JAC hails recovery of QAU land

Islamabad: The Joint Action Committee of the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) hailed the district administration's crackdown on the illegal occupation of the university's land and demanded the continuation of the exercise until the eviction of illegal occupants from all 298 acres of campus.

In statement issued here on Sunday, the committee, which consists of the representatives of the QAU Alumni Association and Academic Staff Association, said the anti-encroachment campaign should be carried out strictly in accordance with the demarcation conducted by the Survey of Pakistan (April-May 2017), which revealed that the actual land was 1,557 acres out of 1,709 with shortfall of 152 acres. The Survey of Pakistan has confirmed illegal occupation of 298 acres of QAU land.

The JAC said it will monitor the situation very closely and all possible options will be utilised for the end of the illegal occupation of QAU land. It expressed concern about some elements creating hurdles to the anti-encroachment drive and said the operation should continue without any pressure until the end of complete encroachments on campus.

The JAC said that despite payment for 1,709 acres, the QAU was having a shortfall of 450 acres of allotted land due to the illegal occupation of 298 acres and non-handing over of 152 acres. "The non-resolution of this important issue has created a lot of problems in terms of security and development work in the university. Due to this issue, the premier higher education institution could not construct boundary wall or complete any development work on campus," it said.