KARACHI:
It took the administration of Liaquat National Hospital an hour-and-a-half to regain control of its emergency ward and security room from student activists on Tuesday.
Nearly two dozen activists marched into the hospital with four injured students, following a clash at the Gulshan-e-Iqbal campus of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology (FUUAST).
According to the police, the fight between activists of the Pakhtun Student Federation (PSF) and the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation (APMSO) — a student wing of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement — started when the latter tried to enter the university, which is a stronghold of the PSF.
As both groups opened fire at each other, four students were injured, including PSF organiser Fida Kakar, ASI Ahmed Ali, and two passersby, Ramiz, 17, and Waheed, 18. Aziz Bhatti police reached the university and tried to control the situation but they had to call for more help. Later, Kakar was taken to Liaquat National Hospital while the others were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
Panic gripped the surrounding areas as shopkeepers hurried to pull down their shutters. Drivers also chose not to take the road from Nipa Chowrangi to Hasan Square for at least an hour after the clash.
A police officer said that a similar fight between the same groups took place at Government Degree Gulshan College on Monday. He felt that the clash on Tuesday may be linked.
The violence extended beyond campus when Kakar reached the hospital as the security guards refused to let the armed students in. After a fierce argument, the students opened fire.
It was around this time that a rumour spread that Kakar had succumbed to his injuries. The enraged students resorted to intense aerial firing and broke hospital property. In the security room, the mob beat up the in-charge and broke furniture and surveillance cameras. The mob then moved to the main road and started protesting outside the hospital. They also threw stones at vehicles and blocked traffic. The police came in again but the miscreants had escaped by then.
For their part, the PSF members claimed that they did not resort to any violence. They said that they were attacked by the rival group at the hospital entrance when a few of them arrived with Kakar.
Meanwhile, the police said that they have asked the hospital administration to provide footage from the closed-circuit television cameras so they can determine who the culprits are.
“How can we tell if the PSF is telling the truth or not?” asked SHO Raheem Shah. “When we reached the hospital we saw them [PSF members] rioting on the road, but they were protesting the attack on them when they brought Kakar to the hospital.” Shah said that they are waiting for the hospital administration to register the case.
FUUAST will be closed for two days following the clash, said a university notification.
The Express Tribune tried to contact APMSO members for comment but they were unavailable.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2011.
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