ISLAMABAD: Three professors and two associate professors of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court against use of a piece of land of the university for the construction of Bahra Kahu bypass project.

The petitioner professors Dr Azizur Rehman, Ilhan Niaz, Aqeel Bukhari, associate professors Asif Ali and Amir Ali filed the petition through their counsel Kashif Ali Malik advocate.

IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb will hear the petition on Tuesday (today).

The petition challenged the “new alignment of the bypass cuts through the university campus and divide the south side (toward Bara Kahu) from the north side (toward Margalla).”

It states: “This has the effect of turning the bypass into a de facto hard border within the university campus. The bypass is also perilously close to the residential colony of the university. Furthermore, the construction of a public road passing through the university will also expose the students, faculty and staff to security risk.

The supreme decision-making body of QAU reportedly approved the conditional land swap deal with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for the Bhara Kahu bypass project, as nine out of 12 syndicate members backed the agreement with the civic body.

The petitioner stated that the CDA in its board meeting held on June 17took the decision of using the QAU’s land for non-educational purpose.

It went on to say that “the decision neither refers to the quantum of university’s land nor description of CDA land to be swapped. The decision appears to have been done in a secretive and an unholy haste whereas the petitioners came to know only when work had actually started.”

According to the petition, the university has its own Master Plan for land use in order to cater to future expansions.

The petitioners requested the court to set aside the decision of using QAU land in the said project.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2022