The University of Karachi (KU) has organised a walk on Tuesday (today) against former KU professor Dr Khalil Chishti’s imprisonment in India, and to demand the octogenarian’s immediate release and safe return.
The KU administration has decided to take up 85-year-old Chishti’s issue with the Indian High Commission. The varsity has also decided to approach the provincial and federal governments in this regard. Moreover, KU teachers and students have started approaching human rights and non-governmental organisations, including the Ansar Burney Trust, for Chishti’s release.
KU Microbiology Department Chairwoman Prof Dr Nusrat Jamil said Chishti has been languishing in an Indian jail since 1992. She said the protest walk on Tuesday would commence from the department’s premises and terminate at the KU Arts Lobby.
KU Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi said Chishti was sentenced to 14 years in prison after 19 years of trial. She said, “We respect Indian courts and laws, but we request the Indian government to release Chishti on humanitarian grounds.”
According to Chishti’s daughter, Kazmi said, he is too old to even walk. “When she went to India to visit her father, he fell down while walking and injured his foot,” the pro vice chancellor added.
She said Chishti, once his teacher, was the first virologist in Pakistan. She said he also worked immensely in the field of organ culture. “He was a friendly, cooperative and enthusiastic teacher who always invited his students to participate in discussions during his lectures,” she added.
