No one doubts that pakistan’s universities are unfree, bigoted and often violent. Local newspapers have carried many stories of young killers, including several from affluent middle-class families.University graduates have planned and executed murders as well as gruesome massacres, such as those at Safoora Goth and the parade lane mosque. Islamic groups such as Daesh and Hizb-ut-Tahrir successfully recruit young fanatics.

Punjab university, where the islami jamiat-i-Talaba (IJT) has student dominated student politics for over 50 years, must top the list of the world’s most fearsome educational institutions. Anti-vice squads prowl the campus hoping to smash the head of the guy holding his girlfriend’s hand or engaged in other such ‘ immoral’ acts. In past years, they have forced the closure of the music department , ended dance and life drawing classes, and used torture tactics, such as holding a lit cigarette to the  genitals of a captured opponent. Many murders have been ascribed to this group, but it remains firmly entrenched in power.

Cover Story Contents

Radicals Rights and Wrongs

Bastion of Barbarism

School of intolerance

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