Islamia College University VC kidnap case
VC asks govt to accept captors' demands
Peshawar, Nov 08: A video footage of the kidnapped Vice-Chancellor of
Islamia College University, Prof Ajaml Khan, surfaced here on Sunday,
with him appealing to the government to accept the demands of his
captors by Nov 20.
"The government should accept mujahideen's demands, which are of trivial nature, by Nov 20, failing which I may lose my life the following day," he said.
Prof Khan was kidnapped on Sept 7 when he was going to his office from his residence.
In his first video released last month he had requested the provincial government and leaders of the Awami National Party to get him released.
The fresh video, released to some private television channels, Prof Khan who has grown a beard, calls upon teachers and students of the university and sincere workers of the ANP to call upon the government for acceptance of his captors' demands.
Prof Khan, who is related to ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, said he had been in custody all this time and he had earlier requested the government through a video to accept his captors' demands, but his request fell on deaf ears.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said he neither knew who had released the video nor any group had put forward any demand to the government.
In a handout issued here, the minister said that Prof Khan was respected by the government and all possible efforts would be made to get him released.
"For the sake of humanity we have always strived to get every kidnapped person released and will continue to do so," he said.
Teachers go on strike against VC's non-recovery
Peshawar: The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic
Staff Association (FAPUASA) on Sunday night announced indefinite strike
in the universities across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against the
non-recovery of Islamia College University Vice-Chancellor Ajmal Khan
and his driver.
The decision was taken after an emergency meeting of the association convened after the surfacing of a video footage of Ajmal Khan, wherein he requested the teachers and students to influence the govern-ment for acceptance of the demands of his captors.
The meeting chaired by the provincial chief of FAPUASA, Dr Fida Muhammad, discussed the situation emerging after the airing of the said video footage, as the kidnappers had set a deadline of Nov 20 for the acceptance of their demands. After the meeting, Dr Fida told media persons that their strike would continue across the province in all the universities.
He added that if the government failed to accept their demand and take any step for the recovery of Ajmal Khan, the federation would extend the strike to other universities in the country. Dawn
Public universities shut in KP over govt's inaction
Peshawar: The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff
Association (FAPUASA) Pakhtunkhwa chapter on Sunday announced to shut
down all the public sector universities in the province for an
indefinite period to protest the government's failure to recover Ajmal
Khan, vice-chancellor of Islamia College University.
The decision was taken in a meeting of the association, which was held after the release of the second video of the kidnapped vice-chancellor. "No classes will be held till the safe recovery of Ajmal Khan and his driver," said Dr Fida Mohammad, provincial president of FAPUASA. He said the representatives of teachers associations of all the public sector universities attended the meeting, which expressed deep concern over the inefficiency of government.
Ajmal Khan along with his driver was kidnapped on September 7 when he was on his way to office. The militants released a second video of Ajmal Khan on Sunday. In the video he appealed to his community, students, workers and leaders of ANP to make efforts for his early release. He also called for negotiations with militants and accepting their demands before the deadline of November 20.
Dr Fida said the government had failed to recover the kidnapped vice-chancellor and after the release of the video they were left with no other option but to close all the public sector universities for an indefinite period. The news
Harassment of girl students: another probe ordered
Haripur: The syndicate of Hazara University (HU) has recommended
another inquiry into the complaints of some girl students of the
university's Haripur campus against alleged harassment by a teacher,
sources told this correspondent on Saturday.
The HU registrar had suspended the lecturer, Adil Paracha of Management Sciences department, vide letter F./No 4(2)-HU/Reg/2010/165 dated Sept 9, 2010 after receiving complaints of some girl students of Haripur campus against him.
In their written statements, the complainant students from second and third semesters of the Management Sciences department had accused the lecturer of harassing and insulting them on one or the other pretext. The registrar office also barred the lecturer from entering the premises of Haripur campus and ordered probe into the complaints through an inquiry committee, headed by Dr Mukhtar, director research and planning of Hazara University.
The sources said that the committee had completed its probe after hearing all sides, including the teacher, and forwarded its recommendations to the vice-chancellor. The matter was referred to the HU syndicate and its members at a meeting chaired by VC Dr Sakhawat Hussain recommended re-investigation of the case before any disciplinary action was taken against the teacher.
When contacted, Dr Sakhawat Shah said that action had already been taken, as the lecturer had been suspended. He said that the matter had to be discussed at the syndicate's meeting which had recommended re-inquiry into the complaints. He said that the second inquiry would be completed within a month.
Upgraded college in Swabi without teachers
Swabi: The newly-upgraded Zaida Degree College is still without
staff putting future of over three hundred students at risk.
The government and directorate of colleges have kept mum over the non-provision of teachers.
The upgradation notification of Zaida higher secondary school was issued by the directorate of colleges on July 1, this year.
About 300 students have so far got admission to the degree college.
The ruling Awami National Party MPA Sikandar Irfan had taken credit for the upgradation of the college. But, he failed to take another credit for employing teachers for the college.
It has been learnt that there were about nine subject specialists in the higher secondary school but after the upgradation they had to be transferred. Under the rules the subject specialists could not be allowed to get posts at the college level, sources said.
The students told this correspondent that the government and politicians were responsible for the entire mess. They said that if the government could not provide staff to the college whey it had upgraded the higher secondary school to the college level.
The students said two days back they blocked Topi-Zaida road for all kind of traffic and gave a week deadline to the government. They said that if the government failed to provide staff they would hold more protest demonstrations.
The students said that other colleges in the periphery had already covered their courses and they had yet to start the classes.
Meanwhile, it has been learnt that after the protest of the students ANP MPA Sikandar has swung into action and is striving to make available the required staff to the college. Dawn
Sadda college has four lecturers for 800 students
Sadda: With 800 tribal students on roll, 22 posts of lecturers are still
vacant in the Government Degree College for Boys in Sadda, Kurram
Agency, where only four teachers are currently available and the college
has virtually been closed for the last two years.
The students said they were coming to the college daily from far-flung areas spending the hard-earned money of their parents, but still there were no teachers to teach them various subjects. They said that due to lack of teachers the college was closed and the future of more than 800 students was at stake.
Earlier, there were some lecturers on contract basis. When their contracts expired, the government, however, did not bother to re-employee them or arrange for other teachers, the students complained. They said they were disappointed to observe the step-motherly treatment being meted out to the Fata students by the incumbent government.
Situation of the Girls College in the area was the same as the concerned parents of the students said there was no faculty in the Government Girls Degree College, Sadda, to teach the students. They said the government, the political administration and the Fata Secretariat were aware of all these issues faced by the tribal people, yet little effort was made to tackle the problems.
The parents said on several occasions, the students and their parents registered complaints with the relevant authorities but it had never been the priority of the government to educate the masses in rural Pakistan, particularly Fata. They said the future of their children seemed bleak because of the government's apathy in lower and central tehsils of the agency.
The parents asked the governor, federal education minister, director education at Fata Secretariat and the political administration to arrange teachers for both the colleges to save the future of their children. The news
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