Students of several universities from across the country met on Sunday to frame a combined strategy to eradicate Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) from their institutions. Unemployed Youth Movement (UYM) arranged the meeting.On condition of anonymity an UYM member told Daily Times that students from Karachi University, Peshawar University, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Sindh University, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad; Balochistan University, Bahauddin Zakriya University; Multan participated in the meeting. He said the meeting had focused on supporting the Punjab University (PU) studentsÂ’ anti-IJT movement. He said students of other universities would also participate in PU students anti-IJT rally on Monday (today). Besides discussing eradication of IJT from institutes, he said, imposition of emergency rule and curbs on the media were also discussed.
PU students hold anti-IJT rally today: Punjab University (PU) students said they would take out an anti-IJT rally on Monday (today). Ahsan, a PU student, said the rally would be taken out from PU Law College at 11am. He said PU administration and IJT activists were trying to stop the rally. He said PU Hailey College teacher Zulifqar Ahmed Vohra, a former IJT worker, had threatened female students from participating in the rally. He said the students would observe a sit-in before the PU vice chancellor’s (VC) office. “We will request the VC to allow female students use IJT’s abandoned offices as common rooms.”
Usman, a PU student, said, “Several departments are headed by teachers who were former IJT activists.” He said these teachers were trying to stop students from taking out the rally. He said teachers of Hailey College, PU Law College, Institute of Business Administration and Institute of Communication Studies were opposing the rally. Hailey College teacher Zulifqar Ahmad said the PU administration had directed teachers to stop students from participating in the rally.
PU IJT media secretary Imran Kiyani said, “We did not hatch a plan to stop the rally. He said that IJT is expecting that PU students would not took off their rally against them. On students’ demands, PU registrar Dr Naeem Khan said, the university had vacated IJT offices on New Campus. He said, “We have also directed Old Campus administration to vacate IJT offices.” He said a positive change has been observed on the campus after the students’ movement.