Karachi, Nov 20 (IANS): The Jamshoro police lodged a sedition case against some students of Sindh University, Jamshoro for allegedly chanting anti-Pakistan slogans and for being involved in wall chalking against the state, Pakistan media reported on Wednesday.
Two days ago there were reports that similar charges were laid against several other leaders, including the chairman of Sindhi nationalist organisation Jeay Sindh Koumi Mahaj (Bashir Group), who have been booked for rebelling against the country and chanting anti-Pakistan slogans.
The case, registered against at least 17 students of the university, was lodged under Section 120-A (definition of criminal conspiracy), 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 123-A (condemnation of the creation of the state, and advocacy of abolition of its sovereignty), 124 (assaulting president, governor, etc. with intention to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power) and 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of Inspector Ghulam Qadir Panhwar, the security head of the campus, The Dawn reported.
In his complaint, Panhwar said that on October 31 the hostel in-charge informed him that around 17 to 18 students of the Jeay Sindh group had raised slogans against Pakistan and the government of the country and had been involved in wall chalking outside the boys' hostel's main gate.
He claimed that after receiving the information, he reached the site of the incident and found that the students were carrying flags of Jeay Sindh, were raising slogans against Pakistan, and were engaging in wall chalking against the state.
After seeing the police, the students moved towards the hostel while continuing to chant slogans such as "Sindhu Desh, Na Khapey Na Khapey Pakistan, we will break Pakistan", said Panhwar.
The students booked in the case rejected the allegations against them and said that they had staged the protest against water shortage in the hostel. They denied the allegations that they were carrying Jeay Sindh flags, raising anti-Pakistan slogans or wall chalking against the country.
The students said their semester examinations are going to begin on December 2 and by bringing out such a case against them, the administration was harassing them and toying with their future. They accused the university administration of resorting to vindictive actions against them and said they didn't believe they would get justice from the courts.
Meanwhile, Sindh University Vice-Chancellor Prof Fateh Mohammad Burfat told Dawn.com that the SU administration had not been consulted before the First Information Report (FIR) was registered.
Burfat said that on October 31, the concerned students had held a protest against water shortage but they had not raised anti-Pakistan slogans nor were they carrying Jeay Sindh flags.
Burfat said he will speak to the police and investigate how such an FIR was registered.
Sindhi nationalists in Pakistan have been raising the demand for an independent 'Sindh country' for a long time.