Karachi University professor Dr Riaz released after 'detention'

Dr. Riaz Ahmed, an associate professor and syndicate member at the University of Karachi, was released on Saturday night after enduring eight hours of what has been described as "illegal detention" by police from three different stations across the city.

“These institutions are nothing more than rubber stamps. What’s the point of going there? They don’t even include my dissenting opinion in the record. Just because I could have raised an objection about [IHC judge] Justice Jahangiri, they treated me this way,” he told reporters after his release.

Dr. Ahmed's detention sparked widespread protests and public outcry, ultimately leading to his release.

“I demand that the syndicate meeting be reconvened and that Justice Jahangiri be given the opportunity to respond so that justice can be seen to be done. I have no affiliation with any party. We stand for human rights,” he emphasized.

In response to the incident, Dr. Asad Tanoli, secretary of the KU Teachers Society, announced a boycott of all classes at the university on Monday.

According to Dr. Riaz, the police moved him between different stations following a series of posts he made on X (formerly Twitter). In these posts, he claimed that the university had faced an "unusual level of external pressure" in the past week, leading to the last-minute postponement of a Senate meeting on the orders of the board's secretary.

He further alleged, "Today, a 40-year-old objection to the degree of a sitting high court judge is being added to the Syndicate agenda. The Syndicate was postponed because capitalists Nadra Hanjwani and Hussain Jamal, along with ‘Chief Patron’ Atta-ur-Rahman, don’t want their 50-year control over the unfair means committee challenged. The University of Karachi is now being used as a pawn in the power struggle in Islamabad. Why are external forces attacking so boldly and treating the university as a tool for their private agendas?”