Quetta, May 19 (IANS) Voicing serious concerns over non-recovery of kidnapped top officials of Gwadar University, leaders of the Academic Staff Associations of Balochistan University have announced that protest rallies will be held in all universities in Pakistan's province on Wednesday, local media reported on Tuesday.
The statement comes after the abduction of Vice Chancellor of Gwadar University Abdul Razzaq Sabir, pro-Vice Chancellor Syed Manzoor Ahmed, lecturer Irshad Ahmed and their staff members five days ago from a highway in Mastung district while they were travelling to Quetta, leading Pakistani daily Dawn reported.
In a joint statement, leaders of the Academic Staff Association of University of Balochistan and the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (Fapuasa), Balochistan chapter, said that the kidnapped top officials of the University of Gwadar have not been recovered by the government even after five days, causing concern among faculty members and students of universities in Balochistan.
The leaders of the two associations urged staff members of the universities in Balochistan to participate in the protest rallies. They called for the immediate recovery of the Vice Chancellor, pro-Vice Chancellor, lecturer and other staff members.
They noted that several teachers had been repeatedly attacked and many faculty members had been killed and others forcibly disappeared in the past, Dawn reported. According to the statement, Dilawar Khan, a professor in the Khuzdar campus of the University of Balochistan and professor Ghamkhwar Hayat were killed recently.
The leaders of the two associations urged the government to provide security to teachers, students and ordinary citizens, improve law and order situation, and find the officials who have been kidnapped.
On May 16, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It stated that the alleged kidnapping of the Vice-Chancellor, pro-Vice Chancellor and two other Gwadar University employees in Mastung, while travelling from Gwadar to Quetta, sparks questions about the state's ability to secure major highways and protect residents.
In a statement posted on X, HRCP stated, "HRCP is deeply alarmed by the sharp deterioration in security across Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where citizens are increasingly caught between enforced disappearances, targeted killings, and militant attacks."
"In Balochistan, the alleged abduction of the Vice-Chancellor, pro-Vice Chancellor, and two other Gwadar University employees in Mastung, while travelling from Gwadar to Quetta, raises serious questions about the state’s ability to secure major highways and protect civilians. HRCP is equally disturbed by the killing of Professor Ghamkhwar Hayat in Noshki earlier today and reminds the government that when teachers and academics are abducted or shot dead, the consequences extend far beyond individual tragedies," it added.
According to the statement shared by HRCP on X, the deadly attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bannu, Bajaur, and Lakki Marwat highlight a worsening pattern of militant violence that continues to take lives indiscriminately.
"In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, deadly attacks in Bannu, Bajaur, and Lakki Marwat, including the bombing of a crowded market in Sarai Naurang, point to a worsening pattern of militant violence that continues to take lives indiscriminately, including those of civilians, police officers and security personnel," HRCP posted on X.
"We urge the state to move beyond statements of condemnation and demonstrate that human life and public spaces can still be protected. The recovery of the missing university officials, credible investigations into all such attacks, and accountability for perpetrators are immediate and necessary first steps," it added.
--IANS
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