The unrest began last week after reports emerged on social media, alleging that a private college student in Lahore had been raped. In response, police arrested a security guard from the college, accused of being involved. News of the incident rapidly spread, igniting protests across both Lahore and Rawalpindi.
Rawalpindi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Hafiz Kamran Asghar stated that around 150 protesters were detained as police used tear gas to disperse the crowds. SSP Asghar noted that while the police aimed to avoid arresting students, any unlawful behavior during the protests would lead to legal action. He assured that order had been restored in the city, with additional police forces deployed to key areas.
Earlier in the week, protests escalated in Lahore, where students clashed with college security guards and police, resulting in at least 28 injuries. By Monday, the demonstrations had intensified outside various educational institutions, leading to the destruction of property, including fires in parking areas and damage to buildings.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz dismissed the alleged rape as “fabricated news,” accusing the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of spreading misinformation. Punjab Group of Colleges (PGC) officials also termed the accusations baseless, further fueling the controversy.
The protests have now spread beyond Lahore and Rawalpindi to other cities in Punjab, where students from both public and private institutions have joined the demonstrations. In Gujrat, the unrest turned deadly when a college security guard was killed, leading to a murder case being filed against 185 people. Authorities have since arrested over 450 individuals for their involvement in vandalizing PGC campuses in Gujrat’s Lalamusa and Kharian cities.
The Progressive Students’ Collective, a group leading anti-harassment rallies, has vowed to continue the protests until their demands are met, although the specifics of these demands remain unclear.
