of the varsity and allegations against Baloch had been proved. The petitioner’s counsel pleaded that according to Article 105 of the constitution, the governor/chancellor did not have the power to issue any order without the CM’s advice. Shabina is married and got enrolled in the PU in April 2009 when Baloch was heading the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Her counsel said that Baloch never had good relations with women and started using tactics to harass Shabina soon after she got enrolled. When Shabina did not give a positive response to the professor, he tried to force himself upon her. She alleged that Baloch also harassed College for Earth and Environmental Sciences Administrator Shafaq Ejaz, who also filed a complaint against him.