KU teachers criticise LEAs over Dr Zahir Ali Syed’s killing

The Karachi University Teachers Forum (KUTF) expressed its deep sorrow over the killing of Usman Institute of Technology Director Engineer Dr Zahir Ali Syed, who was shot dead on Friday over resistance during a mugging bid.

The KUTF, in a press statement, said that the increasing incidence of terrorism in the city was a question mark on the law and order situation, in which even the enlightened minds of the city had now fallen prey to those elements.

In the past, Karachi University had also lost its two professors, and the martyrdom of Prof Dr Shakeel in 2014 and that of Dr Waheed Rehman in 2015 was still fresh in the minds of our teachers, it said, adding that now the atmosphere of fear must be ended and teachers must be protected by the state.

“All the teachers of Karachi University stand with the grieved family of Dr Syed. The demise of a teacher is a tragedy for the whole nation and thus brutally extinguishing the light of public life is tantamount to the worst kind of oppression.”

Separately, the Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) demanded of the provincial government to ensure safety of the academic community.

In a statement, issued after the killing Dr Syed, KUTS President Dr Shah Ali Ul Qader that Dr Syed’s killing proved that law enforcement agencies had failed to maintain peace in the city.

On the one hand, the government spent billions in the name of VIP culture and protocol for politicians, and police even blocked roads and stopped traffic for them, but on the other, a professor was killed on the most important thoroughfare on which the National Stadium and the largest private hospitals were located, as were the offices of high-ranking police officers.

He expressed grave concern over the failure of law enforcement agencies.

KUTS strongly protested against the incident and appealed to all educational institutions to observe a black day on Monday.

Dr Qader demanded of the Sindh government and the LEAs to arrest the killers. He also demanded of the government to provide financial compensation to Dr Syed’s family. “We the KUTS and the academic community of the province stand with aggrieved the family.”