Valley students will not leave AMU en masse

ALIGARH : Kashmiri students at the Aligarh Muslim University have deferred their decision to surrender their degrees and leave the campus en masse Wednesday following revocation of the suspension order of the two students by the varsity.

The suspension order was revoked Tuesday night after a three-member enquiry panel set up by the varsity exonerated Waseem Ayyub Malik and Abdul Haseeb Mir, saying "no credible evidence" of their participation in any "unlawful assembly" in the varsity campus was found, AMU spokesperson Shafey Kidwai said.

They were suspended Friday for allegedly participating in an aborted Namaaz-e-Janaza (prayer meeting) in the university campus for a slain Hizbul Mujahideen militant, Manan Bashir Wani.

Malik and Meer, besides one unknown person, were also booked by police on sedition charges for allegedly raising "anti-India" slogans.

Former president of AMU Students' Union Mashkoor Ahmad Usmani told reporters that the decision to revoke the suspension order of the two Kashmiri students was a "welcome step" and will have salutary effect not only in the AMU, but also in the Kashmir Valley.

"We feel that slapping of a sedition case against the two Kashmiri students by police was hasty, ill conceived and based on flimsy evidence," Usmani said.

He said if the police fails to withdraw the cases, the Kashmiri students have decided to re-launch their protest and go ahead with their peaceful resistance by leaving the campus en masse.

According to AMU officials, Governor Satya Pal Malik is playing a key role in resolving the ongoing crisis at the AMU. He is reported to be in close touch with the Uttar Pradesh government and the AMU authorities.