Prof Imtiaz barred from attending conference

Dhaka University Prof Dr Imtiaz Ahmed yesterday expressed his displeasure at Karachi University's decision to bar him from attending a conference on the campus.

He termed the university move a 'barrier to freedom of speech'.

“I got surprised hearing the decision, but [there is] nothing to do,” he told UNB over the phone.

The DU professor was supposed to present the keynote paper at the conference titled “Challenges of Transition in Social Sciences” yesterday organised by the Pakistani university's social sciences faculty.

“I was supposed to fly to Pakistan on December 1 but they have told me not to go,” said Prof Imtiaz, a teacher of International Relations and also the director of Centre for Genocide Studies at DU.

Responding to a question, he said either Jamaat-e-Islami or any local organisation, probably raised questions about his writings on the Liberation War of 1971, and the university authorities apparently accepted their suggestion.

“It's very natural that an academic will keep on writing. I didn't write anything against the people of Pakistan. I wrote about the role of Pakistan in 1971 which is known to all,” he said.

Many in the Pakistan have also expressed their dissatisfaction with the university decision, said the DU teacher.

The administration of Karachi University has stopped Bangladeshi scholar Prof Dr Imtiaz Ahmed from participating in a conference on the campus, reportedly giving in to pressure from a student organisation, The Dawn has reported.

Sources said that the university took the step following a meeting of the vice chancellor with representatives of a student organisation that was strongly against Prof Imtiaz's participation.

Their opposition, the sources added, had stemmed from the Bangladesh government's handling of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders.

Jamil Kazmi, president of Karachi University Teachers Society, said teachers in principle supported the freedom of speech, and no student organisation should be allowed to interfere in academic matters.