ISLAMABAD:
A judicial magistrate on Thursday sent the arrested Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) students to jail on a 14-day judicial remand in connection with a case registered over their refusal to vacate hostel rooms. The court also directed that the students be produced again on August 13.
Judicial Magistrate Mureed Abbas presided over the hearing, where police presented the detained students. The students’ legal team opposed the remand and sought the students’ discharge.
Advocate Riasat Ali Azad argued that 29 students were in police custody and the charges were largely bailable, with no mention of weapons in the FIR, which primarily referred to sloganeering. “This case doesn’t warrant a remand; it warrants a discharge,” he said. Gujar questioned the university’s handling of the matter: “Even tenants are served notices before eviction. These are students who could be future lawyers, judges, and politicians.”
The defence lawyers criticised the investigation, pointing out no evidence of snatching or injuries and accusing authorities of heavy-handedness, including barring lawyers from meeting the students. Advocate Imaan Mazari alleged police misconduct, claiming officers attempted to run over lawyers with a vehicle and failed to show due respect to the court.
However, the university’s counsel, Raja Zahoorul Hassan, argued that the detainees were not genuine students but outsiders involved in illegal activities. During his arguments, students chanted “shame, shame,” prompting the court’s displeasure.
The prosecution requested a 10-day physical remand, but the court sent all the detained students to judicial custody, ordering their production again on August 13.
Outside the courtroom, tensions escalated when some lawyers allegedly surrounded and attempted to assault the university’s counsel, his son, and the security in-charge, Colonel (retd) Nadeem.
