From the Archives (July 9, 1968): Anti-Ayub protest by Pakistani students

A group of students who invaded the Pakistani High Commission last night [July 7, London] as a protest against President Ayub Khan were cleared out early to-day [July 8] by police. A Scotland Yard spokesman said the students — all Pakistanis — carried out a peaceful demonstration and there were no arrests. There was some confusion about the number of students who entered the building — some reports said as many as 100 took part. But police said they herded out only 30. The two-hour take-over followed a meeting of the Pakistani Students Federation which held a protest meeting on behalf of political prisoners in Pakistan. When police were called to the noisy meeting — during which a picture of President Ayub was smashed — the students marched on the High Commission. When they knocked on the door it was opened by a High Commission official who staggered back as the students flocked in. They took over the personal office of the High Commissioner, Mr. S.K. Dehlavi, who was not in the building at the time. The President of the Federation, 29-year-old Mr. Subid Ali, said: “We want to stay here all night to protest against more than 2,000 political prisoners who are being kept in jails all over Pakistan without trial”. But when Mr. Dehlavi was called from his residence, he decided they had to go. When they refused to leave, he called the police. The students then left quietly. After seeing the last of the students leave, the High Commissioner said: “I told them they should be at home in bed at this time of night or studying for their exams”.