‘Violence is a fair answer to tyranny’

LSE team wins five-day English event, UCL lifts Urdu trophy.

LAHORE: “Violence is the last resort. Dictatorship is wrong inprinciple because it does notallow opposition.

Violent reactionsare thus justified,”speakers argued on the final day of the 16th All Pakistan Parliamentary Debates organisedby the GovernmentCollege University (GCU) Debating Society.

More than 70 teams participatedin the five-day Urdu and English competitions thatended on Monday.Eight teams of two memberseach competed at the BukhariAuditorium on the final day.

Two teams from the Lahore School of Economics (LSE), twofrom Salamat International Campus for Advanced Studies(SICAS), and one each from the Combined Military HospitalMedical College (CMH), the University of Engineeringand Technology (UET), the University College Lahore(UCL) and the Punjab MedicalCollege (PMC) had qualified for the final round.

The topic for the English debate was ‘This house wouldgive people the right of armedstruggle against dictatorial regimes.The competition waswon by an LSE team.

Supporters of the proposition said that humanitarian intervention cannot be undertaken with violence. ShirazChishti, a member of the winningteam, said, “In principle whenever a right is given it ison the basis of a benefit.

"The topic for the Urdu debatewas ‘Pakistan can be free fromthe American suppression. It was won by the UCL team. The Best English Debater awardwas presented to Fatima Bukhari from the UCL. Hafiz Arslan from the SICAS wonthe Best Urdu Debater award.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2011.