Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s (NA) Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training on Thursday called for exemplary punishments for those responsible for Mashal Khan’s murder.

The committee met under the chairmanship of Col (r) Dr Amirullah Marwat. Officials from Abdul Wali Khan University briefed the committee about the killing of the student. The agenda of the meeting also included consideration of The Apprenticeship Bill, 2017, The Sir Syed Institution of Technology, Islamabad Bill and a briefing on alleged irregularities in Swat University.

The Abdul Wali Khan University officials informed the committee that no one had tried to stop the mob. “Police were initially informed, but they did not take the matter seriously. However, later when a clerk called the DPO, police reached there, but the mob had caught Mashal, Abdullah and Zubair by then,” officials said.

The committee was informed that the disturbances had started at the campus at 10:00 am and continued till 02:00 pm. The committee recommended awarding strict punishment to anyone involved in the heinous crime. The committee chairman declared it a cold-blooded murder. State Minister for Federal Education Balighur Rehman told the committee that the national curriculum was being revised. He also informed the meeting that the ministry had directed the HEC to call a meeting of vice chancellors to take steps to stop such incidents in future. The minister said that intelligence agencies had also contacted universities to share information about such issues.

Referring to the Swat University issue, the committee directed the ministry to respond to the lawmakers’ concerns.

The committee also recommended appointing permanent VCs in the universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The committee directed the officials of Sir Syed University to apply for a no objection certificate (NOC) to avoid any operational issues. The committee approved The Apprenticeship Bill, 2017.