LUMS apologises to Asad Umar for cancelling scheduled event

He had been invited to a talk there.

LAHORE: The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) apologised to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Asad Umar on Tuesday for cancelling an event in which he was to address its students.

The talk was scheduled to feature his experiences on entering politics and the role of the youth in politics.

The apology came after Umar tweeted that the vice chancellor had cancelled the event at the last minute.

The talk, titled Why Pakistan Needs You, was being organised by the Law and Politics Society. It had been scheduled for 7.30pm on Tuesday.

In one of his tweets on Monday evening, Umar said he had served on the LUMS Board of Trustees for five years “…and now suddenly I am a threat to campus peace”.

Society office-bearers were not available for comment on the situation on the record. Tweets by Umar had triggered a social media campaign.

#ShameOnLUMSVC was one of the top trends.

The university issued a statement on Tuesday: “The Law and Politics Society at LUMS had requested permission to invite Mr Asad Umar to come and speak on his journey from the corporate sector to politics. This permission was granted in accordance with long-standing LUMS policy that events on campus should be educational and follow a disciplined and rule-governed approach in the pursuit of knowledge.

“Subsequently, posters not approved by the Office of Student Affairs were put up all over campus in which the event appeared to have been converted primarily into a political rather than educational event in breach of the policy. It was, therefore, decided to cancel Mr Asad Umar’s speech.

“LUMS regrets the inconvenience caused to Mr Asad Umar by the cancellation of the event. LUMS also recognises that it would have been preferable to contact Mr Umar prior to the cancellation so as to clarify the nature of his speech. Mr Asad Umar is welcome to come and speak on the LUMS campus at any time, albeit in accordance with our policies regarding public events.”

Meanwhile, Umar announced that after the event was cancelled, he had invited students to the Lalik Jan Chowk where PTI has been staging a sit-in since August. He was already scheduled to speak there to PTI supporters.

PTI Punjab information secretary Andleeb Abbas said that while it was the university’s prerogative to make any such decision, it was disappointing that the talk had been cancelled.

“Political exposures should be part of our youth’s education,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2014.