Tension persists as students vow to continue protest

PESHAWAR: Tension persisted in the University of Peshawar on Friday, which adversely affected academic activities on the campus and the administration still remained adamant on taking action instead of defusing the situation in a peaceful manner by holding talks with the protesting students.

The university administration lodged the first information report against the leaders of Muttahida Talaba Mahaz (MTM) on Friday.

The MTM leaders, who had convened a meeting on Friday morning to devise a future line of action, had to postpone the meeting to avoid arrest.

They want to prolong the protest campaign till acceptance of their demands.

The provincial government has been unable to take any action on the matter.

There is not even a minister of higher education to tackle the situation. The secretary education has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

And the leaders of MTM pledged to continue their protest come what may.

Awal Sher Khan, campus president of Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba, said in a statement that the university administration should talk sense and accept their genuine demands.

He said that the administration cannot stop them from demanding their rights by lodging the FIRs against them.

“We are not afraid of arrests and false cases. We would continue our struggle,” Awal Sher Khan said.

Meanwhile, protest demonstrations were held in other parts of the provincial metropolis and elsewhere in the province to condemn the use of force against the students in the university.

Three groups of students gathered outside Peshawar Press Club and demanded action against the university administration for subjecting the students to a severe torture.

Political parties continued to express condemnation of the incident.

Inayatullah Khan of Jamaat-e-Islami submitted a call attention notice in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to look into the matter and action to be taken against those responsible for torturing peaceful students, who were making genuine demands.

Abdul Wasi, general secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami, condemned the statement of Shaukat Yousafzai, the spokesman for the provincial government, in which he had accused political parties of supporting student federations.

In a statement, he said the students federations in the university were very much legal and raising a voice for rights was not a crime.

He said that the government had failed to provide enough financial resources to the students due to which the fees are increased and there was more burden on the parents.

MARDAN: The activists of the Muttahida Talaba Mahaz (MTM), a combination of different student federations, of Abdul Wali Khan University and different colleges staged a protest against the violence on students in Peshawar.

Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands, the students blocked the Bacha Khan Chowk for several hours.

Later the students gathered outside Mardan Press Club.

Sajjad Ali, Provincial vice-president of Pakhtun Students Federation (PkSF), district general secretary Changiz Khan, Faraz Khan, divisional president of People’s Students Federation (PSF) and others spoke on the occasion.

Addressing the protest rally, the speakers condemned the violence against the students in Peshawar. They demanded the government to arrest those police official who were involved in the violence.

The Chief Justice of Pakistan was asked to take notice of the incident. The protesters dispersed peacefully later.

MINGORA: The Pakhtun Students Federation and other students’ organisations staged a protest.

The activists of various groups of students held a protest outside the Swat Press Club and chanted slogans against the administration of UoP and the police for the torture on the protesting students the previous day.