December 13, 2018: CODE PAKISTAN held a consultation with the students and faculty members of Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Multan, on countering on-campus violent extremism in Pakistan. The consultation focused on the role of faculty and student forums in countering intolerance and extremism and Pakistan’s legal framework on preventing incitement to violence.
The students and faculty members of BZU shared that the university was established in 1975 and had 60 Departments offering 100 different study courses to around 30,000 students. They further shared that the Departments of Political Science, languages, and sciences were some of the oldest in the university.
The students and faculty members of BZU shared that the university held an annual event called Zestival. They shared that Zestival featured various activities, such as debating and singing competitions, theatre, etc. They shared that the whole university got involved in Zestival. They added that the university administration also awarded prizes to the winners of various competitions in the annual Zestival.
The students and faculty members of BZU further shared that BZU students had different student bodies such as debate society, red crescent society (for blood donation drives), dramatic society, Qiraat society, and Naat society. They further revealed that the students of the university competed in various sports competitions at the level of the province.
The students and faculty members of BZU shared that alongside students from Punjab, there were hundreds of Baloch and Pashtun students at the university. They added that the Baloch and Pashtun students celebrated their own cultural days in which students from the native Punjab also participated. They emphasized that the atmosphere at BZU was quite inclusive and cosmopolitan.
Alongside the students, the participants of the consultation included the following prominent faculty members of BZU: Mr. M. Imran, Mr. M. Umair, Mr. M. Mudabbir Malik, Ms. Ammara Khakwani, Ms. Nazia Latif, Ms. Samana Mehreen, and Ms. Sahar Qandeel. The consultation was part of a series of consultations that CODE PAKISTAN is holding with the faculties and students of various universities across Pakistan.