Pakistani province closes schools, universities amid student unrest

LAHORE: Authorities in Pakistan’s most populous province ordered the closure of all educational institutions on Friday (October 18) as students protest after reports of a rape on a university campus surfaced online .

The closure, which includes university playgroups, will affect around 26 million children and adult learners in the eastern province of Punjab.

Protests erupted in Lahore, the provincial capital, after reports surfaced on social media that a student was raped in the basement of a Punjab College for Women campus over the weekend.

Police, colleges and the provincial government have said no victims have come forward and blamed online misinformation.

Protests have since spread to campuses in Lahore as well as the city of Rawalpindi, neighboring the capital Islamabad, with students accusing authorities of a cover-up.

On Friday, Rawalpindi’s top police official, Syed Khalid Mehmood Hamdani, said 380 people had been arrested for vandalism and arson during protests in the city the day before and that investigations were continuing.

“We are going to track people on social networks,” he told AFP.

The Punjab education and home ministries on Thursday evening ordered the closure of all education departments in three separate notifications, without mentioning the alleged rapes or protests.

The provincial Interior Ministry also banned gatherings on Friday and Saturday.

“They bribed the government and senior officials to cover up the truth, just to protect the reputation of their institution,” said a 19-year-old student protesting in Rawalpindi on Thursday.