Sindh urged to make draft bill compliant with constitutional, international commitments

Speakers at a discussion on Wednesday on the restoration of student unions demanded of the Sindh government to make the draft law fully compliant with the constitutional provisions and the provisions of international commitments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Various students’ outfits that are part of recently formed student alliances for the restoration of unions organised the discussion with the support of civil society organisations.

Renowned jurist Justice (retd) Rasheed A Razvi presided over the discussion, while known rights activists and academics Karamat Ali, Prof Dr Tauseef Ahmed and Dr Riaz Shaikh, and leaders of various student groups attended the meeting.

The event coincided with the students’ movement of 1953, when on January 8 students were attacked by the then government of Khawaja Nazim Uddin and 26 students and common people were killed. Speakers hailed the Sindh government for devising the draft bill for the restoration of student unions in the province. However, they also criticised its provisions, which were, according to them, restrictive in nature.

Demanding that the unions should be restored with full fundamental rights, speakers stressed that law must restore full fundamental rights for the students, including the right to strike against excesses of the university administration. There should be more representation of female students in the unions, and the unions should have enhanced representation in the decision-making bodies such as the university syndicate, university senate, and academic council as well as in other mechanisms, they said.

They also demanded that the government should consult students’ bodies before moving the draft bill to the assembly and passing it.

Razvi recalled how the student unions contributed to the democratic movement in Pakistan. He was of the view that political parties also played a negative role, which resulted in the fall of a students’ movement. He suggested that the demand for the restoration of students’ unions should be beyond political affiliations and considerations.

He said, “We can demand more but mere the restoration of unions would be a first step in the right direction,” he added.

Razvi suggested that a provision for financial aid was important in the bill so that the students’ unions would have their own resources. He said that terms like good order and discipline needed to be defined. He suggested that office-bearers of the students unions should also be mentioned and defined in the law so no manipulation was done.

Ahmed said that January 8 is a day of resistance when in 1953 the Democratic Students Federation, a left-leaning student group started a movement, which was ruthlessly crushed. “It was the first movement after Pakistan independence, in which 26 people were killed.”

“Now when the government is considering restoring students’ unions after 36 years, it is quite important that it is fully democratic. This gap has resulted in undemocratic attitudes,” he said.

Sindhu Nawaz, a student leader, said that young people were deprived of representation. There was a huge students’ resistance movement all around the world, and Pakistani students were awake now and would no more remain quite, he added.

“Students are being suppressed in universities of Sindh because they demand their fair rights. There is a shortage of facilities and sexual harassment is the main issue, but no one is raising this issue,” she said and demanded that the students unions should be restored in the entire country.

Dr Aimal, a DSF member, said Pakistan’s major population, around 64 per cent, was under the age 30 years, but there was no voice of this young population at any forum. Universities were nurseries of democracy and full restoration of students’ unions would strengthen democracy in the country, he said. Leaders from the People’s Students Federation, the Jammu & Kashmir National Front, the Progressive Students Collective, the Progressive Students Federation and other groups also spoke.