AWP Islamabad-Rawalpindi condemns the brutal police violence in QAU and the unlawful arrests of dozens of mostly Baloch students of QAU and demanded their immediate release. The students’ only crime was organizing a strike against the administration for an unfair fee hike, low number of student hostels, reimbursement of heavy fines, improvement in facilities , removal of security blockades, registration of pharmacy dept, inquiry against RO and Provost and the restoration of unfairly expelled students.
AWP calls on the Islamabad administration and police to immediately release the the arrested students and end the unlawful crackdown on the student strike. An inquiry must be take place to determine who was responsible for unleashing such brutality on students on QAU campus. Peaceful protest is a fundamental constitutional right of all, including students. Such repression is only made possible because Pakistan remains one of the handful of countries in the world where student unions are banned owing to our dictatorial legacies.
AWP calls on the QAU administration to stop its anti-student policies and attitude, listen to the students demands, ensure the provision of basic facilities and enable student participation in the university syndicate responsible for decision-making.
AWP called upon lawmakers to pay attention and overturn the ban on student unions in Pakistan, which is the fundamental reason behind why such violence is occurring. Students must be given democratic representative spaces to discuss and debate their needs. State violence is not the answer!
