Academic activities come to a halt at QAU as students’ protest enters third day

By Nadir Baloch

ISLAMABAD: Academic activities have come to a halt at Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) as a sit-in protest against the alleged abduction of a student entered its third day.

The Baloch Students Council (BSC) has set up a protest camp against the alleged enforced disappearance of sixth-semester student Saeedullah Baloch.

According to students, the BSC had earlier reached out to other councils and student groups to join the camp. However, fearing a widened protest campaign, the university administration suspended all academic activities.

The BSC said that the past three days have proven that students cannot be intimidated when justice is denied.

Muhammad Azam — brother of Saeedullah Baloch — said the camp has become “more than a protest site; it is now a symbol of collective resilience.”

“With every hour that passes, our message grows louder. We will not accept enforced disappearances, we will not accept fear, and we will not walk away until our voices are heard,” he added.

While the QAU administration has not issued an official statement on the continued closure, a senior university official said the administration had reached out to the BSC, offering assistance and requesting that the camp be ended.

“But they flatly refused, saying the administration could not help. They maintained that the protest was not political — it was a demand for the recovery of a student,” the official said.

Saeedullah Baloch is a student of the Defence and Strategic Studies (DSS) department.

Speakers at the camp claimed that unknown men in civilian clothing forcibly took Saeedullah away from the Islamabad Toll Plaza on July 8, 2025, between 7pm and 7:30pm, while he and a friend were travelling to Quetta by bus.

The protesters said the abductors were accompanied by personnel from law-enforcement agencies. The two were offloaded, but while Saeedullah’s friend was permitted to continue the journey, Saeedullah was taken away.

Speakers — who declined to be named — said that while they are students, they also stand as witnesses to illegal actions and will continue resisting with “courage and unity.”