KHAIRPUR: The controversial deal between the Shah Abdul Latif University (Salu) administration and a group of its pharmacy department students led to violence close to the campus and eventual police intervention on Tuesday.

Police fired teargas shells to disperse charged students who, along with activists of some nationalist groups and civil society organisations, tried to enter the campus in a scheduled procession. The protesting group of students disapproves the deal with Salu administration reached and announced on Monday evening. They had already planned the rally on Tuesday but the Salu administration managed to strike a deal with a breakaway group, which agreed to call off the protest. However, the other group led the rally as planned and headed towards the campus amid a charged atmosphere.

When the rally reached close to the university’s main entrance, the participants came face to face and both sides started raising slogans against each other. Eventually they came to blows and engaged in a fight during which clubs and bricks were freely used. A strong contingent of police moved into action and lobbed teargas shells to disperse the rally participants and protect the group that was raising slogans in favour of Salu vice chancellor and administration.

Police round up several students, civil society activists after tear-gassing their rally

A number of protesters were rounded up for rioting. They included Mushtaq Sarki, Ali Ahmed Memon, Fayyaz Khamisani, and Noor Mohammad Tunio. Mr Sarki was freed from the Kot Diji police station after a few hours while all others were kept in lockups of different police stations. Several of them appeared to be activists of a civil society organisation calling itself ‘Voice of Khairpur’.

Before the split occurred in the rank and file, the students ran a campaign for the registration of their pharmacy department with the Pharmacy Council Pakistan (PCP), pleading that the matter had been lingering on for nine years and several batches had already passed out during the period. They accused the Salu VC and administration of resorting to delaying tactics.

On Monday evening, Khairpur Deputy Commissioner Naeem Sindhu brokered a deal between Salu administration and a breakaway group of the protesting students. Under the deal, the group agreed to call off the protest on the assurance that the matter of the department’s registration and other issues of the students would be “sorted out in the next 45 days”.

With the announcement of the deal, the Salu administration declared a holiday for Tuesday (today) apparently to ward off the other group’s planned rally.

Qaumi Awami Tehreek (QAT) president Ayaz Latif Palijo in his statement issued in Hyderabad on Tuesday condemned the police action against protesting students.

He said the action exposed the face of claimants of democracy. He noted that the students were right in agitating for their issue as the delay in the registration of pharmacy department had put their future at stake. He regretted that those at the helm of affairs found no time to pay attention to their grievance.

He wondered that the Salu administration collected fees from the students though their department was not even registered with the PCP.

Mr Palijo said use of violent means to curb the protest reflected dictatorial mindset of the provincial government.

Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party chairman Dr Qadir Magsi also condemned violence against the peaceful protesters.

In his statement, he said a democratic dispensation would always desist from such steps because holding peaceful protest was everyone’s fundamental right.

He observed that under a conspiracy, environment of educational institutions was being vitiated. He held the Sindh government and university administration responsible for the situation and called for accepting just demands of the students to put an end to the unrest.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2019