ISLAMABAD: Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) Islamabad remained shut for the ninth day on Thursday as students continued their strike against the university administration.
The students at the varsity have laid a list of 13 demands before the administration, saying that they will not call off their strike till their demands are met.
The students’ demands include the provision of better facilities for the students, revision of fee structure and an increase in the number of hostels and buses among others. However, the real purpose of the students’ protest has allegedly been to restore a number of students who had been expelled earlier over a clash between two ethnic groups on campus.
The protesting students have caused all academic activities at the university to come to a halt. Earlier, the agitated students had blocked the main university road and did not allow buses to enter or leave the university premises. According to reports, the students are also sabotaging ongoing researches at the university. They have threatened to continue the protest till their demands have been fully met.
QAU Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Ashraf, in a news conference on Wednesday, said that the university was willing to listen to all of the demands of the students except the one about the restoration of the expelled students. The QAU Academic Staff Association (ASA) also threatened to go on a strike if the expelled students were brought back.
A clash between two student groups from Sindh and Balochistan earlier in May had resulted in the expulsion of eight students from the university. However, there are reports that the expelled students have continued to reside in the university hostels.