KARACHI, Jan 29: The Punjabi Students' Association (PSA) has always been striving for a peaceful academic environment at education centres, but the rivalry of two student groups is causing hardships for the students at city colleges.

These views were expressed by PSA, Karachi, Central, Chairman Ziaul Haq Babar, while speaking at association's central emergency session, held at the Dow Medical College today.

The meeting was attended by unit presidents and general secretaries of 12 colleges of the city. On the occasion, Mr Baber expressed grief over demise of an activist of a students group, who was allegedly killed in a shootout between two groups at the Government College of Commerce and Economics, though the deceased was reportedly an 'outsider.'

Speaking on the occasion, PSA Vice-Chairman Amjad Bhatti and its General Secretary Rana Shahid criticized Sindh government for not inviting PSA, which he claimed, had been existing at the city educational institutes for the last 36 years, to an emergency meeting of student groups, called by Sindh Home Advisor Aftab Shaikh.

They further alleged that the government was not interested in maintaining peace at educational centres and appealed to President Musharraf to look into the situation and bring those elements to task who were playing with carriers of innocent students. PSA demanded of provincial authorities to re-call a meeting of all student groups including PSA.-PPI