MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 17: The AJK government has again asked the Chief of Naval Staff for the establishment of a naval cadet college in Muzaffarabad in accordance with the announcement of his predecessor made three years ago, sources told Dawn on Saturday.

The government, sources said, had informed the Naval Chief that it had selected and started the process to acquire a piece of land, measuring 399 kanals and 9 marlas, at the Tandali village for the proposed college.

The establishment of the college in the name of a martyred PN sailor, Mohammad Hafeez, was announced by the then Admiral Fasih Bukhari during his visit to Muzaffarabad on Aug 24, 1999 when he was here to offer condolences to the bereaved family.

Hafeez was among 16 sailors and officers of the Navy aboard its Breguet Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft which was shot down by Indian jets in the coastal area of Badin on Aug 10, 1999.

The AJK government, then led by the People’s Party, had announced that it would provide the required piece of land.

Sources said the AJK government had initiated the acquisition process after issuing the notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act. The scheme had been included in the Annual Development Programme of the current fiscal year with an allocation of Rs57 million.

These developments have been brought into the knowledge of the Naval Chief, sources added. “The response of the Naval Chief is being desperately awaited in Muzaffarabad,” they said.

A government official said that people of the Tandali village had surrendered their land to the government for the institution, and added that delay by the Navy would disappoint them.

He expressed the hope that the Naval Chief would expedite the required process.

In reply to a question, the official said that if the Navy backed out from its commitment, the government would establish the college from its own resources.