LAHORE: The Student Action Committee Lahore, organised by students of various educational institutes, has called for transparent investigations into incidents of rape and harassment at the Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) as well as Punjab College, demanding strict punishment for the culprits and safer campuses for students.

It also demanded action against police officers involved in torture of students during protests and the release of all students from custody.

The committee organised a protest against rape and harassment in front of the Punjab Assembly at The Mall on Monday where students from FC College, Punjab College, LCWU, Garrison College and GC University were present. Along with students, parents, workers from public and private sectors, and members of the Revolutionary Communist Party also joined the protest. A heavy police contingent was present at various locations in Lahore, especially outside educational institutions.

The students of different educational institutes had formed a student action committee in Lahore aiming to organize all students in Lahore on one platform.

The protesters said around 50m students, including a large number of girls, were studying at educational institutes of the province and they were living in fear and insecurity. They demanded the government take immediate action to address the situation in a manner acceptable to them.

Hold a protest at The Mall, seek action against cops over torture, release of students

The organisers said the security agencies had contacted them and other students and warned them that their lives and careers could be at risk if they participated in the protest.

The Student Action Committee Lahore’s representatives announced that the protest would continue until fulfillment of all their demands. They stated the student action committees would be formed in all educational institutions of Lahore and that the protest movement would be expanded further.

The committee demanded a forensic audit of the CCTV footage from the week during which the alleged rape at the Punjab College was reported, and all the evidence in police custody and action taken so far should be made public. “The government should investigate harassment incidents at the LCWU and a report based on all the evidence should be made public.”

The students further demanded that the police officials who assaulted students as well as the officials who gave them orders should be immediately suspended and appropriately punished. They demanded all arrested students should be immediately released and all cases filed against them should be withdrawn.

They said the arrests of students under the guise of the Cyber Crime Act must be stopped and immediate action should be taken against college administration, teachers, management and staff members who intimidated the students. They said all college accounts should be made public so that students could see where their tuition fees were being spent.

They demanded that the students should be allowed to form democratically elected student action committees on every campus so that their opinions were included in all decisions made on campus and anti-student actions by the administration, including harassment, could be prevented.

They demanded that all private educational institutions should be nationalised, ending the commercialisation of education, and free and quality education should be provided at all levels.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2024