No closure: Nine months on, Prof Rizvi’s killers still at large

Protesters demand provincial govt apprehend killers, release compensation money to the family

KARACHI: Nine months have passed since the assassination of Karachi University (KU) assistant professor, Dr Syed Wahidur Rehman alias Yasir Rizvi, but the perpetrators have yet to be taken to task. On Monday, teachers, students, peers and friends of the late professor staged a protest outside the Karachi Press Club, demanding the government arrest his killers so that his family can get some closure.

The protesters held placards and shouted slogans against the Sindh government, demanding the immediate arrest of his murderers and payment of compensation money promised by the Chief Minister (CM) of Sindh, Qaim Ali Shah.

"The chief minister had promised Rs15 million as compensation for the widow and two daughters of Dr Rehman," revealed former chairperson of the department of mass communication at the Federal Urdu University of Art Science and Technology (FUUAST), professor Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan. He added that the government had assured the initial release of Rs1.5 million, which was also not released.



Speaking to The Express Tribune, Khan said that they have approached the CM several times and have even approached the President, but all their efforts have been in vain. "We will fight for Yasir's right until his family gets the compensation and his murderers are arrested," he added.

More than 50 of Dr Rehman's students from FUUAST and KU had gathered at the protest site to show solidarity with their late teacher and protest the government's apathy. "Why is the arrest of the killers of Dr Shakil Auj and Dr Wahidur Rehman not the priority of our government?" shouted an angry protester. The other protesters supported his stance by shouting slogans of 'shame shame government of Sindh'.



Speaking about the injustice with the mourners, another professor at KU, Osama Shafiq, said that nothing had come about in the nine months since Dr Rehman’s death, except grief and protest. "Many teachers have been killed and nothing has been done to give us protection," he added.

One of Dr Rehman's colleagues and a close friend, Abid Hussain, was of the view that the government has failed the teachers in every way — from giving them security to apprehending their killers.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2015.