RAWALPINDI:
Seven years after its foundation stone was laid, a postgraduate college for women in Cantt Saddar, which has figured on the agenda of every lawmaker from the constituency since 2007, has not been able to open its doors to students.
While politicians dutifully commit to inaugurating the college situated on Police Station Road, they forget their promises as soon as elections are over. The foundation stone of the college was laid in 2007 by former railways minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad. Over the years, the college has been turned into a car park by people.
Malik Ryasat, a resident of Saddar said, “Our children are denied admission in army colleges because of an 80 per cent quota for army officials’ children. There is no postgraduate college for three million civilians in Cantt Saddar, while there are six postgraduate colleges for the rest of the city.” He added that the college consisted of eight rooms and most fixtures had rusted.
He and other residents were of the view that the delay was caused due to differences among politicians. If someone tries to complete the college, his rival tries to stop him from getting any mileage out of this project.
Ryasat told The Express Tribune there was an interesting story of false promises and fabrications behind the college’s construction. He said that Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, who contests elections from the constituency, NA- 55, was the first to promise he would establish a women’s college after being elected. He approved the transfer of the land from railways when he was the federal minister and laid the foundation stone for the college but he could not complete it during his tenure, he added.
“Javed Hashmi was elected in the next election on the promise that he would complete the college on a priority basis but he vacated his seat after 60 days and no progress could be made.” Ryasat said PML-N’s Haji Pervaiz was elected next, but he could not initiate work on the project despite promises. “During his tenure, the Railways department sent a notice stating that the land was its property and should be handed back.”
He stated that after the disqualification of Haji Pervaiz on fake degree charges, his successor, PML-N’s Shakeel Awan promised he would complete the college but could not keep his word. Residents set up a hunger strike camp in front of the college to convey its significance. We ended our hunger strike on Awan’s assurance who said it would be completed the following week but he could not live up to his promise, Ryasat said.
When the media highlighted the issue, former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s government issued Rs20 million and bought the land from Pakistan Railways for Rs2 per square foot, in addition to which a grant of 30 million was also approved for the college, he stated. Further construction was halted due to the disqualification of the prime minister by the Supreme Court, he added.
“Sheikh Rashid has again been elected from the same constituency but he has not been able to jumpstart the project.” Ryasat regretted that constituents had been requesting for a postgraduate college for women for years but no one bothered to heed their demands. Lawmakers come and leave after issuing political statements, he added.
Tahir Butt, another resident, said they had to accompany their daughters and sisters to colleges situated on Sixth Road and Sir Syed Chowk.
Muhammad Ayaz, another resident, said, “We’ve lost faith in politicians; they make false claims just to grab power and are not sincere in resolving our issues.”
Ahmad told The Express Tribune that he had been struggling to complete the college since long. “We got the army to vacate the land after a long struggle but the ruling party now wants to build shops and patrol pumps here. I’ve taken a stay and the case is still pending in court.”
The government is not ready to release funds for the college, he stated. “We don’t even need funds from the government. We can complete the college by collecting funds on our own if we’re allowed to build it.” He added that he had spent Rs20 million for the building’s construction in 2007.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2014.
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