Assassination of Swat varsity VC widely condemned

A large number of activists of human rights organisations and political parties on Sunday staged protest demonstration to condemn the assassination of Dr Mohammad Farooq, the Vice-chancellor of Swat University.

Dr Farooq was assassinated in his clinic on Saturday along with his assistant in Mardan.

The protest was held outside Peshawar Press Club under the auspices of Amn Tehrik. The protesters were holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans against militancy and in favour of peace in the region. They also chanted slogans against the target killing.

Amn Tehrik convener Idrees Kamal, National Party provincial president Sayed Mukhtar Bacha, Aimal Khattak, Shahab Khattak, Fazal Raziq of Awami Party, Zar Ali Khan, Amir Khan of Pakhtun Democratic Council, Dr Said Alam Mehsud of Peoples Awareness Movement, Shakeel Wahidullah, Tariq Afghan and Hassan Buneri of Azad Pakhtun Students Federation led the protesters.

Addressing the protesters, Mr Bacha condemned the killing of Dr Farooq. “He was killed for his liberal views and anti-militants vision,” he said. He lashed out at the government for its failure to provide security to its peace loving masses.

Mr Kamal said that conspiracy had been hatched against Pakhtuns and they were being killed on different pretexts.

Dr Mahsud said that Dr Farooq was a profound and brilliant reformer. “He was a not a traditionalist like many religious scholars. It is our bad luck that some forces are at work trying to turn Pakhtunkhwa into a den of warriors,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malgari Doctoran, an association of doctors affiliated with Awami National Party, expressed grief over the assassination of Dr Farooq Khan and demanded arrest of his killers at earliest.

According to a press release issued by Malgari Doctoran information secretary Dr Hamid Bangash, an emergency meeting was held with its president Dr Shaukat Jamal Amirzada in the chair to show anguish over the murder of Dr Farooq. The meeting asked the government to scale up its efforts to crush perpetrators of terrorism.

The meeting said that the slain psychiatrist rendered matchless services by helping poor people suffering from psychological, mental and psychiatric ailments.

MANSEHRA: The vice-chancellor and faculty members of Hazara University condemned the killing of Dr Farooq and demanded arrest of his killers.

In this connection an emergency meeting, attended largely by staff and faculty members, was held with Vice-chancellor Dr Sakhawat Shah in the chair, according to a press release issued on Sunday.

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