Tawaqquf does not mean denying a claim. It is the decision not to assert a definitive conclusion when evidence for a particular ruling is thought insufficient.
“I do not have adequate grounds to specify this child's final state” is different from “this child will certainly be denied salvation.” The first expresses a limit of knowledge; the second makes a positive claim concerning the unseen and needs evidence.
Thus silence, suspension of judgment, and denial are not synonymous. A scholar who withholds judgment should not automatically be represented as advocating punishment or exclusion. Conversely, a view supported by cited evidence should not be dismissed as a mere guess.