NP to participate in ‘Azadi march’

Dr Malik launches broadside against federal govt for jailing opposition leaders

QUETTA: National Party (NP) President Dr Abdul Malik Baloch has announced that his party would participate in the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) anti-government ‘Azadi march’ to Islamabad scheduled to take place on October 31.

“Pakistan is going through the worst economic crisis in its history. Inflation is soaring but the PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] government is not serious towards addressing the public issues,” the former Balochistan chief minister told reporters.

The NP president also launched a broadside against the federal government for jailing opposition leaders.

“The economy can’t be revamped by arresting opposition members in fake corruption cases,” he added.

Dr Malik said the people of Balochistan continued to remain deprived of basic facilities and the law and order situation in the province was also worsening because of poor governance.

The NP president also expressed his concerns over the sacking of 117 teachers, most of women, in Turbat.

Speaking on the University of Balochistan scandal, the former chief minister criticised the provincial government’s attitude towards the issue.

“The parliamentary committee [formed to investigate the issue] has been fighting over the chairmanship and that shows their lack of seriousness towards this matter.”

The Balochistan Assembly’s Parliamentary Committee constituted to probe into the alleged blackmailing and harassment scandal at the University of Balochistan could not start its investigation as it failed to elect its chairman in its first meeting.

The 10-member body, which met to elect the chairman and start a probe into the scandal, postponed the meeting till October 23 after divided response over the nomination of candidates for the top slot.

The scandal had come to light about a month ago when the Balochistan High Court (BHC) directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate reports of students being harassed on the campus

The FIA later discovered that male and female students were being blackmailed by some staff members through ‘objectionable’ videos of them, recorded through CCTV cameras hidden at various places on the campus including its washrooms.

Professor Dr Kaleem Ullah Barech, representing the Academic Staff Association, had said their association had raised voice against varsity administration, including its financial and ethical corruption, for last several years.

Students, protesting under the banner of the Students Educational Alliance, have alleged that the university’s vice chancellor was responsible for the entire scandal as he was the “head of the blackmailers and protecting the culprits”.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2019.