Manhandled: Hazara varsity wants court to order FIRs against police

Protesting students of Hazara University had a plan to disrupt Chinese convoy of CPEC, DPO Mansehra

MANSEHRA: Students and teachers of the Hazara University have approached a local court, urging it to order the filing of an FIR against the Mansehra district police officer for harassing fellow students and teachers of the varsity.

The DPO, meanwhile has claimed that police had acted against a group of students protesting on the Karakoram Highway last week after receiving intelligence reports that some were receiving instructions to prolong the protest to block a convoy of trucks under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Hazara University administration have approached a local court, urging it to order the filing of an FIR against the Mansehra district police officer for harassing fellow students and teachers of the varsity.

The DPO, meanwhile has claimed that police had acted against a group of students protesting on the Karakoram Highway last week after receiving intelligence reports that some were receiving instructions to prolong the protest to block a convoy of trucks under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

On November 2, a jirga was held at a local snooker club in Momin Market near the varsity to settle a dispute between students Chand Zeb and Salman. However, instead of resolving the dispute, Zeb fired on Salman and others accompanying him. As a result, Salman and Tayyab suffered fatal injuries while Sajjad was injured.

Zeb fled the scene and was arrested two days later from Abbottabad.

Shortly after the incident, a large group of students and teachers from the varsity staged a protest on the Karakoram Highway, blocking it for several hours. Ultimately, police fired tear gas and baton charged the protesters to disperse them. Over 130 protesters were also arrested.

The university administration, however, has filed a petition under Section 22-A of the Criminal Procedure Court in a Mansehra district and sessions court for registering cases against DIG Hazara, DPO Mansehra, Additional SP Mansehra, DSP Shinkiari, DC Mansehra, Assistant Commissioner Mansehra for arresting and torturing students and misbehaving with teachers. The court has asked the respondents to submit their replies on November 8.

Meanwhile, DPO Mansehra Chaudhry Ahsan Saifullah, while responding to questions about the case, told The Express Tribune that the protesting students in fact wanted to block a convoy of 45 Chinese trucks under the CPEC banner.

He alleged that the students were prolonging their protest at the behest of a political leader based in Peshawar to disrupt the convoy.

Commenting on the application of the students filed under Section 22-A of the CrPc, DPO Mansehra rejected the allegations against him and other officers. Instead, he claimed that after the double murder, some students and teachers were trying to cast an ethnic colour on the incident.

"At the behest of someone in Peshawar, the students were completely prepared to disrupt the convoy," the DPO said, adding that the students had openly stated that the murder was ethnic and that some people from Dhodiyal had also joined their protest.

Noting that the situation was challenging, he said the police tried to ensure the uninterrupted journey of 45 Chinese trucks and preventing a head on collision between locals and students. In this regard, he said the police and the district administration approached the university administration and asked them to help control the situation but, he alleged, the administration did not cooperate with police.

Later, DPO Saifullah said, police received intelligence reports which which suggested that some protesting students were in constant contact with a provincial leader of a political party and were taking guidelines from him to prolong the the protest till the next day when the first of the Chinese trucks were due to pass by the university.

Based on the reports, the DPO said police had to baton charge the protesters to disperse them while dozens were arrested and that weapons and grenades were also recovered from some of them. Of those arrested, he said 20 were provoking students on lingual basis and were responsible for orchestrating the protest and damaging 12 vehicles and blocking the highway. These were sent to DI Khan jail for a month under the Maintenance of Public Order.

Further, Saifullah pointed out that the police had recently registered over 24 cases of ethnic disputes between students,suggesting that some students and teachers were involved in dividing the students along ethnic lines.