GILGIT, May 17: Over 200 students set up a three-day hunger strike camp here on Monday against indifferent attitude of the government towards their demand to withdraw the controversial syllabus.

The school children displayed placards and banners inscribed with demand seeking change in syllabus. Several Shia community leaders visited the camp to show their solidarity with the children.

The strike camp was set up after the expiry of the May 15 deadline given by the Shia community leaders to the government for meeting their demands. The community is seeking removal of controversial chapters from the syllabus and introduction of common syllabus acceptable to all schools of thought in the schools.

Sources told Dawn that due to non-fulfilment of their demand, the children were compelled to stage the hunger strike camp. The students said after the hunger strike they would boycott their classes and would lock the schools. The syllabus issue has become a bone of contention between the Northern Areas administration and the Shia community during the last four years.