Mengal chairs meeting to investigate grievances of Baloch Students

Islamabad; 18 Oct 2022: The 1st meeting of the Commission mandated to enquire and investigate the grievances of students belonging to the province of Balochistan, was held on Tuesday, 18th October 2022, at 11 a.m., at Parliament House, Islamabad, under the convenership of Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Member National Assembly.

The meeting was attended by Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, Senator Kamran Murtaza, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, MrAfrasiabKhattak, Former Member of the Senate, MrAsadUmer, General Secretary Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Mr Nasir MehmoodKhosa, former Chief Secretary, Balochistan, and Officials from the Ministry of Interior and Human Rights.

The Committee take the notice of the matter of ongoing grievances of the students enrolled in the educational institutions who belong to the province of Balochistan. The Committee discussed the grave situation prevailing in all the educational institutions across the country regarding “racial profiling”, enforced disappearances and lack of response by state functionaries.

The Committee also appreciated the initiative of the Honorable High Court, for the constitution of this Commission to probe the matter that involves the grave violation of constitutionally guaranteed rights. The Committee unanimously resolve to complete the task within the given time and would investigate the matter in the light of all the decisions made by the

Federal and Provincial High Courts so far.
The Committee unanimously decided to obtain feedback through a dedicated phone number and email, from all stakeholders and expressed resolve to complete the task within the given time frame.The students from Balochistan, enrolled in various universities across the country apprised the members of the commission of their concerns pertaining to swelling cases of disappearances, racial profiling and harassment.

The members of the commission assured the students of their full cooperation and decided to go deep into the matter and find a way out so that the grievances of the students from Balochistan are wiped out. By taking the sense of the commission, the convenor of the panel showed his intent to call Chairman HEC ( Higher Education Commission) and concerned VCs (Vice-Chancellors) in the next meeting of the commission.