States with over 12 Kashmiri students to have officer to handle 'issues'

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday announced to appoint liaison officers in states having more than 12 Kashmiri students.

Referring to the recent controversy at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) that led to the suspension of two Kashmiri students, Malik said, "10 days back, there was a controversy at the Aligarh Muslim University where two students from this state were suspended after they organised a prayer meeting to honour slain terrorist Manan Wani who was killed during an encounter with the security forces. Even the Vice-Chancellor of the University urged the students to offer the funeral prayer, but inside a mosque. However, they didn't listen to the University authorities and did the opposite. The proctorial board picked them up and they were later suspended."

"I made the authorities revoke the suspension and the VC was kind enough to agree to what I said. So, we have decided that wherever more than a dozen of Kashmiri students are studying, we will recruit liaison officers in each of those states who will take care of such issues," Malik said.

On October 12, two students were suspended for allegedly raising anti-India slogans at the Aligarh Muslim University and organising a prayer meet for terrorist Manan Bashir Wani, an aluminous of the university who was killed in an encounter with the security forces on October 11 in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district.

The suspension also led to a huge controversy as 1,200 Kashmiri students studying in AMU threatened to leave their studies midway.