As Bangladesh continues to witness unrest and violence amid growing protests led by student protestors, the Jammu And Kashmir Medical Students’ Association (JKMSA) has raised concerns regarding the safety of Kashmiri students residing in the country.
In Bangladesh, protests began this month on university campuses as students demanded an end to a quota system that reserves 30 per cent of government jobs for family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence against Pakistan in 1971.
Dr Wasim Khan, President, JKMSA, told EdexLive, “We are observing that the situation in Bangladesh is deteriorating, with over 30 people already killed. We’ve been receiving urgent calls from distressed students there. They are not being allowed to step outside the campus due to safety concerns, even for basic necessities like food. We are urging the Ministry of External Affairs to look into the situation on an urgent basis and evacuate the students who are stranded in Bangladesh.”
While the protests started weeks ago, the issue escalated on Monday, July 15, when protests at Dhaka University in the capital city took a violent turn, leading to clashes between student protestors, pro-government student groups and the police.
The protestors are arguing that the reservation policy is discriminatory and favours members of the ruling Awami League party, which is led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
As per latest reports, the week’s unrest has led to at least 39 deaths so far, with 32 on Thursday, July 18, alone.
“We are also in touch with the embassy. But so far, apart from issuing safety measures and guidelines for Indian students in Bangladesh, no strict measure has been taken to evacuate them,” Dr Wasim Khan added.
EdexLive was unable to contact the students stranded in the violence-torn country due to a communications blackout there, as mobile and internet services have been blocked.
Moreover, the Dhaka police also imposed a ban on all public rallies today, July 19, as a measure to curb violence. Several major universities in the country have also closed their campuses until the issue is resolved.