LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has deplored the state’s response to the Students’ Solidarity March, being held on Friday across cities and towns of the country.
In a statement, HRCP said that it was alarmed over the reports that students supporting the march were being harassed, facing rustication or being dislodged from their hostels in an effort to restrain them from participating. This is a flagrant violation of their right to peaceful assembly. Moreover, the propaganda that is being circulated on social media platforms to malign the march’s supporters is not just repugnant, it could also put them at risk of harm.
HRCP expressed concern that the Governor’s Secretariat in Quetta had issued a notification to the University of Balochistan, banning all political activity and gatherings, and clearly giving security personnel the authority to prevent these.
HRCP urged the state to take the legitimate demands of the solidarity march seriously. Students have the right to oppose fee hikes and budget cuts to higher education, and to call for an end to unnecessary interference by security forces on campus, for functional anti-harassment committees with student representation, and above all, for the restoration of student unions. HRCP stands in solidarity with all students taking part across the country on Friday.
