New Exposé in Islamia University Bahawalpur drug racket: Pak Federal Minister's son integral part of scandal

Around 5,500 videos of female students of Islamia University Bahawalpur in Pakistan being drugged and sexually assaulted have been recovered from varsity staff.

It is being alleged that one of the accused behind the crime is a son of federal minister Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema who got addicted to drugs and was sexually exploiting hundreds of female students of the university.

Major Ijaz Shah, the security chief of the Islamia University Bahawalpur (IUB) was also allegedly involved in the scandal.

Cheema was warned about the potential political damage if the videos of his son were made public, a report by Global Village Space said. After this, the minister contacted police officers who were related to him and allegedly sought their assistance in saving his son.

Cheema also demanded the arrest of Ijaz Shah and the confiscation of the explicit videos and images to prevent his son from being exposed.

Ijaz was arrested and cops recovered several aphrodisiac pills and drugs in his possession. Also, offensive recordings and pictures of IUB students and employees.

After the cops analysed Ijaz’s mobile phone, they tracked some students for supplying and buying drugs. The investigation revealed that 11 students enrolled in the university had criminal records and were involved in drug peddling.

Ijaz Shah’s confession

During the interrogation, Ijaz revealed that he had been monitoring the security cameras at the IUB and used the footage to film female students hugging, smoking with friends under trees, and near university buildings.

These videos were then used to blackmail the students, threatening to share them with their parents.

The Global Village Space report said Ijaz allegedly would take scared female students to the homes of influential gang members, including the son of Cheema, where sexual exploitation would occur.

More arrests

Police also nabbed finance director of the university, Abu Bakar and Transport Incharge, Muhammad Altaf. A total of three staff members of Islamia University Bahawalpur have been detained.

Eight grams of meth was allegedly recovered from Altaf’s possession.

Meanwhile, Dawn mentioned that a special report by police claimed that a “group of teachers” at the university was involved in the sale of drugs and sexual exploitation of female students and teachers.

In the report, police claimed that the two officials held on drug charges were also involved in blackmail and sexual exploitation of students and teachers in the varsity.

The report claimed the finance director “confessed that he along with a group of other teachers would purchase and distribute drugs through students and arrange dance/sex parties”.

The cops further revealed that the “group of teachers” would exploit/blackmail girls, intoxicate them using drugs and were carrying out illegal activities with the help of the IUB security in-charge.

High-powered team constituted

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has constituted a high-powered committee, comprising three vice-chancellors and officers from security agencies, to investigate the Islamia University Bahawalpur scandal.

The members of the committee said that so far a thorough probe should have been conducted by the university management, but it failed to do so. They said the committee should engage the Federal Investigation Agency to probe this matter, adding that a forensic audit of all deans of the university should be carried out by the FIA cyber wing.

The committee has also decided to summon the Regional Police Officer of Bahawalpur and FIA Cyber Crime Wing head at the next meeting on 31 July.

With inputs from agencies