KMDC students protest | Teachers demand salary
Protest against the alleged change in the results of the BDS
Karachi, April 04: A group of Karachi Medical and Dental College (KMDC) students
on Friday staged a demonstration in protest against the alleged change in the
results of the BDS first year examination by the University of Karachi.
The protesting students told the media that according to the original
results, Asad Iqbal Malik had clinched third position in the examination.
The results were posted on the KU website by the controller of
examination and appeared in the print media. However, they added, a few days
later, the university made amendment to the results, declaring some other
student as the holder of the third position. The students demanded restoration
of the original results. KMDC Principal Waqar Qasmi said that a protest
in this regard had been lodged with the KU vice-chancellor, controller of
examinations and the dean of medicine. Ppi
Protestant Vs Catholic leads to Mela at the YMCA
Karachi: While controversy persists over who the real guardians of the
Young Men Christian Association (YMCA) are, a new development has led to further
heartburn for the members of the city's Christian community. YMCA land has been
handed over to a private restaurant despite that fact that this is flagarant
violation of the law, say some concerned members. They have demanded that the
YMCA Sports Ground be restored to its original form when it was restricted for
cultural events of the Christian community. A ruling by the Sindh High
Court on January 31, 2009, declared the Karachi YMCA as an authentic
organisation registered under the Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies
(Registration and Control) Ordinance 1961 hence making members of the Catholic
sect the rightful owners of the sacred property. However, some
Protestant members (including two MPAs) have objected to the authenticity of the
organisation given charge, which they say originally belonged to them until it
was re-registered in 1964 under a different law. They have filed a petition in
the Supreme Court to contest the SHC decision. "YMCA was originally
registered under the name 'The YMCA of Karachi' under The Societies Registration
Act 1860, but it was illegally dissolved in 1964 when some Catholic members
tried to seize control of the property and got it re-registered by the name of
'Karachi YMCA' under Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and
Control) Ordinance 1961," disclosed MPA Saleem Khursheed Khokhar who said he is
also president of 'The YMCA of Karachi' since 2003. He backed his claim with
documentary evidence, which he shared with us. Khokhar said the
move to dissolve the original YMCA that had been registered before partition was
illegal in the first place which makes him the rightful owner to date. Quoting
Article 14 of The Societies Registration Act 1860, he said no registered
organisation can be dissolved unless a three-fifth majority of the members meets
twice before taking the decision. The said law also states that the YMCA is a
body restricted for Protestant members. "Registration of 'The YMCA of Karachi'
dates back to April 1913, but after the Social Welfare Agencies Ordinance 1961,
some members within the Christian community got it re-registered in order to
take charge of the affairs illegally. This is what I have been resisting," said
Khokhar. However, the recent SHC judgment in favour of the Karachi YMCA
led to the speedy construction of the "Mela" restaurant on a portion of the YMCA
Sports Ground, which is seen as a prized real estate since it is located in the
heart of the city. Some observers claim that as the election process slid
into chaos when confusion over ownership of the YMCA arose and the matter was
referred to the court in 2005, certain members tried to take advantage of the
situation with the help of some influential people. This resulted in
confrontation among members of the Protestant and Catholic communities last year
with one party accusing the other of financial corruption. "The matter
was subjudice at that time so we could not discuss it in the media and we have
once again filed an appeal in Supreme Court, but while the issue settles the
fact remains that renting of a sacred property of the Christian community for
commercial purposes is a wrong act," argues Khokhar. "What I fail to understand
here is why the concerned authorities remain silent on the issue." During a
press conference organised by Save YMCA committee, a group of activists, last
year it was disclosed that the YMCA Sports Ground has been rented to one
Muhammad Amin and his partner Chaudhry Ashraf for a monthly rent of
Rs200,000. It may be noted here that after the SHC judgment, Moinuddin
Ahmed, the Nazir of the court, has been appointed as an administrator to run the
day to day affairs of the YMCA until elections are held. The Nazir also has the
authority to cancel any contract of lease, sale and rentals of the YMCA land for
commercial purposes against the bye-laws. When contacted, Ahmed said that he was aware of the issue, but when he visited the site to inspect, the
tenant shared a copy of the stay order issued by the court as a result of which
he could take no action. He further refused to comment as an appeal has been
filed by 'The YMCA of Karachi' in the Supreme Court. On the other hand,
Henry Pilay, presently the principal of Karachi YMCA refuted Khokhar's claim
alleging that the documents he possesses are bogus. While both parties continue
to blame each other, some independent members of the 'Save YMCA Committee' have
been questioning the move and the integrity of the unelected members who rented
the property as well as the MPAs. "If our MPAs Saleem Khokhar and Michael Javaid
are genuinely concerned about the Christians, they should improve the living
conditions in their own area – Essa Nagri first which is a low-income
neighbourhood comprising mostly Protestant Christians," argued Chaudhry Patras,
who will be leading a mass protest against the illegal seizure of the YMCA land
on May 15 outside the Karachi Press Club. "Every one out here wants the land to
their name because they want to make money off it," he alleged "but we won't let
that happen because it is a property of the community, not a few
individuals." We spoke to some other members of the Christian
community who concurred. They said the attempt to divide the Catholics and
Protestants by certain members of the community for their vested interests
should be discouraged. "We should avoid making this a sectarian issue. Holding
elections should be the priority of the YMCA right now so the body responsible
can take charge of the affairs and outside intervention can be controlled,"
commented one, requesting anonymity. But with the restaurant promising
good business, Khokhar believes elections are unlikely to take place in the near
future. The News
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Hyderabad teachers demand salary
Hyderabad: Junior male and female teachers demonstrated outside the
press club under the banner of Teachers Action Forum to protest against the
non-payment of salaries. Chairman Naeem Noorani and leaders including
Abdus Samad Samoon, Zeeshan Akhtar and others said that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto won
the hearts of masses by announcing "Roti, Kapra Aur Makan" programme. They
regretted that his party was not even paying salaries to the teachers.
They said that the junior teachers of Hyderabad had been protesting
against the non-payment of their eight-month salaries but no one has taken the
notice of their predicament. They said that teachers were now thinking
of selling their children and of collective self-immolation. They said
that they were reeling under huge debts, families starving and their children
deprived of education for they are unable to pay tuition fees. They
appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, President and Prime Minister, PPP
chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Sindh Governor and Chief Minister and education
minister to ensure payment of eight-month salaries to 206 junior teachers of
Hyderabad. Dawn
BISE Nawabshah to start functioning this year
Nawabshah: The Board of Intermediate and Secondary
Education, to be named after Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, would start functioning
from the current year, it was disclosed by reliable sources. The examinations of
class ninth and first year would be held for the first time under this board in
year 2010. The News
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