'Rape' protests: Punjab colleges, universities to remain closed tomorrow

The Punjab government has announced a holiday for all private and public universities and colleges across the province on Friday, according to an official notification issued here.

The government also imposed Section 144 in the province for the next two days — October 18 and 19.

All kinds of protests and rallies will be banned in the province, the separate notification stated.

The development comes after the ongoing protests across the Punjab after alleged rape of a female student at Lahore college. 

The province has been witnessing unrest over the rape allegations which went viral on social media platforms prompting students to hold multiple demonstrations across various cities in recent days.

Earlier, demonstrators in Rawalpindi clashed with police, hurling stones as law enforcement attempted to disperse the crowd.

It was reported that students vandalised hostel rooms and put furniture and other items on fire.

The police swung into action and arrested over 200 protesting students.