Charsadda's Bacha Khan University administration sent out a notification earlier this month banning male students or employees from "idle sitting" or roaming with female students, a move which stirred a controversy on social media after the notification became public on Monday.

The notification, issued by the university's Chief Proctor Muhammad Shakeel, also imposed a ban on smoking, the use of chaadar, using the rooftops of campus buildings and ragging new students.

University spokesperson Saeed Khan, however, denied knowledge of any such notification while speaking to the media.

Dr Shakeel, on the other hand, defended the move while speaking to the media, DawnNews reported. He said that the decision had been taken in the larger interest of the students "as they waste a lot of their time roaming around the campus".

He strongly denied the notion that the university was being turned into a madrassah.

The university was forced to close in January 2016 for two weeks after an attack on its campus claimed over 20 lives.