KU journalism teacher laid to rest | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

KU journalism teacher laid to rest

KARACHI: Sarwar Naseem, an associate professor of the Mass Communications Department, University of Karachi (KU), and noted journalist, passed away late Thursday night at the university due to heart failure. Naseem was push-starting a car when he suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away. Naseem was also the general secretary of the Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) as well as the president of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Staff Association (FAPUSA).

Naseem was taken to the Ibn­e-Sina Hospital immediately where doctors announced that his heats had stopped beating only 10 minutes before he got to the hospital. Naseem was 47 years old and had six children five daughters and one son. His eldest daughter is 15 years old while his son is the youngest at two years.

“He was always in hurry and it seemed, to me, that he had done everything in hurry,” said Mehmood Ghaznavi, chairman of the Mass Communication department. “I met him Thursday at 8 p.m. when he was going for an evening class and as usual he said hello to me breezed into class.”

The professor’s funeral was held on Friday and was attended by former media colleagues, old students and university colleagues. Others who were present at the burial included KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Pirzada Qasin Raza Siddiqui, KU PVC Prof Ikhlaq Ahmed, KU Registrar Prof Muhammad Raees Alvi, Prof Dr Aqil Barni, Prod Dr lzamuddin, Prof Dr Shafiqur Rehman, KUTS President Prof Dr Sohail Barkati and other staff members and colleagues.

The university’s former vice chancellors, poets and vice chancellors of other universities were also present on the occasion. KU VC Prof Siddiqui expressed his deepest sympathies with the family of the departed. He said the academic society of the country had lost a great teacher. He said the loss was personal for him because he had lost a good friend and advisor. Prof Sarwar was VC Siddiqui’s media advisor for the last year or so. VC Prof Siddiqui said the late professor was one of the hardest working teachers of the university. He said he actively supported his colleagues and students.

Prof Sarwar Naseem was buried at the university’s graveyard. The Karachi University Employees Welfare Association (EWA) has also expressed its deep shock and sorrow at the death of Naseem. EWA President Kabir Khan called him a celebrity of the university who was always ready to go out of his way and help students and teachers. The EWA also offered special prayers for the departed.
Prof Sarwar Naseem was one of the most active faculty members and was extremely cooperative. According to various accounts, he was humble, was always ready to carry out orders and issue them and was very competent. Most departmental responsibilities rested on his shoulders and he apparently performed them well. He had organized and made all the arrangements for his last seminar on Thursday.

“He was partially active in politics during his university career and was supported by both conservative and liberal parties because of his sincerity,” said Inam Bari, his teacher and a colleague. During 1995 and 1996, he contested in the KUTS elections and was elected executive for the first time and within a short period of three years he was elected president of the society for two consecutive terms. After that, he accepted the post of secretary according to the election rules.

He was known for his efficiency and, in 2003, he was elected as the president of FAPUASA. One of the Naseem’s milestone achievements was the grade promotion of the university teachers for which he was greatly appreciated. He was offered bribery many times but refused all forms of gratification, claimed Bari. “He was my student, colleague and like a son,” said Bari.

Naseem understood his students’ constraints and always helped them.
He graduated with a masters degree in journalism in 1983 and then started his career as a journalist. Later, he joined KU as a public relations officer but
Remained interested in journalism and decided to teach the subject. He started teaching in the Mass Communication Department in 1988 and taught there till the time of his death. He also worked as a freelance reporter for a foreign TV channel and radio stations. He was born in 1959 in Karachi. He moved to the Republic of Malta and finished high school there. After that, he moved back to Pakistan and went on to graduate from KU.

He was the project director for the under-construction Dr Feroz Ahmed Institute of the Mass Communication department. He was also working on his PhD topic, “The working condition of the journalist in Pakistan”.
Naseem was president of the KaTachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) twice in a row although at the time of his death he was the secretary of the society.
His death has left his students dumbfounded. Many said that he had always wanted his students to remain honest and dedicated to the cause of journalism. “He was a teacher of the print media and his strongest field of specialization was journalism,” one of his former students said.

It was on Thursday night, almost an hour or so before he passed away, that Naseem praised one of his old students for active participation in the Karachi Union of Journalists. “A reporter should always be professional and honest with his life and work. It is only then that he will prosper and progress not only in life but also in his field,” he had said that night, Naseem always said that there should be trans­parency in journalism. “The nation will grow strong then, when the media will grow,” he had said.
Source: Daily Times
Date:2/17/2007