Pakistan: Protest continues to lift ban on students unions

Lahore [Pakistan], February 12 (ANI): Students in Pakistan continued their sit-in at Charing Cross on Saturday to protest against the ban on student unions imposed by former president General Ziaul Haq.
Notably, the demonstrations started on Wednesday to mark the 38th anniversary of the ban on student unions. The Progressive Student Collective activists continued their protest as it entered its third day.
The protesters asked all political parties to unanimously pass legislation in parliament to decriminalise student politics. Pakistan Bar Council member Abid Saqi said that Ziaul era banned the student unions to close the door of politics on students.
A number of students have established a camp which has been visited by social and political workers, lawyers, members of the Punjab Assembly, journalists and students from different colleges and universities, reported Dawn.
Further reiterating his concern on the situation Saqi said that the ban had helped the state produce slaves and compliant minds in educational institutions.
"This compliant mind could not raise voice against any injustice and it was the reason to ban student unions in the country and the state had achieved their target during the last 30 years," he said.
He condemned the right-wing parties and said that these parties thrived in universities. He further criticized them for not providing a conducive atmosphere to students with liberal, secular, and free minds since unions were prohibited, reported the newspaper.
Moreover, he said these students were demanding their constitutional rights and were being labelled as traitors.
"We are not afraid of these people who label them with different names and will continue their struggle," he said. (ANI)