LAHORE: The Punjab University students who were booked after a clash between two groups of Pashtun and Baloch councils and the Islami Jamiat Tulaba have expressed concern over what they say the apathy of the Punjab police whose website until recently showed them as “real terrorists” with their pictures and names despite the withdrawal of cases.

The incident took place on Jan 22 last and the criminal charges against the students were withdrawn within a week on the intervention of the Balochistan government.

Police removed from its website (https://punjabpolice.gov.pk/) the “real terrorist tab” a day after this reporter contacted their information technology department to seek their version.

Ten students of the PU and two policemen were injured in the clash that took place between the two groups. Police registered four cases under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) against the students for damaging public and private property, injuring policemen and creating law and order situation on the varsity.

The students, however, were set on bail by the Anti-Terrorism Court after the police and the university administration withdrew the charges.

The Punjab police website continued to show the students’ names and pictures under the Real Terrorism section which falls under Criminal Record Holders tab. The tab also includes a list of crimes such as burglary, car snatcher, car theft, cattle theft, child abuse, dacoity, drug peddlers, motorcycle snatcher, motorcycle theft, other vehicle snatcher, other vehicle theft, robbery and gangs. It shows the record of years from 2011 to 2018 with the Criminal Record Office, Lahore, as the main source and that the list was last updated in June.

In 2018 section there are a total of 21 people who have been declared terrorists in the list and 15 of them are students of the PU. They are Siraj Ahmed and Sakim Ali (BS Social Work 3rd semester), Abdul Hafeez (BS Sociology 8th semester -- Baloch Council), Noor-ul-Islam (Msc Mountain Research 2nd year), Samiullah (social work second semester), Syed Kalam (7th semester sociology), Shah Masood (3rd semester Islamic Studies), Noor Zada (who recently completed master’s in geography), Naeemullah (last semester Gender Study), Sadam Husain (Sports Science), Israr Ahmed (7th semester sociology), Noor Rehman (who completed political science), Muhammad Riaz (3rd semester geology), Umer Deen (7th semester political science) and Abdullah (who completed sociology and belongs to Pakhtun Council).

Back then the Balochistan government had sent Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti to Lahore to demand withdrawal of terrorism cases against the students. The then Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, held a meeting with Higher Education Minister Raza Ali Gilani, PU VC Prof Dr Zakariya Zakar, the chief secretary and the IGP and admonished them for registering cases under terrorism charges and directed them to quash these cases.

Baloch Council chairman Latif Baloch told Dawn that they would launch a protest drive against the Punjab police for declaring them terrorists and uploading their pictures on their official website. He said police had registered cases under terrorism charges against the students after a clash but these were quashed on the intervention of the Balochistan government. He said their families and friends were concerned about their safety.

Punjab Police Computer Bureau Director Shaheen Khalid told Dawn that they update the data provided by the Crime Record Office (CRO) branch. She said they had the official email of the CRO branch Lahore about the criminal record of the people whose pictures were uploaded on the website.

“We cannot amend the data without getting proper email or official letter from the CRO branch,” she said. The bureau had contacted the CRO branch and come to know that the students were given bail by court, she said.

“Police and university administration have not dropped the cases against the students and they have to appear before the court to get these quashed,” she added.

Speaking to Dawn, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Information Technology Tariq Abbas Quraishi claimed that they were the custodian of the website and responsible for its working. “We have to upload their (students’) details on the website,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2018