15 October 2004	Friday	29 Shaban 1425

KARACHI, Oct 14: Following a police action against them in Karachi on Thursday, college teachers decided to boycott all sorts of academic activities in government colleges throughout the province on October 15 and 16.

Police surrounding the Sindh D.J. Science College since morning did not allow teachers to enter the college for a scheduled meeting of their general body at 11am. Some of the teachers were confined in the college, while a number of other teachers were picked up by police and taken to various police stations, where they were detained for hours, said an eye witness.

After getting information about police action against the teachers, the Education Secretary, Nadir Ali Markhiani, also visited the D.J. Science College and stayed there till the time the teachers taken into custody were released and dropped back at the college.

Confirming the action against college teachers, a senior police official of the Saddar Town, said that police acted in line with directives from high-ups in the government and detained 16 teachers, who were released after an hour.

"The teachers were given due respect and offered chairs in the police station, before they were allowed to go," the police official stated on condition of anonymity.

A senior teacher coming down from interior Sindh for the general body meeting said he had been informed that on receiving information about the manhandling of teachers in Karachi, educational activities were put off at colleges in Hyderabad and other cities on Thursday.

Speaking at a hurriedly-called press conference at the D.J. Science College, leaders of the SPLA condemned the alleged hostilities of police and demanded for immediate removal of the TPO Saddar, Sanaullah Abbasi.

President, SPLA Prof Riaz Ahsan said the police, without giving any reason, had stopped teachers from entering the D.J. Science College and also resorted to disgracing them as well.

Some 300 to 350 teachers, including 40-50 female teachers were humiliated and pushed or thrown into police vehicles like animals and taken into custody. While on the other hand, cash, cellular phones and documents were also snatched away from them, they added, saying that what had been meted out to the most conscious segment of society was highly deplorable.

They informed that following the efforts of the education secretary, the arrested teachers were released and the general body was held, with Riaz Ahsan in the chair.

At one stage, Prof Riaz said that the education secretary also addressed the teachers and mentioned that he or his department had never asked the police for such an action, and that he was sorry for what happened with the teachers that day.

According to the SPLA leaders, the education secretary had promised on Thursday that notifications pertaining to all agreed issues would be issued within a week's time.

In the meantime, the Adviser to the City Nazim on Education, Nasim Siddiqui, also expressed his resentment over the police action and held that it was uncalled for, adding that the city government would move the provincial government on the issue.

The SPLA said that black flags would be hoisted at colleges throughout the province on October 15 and 16, protest meetings would be held and teachers would boycott all teaching and non-teaching activities. A meeting of the SPLA's high-powered committee would be held on October 18 to decide the association's future line of action.