Balochistan: Protests erupt after blackmailing and harassment reports of University students

QUETTA: A number of student organisations staged protest in Balochistan University over the harassment and blackmailing of male and female students of the varsity administration the news of which come to light two days ago.

The protester carried placards inscribed with different slogans including “Punish the accused”, ” No to harassment”, “We want justice”.

The students also chanted slogans against the university administration, demanded a comprehensive probe into the matter and the removal of the Vice Chancellor and other high-ups.

“Harassment cases should be probed in all three major universities of Quetta,” Dawood Shah, the president of Insaf Students Federation, demanded at a press conference at the Quetta Press Club held later in the day.

He said the government must act and act quickly to bring the perpetrators to book so that such incidents could be avoided in future.

“This is not acceptable; we cannot compromise on our dignity,” Khalid Baloch, the central office-bearer of Baloch Students Organisation said.

The protesters lamented that the harassment scandal has severely affected the atmosphere of education in the province in general and at Balochistan University in particular.

“This harassment was going on for a long time in the university,” Kabeer Afghan, the central office-bearer of Pashtoonkhwa Students Organisation said.

The Balochistan University Vice-Chancellor Dr Javed Iqbal, however, assured his ‘full cooperation’ the investigative team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The case had come to light about a month ago when the Balochistan High Court (BHC) directed the FIA to investigate reports of students being harassed at the varsity.

The FIA, which has been probing the case for several weeks now, discovered that male and female students were being harassed through “objectionable” videos of them.

“We have traced 12 videos of harassment of female students,” a senior officer of FIA who declined to be named told DawnNewsTV.

He added that most of the victims in the case are female students who were harassed by some officials in the university’s administration.

Meanwhile, the Balochistan Bar Council has demanded the suspension of the VC of Balochistan University and confiscation of his mobile phone for a forensic test. They termed the harassment and blackmailing of students ‘a deliberate attempt’ to keep students away from educational institutes.

They said, “The Vice Chancellor of the University has damaged the trust of the people of Balochistan, parents and students.”

The Balochistan Bar Council has also demanded the immediate removal of Pakistani forces check posts and camps from the university premises.