Lahore: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday recalled former Indian Premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee`s historic trip to Lahore when he was awared an honorary doctorate by a leading university here.
A beaming Sharif, who is an alumnus of the Government College University (GCU), said, "I used to play cricket in the Oval ground and I was a prominent member of the cricket team".
He recalled a visit of Vajpayee to Lahore in 1999 and said film star Dev Anand had expressed his wish to see the university as he was also a Ravian.
Sharif said he could not forget the days when he along with his friends used to sit on the benches of the ground and it was time when the friends` company was more attractive than the classroom.
He wished he could become an GCU student again to spend time with friends.
Sharif said he still remembers the university canteen, friends and honourable teachers and suggested the vice chancellor not to call it university but Government College.
He asked the Vice Chancellor that he might remain VC but not change the name-plate of "principal" from his office.
"Today, we are in a knowledge-based economy," the premier said, addressing students at the 12th annual convocation of the University, one of the oldest educational institutions in the country.
Sharif joked that the vice chancellor of the university had given him the degree but also asked for Rs 9 billion in donation.
"I don`t know if I am being given the degree or if I am buying it," he joked leaving the audience in splits.
