ABBOTTABAD: The teachers of Government Girls Degree College No 1, Abbottabad, on Wednesday protested alleged manhandling of the principal and teachers by the assistant commissioner and ASP police, and demanded action against them.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Colleges Teachers Association has set a two-day deadline for action against the officers for entering the college along with police personnel and allegedly misbehaving with the college principal and teachers before Eid holidays.

A four-member action committee has been formed to take up the issue with the authorities. It threatened that protest rallies and boycott of colleges across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be held in case their demand for removal of assistant commissioner Rohan Barhana and ASP Taswar Iqbal was not met within two days.

The protesters said sanctity of girls educational institutions was violated when the government officials entered it without any intimation and approval by the high ups of education department. They said their action had created panic among students. They said the officers even entered the classrooms and drew pictures.

The protest rally was taken out from Government Boys College No 1, Abbottabad which, after passing through various roads, ended in front of the deputy commissioner’s office.

The rally was addressed by office-bearers of KP college teachers association.

They said the teaching community was the most humble segment of the society and never thought of coming onto the roads, but the illegal and unlawful act by the district administration and police officials had forced them to do so.

Prof Dilawar, a participant of the rally, told reporters on the occasion that they had asked both the AC and ASP to tender an apology to the college principal and teachers for their ‘illegal step’, but they had refused. He said the officers had violated the code of conduct, especially for the women educational institutions, where no one except the secretary education could visit. The reason for the alleged raid at the college by the AC and ASP could not be known. The action has been condemned by civil society organisations.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2017