Rawalpindi:

The Presbyterian Church of Pakistan has been granted ownership of the historic Gordon College in Rawalpindi by the Pakistani government. Attorneys did, however, speculate that the Supreme Court's decision may be appealed again. In November, after a lengthy legal fight, the Sialkot Mission of the Presbyterian Church was awarded ownership and operation of Gordon College by the Pakistani Supreme Court.

In addition to being a legal win, this decision represents a turning point in Pakistani education and shows how carefully one must balance protecting private property rights with maintaining a nation's rich educational heritage. Some college students, however, have voiced opposition to the university returning to its Presbyterian proprietors, arguing that it should continue to be a Muslim institution under governmental supervision.

At a protest against the alleged privatization of the government-run university, Gordon teachers and students proposed renaming the government-run Mohammedan College. In contrast, the court's decision has resulted in the restoration of the Presbyterian Church's pre-1972 property rights rather than their privatization. 

The college was created in 1893 by Presbyterian preachers, and in 1972 it was nationalized during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's government. Hundreds of Christian colleges and schools in Sindh and Punjab were nationalized by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Martial Law Order 118 of 1972, which also nationalized private institutions and organizations.