Karachi:January 31: Almost a month has gone by since the University of Sindh has suspended classes in protest against the killing of a faculty member on Januray 2 by student political groups.

After the murder of Professor Bashir Ahmed Channar, the Sindh University Teacher’s Association (Suta) put forward its four-point charter of demands for restoring peace on the campus.

However, a recently held meeting between Suta and the Sindh faction of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (Fapuasa) has decided to extend their protest to other universities including the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur, Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam and Quad-e-Awam University Nawabshah.

Suta President Dr Azhar Shah said they would continue their protest for an indefinite period of time till their demands are met. “We are taking other universities on board to press for our demands.”

“There will be a complete boycott of classes on Friday (Feb 3) by all of these universities,” he told The News. The meeting strongly condemned the SU administration’s threats of disciplinary action against faculty members.

Shah said that since they did not accept the incumbent VC, they would not respond to any decision made by the Syndicate. “The government must take our demands seriously so that the students’ time is not wasted. When our demands are met, we’ll put in more hours of work to compensate for the lost time.”

Earlier, students had to return back after SU teachers barred them from entering the institute by locking the doors on the first day of the viva exam. Some 6,500 students of Masters degree were to appear for it.

According to an SU spokesman, Suta demanded of the governor to form a judicial commission to probe into Channar’s murder, which, the governor assured, was in the process. He said the SU also planned to constitute a student welfare association, comprising 2 students from every department.

However, the administration looks up to the government for removal of police and Rangers personnel from the university premises.The news.