PESHAWAR: A protest by students of various organisations at the University of Peshawar entered the third day on Wednesday against the disappearance of two colleagues.

The protesters led by Waziristan Students’ Society visited several departments and forced students to boycott classes. They also forced the closure of Madina Market, Coffee Shop and Green Chili restaurants on campus.

The students demanded early recovery of Khubaib Wazir of the third semester at the International Relations Department and Adnan Wazir of fifth semester at the Political Science Department.

They alleged that unidentified people took both students away as the two were returning to the campus after attending the Grand Jirga convened by the provincial government at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Nov 12.

Set to hold talks with VC today

The protesters put up a protest camp outside the Khyber Medical College and blocked the main road to the campus.

The protest was launched by the Waziristan Students’ Society, with the activists of the ruling PTI’s Insaf Student Federation being in the forefront.

Students insisted that it was the responsibility of the provincial government to ensure the people’s protection, especially those who attended a meeting convened by it on the provincial assembly’s premises.

An activist of the Pakhtunkhwa Student Federation told Dawn that the students picked up by unidentified men were not the activists of the PTM and instead, they belonged to the Waziristan Students’ Society.

He added that Khubaib Wazir was the “stage secretary” of the WSS, while Adnan Wazir was the organisation’s former media coordinator.

The activist said that a student delegation met Chief Minister Sohail Afridi several days ago and demanded the immediate recovery of the disappeared students, but the latter had failed to ensure that.

“Neither police nor any government department have done anything for the recovery of students even 34 days after their disappearance,” he said.

The activist said that the vice chancellor had agreed to hold talks with protesters today (Thursday).

“If dialogue doesn’t succeed, we [protesters] will announce our Plan B,” he said.

Also in the day, the university’s administration held a high-level meeting to look into the situation.

Vice Chancellor Prof Jauhar Ali chaired the meeting, which was attended by the registrar, the commandant of campus police and other relevant staff members. They discussed the situation arising from the students’ protest and worked out a plan to overcome it.

In light of the “tense situation” on campus, the administration announced the closure of the university from Dec 22 to Jan 3 on account of winter vacation. The students expressed surprise at the move, saying the weather is not “that cold.”

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2025