MANIPUR, INDIA: 1 Sep 2023 (TON): The security situation in the state of Manipur has turned from bad to worse. At least 4 people have been killed and 94 injured. In the last 18 hours, the state experienced continuous firing and protests. The security forces responded with tougher measures including baton charge to control the situation.

In a series of search operations house-to-house searches by security personnel in the areas of Churachandpur and Imphal West districts many people were arrested. In the fake operations security forces recovered a cache of 20 explosive devices including pipe bombs, 3 firearms, 20 rounds of ammunition, and approximately 30 grams of gunpowder were recovered from Churachandpur district. The local claimed that security forces the house of individual involved in firecracker business for marriages and parties and claimed recovery.

Due to alarming security situation, illegal check posts were erected at least 170 checkpoints and Nakas across various districts of Manipur, of both hill and valley areas. As a result of these measures, law enforcement apprehended over 2500 individuals in connection with violations across different districts within the state.

Police have established a Central Control Room while Internet and other services have been suspended.

By Afshain Afzal

Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat), today owns the majority shares of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is purchasing Telenor Pakistan, the cellular company with management control and approved the purchase of the majority of Telenor’s shares. According to the foreign media reports, the sale of Telenor Pakistan is expected to be around $500 million or more. That is not all as in the recent development, Etisalat, which owns majority shares of PTCL and Ufone, has completed all the formalities with a European company and they are in the final stage of negotiations of about a $500 million sale deal with Etisalat. The track record of the company reflects that today, after nearly 18 years Pakistan is unable to recover receivables amounting to $800 million from Etisalat. Etisalat has only made 3 payments while 6 installments remain outstanding. It needs to be comprehended that India’s DB Group is also Etisalat’s partner in the Indian mobile joint venture, Etisalat DB.

If we recall, under the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996, PTCL took over all the properties, rights, assets, obligations and liabilities of Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (PTC), except those transferred to the National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC), the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB), the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Employees Trust (PTET). In 2005, Privatization Minister Hafeez Shaikh who was the mastermind behind the deal allowed Etisalat to acquire 26 percent shares of PTCL, holding over 407 million shares including management control from the Government of Pakistan as part of a large privatization initiative. As per the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA), the Government of Pakistan was required to transfer 3,248 properties to the PTCL, which were leased, hired, and owned by the federal government.

Meanwhile, in 2017, Special Communication Organization (SCO) made attempts to operate nationwide for strategic and national security reasons. Eversince, SCO is struggling to seek autonomy from the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and permission to operate throughout Pakistan on a commercial basis, claiming that not only government procedures were holding up infrastructure works, giving its privately-owned competitors an advantage. Etisalat cautioned the Government of Pakistan from granting SCO a license to operate on a commercial basis across the Pakistan. In this regard, Etisalat threatened to take the issue to an international court. In mid-March this year, the Cyberint Technologies Limited, an Israel-based company specializing in cyber-intelligence, announced that it had inked an agreement with Etisalat by e& to protect its infrastructure from cybercriminals. SCO currently provides fixed and mobile services to the public and private sectors in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

SCO is the largest telecommunication operator providing landline, GSM, WLL, Internet / data services in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Ufone, os one of the major GSM service providers, has network coverage all over the country including AJ&K and GB. SCO has already signed a roaming agreement with Ufone enabling SCOM customers to use their parent network across the entire length and breadth of Pakistan. In December 2010, SCO and Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML), cellular operators with the brand name of SCOM and Ufone respectively, signed a renewed Interconnect Agreement. PTML was incorporated in Pakistan on July 18, 1998, as a public limited company to provide cellular mobile telephony services in Pakistan. As on 31 December 2022, PTML carrying amounts, property and equipment, intangible assets and right of use amounts to Rs. 230,063 million, Rs. 64,167 and Rs. 16,468 million respectively out of which Rs. 96,398 million, Rs. 61,449 million and Rs. 12,363 million relates to property and equipment, intangible assets and right of use. Besides PTML, PTCL Holding Company and subsidiary companies include U Bank, DVCOM Data and Smart Sky.

The fact cannot be denied that theft of sensitive personal data is gaining momentum. Pakistan as well as some other countries instead of guarding national and personal data, have handed over the keys to the gateway to enemies, adversaries, and rivals, of course, some of them friendly countries. Now no individual, organization and even the governments in Pakistan and elsewhere can assure cent percent safety or security. Since almost a decade ago, PTCL is delivering fiber footprint to Telenor Pakistan under a fiber leasing agreement. PTCL introduced Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) services to its customers by leveraging Etisalat-Telefonica CTI capabilities. Israeli and Abu Dhabian authorities also signed an agreement that provides Cyberint’s Impactful Intelligence and attack surface management solutions to protect Etisalat by e&'s infrastructure. The joint agreement to enhance its cyber security will also be applicable to PTCL assets and would allow real-time threat intelligence and monitoring of external risk exposure. This will detect, investigate, prevent, and remediate phishing, fraud, ransomware, brand abuse, data leaks, external vulnerabilities etc, ensuring continuous external protection from cyber threats. Interestingly, Israel will also cater other UAE’s businesses in Pakistan including telecom services, gaming, health, and insurance. Tel Aviv claims that it is Israel’s National Cyber Directorate initiative to create a national cyber dome aimed at strengthening the cyberdefense of the entire economy.

Ever since Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement for normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel, Tel Aviv has penetrated in every organization throughout the Muslim world. The founder and first Governor General of Pakistan,Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in his speech said, “We will never privatize Railways Carriage Factory, communication and armament production” but his words were not honoured. The Government of Pakistan, supported by the agencies decided rather pressuried to privatize communication of Pakistan in the national interest. Now when Pakistan has handed over the keys of the communication security to foreigners there is nothing left that Islamabad can do. Personal Data Protection Act 2023 is pending before the parliament and that too is with a lot of concerns. It is the only hope that Islamabad should wake up from slumber and give up its self-interests which are being dubbed as national interests to make tougher laws to protect the security and sovereignty of Pakistan. The author can be approached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By Afshain Afzal

Scientists had long back claimed that water ice has been detected in the South pole of the moon, the Earth's only natural satellite. Later in 2009, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) high-technology instruments installed at Chandrayaan-1, a setup of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) detected water ice on the moon's surface. The earlier missions of NASA, more than a decade back to this claim, published reports that there is evidence that the highest concentration of water ice was in the south pole's shadowed craters. In fact, there is a probe going to prove that lunar volcanoes, material that comets and asteroids transported to earth is the origin of oceans.

On the contrary, if we recall, the Apollo – 11 mission of Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins landed on the moon and also brought back samples of moon dust with them in the 1960s and concluded after landing on the moon, “the moon has no air” and “it had the scent of wet ashes” as if a firecracker has gone off. After experimentations on the moon’s dust, the Astrophysicist Thomas Gold of Cornell University warned NASA that the dust had been isolated from oxygen for so long that it might be highly chemically reactive and the moon’s dust came into contact with oxygen, it might start burning, or even cause an explosion. One wonders if there was no air how cone the American flag at the moon was waving.

In a recent development, India, on 23 August 2023, claimed that her spacecraft, LVM3-M4/Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the Soth Pole on the moon. This was confirmed through a live telecast by Sreedhara Panicker Somanath Chairman Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) and Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi at the very moment the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft landed on the moon, while international telecast live from the cameras of spacecraft confirmed landing on the background. Successful or unsuccessful, there are a number of countries collaborating with ISRO but still, it is not officially known whose baby it was. There is known Russian involvement in the American-installed equipment at Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh and other centres in India but was it NASA’s interversion this time or something else?

It would be interesting to note that after the Indo-Russian success or NASA-ISRO success, as the case may be, American President Joe Biden has also confirmed to visit India from 7-10 September 2023, to congratulate Indian Prime Minister Narendra PM Modi on assuming G20 leadership and success on India becoming the fourth country landing on the moon. In the past ISRO was totally taken aback over the reasons why their Vikram Lander crashed on the moon in 2019. They had the only option to go for a joint collaboration with Russia. It is on record that three countries including the erstwhile Soviet Union, the United States, and China claim that their spacecraft landed on the South Polar region of the moon; India will be the fourth. The present Chandan presented a fake landing story as not only evident self-engineering has been witnessed in the images but also the resolution of different images does not correspond with each other. 

ISRO reported that the spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota on 14 July 2023, and landed on the South Pole on the moon on 23 August and detected water ice. As per ISRO officials, during its mission on the surface for one lunar day (equal to 14 days on Earth), it will carry out a number of scientific experiments. Scientists claim that water ice could be used for fuel, oxygen, and drinking water for future Moon missions or a lunar colony. An impressive live three-minute and seventeen-second video released ISRO showed how the Vikram lander descended, hovered, searched for a suitable landing site, and finally touched down.

Although there was no guarantee rather remote possibility that the lander would land in one piece, after the Russian destruction of the spacecraft, the Luna-25 lander crashed into the moon on 19 August but Indian media, the ISRO officials, and the Indian Prime Minister were live before the world as if they were cent percent sure that Chandrayaan-3 Lander would successfully land on the surface of the moon. As soon as the lander touched the lunar south face, PM Modi was seen sporting a big smile and joyously waving the Indian tricolor flag as if everything was preplanned. There is no doubt that the images released by the Indian Chandrayaan-3 lander are doubtful as the resolution of different images do not correspond with each other and seems as if it is ISRO’s own smart work through lab software. It is likely that the fate of the Chandrayaan-3 lander is not different from Russia's Luna-25.

India has been paid a sufficient amount to keep her mouth shut for using Indian soil, seas, and space for disastrous experiments, which is directly challenging our ecosystem and climate. What to talk about other ranges of India, statistics of Sriharikota Range (SHAR) which was renamed last September as Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), speaks 107 successful and unsuccessful satellite launches this year alone. One of the project's experiments is artificial earthquakes, avalanches, rains, floods, thunder, and other disasters. Another project controls or cause interference in communication around the world through radar reflector antennas, deployable boom, communication, and data subsystem. I live in Westridge, Rawalpindi where not a kilometer away British during World War established Infectious Wards and hospitals to treat soldiers who were exposed to chemical attacks for experimentation. How long this will continue; No doubt, this world will be destroyed because of our own acts. It is high time that before it is too late, the United Nations Organization (UNO) and civilized nations of the world ban outer space experiments in India and other countries to save them from becoming dumping grounds of chaos and disaster in the shape of infectious diseases, earthquakes, climate change. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By Afshain Afzal

Russia was the first country to congratulate New Delhi on the breakthrough of landing on the moon. Moscow and New Delhi are collaborating in the field of space technology and have quite impressive joint programmes on exploration on the moon. Earlier, Russian Consul General at Chennai, Oleg Nikolayevich Avdeev spelled out high hopes about the Indo-Russia joint space programme, “I am eagerly waiting for India’s Chandrayaan - 3 soft landing”. He confirmed that the mission will be a fruitful lunar program and it will definitely be a great success. A few years back, in December 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India and signed agreements on enhanced cooperation between Roscosmos and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in various domains including human spaceflight, satellite navigation, development of launch vehicles, and planetary exploration. One of the success stories was the joint development of the GLONASS navigation system and the launching, monitoring, and tracking codes.

It would be interesting to note that after the Indo-Russian success, American President Joe Biden has also confirmed to visit India from 7-10 September 2023, to congratulate Indian Prime Minister Narendra PM Modi on assuming G20 leadership and success on India becoming the fourth country landing on the moon. A press release issued by the White House one day ago confirmed President Biden's visit. In the past ISRO was totally taken aback over the reasons why their Vikram Lander crashed on the moon in 2019. They had only option to go for a joint colabrotion with Russia. It is on record that three countries including the erstwhile Soviet Union, the United States and China claim that their spacecraft landed on the South Polar region of the moon; India will be the fourth. 

In the latest development, as per the details, the ISRO announced on 20 August that Indian-American spacecraft, Chandrayaan-3 is expected to land on the moon on 23 August 2023”. If we recall, last week, Russia's Luna-25 moon probe crash landed, which according to Russian scientists in CAR was part of Chandrayaan mission but so far New Delhi has not confirmed it. ISRO has confirmed that Chandrayaan-3 robotic lander dropped out of orbit for a rocket-powered descent to the lunar surface, successfully touching down near the moon's south pole. Proud momonts, ISRO tweeted, “The communication link is established between the Ch-3 Lander and MOX-ISTRAC, Bengaluru. Here are the images from the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera taken during the descent.” However, these images are not beyond doubt as the resolution of different images do not correspond with each other. The fate of Chandrayaan-3 is not different from Russia's Luna-25. Hence, the released images by Chandrayaan-3 can by ISRO’s own smart work through lab software. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By Afshain Afzal

Pakistan has not yet fully come out of the shock of the 9 May attacks on the Pakistan Army’s installations by anti-state mob when another attack has taken place on its sovereignty and national integrity on 17 August 2023. This time Supreme Command of the Armed Forces of Pakistan, in a most helpless state, communicated the Pakistani nation through his official Twitter account, “As God is my witness, I did not sign Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 & Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023 as I disagreed with these laws. I asked my staff to return the bills unsigned within the stipulated time to make them ineffective. I confirmed from them many times that whether they have been returned & was assured that they were. However, I have found out today that my staff undermined my will and command. As Allah knows all, He will forgive IA. But I ask forgiveness from those who will be effected.”

Media reports quote a tweet from the official account of Pakistan Head of State, President Arif Alvi claiming that he has not signed a bill moved by the National Assembly to the Senate and further referred to the standing committee of the Senate and returned back by the President within due time as he disagreed certain clauses with passing of the bill. The statement by President is sufficient that the amendment subject bill The Official Secret Act, 1923 has not become law. The matter apparently stands resolved but, irrespective of the fact whether the Official Secret Act has been passed or not, it is not so simple that the office of the President, our Parliamentarians and the Civil Servants associated with the affairs of the State can easily escape from the responsibility of such a great blunder at national level which has an international repercussion. One wonders if we are not forgetting that Official Secret Act is equally applicable to the President and all those working with him at his office.

According to the Gazette of Pakistan registered No M 302/ L7646, published on 18 August 2023, the Amendments in Official Secrets Act, 1923 (XIX of 1923) assented by the President with effect from 17th August 2023. However, the President of Pakistan denies having signed the amendments claiming. “I disagreed with these laws”. Hence, the bills carried bogus signatures of the President. If we peep into the legal framework, Article 75 of the Constitution allows a 10-day timeframe to return the bill to the Senate if he disagrees. The law minister claimed “the Official Secrets Act Bill was sent on 8 August 2023 while the president purposely delayed the assent.” However, the statements of Waqar Ahmed, Secretary to the President are quite clear and must be investigated by the Judicial Commission headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and comprise of senior judges of Supreme Court. According to Waqar Ahmed, ”The Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was received by the Presidency on 8 August 2023 after the official hours, so it was forwarded to the president on 9 August" and “Files related to the bill were not returned to the Secretary's office until 21 August 2023.” Since the bill was received after office hours and put to the President on 9 August so allowed 10-day timeframe to return the bill to the Senate if President disagrees starts from 9 August and expires after office hours on 19 August 2023. The fact cannot be denied that the Gazette of Pakistan refers, “Act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) deemed to have been assented by the President with effect from 17th August, 2023,” while the Act further to amend the Official Secrets Act, 1923 bears the date of 18 August 2023. Hence, a grave crime against sovereignty and integrity has been committed under Official Secret Act and must be investigated.

The President’s Secretariat issued a notification, "The services of Mr Waqar Ahmed, Secretary to the President, are no more required and are surrendered to the Establishment Division, immediately" to hush up the issue but we should not forget that the Official Secrets (Amendment) Act, 2023 as well as 1923, especially Clause (5) including sub-clause (b), (c) and (d) provides: (b) use of information in his possession for the benefit of any foreign power or in other manner prejudicial to safety of the state; (c) retain the sketch, plan, model, article, note, document in his possession or control when he has no right to retain it, or when it is contrary to his duty to retain it, or willfully fails to comply with all directions issued by lawful authority with regard to return or disposal, and (d) fails to reasonable care of, or so conducts himself as to endanger the safety of, the sketch, plan, model, article, note, document, secret official code or password or information; he shall be guilty of an offense under this section. The Act also provides that those who are involved in the process are guilty of an offense under this definition which is imprisonment of which may exist.

It is important to comprehend that Article 243 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, provides, “The Federal Government shall have control and command of the Armed Forces and the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces shall vest in the President. On the other hand, if we recall, the Official Secrets (Amendment) Act, 2023, was pending before the Senate Standing Committee for a debate to pass the proposed amendments in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (XIX of 1923). The bill has national as well as international repercussions and seems to have foreign agenda and interests, hence, it demands that it should be dealt with collective wisdom in the light of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 and prevailing enforced laws and codes. It is time that the proposed Amendments should be declared null and void while Supreme Court must take suo motu action to save country from the crisis.

By Afshain Afzal

The recent sex and drugs scandal about claimed 5000 female students of a single Pakistani university has received attention in Pakistani and Indian media. No doubt, before every war or major operation psychological warfare against enemies, adversaries, and, rivals are launched to build popular opinion. Credit goes to many progressive-minded Pakistanis and their foreign associates, running highly lucrative Educational businesses in Pakistan, the tarnishing image of national institutions against the national interest. With the sole aim to eliminate Islamic ideology and spirit from Government educational institutions, the drama of sex scandal has been staged. Pakistani media and institutions have overreacted and tried to defame a Government or Public university, “Islamia University Bahawalpur” without looking into ground facts.

Islamia University Bahawalpur in Southern Punjab province began its journey as Jamia Abbasia in 1925, a religious university following the academic pursuits of Al-Azhar University in Egypt. Its existence is centuries before this date. Jamia Abbasia was upgraded to Jamia Islamia in 1963. In 1975, Jamia Abbasia was declared a general university and renamed as The Islamia University of Bahawalpur. Spread across 35,000 acres of land with a huge student population in five campuses; three in Bahawalpur as Abbasia Campus, and one each at Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan, the university offers more than 300 disciplines. A number of national and international agreements and Memorandum of Understandings were signed including Florida International University United States, Universiti Teknologi Mara Malaysia, and Sichuan Agriculture University of China for cooperation and collaboration in research activities and faculty exchange.

            The much-propagated sex and drugs scandal emerged from the arrest of a male and female couple by Baghdadul Jadid police station, Bahawalpur. Police seized 10 grams of ice and aphrodisiacs from Car Syed Ijaz Husain Shah, Islamia University’s Chief Security Officer, a retired Major of the Pakistani Army. Police claimed that acting on intelligence-based information, the Station House Officer Abid Hamid of Baghdadul Jadid police station carried out an operation and recovered ice and aphrodisiacs along with a number of objectionable videos of officials and students of the university from Syed Ijaz Husain’s two mobile phones. These video clips contain downloaded clips from Internet pornographic websites and some of the clips inside and outside the University by security guards and CCTV cameras edited clips of the university, which one security guard claimed was for deterrence and to maintain students’ morals.

Interestingly, the District Police Officer had already disclosed a month back that local police had full knowledge in June 2023, about group of professors, senior officials and other influential holding different posts that they are involved in drug peddling, drug using, conducting dance/sex parties at different farm houses. The fact cannot be denied that as per Police, Professor Abou Bakar while going on a car with a morally corrupt female student was intercepted at Naka Bandi Point and 6 grams ice and three sexual pills were recovered from him upon which, FIR No.1014/23 dated 28 June 2023 was lodged, under Control of Narcotics Substance Act. It is strange that University treasurer Professor Abou Bakar was initially arrested on 28 June 2023 and his mobile phones contained WhatsApp chats and contacts of high ranking, senior officials and others, then what was fun freeing him and again arresting him, involving a Pakistan’s top university without substance. One wonders what connection Islamia University Bahawalpur has with these stray immoral criminals.

If it was the case of ice and aphrodisiacs, the Police record shows a number of incidents of ice recoveries including on 5 July 2023, when the same police station arrested an individual namely Arslan, and recovered 25 grams of Ice but it was not dramatized. Similarly, on 9 December 2021, the same police station recovered 1248 grams of crystal ice from Rizwan but the news covered hardly a single paragraph in a single website. However, this time the excellent work done by Pakistani Police has earned fame for Pakistan as a nation and has also been appreciated by Indian media including India Today which reported in its story, “Drugs, sexual exploitation of students, teachers unearthed at Pakistan university” claiming the University treasurer “confessed that he along with a group of other teachers would purchase and distribute drugs through students and arrange dance/sex parties”.

It is beyond comprehension that despite Islamia University Bahawalpur Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Azhar Mehboob immediate action and constitution of two inquiry committees to probe cases registered against the treasurer and chief security officers of the university as well as a Press Release by the University, bearing No 291/23 dated 21 July 2023 in which it was revealed that it is a campaign against the University while Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Azhar Mehboob is performing well, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Education, headed by MNA Makhdoom Syed Samiul Hassan Gilani started probing the matter; the university’s Vice Chancellor was summoned to its meeting on 24 July 2023, but he did not appear.

The drama of sex scandal has stayed to criminalize Islamia University's top-class performance. Ranking of Islamia University in the year 2021/ 2022 stood at 438 in UI Green Matric World University ranking, 653 as best global university in Asia, and 1746 in the world. It stood 1st in Pakistani universities in three Sustainable Development Goals, 3rd in “No Poverty”, and 5th in “Affordable and Clean Energy”. This year it was expected to get the top position in Pakistan. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed tried to lead the race and claimed international media was raising this issue and accordingly, a high-powered committee was being notified to investigate the matter while a special audit and performance audit of the Islamia University would be conducted in the near future. Without wasting time, the Punjab Higher Education Department secretary constituted a committee to probe the case registered against the chief security officer for “carrying/using the contraband substance” and purported recovery of objectionable material from his cell phone. Meanwhile, a petition has been filed before the Human Rights Cell of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, urging the court to take suo-motu action and establish a judicial commission to investigate a disturbing incident at Islamia University Bahawalpur. Representing the affected students and urging them to find their voices and stand against such heinous characters.

            Chairman HEC revealed this month that there were 253 universities, both public and private in the country. The announcement by the worthy Chairman that a special audit and performance audit of the Islamia University Bahawalpur would be conducted in the near future is surprising as the people of Pakistan under Article 19-A of the Constitution, “Right of Access to Information Act, 2017”, have the right to see the special audit and performance audit of all 253 universities on the official websites of all the official websites of Higher Education Departments in the provinces as well as Higher Education Commission. More so, it has been confirmed during investigations that the University treasurer, Chief Security Officer, and others in this criminal network have close relatives and contacts in India. As Federal Public Service Commission is the sole authority to appoint Government Servants including all public educational institutions, why their vetting and security clearance is not carried out? No doubt, if the state guarantees the privacy and dignity of every man and woman, then why permission for security guards and CCTV cameras inside educational institutions?

By Afshain Afzal

           The recent sex and drugs scandal about claimed 5000 female students of a single Pakistani university has received attention in Pakistani and Indian media. No doubt, before every war or major operation psychological warfare against enemies, adversaries, and, rivals are launched to build popular opinion. Credit goes to many progressive-minded Pakistanis and their foreign associates, running highly lucrative Educational businesses in Pakistan, the tarnishing image of national institutions against the national interest. With the sole aim to eliminate Islamic ideology and spirit from Government educational institutions, the drama of sex scandal has been staged. Pakistani media and institutions have overreacted and tried to defame a Government or Public university, “Islamia University Bahawalpur” without looking into ground facts.

           Islamia University Bahawalpur in Southern Punjab province began its journey as Jamia Abbasia in 1925, a religious university following the academic pursuits of Al-Azhar University in Egypt. Its existence is centuries before this date. Jamia Abbasia was upgraded to Jamia Islamia in 1963. In 1975, Jamia Abbasia was declared a general university and renamed as The Islamia University of Bahawalpur. Spread across 35,000 acres of land with a huge student population in five campuses; three in Bahawalpur as Abbasia Campus, and one each at Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan, the university offers more than 300 disciplines. A number of national and international agreements and Memorandum of Understandings were signed including Florida International University United States, Universiti Teknologi Mara Malaysia, and Sichuan Agriculture University of China for cooperation and collaboration in research activities and faculty exchange.

           The much-propagated sex and drugs scandal emerged from the arrest of a male and female couple by Baghdadul Jadid police station, Bahawalpur. Police seized 10 grams of ice and aphrodisiacs from Car Syed Ijaz Husain Shah, Islamia University’s Chief Security Officer, a retired Major of the Pakistani Army. Police claimed that acting on intelligence-based information, the Station House Officer Abid Hamid of Baghdadul Jadid police station carried out an operation and recovered ice and aphrodisiacs along with a number of objectionable videos of officials and students of the university from Syed Ijaz Husain’s two mobile phones. These video clips contain downloaded clips from Internet pornographic websites and some of the clips inside and outside the University by security guards and CCTV cameras edited clips of the university, which one security guard claimed was for deterrence and to maintain students’ morals.

            Interestingly, the District Police Officer had already disclosed a month back that local police had full knowledge in June 2023, about group of professors, senior officials and other influential holding different posts that they are involved in drug peddling, drug using, conducting dance/sex parties at different farm houses. The fact cannot be denied that as per Police, Professor Abou Bakar while going on a car with a morally corrupt female student was intercepted at Naka Bandi Point and 6 grams ice and three sexual pills were recovered from him upon which, FIR No.1014/23 dated 28 June 2023 was lodged, under Control of Narcotics Substance Act. It is strange that University treasurer Professor Abou Bakar was initially arrested on 28 June 2023 and his mobile phones contained WhatsApp chats and contacts of high ranking, senior officials and others, then what was fun freeing him and again arresting him, involving a Pakistan’s top university without substance. One wonders what connection Islamia University Bahawalpur has with these stray immoral criminals.

            If it was the case of ice and aphrodisiacs, the Police record shows a number of incidents of ice recoveries including on 5 July 2023, when the same police station arrested an individual namely Arslan, and recovered 25 grams of Ice but it was not dramatized. Similarly, on 9 December 2021, the same police station recovered 1248 grams of crystal ice from Rizwan but the news covered hardly a single paragraph in a single website. However, this time the excellent work done by Pakistani Police has earned fame for Pakistan as a nation and has also been appreciated by Indian media including India Today which reported in its story, “Drugs, sexual exploitation of students, teachers unearthed at Pakistan university” claiming the University treasurer “confessed that he along with a group of other teachers would purchase and distribute drugs through students and arrange dance/sex parties”.

            It is beyond comprehension that despite Islamia University Bahawalpur Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Azhar Mehboob immediate action and constitution of two inquiry committees to probe cases registered against the treasurer and chief security officers of the university as well as a Press Release by the University, bearing No 291/23 dated 21 July 2023 in which it was revealed that it is a campaign against the University while Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Azhar Mehboob is performing well, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Education, headed by MNA Makhdoom Syed Samiul Hassan Gilani started probing the matter; the university’s Vice Chancellor was summoned to its meeting on 24 July 2023, but he did not appear.

           The drama of sex scandal has stayed to criminalize Islamia University's top-class performance. Ranking of Islamia University in the year 2021/ 2022 stood at 438 in UI Green Matric World University ranking, 653 as best global university in Asia, and 1746 in the world. It stood 1st in Pakistani universities in three Sustainable Development Goals, 3rd in “No Poverty”, and 5th in “Affordable and Clean Energy”. This year it was expected to get the top position in Pakistan. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed tried to lead the race and claimed international media was raising this issue and accordingly, a high-powered committee was being notified to investigate the matter while a special audit and performance audit of the Islamia University would be conducted in the near future. Without wasting time, the Punjab Higher Education Department secretary constituted a committee to probe the case registered against the chief security officer for “carrying/using the contraband substance” and purported recovery of objectionable material from his cell phone. Meanwhile, a petition has been filed before the Human Rights Cell of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, urging the court to take suo-motu action and establish a judicial commission to investigate a disturbing incident at Islamia University Bahawalpur. Representing the affected students and urging them to find their voices and stand against such heinous characters.

            Chairman HEC revealed this month that there were 253 universities, both public and private in the country. The announcement by the worthy Chairman that a special audit and performance audit of the Islamia University Bahawalpur would be conducted in the near future is surprising as the people of Pakistan under Article 19-A of the Constitution, “Right of Access to Information Act, 2017”, have the right to see the special audit and performance audit of all 253 universities on the official websites of all the official websites of Higher Education Departments in the provinces as well as Higher Education Commission. More so, it has been confirmed during investigations that the University treasurer, Chief Security Officer, and others in this criminal network have close relatives and contacts in India. As Federal Public Service Commission is the sole authority to appoint Government Servants including all public educational institutions, why their vetting and security clearance is not carried out? No doubt, if the state guarantees the privacy and dignity of every man and woman, then why permission for security guards and CCTV cameras inside educational institutions?

By Afshain Afzal

Official Spokesperson of Pakistan Army, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Major General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry at a press conference on Monday, 26 June 2023, disclosed that Pakistan Army completed two departmental inquiries under the President-ship of two Major Generals. The worthy General, without mentioning names and appointments of criminal officers revealed that over 200 military installation were attacked and in a self accountability process, that in the process, 3 officers including a Lieutenant General were dismissed from service, 15 officers including 2 Major Generals and 7 Brigadiers were punished for strict disciplinary action while a retired four Star General’s niece, his son in law, a retired Three Star General’s wife and a retired 2 Star’s wife and his son in law are under trial.

If we recall, in the second week of June 2023, the National Security Committee (NSC) had given green signal to the decision of the corps commanders to try the anti-state elements who were involved in causing dent to national sovereignty and integrity, degrading our Armed Forces and security and prestige of sensitive installations on 9 May 2023. However, probably by mistakenly, Major General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry mentioned that Civil Courts have allowed Pakistan Army to carry out trial of 102 terrorists under Army Act Standing Army Courts. This was part of 13619 small, or big intelligence based operations in which 1172 terrorists were killed or arrested. He added that in 77 Joint Operations carried out this year, 59 officer and Jawans were martyred. No dout, this had no relevance or connection with 9 May’s breaches of security and injuring the reputation of Pakistan.

The Pakistan Section 2 of Army Act, 1952, Act XXXIX of 1952, "(iii) claiming or are known to belong to any terrorist group or organization using the name of religion or a sect; and (a) raise arms or wage war against Pakistan, or attack the Armed Forces of Pakistan or law enforcement agencies, or attack any civil or military installations in Pakistan; and (e) provide or receive funding from any foreign or local source for the illegal activities under this clause. The question arises that there were thousands of people in each city who voiced against Pakistan Army and damaged image of Pakistan after violation Section 141 “Unlawful assembly” of Pakistan Penal Code and Section 129 “Use of military force”, 131 A “Power to use military force for public security and maintenance of law and order”of Code of Criminal Procedure 1898.

After Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2022 and changes in Pakistan Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 to take action against those who intentionally ridicule armed forces, Section 500-A states: “Punishment for intentional ridiculing of the Armed Forces etc. Whosoever intentionally ridicules, brings into disrepute or defames the Armed Forces of Pakistan or a member thereof, he shall be guilty of offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or fine which may extend to five hundred thousand rupees, or with both.”

The Army Act, 1952, Act XXXIX of 195 provides, “The Federal Government shall have the power to transfer any proceedings in respect of any person who is accused of any offence falling under sub-clause (iii) or sub-clause (iv) of clause (d) of sub-section (1), pending in any court for a trial under this Act.”

In the Press Conference of 26 June 2023, Major General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said that the plot was in progress since months and after 9 May incident these violent groups tarnished the image of Pakistan Army in which social media inside Pakistan and abroad was used. Under the Official Secret Act, Army Act, 1952, Pakistan Penal Code 1960, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 and other laws those behind 9 May incident were criminals and terrorists. It is high time media campaign may be initiated to collect the pictures and voice recordings of all the criminals involved in 9^th May terrorism. And irrespective that they are from influential families, high-ranking serving or retired officers or their sons and daughters, they must be given exemplary punishment. More so, vetting of the Armed Forces and Civil Servants must be revamped so that such anti-state elements cannot get inducted in services of Pakistan.