The owner of Qurban and Surraya Educational Trust has claimed that a sitting Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Punjab belonging to Pakistan Tehrik I Insaf (PTI), trying to occupy the school land, raided the place with several armed guards.
According to an application available with Academia Magazine, Abaida Mahmood, the owner of Qurban Girls High School, working under Qurban & Suraya Educational Trust, wrote a letter to the President of Pakistan, Prime Minister, and many other higher authorities to save the future of around 6000 poor and deserving students who are studying in the school.
The letter states that the Qurban & Suraya Educational Trust was set up in 1980, educating the more than 6000 underprivileged children of Pakistan by the name of Qurban Girls High School at Walton Rd, Lahore Cantt. All orphans and needy children are not only educated for free but they are also given free uniforms and books.
The letter reads, “On 30 July at 4 am in the morning, more than 15 gunmen invaded the property, manhandling the security guard there. They then attempted to take occupation and also deleted all security footage on CCTV and, broke DVR, wiped it clean. The men stated that they were sent by PTI’s MPA Sialkot, Ahsan Saleem Baryar, son of Muhammad Saleem Bryar. M Saleem Baryar claims he bought this land six months ago; his papers are Bogus. My staff called on police emergency helpline 15. Police arrested more than 15 armed men, took them to the Police station Factory area where FIR NO, 4461/2022 was lodged, and weapons recovered from them.”
“Mr. Baryar knowingly bought these fake land documents, thinking that the owner (my father, Mr. Qurban Ali) had passed away in 2018, and it would be easy for him to grab this property.
We believe it is a grave travesty that people such as Baryar are given leadership positions and corrupt the name of Pakistan by misusing their power by acting as land mafias, particularly in this case as the property is being used for charitable purposes.”
The letter sent by Abaida Mahmood claimed, “We are writing this letter not on behalf of a personal agenda but to free Pakistan of the corrupt mafias. As overseas Pakistanis, we are limited in our actions, and this attempt of forceful occupation affects this school and the general morale of many Overseas Pakistanis in their desire to invest and donate to charities in Pakistan.”
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