LARKANA: Leaders of the Sindh Peoples Students Federation’s provincial chapter demanded on Saturday that the government lift ban of student unions.

The federation’s Sindh chapter head Mansoor Ali Shahani, general secretary Lala Murad Khan and others said at a press conference at Larkana Press Club that SPSF had always raised voice for the restoration of student unions.

They said that Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had asked elected representatives to expedite the process [of lifting ban on student unions] and a demonstration was also staged outside Karachi Press Club to press the government for early restoration of student unions.

‘VCs oppose idea’

But unfortunately, they said, vice chancellors of different universities were opposing the idea of lifting ban on student unions. The PPP and SPSF believed in arms-free institutions as PPP’s student wing had a track record of struggling for the genuine rights of students and promotion of healthy academic activities, they said.

About the current socio-political affairs, they said they endorsed PPP’s call for the establishment of federal constitutional court. In this regard, the efforts of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who was trying to create consensus among all political parties before tabling the proposal for constitutional amendments in the parliament, were commendable, they said.

They said that Charter of Democracy inked between Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif had strongly advocated establishment of the federal constitutional court. The founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam had also talked about a constitutional court at a conference held in London on Oct 27, 1931, they claimed.

They said the burden of cases on Supreme Court would also decrease after the establishment of a separate court. A report issued by the apex court in 2023 said there were 52,450 cases pending trial in Supreme Court, they said.

Abdul Rehman Moriyo, district president of SPSF Larkana, Raza Murad Chachar, Jibran Rafique Jokhiyo, Shafqat Channa and others were present at the press conference.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2024