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IJT shaken but not stirred, vows to hold book fair
IJT shaken but not stirred by police presence
Lahore, May 13, 2008: Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) workers held a press conference inside the
Punjab University on Monday despite a strong contingent of police deployed a day
before to vacate the university.
The university was closed on Sunday for
four days to stop the IJT from holding its annual book fair, which was to start
from today (Tuesday). All boarders, expect foreign students, were asked to leave
and about 400 policemen were deployed for this purpose. However, the police
could not completely vacate the university and could force only non-political
students to leave hostels. PU students and teachers denounced the
administration's decision to close the university.
A notice was sent to
all hostel wardens and superintendents to vacate hostels until 8am of Monday
morning. However, the administration could only evict non-political students.
IJT activists were still in the hostels and the IJT office in hostel number 1
where the press conference was held also remained opened.
Raheel, a PU
student, said that he was from Abbottabad and had to leave for home because he
had no other place to live here. He said IJT workers were still in the hostels.
He said it was quite difficult for the students who had come form areas like
Gilgit or NWFP to go back only for four days.
PU Public Relations Officer
Shabir Sarwar said the administration was aware that IJT activists were holding
a press conference, but it did not want to use force to stop them. "However, a
list of these students have been prepared and action will be taken against
them," he said. PU Hall Council Chairman Dr Saeed Ahmed Nagra said that some
students had been allowed to stay in hostels because examinations were being
held in several departments.
IJT Press Conference: PU IJT Nazim Rana
Zahid in the press conference said that the book fair would now be held on May
16. He criticised the PU administration for closing the university. He said the
IJT had asked the administration for permission, which it denied. He said that
if the role of the IJT was an issue then a committee should have been formed to
hold the book fair.
USF condemns IJT: Activists of the University
Students Federation (USF) denounced the IJT, saying that the university had been
closed because of its activities.
According to a press release issued by
the USF on Monday, the book fair and computer exhibition of the IJT was planned
to cause panic in the university so that student union elections could be
cancelled. Daily Times
Punjab University offices open
Lahore: The Punjab University (PU) administration says all
teaching departments and administrative offices of the university will remain
open and directed that all university employees should continue performing their
duty.
PU Registrar Prof Muhammad Naeem Khan said the university had only
suspended academic activities for four days.
IJT vows to hold book fair
Lahore: The Islami Jamiat Tulaba (IJT) has condemned the Punjab
University administration for what it called forced closure of the varsity, and
announced that it will organise its three-day book fair at any cost as soon as
the campus reopens.
IJT's PU Nazim Zahid Naveed said at a news conference
at the Student Teacher Centre (STC) on Monday the university administration was
now getting all hostels vacated, but Jamiat activists would face the move by
staying on the campus.
He demanded the PU administration should
immediately reopen the varsity and revive academic activities on the campus. He
said the university administration had no right to waste almost a week of over
31,000 students.
He said the fair was a positive and healthy activity
aimed at helping the students get books on discounted rates and had become an
important academic event of the PU for the last two decades.
The IJT PU
Nazim said the Jamiat had contacted over 100 publishers for setting up their
stalls at the book fair.
"In order to hold the book fair in a peaceful
manner, the IJT contacted the PU registrar and students' advisor, but the
varsity administration refused to allow the event," he added.
Mr Naveed
said: "If the university had an objection that the book fair was being organised
by students, it might constitute a teachers' committee to organise the event."
He said the students had organised a protest rally to express their resentment
over the decision.
He alleged the plan of sabotaging the book fair was
made in the Governor's House and it was a move to make it a case against the
restoration of students' unions.
He warned if the Punjab government
resorted to police action against the students, it would itself be responsible
for the law and order situation all over the province.
Mr Naveed also
condemned the PU administration for the alleged manhandling of a private TV
channel's cameraman by the varsity's security guards while he was covering
on-campus police deployment.
Meanwhile, PU student unions' former
presidents Masood Ahmad Khokhar, Abdul Shakoor, Hafeez Khan and Syed Ehsanullah
Waqas expressed their strong reservations against the PU decision to stop the
book fair.
ISF: The Insaf Students Federation said the closure of
the university showed PU administrations' inability to control a students'
group.
ISF convener Ahmad Muaaz said the administration should have acted
wisely and organised the book fair under its supervision instead of wasting
students' academic time.
He also condemned the IJT activists for inviting
non-students on the campus and issuing threats of disrupting peace in the
province.
ISO: Imamia Students Organisation President Muhammad Yaqoob
stressed the student unions must cooperate with the administration to create an
ideal academic environment in the university.
HOSTLES VACATED: The
Punjab University administration on Monday got vacated all hostels on the New
Campus as almost all male and female students left for their homes to spend
week-long holidays.
As students were leaving the hostels on the
instructions of the university administration, some students - Muhammad Usman,
Naeem, Ashraf and others said that they would return on Sunday because
there was no point in "wasting" two holidays for a half-working day on Friday.
They said that they would be monitoring the PU environment through media before
deciding whether they should return to the varsity or not.
It is learnt
that the varsity had only allowed the foreigner students to stay in the
hostels. Dawn
5th class exams from today
Lahore: As many as 822,084 students of class 5th are participating in the
annual examination-2008 commencing from tomorrow (May 13) under the aegis of
Punjab Examination Commission. According to education department, the students
will take the exams of six papers that will continue for four days. A total of
6137 examination centres have been set up for the students of over 50,000
primary schools in the province, he added. App
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| Education News | | Updated: 25 May, 2012 |
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