Pakistan: Police baton-charged students protesting against online entrance exams

Quetta [Pakistan] September 9 (ANI): Police on Wednesday baton-charged students of Quetta’s Bolan Medical College who participated in the sit-in at Edhi Chowk to protest against the online entrance exams.
The protest was held following low grades allotted to the candidates who appeared for the online exams. The students also urged the authorities to medical entrance exam offline, Samaa News reported.
“The Pakistan Medical Commission can conduct the exams through any testing service. We have no issue. But we won’t give the tests online,” a student said.
Police have also arrested at least 20 students and booked them at the Power House police station.
Pakistan authorities are struggling to conduct exams offline as the positivity rate continues to wreak havoc in the country.
The country reported a positivity rate of 6.44 per cent on September 8. The country reported 83 deaths due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, according to Pakistan’s National Command and Operation Centre data.
All opposition parties in the Balochistan Assembly, including Balochistan National Party (Mengal), condemned the police action against protesting students, Samaa News reported.
The protestor has refused to end their protest until the demands are met.
The cases of police brutality are becoming regular in Pakistan. A day before, Police personnel baton-charged Mangi Dam protestors in Balochistan on Sunday who were demonstrating for the withdrawal of Frontier Corps and armed forces from the district after three security personnel were killed in a roadside explosion.
Earlier on August 26, several policemen from Pakistan’s Karachi force have been suspended over ‘fake encounter’ charges on Thursday.
The developments came after a young man, Shehzad Chandiyo, was shot dead by the Police in an exchange of fire on Monday, Korangi additional SHO is also among the suspended officers. (ANI)