Inside the RMC girls’ dormitory

NAB illegally occupies girls' hostel, raises their rent and diminishes already limited space.

RAWALPINDI: A female housing complex of Rawalpindi Medical College (RMC) has been illegally occupied by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for over a decade, resulting in severe housing shortage for female students.

NAB occupied this building back in 1999 and refuses to budge. At the time of the military coup the building was vacant so the bureau established its offices (including four Accountability Courts) in this hostel building, near Pakistan Air Force Chaklala Base, Rawalpindi. The building was and officially remains the territory of RMC. Mubashir Malik, principal of RMC at the time refused to give NAB permission to occupy the building. He maintained that the building was to be used as a girls’ hostel. Despite his objections NAB established offices in the premises, where they remain today.

When questioned, the NAB spokesperson told The Express Tribune, “We are considering different options, but we will not be vacating the building unless provided with an alternative.”

NAB officials confirmed that the bureau never paid any rent to RMC for the occupation of its building.

RMC Media Coordinator Dr Abbas Hayat said that the strength of students in the college has increased significantly during the past ten years and RMC administration has been requesting NAB officials, time and again, to vacate the building but only to be ignored persistently.

RMC Hostel In charge Dr Ghulam Mohyuddin said, “Currently 1500 students are enrolled in the college, half of which are residing in the dormitories, 70 per cent being females.” He said NAB was occupying the largest hostel building and as a consequence, five girls are cramped into each room.

“More than 750 female students sought hostel accommodation this year of which only 150 could be facilitated,” Mohyuddin said. He added that the number of female applicants was increasing every year making it harder for them to refuse.

The real brunt of situation is borne by the female students, Mohyuddin claims, as they have to pay high rents.

RMC Legal Affairs Committee In charge Dr Aslam Chaudhry said that NAB has never paid rent for the building and stopped paying for maintenance in year 2007.

“RMC spent more than Rs400,000 a year on the maintenance of this building but by 2007 the administration stopped spending money on it,” he added.

“Our students are angry but we want to resolve this issue peacefully and do not want to be confrontational,” Chaudhry added.

It has been learnt that NAB’s regional headquarters in other cities are also facing similar problems. In Lahore, Punjab government made NAB vacate two buildings, similarly the Sindh government has asked the bureau to remove its offices from the provincial government’s building. The Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa has reportedly asked NAB to pay the cumulative rent for a building they occupied.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2010.