Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran has strongly protested suspension of Professor Anthony Hall, a professor at University of Lethbridge, Canada and one of the most distinguished scholars on international relations.
In his protest letter written to President Vice Chancellor of University of Lethbridge Prof Mike Mahon, Dr Mujahid Kamran said that in a country like Pakistan, which is far behind Canada in term of education, research and scholarship, no teacher, or non-teacher, of any university can be suspended without pay.
He said that when someone is suspended, he or she is entitled to draw full pay for the period of suspension.
He said that if Canada was doing better than Pakistan on various scales, then one would expect that suspension without pay puts Canada behind us in terms of due process and in terms of requirements demanded by the principles of justice and fair play.
He said that in Pakistani universities, no one was generally suspended unless a fact finding committee had first looked into the matter thoroughly and found prima facie evidence of wrong doing.
He said the decision of the University of Lethbridge administration also destroyed the concept of a tenured appointment.
In his letter, Dr Kamran said that it was evident that Professor Anthony Hall was a scholar whose work exposes the crimes and conspiracies of those who were taking the world headlong into a global war and simultaneously transforming it into a global slave state.
He said his analysis was impeccable and his grasp of facts masterly and his writings were devoid of any prejudice against any ethnic group or nation.
He said that his suspension creates an impression that certain powerful interests that aim at destroying free speech, have targeted people like Professor Anthony Hall, who speaks out for democracy, decency, peace and justice.
He said that it is quite evident that the charge that Professor Anthony Hall has created a discriminatory atmosphere is highly dubious.
To the contrary, he wrote, it appears that an anti-Muslim bias has been created in the Canadian University by Professor Hall's unfortunate suspension "If this is the case then the situation is disturbing, not just for Lethbridge and Canada, but for all freedom loving people world-wide, he wrote.
On behalf of the academic community of the University of the Punjab, I urge you to kindly reconsider your decision to suspend Professor Hall.
It will go a long way in rehabilitating the impression of people world-wide about the upholding of free speech, academic freedom, and genuine scholarly discourse at Lethbridge," he wrote.