CHITRAL: Students have assailed the government for allowing the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM) to set up its campus in Chitral in violation of the article 246 of the constitution.

Leaders of Muttahida Talaba Mahaz (MTM) told a press conference here on Monday that the controversial status of the campus could cause problems for the students and their parents in future.

They said that the University Act, under which the varsity was established in Mardan, didn’t provide for establishment of a campus in a district situated in the Provincially Administered Tribal Area (Pata).

They said that AWKU had not taken any NOC from Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University (SBBU) in whose territorial jurisdiction the district situated, which made the status of the campus further controversial.

The student leaders demanded that the AWKU campus should be merged with SBBU to pave way for establishment of a full-fledged university in Chitral.

They said that the disciplines introduced in the AWKU campus were few and could be easily started in the SBBU campus.

Published in Dawn, November 19th , 2014