ISLAMABAD: Educational activities were completely restored on Tuesday at Islamabad’s Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) after twenty days under police surveillance.
According to details, the security personnel are deployed inside and at the university’s main gate. The management said that the police would continue to perform duties until the situation got under control.
All the students have been directed to wear their university cards as, without them, they wouldn’t be allowed to enter the institution.
Superintendent Police (SP) Zubair Sheikh told media that the people who were detained over spreading chaos in the university have been released whereas secretariat police station has lodged three separate cases pertaining to interference in government affairs, vandalism and forcibly closing the classes against the students.
Police on Monday arrested more than 100 protesting students of QAU as they tried to shut down the academic activities. Initially, they detained 41 protesters but the number increased with time as more protesting students made way into the university premises.
According to QAU public relations officer, 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 on Monday 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 to continue protesting until the release of their colleagues.
Gilgit Baltistan (GB) Students Council chairman said out of the total arrested students, only 25 were Baloch students, while the remaining belonged to Pakhtun, GB and Sariaki councils. Secretariat Police Station House Officer Qaiser Gillani also confirmed that around 100 students were detained by police during the crackdown and shifted to different police stations.
On October 4, QAU students went on a strike demanding that all the students who were expelled due to their involvement in a fight and strikes a few months ago be released immediately. The students also demanded the fee structure to be revised, new hostels to be built, buses to be provided, heavy fines to be reimbursed and student facilities to be improved.
They also insisted to remove the Vice-Chancellor Dr Javed Ashraf while accusing him of administrative irregularities and embezzlement.
