Sindh passes ‘landmark bill’ to revive student unions after 38 years of countrywide ban

KARACHI: Pakistan’s southern Sindh province sanctioned the revival of student unions by passing a “landmark bill” on Friday, which lifted a ban on student bodies that was imposed across the country by a former military ruler Gen. Muhammad Ziaul Haq 38 years ago.
The bill to remove the ban was first tabled in the Sindh assembly in December 2019 but was later referred to one of its standing committees which prepared its amended version last month. The new bill was approved by the cabinet on Thursday and passed by the provincial legislature on Friday evening.
The law will come into force after receiving approval from the Sindh governor. It will then be followed by a two-month timeframe wherein public and private education institutions will make regulations regarding these unions.
“This is a landmark bill which is paving the way for the return of student unions that used to be the nurseries of democracy in the country,” Professor Dr. Tauseef Ahmed Khan, a former student leader, told Arab News.
The new law allows students of different education institutions in Sindh to elect unions comprising seven to eleven representatives annually.
Universities will also be required to give representation to union members in their syndicates, senates or boards. Apart from that, student unions will also be represented in the anti-harassment committees of their respective education institutions.
Khan recalled how students initiated a democratic struggle during the dictatorial rules of Generals Ayub Khan and Ziaul Haq, though he also regretted that their representative bodies were not restored by the country’s democratic administrations.
Haq slapped a blanket ban on student unions on Feb. 9, 1984, which was then institutionalized by an interim court order in 1992 that restricted all political activities on university campuses.
This was followed by the apex court judgment of 1993 which only allowed limited student activity.
More recently, Prime Minister Imran Khan hinted at the possibility of allowing these unions after assuming the country’s political power. The issue was also part of the manifesto of every political party that governed Pakistan, though none of them lived up to their promise.
Speaking to Arab News, Ahsan Iqbal, the general secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, said he strongly supported student unions, though he added they should not be allowed to disturb the academic environment of education institutions.
“Elections of student unions must be held under strict disciplinary rules which discourage any activity which may disturb the academic atmosphere of university campuses,” he said while adding student unions should also not serve as proxies of political parties.
Iqbal, who was once the president of the student union at the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, launched his own political career from Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, a student body affiliated with the Jamaat-e-Islami party.
He maintained that “unions should promote healthy activities on campuses to develop political training and leadership skills among students.”
Hussain Naqi, a veteran journalist and human rights activist who remained president of the Karachi University’s student union in 1963, dismissed the assertion that unions ever were the reason for violence.
“Elected student unions never indulged in violence,” he told Arab News. “Instead, they resolved problems through dialogue. When Gen. Zia banned them, however, student organizations started resolving issues through coercion and force.”
Naqi urged the government to consult former and present student leaders while formulating election rules and procedures.
“They should adopt the procedures that were adopted before the ban,” he added. “But if they are not willing to do that, at least consultation should be done with stakeholders to empower these unions and direct elections should be held.”
Naqi maintained student unions would allow “ideological nurturing” of future politicians and train students to play bigger political roles in the future.
“Other provinces should follow Sindh by passing similar laws,” he continued. “They should immediately hold elections of student unions.”