KARACHI, April 19: While alleging each other’s workers of inflicting injuries to opponents, two student bodies — Islami Jamiat Talaba and All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organization — pronounced on Tuesday that the law enforcing agencies had miserably failed to give protection to students in educational institutions.

According to claims made by the leaders from the two sides in separate press conferences, about 28 activists were injured at universities and colleges only on Tuesday. The leaders express the view that the terrorist elements were free to destroy academic peace, but nobody was able to take any notice of the situation.

Speaking at the Karachi Press Club, IJT Nazim Syed Tahir Akbar said that a worker of Jamiat, Farhan Asif, who succumbed to severe injuries and died, was abducted and tortured by APMSO workers and police failed to handle the case properly.

He named Shahzada Imran, Azmat, Faraz Abdullah and SHO Shafiq (Papa) among the killers of IJT activist and demanded that the Sindh government should order immediate arrest of them. “If our demand is not met within 72 hours the government would be responsible for all adversity,” he added.

He said that IJT workers were being attacked for last one week, while at least 15 workers were injured at different institutions on Tuesday.

Blaming the police of giving a free hand to IJT opponents, Mr Akbar said that some police officials were obviously partial and patronizing APMSO workers. He demanded that the president, prime minister, corps commander and IGP should take action against APMSO workers allegedly attempting to sabotage the peace and law and order situation in educational institutions.

On the other hand, APMSO Central Information Secretary Tahir Yousuf said that two of the 13 activists were severely injured due to hostilities of IJT. While naming the institutions where his party workers were attacked and injured by IJT workers, the APMSO leader alleged that two persons “who were nominated in an FIR and arrested by police were released from Nazimabad police station due to MMA’s pressure”.

He said that the APMSO was all out for academic peace in the city and in this regard it had already signed an agreement, prepared by CCPO Tariq Jamil, along with IJT in the presence of seniors from both the sides. Unfortunately, the IJT, which did not want to see the APMSO flourishing in educational institutions, was reversing from the agreed code of conduct and trying to mess up the prevailing peace in educational institutions.

He said that the APMSO had nothing to do with the death of Farhan Asif and the IJT was unnecessarily dragging APMSO workers into the torture incident of the student for a cheap publicity. “We are extremely shocked over the terrible death of a student and demand a high-level enquiry into the incident,” he added.

However, he added, the APMSO on the complaints of its injured workers would lodge FIR against IJT workers.