Several Injured At Punjab University As IJT Halts Cultural Event

At least five people were injured as students from Islami Jamiat Taleba (IJT) allegedly gatecrashed a cultural event being held at Punjab University (PU), Lahore, police sources said.

IJT members allegedly tried to halt the proceedings which resulted in a clash between students at the university, DawnNews reported.

Following the clash, police reached the campus and used tear gas to disperse the violent crowd.

The five injured have been shifted to Jinnah hospital, police sources added.

“The cultural show was being held with PU administration’s permission, but IJT had issues with the the activity being held so they tried to halt the proceedings,” Rana Sanaullah told DawnNews

“Measures are being taken to make sure that the students involved in the disruption are held accountable,” Sanaullah said.

“Sirajul Haq talks about fighting terrorism on one hand and in the favour of National Action Plan and building a positive narrative on the other, but it is sad that his own people are involved in creating such disruptions,” the provincial lawmaker said.

“There is no air of fear at the campus for students, life has returned back to normal,” he maintained.

The people involved in creating this situation were now looking for places to hide on the campus, “they are the ones that are afraid now, everything else is fine on campus”, he said.

The Punjab law minister further said that the police has been asked to inquire from the PU administration about who these people were and file a case against those involved in violence.

In February, as many as 15 students were injured in a clash between two organisations at a Punjab University hostel.

Playing music at high volume had led to clash between Pushtoon and Baloch Educational Development Movement IJT at hostel no 4.

Pushtoon and Baloch Educational Development Movement’s Imran Kakar said some of the students were playing music in their room at hostel no 4 when a group of IJT activists reached there.

He said the IJT activists first torched the room while those who were playing music moved away after the incident.

The IJT is a right wing student body that often operates on campuses across the country as the de-facto moral police. IJT members have in the past objected to Valentine’s Day celebrations and the playing of music at certain cultural events.

University administration officials have also complained to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif about the “Jamiat’s negative activities on university campus”.

Courtesy: Dawn News