Author Topic: Comments by UoP faculty member against CII head generate controversy  (Read 600 times)

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Comments by UoP faculty member against CII head generate controversy
PESHAWAR:17 February: A controversy has generated as the administration of the University of Peshawar sought comments from a faculty member for his alleged “hate speech and vilification campaign” on social media against Council of Islamic Ideology Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz.

A group of faculty members have written a letter to Vice-Chancellor, Muhammad Asif Khan accusing Dr Inamullah Khan, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy, of resorting to hate speech and vilification campaign against Dr Qibla Ayaz on social media.
The letter from the “Elected Members Senate and Syndicate” addressed to the vice-chancellor claimed that Dr Inamullah Khan’s “posts spew venomous hate which in sensitive places like universities can cause serious problems.” The letter has demanded proper investigation into the issue.

The Registrar office sought comments from Dr Inamullah Khan within two days. “I am directed to enclose herewith self-explanatory letter along with the enclosures received from the elected members of the Senate and Syndicate for your comments with a time of two days from the date of issuance of this letter,” it said.

Dr Inamullah Khan in his reply argued that no letter without proper names and signatures could officially be entertained. “So, I will be grateful, if your kind office could let me know as under which rule or statute, this letter should be forwarded to me for comments?” he questioned.

He claimed that his personal activities on social media do not come under the Universities Act, University of Peshawar rules or statutes. “My personal activities on social media do not come under ‘The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities (Amendment) Act, 2016,’ statutes and rules of UoP,” the reply stated.

He added, “if investigations about Facebook and WhatsApp comments are to be considered to fall in the domain of KP Universities Act 2016 or UoP statutes/rules, then it would be noteworthy to mention here contextually that various worthy faculty members of UoP have been posting and sharing some harsh and poisonous kind of political/anti-state, anti-forces, anti-constitutional, anti-religious and hate-prevailing material on Facebook.”

He offered producing relative evidence including posts, pictures and videos about the involvement of some professors, whom he named in his reply, in such a heinous crime. Dr Inamullah said that if an unsigned letter could be considered for inquiry then the allegations against these professors should also be investigated.

He warned of giving evidence of such activities to “the security agencies including IB, ISI, MI and FIA (as per The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016).” He said that the allegation that he had made some poisonous comments or hate-speech on a “WhatsApp” group was actually the false interpretation of the complainants without having taken his point of view on the issues.

“Such blames and false claims could endanger my life, career, as well as my integrity, which I have earned through years. Therefore, I strongly appeal and request for the provision of security against potential threats from anti-state, secular and liberal extremists in UoP, names of whom may be disclosed in near future,” he added.

He alleged that “such anti-state elements in the UoP are brainwashing their students in their respective classes and general public on social forums, which is a severe crime in the context that their actions and speeches in their classrooms are damaging the roots of “Pakistan’s ideology, integrity and stability.”

Talking to The News, Dr Inamullah Khan said that fasiq and fajir words have been used in the Quran about sinners. He said his words were misinterpreted, adding that he had explained the status of Qibla Ayaz in the light of Quran and Sunnah. “This was not meant to cause any harm to him,” he added.

In September 2017, the Higher Education Commission Chairman Professor Dr Mukhtar Ahmed had dispatched an advisory to universities which noted that recent acts of violence and terrorism in the country had exposed involvement of university students in such disastrous incidences.

“This is quite unfortunate and underscores that intolerance, radicalisation, and extremism is on the rise, and universities present no exception to this ominous challenge. You would recall that HEC has been constantly sensitising the top leadership of the universities of possible security threats, its manifestations and how negative potencies plan, approach and organise such brutalities.”

Dr Mukhtar Ahmed’s letter asked the higher education sector to not only get rid of any involvement in acts of extremism, but institute measures that engage youth and students in gainful academic and social activities envisaging professionalism, higher moral and ethical conduct, tolerance and respect for divergence. “I am confident that with your persistent personal involvement and supervision, we could be able to develop higher education institutions as better and indisputable places of learning, training and societal development,” the letter concluded.

Registrar Dr Zahid Gul did not respond to text messages and calls made on his cell phone to seek the UoP version on the issue.The news.
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