Isra University control row; guards injured in clash

Tensions escalated at Isra University Hyderabad, resembling a battlefield, as security guards affiliated with the disputed heads of the institution engaged in a violent clash.

Allegedly, gunshots were fired during the confrontation, injuring four guards. The disputed vice chancellor, Dr Nazir Ashraf Laghari’s faction, accused the rival vice chancellor, Prof. Dr Hameedullah Kazi, and his associates of orchestrating the attack to seize control of the university.

Amidst the chaos, the Piffers Security Services, whose guards sustained gunshot wounds, and Tufail Ahmed Marwat, the university’s security in-charge associated with Kazis, blamed Laghari’s group for the aggressive assault. Gunfire even reached nearby shops and a gym outside the university’s entrance. Fortunately, no fatalities were reported apart from the injured guards. The gunfire, lasting approximately four to five minutes, not only caused panic and distress to patients and their attendants at the Isra University Hospital situated on the premises but also startled residents with the sound of the shots. Bashir Laghari, the chairman of the union committee number four, criticised both sides for holding the locality hostage and appealed to the Sindh government to assume administrative control of Isra University, until the Sindh High Court resolves the matter.

Cases registered

An FIR has been registered at Hatri police station based on a complaint filed by Mouladad Aiwan, an employee in Laghari’s administrative office. The complaint names Hameedullah, his head of media and public relations, Eidi Ameen, and the Director of Al Ibrahim Eye Hospital, Abdul Fatah Memon for inciting the attack on the university and attempting to harm the security personnel.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2023.