Pakistan in recent years has emerged on World University Rankings and Comsats University, Islamabad (CUI) is the top rated institution of the country, as ranked by Shanghai World University Rankings and Time Higher Education the last week. Both the rankings place a significant emphasis on the impact of research and academic activity on national scientific productivity and research output. Since up-gradation of Comsats Institute of Information Technology to CUI in April 2018 after approval by the National Assembly and the senate, a disgruntled group of university faculty members, having a vested agenda, have purportedly organised themselves as an Academic Staff Council (ASC), an illegal body having no statutory support in Comsats University Act 2018. The university was upgraded in-line with the Model Universities Ordinance of the Higher Education Commission. This group of disgruntled faculty members on Monday staged a meeting on campus and organised a protest walk on campus premises under the banner of the ASC, inciting other faculty members to join the banned outfit and disturb the university discipline. The university administration taking strict notice of this unauthorised assembly and other illegal actions by the illegal council, aimed at disrupting the university’s productive environment, has suspended the organisation’s purported head Dr Mahnaz Haseeb, for being unable to explain the reasons for this incitement. Further, the university also issued letters to officials found involved in promoting the illegal body on the campus premises to explain their position. CUI’s Registrar Dr Fahim A Qureshi on behalf of the university, said that CUI is in a transition phase which includes framing of new rules, statutes and regulations that are being framed under prescribed rules as per the CUI Act. In this instance, some elements among employees are creating unrest among faculty members and students acting on vested agenda of a few faculty members. He said that due to their activities, members of the ASC are causing delay and keeping the institution devoid of an elected body of university representatives in various statutory bodies under the CUI Act. The university staff has been informed about the legal status of ASC and anyone involved in its activities will be held accountable according to CUI Rules, he said. The university rector Professor Dr Raheel Qamar said that disturbance of academic and research activities will not be tolerated under any circumstances. He further reiterated that all issues must be resolved through discussions which the CUI administration has always supported and that the university discipline must always be maintained. The rector further stated that he is always open for discussion and finding solutions to problems and that his door is always open for fellow faculty members. He further added that the university is committed to completing the statutory work on schedule so that legally elected representatives of the faculty become part of the university senate. He said that he had opened several avenues to listen to the complaints of university faculty members, but it seems that the ASC is on the sole agenda of maligning the university administration. Published in Daily Times, October 2nd 2018.