PHC halts sale of university land

CJ says stay order should not be an issue if no intention to sell

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court has issued a stay order on a petition filed against the possible sale of land belonging to various public universities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The court halted the sale of the land and sought a response from the provincial government.

A two-member bench, headed by PHC Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, and comprising Justice Waqar Ahmed, heard the case.

The petitioner, K-P Pakistan Peoples Party President Syed Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha, was represented by Gohar Rahman Khattak. Additional Advocate General Nauman Haq Kakakhel appeared on behalf of the provincial government.

The petitioners' lawyers informed the court that more than 400 kanals of land were acquired between 2009 and 2012 for the University of Engineering and Technology Mardan, the Agriculture University Mardan Campus, and Bacha Khan Medical College.

However, news had been circulating in the media that the provincial government was planning to sell this land and was pressuring officials of these educational institutions to revise the original master plan.

The lawyers also pointed out that many universities currently do not have vice-chancellors and are being run without them, while several other institutions are facing a financial crisis.

"The provincial government is not only planning to sell the land of public universities, but is also taking steps to merge various universities," the petitioner said. The lawyer argued that that the government lacked the authority to sell the universities' land, which had been acquired for the construction of buildings for these institutions.

"Thousands of acres of land were obtained for educational and other purposes. Instead of reducing its expenses, the government wants to sell the land of public universities."

During the previous hearings, the court sought a response from the provincial government, but none had been provided until Tuesday.

The AAG informed the court that no such order or decision has been made yet. Gohar Rahman, the petitioners' lawyer, told the court that a syndicate meeting of Mardan University is scheduled for September 12, and requested the court to issue a stay order preventing the sale of the land.

The additional advocate general requested the court not to issue a stay order, as no such decision had been made by the provincial government, and assured that a response would be submitted in the next hearing.

In response, the CJ remarked that if the provincial government was not selling the land, then there was no issue. The bench then issued a stay order, preventing the sale of university land and sought a response from the provincial government at the next hearing.

ADP block/umbrella schemes

Meanwhile, the same bench sought a response from the relevant authorities on a writ petition, filed by opposition K-P MPAs, against the inclusion of block/umbrella schemes in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

The petition requested the court to declare the inclusion of these projects void and halt the release/expenditure of funds for them.

The writ petition was filed by opposition members of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, including Leader of the Opposition Dr Ibad, members Arbab Muhammad Waseem, Ahmad Kundi, Arbab Muhammad Usman, Karamatullah Khan, Ehsanullah Khan, and Muhammad Iqbal Khan, along with 19 other assembly members.