At least seven activists were injured during a clash between two student organisations at NED University of Engineering and Technology Friday afternoon.
The brawl broke out between the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) and the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation (APMSO) when an inter-departmental cricket tournament, organised by the IJT on campus, was underway.
The tournament itself and all classes came to a halt when both groups attacked each other with stones, sticks and iron rods. Luckily the injuries were not severe.
Tausif Aijaz, the APMSO's joint secretary, called the clash a "combined effort" of those "factions" who work in collusion to sabotage the peace of the city. "We all know what is happening in the city since morning," he said. "These extremist elements have a grand plan to disrupt the socio-political environment of the city. Now they wish to drag the educational institutions into this as well but we will not let them succeed in their wicked goals."
According to Aijaz, five APMSO activists - Usha, Zeeshan, Shahbaz, Talha, Kamran - were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
The IJT's information secretary, Sohaib Ahmed, said the allegations were "preposterous". According to him, the IJT organises a cricket tournament every year on campus but some elements do not want to see any good work happen. "The attack was planned in order to disrupt the tournament, which started on July 19 with massive student participation," said Ahmed.
According to him, Shoaib and Talha were injured and had to be taken to Jinnah hospital.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 23rd, 2011.
COMMENTS (6)
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I am ex-nedian, I dont know when IJT use to organize any tournament instead of that they use to gather studens from different departments forcefully to organize any event. I also became victim of IJT when I was in first year.
Islami Jamiat Talaba is a pressure group of Jamat-e-Islami and all the citizens of Pakistan are well-aware of this fact. Their politics is always based on violence and thus this incident is one of the many clashes, which happens every now and then in the educational institutions of Pakistan. Pakistan Government must act upon this situation & ban IJT.
IJT as usual involve in creating disturbance in the campus they must be banned in university premsis there students always found in illegal activities ,, beating students , teachers , ... it seems IJT formation is just to keep the student away from the healthy educational environment.
i m sorry to say that IJT attacked the students of apmso... i was there at that moment ... ned ground is far away from apmso stand ijt workrs came there and atacked apmso students ......
I am an Nedian just passed out this year. I can't remember any tournament IN university, either by APMSO or IJT. But I played 4 times in the tournament which IJT organised outside the campus. THis year my brother was playing in the tournament and he expressed grief over the incident. He said that about 48 teams participated.... Now, what can I say....
I am an Ex-NEDian & I don't remember when was IJT used to organize any Cricket Tournament at NED. Infact, I remember two occasions (2003 & 2005) when IJT sabotaged cricket tournament organized by APMSO at NED.