ISLAMABAD: The Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies (CEGS), Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), organised a seminar in remembrance of Mashal Khan, a student of Wali Khan University Mardan.
The event held at the Earth Sciences Auditorium of the QAU was about the recent lynching of Mashal in broad daylight, which had shaken many and met with widespread condemnation from various sections of society. The purpose of arranging such a dialogue was to return to the question of why such an incident occurred in the first place, and moreover, why it occurred not in the streets, not in a market, but on a university campus.
The event was inaugurated by Alia Amir Ali of the CEGS, QAU, who said that rather than looking to blame some ‘external enemy’, perhaps it was time for some introspection, to look within for the answers. She also raised some questions for members of the academia – how certain it was that such an incident would never occur on any other campus. “The fear and repression that surrounds such incidents, how is that to be tackled? Other than condemning, what mechanisms need to be designed to redress the deeper issues underlying this incident?”
The speakers at this seminar were Dr Asif Ali from the Mathematics Department, QAU, and Dr Aasim Sajjad from the National Institute of Pakistan Studies, QAU.
Dr Asif Ali said that if true religious injunctions of holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were followed by the masses then such issues of violence would not surface. Whereas, Dr Aasim Sajjad took a deeper view in the socio-political history of the country in which he stated that deviant social behaviour and probing the norms had always been rendered problematic, “which is the reason fanaticism is culminated in society”. He also pointed to the responsibility of state and non-state actors in controlling/promoting such incidents, and for cultivating fear of questioning in the public.
The QAU vice chancellor also graced the occasion with his presence and gave concluding remarks about the event. He condemned the lynching of Mashal Khan and expressed his apprehensions about the rising trends of social intolerance and bigotry that had increased over years. He said it was the responsibility of academic institutions to create a culture in which difference, dissent and disagreement were seen as fruitful rather than as a threat to society.
Students from various departments also participated in this event and raised pertinent questions with regard to the act of barbarity exhibited in the university campus and how this trend needed to be curbed.