Pakistan's higher education official withdraws letter raising objections over Holi celebration at university

ISLAMABAD : Pakistan’s higher education watchdog on Thursday withdrew a letter raising objections over the celebration of the Holi festival at a university here after a backlash on social media and intervention by the government. Shaista Sohail, the executive director of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), had issued a letter taking exception to the celebration of the festival by the students of Qaudi Azam University in Islamabad.

However, the letter invited a barrage of attacks on social media with many people asking about the academic performance of the HEC and suggesting to improve it instead of correcting the morals of the people. Salman Sufi, the head of the Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit, clarified that Education Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain had instructed the HEC to retract its controversial letter.

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According to a statement by Sohail, the HEC was “highly respectful of all religions, faiths, and beliefs, and the associated festivals and celebrations observed in the country”. “The message communicated in this regard is in no way intended to hurt the sentiments of any individual or group,” according to the HEC official. The letter clarified that the impression that the HEC had banned any festivity was “out of context”.

The letter acknowledged that the message conveyed in the communication had been subject to misinterpretation and the HEC said it was withdrawing the notification. Earlier, the education minister informed the parliament that the HEC had retracted its letter, which imposed a ban on the celebration of Holi.