A group of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPAs from Lahore are allegedly conspiring with the help of Lahore director colleges to grab around 73 kanals of land of the historic Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO) playground in a move that is being widely protested among educationists, students unions and civil society circles, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Sources revealed to Pakistan Today that the PML-N MPAs, with full support of the director colleges, are pressuring the college administration to not to raise hue and cry over the incident and to allow them to grab the land. On the other hand, education community has demanded of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to save the administration and to punish the MPAs and the officials concerned.
“We will burn his laptops in front of the CM House if he does not stop his MPAs from grabbing our land,” students said, adding “he should pay attention to what his party members are doing instead of taking part I political point-scoring.”
“The CM has been making a lot of effort to improve his party’s image and to promote healthy environment on the campuses but this move from his own party members can destroy all his efforts,” sources said.
MAO College’s playground, worth billion of rupees, is located in Sham Nagar. The campus is divided into two parts with one 48 kanal piece that is home to the main academic block, is situated in front of UOE sub campus whereas around 71 kanals of land are located in Raj Garh. Due to heavy commercialisation of the area, the price of this land has gone up.
According to an official, the Evacuee Property Trust Board (EPTB) was also told that a group of PML-N MPAs were trying to grab MAO College’s land. He said the college held historical importance and had owned the land since way before the partition, adding that the land was officially given to the college in 1985 and a notification had also been issued. He said the notification clearly stated that the land would only be used for the purpose of education and if an attempt were to be made to use it for some other purpose, the land would automatically come under the ETPB.
According to sources, 6 kanal land of the college have already been grabbed and a case is pending the courts. Sources said two MPAs had already received directives from the CM that the land of educational institutions could only be used for the same and not for some other purpose.
According to an official of the Higher Education Department Director Colleges Rana Naseem was an important tool and was working for the land grabbers. He said the environment in the colleges was improving after students’ unions were banned but this move could create trouble for the government.
“We will hold protests with the union and we will not let them get away with this,” said a former student union member. He even though it was true that the MAO College was notorious for gambling and other illegal activities but that had changed now and the college was moving in the right direction. “We request the CM to look into the matter and to rid us of these PML-N land-eaters,” the student said.
DIRECTOR COLLEGES: “These allegations are false I have no role in this land grabbing. The department will never allow such a move,” Lahore Director Colleges Rana Naseem said.
