College directorate unsealed after four days

Offices resume activities, legal teams to resolve Education Complex dispute

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi College Directorate was temporarily unsealed on Monday, Sept 21, after remaining sealed for four days. Deputy Commissioner Nadeem Nasir played a key role in getting the building reopened.

The legal teams of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and the College Directorate will consult each other to resolve the legal issues, while the dispute over the historic Education Complex building housing the College Directorate has been temporarily resolved.

On the directions of Deputy Commissioner Nadeem Nasir, the ETPB and the FIA unsealed the Education Complex.

Director Colleges Professor Dr Shehnaz Mohsin Sial and the All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA) met the deputy commissioner on Monday and requested him to get the College Directorate unsealed.

The deputy commissioner directed the ETPB to immediately unseal the College Directorate, which was temporarily restored. The College Directorate will become a party to the case involving the ETPB.

Director Colleges Professor Dr Shehnaz Mohsin told the deputy commissioner that the Education Department had purchased the building from the ETPB in 1970 for Rs180,000. She also presented the deputy commissioner with the bank challan and receipt for the amount paid.

Following talks with the director colleges and APCA, the deputy commissioner directed the ETPB to unseal the College Directorate. FIA and police personnel left the premises after the directorate was unsealed on Monday afternoon, and the College Directorate was completely opened at 3pm, with office work also resuming.

From Tuesday, Sept 22, routine office activities of colleges and educational offices will resume at the Education Complex.

Earlier, the legal battle between the School Education Department and the ETPB was being fought in courts. The Higher Education Commission's College Directorate will now formally become a party to the case. The parties will accept whatever decision the court makes regarding the dispute, and the ETPB will not seal the College Directorate by force in future.

Director Colleges Professor Dr Shehnaz said the deputy commissioner had made an excellent decision.