KARACHI:
Karachi University (KU), one of Pakistan’s largest higher education institutions, is once again at the centre of a land dispute as attempts to encroach upon its property have triggered student protests, faculty outrage, and heightened security measures. Within the span of a single week, two incidents have raised fears that organised land grabbers are targeting the university’s valuable real estate.
Students block University Road after encroachment attempt. The first incident occurred on August 29 near the Silver Jubilee Gate of KU, where an attempt was made to occupy a piece of land adjacent to the main entrance. University staff intervened to prevent the takeover, after which hundreds of students staged a demonstration. Carrying placards and chanting slogans against the land mafia, they blocked University Road, one of Karachi’s busiest arteries, causing significant traffic disruption.
The protest was led by Jamaat-e-Islami’s MPA Farooq Farhan and KU’s student leader Kamran Sultan. Farhan alleged that elements within the KDA, including former officials, were directly involved in the attempted land grab.
“The same people who grabbed public parks and housing plots in the past have now turned their eyes on educational institutions,” he charged.
