The absence of the president of HEC irritated the commission which issued a summons and warned that arrest warrants could be issued
ISLAMABAD:
The Senate Functional Committee on Decentralization has expressed serious concern over the increasing cases of sexual harassment in higher education institutions in the country.
During its meeting on Wednesday, some members of the commission raised the case of Fahmida Laghari, a medical student who allegedly committed suicide after being repeatedly harassed by a teacher and called for effective measures to stop such incidents.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro, noted that Fahmida Laghari, a student at Muhammad Medical College in Mirpurkhas, did not report the harassment and was pushed to the extreme.
He questioned how to deal with unreported cases of harassment and stressed the need for stronger mechanisms. The committee meeting also looked into cases of harassment at COMSATS University Islamabad.
The absence of the chairman of the Higher Education Commission angered the commission, which issued a summons and warned that arrest warrants could be issued if he did not appear at the next meeting.
Officials informed the committee that 472 cases of harassment were reported at universities nationwide, of which 455 were resolved; 53 professors and 19 students expelled in cases linked to harassment
At COMSATS specifically, 20 cases were reported between 2023 and 2025. Of these 14 complaints were filed by women. These cases included incidents of sexual and workplace harassment.
After investigation, two cases resulted in fines, one person was deported, five received warnings, four cases ended in apologies, one complaint was withdrawn and the suspects in four cases were absolved due to lack of evidence.
Officials maintained that harassment complaints were treated confidentially and that zero tolerance was applied. They added that action is taken immediately once a complaint is made and that there are mechanisms for students to safely report harassment.
