Balochistan University professor’s funeral held

KARACHI: Funeral prayers for Balochistan University professor Nazima Talib’s were told in Gulshan Umer mosque in al Noor, Karachi, on Wednesday.

The professor’s brother, Mehmood Talib, said that Nazima’s death has left a deep vacuum in the university. “We used to try to convince her to come to Karachi because of the uncertain law and order situation in Balochistan,” he said. “But she was so brave and so dedicated to her profession that she always turned down our requests.” Nazima’s other sibling, Ziauddin, said that it was the government’s duty to arrest her murderers. The 50-year-old Mass Communications professor was attacked by masked men on a motorcycle on Tuesday.

She was shot twice in the head and taken to Civil Hospital, Quetta, where she died. A Balochistan Liberation Army spokesman has claimed responsibility for her murder. He said that it was to avenge the killing of two Baloch women in Quetta and Pasni and the torture of female political workers. PPI adds that Professor Talib’s killing was condemned by the Working Women Support Centre (WWSC). The murder reveals the gravity of the threats faced by working women in Pakistan, said WWSC Project Coordinator Nazish Ibrahim.

Women who choose to work have to suffer harassment, discrimination and death threats. The government should take action to ensure that women across the country are secure in and out of their workplaces, she added. Expressing admiration for Professor Talib, students and colleagues said that she used to take deep interest in the students’ problems and tried to help them as much in every way she could.