Teachers injured as police break varsities employees protest

PESHAWAR: Scores of university teachers sustained injuries and 24 were arrested on Monday when police resorted to baton charge and used tear gas shells against the faculty members of different universities of the province, who had gathered outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to press for acceptance of their demands.

The teachers from the public sector universities and non-teaching employees announced a boycott of academci activities in all the public sector universities of the province.

None of the universities would remain open for any academic or non-academic activities throughout the province until a formal apology is tendered to the protesting employees and all their demands are unconditionally accepted, declared Dr Fazle Nasir, central vice-president of the Federation of All Pakistan Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) and president Peshawar University Teachers Association (PUTA), while talking to The News.

“Only gardeners and other necessary staffer members responsible for supplying water to plants and humans would be allowed to perform duties. No other function would be performed anywhere in any of the universities of the province,” he said.

A huge police contingent equipped with tear gas guns, batons and riot shields, used force against the protesting professors and other staff members outside the KP Assembly.

Senior professors were seen having their clothes torn up. Some had sustained injuries and were being shifted to the hospital. “At least 16 of the university professors and other employees got injured and were shifted to the hospitals. Twenty-two, including provincial president of FAPUASA Dr Shah Alam and general secretary Dr Sadiq Ali were arrested and First Information Reports were registered against them,” Fazle Nasir said.

It may be mentioned here that the teachers of different universities were unhappy with the financial reforms in the universities and the government’s inability to overcome the financial crunch in the majority of the universities. The Higher Education Department had circulated a letter among all the universities which stressed the administrations to cut allowances and other perks of the employees.

The teachers were also not happy with the cut in the budget for higher education due to which the universities were facing financial problems. They took up the matter with the quarters concerned time and again but no concrete step was taken to accept their demands.

Finally, they gave a call for a protest campaign from the platform of FAPUASA, which was kicked off on Thursday last week.

When even after three big protest demonstrations on the campus of the University of Peshawar the government remained unmoved, they decided to launch a march towards the provincial assembly building.

On Monday a big procession of teaching and non-teaching staff of different universities was taken out from the University of Peshawar, which marched towards the assembly building which is nearly 10 kilometers away from the campus.

It took four hours to the teachers to reach the assembly building and during the time the road remained closed, causing severe traffic jams. When the teachers reached near Suri Pull, cops were already there. It started baton charge and used tear gas to disperse the protesting employees which resulted in injuries to a number of the protesters and several others were arrested.

The protesting employees then went to Peshawar Press Club where they held an emergency press conference.

Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari while condemning the police brutality against teachers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said on one hand KP government is cutting staff allowances and on the other, the government is claiming economic growth.

“What a strange increase in the economic growth rate is this that the budget of higher education institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is being cut,” he said in while condemning the police action against the teachers n Khyber Pukhtunkhwa in a statement on Monday .

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa university professors have been protesting for five days and the government has not been able to at least listen to their problems. “When there can be a Provincial Higher Education Commission in Sindh, why can’t there be one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he asked.

He said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf federal government has given less of its budget to the universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari demanded that more than 15 teachers sustained injuries while protesting for their rights by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and should be given free medical treatment.

He asked where is the justice in handcuffing 22 teachers including grade 21 Ph. D professors. Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari demanded the immediate release of arrested staff of universities in the KP province.

He said that on the one hand, the budget of KP universities has been reduced and on the other, students are being burdened by increasing university fees. He deplored the baton charge and tear gas shelling on respected teachers.