Beaten for tweets: PU administration, tortured student absolve IJT

Victim says he was not abducted and tortured by the organisation

LAHORE: The Punjab University administration and the victim of assault at a hostel have absolved the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) of any blame in an incident that took place on Tuesday. Suhail Ahmad, a law student who lives at a Punjab University hostel, was tortured and confined for over three hours after reportedly tweeting his support of Islamabad-based activist Salman Haider. He also shared a poem of Faiz Ahmed Faiz to express solidarity with the missing person.

Speaking at a press conference held on Wednesday, PU Vice Chancellor Dr Zafar Mueen Naseer said the university had filed an application with the Muslim Town police station against the kidnapping and torture of its student Suhail Ahmad.

He said a case had been registered against an individual who had been identified, but was not a student of the varsity. He added that the student union accused of torturing the PU pupil reached out to the latter and declared that he had no association with IJT.

The victim, Suhail, also toed the university line and told The Express Tribune that he was not abducted or tortured by the IJT. He identified one individual instead.

“The people who tortured me were not students of the university as I would have identified them. If they were activists of IJT, I would have identified them. The university administration have contacted me and on my request and identification, registered an FIR on my behalf,” he said.

Suhail Ahmed also said he did not make any statement about abducted activist Salman Haider. Instead, he said that he made general comments in favour of the rule of law.

Interestingly, both the victim and university administration had taken a similar stance on the involvement of IJT. When asked how a student could be taken from a hostel room to another in the presence of security guards and CCTV cameras, Suhail said the varsity was looking into the matter.

He CCTV cameras were not functioning and there was a lack of manpower against other resources.

Speaking at the press conference, Dr Zafar said he formed a committee, headed by a dean, to probe the matter. He added the security system was being centralised and security of students would be ensured. The VC said, “The problem was a mindset, which needed to be combated.”

In the meanwhile, an FIR has been registered with the Muslim Town police on the application of the university administration. The application nominated Ameer Hamza and 12 other unidentified individuals.

During the press conference, Dr Zafar was asked if he would take any action against the alleged illegal appointments of heads of departments at the varsity, including the Institute of Communication Studies (ICS). He said necessary administrative actions would be talen to combat any irregularities.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2017.