By U.Zee
A security official is in custody and facing disciplinary action under military law following reports of a scuffle at Islamabad’s Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology (SUSIT). The individual allegedly discharged a weapon during a scuffle with protestors at the university’s Chattha Bakhtawar campus, where students had been agitating against the dismissal of a senior official and other varsity-related issues.
A video shared widely on social media of the incident shows a uniformed individual approaching a group of young men, who are reportedly SUSIT students. He is accompanied by a woman, who is said to be a university official. The video showed the suspect hitting an individual with a stick and exchanging heated words with gathered protestors, following which a scuffle breaks out. An angry crowd surrounds the officer, and some individuals appear to assault him, following which he draws a pistol and points it at the crowd.
The woman accompanying him appears to try to stop him, but the man then points the weapon into the air and discharges it, at which several police officers approach and encircle him. In a later video, a senior Islamabad police official can be seen addressing the students. The individual was escorted out of the university by police, the police officer says, assuring that he will be dealt with strictly and swiftly under the army’s disciplinary procedures.
The students were protesting till the female faculty member came to talk to them to call off the incident. Students were in rage. They didn’t want to listen till their demands were met. Things escalated. The lady, instead of calling some other university authorities, called her husband instead who came in uniform and started to beat the students with a stick. It is pertinent to mention here that there were both male and female students amongst the protestors.
The army man first hit students with his stick, then fired directly at the students with his service revolver. It somehow did not fire or got stuck somehow. He then fired in air several times and later stated that his wife was being harassed. So he tried to save her.
Now what is there to note here that the lady was in the faculty of the given university. She was not a baby or anything. This was a departmental matter and not of some personal grievances. These were students we are dealing with, not mobsters and gangsters who had both males and females in the crowd. It was not a random mob. They were protestors for their reasons.
A thorough probe should be done into the matter. Harassment is a very serious accusation and should not be misused according to one’s needs and if harassment was involved, then it should be dealt with iron hands. If scuffle with a uniformed official is a crime, then the uniformed men should not be involved in civil matters either especially when police is there to handle such issues.
Harassment or Gen–Z rage, the matter should be probed fairly and squarely! And if Harassment was there, then it raises serious concerns on the university administration and our education system. In any case, the matter should be resolved on merit. These are students and we are teaching them future trends. They should be understood and dealt with in their own language. And such matters should not be let to be escalated dangerously. Protest on matters is their right but they should be taught to protest peacefully and respectfully as when things escalate, no one can guage the consequences. As for now, a thorough probe is essential!
