IJT calls off rally after HU VC’s assurance

MANSEHRA: The Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba on Tuesday called off its planned protest rally against the display of alleged objectionable paintings at an exhibition after the Vice-Chancellor of Hazara University took notice of the issue and ordered the event to be closed.

“We have withdrawn our protest call after the vice-chancellor ended the exhibition, where objectionable paintings were displayed, and assured us that such acts of immorality will not happen in the future,” Ilyas Jabbar, the nazim-ala of IJT, told a press conference.

Flanked by other office-bearers, he said that the protest rally was initially scheduled to be held on Wednesday to demand the immediate closure of the exhibition and punitive action against those responsible for it.

“We had planned to call for an end to the exhibition organised by the Department of Art and Design of Hazara University and for punitive action against those responsible for displaying such immoral paintings. However, the organizers have also tendered an unconditional apology for their unjustified action,” Jabbar said.He said that their student wing was not against promoting arts or creative expression but opposed vulgarity in any form.“Some paintings displayed here are unacceptable in our Islamic society, particularly in a co-educational institution,” he added.