Karachi:
On Friday, a tense impasse took place at the University of Karachi (KU) when officials of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), accompanied by police staff, would have tried to occupy land in the university premises. The decision, described by the KU administration as a “seizure of illegal lands”, was thwarted after university officials, professors and students confronted the team and required legal documentation, which KDA would not have produced.
According to university sources, the KDA team arrived at door n ° 1 of the KU campus, accompanied by police vehicles and a group of civil servants carrying building materials. They began to place wooden stakes, score limits and install panels on vacant land located next to the main entrance to the Jubilee Porte campus.
After receiving reports on activity, the Ku clerk, Dr. Imran Ahmed Siddiqui and the campus security officer Muhammad Salman rushed to the site. KU officials questioned the KDA team on the legality of their actions and asked them to show official documents, judicial orders or written directives which authorized them to take possession of the field. However, the KDA officers could not provide documentation.
Instead, tensions have increased when Ku Watch and neighborhood staff tried to resist encroachment. University staff allegedly alleged that KDA officials used abusive language, abused guards and expressed threats of arrest. The confrontation drew the attention of students, who met on the scene, singing slogans against what they called an attempt to “usurp the lands of public education”. The KDA team finally withdrew.
University response
The KU administration condemned the incident describing him as a blatant violation of autonomy and property rights of the institution. The registrar, Dr. Siddiqui, said: “The University of Karachi is a federal university institution in Charter, and its lands are dedicated only to educational purposes.
The Karachi University Teachers’ Society (Kuts) expressed its indignation, publishing a declaration which accused the KDA of “institutional intimidation”. The company said that such encroachments were not only threatening the integrity of the university, but also challenged higher education in the Sindh.
The president of Kuts, Professor Dr. Shahid Rasool, said: “The country of Ku is not intended for commercial exploitation. This is a national asset for research, teaching and production of knowledge. If the KDA or any other department attempts to move the University of its legitimate property, the academic community will launch a solid movement and will not hesitate to protest against the streets.”
Land disputes
The lands of the University of Karachi have long been controversial. Created in 1951, the University occupies one of the largest campuses in Pakistan, covering more than 1,200 acres in Gulshan-I-Iqbal. Over the decades, several attempts have been reported by various state and private actors to occupy parts of the university ownership.
In the past, parts of land on the outskirts of Ku have been encroached by housing companies and commercial projects, causing repeated demonstrations of the administration. University officials argue that these attempts are fed by the main real estate value of the land, given its central location and large size.
The latest incident comes in the midst of growing concerns concerning urban land disputes in Karachi, where state agencies, housing authorities and private promoters frequently come up against property.
Involvement of students
Friday’s confrontation also saw the participation of students, who rushed to the spot after learning the presumed encroachment. The videos broadcast on social networks have shown that students raised slogans in support of the KU administration, demanding that the land remains for academic purposes.
