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.”
Sindh passes ‘landmark bill’ to revive student unions after 38 years of countrywide ban
https://arab.news/5cksw
Sindh passes ‘landmark bill’ to revive student unions after 38 years of countrywide ban
- Described as ‘nurseries of democracies,’ student bodies were banned by former military ruler Gen. Ziaul Haq in February 1984
- Former student leaders welcome the development while hoping for ‘empowered’ student bodies
Pakistan army chief meets world leaders in rare Davos appearance
- Field Marshal Asim Munir attends World Economic Forum alongside prime minister
- Pakistan delegation holds meetings with US, Saudi and Azerbaijani leaders
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir is attending the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos this week alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, marking a rare appearance by a serving army chief at the global gathering of political and business leaders.
Pakistan’s participation at Davos comes as Islamabad seeks to attract investment, project economic stability and deepen engagement with key international partners following recent reforms aimed at stabilizing the economy.
While Pakistani leaders routinely attend the World Economic Forum, it is uncommon for a serving army chief to be present. In 2017, former army chief Raheel Sharif addressed the forum only after his retirement, while General Pervez Musharraf spoke at Davos on a number of occasions in his role as president, not as military chief.
Pakistan’s governance structure has evolved in recent years, particularly through the expanded role of the military in economic decision-making through bodies such as the Special Investment Facilitation Council, a civil-military platform designed to fast-track foreign investment in sectors including minerals, energy, agriculture and technology.
“The Prime Minister and the Field Marshal met with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Officials say the delegation’s engagements focused on strengthening economic ties and maintaining high-level contact with partners in the Middle East, Central Asia and the United States at a time of shifting global economic and strategic alignments.
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting brings together heads of state, ministers, investors and corporate leaders to discuss global economic risks, investment trends and geopolitical challenges. Davos is not a military forum, and while security issues are discussed there, the physical presence of a serving military chief remains the exception, not the norm, across countries. When military figures do appear, it is usually because they are heads of state or government, retired and speaking as security experts or hold a civilian defense portfolio such as defense minister or national security adviser.
