— After years of political calm, PU is falling back in the hands of IJT, JI
After years of relative political calm and administrative neutrality at the Punjab University (PU), the students belonging to Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT), and teachers and senior administrators associated with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) through its teachers wing, Tanzeem-e-Asaatza, have gained strength again since provisional Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zaffar Moeen Nasar took charge about nine months ago.
Notwithstanding the pressure of Tanzeem-e-Asaatza and upholding his prior association with JI, Dr Zafar finally started to take the Jamaat on board in his administration.
Many of the key administrative posts are now held by the Jamaat members including Dr Abid Hussain Ch (Chairman Hall Council—CHC), Dr Tahira Basharat—sister-in-law of Liaqat Baloch, Naib Ameer JI (Deputy CHC), Iftekhar Ahmad Chaudhry (Resident Officier I—RO-I), Dr Muhammad Khalid Khan (Registrar), (late) Dr Tahir Jamil (Director, ORIC), Dr Shahid Munir (Controller of Examinations), Dr Rafaqat Ali Akbar (Director Institute of Education and Research—IER), Dr Hassan Mobeen Alam (Principal Hailey College of Commerce and Dean Faculty of Commerce), Dr Sajid Rasheed (Principal College of Earth and Environmental Sciences—CEES), Dr Usman Awan (Director, QEC), Jaleel Tariq (Additional Registrar II), and Dr Shahid Farooq (Superintendent Hostel #1).
It all began when, during the last few years of his tenure, the former vice chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran lost the support of teachers, students, and administrative staff due to the many illegal activities he was involved in.
Dr Mujahid Kamran, who was determinedly pursuing his third term as PU VC, cut a deal with the IJT and teachers/staff associated with JI and allowed IJT to take over control of the hostel affairs. However, Dr Kamran was smart enough to give a public impression that he was against IJT to win government’s trust for his third tenure.
The most vulnerable area with regard to prevailing security issues is the hostels in the university, where illegal occupants pose serious threat to the national security. These hostels particularly include Hostel #1 at PU’s New Campus and Khalid Bin Walid (KBW) Hostel at Old Campus.
With the arrival of Dr Zaffar Mueen Nasar, who is considered a very weak administrator by the inner and outer circles at the helm of PU affairs, the IJT started to beat up students, block the canal road, and cause unrest in the academic departments—all under the patronage of the Jamaat associated teachers.
The recent news tells the story of a current administrative failure. Moreover, even after the lapse of several months, D. Nasar has not taken any action against the IJT culprits, and the Pakhtun and Baloch students, who were involved in causing unprecedented unrest in the university.
On the contrary, he has allowed the IJT to flourish and take full control of the hostels by appointing teachers who were ex-IJT nazims and members as hostel wardens and superintendents. As a result, Hostel #1 and KBW Hostel have become the hubs and dens of IJT activities again, just like they were in the 1980s and 1990s. Dr Zaffar Mueen’s official policy is claimed to be, “We don’t want to confront IJT.”
Further, the committee that runs the affairs of Town 1, including the sale and purchase of plots, almost entirely comprises of teachers and staff who were ex-IJT nazims and have been candidates of Jamaat’s panel for the elections of the various university bodies including Senate, Syndicate, Academic Council, and Academic Staff Association. In spite of the fact that he has been informed of the corruption in Town 1 affairs, Dr Zaffar Mueen Nasar has looked the other way and allowed this corruption to continue.
He has also overlooked calls for elections of the Town 1 committee mandated by the PU Syndicate. Sources say that Dr Nasar was planning to appoint two teachers, who are members of Tanzeem-e-Asaatza, ex-IJT members and have contested elections from the Tanzeem platform, to key posts of Registrar (Dr Asmatullah of Zoology), Dean Faculty of Education (Dr Rizwan Akram Rana of IER), and Head Department of Economics (Dr Ch. Mumtaz Anwar).
By empowering the former IJT office holders and Jamaat-led teachers, Dr Nasar plans to rig the upcoming elections of the Syndicate. Our sources say that PU teachers’ community is at the brink of bursting against Dr Nasar’s pro IJT and pro-Jamaat policies, and for making such controversial politically motivated appointments.
They say that these appointments have taken the university back to the dark ages of three decades ago, when these two elements ruled the PU and made all kinds of illegal appointments in the teaching and administrative cadres, which eventually resulted in the academic downfall of a great university.
They said that the government should advertise the post of VC at the earliest so that a strong administrator could be appointed as PU VC, who would confront IJT, other such student organisations, and Tanzeem-e-Assatza, and curb them to bring academic peace to the oldest and largest institution of higher learning in the country.
