On October 11, 2024, clashes broke out between members of the Punjabi Students Council and the Pakhtun Students Council at Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) in Islamabad. The clashes injured at least five students.

Videos posted to social media show students from both groups beating each other with sticks and iron rods and at least one person firing a gun into the air. Several rooms in a student hostel were also set on fire. Between five and seven students were sent to the hospital for treatment following the clashes. One student was seriously injured.

Following the clashes, QAU’s administration announced student hostels would be closed until October 20 because of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit occurring in Islamabad. Students were directed to vacate the hostels.

The clash was the second to take place between the two groups in under two weeks (see report).

Scholars at Risk is concerned about violent attacks by students against other students in retaliation for their exercise of their rights to freedom of association and expression. Scholars at Risk calls on all parties to exercise restraint and to avoid violence. State authorities have the right and obligation to maintain order, which they must with due regard for the rights of protesters and others, including the rights to free expression, academic freedom, peaceful assembly, and due process.

Sources:
https://www.mashaalradio.com/a/33154836.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawF10oVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHfm54eW-BoRL8Nxx2XqjY9v5G6PZb2wW2ldXJVXScfNiJTyBi9aL_IK3ag_aem_pS-wOZh0QDThcq6JK4AmxQ
https://www.dawn.com/news/1864418
https://x.com/Baadaksh/status/1844432043276632427