Various student organizations on Wednesday condemned the police crackdown on students following recent violent protests sparked by an alleged rape incident at Private College.
During a press conference at the Lahore Press Club, representatives from multiple student groups announced their plans for a nationwide ‘Student Solidarity March’ on November 20 if authorities do not reverse their actions against intermediate students across several cities in Punjab.
Leaders from the Progressive Students Collective, Revolutionary Students Front, People’s Students Federation, Progressive Students Forum, and the Pashtun Council criticized the state’s harsh response to protests in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujrat, and Rawalpindi. They also denounced the alleged torture and injury of protesting students by security guards at Public University.
The leaders argued that the widespread protests outside private colleges in the province reflected growing societal frustration with the state’s unjust policies. They further stated that the police’s actions against protesting male and female students had overshadowed the real issue—the rape allegations at the college.
They pointed out contradictions in government officials’ statements and accused the state of shielding the interests of an influential education tycoon by targeting students in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Gujrat.
According to the leaders, unarmed students were met with heavily armed security forces, facing tear gas, baton charges, aerial firing, and armored vehicles used to disperse the protests. They also claimed that hundreds of students, aged 15 to 17, were detained, and legal cases were filed against them.
The student groups described the protests as a response to the oppressive actions of private college administrations, accusing these institutions of turning educational environments into virtual prisons, and subjecting students to psychological pressure, threats, and exorbitant fees, fueling their resentment.
They called for democratic student representation in decision-making processes at educational institutions and on anti-harassment committees.
The student organizations issued a charter of demands, including the establishment of anti-harassment committees at every institution with democratic student representation, an independent commission to investigate harassment complaints and publish its findings, action against police and security guards responsible for torturing students at Private College, and the unconditional withdrawal of all charges and disciplinary actions against the protesting students.
Good .. they should