Protesting students arrested for demanding internet facilities Quetta

Students have been staging demonstrations in Quetta for past few weeks under the banner of Baloch Students Alliance

QUETTA: The Balochistan police on Wednesday arrested over two dozen students in Quetta while they staged a protest from Quetta Press Club to Balochistan Assembly, demanding access to internet for online classes.

The students have been staging a demonstration in Quetta for the past few weeks under the banner of Baloch Students Alliance. They are protesting against online classes in universities across the province.

Mahrang Baloch, an activist and student leader, was also among the arrested female students. “We were protesting for the availability of internet for online classes.”

According to a police officer the students tried to organise a rally in the city when there is a complete ban on every kind of gathering as section 144 is imposed. The arrested students were shifted to different police stations.

Balochistan government had closed all educational institutions in the province in March after a spike in coronavirus cases. However, the educational institutions had announced that they would be conducting online classes during this period, compelling students to protest against the decision because of poor internet facilities in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2020.