IT’S a brouhaha that really shouldn’t have been. Model Ayyan Ali, who is out on bail in a case of currency smuggling, was invited as chief guest to the inauguration of a student-owned fast food venture in August at the Karachi University.

Her visit, given her undertrial status, gave rise to much heated debate on social media over the propriety of the exercise.

The university responded by stating that the administration was unaware of the invitation extended to Ms Ali and issued show-cause notices to the two students concerned for taking the initiative without obtaining official approval.

Also read: KU cancels student's admission for inviting Ayyan Ali on campus

However, apparently after pressure was brought to bear from a student political group, the disciplinary committee looking into the matter decided to impose severe sanctions — that too without even giving a proper hearing to the students concerned.

On Monday, one of them was expelled; both have been barred from entering the campus or enrolling in an academic programme offered by the university.

It’s not often that Karachi University is in the news for controversies of this kind, one devoid of violence and warring student political groups.

One can question the wisdom of inviting Ms Ali to inaugurate the event, though perhaps at the cost of ignoring the golden rule of regarding a person innocent until proven guilty; particularly so when several other Pakistanis accused of far worse continue to be feted and accorded red-carpet treatment.

Even then, had the university administration believed that the students were at fault, its response is disproportionate to the ‘offence’: the show-cause notices followed by a strong reprimand should have been sufficient to make the point.

What message is the university sending by disrupting the education of young men guilty of little more than an error of judgement, if that, while students who engage in violence and strong-arm tactics on campus get away scot-free?

Moreover, if the administration was indeed in the dark about what must have been a high-profile event, then it too is partly to blame.

Published in Dawn, October 10th , 2015

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