PESHAWAR, Oct 13: The Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) has said that it has decided to launch a province-wide campaign to press the federal and provincial governments allow holding elections for representative bodies of students.

“The absence of student unions in educational institutions has been fanning violence among the students,” said IJT provincial president Atiqur Rahman while announcing the decision at a press conference here on Thursday.

He said ‘Taleem Bachao, Mulk Bachao’ would be the theme of the campaign featuring various programmes.

He said that they would first carry out wall chalking. A black day will be observed on September 6, to be followed by a students’ referendum across the province on November 7 and a ‘huge’ students rally in Peshawar on November 23.

He urged the federal and provincial governments to organise the students’ elections. He particularly asked MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad and NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani to honour the commitment they made as part of their election manifesto and restore student unions in the province.

Mr Rahman said if the provincial government did not take practical steps for restoration of student unions and announce schedule for elections, students would unite and take to roads in protest.

He said these were necessary for resolving students’ problems, and rejected the perception that they caused confrontation in educational institutions.

“It is in fact the absence of student unions that caused confrontation in education institutions,” he said and presented statistics in support of his claim.

The IJT provincial chief said that the ‘Taleem Bachao, Mulk Bachao’ campaign would also strive to counter the ‘secular changes’ being made in the country’s educational system at the behest of the US.

“Islamic system of education is a must for Pakistan,” he said.

Provincial general secretary of IJT Khalid Waqas Chamkani, secretary information Nizamuddin and Peshawar district president Sabir Shah were also present.—PPI