• Officials link move to PTI, student protests planned for today
• Section 144 in force for two days, disruptions to WhatsApp reported
• Around 380 held after Rawalpindi agitation

LAHORE/RAWALPINDI: Faced with the double challenge of a possible agitation by PTI and students’ protest today, the Punjab government has banned all public gatherings and closed educational institutions across the province.

The PTI has called for nationwide protests on Friday (today) against the proposed constitutional amendments and the incarceration of party founder Imran Khan, while the protest against the alleged rape of a female college student in Lahore by students continued for the fourth day on Thursday.

In a notification, the Punjab Home Department said all kinds of protests, processions, and public activities have been banned for two days as Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has been imposed across Punjab.

The restrictions will remain in place on Friday and Saturday.

“[I]n view of prevailing law & order situation and threat perceptions, any kind of protest / procession is likely to provide soft target to terrorists and miscreants, which not only pose serious security threats, but is also likely to cause danger to public peace and order as well as inconvenience to public at large,” the notification added.

In the past few months, the federal and Punjab governments have imposed Section 144 whenever PTI announced its plans for protests or rallies.

Educational institutions closed

Separate notifications from the Higher Education Department and School Education departments said all public and private schools, colleges, and universities would remain closed on Friday (today).

While the notifications did not explicitly mention the reason for the shutdown, a senior government official said the action was taken due to growing student protests.

Violent protests have been ongoing in several cities of Punjab since Monday, when social media reports claimed a female student was raped at a college in Lahore.

However, an investigation team formed to probe the allegations found no evidence of rape, while the alleged victim and her family have also dismissed the claims as fabricated.

In response to the escalating unrest, the provincial government launched a crackdown, with hundreds of students arrested in various cities for blocking roads, injuring security personnel, and vandalism.

According to the official, the failure of law enforcement agencies to control the protest forced the government to shut down educational institutes.

Protests continue in Punjab

Police made more than 380 arrests as students’ protests against the alleged rape incident spread to Rawalpindi on Thursday, an official said.

Initially, around 150 protesters, who allegedly pelted stones and damaged public property, were held, with 200 more arrested later with the help of CCTV footage, a police spokesman said.

Many of the protesters involved in the violence “were not students”, the official claimed and cast doubt over the motives behind the protest.

Groups of students, shouting slogans and carrying placards, gathered outside the campuses of a private college in Commercial Market Satellite Town, 6th Road Morgah and Peshawar Road on Thursday.

In Morgah, they blocked the Jhelum Road connecting the area to Katcheri Chowk, pelted stones on cars and set fire to tyres and college furniture.

Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters, many of whom were also arrested. Stu­dents from Barani University in Rawalpindi also protested against on campus premises. Following the protests, a dozen police teams were formed to make arrests, said the spokesman, adding that six teams comprising SP-ranked officers will investigate the arrested protesters.

The investigating team will also identify those involved in allegedly inciting people on social media.

Eight cases have been registered against the protesters in six police stations in Rawalpindi.

The scope of investigation has been expanded and more arrests were being made with the help of CCTV footage, the Rawalpindi police chief said in a statement.

Arrested students released

In Jhelum, a local magistrate released around 50 students who were arrested on Wednesday during a protest.

The protesters were arrested on Wednesday after a case was registered in the Kala Gujran police station. The protesters, including college students, allegedly pelted stones at a police party, stated the FIR seen by Dawn.

Around 50 students were arrested by police on the spot, while over 400 unidentified students were also booked. More than 83 motorbikes, allegedly belonging to the protestors, were also taken into custody.

On Thursday, the area magistrate, Azhar Iqbal, ordered the police to discharge the FIR and immediately release the students.

While talking to Dawn, Jhelum District Police Officer (DPO) Jhelum, Nasir Mahmood Bajwa confirmed that all arrested students were released.

He added that the prosecution would appeal the court order. The DPO said that no protests were held in the city on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Gujar Khan police also arrested six college students for holding a protest, a source said. Saddar Division SP Muhammad Nabil Khokhar said a case was being registered against the arrested students.

WhatsApp disrupted

Internet and WhatsApp services were affected in many areas on Thursday, as happened in the past when these issues were reported around the time of PTI’s protests. Downdetector, which reports on internet disruptions, said around 44 per cent of complaints were related to voice calls and 29pc related to sending and receiving messages.

The general impression was that the student protests in Punjab were the reason for the degraded Whatsapp service, but the slowdown was also reported in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.

Hamid Asghar in Gujar Khan, Kalbe Ali and Aamir Yasin in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2024