Ministry of Human Rights has asked the University of Lahore to re-admit students after they were expelled for public display of affection within the premises of the university.
Ministry of Human Right’s Parliamentary Secretary Lal Chand Malhi has termed the action of the university as ‘over-reaction asking them to re-admit them.
He further added that instead of ‘moral policing’ the university should have provided counseling to the students, but, unfortunately, such services are not provided at Pakistani varsities.
Malhi asserted that the expulsion of the students was a human rights violation of the students.
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“Both the girl and the boy did not commit such a heinous crime for which they were punished severely and expelled from the university. This would destroy their career and future education opportunities,” read a copy of the letter.
Noting that the two had proposed to each other on March 8, International Women’s Day, the letter said:
“This kind of freedom is outlined in article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which Pakistan is party and also under the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
It added the laws and constitution of Pakistan gives the citizen personal freedom to propose and marry. The letter also added that the disciplinary committee of the university included all male members while the case involved one female student as well.
The extreme punishment from the university has given a negative message at the national and international levels that it could not tolerate and accept two students proposing to each other, wrote Malhi.
Read more: Students expelled by University of Lahore after proposal video goes viral
The secretary claimed that since the majority of the population of Pakistan is youth, institutions must consider their aspirations.
“I am very much in favor of moral character building as part of higher education curriculum and extracurricular activities but I don’t think that the extreme actions like expelling the students would serve the purpose.
“I would reiterate that the decision is in contradiction of basic human rights,” said Malhi asking the university administration to reconsider their decision and restore the admissions of the students.
The University of Lahore expelled students after their video of public display of affection (PDA) went viral on the internet this week.
A video of a university girl proposing to her mate created a frenzy on social media. Both the girl and the boy publicly hugged each other on the premises of the university, showed the video. Other university students gathered around them as the girl went down on her knees to propose to the boy.
The students gained colossal attention on social media, however, their actions did not go well with the university administration.
The university issued a letter on Friday stating that the disciplinary committee has decided to expel students from the university.
“A meeting of the Special Disciplinary Committee was held on 12-3-2021 at 10:30 am in the Office of the Rector,” reads the notification.
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The university charged students with violating the code of conduct. It said that the two students “were involved in gross misconduct and violation of University rules”, adding that they were summoned before the committee but “failed to appear”.