Punjab University Academic Staff Association condemns teacher’s arrest

Lahore: The Punjab University Academic Staff Association has expressed its concern over the arrest of teachers from campus without any prior intimation to the administration.

In their press statement, PU ASA President Prof Dr Hassan Mobeen Alam, vice presidents Prof Dr Abid Hussain Chaudhry, Dr Faheem Aftab, Secretary Dr Mahboob Hussain and others said that there are serious reservations among the university teachers over the arrest of PU College of Information Technology’s Assistant Professor Umar Nawaz and Institute of Administrative Science’s Assistant Professor Dr Amir Saeed.

They said that since this incident took place without informing administration, terrorists could also use the same way adopted by the personnel of sensitive agency and it would be difficult for PU security staff to distinguish between sensitive agency officials and terrorists. They said that Umer Nawaz was Hostel Number 1’s superintendent and security personnel entered his house after breaking the gate and picked him up while Dr Amir Saeed was arrested from Bachelor Male Teacher’s hostel.

They said that such a humiliating action against university teachers on the basis of doubt was inhumane and immoral. They said that teachers were government employees, live with their families and they were not running anywhere. They said that teachers were armless and if any sensitive agency doubted any teacher, they could simply summon him to its office or any place and any teacher was ready to comply with their instructions to join any investigation.

Any ‘suspected’ teacher can voluntarily cooperate with sensitive agencies but this is not the way to behave with teachers, they added. The ASA has also summoned emergency meeting of general body on Tuesday December 15 at 11:30am at the auditorium of Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology.