Daily Times

Rather than admitting its mistake and rectifying its errors, the PU administration continues to mask its lies by making slanderous claims against me. Let me reply to each of their arguments, so that the whole world can see what kind of people are running educational institutions in Pakistan.

PU’s administration has finally accepted that I was “stopped” (henceforth “fired”) from teaching, rather than the comical claims made earlier that I was never an employee of PU. The reason for firing me was that they received information that I was involved in “anti-state” activities. And the proof? That I conducted some “suspicious study circles”.

The events that I helped organize were initiated on popular demand, since many students were fed up with the ‘seminars’ held by the administration, whose only purpose was to cozy up to ministers and government officials. Of course, forcing students to sit through lectures of ministers is not at all a threat to the education system, nor is conducting research and lectures funded by USAID and foreign embassies a threat to our national sovereignty. But if a few students from humble backgrounds come together, with the support of a sympathetic teacher, to discuss theoretical issues, then such activities are apparently deemed to be “suspicious” . Please see below the entire list of “suspicious” study circles conducted under my supervision.

If you look at the content of these reading groups, the content is exactly what is taught at any top university around the world. I also brought esteemed scholars from around the world (see pictures below) to interact with students at the sociology department. It is not a conspiracy, it is a training I received as a student! All I want to do is give back to my students from middle class and working class families what I had the privilege of learning abroad.

The message is clear: they do not want any critical thinking to develop among students on campus. Yet, since universities are sites for critical thinking, criminalizing thought is turning universities into permanent crime sites. Our country has already suffered a lot, and no other force but Pakistan will suffer if we go down the path of further ruining our public sector institutes.

As far as the allegation about exacerbating ethnic divisions is concerned, I understand that the administration is pointing towards my involvement with Pashtun students. I am a Punjabi, I have always believed that a teacher is like a doctor, who cannot and should not differentiate between the patients he/she encounters based on their ethnicity or religion. I am proud to have taught students from across the country, with the aim that they come to accept each other’s differences while appreciating the commonalities we all share. That is the only way for a society to be become more cohesive, more united and more peaceful. The support I have among students from all ethnicities is a testament to the fact that I treated my students as students, rather than discriminating based on their linguistic backgrounds.

It was the PU administration that in January had dozens of Pashtun students arrested under terrorism charges, and dozens expelled from the university. Less than two months later, the same administration revoked the terrorism charges and reinstated all the expelled students. How can such a spineless and opportunist administration claim to have any legitimacy when it simply shifts its position based on the direction of the political wind?

The rest of the statement is just a clumsy attempt to cover up their transgression. I applied for an extension of my contract in October, but was told that there are some bureaucratic hurdles in the extension (the same was the case of my colleagues in the department, Dr. Imran Munir and Dr. Rahat Munir, who have degrees from abroad, and have not been paid for the last many months. They quit Punjab University in February).

The administration should explain how, if a notice was issued to me in January 2018, why it was not ever sent to me? Also, if I was now technically a “visiting faculty”, why was I supervising PhD students (I have all the documents to prove that). And then the most ridiculous statement: “Why did he not demand his pay”? Teachers should not need to demand to be paid, they should just receive their salaries! Did the administration want me to go on a hunger strike to receive my legitimate right? Also, it is an absolute lie that I did not “dare to take part in competition”. Alhumdulillah, I am very comfortable with my credentials, and in fact, I applied for a permanent position at the history department on the 6th of April, 2018. So we will see if the university still considers me in a “competitive” process.

I love my country, and it is infuriating that I have to state this again and again to ward off the slanderous media campaign against me by the PU administration, which puts my life, and more importantly, my reputation at risk. The current Vice Chancellor is a chameleon who acts liberal when talking to his donors from abroad, becomes orthodox when speaking to the religious clergy, and plays teachers and students against each other in a classical Machiavellian manner. He has used my honesty and commitment in the most brutal way, and is now throwing me to the wolves to please his masters.

I am taking a stand for myself and for thousands of other young people in the system whose talents, rather than being harnessed for the betterment of society, are manipulated by those in power. I demand an immediate apology from the administration. If it is not issued within 48 hours and my name is not cleared from the baseless allegations of working against the country I love, I will take the PU administration to court for defamation. In any case, all of this makes clear that unless citizens come together for their rights, we will not be able to bring the positive change we wish to see in our society.

Published in Daily Times, April 20^th 2018.