Student unions in Quetta held a joint press conference to condemn the violent police crackdown at Bolan Medical College (BMC) hostel in Quetta last night. The incident, which saw police storm the hostel, tear gas students, and arrest many, including female students, has drawn widespread criticism. The unions accused the Quetta police of overstepping their authority and disregarding Baloch and Pashtun traditions, calling it an intentional act of aggression.
The student representatives explained that a minor altercation between students had taken place at the college in recent days. Efforts were being made to resolve the issue peacefully through dialogue, a common practice in such cases. However, Quetta police intervened forcefully, escalating the situation. According to the unions, the police used the minor incident as a pretext to raid the hostel, where they brutally beat several Baloch and Pashtun students before arresting them. When students protested and demanded the release of their peers, police responded with tear gas and baton charges. Female students were also reportedly manhandled and verbally abused.
The unions said that students were injured or fainted during the clashes, and several were dragged into police vans. Although some of the female students were later released, many of the arrested students remain in custody. The unions also accused the police of targeting young Baloch men in surrounding areas, identifying them by their traditional clothing and subjecting them to violence.
In their press conference, the unions described the raid as part of a calculated plan to incite division between Baloch and Pashtun students. They claimed that the police, along with certain elements within the college administration, were trying to provoke internal conflict among the students while shifting blame onto them.
“This was a small matter, something we were trying to resolve using our own traditions of dialogue,” one student leader said. “But the police stormed in, took over the hostel, and assaulted our students. This is an attempt to restore the military’s dominance over educational institutions, and we will not accept it.”
The unions emphasized that educational institutions should be peaceful spaces where learning can take place, not arenas for police and security force interventions. They expressed concern that forces are trying to create tensions between the Baloch and Pashtun communities and militarize educational institutions.
In their list of demands, the unions called for the immediate release of all arrested Baloch and Pashtun students by the end of the night, the withdrawal of all false charges against them, the reopening of BMC hostels, and action against the police officers and college administration involved in the incident.
“If our demands are not met by tonight, student unions across Balochistan will respond with strong, democratic protests,” they warned.