15 January 2004	Thursday	22 Ziqa'ad 1424

KARACHI, Jan 14: Police arrested 35 activists of the APMSO and the IJT for allegedly creating law and order situation at the Gulshan-i-Iqbal campus of Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology on Wednesday.

According to campus sources, the workers of the two student groups failed to show restraints and resorted to victimize their opponents. Initially, the two groups alleged each other of bringing their unwanted supporters in the campus. Later, they held the law enforcing agency personnel, deployed at the Urdu Science College, responsible of observing leniency at the entrance of the campus.

The acting vice-chancellor Dr Zafar Iqbal, when contacted, said that the law enforcing agency controlled the law and order situation after the clash. He said it was expected that both the groups would restraint themselves from indulging in any further clash. He said that as per earlier plan, the new academic session would start on Jan 15 at the campus. He was confident that the exams scheduled for the day would also be conducted as per programme in a peaceful environment.

It was learnt that both the groups approached the police to get the outsiders out from the campus, as they were a threat to academic peace in the campus, which had already witnessed two clashes between the rivals groups on Monday and Tuesday.

Sources at the campus said that police after receiving complaints resorted to checking the ID cards of students, who were already in the campus and those entering the campus. In the meantime, the students from both sides pelted stones on each other, which did not result in any major injury, but, attracted the Rangers and police for action.

Both the student groups had also flexed their muscles in the University of Karachi on Jan 12. Later, under the influence of their senior political mentors, the groups on Jan 13 had signed a code of conduct envisaging ban on entries of non-student elements in any educational institution. Among other do and don'ts, the student leaders were asked to ensure a policy of restraint, while only the genuine students in uniforms were allowed to enter educational institutions.

Police said that trouble started around 10:30am on Wednesday when some outsiders belonging to the APMSO camp tried to enter the premises of Federal Urdu University that provoked IJT followers and a free-for-all started.

The SHO Aziz Bhatti police station told Dawn that when the situation started worsening, police acted promptly by making arrests from both the students groups. He said that 22 activists of APMSO and 13 belonging to IJT were arrested by the police.

Later, an FIR 16/2004 under sections 147/149/506/504 of PPC was lodged against the activists of both groups by the police. Police said the activists of both groups were kept separately at Aziz Bhatti and New Town police stations to avoid any untoward incident.