A week has passed since the All Pakistan Congregation of Islami Jamiat Talaba, but the debris and garbage leftover from the event is yet to be cleared from the venue at the Punjab University Quaid-e-Azam Campus, which presents a desolate picture of stray dogs, kites and crows scavenging for food amid the remnants of the event.
The congregation, arranged at the cricket, hockey and football grounds of the Punjab University situated alongside the boarding halls, was attended by more than fifty thousands students, mostly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These playing fields were turned into a large multi-purpose space with a stage, a place for the attendees of the congregation to stay and used as a parking lot of their vehicles.
The grounds now are littered with food waste, stones and used polythene bags. The organizing committee was supposed to cleanup after the event ended, but nothing has been done in this regard. The polluted conditions on campus have put more than 10,000 students living in the hostels of PU at risk of many diseases. Stray dogs in search of food on the venue have also invaded the canteen areas of the boarding halls. Officials at the university expressed helplessness over the situation, and claimed the university administration had opposed the holding of any such activity on its premises.
But the patronage of the provincial government and the police gave the organisation the courage to challenge the writ of the university and held the mass gathering on the campus, the official claimed. Spokesman of the varsity also confirmed that no verbal or written permission had been granted for the congregation to hold its meeting on university grounds. He said it was Iqbal Town SP Muntazir Mehdi who allowed IJT to hold a congregation, by signing an accord. However, he outlined in that accord that IJT was not allowed to hold a rally, to invite their proclaimed offender members, to use university resources or any academic block for the congregation.
The spokesperson said the IJT had violated all these clauses, as resources of the university were used for the political interests of the said group. According to him, a written request was sent to SP Muntazir Mehdi, who was one of the three signatories of the deal between the government and IJT, to force the IJT to comply with the deal, but no reply had been given yet. Other signatories included IJT activists Russel Khan and PU Jamiat Chief Zubair Safdar. Safdar said the cleaning was currently in process and the grounds would be restored to their original state by Sunday night. He denied the alleged suffering of the varsity students and was of the view that the university’s administration was funding newsmen to propagate lies against the IJT. SP Muntazir Mehdi was not available for comment.
