Members of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) community – students, faculty and staff – gathered at the Central Academic Courtyard of LUMS on Wednesday evening for a silent protest and vigil against the brutal killings of Hazara Community in Balochistan and the general spate of violence, terror and intolerance in the country. The student-led protest was organised by LUMS Student Council in collaboration with various student societies.
Prayers for peace and tolerance were followed by a moment of silence in memory of, and respect for, those who lost their lives. A member of the Hazara community and the student organisers also shared their thoughts on the dismal situation of the country.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Dr Adil Najam, in his brief remarks said that he hoped that “our moment of silence is not just a moment of justified anger but also a moment of introspection” about what the nation had become as a society. He told the gathered students and faculty that “we must all become agents of positive change in our society and that the first and most important step towards change is that we must stop tolerating the intolerance around us.”