ISLAMABAD: Academic activities at Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology were suspended on Monday till Friday after a group of students closed the gates of the campus in protest against the registration of an FIR against them.

On June 10, a brawl between the Pakhtun Students Federation and Seraiki Students Federation left scores of students injured. On June 11, an FIR was registered against 40 of the students and some of them were put behind bars. Following the brawl, the campus remained closed for over 10 days.

On Monday, the protesting students, majority of them nominated in the FIR, kept the gates of the campus closed.

“It’s an unfortunate incident. To avoid any untoward incident, we have closed the university till Friday which can be extended,” said Ali Zaman Shah, the additional registrar. He said the university was ready to withdraw the case but the students involved in the fight should patch-up.

“The FIR registered against the students should be quashed as court hearings are disturbing our education,” said Jawad Khan, one of the protesters. The students said they would not call off their protest until the university administration takes back the case.

Hamza Sadiq, another student, said: “Our mid-term examinations are underway. In case of cancellation of our bail, we will be sent to jail. In that case, we will miss our semester.”

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2015

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