Varsities, colleges boost security

Protest-marred academic activities to resume today

LAHORE:

The major universities of Punjab have deployed security personnel on and around their premises as the institutions are set to reopen on Monday following suspension of academic activities for three days because of protests by students.

The government and private colleges will also reopen amidst arrangements by the police to curb protests.

However, the Lahore College of Women University (LCWU) will remain shut for another day.

According to sources, the government and private universities and colleges have been instructed to make strict security arrangements to stop protests.

Following the instructions, the big universities, especially those in Lahore, have tightened security in and around their campuses.

The security officials of the institutions have been instructed remain ready to deal with any untoward situation.

The sources said the decision to keep closed the LCWU, where an alleged incident of harassment had sparked protests, had been taken in view of reports about a planned demonstration on Jail Road.

The Punjab government had announced holidays in educational institutions across the province last week after some violent incidents took place during protests in several cities.

All the boards of intermediate and secondary education (BISE) and universities across the province had also cancelled their scheduled examination, whose new dates will be announced after observing the situation following the reopening of the institutions.

Students of several universities in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Chakwal and other cities had protested over allegations of the rape of a college girl in the provincial capital.

A number of students were injured in various cities and a security guard was allegedly killed in Gujrat during the protests.

The universities and colleges administrations reviewed the security arrangements on the eve of the resumption of classes.

"Security has been tightened at the Punjab University and around its hostels. No student will be allowed to enter the premises without identity cards, while the entry of all other people would be banned," a PU security official told The Express Tribune.

The official said the university administration would remain in contact with officials of the police stations concerned and their help would be sought in case of any protest.

The earlier protests had broken out amid unrest among students over allegations of harassment in a private college, the LCWU and the PU.

A girl student from the Sialkot district had allegedly committed suicide in a PU hostel last week. A complaint of harassment of a female student has also surfaced from a campus of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur.

A spokesman for the LCWU said the university would be closed for the students, while the administration staff would perform duty.

The colleges in the provincial capital have also boosted security arrangements and instructed their students to bring their ID cards.

Meanwhile, the police have made several arrests in a crackdown on the students and other elements suspected of being involved in violence during last week's protests.