KU students 'beaten up, barred' from celebrating Holi

KARACHI: Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) at the University of Karachi — a student organisation — came under heat on Tuesday for allegedly "beating" Hindu students and stopping them from celebrating Holi.

The Hindu community in Pakistan and worldwide celebrate Holi — a spring festival also called the "festival of colours — with traditional and religious fervour.

The students, who organised the Holi celebration, said they belonged to the Sindhi department, and had been “tortured” for the festivities they had arranged.

“While we were celebrating Holi,” they alleged, “a number of boys from Jamiat came and stopped us. They beat us and other students.”

A female student, in a video statement, corroborated this statement, saying while she and her classmates had been celebrating Holi, students from the IJT came and “harassed” them and beat up the male students.

Moreover, Sindh Universities Minister Ismail Rahu took notice of the incident and directed KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi to investigate the matter.

“The university administration should conduct an inquiry and submit a detailed report,” Rahu said.

He further said that Hindu students are fully permitted to celebrate their festivals in the university and that no one can stop them, adding: “Our religion and law teach respect for all religions and beliefs and give people full freedom to celebrate their festivals.”

'We respect all religions'

The IJT, however, claimed that it had nothing to do with the incident.

IJT spokesperson Basiq Naeem told Geo News that the student organisation was not involved in the beating of students. “We respect all religions,” he added.

He also alleged that members of the nationalist organisation wanted to “promote religious hatred through baseless propaganda” and demanded that the university administration conduct a transparent investigation into the matter.