Balochistan University Closed Indefinitely After Clash Among Students – News18

The Balochistan University has been shut indefinitely following a conflict between two student groups, ARY News reported. A fight broke out between two groups on campus recently, injuring seven students, who were then rushed to a nearby hospital. Meanwhile, the management of Balochistan University informed in a press statement that the university will remain closed until further orders. In addition, the students have been ordered to leave the hostel premises immediately.

In another incident, approximately 60 students were arrested after a fight between two groups at Islamabad’s Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU). According to Pakistani outlet Daily Jang, Balochistan University is facing many financial issues, and all departments have been closed due to the lack of funding.

The university’s teaching and non-teaching personnel are also on strike due to unpaid wages. Balochistan’s oldest institution is in dire danger, according to Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, who claims revolutionary steps in the education sector.

According to Daily Jang, the university’s annual cost exceeds Rs 3 billion, while the present deficit exceeds Rs 1 billion, and a permanent solution should be found as soon as feasible.

On the other hand, Pakistani vernacular media Qudrat, Haq Do Tehreek (Give Rights Movement) stated in April that Balochistan has been made hell for political activists. Protest rallies for the release of Maulana Hidayatur Rahman and Mahil Baloch, as well as the retrieval of missing persons, were reportedly held across Balochistan, according to Haq Do Tehreek.

This year, on the occasion of Eid, protesters tied black bands on their arms to express solidarity with unhappy families and to criticise the government’s insensitivity to the matter. Protesters urged the safe release of Baloch’s “forcibly disappeared” citizens.

This protest followed a recent news story by Sindh Express in which Pakistan Human Rights Commission vice-chairman lawyer Habib Tahir expressed concern about missing persons in Balochistan. Tahir reportedly claimed that Pakistan is deploying forcible disappearances, abductions, and enforced disappearances on a large scale to stifle opposition.