Under the motto 'We Will Be Heard', the event was scheduled to coincide with international women's day until police and university administration began 'harassing and threatening' students.
https://twitter.com/Itsbaloch_/status/1501094122412822529
Videos of police swarming the campus were being shared by students on social media. Police have reportedly stopped female students from entering the conference and are checking all entrants at the university campus gates.
https://twitter.com/Asif_Baloch8/status/1500769718076166146
University Vice Chancellor has reportedly stopped students from assembling, with police on alert for a baton charge, with students reporting that he VC has said he would not allow any program to be held celebrating women's day.
https://twitter.com/Uzairbaloch52/status/1501059364534243328
https://twitter.com/_farid_mengal/status/1501089035862908929
International Women's Day in Pakistan has been wrought with controversy, with threats of violence against women who participate. This year, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Islamabad chapter leader Abdul Majeed Hazarvi has threated to strike at participants of this year’s Aurat March with ‘batons’ if government allowed the march to proceed.
Similarly, Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri wrote a letter to Prime Minister Imran, seeking a ban on the Aurat March that is to be held on March 8 for International Women's Day while terming the event an ‘affront to Islamic principles and social customs’.
Since 2018, women and men across Pakistan have participated in the 'Aurat March' on International Women's Day. This year's march stands for 'reimagining justice' within Pakistani society.