KARACHI: The Karachi University Teachers’ Society (Kuts) has expressed deep concerns and regret over what it called an unfortunate incident in the varsity’s Staff Town where a senior professor “faced verbal abuse and alleged physical assault by an armed personnel”.

In a statement, Kuts expressed concern over the attack on Prof Afaq Ahmad Siddiqui of the faculty of pharmacy and called for an impartial investigation into the matter.

“It is deeply troubling that a respected academic, who has dedicated his life to education and research, was subjected to such behaviour,” it said.

The teachers’ body demanded an appropriate action against those responsible and urged the Rangers’ top leadership to take a serious notice of the incident and play its role in maintaining a peaceful and respectful environment on the campus.

Kuts demands Rangers leadership to take notice of attack on Prof Afaq Siddiqui

“The teachers of the University of Karachi have always respected state institutions and we expect this respect to be mutual so that a relationship of trust and cooperation between institutions and men of knowledge is established,” the statement concluded.

The incident came to light when Prof Siddiqui narrated his ordeal to the Kuts leadership and university administration via a WhatsApp voice message on Tuesday night.

Prof Siddiqui, who lives in KU Staff Town for the past many years, said his next-door neighbour was a senior Rangers official. He said that for the past some time, garbage was being burnt regularly outside his residence as a means to “repel mosquitoes affecting goats kept on the premises”.

He added that on the evening of July 15, he returned home after Maghrib prayers and saw burning garbage. He approached a guard posted at the residence and requested him not to burn the garbage and cited health concerns due to the smoke.

However, a verbal exchange ensued, during which the guard misbehaved with him and then slapped him on the face, damaging his spectacles and causing an injury to his eye, the professor said, adding that other residents gathered and he was taken to the university clinic, where a doctor examined his eye.

When contacted, Prof Siddiqui confirmed the incident. However, he was reluctant to share more details.

The KU campus security adviser and a spokesperson for the Sindh Rangers did not respond when Dawn reached out to them for their version.

However, a KU official told Dawn that Vice Chancellor Prof Khalid Mahmood Iraqi met Prof Siddiqui and following that, the university administration held a meeting with senior officials of Rangers, asking them for an immediate and strict action against those involved.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2025