Student Politics in Pakistan: A Profile

Re: # 12 IB

I think those days are long gone when people used to feel compassion for the sob stories like "think about the constable who works 16 hours a day....." and "think about the soldiers who sit on Siachin in freezing temperatures.......". You people have wronged us, the citizens of Pakistan, to such a degree that we have decided to cut you off from us like a gangrenous leg is cut off to save a body. Tables have turned. Now your ass is ours.

Brilliant piece. And very timely too. The detail is rather breathtaking, and even though Paracha was once associated with NSF and PSF, I commend him for remaining relatively unbiased. Well done, sir.

Khalid Bin Walid

What an insult to the name of a person titled Saifullah!

Wasn't this guy Jahannum Raseed'ed in Muttarwapur by a rival gang a while ago?

There should be student unions, but with no affiliations to the country's political parties. All it does is create proxy wars on campuses. The exhilerating atmosphere of academic freedom is missing in Pakistan, replaced by fear and indifference instead.

Plus, why is that the Urdu Speaking Officers the best and most honest? (not to mention: most proffesional) - ?

Re: # 10
Sir, you might have got the 'danda' or two. Prorably, you deserved it.

I think the best joins CSS – agreed if not most then a lot of them join the services for the perks but that’s a universal phenomenon. I could give out names ( it’s not the right forum ) of the ranks of DSP’s and DIG’s who retired as honourable men.

I would advice you to reframe from ‘generalizing’. I mean if you left the services – it’s not our fault is it?

(PS. And I am neither a spy nor an agent)

Go and tell this to a police constable who works 16 hours a day ; at times 7 days a week non-stop – no life insurance, under equipped.

Pakistan Police obviously can not be compared with lets say the British Police but given a opportunity we had proved to be the best. Motorway Police and Community Policing in Karachi plus CPLC are good examples.

chowk is getting full of agents of the murky shady government of pakistan.

i remember my tenure in civil service in muzaffargarh.there was a poor book seller . his son did CSS joined police and became rich.his brother later became MNA and gained fame as murderer of a paki canadian lady .those who join police and government service join fir money .they have a complex.thats why i resigned from this BS paki government service.

the answer to a fool is silence . i think that pakistani police has exceeded all the p_____s and c______s in the world .the army is not far behind.

bugti was a great leader and so was ZAB and here we have chamchas doing naukry and acting as spies on mole.

Re: # 7
'Pakistan's students are far better than the highly corrupt army police and all law enforcement and intelligence agencies of Pakistan'

Pakistan's students are far better than the highly corrupt army police and all law enforcement and intelligence agencies of Pakistan.

That’s a sweeping generalization – the law enforcement officers, army chaps and rest of the government servents are part ‘former students’ – infact the students of today are far worse (in quality) then the students of yester years.

Hazrat Ali once said (and I am a strict deobandi) that ‘the government depicts the people’ – somehow our people in general are ‘harami’ – so automatically the government is ‘maha-harami’ ( apologize for using the slang)

Well done Mr Paracha.A very fine article . I have never come across such a fine article.You just disregard the BS that any jaahil person says about it.

Pakistan's students are far better than the highly corrupt army police and all law enforcement and intelligence agencies of Pakistan.

Good job extremely well done Comrade Paracha.

Re: # 4
pavocavalry are you that 'brasstrack' guy?

Wily ol’Nadeem came up another trash from Dawn (where he bores us with his idealism and contemporary thoughts).

Students politics of today in Pakistan is a dirty game – probably dirtier then the actual politics. If we just look at the record of student groups clashing in Karachi – more people lost there lives due to student’s politics then actual politics during 2007/2008 period.

There are two major powers (APMSO, JTI) in Karachi apart from Punjabi Students Federation and Pakhtoon Students Federations. It would be astounding to know that among all of these Punjabi & Pakhtoon Students Federation are most violent.

As a law enforcement officer who had to deal first hand with students leaders ( without bias ) APMSO with all the strings attached has behaved during the past years (because of a better vigilance and MQM’s being in the govt.) while the other three groups acted as ‘pinners’.

a) Clashes between PSF and Jamaat resulted in 2 deaths at JPMC
b) 6-7 people of Jamat gunned down at Karachi University Gate No.2 from the bus ( I personally saw one headless body)
c) firing at Sir Syed Engineering University by Pukhtoon Students from the Urdu Wafaqi University

are some examples.

well researhed article .

I must add a tribute to my college mate in FC College Lahore Aminullah Khan Khakwani from a very well to do landlord family of Vihari in 1977-79.He was the Union President if my memory goes well at the FC College.He was murdered in the FC College Hostel in 1978.It has been said by eye witnesses that many leading Islami Jamiat i Tulaba leaders including salman butt were involved in it.the murder was instigated by the martial law authorities of the tinpot clown zia.

Interestingly the Union Secretary of that time Adeel Kazi again from PSF or Progressive block , my school mate at Saint Marys Lalazar Rawalpindi and at FC College later joined the army.I dont know where he is now.The last I met him was at Karachi in 2003.

It was a good descriptive article....
Though I think it would have been better if Mr NFP had analysed the actual effectiveness of these student wings in influencing the mainstream politics...
The article mentions the names of some politicans which have emerged from the student unions but does not talk much about the reciprocal relationship between the main parties and their student wings and how it has actually evolved over time....
Likewise to what extent the student unions have actually influenced the society in general...
Another important aspect is about the likely future of the student unions...
With the mushroom growth of the private universities, the unions with political unserpinnings will be hard hit as generally the public sector universities have been their breeding ground....