Srinagar: Kashmir students, who were ‘thrown out of an Indian varsity for cheering Pakistan during a cricket match with arch rivals India on Sunday and were subsequently booked for sedition, Wednesday said they were ‘ready to study in Pakistan if Indian government allowed them’.
Pakistan government Thursday offered admissions to Kashmir student who were ‘thrown out’ and booked for sedition after an Indian varsity filed a complaint against them over cheering for Pakistan when they beat India in a narrowly cricket encounter during Asia Cup match.
“Our hearts and educational institutions are open for all Kashmir students who were suspended and charged with sedition for celebrating Pakistan’s victory,” said spokesperson of Foreign Office Pakistan.
Reacting to Islamabad’s offer, the suspended students said: if authorities allow us, we are ready to go to Pakistan for studies. One among the 67 ousted students, Musadiq, said: “We will feel secure in Pakistan rather than India after the recent incident. It is the matter of our future and if our future will be secure in Pakistan we are ready to go.”
The student said that the Indian university authorities in Uttar Pradesh behaved very rudely with them.
He told GNS: “Now that university has filed sedition case against us and crossed all the limits, it is impossible for us to go back to the university.” He added: “If the varsity returns us our certificates, we will leave the institute.”
A suspended B tech student, who wished not to be named, said that if authorities think we are not safe in outside institutes, let them allow us to go to Pakistan. “It is clear that we are not secure in Indian institutes, and if authorities are unable to provide us security, then we are ready to go to Pakistan for studying.”
He added: “We are students but we were treated like criminals and murderers by varsity authorities.”
The student said that the varsity management’s role is disgusting. “They instead of listening to us threw us out of the university. It was the matter between students but varsity gave it another colour.”
The students questioned the varsity asking: “On what basis university suspended us?” They added: “Now, after suspending us they want apology. They should have done this at the time when they forced us to leave.”
The students appealed Jammu and Kashmir government to intervene in the matter in order to secure their future.
The trouble started on Sunday when Pakistan defeated India in one of the league matches. Kashmir students at the varsity in Meerut had cheered for Pakistan which angered the Indian students and they ‘harassed and allegedly thrashed’ few Kashmir students.
Next day, the varsity authorities, according to Kashmir students, forced them to leave the varsity with the help of police. The students have been suspended for unknown time.
The university claims some Kashmir students celebrated Pakistan’s victory and raised slogans in the community hall of the hostel, which led to a clash with other students and escalated into stone-throwing.
The university suspended all 67 Kashmir students of one hostel block and asked them to leave, but no action was taken against the other group. Around 200 Kashmir students are taking engineering and law courses in the university. Ousted Kashmir students, however, maintain that they were cornered by the Indian students and were ‘thrown’ out during the early dawn hours on Monday.
University officials claim the students had committed an ‘anti-national act’ and also vandalised hostel property. (GNS)