Punjab University reopens after closure

PU reopens today after 19-day closure
Lahore, Apr 19: The Punjab University will reopen on Monday (today) after closure of 19 days. The hostels have also been opened to the students and they are returning back to their hostel residences.

However, strong police contingent and PU security has been put on alert to check any untoward incident after the re-opening. The police meanwhile launched a fresh search operation in the hostels but no arrest was reported nor any confiscation of arms. The search operation will continue invariably during the course of resumption of classes and return of students in the hostels again.

PU Registrar Dr Mohammad Naeem said that the situation was now normal. The Punjab University administration has achieved the targets with the arrest of culprits involved in the murderous assault on Dr Iftikhar Baloch and expulsion of 107 students from the university.

He said the PU teachers committee ASA will hold a general body meeting on Monday, which will formally announce termination of their protests and boycott of classes.

Meanwhile a spokesman of the IJT said that they will continue their protest against the expulsion of 107 students, most of whom, they say were innocent.

Dr Naeem has appealed to the students to attend the classes. He however said that students who have gone to their home-towns will gradually return back and full academic activity will resume within a day or two next.

The final term examination of various semesters in the teaching departments had just ended when the incident took place followed by closure of the university.

The students will move to the next semesters after the re-opening. Meanwhile the parents and guardians of students have appreciated the decision to re-open the university. The nation

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Police search hostels as PU opens today
Lahore: A contingent of police searched Punjab University (PU) hostels after the administration reopened hostels for boarding students on Sunday.

A few students had returned to the university hostels closed a week ago after some activists of Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) thrashed and injured a senior PU teacher. PU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran has announced that the university will reopen from Monday (today). The PU Academic Staff Association (PUASA), however, which had decided to suspend academic activities at the university was yet to announce reopening of the varsity. A general body meeting of the PUASA was scheduled to be held on Monday (today) to decide when to reopen the varsity. A PU official said construction work was done in and around hostels in order to ensure security which otherwise was impossible in the presence of "miscreants" in hostels. PUASA president Dr Mahr Saeed Akhtar said the general body will decide reopening of the university on Monday. The news

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IJT activists elude capture yet again
Lahore: A second crackdown on the Punjab University hostels ended in failure on Sunday as police failed to arrest even a single Islami Jamiat Taliba (IJT) activist illegally residing there.

Conducted under the supervision of Muslim Town Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Naveed Arshad and spearheaded by Iqbal Town SP Captain (r) Sohail, around 150 policemen took part in a search operation in the varsity hostels against IJT activists. The operation, which continued for three hours and ended with arrests, proved to be futile as all the accused hooligans fled from the hostels as soon as they got news of the operation.

The PU vice chancellor expressed concerns regarding the unsuccessful crackdowns during a meeting with the faculty. He said he had informed Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif about the elements backing the IJT. Shahbaz, on his part, assured the VC of 'stern action' – which was not carried out.

Earlier, following the IJT activists' attack on a senior faculty member, police had conducted a search operation in Hostel No 16. However, circumstantial evidence showed that the operation was just a "formality" for calming the situation down.

Students and faculty members demanded that PU VC Professor Dr Mujahid Kamran should conduct an inquiry into the matter and identify those who had failed to rid the varsity of the IJT. Sources said that police officials not only provided the IJT activists information minutes before the operation but also suggested them places to hide. The PU administration and Punjab police launched the search operation on orders from the chief minister. PU faculty and students said the operation's failure was due to mismanagement by the varsity administration, as their own security personnel had failed to control the situation and helped the IJT activists escape by calling in the police for help. Daily times

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LUMS win Business Plan Competition
Lahore: The Lahore University of Management Sciences Friday secured first two positions of the LCCI Business Plan Competition while the third position went to Kinnaird College.

The Business Plan competition was jointly chaired by Vice Chairman of Punjab Board of Investment & Trade Pir Saad Ahsanuddin, LCCI Senior Vice President Ejaz A. Mumtaz and Vice President Faisal Iqbal Sheikh while the LCCI former President Mian Muzaffar Ali and former Vice President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad were also present on the occasion. The Competition was inaugurated by former LCCI President Shahid Hassan Sheikh.

The idea behind the Business Plan Competition, which was initiated by the LCCI Vice President Faisal Iqbal Sheikh in 2006, was to encourage the young graduates so that they could be able to start their own businesses in a new and innovative manner.

Addressing the participants, the LCCI Senior Vice President Ejaz A Mumtaz said that it was prime duty of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote business activities in the larger interests of the industry which is suffering because of lack of professionally skilled and competent people.

Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI Vice President Faisal Iqbal Sheikh urged the students to prepare themselves for coping with fast emerging global challenges. He said that the entire world was impressed with the talent of Pakistani students but a large number of them were suffering for want of proper opportunities. He said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the government was evolving a strategy to promote talented young entrepreneurs. As many as nine prominent universities and colleges of the provincial metropolis including University of Central Punjab, Kinnaird College, Government College University, COMSATS, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Imperial College of Business Studies, Forman Christian College, Lahore Grammer School and University of Management and Technology took part in the competition which continued for whole of the day. The competition was largely attended by students and businessmen belonging to various faculties and institutions. At the end of the function, prizes were given to the students of Lahore University of Management Sciences, Kinnaird College while special prizes were given to University of Central Punjab and Lahore Grammar School. F.P. Report

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MAO College Arabic teacher transferred
Lahore: The Punjab Higher Education Department has 'only' transferred a senior Arabic teacher outside Lahore on the charges of moral turpitude. A senior Arabic teacher of MAO College was accused of immoral activity as one of his students filmed his gestures in his cell phone from a hole in the closed door of his office. To the embarrassment of the higher education department, the video clip was also uploaded on a video link on the Internet.

Ahad Khan Cheema, the department secretary, called the teacher at his office and asked him to resign. The teacher reportedly asked the secretary that he had been promoted to BPS-19 and the department should post him somewhere and soon after implementation of his promotion, he would apply for early retirement.

The secretary posted him at the Government Science College, Wahdat Road against a BPS-19 post. The teacher reportedly suffered heart attack and was admitted to a hospital. Later, the teachers' association leaders approached the secretary and requested him to hush up the case.

Mr Cheema, who returned from his visit abroad a couple of days ago, immediately transferred and posted him against a BPS-19 post in Sharaqpur (Sheikhupura district). (mansoormalik173@hotmail.com) Dawn

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KEMU Syndicate approves new posts at Lady Aitchison Hospital
Lahore: The King Edward Medical University (KEMU) Syndicate approved the creation of teaching posts at the Lady Aitchison Hospital at its 9th annual meeting held on Saturday.

The meeting, which was chaired by KEMU Vice Chancellor Professor Zafarullah Khan, took several other decisions, including the regularisation of contract teaching employees, guidelines for establishing pension funds, conversion of MPhil programme to MPhil leading to PhD, honorarium for employees of grade 16 and above, facilitation to boarders of boys' hostel and approval of procurement procedures of the KEMU.

Iqbal Z Ahmed, a syndicate member, donated Rs five million to the KEMU.

Lahore High Court Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik, PPSC Member Humayun Farshori, Pro-VC Dr Syed Muhammad Awais, KEMU Registrar Dr Mehmood Shaukat, Dr Rashid Latif, MPA Saeed Akber, Dr Zahid Pervaiz along with representatives from the Higher Education Commission, Department of Finance, Punjab University and the University of Engineering and Technology attended the meeting. Daily times

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Imperial College of Business Studies Community Development programme
Lahore: The Imperial College of Business Studies (ICBS), which enrolls students belonging to strong socio-economic backgrounds, has initiated a Leadership and Community Development programme to expose them to the harsh realities of life.

Five students – Hammad Ali, Syeda Fatima, Salman Ejaz, Samiur Rehman and Umair Qureshi - took up a project to improve the condition of some of the bus stands in Lahore considering that boarding a public transport is usually not a pleasant experience. However, one can enjoy some pleasant moments while waiting for the transport, provided the bus stop in question is well maintained.

The students chose bus stops on Ferozepur Road and Faisal Town for their project. They made all the necessary renovations, including repairing and painting the benches and the shades, placing new benches where required and placing dividers at the bus stops to ensure that there should be a separate stand for women so that they could wait for the bus comfortably.

The students say this project gave them a chance to use their knowledge of marketing, management and finance to address real-life problems. "It's a worthwhile experience that helped us learn and develop professionally and academically," they say.

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Seminar on Maulana Azad held at GCU
The Urdu Department of Government College University organised a seminar on Maulana Muhammad Hussain Azad in connection with his 100th death anniversary.

Agha Salman Baqir, the great grandson of Azad, gave away 500-year old manuscript to GCU Vice Chancellor Prof Khalid Aftab form the personal collection of his great grandfather. He hoped that the precious manuscript would remain safe in the university library and future generation would benefit from it.

Addressing the seminar, Professor Khalid Aftab said that Muhammad Hussain Azad was a writer with unique literary sensibility.
"His master piece Aabe Hayyat captures the literary traditions of the Muslims of subcontinent," he added. Intizar Hussain, Dr Aslam Ansari, Dr Saadat Saeed and a large of number other scholars also addressed the seminar. The nation

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