PESHAWAR: The arrival of noted analyst Zaid Hamid to the Islamia College University here Saturday triggered violence on the university campus as various student organisations staged protest against him while the police baton-charged the angry students and arrested their leaders.

Zaid Hamid, however, managed to deliver lecture at the Takbeer Hall amid protest. The student organisations had joined hands to oppose the lecture by someone they called ‘a controversial scholar’. Later elders of the Amn Tehrik also joined the protestors and delivered speeches.

Police baton-charged the protesting students and arrested 16 of their leaders and senior members. The students were released later in the evening. The students said they had already informed the university administration of their concerns. But the VC told them that the programme had directly been organised by the NWFP governor, who is chancellor of the university.

The protesting students alleged that Zaid Hamid was a controversial scholar, who wanted to create a new sect in Islam. They alleged that he was fanning terrorism under the patronage of some vested interests.The news