Fighting terrorism: Monitoring of hostels ordered

Khanzada also orders action against lecturers having links with banned groups

LAHORE:

Home Minister Shuja Khanzada directed vice chancellors of all universities on Tuesday to strictly monitor their hostels and take action against those staying there illegally.

“Those visiting hostels frequently should be checked,” the minister told a meeting of vice chancellors at Civil Secretariat. He said lecturers having links with banned organisations should not be allowed to teach.

“If a faculty member is found to have links with a banned organisation, the university administration should contact the Counter-Terrorism Department at the toll-free number: 0800-11111,” he said. He asked university authorities to invite guests only after getting security clearance. He asked them to immediately inform the Counter-Terrorism Department in case of any suspicious activity on the campuses.



The minister said duty officers would attend the toll-free number round-the-clock. He said the names of informers would not be disclosed to anyone. He said that regional heads of the Counter-Terrorism Force would contact the vice chancellor concerned soon after receiving a call at the number.

Khanzada ordered that mosques on university premises should also be monitored. No one should be allowed to stay at mosques during the night, he said. The minister said there were reports that some people wanted to use students of engineering and medical colleges for their nefarious designs.

He said the war against terrorism was a national cause. He said the government was implementing a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism. The home secretary, the IGP and the higher education secretary attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2015.