KARACHI, Sept 11: The former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice (retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, linking the proper functioning of the education sector and the judiciary with the progress of a society, underscored the need for strengthening the two.

He was speaking at a reception held in the honour of the passing-out students and the newcomers at the Criminology department at the University of Karachi on Monday night.

The dean of the KU Arts faculty, Dr Mohammad Shamsuddin, appreciated the students for taking interest in criminology studies, as according to him, the subject had gained importance in today’s social setup.

The chairman of the department, Dr Fateh Mohammad Burfat, informed the gathering that the University of Karachi had the distinction of being the first institution of the country where masters’ level studies in criminology had been started with the cooperation of the Sindh police in 1960.

Additional IG Niaz Ahmed Siddiqui said that studies in criminology created awareness among students about strategies to prevent crime and the psychological aspect of criminals.

Sindh IG Prisons Mohammad Yamin Khan highlighted the importance of the subject in checking anti-social tendencies.

Sindh Prosecutor-General Dr Rana Shamim threw light on the background of law and crimes. Columnist Col (retd) Mukhtar Butt, teachers and students of criminology and population sciences departments also spoke.

Later, Mr Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui gave away shields and prizes to final year students.

—PPI