PESHAWAR: Call it prudence orduplicity,KhyberPalchtunkhwa Governor`s House on Tuesday issued a circular to government universities in the province to ban student federations on campus but later asked me dia not to report it.

It is not clear whether it was the governor, who wanted journalists not to run news reports on the circular, or some apex entity influenced the move.

The governor`s advisers were too late or too quick to predict how the ban decision taken apparently without consulting the provincialgovernment or relevant people would be seen if publicised, a possible reason for the media being asked not to report the decision.

Although the governor is the chancellor of public sector universities in the province, the new Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act concentrates powers into the provincial government. Under the law, the chancellor has to act on the advice of the provincial government in most of the matters on universities.

However, in this case, it seems he (chancellor) consulted nobody.

Mushtaq Ghani, the provincial minister for higher education and information, couldn`t hold back his smile when asked if the PTIled government knew about the governor`s order and intervened af ter its issuance.

`We have not been consulted.

He (the governor) would better know the reasons of issuing directives and later stopping media from publicising them,` he said.The statement issued by the Governor`s House said the governor had ordered imposition of ban on all student federations to ensure conducive academic environment in universities.

`The governor, who is also the chancellor of public sector universities, has take serious notice of student organisations and federations in the educational institutions in utter violation of the orders passed by the Supreme Court.

`The governor has directed for imposition of ban on all such student`s federations forthwith and absolute disengagement of the administration of the universities there from so as to ensure conducive academic environment in the educationalinstitutions.

In an email issued few hours later, the press secretary to the governor requested news organisations not to run news items on the circular and said there was no obvious reason for move.

`The Governor`s House wantsto publicise it (matter) later `through a new strategy` after consulting universities,` he said.

Ironically, the decision to ban the students` political activities on campus was `not taken back` as the circular issued to vice chancellors of all public sector universities in province also ordered `strict disciplinary action against delinquents.

The circular said all the concerned had been asked to take necessary action on their level in the matter accordingly and submit compliance report for perusal of honourable governor and chancellor.

The relevant staff members at Peshawar universities said they received the directives from the Governor`s House on Tuesday and were going to follow them.

Tariq Afghan, a young political activist, said such a decision coming from a governor, whose own political party too had a student wing, Muslim Students Federation, was quite surprising.