ISLAMABAD: Police on Monday conducted an operation in Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) and detained around 100 students, mainly belonging to the Baloch council, who resorted to protests and boycott of educational activities even after an agreement was reached between students and administration last week.
According to sources, educational activities could not be completely restored in the university after students belonging to the Baloch council forcefully shut down different departments, while also stopping university buses from entering or leaving the campus premises.
Keeping in view the gravity of the situation, a heavy contingent of police was deployed in the university to deal with any untoward situation. Therefore, when protesting students stopped varsity buses and forcefully shut down educational activities, the police cracked down on the students and arrested a large number of protestors.
Initially, the police had only arrested 41 students, but the number reached 100 when more protesting students entered the university from outside.
The students of Baloch council said that they would only allow resumption of educational activities when the notification regarding restoration of the rusticated students was issued by the university administration.
A large contingent of police, including lady police personnel, and Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were seen guarding the university all day long.
In a move to deny protestors any space, the police had issued a warning which restricted the assembly of four or more people inside the university. Due to this, cases of sporadic clashes between protesting students and the law enforcers were reported at various places on the campus.
According to QAU public relations officer, classes were reopened from Monday for the first time since October 4. The officer said that the students who attempted to shut down classes in the university were believed to be outsiders and not QAU students, while adding that after the police crackdown, it was expected that classes would resume per schedule from Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the students of QAU staged a protest demonstration in front of the National Press Club against the arrests of around a 100 Baloch and Pakhtuns students.
The protestors condemned the police action against students and vowed that they would continue protesting until the release of their colleagues.
When contacted, Gilgit Baltistan (GB) Students Council chairman said that they were visiting different police station to make efforts for the release of the arrested students. He said that out of the total arrested students, only 25 were Baloch students, while the remaining belonged to Pakhtun, GB and Sariaki councils, who he hoped, would be released on Tuesday.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Secretariat Police Station House Officer Qaiser Gillani confirmed that around 100 students have been detained by police during the crackdown and shifted to different police stations.
Strong reaction from different quarters:
Meanwhile, Balochistan Republican Party President Brahumdagh Bugti strongly reacted to the use of force against Baloch students andsaid in a tweet that, “Use of force against protesting Baloch students in Islamabad is another example of how the state wants to keep Baloch away from education.”
Jibran Nasir, a civil society activist, said that students from Balochistan council were arrested despite protesting peacefully. Such measures would only aggravate the situation and not solve it, he added.
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