KU says no complaint of violence on campus

Viral video claims Hindu student harassed over Holi

KARACHI:

The University of Karachi (KU) said on Tuesday that the administration had not received any complaints from students regarding harassment while celebrating Holi on campus.

A video was shared widely on social media earlier in the day in which Hindu students of the varsity accused members of the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) student organization of forcefully stopping them from celebrating Holi. The students said that they were subjected to violence.

The video comes a day after visuals from a similar incident on the campus of the Punjab University in Lahore.

A spokesperson for the IJT, which is the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, said that his party members were not involved in the incident. The spokesperson said it was an attempt to create divisions on religious lines while urging the administration to investigate the matter.

The KU administration said that they had neither received any complaints nor received any report of violence against any student on campus. They said that also had not received any requests to celebrate Holi.

The administration pointed out that a Youm-e-Mustafa Conference was taking place, which had been approved by the administration.

Minister Rahu said that Hindu students were free to celebrate their festivals and no one should stop them. Our religion and law teaches respect for all beliefs, and gives them full freedom to celebrate their festivals, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2023.