#ShameOnLUMS: Outcry after Pakistani university cancels Balochistan talk

Administrators at a Pakistani university have come under fire for cancelling a panel on human rights in the country’s Balochistan province.

On Wednesday, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) said an event titled “Unsilencing Balochistan” would no longer take place. Allegations later emerged that Pakistan’s intelligence agency had pressured the university to cancel the talk.

“A delegation from the Inter-Services Intelligence visited LUMS in the evening and presented a letter calling for cancellation of the talks. They said that Balochistan is a sensitive issue and that the moot [debate] could be used to malign Pakistan,” faculty member Taimur Rahman told Pakistan Today.

Pakistanis criticised the decision by tweeting with #ShameOnLUMS, #UnsilencingBalochistan and #ResilencingBalochistan.