GUJAR KHAN: A contingent of police was deployed outside Al-Qadir University, near Sohawa city, on Friday soon after a court convicted incarcerated PTI leader Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi in a corruption case related to the institution.

Talking to Dawn, Sub-Divisional Police Officer Sohawa Sajid Mahmood Gondal said that a contingent of around a dozen policemen was deployed outside the varsity premises to “deal with any untoward situation”.

“The situation was peaceful within and outside the campus, and the deployment was only aimed at protecting the premises, keeping in view the Al-Qadir Trust case verdict,” Mr Gondal said.

During a visit to the campus on Friday afternoon, several media persons were seen descending upon the campus, where academic activities seemed to carry on as usual.

Campus activities continue as usual; education official says institute registered as a college, affiliated with GCU in Lahore

Some students were seen playing cricket in the driveway as there is no playground on the campus, which is spread across 458 kanals of mostly rocky hillocks and ridges.

The two main blocks, comprising the academic and residential sections, stand before an incomplete auditorium.

The classrooms, library, IT lab, and offices give state-of-the-art look with quality fixtures and furniture. Around 200 students are enrolled in the campus, one of the faculty members told Dawn, adding that 130 boys and 70 girls were enrolled in two disciplines — BS Islamic Studies and BS Management.

He added that boys and girls staying in the hostels belonged to far-flung areas of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab.

The faculty member, who did not want to be named, said most of the students living in the hostel got free education while the mess expenses of around 60 of them were being borne by philanthropists.

According to some teachers, the students were anxious about the future of the institute in the wake of the verdict.

Contrary to some media reports, the campus is not an autonomous university.

The Jhelum deputy director of colleges, Dr Habibur Rehman, said that Al-Qadir University Trust was registered with the Directorate of Public Instructions (DPI) Colleges in Punjab as a graduate college and was affiliated with Government College University (GCU) Lahore.

When asked about any plan to take over the control of the institution, as envisaged in the verdict, the officer stated that “we have not received any such directions from higher authorities as yet. As the government will direct, we will follow”.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2025