SWABI - Dr Yasmin, former member of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and Dr Muhammad Jasim, former president of an association of doctors affiliated with Awami National Party, said on Saturday that if the provincial government wanted to correct affairs at Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan after the Mashal murder incident, then it should appoint an academic expert with the military background as the vice chancellor of the university.
Mashal Khan was a student of AWKUM who was lynched on April 13 by a mob of fellow students, university employees and outsiders for having allegedly committed blasphemy, a charge that was not proven later in initial police investigation as well as the report issued by the joint investigation team constituted on the direction of the Supreme Court.
Dr Yasmin and Dr Jasim while talking to media persons said that a peaceful environment used to be the first and foremost requirement in a university, without which the students are unable to get quality education. They said that an academic expert from army should be handed over the affairs at AWKUM for at least six years while working on creating an education-friendly environment and cleansing the university from wrong acts completely.
They said that it was political interference in AWKUM affairs that led to false charges of blasphemy against Mashal and his brutal killing. The JIT had dug out what actually had happened, they said, adding that the tragic killing of Mashal, and weapons and bottles of wine found inside the university hostels had unveiled what kind of environment was prevailing at the campus and hostels in AWKUM.
“We have strongly opposed political meddling in AWKUM affairs. It must be stopped for education and bright future of the students. An academic expert from army might be the best option to run the university,” said Dr Yasmin. Dr Jasim said that the idea of vice-chancellor from the military background had been proposed by many people because they wanted peace in AWKUM and an environment where the students could get education according to the requirements of the country.
