Islamabad, Sep 9: The government’s proposal to sell property that was initially purchased for colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) has caused a great deal of controversy, and opposition leaders have vowed to use all available methods to thwart it.
The province administration feels obliged to sell underutilized university land in order to meet its financial obligations, according to sources from the Higher Education Department.
The province government is under pressure to settle an outstanding landowner debt of Rs. 25 billion.
The Express Tribune was able to collect information that 5,000 kanals of land were acquired for the Bacha Khan Greater Campus in Mardan during the Awami National Party’s (ANP) administration.
This comprised land for Bacha Khan Medical College (1,000 kanals), UET Mardan (400 kanals), the Amir Mohammad Khan Campus of Agriculture University Peshawar (1,488 kanals), and Abdul Wali Khan University (2,000 kanals). A considerable amount of this land is still undeveloped, and landowners are still due money.
Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, the leader of the ANP and a former chief minister, harshly denounced the land auction, referring to it as an attempt to sell national assets.
“The ANP and other opposing parties will vehemently oppose this decision. The future of our next generation cannot be sold off by the government, according to Hoti. Additionally, he charged that the ruling Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was selling off university land while breaking pledges to turn the Chief Minister House into a university and the Governor House into a public library.
In an effort to exert pressure on the government to overturn the decision, Hoti also said that he would call a political jirga that would include PTI representatives.
