Baloch student organizations have announced that they will close all the major academic institutions in Balochistan on Wednesday in protest against the enforced disappearance of Baloch students from Balochistan University. The students lamented that they have been protesting day and night in the biting cold for the past two weeks, but the government and the university administration have not taken their protest seriously. They said that we follow the rule of law; it is time for the authorities to abide by it.
According to the details, the student leaders announced on Saturday that all the major academic institutions in Balochistan will be closed in protest. The students have been protesting in the University of Balochistan for the past 14 days for the safe return of Sohail and Faseeh Baloch, students at the Pakistan Studies department of the university who were detained from their hostel room inside the university premises.
Since their abduction, their fellow students have organized a sit-in protest in the university, asking for their safe release. Because the two students were detained inside the university grounds, they argue, the university administration is also has a hand in it. The students claim that they asked the administration to provide the CCTV footage of the day of the disappearance, but they refused under the pretext that the cameras were off that day because there was no electricity.
The students suspended all of their academic activities and refused to appear in the examinations, forcing the university to close indefinitely. Following negotiations with the government and the varsity personnel, the university was reopened temporarily. But when the authorities reneged on their promises, the protests were restarted. The students have now announced that they will once again close the university on Wednesday.
The students said that we have been protesting for the past two weeks, but the authorities have refused to pay heed to our protests. The Pashtoon students’ group also joined their call, announcing that the institutions will be closed if their demands are not met.
The students said that if the government tried to intervene or disrupt the protest in any way, it will be responsible for the consequences.