Sindh University’s 1,900 acres illegally occupied, PA told

The Provincial Assembly of Sindh was informed on Tuesday that 1,900 of the 10,000 acres of the Sindh University in Jamshoro were under illegal occupation.

Responding to the written and verbal queries of lawmakers during the PA’s question hour, Boards & Universities Minister Ismail Rahoo said that the relevant provincial authorities had approached different agencies for help in reclaiming the occupied land but to no avail.

Rahoo said that certain people involved in the illegal occupation had been issued erroneous land records by the Board of Revenue, enabling them to encroach upon the university’s land. He said that illegal occupation of the university’s land had begun in 1960 and the unlawful practice continued in the following years. He, however, clarified that no new encroachment had taken place over the past 10 to 15 years during the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) government in the province.

The minister said that as per his knowledge, the people involved in the illegal occupation did not have any political backing. He, however, admitted that getting rid of the encroachments on the university’s land was problematic.

He pointed out that different strategies were being considered to resolve the issue. He also disclosed that the university’s administration had been asked to get a boundary wall constructed to secure the land.

Extremism courses

Rahoo said that no university in the province offers any degree programme on the subject of extremism in society, adding that as per his knowledge, no university in the country offers any such degree programme.

He, however, pointed out that the Sindh Madressatul Islam University and the IBA Sukkur have been working on such proposals to introduce certain degree programmes. He also mentioned that Sindh had 27 public universities, 16 of which were built during PPP governments.