FAPUASA condemns arrest of Urdu university teachers

ISLAMABAD: Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) strongly condemned the arrest of more than two dozen teachers of the Federal Urdu University of Arts Science and Technology (FUUAST) including female teachers.

During a protest rally at FUUAST-Islamabad Campus, Dr Shehzad Ashraf, president of Islamabad Chapter said teachers were protesting peacefully against the attempts to reinstate the ex-vice chancellor Salman D Muhammad, who was initially deposed because of proven plagiarism charges.

The PhD thesis of Salman was cancelled by the syndicate of Karachi University after an inquiry initiated by HEC report on the verdict of the court. Salman was also alleged of other malpractices including corruption and nepotism.

Shehzad said the arrests have created unrest among the faculty members of public sector universities across Pakistan.

He said that the teachers of FUUAST are facing several problems, effecting the overall environment of the varsity.

Demanding cancellation of reinstatement of Salman as professor, he said selection board should be called as soon as possible to bring senior faculty in Islamabad campus as well as in the main campus. The role of elected teachers in decision making forums of FUUAST must be strengthened. The institutes are built on democratic norms, which ensures proper share in decision making of all the stake holders and by ensuring transparency in the affairs of the varsity.

The teachers of Islamabad campus of FUUAST also raised slogan against the plagiarist Salman. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2018.