ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi on Friday directed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Quaid-i-Azam University vice chancellor Professor Dr. Muhammad Ali to take measures to avoid incidents of harassment and racial profiling of students from Balochistan at the institute’s campus.
The president passed these directions after hearing the grievances of students in compliance with the Islamabad High Court’s order of April 8 asking the president to ensure that the issues of Baloch students regarding ethnic profiling were probed and a report was submitted before the court.
The hearings were held at the presidency and were attended by Ali, Ministry of Interior Additional Secretary Muhammad Ayub Chaudhary, and Barrister Imaan Mazari.
The president said the country faced a unique situation and the resurgence of terrorist activities was a cause of concern.
He added that counter-terrorism efforts were essential to peace and stability, however, stressed that these needed to be carried out with utmost care and balance so as to not isolate or profile any segment of the population, particularly the students from Balochistan.
He also directed the vice chancellor that in the case of students from Balochistan, there was a general sense of deprivation or isolation, therefore, it was incumbent on all educational institutions to take more care to address such sentiments.
He said a proactive programme of activities and debates within the student community should be developed to address feelings of deprivation among Baloch students.
He further asked the vice chancellor to diligently monitor any activity which may be a cause of concern to the Baloch students at QAU and to verify the credentials of visitors in order to check the impersonification and maligning of law enforcement agencies.
Earlier, the president had held hearings on April 20 and 21 with Baloch students where it was informed that a student had disappeared from his home town in Balochistan after receiving a phone call from an unknown person who asked him to meet another unknown person at the Campus.
