Pakistan police baton charges students demonstrating against flawed online entrance exam

Security personnel baton-charged protesting medical students on Wednesday when they attempted to approach the Prime Minister's house in Islamabad in yet another episode of police brutality in Pakistan. According to Samaa News, students staged a sit-in at D-chowk to protest the medical college entrance exam, stating that the online examination was flawed.

On Wednesday night, the crackdown began. The protestors told local media that private goons beat them up and that the police used disproportionate force against them, not sparing even the women. One of the students said that PM Imran Khan should be aware that these are his own children. He further said that they are the country's hope for the future.

Shazia Marri, PPP's Central Information Secretary, criticises police violence

According to the protesting students and their parents, medical students have been protesting for several days, but no one from the government has been there to address their concerns. Shazia Marri, the PPP's Central Information Secretary, criticised police violence against medical students in Islamabad who were peacefully protesting for their rights, according to The News International. She questioned why the government has prohibited students from protesting though Imran Khan himself launched a 127-day sit-in at D-Chowk. She demanded that the students who had been detained be released.

This is not the first time security personnel have ruthlessly suppressed student protests. Security forces had previously arrested students in Balochistan for demonstrating against the Pakistan Medical Council (PMC). For the inconsistencies in the online entrance test, students have been organising protest rallies and staging sit-ins in front of the Quetta Press Club and other sections of the province capital, according to Dawn. Interference with government affairs, inciting riots, destruction of government property and violation of COVID preventative measures are among the charges filed against these students by police.

Instances of police abuse have become more common in Pakistan

The students were also baton-charged by police on September 9 while participating in a sit-in at Edhi Chowk protesting the online admission examinations. In Pakistan, such instances of police abuse are becoming more common. Police also had baton-charged Mangi Dam protestors in Balochistan earlier this month, who were demanding the evacuation of the Frontier Corps and military forces from the district after three security officers were killed in a roadside bomb.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: AP