Pakistan province shuts schools, universities amid student unrest

Lahore: Authorities in Pakistan s most populous province ordered all educational institutes shut for Friday, as students stage protests after reports...

Lahore: Authorities in Pakistan's most populous province ordered all educational institutes shut for Friday, as students stage protests after reports of a college campus rape spread online.

The closure, which encompasses playgroups to universities, will affect about 26 million children in addition to adult learners in eastern Punjab province.

Protests broke out in the provincial capital Lahore after social media reports spread that a woman student was raped in the basement of a Punjab College for Women campus over the weekend.

The police, college and provincial government have said that no victim has come forward and blame misinformation online.

The protests have since spread to campuses across Lahore as well as the city of Rawalpindi, which neighbours the capital Islamabad, with students accusing authorities of a cover-up.