Kashmiri students defer decision to leave Aligarh Muslim University en masse

LUCKNOW: Kashmiri students at Aligarh Muslim University have shelved their decision to return their degrees and leave the campus on Wednesday, after the institution revoked the suspension of two students.
The suspension order was revoked on Tuesday night after a three-member enquiry panel set up by the university absolved Waseem Ayyub Malik and Abdul Haseeb Mir, saying “no credible evidence” of their taking part in any “unlawful assembly” in the university campus was found, AMU spokesperson Shafey Kidwai said.

The students had been suspended on Friday for trying to hold a prayer meeting for Hizbul Mujahideen commander Manan Bashir Wani, who was killed in a gun battle with security forces in Kashmir.Malik and Mir, and one unknown person, were also charged with sedition for allegedly raising “anti-India” slogans.

Mashkoor Ahmad Usmani, former president of AMU Students’ Union, said that the revocation of suspension of the students was a “welcome step” and would have a positive effect in the university and in Kashmir Valley. “We are strongly opposed to any anti-national act and we will never allow any such incident to take place at the campus. However, we are strongly opposed to any attempt to harass any student, be it from Kashmir or from any other part of the country. We feel that slapping of a sedition case against the two Kashmiri students by police was hasty,” Usmani said.