PU students’ protest against arrest of union leader continues

LAHORE: Hundreds of students from Pushtun and Baloch Councils of Punjab University have been protesting against the police and administration for arresting the Pashtun Educational Development Movement (PEDM) president for two days.

The students had been blocking entry and exit gates of the university since Sunday night to protest against the arrest of PEDM president Riaz Khan from the hostel. The students announced sit-in till the release of Khan.

They demanded that police should not be allowed to enter the campus and action should be taken against Islami Jamiat Tulba (IJT) activists for [allegedly] opening fire in the presence of police.

They said the administration should stop harassment and ‘profiling’ of Pushtun and Baloch students.

Muslim Town police on Monday registered a case against Asad, Noshad, Daud, Saqib, Wali Ziarat, Riaz Khan, Nisar and Arif and three unidentified persons under section 341, 356, 506, 148 and 149 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Baloch Council president Shera Bugti told Dawn that the police were not allegedly maintaining the sanctity of the educational institution and were raiding to arrest the students.

He said the police arrested the PEDM president on Sunday night but registered a ‘fake’ case against him on Monday morning.

He said Pushtun and Baloch students were harassed by the administration and police time and again but no one took action against them.

Mr Bugti said the police were arresting the students without registering the cases and were releasing them after keeping them in custody for two days.

He said they were holding a sit-in outside the gates of the university and would not leave till the release of their fellow.

The PU spokesperson said the resident officer and chief security officer were holding negotiations with the students to open the gates.

“The administration is taking stern measures to avoid any untoward incident.”

He said disciplinary action would be taken against the students involved in disrupting the peaceful environment of the university.