According to reports, the first Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Makran in Panjgur, Abdul Malik Tareen, has been terminated from his post by the acting Governor of Balochistan after a huge round of protests by the students and civil society in Panjgur.
However, the governor did not mention any reason for the sudden termination of Mr. Tareen who had already had two similar terminations from the University of Balochistan (UoB) and Loralai University. This is the third time he is being sacked from a VC post.
Abdul Malik Tareen was appointed as the first vice-chancellor of the University of Makran on June 21, 2020, after the approval of the Act of Makran University in the Balochistan Assembly on 16th April 2022. But soon after, students across Panjgur started protests and campaigns for the removal of Mr. Tareen for his alleged “role in the scandal case of the UoB”, where secret cameras were unlawfully installed in different locations of the varsity. That footage was later used by the university staff to blackmail female and male students for money and sexual favors.
Abdul Malik Tareen was one of the main accused in the case and was removed by the Chancellor after immense pressure from students and political organizations.
After the unabated opposition and protests by Baloch students, the civil society, Haq Do Tahreek Panjgur, and All Parties Panjgur also backed students in their demand for the removal of Malik Tareen as VC of the University of Makran.
Students said that they were concerned regarding his appointment as a VC since he was already dismissed from two universities for his controversial role.
Observing the huge backlash from the local people of the Panjgur, the acting Governor of Balochistan Jan Jamali canceled Tareen’s appointment within 24 hours, but Tareen challenged the decision in the court and got a stay order from Balochistan High Court.
After getting a stay order, he maintained his position as Vice-Chancellor but the local population of Panjgur, mainly the students continued to protest. Students maintained their position for a long time to remove him, as they considered him guilty of the ‘harassment scandal’ of UoB.
At last, the demand of the students was accepted by the authorities and Malik Tareen was removed from his post on Friday.