Pakistan

Holi conundrum: KU forms 3-member committee to probe incident

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Justice (retd) Hassan Feroz to lead three-member committee.
Committee will submit recommendations within two weeks.
Students claimed they were stopped from celebrating Holi.

KARACHI: The University of Karachi Wednesday formed a three-member fact-finding committee to investigate the incident of Hindu students being allegedly stopped and beaten from celebrating Holi.

Dean Faculty of Law Justice (retd) Hassan Feroz will be the convener of the committee, while it will include three members — MPA and member of Syndicate of KU’s Sadia Javed and Assistant Professor Department of Computer Science Mukesh Kumar.

The committee has been tasked to reach out to the allegedly affected students, while it has been directed to submit its recommendation within two weeks.

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The move comes a day after some Hindu students studying at the university alleged that they had been “subjected to violence” and stopped from celebrating Holi by members of the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) — a student organisation.

Holi is a Hindu spring festival also known as the “festival of colours” and is celebrated by the Hindu community in Pakistan and worldwide with traditional and religious fervour.

The students, who organised the Holi celebration, said they belonged to the Sindhi department, and had been “tortured” for the festivities they had arranged.

“While we were celebrating Holi,” they alleged, “a number of boys from the Jamiat came and stopped us. They beat us and other students.”

A female student, in a video statement, corroborated this statement, saying while she and her classmates had been celebrating Holi, students from the IJT came and “harassed” them and beat up the male students.

In response, an official of the varsity, who wished not to be named, said that no student sought permission for celebrating Holi from the educational institution’s authorities.

“No incident of violence against students celebrating Holi was reported to the security office, student advisor, or the campus hospital,” the official said, noting that law enforcement agencies have also not reported such an incident.

The IJT, however, claimed that it had nothing to do with the incident.

IJT spokesperson Basiq Naeem told Geo News that the student organisation was not involved in the beating of students. “We respect all religions,” he added.

He also alleged that members of the nationalist organisation wanted to “promote religious hatred through baseless propaganda” and demanded that the university administration conduct a transparent investigation into the matter.

Sindh Universities Minister Ismail Rahu had taken notice of the incident and directed KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi to investigate the matter.

Latest News

Rainfall throughout the night stops flights in Lahore.

Published

17 hours ago

Farwa

Allama Iqbal International Airport experienced many hours of flight disruption due to the intense rainfall and windstorms that occurred overnight in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab.

Aviation sources claim that because of the monsoon weather, the flight operation was unable to operate between 3 and 4 am.

It is possible that the planes will arrive at the airport at 4 am.

Amidst delays in foreign airline flights, three aircraft made landings in Multan and Peshawar.

Riyadh flights arrived in Peshawar Airport, while flights scheduled to land in Lahore in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain ended up landing in Multan Airport.

Seven hours later than scheduled, the Qatar Airways flight from Doha arrived in Lahore.

Because of the bad weather, there are delays in the arrival and departure of numerous international planes.

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Changes to Pakistan’s Test team could be significant for the Bangladesh series.

Published

17 hours ago

Farwa

Major changes to Pakistan’s team are anticipated ahead of the forthcoming Test series against Bangladesh, sources in Lahore have revealed.

As the team gets ready for the series, meetings with the players are planned for next week.

It is predicted that the Test squad would undergo several changes. The team’s lineup is expected to be strengthened by the likely inclusion of Muhammad Huraira. Key players like Faheem Ashraf, Wasim Jr., Saim Ayub, and Nauman Ali, whose contributions are vital to the team’s success, struggle to get a spot on the squad.

Furthermore, according to sources, Imamul Haq or Sahibzada Farhan are anticipated to be added to the team, subject to additional assessment. Furthermore, following a fitness assessment, Amir Jamal and Hasan Ali’s futures will be determined.

The ultimate selection for the Test team will take place following Red Ball head coach Jason Gillespie’s return to Pakistan. The ultimate squad that will play Bangladesh in the forthcoming Test series will be greatly influenced by his assessments and thoughts.

Pakistan is scheduled to visit New Zealand in March and April of 2025, according to the country’s official cricket schedule, which was released earlier this month.

Throughout their visit, the Pakistan cricket team will play three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and five Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) in an exciting series.

The T20I series, which starts at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on March 16, will serve as the tour’s opening event.

Latest News

PM Meets With KP Lawmakers: Promises Progression and Relief Efforts in Province

Published

18 hours ago

Farwa

Khyber Pakhtunkhawa lawmakers are given assurances by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding the province’s development, namely in the amalgamated districts, with a particular emphasis on the provision of standard health and educational facilities.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa National and Provincial Assembly members paid a visit to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at PM House.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister stated that the PML-N Government has always given priority to the development of the combined districts.

The prime minister promised that the combined Districts would have standard health and educational facilities, and that Danish Schools would be established nearby to offer local pupils an education of the highest caliber possible.

The PM also underlined the importance of promoting solar energy, combating electricity theft, and helping the middle class and impoverished.

He said that in order to boost the agriculture sector’s growth, expand the amount of land under cultivation, and reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign fuel imports, the government was converting agricultural tubewells to solar energy nationwide.

According to PM Shehbaz Sharif, the government recently provided significant reduction from electricity rates for those with low and moderate incomes.

At the event, he also announced the creation of a committee headed by the deputy prime minister, whose goal will be to identify long-term solutions to the issues facing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s elected officials.

He argued that in order to preserve the nation from going into default, the current government had to make difficult political choices in order to revitalize the economy.

The parliamentarians gave Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif high marks for his visionary leadership in transforming Pakistan’s economy.