In a statement on Sunday, the rector said he had been bearing with the 'mudslinging' despite the fact that the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had categorically denied any such allegations way back in April 2016, and termed these 'rumours mala fide'.
He said he had registered a complaint in 2017, but no action was taken against the suspects and the malicious campaign had continued.
The NUST rector termed the campaign against him a part of the fifth-generation warfare to put the senior leadership of armed forces in bad light, creating a division between the army and the people.
Referring to the campaign's resurgence, he said he has moved the FIA against 20 individuals who were in the forefront, belonging to a mix of “anti-state elements”, those with vested agendas, including some activists belonging to a political party.
Last week, NUST students started a Twitter trend against the university for demanding students to pay hostel fees – Rs40 thousand per semester – even though the hostels had been closed since March.
The NUST administration’s directives also came as a violation of the Higher Education Commission’s orders that had directed the varsities to charge tuition fees only, implying that students were exempted from other dues.