Multan, Oct 5: Six senior teachers at the Bahauddin Zakariya University have applied for the office of vice-chancellor in response to an advertisement issued by the provincial education department.

The applicants are BZU's acting VC Prof Dr Karamat Ali, Prof Dr Hayat Awan, Prof Dr G R Pasha, Prof Dr Abdus Salam, Prof Dr Anwaar Ahmed and Prof Dr Zafarullah.

The office of BZU VC fell vacant after the retirement of Prof Dr Ghulam Mustafa Chuadhry on July 14 last. The provincial government had directed the senior-most teacher, Prof Karamat, of the university to take over charge of the VC office till further order.

In the meanwhile, a committee headed by the provincial education minister Mian Imran Masood conducted interviews of the three senior-most BZU teachers - Prof Karamat, Prof Hayat Awan and Prof G R Pasha - of the university.

However, only a few days later the post was advertised in the print media along with the vacant posts of VCs at Textile University of Engineering and Technology and Fatima Jinnah Women's University.

October 5 was the last date to apply for the post. Sources in the university said that principal executive officer of the Nishter Hospital and Medical College, Prof Dr Shabbir Ahmed Nasir had also applied for the post of BZU VC.

STAY ORDER: A local court stayed further action against the alleged illegal occupants of the land of a graveyard in the city. On a writ filed by Shahra s/o Kalu, the court summoned district officer (revenue), his deputy and regulation officer of the tehsil municipal administration for Oct 19 to submit their replies.

The plaintiff had pleaded that the TMA had wrongfully razed houses of his and some 16 other residents of the area adjacent to the Jalal Baqri graveyard declaring the constructions illegal despite the fact that the locality had been declared 'kutchi abadi' by the Municipal Corporation several years before the introduction of devolution plan.

He further pleaded that the approved area of the graveyard was four kanals and 16 marals while at present it was spread on an area more than seven kanals. He alleged that the TMA's regulation branch acted at the behest of some influential people who wanted the land be vacated for their own use.

The court directed the TMA not to remove belongings of the plaintiff or other people from the disputed land till further orders.