ISLAMABAD, Feb 1: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has terminated the contract of Dr Ghazala Anwar, reportedly because of her views on sexual orientation which were found objectionable by some students and a section of the media.

An American national of Pakistani origin, Dr Ghazala had been hired from abroad for the International Islamic University (IIU) under the Foreign Faculty Hiring Programme of the HEC.

In an official statement, the HEC only said that the host institution (IIU) did not need her services and, therefore, her contract with the commission had been cancelled.

“Due to unsatisfactory progress report received from the host institution, her contract with the HEC has been terminated,” the statement said.

The statement cited her inadequate expertise in Arabic as another reason for her removal from service.According to her bio-data, Dr Ghazala did her PhD in philosophy and religious studies from the Temple University (USA), with teaching and research interests in Islamic jurisprudence, gender issues, Sufism and sexuality. Before coming to Pakistan she worked as a lecturer at the University of Canterbury (UC) in Christchurch, New Zealand.

It is learnt that some of her students and a section of the print media recently criticised her for saying that homosexuality was a normal sexual orientation.

According to FFHP rules, an institution prepares progress report after six months of service, but in Dr Ghazala’s case the IIU assessed her performance after three months. Besides, none of her degrees showed her proficiency in Arabic language, but her expertise in the language has been questioned by the university.

Talking to Dawn, an HEC official said on condition of anonymity that Dr Ghazala, who has already left the country, had informed the commission that she felt she was not safe at the IIU and, therefore, she should be posted to institutions like the GIK or Karachi University.