Bloody KU phadda over tearing of BB’s poster

Ongoing tensions between two student unions spilled over into a huge fight at the University of Karachi (KU) on Monday, leaving at least 21 people, including three paramilitary soldiers, injured.
Activists of People’s Students Federation (PSF) and Punjabi Student’s Association (PSA) came face to face on the issue of pasting posters on the nearby walls of the Dr Mehmood Hussain Library.
On Friday, a group of PSF activists had plastered posters of organising a football tournament at a spot claimed by the PSA near the central library. Resisting their move, the PSA activists tore away the pamphlets containing pictures of the slain Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief, Benazir Bhutto.
This made the PSF activists angry and they thrashed the PSA activists present on the spot, which incidentally included the union president also.
With tensions already simmering between the two groups, some unidentified armed men opened straight firing at the PSF stand near the varsity’s library on Monday. The gunfire caused a stampede inside the campus.
As the Rangers personnel, deployed for security inside the varsity, rushed to the spot, they were also greeted with bullets and stones, leaving three of them hurt in the ensuing crossfire.
Following the armed attack, a heavy contingent of Rangers arrived at the spot and baton-charged and tear-gassed the students to disperse them.
The paramilitary soldiers brutally thrashed the members of both the clashing groups and, cordoning off the affected area, launched a search operation for the armed attackers. At least 15 activists from each of the groups were arrested reportedly.
A KU official, on condition of anonymity, told Pakistan Today that many students were injured due to the violent baton charge of law enforcers.
To protest the highhandedness of Rangers, a group of students ransacked the offices in the KU’s Administration Block.
Following the incident, the KU administration postponed the classes scheduled in both evening and morning programmes.
A security official at KU told Pakistan Today that 21 people, including three Rangers personnel, were injured in the clash and 15 activists of both groups, including PSF President Basharat, arrested from different areas of the varsity campus.
Talking with Pakistan Today, a senior PSF leader said that some PSF activists belonging to a faction run by PPP MNA Faryal Talpur had tried to paste posters of an upcoming football tournament at the stand of PSA.
“The PSA has requested all students’ organisation not to paste posters or wall chalking at its stand but the PSF activists were new and did not know the rules,” he said. “When the PSA activists resisted and tore away the posters, the PSF members turned angry and beat up the PSA activists including their president.”
The student leader said that after the weekly offs, the PSA activists gathered at the KU for revenge and attacked the PSF activists.
A Rangers delegation later met with KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser and briefed him about the prevailing law and order situation.
Later, the KU vice chancellor convened a meeting of KU officials which was underway until the filing of this story.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued by the KU on Monday, it was announced that the varsity would remain open on Tuesday.
KU Student Adviser Dr Ansar Zaidi said that all the arrested students were released. He confirmed that Rangers were attacked by students.