JAMHORO:
A clash between two groups of students at the University of Sindh during the semester exams left one student injured by gunfire and eight others injured in violence on the campus on Saturday.
According to university sources, the confrontation broke out when students from rival groups came out after taking their exams and exchanged heated words, which quickly led to a violent confrontation outside the Faculty of Arts.
The dispute is said to be the result of a long rivalry between the groups.
During the clash, aerial gunfire was also reported, causing panic in nearby areas and university hostels. A stray bullet hit a third-year BBA student, Azhar Shah, who had reached the spot after hearing about the altercation. He was shifted to Liaquat Medical College Hospital, Jamshoro, for treatment.
Meanwhile, eight other students suffered minor injuries when both groups attacked each other with sticks, iron bars and bricks. The situation remained tense for several hours and the university seemed like a battlefield.
The police rushed to the spot after being informed, after which the students dispersed. However, soon after, some enraged students set fire to two rooms of the Lal Shahbaz Boys Hostel. The fire destroyed the rooms before rescue teams managed to control it.
Campus security officer Rafiq Brohi said a case would be registered at Jamshoro police station against those involved in the clash.
Sources claimed that the incident involved two factions of the Sindh People’s Students Federation (SPSF), allegedly supported by some nationalist students.
However, SPSF Sindh University President Halar Jamali, in a video statement, condemned the incident and denied the organisation’s involvement, saying there was an attempt to wrongly attribute the clash to the SPSF. He added that the group had always opposed guns on campus.
