At least 150 protesters were arrested in Rawalpindi as police used tear gas to disperse student demonstrations sparked by the alleged rape of a private college student in Lahore. The incident, which went viral on social media last week, led to the arrest of a security guard at the college who was allegedly involved in the assault. However, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has dismissed the reports as “fabricated news,” accusing the opposition party, PTI, of spreading “fake reports.”
The protests, which have escalated over the past few days, saw students from multiple colleges in Lahore mobilise on social media and take to the streets. Clashes between students and police left at least 28 injured, with violent protests extending to other cities in Punjab, including Gujrat, Lalamusa, and Kharian.
Rawalpindi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hafiz Kamran Asghar confirmed the arrests of violent protesters but stressed that authorities aimed to avoid detaining students unless they took the law into their hands. A heavy police presence has been deployed in key areas of the city, and roads that were previously closed due to the protests have now been reopened.
In a statement on social media, Rawalpindi Police urged parents to keep their children away from “illegal activities,” warning that involvement in such protests could lead to legal consequences. Police also affirmed their preparedness to deal with any future law and order issues.
The demonstrations have also spread to universities, with students from Barani University in Rawalpindi staging protests on their campus. The protests have resulted in significant damage to Punjab Group of Colleges (PGC) campuses across the region, with students in Lahore setting fire to a parking area and damaging property at the college’s Campus 11.
In the Gujrat district, protests turned deadly when a college security guard was killed. Authorities have since booked 185 people in connection with the murder. Over 450 individuals have been named in cases involving the ransacking of PGC campuses in other Punjab cities.
The Progressive Students’ Collective, a student organisation involved in the protests, has vowed to continue demonstrating until their demands are met, though no specific demands have been outlined in their public statements.