Police finally bring QAU crisis to an end

Over 60 protesters arrested amid claims of excesses

ISLAMABAD: Nearly three weeks after some protesting students forced the Quaid-i-Azam University to close, police finally intervened to forcibly remove the last pocket of resistance from the campus on Monday morning and restore academic activities.

The action — which some termed as harsh with students, some teachers and activists accusing police of using unwarranted force — saw police pick over 60 students, mainly aligned with the Baloch Students Council, from their protest camps and shifted them to different police stations.

Following the police purge, the university finally opened for students and employees. However, classes were held partially.



Tense calm prevailed over the campus after the police action with contingents of riot police deployed at the university entrance.

Strikers

Members of six student councils  — Sindhi, Punjabi, Pakhtun, Baloch, Seraiki and G-B — had been staging a strike on the main road leading to the university since October 4. The blockade had forced the varsity to suspend all activity on campus.

The students demanded the immediate restoration of fellow students who had been rusticated and expelled on disciplinary grounds.

However, all student groups, except for the Baloch, called off their strike after talks with the university’s  administration over the weekend.

The syndicate committee and the university administration also accepted a demand from the students to withdraw a recent hike in fees. However, the varsity and its syndicate refused to acquiesce to supposedly the main demand of the students  — rescind punishments awarded to students for their involvement in violent clashes, including the use of firearm on the university premises on May 20.

Sindhi and Baloch students had clashes at the university on May 20, leaving around a dozen people injured and forcing the varsity to close down for a few days. The university’s disciplinary committee had subsequently rusticated and expelled 42 students.

In a news conference on Sunday, the Baloch students had vowed to keep the varsity shut until their two rusticated and eight expelled fellows are restored.



No leniency

On Monday morning, large contingents of police streamed to the university and began picking up the protesting students.

“We picked up the students from the two protest camps. There were no injuries as the police easily overcame the students who were fewer in number,” a police official told The Express Tribune, adding that they had picked up over 60 students from the university. Confirming students were in their custody, the official said that no decision had been taken yet to formally book the students.

Meanwhile, the Quaid-i-Azam University, in a statement released from the office of its vice chancellor Dr Javed Ashraf, said that classes were conducted peacefully for the most part on Monday.



“Some unruly individuals (most of whom are believed to be outsiders and not QAU students) “Some unruly individuals (most of whom are believed to be outsiders and not QAU students) attempted to disrupt classes. They also attempted to prevent buses from leaving the campus early in the morning.  In both cases, the intervention of police thwarted their designs”

QAU Statement attempted to disrupt classes. They also attempted to prevent buses from leaving the campus early in the morning.  In both cases, the intervention of police thwarted their designs,” the statement read. “Many of these individuals were taken away from campus by the police.  It is expected that academic activities will be carried our normally tomorrow.”



Excessive force

When asked to the claims by certain teachers and students along with some pictures circulating on social media which showed that students had been tortured and beaten using batons, the officer termed these as ‘old pictures’.

He further clarified that no hostel or any other department was raided by the police as some pictures posted on the social media showed.

Kamran Baloch, who is president of the Baloch council, claimed that police used rubber bullets against them and had baton-charged the students.

Student protests

Baloch students hailing from different universities and colleges of the capital gathered outside the National Press Club on Monday afternoon to protest against the QAU administration and the police action.

They demanded that all students be released forthwith.

Some faculty members also said that the matter should be resolved through dialogue rather than through use of force — which they said always proves to be counter-productive when solving conflicts.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2017.