May 13, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 7, 1429

LAHORE, May 12: The Islami Jamiat Tulaba (IJT) has condemned the Punjab University administration for what it called forced closure of the varsity, and announced that it will organise its three-day book fair at any cost as soon as the campus reopens.

IJT’s PU Nazim Zahid Naveed said at a news conference at the Student Teacher Centre (STC) on Monday the university administration was now getting all hostels vacated, but Jamiat activists would face the move by staying on the campus.

He demanded the PU administration should immediately reopen the varsity and revive academic activities on the campus. He said the university administration had no right to waste almost a week of over 31,000 students.

He said the fair was a positive and healthy activity aimed at helping the students get books on discounted rates and had become an important academic event of the PU for the last two decades.

The IJT PU Nazim said the Jamiat had contacted over 100 publishers for setting up their stalls at the book fair.

“In order to hold the book fair in a peaceful manner, the IJT contacted the PU registrar and students’ advisor, but the varsity administration refused to allow the event,” he added.

Mr Naveed said: “If the university had an objection that the book fair was being organised by students, it might constitute a teachers’ committee to organise the event.” He said the students had organised a protest rally to express their resentment over the decision.

He alleged the plan of sabotaging the book fair was made in the Governor's House and it was a move to make it a case against the restoration of students’ unions.

He warned if the Punjab government resorted to police action against the students, it would itself be responsible for the law and order situation all over the province.

Mr Naveed also condemned the PU administration for the alleged manhandling of a private TV channel’s cameraman by the varsity’s security guards while he was covering on-campus police deployment.

Meanwhile, PU student unions’ former presidents Masood Ahmad Khokhar, Abdul Shakoor, Hafeez Khan and Syed Ehsanullah Waqas expressed their strong reservations against the PU decision to stop the book fair.

ISF: The Insaf Students Federation said the closure of the university showed PU administrations’ inability to control a students’ group.

ISF convener Ahmad Muaaz said the administration should have acted wisely and organised the book fair under its supervision instead of wasting students’ academic time.

He also condemned the IJT activists for inviting non-students on the campus and issuing threats of disrupting peace in the province.

ISO: Imamia Students Organisation President Muhammad Yaqoob stressed the student unions must cooperate with the administration to create an ideal academic environment in the university.

HOSTLES VACATED: The Punjab University administration on Monday got vacated all hostels on the New Campus as almost all male and female students left for their homes to spend week-long holidays.

As students were leaving the hostels on the instructions of the university administration, some students - Muhammad Usman, Naeem, Ashraf and others told Dawn that they would return on Sunday because there was no point in "wasting" two holidays for a half-working day on Friday. They said that they would be monitoring the PU environment through media before deciding whether they should return to the varsity or not.

It is learnt that the varsity had only allowed the foreigner students to stay in the hostels.