Tag: Civil Rights

  • Asma Jahangir Conference receives flak for expelling pro-Palestinian protestors

    Asma Jahangir Conference receives flak for expelling pro-Palestinian protestors

    Asma Jahangir Conference that was held in Lahore over the weekend was disrupted by protests of pro-Palestine students during the German Ambassador’s speech. The Ambassador was there to speak about civil rights. He was interrupted by students calling him out for his country being complicit in the genocide by Israel in the Gaza Strip. To this, the ambassador responded, ‘If you want to shout, go out!’”. The students were reportedly expelled from the event.

    The move was heavily criticised by netizens all over the internet.

    Founder of Digital Rights Foundation Nighat Dad spoke at the conference and condemned the act of expelling students as she said, “What happened yesterday should not be taken lightly, as this sets a very wrong example”.

    Ikram Ullah Maseed criticised the organizers of the conference by saying, “Shameful betrayal of Asma Jahangir’s legacy. If radical voices aren’t welcome, why hold the conference?”

    Senator Allama Raja Nasir called out the organizers of the conference for blatantly banning the voices of dissent. “Germany’s systematic suppression of pro-Palestinian voices, including the banning of prominent speakers like former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, exposes a shameful bias and undermines the very foundations of democratic discourse.”

    Journalist Arafat Mazhar who was one of the first to share the videos of the German Ambassador shutting down the protestors recently tweeted that, “Twitter has completely banned me from retweet or comments of on the video of German ambassador shouting at civil rights activist at the asma jahangir human rights conference”

    The protesting students, who belonged to Progressive Students’ Collective, released a statement calling out the German Ambassasor for speaking about human rights while the German government is supporting Israel in its aggression and genocide in Gaza.

  • ‘You asserted yourself as rightful stakeholders,’ Jibran congratulates students after some exams are cancelled by govt

    ‘You asserted yourself as rightful stakeholders,’ Jibran congratulates students after some exams are cancelled by govt

    After the government announced that only elective exams and math papers would be taken by students, Pakistani Civil Rights Activist and Lawyer, Jibran Nasir, thanked the government for its prudent decision and congratulated students on gaining ‘relaxation from their exams’.

    Prior to the government’s announcement, Jibran strongly defended students against the government’s stance of having physical exams on schedule.

    Federal Minister of Education Shafqat Mahmood said that the issue of resolving complaints of non-completion of courses by the students was discussed in a meeting on Wednesday.

    “Several months ago, we reduced the curriculum by 40 per cent to make it easier for teachers and students to prepare,” said the minister.

    But Jibran stated otherwise. Speaking on a morning show on HUM News, ‘Subah Say Agay’, Jibran said, “The primary issue faced by students is that they were previously examined for a nine-month course, when schools used to conduct exams for four months. At present, each student was offered only two months of classes, and students were asked to come to their respective institutions on alternate days.”

    Jibran further said that the government should take a decision that will allow students to get back to their institutions and complete their curriculum. “This debate is not for the private sector students but for the ones studying in public/government institutions, who do not have the facility or access to the internet,” added Jibran.

    Jibran compared the decision-making of the government by comparing the present conditions of the students of Pakistan to India. “With a much bigger student population, India still managed to develop a local alternative to exams like school assessed grades (SAG) and in Pakistan, we can’t even complete syllabus,” tweeted Jibran.

    Jibran took a jibe at the government and tweeted, “Pak Govt: Our students are lazy, they want a free ride, they don’t want to study.”