The Sindh High Court on Thursday adjourned until November 18 the hearing of a petition challenging the delay in student union elections, after the Universities and Boards Department once again failed to submit its reply.
During Thursday's proceedings, the court expressed displeasure that the Universities and Boards Department had once again failed to file its reply. Counsel for the petitioner Advocate Usman Farooq argued that obstacles were being created in the electoral process even during a democratic era, and authorities were deliberately avoiding submission of their response.
The petition names the chief secretary, the Universities and Boards Department, Karachi University, and other institutions as respondents. The petitioner pointed out that while Punjab and Islamabad had begun implementing student union elections — with Quaid-i-Azam University even issuing an election schedule — Sindh had yet to take any steps.
The court was reminded that the Sindh Assembly had passed the Student Union Act in 2019, and a formal notification was issued in 2022, yet no elections had been held in any university or college in the province. Advocate Farooq stressed that student unions play a crucial role in political and intellectual grooming, and many of the country's renowned politicians, intellectuals, and leaders emerged from this platform. He added that while the ban on student unions was imposed in 1984 during a dictatorial regime, democratic governments must now ensure its revival.
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