ISLAMABAD: Tension griped International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) on Thursday night after a culture night planned as a part of the ongoing culture week could not be held due to pressure from a right-wing student group.

The culture week will conclude on Friday. Sources said some students affiliated with a religious political party were against the holding of the culture night.

A group of students who wanted to hold the culture night staged a protest demonstration demanding the university administration ensure the event went ahead smoothly.

The sources said because of the protest, students of evening classes faced difficulties as the bus service of the university got delayed.

When contacted, IIUI spokesman Nasir Farid said there was a dispute between the two students groups. One of the groups wanted to hold the culture night on Thursday but the other was of the view that it should be held after a few weeks - after the mid-term examinations.

When asked whether the students affiliated with a religious political party had forced the IIUI not to allow the culture night, he said: “There was no issue between two students groups over the event rather they differ on the date of the culture night.” He said the IIUI administration was holding meetings with both the groups to resolve the issue amicably.

On the other hand, some officials of the IIUI said the culture night was a part of the culture week but the student adviser office apparently because of pressure from a students’ group decided not to hold it. To this, the other students under the banner of Islamic University Students Federation on Thursday night held a protest demonstration.

In 2014, the IIUI removed the dean of the faculty of management sciences and a student adviser for organising a three-day Model United Nations in which an “Israeli cultural stall” was also set up. That action drew the ire of rightwing organisations, including the IIUI chapter of the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT), which staged a demonstration outside the National Press Club to condemn the stall.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2018