KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly unanimously approved on Tuesday the charter to set up three universities — one each in Karachi, Hyderabad and Shaheed Benazirabad — to be financed by a trust founded by philanthropist and real estate tycoon Malik Riaz.

Under the charter, the varsities in Karachi and Hyderabad have been named after MQM chief Altaf Hussain “in recognition of his commitment and dedicated services to create political awakening and conscientious among lower middle and oppressed sections of society”, while the one in Shaheed Benazirabad has been named after slain chairperson of the PPP Benazir Bhutto whose “services to democracy and sacrifices were not only recognized in Pakistan but the world over”.

The bills were tabled by Khwaja Izharul Hasan and Syed Sardar Ahmad of the MQM, and PPP lawmaker Ghulam Qadir Chandio.

Before the bills were passed into law, over a dozen lawmakers paid tribute to Malik Riaz, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani for their close coordination and expediting the legislation for an early execution of the project.

MQM lawmakers Izharul Hasan, Sardar Ahmad, Ashfaq Mangi, Rauf Siddiqui, Faisal Sabzwari, Dr Saghir Ahmad, Adil Siddiqui, Abdul Haseeb, Zubair Ahmad, PPP lawmakers Dr Sikander Mandhro, Murad Ali Shah, Ghulam Qadir Chandio, Abdul Sattar Rajpar and Khairunnisa Moghul and PML-F lawmaker Nusrat Sehar Abbasi highlighted the role universities played in the promotion of higher education that leads nations to attain progress, prosperity and respectable stature in the comity of the nations.

Published in Dawn December 10th , 2014