LAHORE – Minister for Climate Change, Zartaj Gul’s sister was notdisqualified by the Punjab University on charges of plagiarism, contrary tothe media reports shared widely on the social media in droves.
Days after Zartaj Gul faced flak for recommending her sister to beappointed Director of National Counter Terrorism Authority, it has emergedthat a story suggesting Shabnum Gul’s disqualification by the PunjabUniversity over plagiarism was misunderstood due to namesake confusion.
As soon as Shabum Gul made her way to NACTA, social media users startedsharing a news storylinkwhichimplied that she was disqualified for a teaching job in PU on charges ofplagiarism back in 2006, however, the Gul referred to in the news story wasnot Zartaj Gul’s sister.
In actual, Shabnum Gul – who was disqualified by PU belonged to Kashmir –had nothing to do with PTI minister and a mistaken identity directed flakat the sitting regime.
Even the ‘disqualified’ Shabnum Gul was able to get her name cleared of thecharge of plagiarism after an inquiry ruled that she had been punished in aone-sided probe, Dawn News reported.
A PU inquiry board also annulled the earlier disqualification notificationand restored her candidature besides allowing her to apply for actionagainst the complainant but she decided not to exercise her right to reportthe fake complaint against her.
Shabnum Gul says she was convinced it was part of a plot to deny her dueacademic space despite her bright record as a student; she later got a jobas the research associate at a university and after the passage of a decadeMs Gul returned to the Punjab University last year and got re-enrolled forher PhD in Kashmiriyat.
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Shabnum Gul, who is currently doing her course work, told the leading dailythat the social media trolls had made her life hell after she was confusedwith another woman from another college in Lahore dealing with allegationsof another kind.
“The stress has been just too much to bear,” she said, at having been inthe spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Investigations show that Ms Zartaj’s sister was never a student ofKashmiriat or any other subject at the Punjab University. She has beenstudying for a PhD in political science at the Lahore College for WomenUniversity.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has also directed Zartaj Gul towithdraw the letter recommending the appointment of her sister at Grade-19in Nacta.