11 Dawood varsity students charged with hooliganism

Karachi
As many as 11 students of the Dawood University of Engineering and Technology (DUET) were booked on Wednesday allegedly for creating a law and order situation in and around the campus during a demonstration organised against the varsity’s vice chancellor (VC) Dr Faizullah Abbasi.
Protesting against the alleged corruption of the VC, frequent increase in tuition fees and outsourcing transport contract rather than improving the university’s own transport system and unfair distribution of laptops under the Prime Minister's Laptop Scheme, the students had rallied outside the varsity and later carried out a demonstration at the M A Jinnah Road on Monday.
The students were claimed to be supported by various political, religious and nationalist parties. The Talba Action Committee of the university claimed that all the new departments established over a period of five years lacked laboratories whereas four new departments had not fulfilled legal requirements.
They also blamed the VC for appointing incompetent chairmen and other staff at the university while spending its funds at hosting programmes in five star hotels. Dr Abbasi was also accused of awarding fake admissions. The students’ committee demanded Sindh anti-corruption department, Federal Investigation Agency and the National Accountability Bureau to investigate the VC’s wrongdoings and also called for the varsity’s competent authority to sack him.
According to SHO Jamshed Quarter Police station, Akhlaq Ahmed, at least 11 students of different religious and nationalist parties were arrested for creating a law and order situation.
“For the last three days, the students have created a mess resulting in prolonged traffic jams and disturbance for commuters.”
The SHO claimed that senior members of the student parties had been arrested and there were chances that others would not come onto the streets on Thursday (today).
The students were charged for pelting stones on the police force besides blocking vehicular traffic, threatening DUET management and others.
The administration claimed the student activists were trying to sabotage the ongoing examination process at the varsity as they were bullying and threatening students who wanted to appear in the papers.
The DUET had asked law enforcement agencies and the zonal administration to provide security to students, teachers and the non-teaching staff as well as provide a permanent solution to the problem, stated a university official.
The protestors announced that the demonstration would end only after the removal of the VC from the post. A DUET official refused all the allegations and said the claims were false. “The only purpose behind the protest was to sabotage the examination process.”