Ok so here is an update on my previous post. This is a long one, but I’ve tried to summarise several news reports at the beginning before pasting them in full. Read the next couple of paragraphs if you would like a summary of what’s been happening.
1. Summary
My source, who has contacted Dr Sultana and others at QAU, states:
- The assailant has been transferred to Adiala jail i.e. he did NOT get bail.
- Dr Sultana filed the FIR as an individual, not the QAU as an institution. This means that Dr Sultana is now even more vulnerable with regards to her personal safety, especially as numerous “relatives” of the perpetrator are coming over and begging Dr Sultana for forgiveness and a retraction of her FIR — at least one of whom has been identified/ recognized as a member of an unnamed “agency”.
Here is a summary of the newspaper reports posted below:
- Most newspapers have reported this incident truthfully, giving an honest account of the attacker’s motives. However, the Daily Times report has given it a love angle and turned it into an estranged lover’s story. There is enough to suggest that that’s untrue and that Dr Sultana was attacked because she was not wearing a hijab.
- Students of Lal Masjid have acquired wireless communication sets for fast communication with permission from the Islamabad Frequency Allocation Board (IFAB). This is a couple of weeks after the government started ‘Operation Lal Deen’ against these students. The IFAB have also allocated these students a separate frequency. 25 students have been given these wireless sets and assigned different areas to track the movement of law enforcement agencies.
- The Islamabad City Magistrate says he can do nothing about it, even if they are being used against the government, if the sets have been acquired legally with the permission of IFAB.
2. Daily Times’ warped report
QAU female teacher beaten
ISLAMABAD: A day after an outsider beat up a female teacher at the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) on Tuesday, the university decided to raise boundary walls around its departments for the security of its staff and students. A university official said the QAU administration had made repeated requests to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for the demarcation of its 1,700 acre land but to no avail. He said the government had not yet provided funds to the varsity. He said the QAU administration had decided to use funds provided for different projects to raise boundary walls. A young man on Monday entered the female teacher’s office and beat her up until students and guards came to her rescue. Police later arrested the man said to be the teacher’s former student and once in love with her. When contacted, QAU Resident Officer Fayyaz Chaudhry confirmed the incident.
3. The Nation - Editorial on the issue 9 may 2007
JUST a couple of days after the Lal Masjid/ Jamia Hafsa clerics made offensive remarks about the Quaid-i-Azam University and its students, an extremist attacked a female academic at the university, an Associate Professor of History, while she was busy talking to her students. The madman was raving on something about a vision he had instructing him to take action against immodest women at the university (contra the Daily Times report). The Quaid-i-Azam University is the country’s premier public sector institution. In 2006, the HEC ranked it the number one university in the general category. Its student body, though progressive, represents a demographic than is at least more conservative than a number of the nation’s private universities. Though armed vigilantism against any university is unjustified and deplorable, the QAU doesn’t deserve this slander even within this group’s flawed framework. In the wake of this incident, the government needs to accord the university its requisite security. Going by the trajectory of recent events, it wouldn’t be far from this government’s incompetence to let the university go the way of the children’s library.
4. The Post - news item on FRONT PAGE (top half):
*Wednesday, May 9, 2007
*Lal Masjid students get wireless sets*ISLAMABAD: Seminary students of Lal Masjid have acquired wireless communication system in order to have easy and fastest correspondence between them, sources told the Post Tuesday.
More than 25 students have been provided wireless sets and also assigned different zones to keep a check on the movement of law enforcement agencies, sources said.
According to inside sources, Lal Masjid administration decided to equip their intelligence with latest communication system at the time when the ties between the government and Lal Masjid are not posing well. With the help of latest communication system , it has become easy for the individuals of Lal Masjid intelligence to impart immediate information to their administration about any movement of law enforcement agencies , at the time when government decided to launch ‘ Operation Lal Deen’ a couple of weeks ago , sources said.
When contacted, Islamabad City Magistrate, Farasat Ali Khan told the Post that Lal Masjid administration got permission from Frequency Allocation Board Islamabad to use wireless communication system and the Board allocated a separate frequency. According to Communication Act, police can take action against the individuals having illegal wireless system. In case if the company or individuals gets a licence from FAB for use of wireless system, we can not stop them using this facility even if they are using it against government, Farasat Khan said.
Meanwhile Lal Masjid administrator, Mualana Abdul Aziz said that Minister for Religious Affair Ejazul Haq narrated one sided story to Imam-e-Kaaba. He had committed a sin by providing Imam-e-Kaaba a false story regarding ‘Lal Masjid Crisis’, he added. It was not fair to take Fatwa from Imam-e-Kaaba against seminary students of Lal Masjid, on the basis of false and one sided story, Mualana said. In case if we put before Imam-e-Kaaba the story of major crisis ongoing in the country, we are sure that Imam-e-Kaaba will also give Fatwa against the government, Mualana Abdul Aziz said.
Process of negotiation will never be able to achieve desire results till the government take practical steps to resolve the issue. Government wants us to accept all of its demand even the government itself is not willing to accept any of our demand, Mualana said.
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