Siraj demands student unions be restored

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Senator Sirajul Haq has demanded the PTI government to lift the ban on student unions, providing millions of students an opportunity to exercise their democratic and constitutional rights and training to lead the country in future.

“Ban on student unions was imposed in Gen Zia’s regime and continued during all governments, both military and democratic, which proved their insincerity with democracy in the country,” he said while addressing a meeting with a students delegation, led by leaders of Islami Jamiat Talba at Mansoora on Tuesday. “Without the existence of independent student unions in educational institutes, genuine potential leaders will never come to light and deprived of a platform to learn and serve Pakistan,” he claimed.

Sirajul Haq lamented that governments of PTI, PML-N and PPP had badly failed to prove their democratic credentials and hoodwinked the youth with mere sloganeering and tall claims. He said the PTI government failed to bring about the promised improvement in the education sector, and its announcement of the single national curriculum was yet to see the light of day despite many deadlines, the latest of them was January 2020. He said the government made cut in higher education budget, which badly affected multiple ongoing projects and would hurt the quality of higher education. He said if the children of politicians and bureaucrats had studied in government educational institutions, only then they could have improved their standards.

He regretted that a few hundred families ruled over the country for decades, capturing the resources of Pakistan and depriving millions of people from their basic rights. He said the elite ruling over the country used their power and wealth to influence the electoral system and get their desired results.

He said there must be check on these evil practices and the youth should play their role to highlight the problems. The young generation must struggle to strengthen the Islamic and democratic values in the country. Youth is the future of Pakistan, he added.