IJT protests music played during UoP cultural event

A seminar titled ‘Peace Building through FATA Reforms’ featured a Pashto poetry and music session

PESHAWAR: Yet another university event celebrating arts and culture was marred by the Islamia Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT). This time the student group staged a protest against an event at the University of Peshawar (UoP), and called the administration to put a stop to it.

A seminar on ‘Peace Building through Fata Reforms’ was held on Monday at the varsity’s Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) in collaboration with the non-profit Equal Access. The event was set to feature a session on Pashto poetry and music.

However, after learning about the programme, member of IJT began protesting against the event complaining that music was being played. They subsequently called the administration claiming that the event was “spreading vulgarity” on campus and should be stopped.

IPCS head Professor Jamil Ahmad Chitrali told The Express Tribune that since the event’s theme was peace building in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), several students who hailed from the tribal areas had been invited along with musicians and poets.

According to Chitrali, local folk music was being played at the venue but the administration called the event’s organisers and told them to stop the music.

“When the event ended, police and administration officials standing outside along with IJT activists confiscated the musical instruments from our guests,” he said.

Chitrali added that the instruments were only returned following his repeated requests to the police.

When asked whether the department had sought the requisite permission from the administration to hold the event, the professor claimed that according to university rules, a department head can hold a function in his respective department and does not need express permission from the administration.

He added that the dean of the faculty had also been invited to the event, but he did not show.

Meanwhile, UoP Spokesperson Rafiullah told The Express Tribune that permission is indeed required to stage an event, which the department did not seek prior to the event. “Legally, a permission letter is needed to hold any event in the university,” he said. “Moreover, all sorts of musical events on campus have been completely banned for the last four years.”

IJT’s general secretary on campus Dost Muhammad Khan said for the past few years Professor Chitrali has been trying to “spread secularism on campus”, which would not be tolerated.

He said under the university ‘s rules, professional musicians were not allowed to perform in events on campus where boys and girls could mingle. “In the event arranged by IPCS, both male and female students were performing the Attan dance together, which is shameful for an educational institute,” he said. He claimed the IJT did not interfere in the function nor did it forcibly stop it. “We just held a peaceful protest against the spread of vulgarity.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2017.