Ex-KU dept head is back at work on her own terms

The increasing number of events of lawlessness at the University of Karachi (KU) is a cause of concern for many, but the authorities concerned seem uninterested in taking action against the people responsible.
The state of disorder at the varsity could be gauged from the recent example of former Mass Communication department chairperson Prof Dr Rafia Taj who had resigned from the office over a hitherto unresolved issue.
However, Taj has asked acting chairman Prof Dr Tahir Masood to stop carrying out his responsibilities and has occupied the office again without any formal notification.
Consequently, Masood has stopped conducting his duties and Taj has started performing her routine tasks without any official order from the higher authorities of the varsity.
According to sources, Taj has been signing office files and overseeing other official matters herself without being assigned by the varsity.
Apparently no one is interested in asking Taj why she has assumed charge of the chairperson’s office again and with whose approval.
Sources told this scribe that the higher authorities of the varsity are unaware of the incident of Taj forcing Masood out of the department and taking over it.
Moreover, Taj’s supporters have started making efforts to get her reinstated as the chairperson of the Mass Communication department again, the sources added.
Taj had resigned as the chairperson over some unresolved issues and her resignation was immediately accepted by the vice chancellor who had then asked Masood to be the acting chairman of the department.
Sources in the Vice Chancellor’s Secretariat informed this scribe that Taj’s supporters have advised her to write an application to the vice chancellor and apologise for her rash decision to resign as the head of the department. Additionally, some others have been trying to get the issue between Taj and the vice chancellor resolved. Faculty of Arts Dean Zafar Iqbal said that Taj has requested the vice chancellor for relief to complete her postdoctoral research.
Iqbal said that Taj has written a letter to the vice chancellor and asked for granting her some relaxation. Taj is still the chairperson of the department because the vice chancellor had asked Masood to take over in confusion, Iqbal added.
The dean said that the vice chancellor had verbally ordered Masood to take over, so the decision is not official. “I was not in the city and the vice chancellor cannot consider Taj’s application without my remarks,” the dean added.
On the other hand, Pro-Vice Chancellor Nasiruddin Khan said that Taj has resigned from her office and not requested for any relief.
Khan said that the resignation was immediately accepted and Taj has been relieved from her duties as the chairperson.