QAU reopens amid students’ protest, arrests

Islamabad :Amid protest by a group of students and subsequent arrest of protesters by the police, the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) resumed classes on Monday after forced closure for two and a half weeks by the Quaidian Students Federation.

From October 4 to 19, the Quaidian Students Federation activists had forcibly stopped teachers from taking classes and locked administration offices against the expulsion of students over campus violence, higher fee, poor facilities and shortage of hostels.

They however had successful talks with the QAU administration on last Thursday winning favourable decisions, especially withdrawal of 10 per cent increase in fee and provision of the requisite facilities to day scholars and hostelers, and thus, leading to the reopening of the university.

However, a group of students, Baloch Students Council, rejected the talks saying they will continue protesting until Baloch students expelled over the May campus violence were restored.

As the university resumed classes on Monday, the Baloch Students Council activists staged a sit-in against the administration, faculty and syndicate, closed some classes by force and tried to stop buses from plying, prompting the administration to call for help the police, which showed up in large numbers and arrested troublemakers, including ex-students and outsiders.

The police also beat up several on facing resistance during search of hostels for protesters. The Baloch students announced that their protest would continue until the release of arrested colleagues and restoration of expelled ones.

The administration claimed it had accepted most of the protesters’ demands but referred the call for the restoration of the expelled students to the syndicate, the university’s supreme decision-making body, for decision. It announced that educational activities had resumed on campus and would continue on Tuesday.