UET Chairman Fired After Hate Remarks and Exam Cheating

The University of Engineering and Technology (UET) has kicked out Hafiz Muhammad Shehbaz from his role as the head of the Islamic Studies department. This happened after serious claims that he made hateful comments against minority groups and leaked a PhD exam paper.

There is major trouble at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET). The university has removed Hafiz Muhammad Shehbaz from his position as the head of the Islamic Studies department. This decision was made at a high-level meeting led by the university’s Vice-Chancellor Dr. Nasir Hayat.

One of Shehbaz’s colleagues, Dr. Tanveer Qasim, brought up serious claims against him. Qasim accused Shehbaz of making hateful speeches against minority groups and leaking a PhD exam paper.

After looking at the evidence, including a video of the hateful speech, the university leaders found Shehbaz guilty of bad conduct. As a result, UET has now given Shehbaz’s extra duties to Dr. Shahid Rafiq, the dean of the Natural Sciences department.

Earlier, the Higher Education Department and the Punjab Higher Education Commission had asked for reports about Shehbaz’s behavior. This shows how serious the issue was.

Qasim’s complaint pointed out Shehbaz’s public speeches against minorities, which worried and alarmed minority communities. The issue got a lot of attention in social media and newspapers.

Before this, UET had investigated a leaked PhD exam paper that was shared on social media. They recommended that the cybercrime police should find out who was responsible.

UET also formed a committee to look into claims that a paper was leaked during the PhD Islamic Studies entrance exam. Qasim had first complained about this to the dean in August 2021, but got no response. He then took it to the Anti-Corruption body in October 2021. It was only in December 2021, after orders from the Higher Education Department, that the university vice-chancellor set up the committee.

With all these serious issues, UET now faces the tough challenge of restoring its good name and making sure such incidents don’t happen again.