Protesting students shut down QAU again

VC lodges FIR against Baloch students for deflating buses’ tyres, beating drivers

ISLAMABAD: Days after it reopened, hundreds of protesting students forced the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) to close again on Monday, sparking fears of uncertainty and additional closures.

The latest closures resulted in another case against Baloch students for deflating tyres of buses and beating drivers.

On Monday, protesting students stormed the university’s main bus terminal and several departments forcibly shutting them down.  “The students deflated buses’ tyres due to which most students and employees could not reach the university. The protesters also put superglue in locks of classrooms,” a university official told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

The Baloch students told The Express Tribune that they will not allow the university function on Tuesday either.

“We will not let the buses move unless the expelled students are restored,” a student leader said.

The university has remained closed for most of October owing to a protest, mainly by Baloch students, against a 10 per cent hike in fees and the rustication and expulsion of their fellow students.

The students slammed a June decision by the university’s disciplinary committee (UDC) which had expelled eight students and rusticated at least 18 others after violent clashes between the Sindhi and Baloch students on the university’s premises on May 20 left several people injured and forced the varsity to close for days. The clashes had also involved the use of a firearm and prompted law enforcers to conduct a search operation in the varsity’s hostels.



However, after successful talks with the varsity’s administration and the district administration, almost all students groups had ended their strike after the fee hike was withdrawn on October 20.

The Baloch students, however, continued their strike demanding the restoration of two of their expelled and eight rusticated fellow students. They maintained that they had been attacked by the Sindhi students and had only acted in self-defence on May 20.

However, on October 23 police launched a crackdown in the varsity, bundling dozens of protesting students, mainly Baloch, into trucks and shifting them to different police stations in the capital. The operation finally allowed the university to resume academic and administrative activities after a three-week hiatus.  Officials, though, released all detained students within 24 hours though, after three criminal cases were registered against them.

Following Monday’s disruption, a QAU spokesperson was unsure whether the varsity would open on Tuesday (today), noting that there was no official notice of closure but admitted uncertainty was prevailing.

Meanwhile, the police have registered a fresh FIR against several Baloch students for allegedly deflating buses’ tyres, and beating drivers.

The FIR, registered on the complaint of QAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Javed Ashraf, also accuses the protesters of snatching the keys of the buses from drivers.

At least five separate FIRs have now been registered by the police against QAU students since May 20.

Alumni concerned

Meanwhile, an association of former students of QAU have expressed their concerns over the prolonged closure of Pakistan’s top-ranked university. In a statement released on Monday, the QAU Alumni Association (QAUAA) said that the varsity’s prolonged closure was affecting its reputation.

This situation, it said, can have a detrimental effect on the ranking of the varsity and of Pakistan in the higher education sector both at the international and regional levels. The QAUAA emphasised on the need for all concerned stakeholders to resolve the issue at the earliest through peaceful means.

The association, while noting that it believes in non-interference in the internal matters of QAU, but the grave situation of the alma mater, especially by those Quaidians whose children and close relatives are still studying at QAU, the matter was one of unrest and concern, it noted.

“QAU Alumni Association believes that many of the difficulties of the QAU emanate from the financial hardships being faced by the varsity which has resulted in the lack of essential facilities and an increase in fees,” they said, noting that the varsity’s debt had ballooned to Rs400 million.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2017.