PESHAWAR: The residents of Chitral have rejected the government`s plan of setting up campuses of Abdul Wali Khan and Benazir Bhutto universities and demanded establishment of a full-fledged university in the district.

A group of Chitrali elders, led by former MNA Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, told a press conference here on Thursday that Abdul Wali Khan and Benazir Bhutto universities had opened their campuses in Chitral but they lacked facilities.

`We do not want educational institutions with names of politicians because such universities become centres of politics instead of seats of learning,` said the former lawmaker.

He said that residents of Chitral including nazims and councillors would launch a protest movement if provincial government failed to accept their demand of setting up a full-fledged university in the district.

Mr Chitrali said that Chitral had 65 col-leges from where thousands of students graduated every year and got admission in various universities across the country.

Flanked by Chitral tehsil nazim Shamsher Khan and naib nazim Hayatullah Khan, Mr Chitrali said that establishment of a separate university having all facilities, required staff and equipments was the right and dream of thousands of Chitrali students. They were ready to run a campaign for it, he added.

The former lawmaker said it was astonishing that funds for setting up universities were allocated by the government but the institutions were named after politicians. He said that that the people of Chitral had planned a movement two years ago for establishment of university butitwasyettobelaunched.

The former MNA said that running campuses of Abdul Wali Khan University and Benazir Bhutto University without proper facilities, equipment and teaching staff was tantamount to waste of funds.

He appreciated provincial ministers Muzzafar Said and Inayatullah Khan for supporting their demand for a full-fledged university. He demanded of the government to establish a full-fledged university in Chitral otherwise they would launch the protest movement and hold demonstrationsin different cities.