Punjab University fails to provide security to boarders
Lahore: Boarders at the Punjab University have said the administration has failed to protect them as those involved in December 3 shooting are still roaming around the varsity and harassing innocent students.
Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) activists were held responsible for the shooting in which many students belonging to the University Students Federation (USF) were injured and two received bullet injuries. FIRs were registered against the assailants but no one was arrested.
Several PU boarders especially those belonging to the USF criticized the PU administration for poor security arrangements at the varsity. They said it was strange that those involved in the December 3 shooting were still free to move on the campus and harass innocent students.
Some IJT activists nominated in FIRs recently thrashed a PU security guard at night and fled. According to university officials, the IJT activists fled because they outnumbered university guards and officials who arrived on the scene. According to a PU press statement issued after the incident, those who beat up the guard included IJT activists Sabir Shah, Sohaib Saeed Akhtar, Tauseef, Usman and Sheraz.
Some USF activists had also staged a protest demonstration when Punjab Chief Minster Shahbaz Sharif visited the PU New Campus. They urged the CM to ensure that those involved in December 3 violence were brought to the book.
A senior PU official seeking anonymity said no one was arrested owing to the lethargic attitude of police authorities. He said police were responsible for keeping peace on campus. "We have provided police with all details of expelled and rusticated students and those declared persona non gratae by the varsity," he said.
The PU administration had also brought up the issue of lack of police cooperation in a meeting chaired by former Chancellor/ Punjab Governor Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool.
Ahsan Chaudhry, a PU boarder, said those involved in December 3 shooting visited university hostels frequently and harassed students. He said Jamiat activists had become violent since it was losing ground and its activists were trying to pressurize students. He said it was responsibility of the university administration as well as of the police to provide security to students especially boarders but both had failed in their duties. He said the Punjab University administration had decided to tighten security on campus when ammunition including six Kalashnikovs, almost 1300 rounds of the assault riffles and twelve hand grenades were discovered from one of the varsity grounds near varsity's Hostel No 1 at New Campus.
Another student said Hostel No 16 was the main "target" of the IJT activists as most of the borderers of this hostel belonged to the USF. He said the PU vice chancellor should take action against hostel wardens and superintendents if they fail to provide security to boarders.
When contacted, PU Registrar Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan said: "We strongly urge police to arrest the elements and criminals who are named in the FIRs and expelled from the university." "We are heavily relying on police to apprehend these 'non-student' actors," he said.
"We are ready to listen to students' genuine grievances," he said and added that "we will improve university services". "We will not side with any group and provide 'across the board' protection to students".
When contacted, Iqbal Town SP Investigation Sohaib Khurram said those nominated in the FIR in connection with December 3 incident were on bail. "We will get their bail cancelled and arrest them," he said. "No action could be taken on the university premises without the vice chancellor's permission," he said.
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