Fully Support Restoration Of Student Unions, Says Fawad Chaudhry
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhary has come out in support of the restoration of student unions and has said that a ban on student unions was undemocratic.
In a tweet from his official account, the minister said that he fully supported the restoration of student unions. He argued that we could always ensure that student politics remained free of violence.
I fully support Restoration of students unions, ban on students unions is anti democratic,we can always ensure that students politics must remain violence free and regulations may be introduced for smooth functioning but ban on students politics amounts to limit future politics
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 29, 2019
He further said that regulations must be introduced for the smooth functioning of student unions, and that a ban on unions would limit future politics.
The minister’s statement comes the day students are set to march across 55 cities in Pakistan to demand the freedom to engage in politics on campus in order to safeguard their rights. Students have also called for the constitution of sexual harassment committees, an end to privatisation, increased allocation of GDP for education and an end to discrimination and harassment based on language, ethnicity, gender and religion.
Meanwhile, other politicians and journalists have also lent support to the march. Former senator Farhatullah Babar took to Twitter to state that the ban on student unions, presence of security personnel on campus, and the shrinking space for intellectual infrastructure was unacceptable.
We stand by and with #StudentSolidarityMarch. Ban on unions unacceptable, intimidating presence of uniform on campuses unacceptable, forced occupation of students space by uniform unacceptable, shrinking space for intellectual infrastructure in name of 5G war unacceptable https://t.co/0lovJs2aIO
— Farhatullah Babar (@FarhatullahB) November 29, 2019
Notable journalist Mazhar Abbas also called on people to lend support to the Students Solidarity March and said that it was time to restore student unions.
Time to restore Student Unions. Support Student Solidarity March, today.
— Mazhar Abbas (@MazharAbbasGEO) November 29, 2019
Former parliamentarian Bushra Gohar also called for the restoration of student unions and the demilitarisation of campuses.
Join #StudentsSolidarityMarch today – Demilitarise Campuses; Restore Student Unions… pic.twitter.com/iDKN2RpIkC
— Bushra Gohar (@BushraGohar) November 29, 2019
Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari had today condemned the Punjab University for its cancellation of the degree of a student who was one of the main organisers of the Students Solidarity March. She has further said that instead of a ban on student unions, universities should ensure that student unions functioned effectively.
Causing polarisation. What is needed is not a ban on Student Unions but clear rules – which Unis shd enforce – so that student unions function effectively as they do in other parts of the world – learning tolerance & accommodation of the other.
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) November 29, 2019
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