November 29, 2018: CODE PAKISTAN held a consultation with the students and faculty members of the AJK University, Muzaffarabad, on countering on-campus violent extremism in Pakistan. The consultation focused on exploring causes of violence and types of extremism in youth and role of female faculty and students in countering extremism.
The students and faculty members of AJK University shared that the university, which was established in 1982 with only two departments was now spread over four different campuses, including one in Jhelum, with 27 departments and over 9,000 students. They added that 10 different student bodies were established in AJK University for extra-curricular activities. They stated that student counseling and sports were essential elements of student life in AJK University. They further added that parent-teacher interaction was encouraged at the university.
The students and faculty members of AJK University stated that there had not been any case of extremism of violence at the university. They further shared that although a special quota was reserved for non-Muslims 99 percent of its students were Muslims.
The students and faculty members of AJK University were of the view that there was a time in the past when student protests were common at the university but that they had considerably reduced since 2005. They were further of the view that male students involved themselves in confrontational attitudes more than the female students. The faculty members of the university, however, expressed their satisfaction with the administrative discipline at the university.
Alongside the students, the participants of the consultation included the following prominent faculty members of AJK University: Dr. Manzoor Ahmad, Dr. Muhammad Taj, Mr. Muhammad Wasim Awan, Mr. Nasir Shafiq, Ms. Nighat, Ms. Alia Shaheen, and Ms. Sana Majeed. The consultation was part of a series of consultations that CODE PAKISTAN is holding with the faculties and students of various universities across Pakistan.