Lahore: A deeply unfortunate, alarming, and unacceptable incident occurred today at Punjab University when the young daughter of a university professor was attacked by stray dogs roaming freely on the university campus. The brutal attack left the child with approximately fifteen deep bite wounds on different parts of her body, requiring immediate medical attention. The tragic incident has caused immense shock, grief, and concern among the victim’s family as well as the entire university community. The Academic Staff Association (ASA) and the Joint Action Committee stated that they have repeatedly raised concerns over the growing stray dog population on the campus through both written communications and verbal representations over the past several months. According to the associations, they had consistently warned the university administration that the increasing number of stray dogs posed a serious threat to the lives and safety of students, faculty members, university employees, and their families. Despite numerous complaints and repeated demands for action, the administration allegedly failed to address the issue with the seriousness it deserved, displaying what the associations described as criminal negligence, indifference, and a lack of responsibility. They maintained that today’s tragic incident is a direct consequence of this continued inaction. The Academic Staff Association and the Joint Action Committee expressed profound disappointment over what they described as the misplaced priorities of the current university administration. Instead of focusing on resolving the institution’s fundamental issues, ensuring campus security, and protecting the welfare of the university community, the administration has allegedly remained preoccupied with retaliatory actions, harassment of faculty and employees, and unnecessary administrative conflicts. The associations argued that when an administration neglects its basic legal and administrative responsibilities, such unfortunate incidents become inevitable, and responsibility for the consequences rests with the concerned authorities. Strongly condemning the incident, the Academic Staff Association (ASA) and the Joint Action Committee have put forward the following demands: An immediate, transparent, and impartial inquiry should be conducted to determine responsibility for the incident and hold those accountable. The injured child and her family should be provided with every possible medical, administrative, and financial assistance. A comprehensive, effective, and permanent operation should be launched on an emergency basis to make the entire Punjab University campus safe from stray dogs. A clear, practical, and sustainable campus safety policy should be developed and implemented to ensure the protection of students, faculty members, employees, and their families. The Academic Staff Association and the Joint Action Committee further warned that if the university administration fails to take immediate and effective measures to permanently resolve the stray dog issue, and if any similar incident occurs in the future, they will reserve the right to pursue all available legal remedies against those responsible. These measures may include the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) and other legal proceedings against the relevant authorities for negligence. The associations urged the university administration to set aside personal preferences, retaliatory attitudes, and unnecessary disputes, and instead devote its full attention to addressing the university’s core challenges. They stressed that ensuring campus security and safeguarding the lives and property of students, faculty members, employees, and their families must remain the administration’s highest priority. The statement concluded by emphasizing that the protection of human life is the foremost responsibility of any institution, and any further negligence in fulfilling this duty would be entirely unacceptable.
