At your own risk: Ignoring safety concerns
Vulnerable to car theft and acts of terrorism, NUML administration has failed to provide adequate security.
ISLAMABAD:
Having been on security alert more than once, the administration of The National University of Modern Languages (NUML) has maintained that it is resolute about providing security to its students.
Or so it claims. Recently, the city police warned the university that the security arrangements for the car park were inadequate. Meanwhile, security guards of the campus said the security of the vehicles was not their responsibility.
The Industrial Area police informed the university on January 17 that three motorcycles and a Suzuki Mehran, bearing the registration number KF 732, were stolen from the parking lot in front of the main gate of the campus.
However, the security guards of the university told the investigating police team that the vehicles in the car-park were not their responsibility.
“Then why are the guards deployed there? Who is responsible for the security of the car park?” police asked the administration in a letter, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune.
“The security arrangements for the parking lot are inadequate, making it vulnerable not only to theft but to acts of terrorism as well,” noted the letter.
A few days ago, the university was closed for three days after it received a terrorist threat. Earlier in October 2009, universities remained closed for a brief period following the twin suicide attacks on the International Islamic University, Islamabad.
NUML, which hosts a number of foreigners including Chinese students at its campus, had moved the car-park out of the campus premises earlier, allegedly for security reasons. Yet, the administration has failed to provide adequate security for reasons unknown.
The police has asked the administration to deploy a proper system of registration and checking of vehicles entering and exiting the car-park within two days and inform the police station. Otherwise, the letter warned, the university administration would be solely responsible for any untoward incident.
Sirajuz Zamman, in-charge of the university’s security affairs, said he had not seen the letter. “However, we installed a token system and deployed security guards in the car-park a day after the theft was reported,” he said.
Zamman maintained that the responsibility of the vehicles’ security lay with their owners. “We have clearly mentioned on the token that it is their sole responsibility. Everyone, including the rector, was asked to park their cars outside the campus because of the security alert,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2011.
Having been on security alert more than once, the administration of The National University of Modern Languages (NUML) has maintained that it is resolute about providing security to its students.
Or so it claims. Recently, the city police warned the university that the security arrangements for the car park were inadequate. Meanwhile, security guards of the campus said the security of the vehicles was not their responsibility.
The Industrial Area police informed the university on January 17 that three motorcycles and a Suzuki Mehran, bearing the registration number KF 732, were stolen from the parking lot in front of the main gate of the campus.
However, the security guards of the university told the investigating police team that the vehicles in the car-park were not their responsibility.
“Then why are the guards deployed there? Who is responsible for the security of the car park?” police asked the administration in a letter, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune.
“The security arrangements for the parking lot are inadequate, making it vulnerable not only to theft but to acts of terrorism as well,” noted the letter.
A few days ago, the university was closed for three days after it received a terrorist threat. Earlier in October 2009, universities remained closed for a brief period following the twin suicide attacks on the International Islamic University, Islamabad.
NUML, which hosts a number of foreigners including Chinese students at its campus, had moved the car-park out of the campus premises earlier, allegedly for security reasons. Yet, the administration has failed to provide adequate security for reasons unknown.
The police has asked the administration to deploy a proper system of registration and checking of vehicles entering and exiting the car-park within two days and inform the police station. Otherwise, the letter warned, the university administration would be solely responsible for any untoward incident.
Sirajuz Zamman, in-charge of the university’s security affairs, said he had not seen the letter. “However, we installed a token system and deployed security guards in the car-park a day after the theft was reported,” he said.
Zamman maintained that the responsibility of the vehicles’ security lay with their owners. “We have clearly mentioned on the token that it is their sole responsibility. Everyone, including the rector, was asked to park their cars outside the campus because of the security alert,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2011.