May 11, 2005	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 2, 1426

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LAHORE, May 10: The Punjab University administration on Tuesday failed to implement the decision of its syndicate not to allow holding of a book fair by the Islami Jamiat Tulba (IJT) The syndicate, in its emergency meeting on Monday, had passed a resolution against the holding of the annual three-day book fair and computer exhibition by the IJT and authorized the vice-chancellor to take necessary steps in this regard.

A students’ committee on Tuesday morning occupied the corridors near the IER department and erected tents and set up some 50 stalls.

Some 25 policemen of the nearby police stations who were present outside the varsity premises on the request of the PU administration left the campus on the Tuesday morning following a direction from their high-ups.

Most of the publishers, according to a PU official, belonged to the Jamaat-i-Islami. Hundreds of visitors, including varsity students, participated in the fair.

The students’ wing described the holding of the fair as its success and said the administration should have patronised the event which was purely academic in nature.

Teachers of a number of departments were upset over the administration’s failure in not implementing the syndicate resolution.

Requesting anonymity, they said the chief minister had directed heads of all educational institutions in the Punjab several months ago to implement the ban on the activities of student wings of political parties. The governor, they added, had claimed on several occasions that the political elements had been eliminated from the campuses.

They called for VC’s resignation for his “mishandling of the matter and allowing a student group to hijack the university.”

Official sources told Dawn that some of administration officials had asked the VC to use force to stop the event. But the VC followed the “advice from outside that the government did not want clash with the students’ wing at this stage.”

Meanwhile, the administration has constituted another committee, third in a row and headed by the Academic Staff Association president, to negotiate with the students’ wing over the issue. The two committees already formulated on the issue had met with failures. One of the members of the new committee visited the fair and reportedly appreciated the students’ wing for holding the ‘successful event’.

PU registrar Prof Dr Naeem Khan said the issue was university’s internal matter. The administration, he said, would not use force to refrain students from holding such events even in future.

He said a committee of senior faculty members was holding talks with the students to make them realize the importance of discipline.

He said the syndicate’s decision was binding on all students and faculty. The sanctity and supremacy of the syndicate would be upheld at all cost.

He said a majority of students stayed away from the fair whereas no known bookseller or publisher had turned up.