LOWER DIR: The Adenzai Qaumi Jirga elders and the Students’ Jirga members representing students of the University of Malakand, on Thursday made no headway in talks over student Musa Khan’s death in a road accident after his expulsion.

The students boycotted their annual exam, locked all departments, and staged a sit-in on campus, where they offered Fateha for Musa.

The Students Jirga, led by Maaz Khan, reiterated the demands for the dismissal of Vice Chancellor Prof Rashid Ahmad, Pro-VC Dr Attaur Rehman, Provost Dr Janis Khan, chief proctor Dr Aziz and hostel warden Habib Khan over the incident.

They met the Adenzai Qaumi Jirga elders in Chakdara and informed them of their demands before meeting the university’s administration.

UoM students boycott annual exam, lock depts

The students announced that the protest would continue until their demands were accepted.

Musa Khan, a student of the UoM’s journalism and mass communication department, was killed in a road accident on May 30 after his alleged expulsion from the hostel at night for playing rabab.

Adenzai Qaumi Jirga elders, including Khurshid Ali and Aman Khan of the PPP, Syed Sultanat Yar Bukhari of the Jamaat-i-Islami, Haji Javed Iqbal of the JUI-F, Fakhruz Zaman of the PTI, and others, first met the UoM administration at the Chakdara Fishing Hut and informed it about the students’ demands.

The talks lasted three hours. The university’s administration agreed to accept all student demands related to it.

Jirga leaders Syed Sultanat Yar and Khurshid Ali later confirmed the development during a media talk in the presence of Vice Chancellor Prof Rashid Ahmad, the Adenzai AAC, and representatives of teachers.

They said the university’s administration had agreed to accept the students’ demands, while those related to the provincial government and the governor would be taken with the relevant quarters.

The elders later met members of the Students Jirga, who demanded the sacking of the pro-VC, provost, chief proctor, and hostel warden and said they wouldn’t call off protests until the demand was met.

The Adenzai elders asked them in vain to end the protest and sit the annual exam.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the university teachers’ association led by Dr Samiur Rehman met members of the Students Jirga and agreed to their demands.

DEMOLISHED: The district administration on Thursday demolished several illegal buildings, shops, and kiosks on the roadside during its anti-encroachment crackdown.

The action was taken on the orders of the Supreme Court, according to officials.

They said the TMA-owned shops near the Timergara bus stand, a food godown in the main city, and the boundary wall of the district headquarters hospital in Timergara would also be pulled down.

Deputy commissioner Wasil Khan told reporters that ahead of the crackdown, the administration issued notices to the encroachers for the removal of illegal structures.

He said dozens of illegally built plazas and shops were pulled down with the help of heavy machinery, while other roadside encroachments, including pushcarts, were removed.

Meanwhile, the DC met trader leaders Haji Anwaruddin, Laiqzada and Sajjad Khan and urged them to support the anti-encroachment action.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2024