Students protest against Israeli attack on Gaza
LUMS students protest Gaza attack
Lahore, Jan 09: Students of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
held a protest on Tuesday to condemn the ongoing Israeli attack on
Gaza. Over a hundred students, while carrying placards, gathered on the
LUMS campus in the afternoon to denounce the Israeli aggression against
Palestinians. They criticised the inadequate response of the international
community, including the Government of Pakistan to the Israeli barbarism. They
expressed shock at the lackadaisical attitude of the United Nations Security
Council in brokering a ceasefire. Various students and faculty members,
including Dr Rasul Bakhsh Rais and Abdul Rehman Mustafa, spoke on the occasion,
highlighting the plight of the residents of Gaza. They said the crisis in Gaza
was aggravated by 2-year-long blockade of the territory by Israeli forces and
appealed people to help the Palestinians through the provision of humanitarian
aid. In the end, the protestors put their signatures to a petition being sent to
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by the Amnesty International to urge the
US to prevent the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
University teachers, students protest Israeli assault on Palestinians
Peshawar: Teachers and students of all the educational institutions Tuesday
staged a protest demonstration to condemn Israeli aggression against
Palestinians in which more than 500 people, including women and children, have
been killed so far. Led by central president of Federation of All
Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) and president
Peshawar University Teachers Association Dr Arbab Khan Afridi, the teachers and
students of different universities and other institutions of higher education
gathered outside Teacher Community Centre Hall of the University of Peshawar and
walked up to the main gate of the varsity. The protesters were holding
banners and placards inscribed with slogans against US and Israel and in favour
of Palestinians. They were also chanting slogans. The protestors
condemned Israel's aggression against Palestinians and said that women and
children were being killed in the aerial and ground attacks. They said that
about 100 children and dozens of women were among the over 500 Palestinians
killed during the continued strikes. Dr Arbab Khan Afridi in his speech
on the occasion came down hard on the Israel and its patron US. He said that
Israel was following its expansionist agenda and it wanted to occupy the entire
Middle East. He also criticised the Muslim rulers for their silence over the
massacre of the Palestinian brothers. He said that Israel has crossed all limits
of humanity and the Muslim countries did not even lodge a formal protest over
its brutalities. He said that the Organisation of Islamic Council should
convene its emergency meeting wherein concrete strategy should be prepared to
put an end to the Israeli aggression. He said that the Arab countries should use
the weapon of oil to compel Israel and its western supporters to stop aggression
against the Palestinian Muslims. He said if the Muslim countries get united and
own an effective strategy, they would be able to end Israeli and US aggression
in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan and Indian atrocities in Kashmir once and for
all. The protesters also castigated US for its dual role, particularly
its support to the hegemonic designs of Israel. They said that US was the lone
country in the world that supported Israeli aggression and held Hamas
responsible for it. They said that due to the unjustifiable US support
for Israel, the meeting of United Nations Security Council also failed to come
up with any decision.The protesters demanded of the Muslim countries to end all
diplomatic and economic ties with Israel and the countries supporting it in the
aggressive policies. Our Correspondent from Swabi adds: The Islami
Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) and Muslim Students Federation (MSF) Tuesday blocked the
Swabi-Mardan Road in protest against the Israeli invasion of Gaza. The
students gathered at the Postgraduate College Gohati and marched to the Gohati
Bus Stop on Swabi-Mardan Road while chanting slogans against the Israeli
aggression. They blocked the road for all kinds of traffic for hours. The
protesting students said that from the day first of the Israeli aggression, the
peace lovers from the world have been demanding halt to the atrocities
perpetrated against innocent civilians, but the United States blocked all such
moves. Abdus Salam, divisional nazim of the IJT said the Muslim world
should learn a lesson from the Israel raids against the helpless Palestinians.
"If today the people in Gaza Strip are suffering, Muslim country mmay be
targeted in the Middle Estate or elsewhere by Israel or US tomorrow," they
added. The dilemma of the Muslim countries was that they were divided by
the US to achieve its global objectives, he said.Naveed Shah, president of the
MSF said that there was complete unity in the ranks of anti-Muslim countries and
on the other hand the Muslim world remained divided, inviting their own
destruction and weakness.
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Punjab University fails to provide security to boarders
Lahore: Boarders at the Punjab University have said the administration has
failed to protect them as those involved in December 3 shooting are still
roaming around the varsity and harassing innocent students. Islami Jamiat
Talaba (IJT) activists were held responsible for the shooting in which many
students belonging to the University Students Federation (USF) were injured and
two received bullet injuries. FIRs were registered against the assailants but no
one was arrested. Several PU boarders especially
those belonging to the USF criticized the PU administration for poor security
arrangements at the varsity. They said it was strange that those involved in the
December 3 shooting were still free to move on the campus and harass innocent
students. Some IJT activists nominated in FIRs recently thrashed a PU
security guard at night and fled. According to university officials, the IJT
activists fled because they outnumbered university guards and officials who
arrived on the scene. According to a PU press statement issued after the
incident, those who beat up the guard included IJT activists Sabir Shah, Sohaib
Saeed Akhtar, Tauseef, Usman and Sheraz. Some USF activists had also
staged a protest demonstration when Punjab Chief Minster Shahbaz Sharif visited
the PU New Campus. They urged the CM to ensure that those involved in December 3
violence were brought to the book. A senior PU official seeking
anonymity said no one was arrested owing to the lethargic attitude of police
authorities. He said police were responsible for keeping peace on campus. "We
have provided police with all details of expelled and rusticated students and
those declared persona non gratae by the varsity," he said. The PU
administration had also brought up the issue of lack of police cooperation in a
meeting chaired by former Chancellor/ Punjab Governor Lt Gen (r) Khalid
Maqbool. Ahsan Chaudhry, a PU boarder, said those involved in December 3
shooting visited university hostels frequently and harassed students. He said
Jamiat activists had become violent since it was losing ground and its activists
were trying to pressurize students. He said it was responsibility of the
university administration as well as of the police to provide security to
students especially boarders but both had failed in their duties. He said the
Punjab University administration had decided to tighten security on campus when
ammunition including six Kalashnikovs, almost 1300 rounds of the assault riffles
and twelve hand grenades were discovered from one of the varsity grounds near
varsity's Hostel No 1 at New Campus. Another student said Hostel No 16
was the main "target" of the IJT activists as most of the borderers of this
hostel belonged to the USF. He said the PU vice chancellor should take action
against hostel wardens and superintendents if they fail to provide security to
boarders. When contacted, PU Registrar Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan said:
"We strongly urge police to arrest the elements and criminals who are named in
the FIRs and expelled from the university." "We are heavily relying on police to
apprehend these 'non-student' actors," he said. "We are ready to listen
to students' genuine grievances," he said and added that "we will improve
university services". "We will not side with any group and provide 'across the
board' protection to students". When contacted, Iqbal Town SP
Investigation Sohaib Khurram said those nominated in the FIR in connection with
December 3 incident were on bail. "We will get their bail cancelled and arrest
them," he said. "No action could be taken on the university premises without the
vice chancellor's permission," he said.
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Rs17,88,177 recovered from GCU VC as penal rent for his residence
Lahore: The Punjab government has recovered an amount of Rs17,88,177 from
Government College University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Aftab as penal rent
for his residence. Sources in the Services and General Administration
Department (S&GAD) said on Tuesday that the GCU VC had been paying
normal rent for his residence at 4-Club Lane, GOR-I, Upper Mall, since Sep 12,
2004, adding that since the GCU was an autonomous institution, its VC was not
entitled to have an accommodation belonging to S&GAD on normal rent. All
those belong to semi-government services/autonomous institutions had to pay
penal rent instead of normal rent if they wanted to get accommodation belonging
to the S&GAD, they added. The sources maintained that the GCU
vice-chancellor had been occupying the GOR-I residence since he was principal of
the then government college (GC). At that time, he was entitled to pay normal
rent since the GC was a public sector college, they said, adding that after the
GC was raised to the status of a university, the VC was supposed to pay penal
rent instead of normal rent. "However the GCU VC continued to pay normal rent
instead of penal rent", they said. The sources further said the matter
came to light recently when the GCU VC applied for getting extension regarding
the his accommodation. A S&GAD letter, addressed to Dr Khalid Aftab,
dated Nov 18, 2008, whose copy is available with The News, states: "I am
directed to inform you that you are not entitled to an accommodation belonging
to the S&GAD, thus you will have to pay penal rent and that non-drawl of
house rent allowance from an autonomous body's budget has no use for the
Government of the Punjab". Following this, the GCU Assistant Treasurer
paid the outstanding amount on Dec 23, 2008, a copy of the said challan is also
available with The News. When contacted Additional Chief Secretary Javed Aslam
said as the GCU was an autonomous institution, its VC was not entitled to
accommodation belonging to S&GAD on normal rent. He said the government
recovered outstanding amount as penal rent at 60 per cent of the pay since Dr
Khalid Aftab had only been paying normal rent since he became the GCU VC. When
contacted Dr Khalid Aftab refused to comment. The News
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