- 37 PU students suspended as administration takes stern action
- Clashes erupt again on Tuesday despite police presence
- PU to enrol Baloch students nominated by Balochistan govt
LAHORE: As many as 37 students were suspended by the Punjab University (PU) administration and the Vice-Chancellor (VC) Dr Zakria Zakar has decided, while chairing a meeting of all the heads of departments and deans, that the students of Balochistan would only be enrolled in the varsity after getting nomination of the students from the Balochistan government.
The decision was made after several incidents of scuffle surfaced between the activists of Islami Jamiat Taleba (IJT) and some Pashtun students hailing from Balochistan in the past, and more recently on Monday where over a dozen students got injured in a scuffle. Some classrooms of chemical engineering department were also put on fire by the enraged students.
Currently, the students from Balochistan get admissions on the quota reserved for their province directly but now, it has been decided by the varsity’s administration that the students from Balochistan would only be nominated by the Balochistan government to get admissions in the PU.
It is worth mentioning here that presently, there are 400 students enrolled in PU hailing from Balochistan and these students have formed their own union in order to counter the influence of the IJT – the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, which earlier enjoyed great influence over the varsity but their hegemony started to erode after the student union of Pashtun and Baloch students appeared on the horizon.
The meeting chaired by the VC also decided to implement the biometric system in all the hostels to discourage the outsiders as several students hailing from Science College, FC College and Civil Lines College were also found in Monday’s scuffle. Three First Information Reports (FIRs) were launched with the Muslim Town Police Station against the miscreants over the incident of Monday, and the act of terrorism including 7 Anti-Terrorism Act (7ATA) were also included in the FIRs in which over two dozen students were named.
Students from both the sides, including PU IJT Nazim Usama Ijaz and Pashtun Union President Asfandyar Khan, were also named in the FIRs. Students from both the groups also came on roads on Tuesday while blocking the campus bridge for traffic.
IJT Nazim of Lahore chapter Jibran Butt said on the occasion that the activists of IJT will block the whole city if police fail to arrest the Baloch students who spoiled their event in the university on Monday.
The activists of Baloch Pashtun Union also held rallies to demand the arrest of IJT activists as their leader Asfandyar Khan said that both the police and varsity’s administration are showing leniency towards the IJT.
A heavy contingent of Police under the Lahore CCPO Captain (retd) Amin Wains held a flag march in the varsity on Tuesday to inculcate a sense of safety among the frightened student. The flag march, led by CCPO, was also participated by DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf, SP Iqbal Town Rana Umar Farooq and SP Anti-riots Nadeem Khokhar.
The CCPO said on the occasion that the police will not allow anyone to disrupt the atmosphere of the university and stern action would be taken across the board against the miscreants.
The scuffle between IJT activists and Pashtun students again surfaced at the hostels despite the fact that a heavy contingent of police was also deployed there and DIG operations was also present in the varsity at that time.
The police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd and around 30 were arrested from both sides. The police also vacated hostel number 1 and 7 to ensure the law and order in the evening.
The university became a battlefield on Monday as clashes erupted between two student unions leaving several students injured and the university administration left with no option except to call in a heavy contingent of police to maintain law and order in the campus.
The clashes surfaced between IJT and Baloch Pashtun Students Union soon after the Pioneer Festival.
Although, the festival was arranged by the IJT, both the groups of students were found blaming each other for the ugly episode. The enraged students ransacked several vehicles parked in the varsity while also vandalising the property of the university.
Meanwhile, representatives of Baloch Pashtun students held a news conference late night on Tuesday in which they said that they don’t want scholarships from the Punjab government as their only demand is to provide safety to Baloch students. “We came here all the way from Balochistan for studies but here we have to face the brutality and vandalism of the ‘goons’ of IJT,” Jaffar Khan, a Pashtun leader said.
He was of the view that all the Pashtun and Baloch students studying in Punjab will leave the province forever in protest if the Police do not release all their arrested workers. He further added that Baloch and Pashtun students of PU were ordered by the police and varsity administration to vacate the hostels, and they were now on the roads with all their luggage as they did not have any other location to live in Lahore except for their hostels.
The university administration also called a delegation of Awami National Party (ANP) and Pashtun Welfare Foundation to pacify the situation.
It is not the first time that such clashes surfaced in the PU. Last year in March, over 16 students were injured in a clash that took place between the IJT and Pashtun students after some activists of IJT ransacked the cultural festival arranged by the Pashtun Education Development Movement during the tenure of former VC Dr Zafar Moeen Nasar.
