Quaid-e-Azam University has still not lodged an FIR against robbers who made away with money and cell phones. PHOTO: QAU.EDU.PK
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice (CJP) Saqib Nisar, while taking notice of land grabbing and illegal occupation of Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) land, has directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman and the interior secretary to submit a detailed report within three days.
An application filed by university officials states that the varsity paid for 1,709 acres of land and the area was handed over to an educational institute on paper in 1972, but unoccupied possession was not given by the administrative authority.
The application states that QAU was continuously facing land grabbing as well as encroachment issues, besides settlements which were already there since the original land allocations in 1967 and 1972.
The application goes on to state that the QAU had lost control of over 600 acres of its land and that if land grabbing, encroachments and illegal occupation were not checked, in future there may not be a university campus worth the name.
Furthermore, the application underscores that the alleged land grabbers and illegal occupants were politically influential individuals that have aggravated the situation for the varsity.
The application further stated that QAU approached almost every authority to help them resolve the issue, but to no avail.
In November 2016, QAU Vice Chancellor Javed Ashraf, while addressing a press conference, had said that a powerful group had encroached on 202 acres, based on CDA records.
He had stated that QAU had possession of 1,507 acres of land out of the 1,709 acres allocated by the authority.
He went on to allege that 56 canals of land had been grabbed by ex-Senate chairman Nayyar Hussain Bukhari and the civic body was unable to get QAU’s encroached land free from illegal occupants.
The VC said it was the responsibility of the CDA to hand over possession of the allotted land to QAU management, which has been delayed for the last 26 years.
Contrary to fulfilling its responsibility, he had said that the authority had told the QAU management to get the encroached land vacated on its own.
The VC said that a local group operating in the adjacent villages was involved in land grabbing which continues to go unchecked by the district administration or the CDA.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 20th, 2017.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ