Pakistan(National Times)- Tuesday afternoon\u2019s clashes began after the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) sought to recruit students at the Khulna University of Engineering and Technology in the country\u2019s southwest. That sparked a confrontation with campus members of Students Against Discrimination, a protest group that led the uprising that ousted autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina last August. At least 50 people were taken for treatment after the skirmish, Khulna police officer Kabir Hossain told AFP. \u201cThe situation is now under control, and an extra contingent of police has been deployed,\u201d he added. Communications student Jahidur Rahman told AFP that those hospitalised had injuries from thrown bricks and \u201csharp weapons\u201d, and that around 100 others had suffered minor injuries. Footage of the violence showing rival groups wielding scythes and machetes, along with injured students being carted to hospital for treatment, was widely shared on Facebook. Both groups blamed the other for starting the violence, with the BNP student wing chief Nasir Uddin Nasir accusing members of Islamist political party Jamaat of agitating the situation to force a confrontation. Jamaat activists \u201ccreated this unwarranted clash\u201d, he told AFP. Local student Obayed Ullah told AFP that the BNP had defied a decision by the campus to remain free of activities by established political parties. He added that there was \u201cno presence\u201d of Jamaat on campus. The incident provoked outrage among students elsewhere in the country, with a protest rally held late Tuesday night to condemn the BNP\u2019s youth wing at Dhaka University. Students Against Discrimination launched protests last year that toppled Bangladesh\u2019s former government and chased ex-leader Hasina into exile after 15 years of iron-fisted rule. Activists from the BNP joined with student protesters in the final days of Hasina\u2019s tenure, defying a bloody crackdown by security forces that killed hundreds. The BNP is widely expected to win fresh elections slated to be held by the middle of next year under the supervision of the South Asian country\u2019s current caretaker administration. Student leaders have meanwhile struggled to parley their success in engineering Hasina\u2019s fall into a durable political force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan(National Times)- Tuesday afternoon\u2019s clashes began after the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) sought to recruit students at the Khulna University of Engineering and Technology in the country\u2019s southwest. That sparked a confrontation with campus members of Students Against Discrimination, a protest group that led the uprising that ousted autocratic ex-premier Sheikh […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n