ISLAMABAD: The Nat
ional Assembly’s (NA) Standing Com
mittee on Federal Education and Profess
ional Training on Thursday called for exemplary punishments for those responsible for Mashal Khan’s murder.
The com
mittee met under the chairmanship of Col (r) Dr Amirullah Marwat. Officials from Abdul Wali Khan Univer
sity briefed the com
mittee about the killing of the student. The agenda of the meeting also included consideration of The Apprenticeship Bill, 2017, The Sir Syed Institution of Technology, Islamabad Bill and a briefing on alleged irregularities in Swat University.
The Abdul Wali Khan University officials informed the com
mittee that no one had tried to stop the mob. “Police were initially informed, but they did not take the matter seriously. However, later when a clerk called the DPO, police reached there, but the mob had caught Mashal, Abdullah and Zubair by then,” officials said.
The com
mittee was informed that the disturbances had started at the campus at 10:00 am and
continued till 02:00 pm. The com
mittee recommended awarding strict punishment to anyone involved in the heinous crime. The com
mittee chairman declared it a cold-blooded murder. State Minister for Federal Education Balighur Rehman told the com
mittee that the nat
ional curriculum was being revised. He also informed the meeting that the ministry had directed the HEC to call a meeting of vice chancellors to take steps to stop such incidents in future. The minister said that intelligence agencies had also contacted universities to share information about such
issues.
Referring to the Swat University
issue, the com
mittee directed the ministry to respond to the lawmakers’ concerns.
The com
mittee also recommended appointing permanent VCs in the universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The com
mittee directed the officials of Sir Syed University to apply for a no objection certificate (NOC) to avoid any operational
issues. The com
mittee approved The Apprenticeship Bill, 2017.