IIU students protest arrest of fellows

ISLAMABAD - Students of International Islamic University (IIU) on Monday boycotted the classes and held protest demonstration at the campus against the ‘abduction’ of the university students by security agencies in connection with the investigation of October 20 bombings.
According to the protesters, four students have been picked by the security agencies for investigation including two Afghans and a female student, Sajda Bibi from Abbottabad,.
The students displayed banners inscribed with their demands at the campus and made speeches demanding early recovery of their university fellows.
They also blocked the gates of the university and did not allow anyone to take classes in male campus while the classes in the female campus held according to their schedule. The students demanded of the government to release the missing students or at least declare their status whether they were dead or alive so that psychological agonies of the family members could come to an end.
“If they have committed any illegality they should be brought to courts, instead of being picked up and without the involvement of university administration,” demanded they.
“We have been negotiating with the university administration to contact the Interior Ministry in this regard but the administration has so far failed to provide us any whereabouts of these students as the administration itself has not been taken into confidence by the security agencies” they added.
The students warned during that they would continue to boycott the classes until the missing students are recovered. Two suicide blasts had rocked the International Islamic University Islamabad on October 20 separately killing 8 and injuring about 30 students and staff members.
Since then the investigation agencies have been picking up students in the name of investigation into the incident. Some of them have been freed after investigation but theses four students are still in the custody of intelligence agencies.
Students after their meeting with the University President Dr Anwar Siddiqui ended their protest till Tuesday evening (Today). The president assured them that he would talk to Interior Minister Rehman Malik and move the court to trace the students.