The sacked contractual employees of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) were brutally beaten by the police and thrown into the lockups for holding a peaceful protest.
The protesters have called for the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan, and other high officials to take notice of the mistreatment with them at the behest of the AIOU vice-chancellor (VC).
As per the details, the sacked daily-wage and contractual employees of the varsity were staging a peaceful protest outside AIOU for the fulfilment of their demands. However, the VC of the largest distant learning facility of the country called the police.
The police teams reached the site and started a baton charge on peaceful demonstrators. The security personnel beat the protesters and dragged them inside the police vans. They were taken to the police station where they were thrown inside the lockups.
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Since there was no clause to arrest the peaceful protestors, police kept them in illegal detention and said they could go only if they would give it in black and white that they would never hold a protest at the university.
Further, a faction of these employees staged a protest outside National Press Club (NPC). AIOU Students’ Councillor Rukhsana Shafqat and other officials including Sahfiullah, Hina Fatima, Faheem, and Aizaz Kazmi, addressed the protesters.
They said that they had been serving in the universities for the last 16-years and then they were sacked without a show-cause notice.
The officials said that holding a peaceful protest was the right of every Pakistani citizen and questioned on what basis they were assaulted and imprisoned.
“Do the mothers and sisters of the nation are locked up in prison in this way?”, they expressed.
The employees said that they had also approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Supreme Court (SC) to get their demands fulfilled.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2020.
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