ISLAMABAD: Alerted to new threats in the wake of renewed terror attacks in the country, the Quaid-i-Azam University has again turned to a seemingly unconcerned Capital Development Authority for help.

Vice Chancellor of QAU Dr Javed Ashraf has repeated the request to the CDA to demarcate on ground the university’s over 1,700-acre land, and evict the people occupying 400 kanals of the area illegally.

“We have been making that request for over a decade but the CDA has remained unmoved. We don’t know why,” said QAU faculty member Dr Waheed Chaudhry while talking to Dawn on Tuesday.

In the absence of demarcation, it is alleged, politically-backed land grabbers have continued encroaching upon the university land. “We witnessed many fresh encroachments during the past five years,” said Dr Chaudhry.

However, the State Minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, has assured that “all encroached land will be retrieved.”

“I have directed the CDA to carry out the demarcation of the university land,” he told Dawn when asked for his comments.

“Every illegality will be dealt in accordance with the law of the land,” he said, promising “a massive clearing operation” if encroachment was proved.

About the QAU’s complaint in its letter to the CDA that its plan to build a boundary wall was facing obstruction, the minister said CDA’s Member Environment has been directed to cooperate with the QAU.

The CDA spokesman, Ramzan Sajid, said he had “no knowledge of the letter in question” but added that the CDA would extend the cooperation to the university.

QAU’s latest letter to the CDA stated that it acquired an area of 1709 acres, 4 kanals and 12 marlas from the CDA during the1967-72 period.

Payment was made for the land and, according to a map provided by the CDA, the area was handed over to it.

However, the letter said, the university inherited a number of illegal tenants, and a shortfall of 210 acres in its allotted land, because “vacant possession of the land” was not given to the QAU.

Instead of facilitating the government-run university to overcome the problems, the CDA never moved to demarcate the land needed to challenge and evict the influence-wielding and politically-backed land grabbers.

It also alleged that Director Environment, CDA repeatedly stopped the work on raising a boundary wall on Bari Imam side. “Progress on the work is badly suffering,” the letter stated.

“Currently, 210 acres shortfall and around 400 kanal of the university land are under the occupation of influential land grabbers and tenants, and the CDA seems unmoved on the matter,” said Professor Dr Asif, President Academic Staff Association- QAU.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2016