Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Engineer Balighur Rehman on Monday informed the National Assembly that Baba Guru Nanak University would be established in Islamabad instead of Nankana Sahib.

He was responding on a calling attention notice regarding delay in the construction of the said university despite inclusion of the project in the PSDP 2017-18 by five female lawmakers.

While delivering his policy statement on the issue, Engineer Balighur Rehman briefed the House that the project was included in the PSDP 2017-18 as an unapproved project, whereas the provision of land and funds for the project was the responsibility of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB).

“The ETPB has decided to change the location of university from Nankana Sahib to Islamabad because it has failed to get possession of land in question at Nankana district,” the minister stated of the reasons, adding: “The ETPB is a federal entity and it wants to establish a university with a federal charter, which is not possible if it goes to construct the building in any province in the light of the 18th Constitutional Amendment.”

Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Kharal, while taking on the calling attention notice, asked the minister that Nankana Sahib was the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak and a large number of Sikh pilgrims visit the place every year, so there was no logic to establish the university in Islamabad.

Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Sabiha Nazir and Amra Khan also backed the lawmaker and urged the minister to revisit the decision and construct the university in Nankana Sahib.

However, the minister responded by saying that the ETPB would select the place for the university because the project was in its domain.

“The ETPB has already arranged the required land for the university in Islamabad and [authorities were] preparing to take charter of the university from the National Assembly and then it will also open a campus in Nankana Sahib,” he informed.

Meanwhile, the state minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CA&DD) while responding to a question announced that the government had decided to establish the first women university of Islamabad in its rural area to facilitate the masses of the federal capital.

Later, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also joined the proceedings and responding on another calling attention notice regarding the recent increase in the prices of petroleum products. He said, “The oil prices are linked to the international market and the recent hike is also an outcome of the increase in petroleum products’ prices at the international level.”

“The government never passes on the whole impact on the general public and the prices of petroleum products are at the lowest rate in Pakistan amongst the oil importing countries in the world,” he maintained.

Meanwhile, Member of the National Assembly Capitan (r) Muhammad Safdar Awan delivered a comprehensive speech linking religious and political issues.

He demanded to make the oath of Khatam-e-Nabowat (finality of prophethood) mandatory for the officers of the armed forces and judges of the superior judiciary.

Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi interrupted the lawmaker two times to make his speech short but he requested the deputy speaker to let him continue.

However, when another lawmaker form the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) pointed out the quorum, the deputy speaker, after head count, announced that the House was not in order and adjourned the proceedings until today.

Published in Daily Times, October 10^th 2017.