Faculty to stage protest outside CM House if demands not met

Karachi
If the Sindh government fails to catch the killers of Prof Waheed-ur-Rehman, pay the family compensation worth Rs50 million and set up a judicial commission to investigate the murder of slain university professor by the given deadline of May 15, the faculty of Karachi University will launch protests outside the CM House and the Karachi Press Club.
This was announced by the president of Karachi University Teachers’ Society, Prof Dr Jamil Kazmi, during a protest walk held at the varsity campus in the honour of Prof Waheed-ur-Rehman who was shot dead last week in FB Area.
“Teachers do not like to suspend classes and block roads. But we have no other choice. We have to resort to such extreme steps,” said Kazmi while speaking to the protestors who marched from the KU’s administration block to the Silver Jubilee gate.
He said it was unfortunate that the national and provincial assemblies did not table any resolutions to condemn the target killing of teachers and no debate had been initiated for taking steps to safeguard the lives of teachers.
Meanwhile, a condolence reference was also held at the mass communication department in the slain professor’s memory in which his colleagues and students paid him rich tributes.
A close friend of the deceased, Assistant Prof Dr Osama Shafiq urged the KU vice chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser to finish building the departmental studio in the department and dedicate it to Prof Waheed-ur-Rehman.
He said the deceased had been trying to get the studio completed for the students of his department.
When contacted, KU vice chancellor, said teachers were the assets of society and it was unfortunate that they were being targeted with lawyers and doctors.
The acting head of the mass communication department Prof Dr Mehmood Ghaznavi commented that the media was not presenting the actual picture.
Meanwhile, the president of Sindh Professors and Lecturers’ Association, Ali Murtaza, demanded from the government to provide protection to teachers, lawyers, doctors and intellectuals. “It is very sad that enemies of the state are killing intelligentsia one by one,” he said.