By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Police, acting on the request of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) administration, conducted an operation to vacate hostels on Tuesday, leading to the arrest of several students and drawing widespread criticism from lawyers, activists, and former politicians.
The university, established in 1967 under an act of the National Assembly, is one of Pakistan’s premier academic institutions, offering programs ranging from PhD and MPhil degrees to master’s, graduate, and undergraduate studies. The administration had announced the temporary closure of its hostels starting July 13, 2025, for annual repair, maintenance, and renovation during the summer vacation. While most students vacated the premises as instructed, some refused to leave, prompting the university to call in police assistance.
Early Tuesday morning, police personnel, alongside university security guards, moved to clear the remaining four hostels. Videos circulating on social media captured police outside the hostels, with scenes of students being arrested or taken away. Reports suggested that over 70 students may have been detained, though official numbers remain unconfirmed.
In a statement, the Islamabad Police defended their actions, saying they provided “legal police assistance” at the university’s request. “The students had vacated 11 hostels, while regarding the remaining four hostels, the university administration stated that some students were not vacating them despite instructions from the university administration and were residing there illegally,” the statement read.
“Upon the written request of the Quaid-i-Azam University administration, assistance was provided to the university administration and security guards. Those students who resisted this peaceful process have been shifted from the hostel, and now legal action will be taken based on the written request of the university administration.”
The university said the district administration stepped in after the deadline to vacate the hostels expired. “A large number of students complied with this decision and vacated the hostels, however, some students were still there who had been given repeated time by the university and the district administration to vacate the hostels,” the university’s statement said.
It added that the Islamabad High Court had dismissed a student petition challenging the closure as inadmissible, affirming the institution’s autonomy under the Quaid-i-Azam University Act 1973. “Quaid-i-Azam University once again reiterates its commitment to providing a safe and conducive environment for students while maintaining discipline, academic standards, and institutional autonomy,” the statement added.
The operation quickly drew sharp criticism. Human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir challenged the police narrative in a post on X, questioning why access to the Secretariat police station, where students were reportedly held, was being restricted. “We just had a meeting with the vice chancellor [of the QAU] and he clearly stated that he did not make any such request,” she wrote. Mazari-Hazir alleged that over 70 students were “being kept in illegal detention without any first information report (FIR)” and that authorities were “refusing to share copy of FIR.”
Former senator Afrasiab Khattak called the police crackdown “shameful” in a post on X. “Forty students are arrested because they are requesting to be allowed to stay in hostels to prepare for their exams. They must be immediately released and the issues should be resolved by negotiations. Campuses are important part of civil society,” he wrote.
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