0
HYDERABAD, March 20: Residents of the Ismail Chand village have lashed out at the Irsa University administration for demolishing properties of villagers whose forefathers were residing there for centuries.
Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Monday, Mir Razzaq Turrab, Azizullah Chand, Khuda Bux Abro, Hassan Solangi and Ayaz Solangi said that they were owners and heirs of Goth Ismail Chand but the Isra university administration was forcing them to sell out their homes, shops and land to the university.
They said that in order to victimize villagers, the university had lodged false cases against them.
They said that some poor villagers had sold out their properties to the university at throw away prices but those who had refused were being harassed and intimidated.
They said the university had diverted its drains towards the village and the dirty water and refuse was being disposed of in the village.
They said that three to four villages were located near the university and all of them were being harassed.
They said that the Hyderabad district administration and police were also supporting the university.
They said that when some properties of villagers were demolished two days back and they had staged protest demonstrations and were subjected to baton charge, shelling and firing.
They made it clear that come hell or high water, they would not hand over their ancestral properties to the university.
They appealed to the human rights organizations and the government to protect them against alleged excesses of the university administration.
They appealed to the superior judiciary to take notice of alleged highhandedness of the university administration against the poor villagers.
INTELLECTUAL RIGHTS: The director-general of the Intellectual Property Organization, Pakistan, Mr Yasin Tahir, has said that due to reforms introduced by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to protect intellectual property, the image of the country has been raised among the comity of nations.
He was speaking at an informative programme held under the aegis of the Intellectual Property Organization at the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Sunday.
He said that under the intellectual property laws, the smuggling of arms and ammunition, narcotics, money laundering and software had been strictly curbed.
Mr Tahir said that the prime minister had issued strict instructions to the FIA and the customs department to control smuggling of fake products and software.
He said that Pakistan had taken strong measures to protect the intellectual property and added that in America, 356,000 applications were received for the registration of various items every year.
He said that automation would be introduced in the copyright and trade mark organization to save the time of the people.
He urged the business community especially manufacturers to get their items registered and added that cash reward of Rs500,000 would be given on new inventions and added that the organization itself would bear the expenses for its registration.
