Parents battle ‘Nawaz Sharif lovers’ over shops at girls school

Parents say shops will result in further harassment of girl students.

LAHORE:

The parents of students at a girls school in Model Town are resisting the plans of local authorities and businessmen to set up a series of shops right next to the main gate of the school building, fearing it will lead to the harassment of students.

While the parents have obtained a civil court order staying construction of the shops in R Block, the businessmen have set up massive hoardings to express their “love” for Nawaz Sharif, apparently in a bid to gain his favour.

On Monday, the Parents Action Committee won a stay order on the construction work outside the Progressive Girls High School.

The next day, they said in a complaint to the police, a group of hooligans shouted abuse and threats through a megaphone outside the school.

Gulberg Town Municipal Officer Faisal Shahzad said that the shops were meant to generate business activity. He said the shops would be given to people who had set up makeshift shops at the site. He said there was nothing illegal about the construction. “When the court issued the stay order, we ceased construction. Now we will give our version in the court,” said Shahzad.

Haji Riaz ‘Murghi Farosh’, as he is known, is one of the men hoping to get a permanent shop at the site once construction work is complete. He is also president of the Union Council 129 Nawaz Sharif Lovers Youth Wing.

He said that he used to run a makeshift shop from a tent outside the school. “LDA and Gulberg TMA officials used to pester us all the time, handing out fines or confiscating our goods. We went to the office of local MNA Umer Sohail Zia Butt, where we met Talish Butt, chairman of the All Pakistan Nawaz Sharif Lovers Youth Wing. He promised to help us secure the shops,” he said.

“We are around 60 shopkeepers with him. He fights for us in front of the chief minister, CM, DCO and TMA,” he said.

He denied that the shopkeepers had anything to do with the megaphone incident. “Why should we fight them? It is a matter between them and the TMA and the court,” Riaz said.

Representatives of the Parents Action Committee said that the shops would give cover to ‘unprincipled’ men to go to the school and harass the students. “The shops will destroy the peaceful atmosphere at the school,” said one parent.

Muhammad Shabbir, an active member of the committee, complained that the local authorities had been ignoring residents’ requests for facilities. “They have allocated Rs30 millions for this food street. We have been asking for a graveyard, hospital, dispensary, post office. There isn’t even a bank in the area. They ignored us. Now they want to create this dangerous environment around our daughters. We will resist them at all levels,” he said.

Liaqatabad Station House Officer (SHO) Saleemullah said that he had forwarded the complaint about abuse and threats being shouted outside the school to the superintendent of police (SP) concerned. “Since it’s a civil matter, we cannot register an FIR without our seniors’ permission,” he said.

Model Town SP (Operations) Awais Malik said that he hadn’t seen the application, but would look at it and take appropriate action.

The school’s headmistress, Asmat Saleem, refused to comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2011.