PU tells colleges to rein in IJT

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

Tuesday, April 13, 2010
By Our Correspondent

LAHORE

The Punjab University has warned the Govt College of Science, Wahdat Road, and Govt Islamia College Civil Lines, of cancellation of their affiliations if they failed to control their students from becoming part of Islami Jamiat Talaba in agitation against the university.

It is learnt the warning letters were issued by Punjab University (PU) Registrar Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan in the backdrop of Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) recent demo and wall-chalking against the PU administration.

Govt College of Science, Wahdat Road and Govt Islamia College are strongholds of Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) and are situated near the PU New Campus and Old Campus, respectively. An official of the university, seeking anonymity, said the IJT did not enjoy support of PU students in the protest demonstrations against the varsity. He said, owing to proximity of both the colleges, Jamiat, the student wing of Jamat-e-Islami (JI), managed to gather scores of students for demonstrations against the university.

He said it was shameful on part of IJT that, despite being involved in thrashing a faculty member of the PU, its activists were protesting against the varsity administration. It is pertinent to mention that PU teachers have been observing complete academic boycott after some IJT activists thrashed and injured PU College of Earth & Environmental Sciences (CEES) Principal Prof Dr Iftikhar Hussain Baloch on the April 1st.

The official said Govt College of Science and Govt Islamia College had been “hijacked” by the IJT over the years, adding the government should take measures to clean the institutes of the Jamiat activists as well.

PU Registrar Dr Naeem Khan confirmed the issuance of warning notices to the two colleges, saying the principals of both the institutes had been asked to identify those involved in agitation and coordinate with police in this regard.

Meanwhile, in a press statement, Professors & Lecturers Forum president Prof Dr Matloob Ahmad Rana and other office bearers have demanded the government take notice of threats being received by many teachers of Govt Islamia College Civil Lines.

“The college administration is bent on turning the college into Mansoora (JI headquarter)”, the statement reads. It added the central executive council of Professors & Lecturers Forum (PLF) was held on Monday which condemned the PU incident and demanded the government take stern action against those responsible.

The PU Academic Staff Association (PUASA) on Monday also organized a protest demonstration against IJT outside Lahore Press Club and demanded the government ensure arrest of those involved in incident as soon as possible so that the academic activities could resume at the university.

On the call of Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) various institutes of higher learning across the country observed a Black Day on Monday and condemned the April 1st incident. The teachers also demanded the government take measures for ensuring recovery of Kohat University’s Vice Chancellor who was kidnapped a couple of months ago.

The PUASA also announced that the association would hold its general body meeting at 10am in the Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology on April 13, and later the participants would leave for PU Old Campus in buses where they would take out a huge protest rally at 11am which would culminate at the Chairing Cross near the Punjab Assembly.

Dozens of IJT activists also held a demonstration outside the Press Club on Monday and, condemning the incident, demanded the government take notice of expulsion and rustication of students at the PU.

Meanwhile, in a press statement, the Government College University (GCU) Lahore faculty members and administrative staff also strongly condemned the assault on Punjab University professor Dr Iftikhar Hussain Baloch. They demanded an immediate action against those who carried out the brutal attack. They said such events sabotaged the peaceful environment of an educational institution.