Pakistani students protest outside Raisani’s hotel

LONDON: Pakistani students held a protest outside the hotel where sacked Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani was staying with his family members and staff.
After Geo News revealed that Nawab Raisani was staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Cambridge — the town famous of its world-class alma mater, the Cambridge University — Pakistani students studying at the Cambridge University gathered outside the hotel, braving heavy snow and chill. These students included many of those Pakistanis who are studying at the famous university on scholarships provided by the government.
Nawab Raisani has confirmed to The News that his teenage daughter has gained admission at the university for an English language course. Nawab Raisani, who is no more in Cambridge and has moved to another location in the UK, is accompanied by his activist and journalist wife, Saba Jamal.
The town also has a good hospital called Addenbrooke’s Hospital which is known for heart and cancer treatment. It is at this hospital where Nawab Raisani was also checked for his regular vocal chords problem.
Members of Pakistan Students Societies gathered outside the hotel after the news was broken on Geo TV about the whereabouts of Nawab Raisani. Arif Naveed, who organised the protest, said that the aim of the protest was to express “the deepest discomfort with the presence of Aslam Raisani in Cambridge.”
“We consider him responsible for the genocide of Hazara community throughout the four years of his government. We demand the government of Pakistan to investigate his failure to protect the lives of Hazara in the light of his own involvement in the most organized crime against humanity since such continued ethnic cleansing of Hazara is not possible without patronage. We express our greatest solidarity with Hazara families whose loved ones are killed in this one and the earlier ones.”
Arsalan Ghani, President Cambridge University Student Union, told The News: “It is extremely disappointing to hear that the province of Balochistan is facing huge crisis relating to imperialist plunders, national question, military aggressions and sectarian violence and its chief minister is touring Cambridge. Economic deprivation gives rise to militancy and sectarian violence. The PPP should understand this and stick to its founding manifesto to resolve issues of Balochistan and Pakistan. We will give this message to the PPP government through our protest in Cambridge.”
Pakistani students in Toronto, Canada, also organised a demonstration to show solidarity with Shia and Hazara people in Pakistan. Held outside Pakistan embassy, more than 400 people attended the protest.
Ayyaz Mallik, a doctorate student, told The News that protestors demanded that the state and security establishment should stop patronizing the violent extremist groups elements which target Shias and other religious minorities in Pakistan and immediately produce them before the courts.