By Mujeeb Rahman Qambrani
MEHAR: Despite the inauguration of the Pakistan Peoples Party K.N. Shah former MPA late Engineer Abdul Aziz Junejo Public Library in Mehar six months ago, the facility has still not been opened for public use.
The library was inaugurated by Additional Director of Private Schools Rafiya Mallah, PPP MPA Zubair Ahmed Junejo, Assistant Commissioner Mehar Ghulam Fatima Ghalo and Dr Muhammad Khan Sheikh along with others.
Protesting the continued closure, students and civil society members from Mehar city and surrounding areas staged a rally for the 20th consecutive day, marching from the library to the National Press Club Mehar. The protesters raised slogans against the authorities over the prolonged closure.
Speakers including Advocate Panhal Khoso, Abdul Nabi Chandio, Raja Altaf Chandio, Ghulam Latif Latifi, Saleem Pirzado and others said more than 8,000 books had been placed in the library after its inauguration, but it remained unclear why it had not been opened for students, calling the six-month closure a serious injustice.
Students said both male and female learners were facing severe difficulties due to the shutdown, and their education had been badly affected. They said they had been protesting for the past 20 days but no authority had taken notice of their demands.
They appealed to the education minister, the social welfare department and senior officials to immediately intervene, open the library and safeguard students’ future, warning that they would expand the protest if the facility was not reopened.
