From Our Correspondent:
KHUZDAR: The ongoing protests by university faculty in Balochistan have now become a province-wide issue, with the situation growing more serious by the day. Professors and lecturers from the University of Balochistan are at the forefront of these protests, demanding better conditions and support for higher education across the province.
Adding to the escalating unrest, employees of the Lasbella University of Water Marine Science and Agriculture’s Wadh campus organized a significant protest rally to advocate for their demands. The rally saw a substantial turnout, including a large number of women and children, all carrying placards with slogans calling for the elevation of the Wadh campus to full university status.
Prominent figures such as Justice (Retd) Abdul Qadir Mengal, senior leader of Jamiat Ulema Islam; Mujahid Imrani, President of Balochistan National Party Tehsil Wadh; Maulana Abdul Saboor Mengal, General Secretary of Jamiat Ulema Islam Wadh; and other notable leaders and educators addressed the protest.
Justice Abdul Qadir Mengal expressed solidarity with the protestors, stating, “Our main problem is to give Wadh the status of a district, which will make it easier to address our issues. We demand that the Deputy Commissioner of Khuzdar and the Commissioner of Qalat take our concerns seriously and advocate for us at the official level.”
Mujahid Imrani criticized the vice-chancellor of Lasbella University for allegedly intending to close the Wadh campus permanently. He highlighted a promise made seven years ago by then-Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who assured that a complete university would be established in Wadh, following an offer of 100 acres of land by Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal. Despite this assurance, the campus has yet to achieve university status.
Imrani declared, “We will now undertake a practical struggle for the establishment of a university named after Sardar Attaullah Khan Mengal, not just a campus.”
The protest also featured speeches from various local leaders, including Babar and Manzoor, lecturers from Lasbella University’s Wadh campus, and leaders from the Pakistan Paramedical Staff Association, the Senior Educational Staff Association, and Tehreek Labeek Pakistan, among others.
