Protesters take part in a demonstration demanding for reinstatement of student unions, education fee cuts and batter education facilities, in Karachi on November 29, 2019. (Photo by Asif HASSAN / AFP) — AFP or licensors

In pictures: Students take to the streets in droves to seek fulfilment of demands

No untoward incident reported anywhere in the country; students lauded for their "disciplined manner" of protests.
Published November 29, 2019

Thousands of civil society members led by students and including parents, teachers, lawyers and social activists, took to the streets on Friday in support of the demands of students across the country.

They called for an end to the ban on student unions, demanded a reduction in education fees, and called for an overall improvement in educational facilities and security of students on campus.

Rallies were taken out in all major cities of the country, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Quetta and Peshawar.

Among the participants were a transgender student of medicine, calling for an end to "irrelevant favours" demanded by professors, a woman lamenting an end to student unions "which form a crucial part of political struggle" and the absence of which have led to "a regressive society", and an elderly man who blamed "lingual bias" for the societal decline witnessed today.

Examine: If student unions are bad for education, why are our controlled campuses ranked among the worst in the world?

No untoward incident was reported anywhere in the country, with some cities lent a helping hand by police officers who escorted the rallies. Students were lauded for the "disciplined manner" in which they carried out their demonstrations.

Protesters demand education fee cuts and better education facilities, in Karachi on Friday. — AFP
Protesters demand education fee cuts and better education facilities, in Karachi on Friday. — AFP

A view of the protest march by students in Karachi on Friday. — AFP
A view of the protest march by students in Karachi on Friday. — AFP

Hundreds of students took part in the protest calling for the restoration of student unions, in Karachi on Friday. — AFP
Hundreds of students took part in the protest calling for the restoration of student unions, in Karachi on Friday. — AFP

The streets of Karachi turned red with communist posters and flags in the protest march on Friday. — AFP
The streets of Karachi turned red with communist posters and flags in the protest march on Friday. — AFP

Students shout slogans demanding their right to student unions, in the march in Karachi on Friday. — AFP
Students shout slogans demanding their right to student unions, in the march in Karachi on Friday. — AFP

Students enact a scene to protest student oppression, in Islamabad on Friday.  — AFP
Students enact a scene to protest student oppression, in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP

Students putting up a performance to demand better education facilities, in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP
Students putting up a performance to demand better education facilities, in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP

A close up of the student participants performing an act during the protest in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP
A close up of the student participants performing an act during the protest in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP

A girl shouts slogans during the protest rally in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP
A girl shouts slogans during the protest rally in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP

Students waved red flags and chanted slogans demanding more freedom for students, in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP
Students waved red flags and chanted slogans demanding more freedom for students, in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP

Students display their demands on placards during the protest in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP
Students display their demands on placards during the protest in Islamabad on Friday. — AFP

Students and activists chant slogans demanding the restoration of student unions during a student solidarity march in Hyderabad. — Reuters
Students and activists chant slogans demanding the restoration of student unions during a student solidarity march in Hyderabad. — Reuters