Baloch students at the Punjab University Lahore were detained by the police for wearing traditional clothes, the sources have said, adding to the list of the incidents of racial profiling and harassment of Baloch students in Punjab and other parts of Pakistan.
A spokesperson for the Baloch Students Council at Punjab University said in a media statement that the Baloch students enrolled in universities in the federal capital and other major cities of Pakistan are being racially profiled and harassed.
He said that on October 22, the police arrested two Baloch students, Ahsan Baloch and Iqbal Shah, for wearing their traditional Balochi clothes. The police reportedly called their dressing “savage-like” before arresting them.
He said the two students were threatened and repeatedly harassed in police custody.
The spokesperson said that Baloch students studying in the federal capital and other major cities of Pakistan are being harassed and racially profiled on a daily basis. He said that this state of uncertainty has plunged the students into bouts of psychological issues, such as anxiety and stress, which have made it difficult for them to focus on their studies. He said the Baloch students are forced to constantly look over their shoulders which have affected their academic and personal life as well.
The spokesperson appealed to human rights groups and the government authorities to take notice of the issue and take immediate measures to address it.