On the call of SAU employees Action Committee, hundreds of the Sindh Agricultural University's employees protested against the current Vice-Chancellor and his policies. Under the slogan of "Remove VC and save Varsity, the employees marched from Thandi Sadak to the Hyderabad Press Club, where they, along with sympathising members of other universities employees associations chanted slogans against the VC and his team.
Leaders of the movement, including Hussain Bux Vessar, Shabir Chuhan, Nusrat Hussain Channa, Karam Ali Puno, Abdul Majeed Shah Rashdi and others spoke on the occasion, 27 days after the start of their campaign against the SAU chief. They said that the institution will be destroyed and the education, research and administrative affairs of the University have collapsed due to the poor policies of the VC. They accused him of nepotism, favouritism and incompetence, saying he was unable to run the university's affairs.
They added that the VC, his allegedly corrupt sons and other close team members were responsible for the situation in which students, employees and teachers are agitating to get rid of him. The leaders demanded the removal of the VC and the conducting of an impartial enquiry into their allegations of corruption.
The employees welcomed efforts initiated by Pir Mazahar-ul-Haq, Pro-Chancellor and Senior Provincial Minister and the committee he constituted to conduct an enquiry against the VC and his team. They demanded however, the addition of one more member to the committee, Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffari, an ex member Syndicate of SAU. They also invited journalists to visit the SAU campus to see for themselves what was happening on campus.
The protestors further claimed that the VC and his sons were trying to save his career by launching an employees group of friends, that the belligerent employees say is nothing more than a "Save Father" movement. They have started a door to door campaign in the SAU colony to raise support for their father but this move, the employees say, failed.
The employees also accuse the VC's sons of hiring civil contractors, Sajan Sawai and Zulfiqar Panhwar to being their workers to join the effort to save their father. The group says that these outsiders are paid exorbitant daily wages from SAU funds to raise slogans and join demonstrations against the "real struggle of employees", but add that they have been unsuccessful.
The leaders also mentioned other dubious appointments by the VC, saying supporters of the VC have been given unjustified appointments and promotions. They said that Pir Dino alias Allah Yar Kalari has been promotes to Estate Officer, and that Masroor Memon, a fourth year DVM student and SAU employee has been given a job at the SAU dispensary, working under the VC's son Dr Shakeel Shaikh. They said these are cases of corruption for which an enquiry is needed. They also said that Babar Shaikh was involved in a motorcycle robbery at the SAU colony, but was released by Police, after they say the VC intervened.
They employees further announced that even though their salaries had been stopped and termination orders were in process, they could not stop their peaceful agitation against the VC.
They say that the VC illegally appointed his children Saghir, Shakeel, Israr, and Shumaila as well as nephews Amanullah, Sanaullah, Muhammad Ali Shaikh and relatives of his team members to positions in the university. They further added that the university had to bear Bashir Shaikh and his corrupt team for too long and now it was time to expel them. The government must take serious notice of his ill intentions towards the future of the institute and its employees, students and teachers, they pleaded.
The employees also said that the promotion of Riasat Kuber, the new SAU registrar is against the rules. Former Syndicate Member, Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffari gave his remarks against the promotion, but the VC did not care. They said that Riasat Kuber has illegally jumped from BPS-19 to BPS-20 and that he is the main source of conflict between the employees and the University Management.
They said that not a single problem of the employees has been settled without struggles or strikes. The university administration has not stopped taking revenge against the real leaders of the employees and threatened dire consequence, including the termination of their services on baseless and fabricated charges. They indicated that the university, during the current VC's tenure has been awarded a "Zero Level" in research by the HEC.
The protesters requested `the President of Pakistan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the Governor of Sindh and the Chairman of the HEC that in the best interest of University, the VC should be removed as soon as possible.
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