The representative of the Baloch Students Action Committee said in a statement that government has alienated the Baloch students with its ‘oppressive policies’, forcing them to take to roads or recourse to hunger strike camps. The Baloch students won’t give up their fight for their rights, he said.
The spokesperson said that the Baloch students began a hunger strike, demanding reforms in the Bolan Medical College act of 2017, which upgraded BMC from a college to a university. He said that the protestors are being neglected by the government, and their health is deteriorating rapidly, endangering their lives. The BMC students have been protesting since the last year for their democratic rights, but have been constantly neglected or subjected to violence by the authorities, he said.
The spokesperson said that the previous rubber-stamp government passed the Bolan Medical College Act of 2017 without consideration, handing over the Medical College to the Medical University. Furthermore, the government is also clandestinely nudging the BMC towards privatization, closing the doors of education on the impoverished Baloch students.
He said that this act also paved the way for the reduction of the number of hostels, midnight evictions of the students from the hostels, termination of scholarships for Baloch students, the stealthily increase in tuition fee and several other anti-education measures.
The spokesperson emphasized that the students have employed every strategy to bring an end to their woes, but to no avail. They have met with senior government officials and bureaucrats and promised that their problems will be solved. Years later, these problems remain unaddressed and unresolved. Owing to these circumstances, the students began a hunger strike protest, which is in its third day today. The participants’ health is deteriorating rapidly, endangering their lives.
He said that this is not an isolated event: Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, recently terminated the scholarships for the students of Balochistan and FATA. In the past, the Islamiya University in Bahawalpur also terminated the scholarships for Baloch students. In both instances, the authorities promised to re-enact the scholarships but then reneged on their promises. These incidents prove that the doors of education are being closed on Baloch students.