LAHORE: Members of the pro Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Academic Group on Thursday distributed a circular against Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) President Dr Maher Saeed Akhter calling him the ‘ring leader’ of a land mafia who had made millions illegally.
The members of the Academic group have split and the circular was issued in continuation of a propaganda warfare that has started within the members of the Academic Group, as the Academic Staff Association (ASA) elections approach.
The circular alleged that Maher was campaigning against PU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Mujahid Kamran and was a ‘con man’. Differences between members of the Academic Group have boiled over and the big shots of the Academic Group have started to unite their members, sorting out their differences, before the ASA elections.
In a meeting of the Academic Group held at PU a couple of days ago the members unanimously agreed not to support Maher in the upcoming elections. Differences among the members of the Academic Group surfaced last week when some members issued a circular against Maher alleging that he was in league with a land mafia as he did nothing when PUASA’s Vice President Prof Dr Abdul Ghaffar received death threats.
Maher and other leaders of the Academic Group issued another circular next day which criticised Academic Group members who issued pamphlets in favor of Dr Abdul Ghaffar and opposed the politics of circulars. A member of the Academic Group said that although the Dr Ghaffar issue caused the group to split, the actual fight between group members started when Dr Amin Ather was appointed Chairman Hall Council.
He said that PUASA and PU faculty members’ stance was right as Dr Amin Ather’s appointment was a violation of PU VC’s announcement of ‘one-man-one-post’. He said that Dr Amin Ather should be removed from the position of the Chairman Hall Council as he held other posts as well. He said many others also violated the ‘one-man-one-post’ rule but teachers only criticized Dr Amin Ather because he was notorious for a number of other issues as well.
Maher denied the allegations and said that ‘some elements’ were propagating against him as ASA elections were approaching. He said his group was victorious over the years and the teachers relied on him. He said that he had called an ASA meeting on the issue, in the presence of Dr Ghaffar, and had passed a resolution.
