May 7, 2026
By Rashid Laghari
HYDERABAD
A harassment complaint of a female student at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology has been transferred to the the Office of the Provincial Ombudsman for the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace after her family expressed a lack of trust in the university’s Anti-Harassment Cell inquiry committee.
The affected student, Sobh Khaskheli, and her family have expressed a lack of trust in the university’s Anti-Harassment Cell inquiry committee, following which the committee has transferred the case to the Sindh Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment at the Workplace. The affected student and her family have been formally informed of this decision.
The family’s position is that a committee formed within the institution is not in a position to conduct impartial investigations, making it inevitable to approach an independent and higher forum for justice. The case will now be heard through an independent body at the provincial level.
Background
Sexual harassment incidents against female students in Sindh’s educational institutions are being increasingly reported at an alarming rate, and some have forced the parents of those affected, to protest on the streets. A few weeks ago, the suicide of a young girl Fehmida Laghari after being harassed by her teacher and some others, sent shock waves across the province. This latest incident has emerged from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, located in Jamshoro district near Hyderabad.
Sobh Khaskheli, an MPhil student in the university’s Mathematics department, has alleged that her professor, Kashif Ali Abro, subjected her to sexual harassment on April 27, 2026, inside his university office during academic hours.
According to Sobh Khaskheli, she had been sent to Professor Kashif Abro by her department head in connection with an MPhil assignment. The professor called her into his office and attempted to harass her. She refused, but the professor did not relent.
“I panicked,” Sobh recounted. “I first told my fellow female students and then called my father.”
Sobh’s father, Masood Khaskheli, was at the time in a village near Nawabshah. Upon hearing his daughter’s account, he resolved to pursue the legal course and obtain justice.
Inquiry committee proceedings
Masood Khaskheli arrived at Mehran University with his daughter’s complaint. The Vice Chancellor took notice of the matter and directed the Anti-Harassment Cell to constitute an inquiry committee. The committee recorded statements from the affected student, her father, and the accused professor Kashif Abro, and also recorded Sobh’s video statement. However, the family’s confidence in the committee could not be sustained, and ultimately the case had to be transferred to a higher level.
Alleged threats by the accused professor
Masood Khaskheli revealed that the accused professor attempted to blackmail his daughter into silence and also offered money to hush up the matter. He said: “We sent our daughter to study, not to die. We will secure justice not only for our daughter but for all daughters, so that harassment is eliminated from educational institutions forever.” He demanded that cameras be installed in professors’ offices.
Government assurances
Adviser to the Chief Minister of Sindh, Muhammad Tariq Hassan, said that Sobh Khaskheli would not be left alone in this matter. He stated that he would take up the issue with Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah so that harassment in educational institutions could be brought to an end and girls could pursue their education with dignity and self-respect.
The wider context of harassment in Sindh
Journalist Faheem Babar, who covers harassment cases in Hyderabad, says that Sindh is the only province where legislation has been enacted to end domestic violence, yet the situation in educational institutions remains deeply alarming. According to him, female students who fell victim to harassment at several institutions — including Chandka (Larkana), Nawabshah, Mirpurkhas, and Sindh University — have set themselves on fire. “Until the accused are punished, it will not be possible to eliminate harassment from educational institutions,” he said.
Last month, Fahmida Laghari, a medical student at Muhammad Medical College in Mirpurkhas, took her own life after being driven to despair by harassment, sending shockwaves across the entire province. The Mehran University incident, and the transfer of the case to the provincial ombudsperson, is a sign that victims are losing faith in the internal accountability structures of educational institutions. Until a system of independent, transparent, and swift justice is established and perpetrators are given exemplary punishment, female students cannot be safe.