Schools, colleges to remain shut in Punjab tomorrow

LAHORE: The Punjab government issued a notification on Thursday, announcing shutting down all private and public schools, colleges and universities across the province.

“Public and private colleges and universities across Punjab will remain closed tomorrow,” said the notification issued by the Punjab Higher Education Department.

Meanwhile, the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore has announced the cancellation of all exams scheduled for Friday, according to an official notification.

Exams for Physics, Home Economics, Geography, Agriculture, and Nursing were scheduled take place tomorrow.

The controller of examinations stated that the new dates for the cancelled papers will be announced at a later time.

Earlier, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 across the province, banning all kinds of protests, processions, and similar activities.

The provincial government has warned that public gatherings could become soft targets for terrorists given the current security situation.

The ban has been imposed in the wake of ongoing protest across the province against the alleged rape of a girl in a private college in Lahore.

Though the Punjab government and police have categorically denied the happening of the rape, students across the province have been protesting on roads, demanding justice for the “victim”, who could not be identified yet.

At least 250 protesters were arrested in Rawalpindi earlier on Thursday as police used tear gas to break up student demonstrations over the alleged rape of a private college student in Lahore.

The protests erupted after reports of the alleged rape surfaced on social media last week, leading to the arrest of a college security guard accused of involvement.

Angered by the incident, students organised protests across various colleges in Lahore in recent days. Clashes between demonstrators, college security, and police on Monday left at least 28 people injured.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has dismissed the rape claims as “fabricated news”, accusing the PTI of spreading “fake reports” on social media. Officials from the Punjab Group of Colleges, including Director Agha Tahir, have also labelled the allegations as “baseless”.