President Alvi directs HEC to take steps against racial profiling of Baloch students

Orders to thoroughly monitor any activity which may be a cause of concern to the Baloch students

ISLAMABAD:

President Arif Alvi on Friday directed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the Vice-Chancellor of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, to take necessary measures to avoid incidents of harassment and racial profiling of Baloch students at the university campuses.

The directions were passed by President Alvi after hearing the grievances of Baloch students in compliance with the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) order of April 8 passed in reference to a writ petition asking the president and chancellor of QAU to ensure that the issues of Baloch students regarding ethnic profiling were probed and a report was submitted before the court.

The hearings were held at Aiwan-e-Sadr and were attended by QAU VC Prof Dr Muhammad Ali, Additional Secretary Ministry of Interior Muhammad Ayub Chaudhary and Advocate Imaan Zainab Hazir.

Read: IHC puts onus on new cabinet for missing persons’ recovery

"The country faced a unique situation and the resurgence of terrorist activities was a cause of concern," the president said adding that counter-terrorism efforts were essential to peace and stability, however, he also stressed that these measures needed to be carried out with utmost care and balance so as not to isolate or profile any segment of the population, particularly the students of Balochistan.

He also directed the VC Ali that there was a general sense of deprivation or isolation in students of Balochistan, therefore, it was incumbent on all educational institutions to take more care to address such sentiments.

"A proactive programme of activities and debates within the student community should be developed to address feelings of deprivation among Baloch students," Alvi said.

He further asked the VC to thoroughly monitor any activity which may be a cause of concern to the Baloch students at the varsity and to verify the credentials of visitors in order to check the impersonification and maligning of law enforcement agencies.

Earlier, the president had held hearings on April 20 and 21 with Baloch students where it was informed that a Baloch student had disappeared from his hometown in Balochistan after receiving a phone call from an unknown person who asked him to meet another unknown person at the QAU.