The Institute of Business Administration's Disciplinary Committe has expelled a student, Mohammad Gibrail, who claims he witnessed a case of harassment in the university's administration department and posted details of the incident on social media.

"The Disciplinary Committee has decided to expel the student as the IBA has zero tolerance policy towards the violation of its rules and regulations," said an IBA statement issued on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

It further read: "A student from the BS Economics program was counselled by various members of the IBA community, however despite the counselling provided to him, the student refused to adhere to the right channels that are expected to be followed by all members of the IBA faculty, students, and staff."

Gibrail, who hails from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Lakki Marwat, said the IBA asked him to apologize for highlighting the incident on social media, adding the Institution threatened him of expulsion if he did not remove his post and apologise publicly.

The student's latest post on social media feared his expulsion in which he said: "I will not say sorry even if it will cost my head."

The case has been the subject of much debate on social media since Gibrail posted about it in August. IBA students held protests on campus demanding an investigation into Gibrail's claims and providing justice to the concerned person.

In an FB post on August 25, Gibrail said he witnessed a "workplace harassment" incident in the IBA's Finance Department. "[I] saw a person... yelling at a female employee and bursted on her, [saying] "Mein Raat tak tumhe bithaonga" [I will make you sit here all night]".

"I was so enraged by this scum that day that I was about to concern to my teachers who are lawyers and I will once this is reported to the Harrassment Committee of IBA- but due to the enrollment and finance issues, I having that day, I couldn't pursue it."

In the post he noted that being a citizen of the country, it is his duty to report "crap of society" whenever he will observe.

The very next day in another post on social media he said he had sent an e-mail regarding the matter to the anti-harassment committee, but, so far he didnt get any response from them.

Following IBA's decision to expel Gibrail, students have expressed disappointment.

One student, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal from the university, told Aaj: "The students are very angry over the decision. Generally relations between the IBA administration and students' body is strained." They added the decision was a "blind enforcement of rules" and "over reaction".

The student said students generally thought that Gibrail's posting on social media about the harassment issue was not a big deal as this was the usual form of communication now a days.

"A lot of students think that the IBA [taking the decision of expulsion] is standing with harassers because they are protecting them by cutting out anyone who comes up against them," they said.

After the announcement, the students could plan staging further protests against the decision of the Discipline Committee and get the high profile figures involved in it, if needed, to resolve the issue, the student said.

"With the new IBA ED the students expected more freedom of speech and association but this didnt happen. The recent protest [against the harassment] was not really encourgaed," they said.

They added the students want IBA to allow Gibrail to complete his degree and they want the inclusion of more students in the Disciplinary and anti-harassment committees so that the panels have perspective of students as well.

Many students participated in a protest staged against harassment in the university. However, the number of students reduced in the second protest mainly because fear of action from the officials, according to an eye-witness.

In his Facebook post, Gibrail wrote that if the IBA didn't take strict action against the accused and his accomplices, he would approach the provincial and federal governments.

The lawyer and social activist M Jibran Nasir has been vocal about the story since it first surfaced. He took to Twitter on Wednesday and criticized IBA for the expulsion and said Gibrail will appeal IBA's decision with the Board of Governors.

The matter continues to be a hot topic on Twitter with people weighing in.

Dr Nausheen Anwar, who is an IBA professor of city and regional planning as well as founder and director of Karachi Urban Lab, tweeted her disappointment about the expulsion.