Taxes on industrial zones in tribal districts protested

BARA: Industrialists and traders on Sunday staged a protest rally in the Bara tehsil of the Khyber district against the imposition of what they called illegal taxes on industrial zones in the tribal districts.Led by industrialists Tariq Afridi and Gul Min Afridi and Bara Anjuman Tajiran chairman Said Ayaz Wazir, the protesters were chanting slogans against the imposition of new taxes in merged districts.They demanded the government to withdraw the decision forthwith. “The tribal districts’ industries and traders had already suffered since long militancy,” Tariq Afridi said, adding that despite relief to the tribal people the government imposed taxes, but it is extremely injustice with affected people. He revealed that some people from another province want to close down the industrial zones.Tariq Afridi said it was a conspiracy against the tribal districts’ industries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Another trader, Said Ayaz Wazir, said that they would use all means to foil the conspiracy. “We will also move the court against the decision,” he added. He said they would stage a protest in Islamabad if their demand was not fulfilled.

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Transgender killed in Nowshera

NOWSHERA: A transgender was shot dead near Babu Khwar in the limits of the Cantonment Police Station on Sunday, official sources said.A police party was on a routine patrol when it spotted the bullet-riddled body of a teenager. The police shifted the body to the District Headquarters Hospital for autopsy and identification.The heirs reached the hospital and claimed the body where the slain was identified as Aftab Ahmed alias Maya. His father Aurangzeb told the police that his son Aftab Ahmed, 17, was born as transgender and had joined a group of transgender people known as Meena Group in Peshawar.He said he tried his best to stop his son from being a part of the group as it had brought a bad name to his family but to no avail. Aurangzeb disclosed that his son was coming home on a motorcycle along with his uncle Jamshed and brother Adnan. He feared they might have killed him.Station House Officer Zardad Khan took the body into custody after recording the statement. The police later arrested the father of the 19-year old Maya and started investigation into the case. They said the transgender person had been shot dead.According to details, Maya's father along with other accomplices allegedly shot dead Maya. Police shifted the body to hospital for post-mortem. The transgender community has announced to stage protest in Peshawar against Maya's murder.

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PTI has failed to come up to expectations: Liaqat Baloch

MINGORA: Deputy head of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Liaqat Baloch on Sunday said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had failed to come up to the expectations."The people have disappointed with the policies of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The government has destroyed the economy by signing secret agreement with the International Monetary Fund," he told the JI workers at the Markaz Islami in Sangota, Swat.The JI leader said the PTI-led government had pushed the country towards economic and financial crisis. "The government has made life miserable by increasing petroleum and electricity tariff. The government will not be able to overcome the economic situation by taking loans," he added.The JI leader added the government had failed to deliver despite the support of the army. "The government should stop toeing the line of foreign monetary institutions and formulate people-friendly policies," he added.

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Relatives of abducted boy stage demo

TOBA TEK SINGH: Relatives of a 16-year-old boy, who was abducted three months ago, staged a demonstration and blocked traffic on the Gojra-Toba Bypass Road on Saturday night. The protesters chanted slogans against the Gojra City police for failing to recover Ali Hassan. The boy was abducted from Chak 372/JB but the police were not cooperating in recovery of the boy. Later, Gojra DSP Fateh Ahmad assured them that the kidnappers would be arrested soon.

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Two brothers killed in Charsadda

CHARSADDA: Two brothers were killed and two others sustained injuries here on Sunday, the police sources said. They said that a jirga was in progress over the settlement of a room dispute at Taj Plaza between two parties when accused Qadeer, Rasheed, Haroon and Saud forced their entry into the room and opened fire on the participants.As a result, Iqbal and Ilyas, sons of Shaida, were killed on the spot while Ashfaq and Arshad sustained injuries. The dead and injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Charsadda. The police registered the case and started investigation.

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Bajaur becomes first tribal district to have regular courts

PESHAWAR: Bajaur has become the first tribal district where regular courts have started functioning within its territorial limits."Bajaur has won the title of having the pioneer district judiciary. It is indeed a historic event as now the inhabitants of Bajaur would get all the constitutional rights," stated Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court, Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth in a message after regular courts started work in the district.Senior lawyer Wali Khan Afridi said the inhabitants of other tribal districts could also get regular courts in due course of time. He said people would take some time to adjust to the regular courts as in the past there was no concept of such courts in the merged tribal districts.Tribesmen from the erstwhile Fata noted that they had struggled for separation of judiciary from the executive and ultimately that goal has been achieved. Earlier, the political agent performed the role of both administrative and judicial officer.The PHC chief justice had ordered the establishment of regular courts at the earliest within the territorial limits of the newly merged districts in a bid to comply with the judicial pronouncement of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.The regular courts started functioning on March 11, 2019 in the seven tribal districts nine months after the merger of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Initially, these courts were established in the adjoining settled districts due to lack of courtrooms and staff and also security concerns.Bajaur took the lead as regular courts started functioning in this merged district a few days ago. The PHC on February 25 posted 28 judicial officers of the district judiciary, including seven district and sessions judges, 14 additional district and sessions judges and seven senior civil judges to operate the regular courts in the merged districts.PHC Registrar Khawaja Wajeehud Din said that on self-help basis makeshift arrangements have been made in the adjoining districts where district judiciary of the newly merged districts started functioning.He said the makeshift courts would be shifted when the government is able to provide suitable places for the courtrooms in the tribal districts. The seven tribal agencies were merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through the Constitution (Twenty Fifth Amendment) Act, 2018, which was published in the official gazette on June 5, 2018.In Peshawar, four judges posted to the Khyber tribal district set up their court at the Federal Judicial Complex located in Hayatabad. The judicial officers of Kurram set up courts at Thall in Hangu and those for South Waziristan worked at Tank. The judicial officers of district Orakzai functioned in Hangu, those for Mohmand in Shabqadar in Charsadda and the ones for North Waziristan in Bannu.In erstwhile Fata, the administrative officers including political agents and assistant political agents were assigned judicial powers under FCR. The FCR was abolished through the Fata Interim Governance Regulation 2018 in May 2018, but the administrative officers continued to exercise judicial powers.However, after the passage of the Constitution (Twenty Fifth Amendment) Act, 2018, the PHC declared as unconstitutional several provisions of Fata Interim Governance Regulation 2018 through which judicial powers were assigned to executive officers and council of elders. The high court had given one month to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to introduce regular judicial system in tribal districts.Subsequently, the Supreme Court of Pakistan on January 16, 2019 while upholding the PHC's verdict gave six months to the government for introduction of regular judicial system in the former Fata.

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Govt providing best health facilities in hospitals: Dr Yasmin

JHANG: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has said that the government is providing best health facilities in the hospitals.She said this while addressing a function held to distribute the Sehat Cards at the District Council’s hall here on Sunday. Dr Yasmin Rashid said that the government was providing free medicines and other health facilities in the hospitals. She said that under construction block of the DHQ Hospital would be completed soon as announced by the Punjab CM during his visit to the hospital last month. She said that 171,976 families of Jhang district would get free medical services through the Sehat Cards. She said that 17 centres had been established in all four tehsils for registration and distribution of the Sehat Cards among the needy and deserving families. Meanwhile, security guards of the hospital and the administration did not allow patients and their attendants to meet the minister during her inspection of the gynecological and other wards of the hospital.Meanwhile, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid suspended a duty doctor and paramedics who had allegedly refuse to provide medical treatment to a patient who later died at the Athra Hazari THQ Hospital on Sunday. On the request of MPA Faisal Hayat, the minister visited the Athara Hazari THQ Hospital. When the minister reached the hospital, scores of residents of Wasu and adjacent villages placed the dead body of the man on a road and staged a demonstration.The protesters informed the minister that Nazir Ahmed was brought to the THQ Hospital for medical treatment but the duty doctor and other staff refused to provide him medical treatment, which caused his death.The protesters said that the THQ Hospital doctors and paramedics were running their own private clinics. Later, the minister ordered to launch an inquiry into the incident besides issuing suspension orders of the accused hospital’s staff.

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Agitation of opposition will not work: Samsam

LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Information and Culture Syed Samsam Ali Bukhari has said that promoters of change and supporters of status quo are in a state of conflict in the country. The same political parties are united against Prime Minister Imran Khan again who opposed him in the past. He said that agitation of opposition parties neither worked in the past nor could bear fruit in future. Those who are making hue and cry to save their corruption cannot stop the process of change in Pakistan, the minister said in a statement issued on Sunday.He said that the only way to improve the economy of Pakistan was to reform the existing system. “We must have to replace the present dilapidated system on the basis of now or never,” he said.Sumsam Bukhari said the prime minister had given a road map for development and progress and now PTI government was striving to stabilise the economy on a self-reliance basis. He said that financial cooperation of Saudi Arabia and Qatar clearly reflected their confidence in Pakistani government. He said the government had been successful in the process of budget approval and it would also be successful in future. He said that state of affairs in Pakistan was getting better day by day and government intended to give relief to the general public.Sumsam Bukhari said those who were engaged in negative propaganda would fail at every level. Prime Minister Imran khan has the vision of progress and development for Pakistan, Sumsum Bukhari concluded.

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PAT urges Buzdar to accept debate offer on killings

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Secretary General PAT Khurram Nawaz Gandapur has urged Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar to accept an offer by PML-N MPA Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan to hold a debate on Model Town killings Incident in Punjab Assembly.In a letter to the Punjab CM, the PAT secretary general said the Punjab government must accept forthwith Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan’s offer and fix a day for general discussion on the tragedy, in which 14 innocents were killed and dozens wounded. He said the Model Town killings were a worst case of human rights violations, it not only gained global attention, but also tarnished the image of Pakistan regarding democratic and civil rights.He said the victim families were still waiting for an impartial investigation into the incident despite a lapse of five years, as justice was denied to them so far. He said every hurdle created to the investigation and dispensing justice to the victims must be raised duringdiscussion in the Punjab Assembly.He alleged that former rulers were directly involved in the gory incident, and they created hurdles to the way of justice. Even after their departure, they were still occupying important state organs through their stooges.

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Fares of passenger trains increase today

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Railways will increase the fares of passenger and inter-city passenger trains from 2 per cent to 8.5 per cent from July 1 (today).According to a PR spokesman, the increase in the fares has been done in a rational way after careful study of the fares of road and air transport. The current increase in the fares would reduce the additional burden of deficit being faced by Pakistan Railways, he added. The increasing oil prices had left the PR with no option but to increase the fares of all of the passenger trains, he said.He said there would be no increase in the fares for the destinations up to 50 kilometers and for those who had already got their seats reserved for various destinations. The PR was facing over Rs 3 billion financial burden due to increase in the oil prices, he added.The spokesman said Pakistan Railways had launched 34 new trains during last nine months besides increasing over six million passengers.

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Angry protesters block KKH against restart of toll tax collection

MANSEHRA: The angry protesters on Sunday blocked the Karakoram Highway (KKH) to traffic against re-start of toll tax at Khatain-da-Galla on Sunday evening.The protesters set tyres on fire and blocked the traffic in accordance with their decisions taken in a meeting held earlier in the day. The protesters, who were led by PPP divisional president, Malik Waheed and district emir of JUI-F Mufti Kifaityllah pelted some vehicles with stones and pulled down advertising billboards alongside the KKH.Earlier, the leaders of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), traders and ulema had threatened to put up resistance if the National Highway Authority re-started toll tax collection at Karakorum Highway near Mansehra.“We will not allow anybody to re-establish toll plaza at Khatain-da-Galla, which falls in between twin cities of Abbottabad and Mansehra,” Mufi Kifayatullah, the district head of JUI-F told a consultative meeting here.The meeting was held to decide future line of action in case the NHA restarted collecting toll tax. PPP divisional president Malik Waheed, prayer leader of central mosque Maulana Waqarul Haq Usman, JUI-F ex-senator Hidayatullah Shah and others also addressed the meeting.The NHA had announced to re-establish its toll plaza at Karakorum Highway, which was closed some 10 years ago after a protest by the people. “If the district administration wants bloodshed then it should go ahead with its plan and we would stage sit-in at the same place,” said Mufti Kifayatullah. Speaking on the occasion, Malik Waheed said that the district administration and NHA should not instigate people to come onto the streets.

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Afghan refugee beats son to death in Swabi, say police

SWABI: A man beat his eight-year-old son to death in Gandaf Refugee Camp in Topi tehsil here on Sunday, police said.Shahi Mulk, head of Topi City Police Station, said that Izatullah, an Afghan refugee, beat up his daughter Saima and son Zeeshan black and blue with sticks. Zeeshan could not sustain the torture and died.The mother of the two kids had died two years ago. He said there were signs of severe torture on the entire body of the slain Zeeshan. When contacted, DSP Topi Ijaz Khan said that the people in the neighbourhood usually complained to Izatullah that his daughter and son were involved in theft and this made him lose his temper."We are investigating the incident. The details would be shared with media soon," he added. The father of the kids went underground soon after the incident and the injured Saima is staying with her uncle Mustaqeem Khan.The police registered a first information report and started an investigation. Local sources said Afghan refugees are expected to hold a jirga soon to expel the family of Izatullah and his brothers from the camp.

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Peaceful coexistence basic trait of Islamic society: speakers

ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a conference here have maintained that inter-faith harmony and peaceful coexistence are the basic traits of an Islamic society, adding that dialogue is the only way forward to resolve issues.The seminar titled ‘Pakistan Towards Peaceful Coexistence’ was organised by the Pakistan Peace Collective, a project of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in collaboration with the Council of Islamic Ideology and Paigham-e-Pakistan here at the Information Service Academy.Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan underlined the need for national unity to confront the challenges being faced by the country. She said ministries of religious affairs, law and justice and information and broadcasting need to sit together and prepare a roadmap for encouraging dialogue in the society. “Instead of talking about differences, we all need to highlight the commonalities that bring us closer,” she added.Dr Firdous said confrontation can never be solution to any issue. “When a nation gets united to overcome challenges, it emerges successful,” she maintained, adding that Pakistan’s foundations were laid on an ideology. She said Islam stands for peace and it has no link with hatred and extremism. She said a handful of individuals and some groups have held hostage the entire society in the name of religion, whereas in reality they have no link whatsoever with Islam. She said that state’s intervention has become imperative to stop these groups and individuals in the better of interest of the people.About hate speech issue, she said Islam does not allow anyone to impose his personal thoughts on others forcibly. “Our religion gives all the right of freedom of expression. But neither our religion nor our law allows anyone to impose his thought or ideology upon others by force. The extremist attitudes and thoughts are negations of basic philosophy of Islam,” she said, adding that Islam has given a code of conduct to its followers and provided them the best charter of human rights through the Holy Quran, which, she said, was also incorporated by the United Nations in its charter. She said religious scholars, being the custodians of Islamic teachings, can play a pivotal role in promoting rule of law and tolerance in the society. She said interfaith harmony is the first roadmap for tolerance.Other who spoke on the occasion included Dr Farkhanda Zia from International Islamic University Islamabad, Federal Judicial Academy Director Huma Chughtai, Pakistan National Council of the Arts Chairman Jamal Shah, Dawah Academy Dean Riffat Hashmi and Allama Iqbal Open University Vice Chancellor Dr Ziaul Qayyum.Separately, a Paigham-e-Pakistan Conference was organised at the GIFT University in Gujranwala in collaboration with the Islamic Research Institute (IRI). Renowned scholars, intellectuals, faculty members and civil society activists participated in the event.Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion were IRI Director General Dr Ziaul Haq, University of Gujrat Head of Department Dr Arshad, Centre of Islamic Studies Director Dr Saeed ur Rehman, University of Punjab Dean Dr Hammad Lakhvi and GIFT University Rector Dr Faheem ul Islam.The eminent speakers said the issues of hate speech and extremist mindset need to be tackled with a moderate and progressive vision.

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Govt faced mafia in passage of budget: Firdous

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said Saturday that the government team faced a mafia in the process of the federal budget passage.Talking to media here outside the Parliament House, she said that the opposition parties focused on their personal agenda instead of the national one. “Opposition confined itself to lobbies and then went away, pocketing TA/DA,” she alleged.The entire nation, she pointed out, witnessed that those, who attended the National Assembly session on the basis of production orders, had no sympathy whatsoever with the masses and they wanted projection on the media instead of focusing on the national issues. The special assistant to PM said that with the cooperation of the allied parties, the budget was passed and the opposition met failure, which had repeatedly threatened to impede its passage. About the amnesty scheme, she maintained that no final decision had been taken regarding extension in the final date. She expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Imran Khan for giving an economic roadmap to the nation.Regarding Leader of Opposition Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s announcement to quit as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, she said that a decision had been taken to bring in his replacement.The government’s chief whip in the National Assembly, Amir Dogar said that for the first time in the parliamentary history, budget sessions continued for 13 hours continuously and it was also for the first time that a threadbare budget discussion was held, which lasted for over 56 hours. He noted that despite issuance of his production order, PML-N MNA Khawaja Saad Rafiq did not utter a single word on the budget. He also said that despite facing criticism from the opposition, NA Speaker Asad Qaiser conducted the assembly proceedings as per the rules and regulations. He thanked the media for giving coverage to the budget session.Earlier, in tweets, Dr Awan said that the federal budget was a step towards the goal of a prosperous, self-reliant and developed Pakistan. She said passage of the budget was defeat of the opposition. She added the government would take steps in the best interest of country and the nation, and the opposition will suffer defeat on every front.She maintained the upcoming months and years would take the nation and the country to the destination of development. While reiterating the government's resolve to achieve the objective of prosperity for people, she said the government of the people was taking bold decisions for their bright future.

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Filling stations owners from N Waziristan stage protest

PESHAWAR: The owners of filling stations from North Waziristan staged a protest here on Sunday against non-payment of compensation.Holding banners and placards inscribed with different demands, the protesters gathered near the Peshawar Press Club and chanted slogans in favour of their demands. They said 69 petrol pumps had been destroyed during operation Zarb-e-Azb. The authorities concerned had promised to pay compensation for the damaged properties but the promise was yet to be fulfilled.They demanded the government and authorities concerned to provide them with compensation so that they could revive their business and feed their families. The fuel pumps owners during a press conference had also announced closing down their pumps and marching towards Islamabad if their demands were not met. They had also warned of boycotting the July 20 polls for the provincial assembly seats as a protest against non-payment of the compensation.The affected owners said they had postponed the earlier protest plan for June 20 on the district administration assurance that the issue would be taken on a higher level but no progress was made in this connection and the affected owners were yet to be paid the compensation.

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IHC turns down bail request of Lawai, Raza

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday turned down a post-arrest bail request filed by former Pakistan Stock Exchange chairperson Hussain Lawai and Summit Bank Senior Vice President Taha Raza, who have been detained by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for investigations into a money laundering through fake bank accounts case.As the hearing resumed, a two-member bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Aamer Farooq remarked that the bail applications were not on merit even on medical grounds. The bench stated that the accused prima facie had a link with the case as they had important designations in the Summit Bank. The detailed judgment implied that corruption has gotten roots in the society like cancer, and if effective measures are not taken to curb it, the consequences would be devastating for the country.

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Lower Dir residents form rights’ body

TIMERGARA: The people of the Lower Dir district on Sunday formed Dir Qaumi Jirga (DQJ) to identify and resolve the main issues faced by locals through collective efforts and work for the development of the area.The body was set up under the banner of Dir Qaumi Passun (DQP), an apolitical movement that initially started on the social media and gained momentum especially after the federal and provincial budgets were announced in which both Upper and Lower Dir districts were deprived of schemes and funds.The DQJ was formed initially for three months at a meeting, which was held at the residence of Jehan Alam Yousafzai at Malakabad Balambat. Dozens of representatives and local leaders of various political parties from various parts of the district attended the meeting.It was decided in the meeting that a permanent jirga of Dir think-tank consisting of intelligentsia and experts in various fields would be constituted later on. It was also decided that members of DQJ would meet all elected members from Lower Dir to repose confidence in them and to assure support by the people of Dir for removing the sense of deprivation among people.Speaking on the occasion, founder of DQP and acting convener of DQJ Jehan Alam Yousafzai said the forum would be apolitical, with the aim of collectively working for development and progress of the area.

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96kg hashish, opium seized, three held

PESHAWAR: The police during an action arrested three alleged smugglers and recovered 68 kilograms of hashish and 28kgs of opium on Sunday. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Suburb, Syed Atiq Shah, told a press conference that acting over a tip-off, the cops intercepted two cars in the limits of Bhanamari Police Station. The official said during the search, the police recovered 68kg of hashish and 28kg of opium from the vehicles. The official said three alleged smugglers Tariq Aziz, Shafqatullah and Ajmal were arrested. He added the drug was being smuggled from Khyber district to Punjab.

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Govt acting on policy of austerity, transparency, says Punjab CM

LAHORE: Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said the Punjab government is acting on the policy of austerity and transparency according to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.According to a handout issued here on Sunday, he said use of national resources for personal benefits was against public interest and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had set the trend of spending public money on the public welfare. The rulers in the past spent national resources ruthlessly for their personal interests, he added.The PTI government made history by launching a campaign for austerity and added that the Chief Minister's Office had curtailed its expenses by almost 60 per cent in fiscal year 2018-2019 as compared to the FY 2017-2018. He said that gifts and hospitality expenses of the CM had been reduced to Rs 30 million from Rs 110 million. The spending on maintenance of vehicles had also been reduced to half as compared its previous expenses which was Rs 40 million.Usman Buzdar said that during the previous tenures, around 2,000 security personnel were engaged for security of former CM at his and his relatives’ residences, which had now been downsized.He said, "Former Punjab CM had established various camp offices in Punjab on which national resources were being spent. I don't have any camp office.” He said the trend of renovation of personal residences and new construction in the name of security had been changed, adding that now there was no room for such absurd traditions.Meanwhile, on the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, Dolphin Squad started patrolling in Murree on Sunday to ensure safety to citizens and tourists. The CM had passed on directions to the inspector general of police the other day for deployment of Dolphin Force in Murree. The force would take prompt action against criminals and also help check street crimes.Meanwhile, the CM taking notice of the complaints of overcharging and substandard eateries has directed the administration to address the public complaints swiftly by taking stern action against the elements involved in such practices.He ordered launching an operation against such elements without any discrimination. There will be action against the officer concerned if any complaint regarding overcharging was received, he added.He said that it was the responsibility of the administration to ensure sale of quality items of food and drinks. The officers concerned should take action against those involved in overcharging and send report to Chief Minister's Office, he said.While passing directions to improve traffic system in Murree, the CM said a comprehensive plan would be implemented to ensure smooth flow of traffic in Murree. He said that shortage of parking areas was a chronic issue of Murree. He directed the officers concerned to find a permanent solution to it. He warned that he would not tolerate any complaint by tourists in this regard.Signboards for parking with parking fee should be installed at prominent places, he said. The CM said the administration should take measures to lower the charges of hotels with the coordination of hotel owners. Strict action would be taken against those misbehaving with the tourists, he added.

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Strict action ordered in Pindi against preachers of hate speech

Rawalpindi: The City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi, DIG Muhammad Faisal Rana has directed the officers concerned to take strict action against those involved in publishing hate material, illegal wall-chalking and uploading hate speech on social media.According to a police spokesman, the CPO had instructed the police officers to implement National Action Plan in letter and spirit and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by Punjab Interior Department should also be strictly followed.DIG Faisal Rana directed the police officers not to tolerate any activity which could disturb the peace and create law and order situation. He said that the society could not afford the hate speech and hate material against any sect. He said, strict action in accordance with the law should be taken against those who add fuel to the fire.The CPO directed all the Station House Officers of Rawalpindi Police to take action against those who promote hate speech, illegal wall-chalking and uploading hate material on social media. The SPs and SDPOs should supervise such operations. He said, FIRs should be registered under anti-terrorist act against those who upload hate material on social media or share it and they should be sent behind the bars.Action should also be taken against those running whatsapp groups to promote or spreading hate material. The facilitators and abettors of such criminal activities should also be arrested, he added.The CPO said, Rawalpindi district police on the directives of Chief Minister Punjab and IGP would make all out efforts to maintain peace and order and the activities of all banned outfits would be checked and stopped with full force.

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Pindi’s Fawara Chowk shelter home accommodates over 18,000 homeless

Rawalpindi: Over 18,000 homeless people have been provided free accommodation facility in Fawara Chowk Shelter Home during last seven months. According to focal person, Shelter Home/Sub-Registrar Cantonment Hafiz Muhammad Imran, 1002 homeless persons were accommodated in December 2018, 2511 in January 2019 and 2862 in February.Similarly, 3145 persons were registered in March, 3302 in April and 2732 in May while 2509 homeless persons were accommodated in the shelter home during June. He said, the Punjab government on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan established a shelter home here to provide proper accommodation facility to the homeless and poor citizens. He said that initially, arrangements were made for 80 persons in the basement of Raja Bazaar Parking Plaza; however, the facility had been enhanced for 125 persons.The basement was being used as a shelter home temporarily while a proper shelter home’s building would be constructed after pointing out a suitable place for the purpose, he added.To a question, he said that the basement of the parking plaza was finalized as the government wanted to start the shelter home immediately to provide shelter to people in the harsh winter. The project is aimed at restoring the self-respect of those who spend the night under the open sky, he said, adding that it was also aimed at broadening the circle of the state’s social responsibility.

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Hot and dry weather expected in most parts of country

LAHORE: Partly cloudy weather with hot and humid conditions was observed in the City on Sunday while Met Office predicted similar weather conditions for the next 24 hours.Met officials said that seasonal low lay over northeast Balochistan. A westerly wave is present over the upper parts of the country. They predicted that mainly hot and dry weather was expected in most parts of the country, while very hot in plain areas of Punjab and Sindh. However, dust-thunderstorm/rain with gusty winds is expected at isolated places in Hazara, Bannu, Kohat, Zhob, Kalat, Sargodha, Faislabad and Lahore divisions besides in Islamabad, Lower Sindh, Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.On Sunday, dust-thundershower/rain with gusty winds occurred at scattered places in Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sargodha and Faislabad divisions, Islamabad, Kashmir, while at isolated places in Lahore and DG Khan divisions. Weather remained very hot and dry in other parts of the country. Rainfall was recorded in a number of cities, including Joharabad, Attock, Noorporthal, Murree, Sialkot, Islamabad, Jhang, Layyah, T.T Singh, Dir, Cherat, Malamjabba, Kalam, Peshawar, Mirkhani, Rawalakot and Garidupatta. Sunday’s highest temperature was recorded in Sibbi where the mercury reached 48°C while in Lahore it was 43.5°C.

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Jhootha Kahin Ka

19/07/2019

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‘No relief for poor in budget’

CHARSADDA: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Saturday declared the budget controversial, saying the government didn't give any relief to the people.He was addressing the participants of a rally at the Farooq Azam Chowk here. The rally was held to protest the spiraling price-hike and ill-conceived policies of the government.A large number of QWP workers, carrying banners and placards, were present on the occasion. They chanted slogans against the government for what they called its anti-masses policies.Aftab Sherpao said the government was acting on the diktats of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by implementing its tough conditions.He said the so-called bailout package from the international money-lending institution would not revive the economy as tough conditions were attached to it. Criticising the government, he said that its wrong policies were a threat to the national security.He further said that all segments of the society, including the traders, labourers and farmers, were reeling from the poor policies and anti-masses budget. He said the people were left with the only option to take to the streets to vent their anger and frustration.The QWP leader said it was the worst budget ever presented in the country's history. The regressive taxation would erode the purchasing power of the common man, he feared.He said the government had imposed heavy taxes in line with its agreement with the IMF, adding the rulers had set an overambitious revenue collection target.Aftab Sherpao said the opposition parties would observe July 25 as a 'black day' to register protest against the poorly conceived policies of the federal government.He said the provincial government too passed on the burden to the poor and even taxed the farmers in the budget.

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Buzdar orders effective steps against child abuse Vows to eliminate land grabbers

LAHORE: Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has ordered effective measures to control the incidents of abuse of the children and child pornography, and said that a comprehensive action plan should be made to avert such incidents and police should take strict action against the people involved in such incidents.The chief minister also issued instructions to the inspector general of Punjab to control such incidents. The CM said RPOs and DPOs should take strict measures to stop such incidents. He said indiscriminate action should be taken against the people involved in such incidents and action against such incidents should be visible. He said he was very concerned about such incidents.“The children are our future and this is responsibility of the state to provide them with protection. The criminals cannot be allowed to ruin the lives of innocent children. The accused involved in the incidents of assault on children and child pornography should be arrested and brought to justice. The report of the action against such people should be submitted to the CM office,” the CM said.Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said the PTI government has taken strict action against land grabbers and it has resolved to eliminate them.He said no action was taken against the land grabbers in the past and the land grabbers were given free hand in Lahore and other cities of Punjab. He said the PTI government started action against the land grabbers after coming in the power and retrieved precious land from them.Meanwhile, Punjab police in their campaign launched against land grabbers on the instruction of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar registered 146 cases in the last 10 months and took 496 people into their custody.

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Man killed over land dispute in South Waziristan

WANA: One person was killed and three others were injured in an exchange of fire over a land dispute in Shakai tehsil of South Waziristan tribal district on Saturday, official sources said.The sources said that Sperkai tribe had been at loggerhead with Khojalkhel tribe over a land dispute since long. The elders of both the tribes exchanged harsh words and traded gunfire. As a result, Muhammad Ali was killed on the spot while three others, whose identity could not be established, sustained injuries.When contacted, Deputy Commissioner South Waziristan tribal district, Nauman Afzal Afridi, said that a jirga of the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe had been formed to broker ceasefire between the infighting tribes.

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Efforts being made to issue visas to 5,000 to 10,000 Sikh pilgrims on daily basis: Sarwar

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar on Saturday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had taken comprehensive measures for providing all facilities to Sikh yatrees.Visa services and security besides other services would also be considered for the Sikh pilgrims, he said.Talking to the media on the occasion of 180th death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh at Gurdwara Dera Sahib, he said Maharaja Ranjeet Singh promoted religious harmony and mutual respect.To a question, he said development work on Kartarpur Corridor was underway which would be completed soon, adding that the government was taking steps to provide maximum visas to the Sikh pilgrims.Efforts are also being made to issue visas to 5,000 to 10,000 Sikh pilgrims on a daily basis so that they could visit Kartarpur, he maintained.To another question, Chaudhry Sarwar said that PTI government discouraged horse-trading and never practiced it to form government in Punjab.He added that no MPA was given a single penny for supporting PTI in Punjab.To another query, the Punjab governor said that now the opposition parties had realised that people did not trust and support them.The opposition was trying to bring a no-confidence motion against Senate chairman but the people of the country had rejected baseless propaganda of the opposition.

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110 CCTV cameras to be installed at PINS

LAHORE: A latest security system has been approved for installation in the Punjab Institute of Neuro Sciences. Over 110 advanced CCTV cameras will be installed at a cost of Rs13 million and work has also been started in this regard.Punjab Institute of Neuro Sciences Head Prof. Dr. Khalid Mahmood disclosed it while presiding in a special meeting. He said to ensure fool proof monitoring proper control room had been designed where each and every person and activity would be scanned with maintenance of record.He said efforts were being made to maintain the standard of the institution and this security system would help a lot in this regard. Prof Khalid said as far neuro diseases were concerned the patients came here not only from Punjab but from all over the country.He expressed determination that all patients would be facilitated at Punjab Institute of Neuro Sciences.

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Two gangs busted in capital, vehicles recovered

Islamabad: The Islamabad Police busted two gangs of criminals and recovered snatched vehicles and weapons from their possession, a police spokesman said.According to details, Muhammad Tanveer s/o Muhammad Nazir r/o Askari scheme III lodged a report with the Nilore police that three young boys booked his vehicle on rent for ‘‘Thanda Pani’’ and later snatched it along with documents at gun point.Following this report, SP (Rural) Malik Naeem Iqbal constituted a special team headed by SHO Nilore Mahr Mukhtar Ahmad.This Police team worked hard and arrested three gangsters who snatched the vehicle.They have been identified as Raqeeb alias Chota Billa, Khalil and Jamil.Police have also recovered snatched vehicle and weapons from them.During preliminary investigation, it was found that the arrested culprits are members of a notorious Billa Gang and has remained jail bids in various dacoity cases in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Further investigation is underway from them.Furthermore, Khanna police team headed by SHO Khanna police station Sattar Shah along with other officials arrested two dacoits of a gang identified as Moeen and Zubair.Police have also recovered weapons along with ammunition from them and further investigation is underway.

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Five hurt in Lahore cylinder blast

LAHORE: Five persons sustained burns in a cylinder blast incident at a local factory in Shahdra police limits.Rescue 1122 reached the scene and shifted the victims to Mayo hospital. The victims were identified as Abbas, 26, Bilal, 22, Fayyaz, 27, Salman, 18, and Khalid, 28.The cylinder had exploded at Zeal Engineering Factory situated on Zikria Shah Darbar.

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President Alvi calls for addressing social issues

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi reiterated his pledge to play constitutional role to address the social changes and societal issues.Talking to a delegation of the Executive Committee of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), the president said it is imperative to address issues like malnourishment, infant mortality, high population rate and property rights for the women in the shortest possible time.Special Assistant to the prime minister on Information and Broadcasting, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and Secretary Information and Broadcasting Zahida Perveen were also present on the occasion.Highlighting the role and importance of media to create public awareness about national development and social changes among the people, the president warned about the threat of fake news leading to disastrous consequences. President Alvi highlighted the role of new and emerging technologies saying if the nation does not benefit from the emerging artificial intelligence technologies it cannot achieve prosperity and become a modern country.The president appreciated media’s support for the promotion of his initiative on artificial intelligence which would revolutionise the way scientists and researchers approach scientific issues. He said his endeavor on artificial intelligence received very good response from Karachi which needs to be expanded to the rest of the country. Alvi said the programme has also been started in Faisalabad and Islamabad. He said the Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms can be helpful in raising awareness about societal issues like potable water, health, education. He said youth learning media sciences confront problems while seeking employment so it is imperative that market realities and requirements are reflected in the academic curriculum. This would help the graduating students claim gainful employment, the president added.Alvi said besides constructive criticism, the media should create awareness about social issues. The public issues must be discussed in news, analyses and commentaries in order to effectively address them, he said.The president announced to give awards to channels conducting best reporting on health, education and other social issues. Alvi said government is doing its best for the growth of the media industry despite complex economic challenges.The president termed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s visit as productive and result oriented and expressed the hope for early achievement of regional peace. He said Pakistan fully backs Afghan peace process and is playing an effective role in that country’s reconstruction.Earlier, the prime minister’s special assistant, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said President Dr Arif Alvi’s leadership and support is very encouraging. She said the president has always supported and emphasised on the growth of media industry. Dr Awan said the government has also always accorded top priority to the growth of media’s industry. She said in order to address the issues faced by journalists the government has ensured urgent payment of the advertisement dues, while those remaining outstanding will also be soon resolved. She said the owners of the media houses must pay attention to the problems faced by the journalist community. The PM’s special assistant said a new advertisement policy would be devised with the consultation of all the stake holders which would include policy for social media, electronic and print media.The APNS president expressed gratitude over president’s consistent support to the media. He said the media is responsible for abolition of fake news, curbing it before it turns viral and offering factual news.The APNS delegation comprising Sarmad Ali, Mumtaz Tahir, Mehtab Khan, S M Munir Jilani, Shahab Zuberi, Wasim Ahmad, Khushnood Ali Khan, Javed Mehar Shamsi, Irfan Athar, Haroon Shah, Sardar Khan Niazi, Fauzia Shaheen and other members informed the president about the issues facing the media industry and requested him to play role to address them.

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Pak-Afghan ICC match: Manchester company behind controversial banners

HEADINGLY, Leeds: An unauthorized airplane flew over the Headingly Cricket Ground during an ICC match between Pakiastan and Afghanistan carrying controversial banners.The incident was followed by violent scenes outside the cricket ground between supporters of the two teams. Police have taken two persons in custody. Footage of the brawl has emerged on the social media.While Pakistan were looking to strengthen their chances of reaching the semifinals of the 2019 championship in their penultimate match before playing their last fixture against Bangladesh, an airplane flew overhead towing the messages “Justice for Balochistan” and “Help end disappearances in Pakistan”.An ICC source told the media that the “aircraft was unauthorized” and said that Leeds air traffic will investigate the matter.Leeds Air Control, however, said they were not aware of the incident and had no prior instructions preventing the operator from allowing the plane to fly over the ground with the banners.Interestingly, a similar attempt by a Manchester-based company, Arabian Nites (Manchester) Limited to fly “Justice for Balochistan” banner was thwarted by the British High Court Judge, Mr Justice Murray, in a judicial review.The court disallowed the company to fly these banners through Air Ads Limited after the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police disallowed the activity stating the message was capable of inciting hatred if allowed to fly over Old Trafford where Pakistan was playing against India.Political messages about Balochistan have constantly sprung up in the last couple of years on billboards, passenger busses and taxis in British cities. They were taken down when strong protests were lodged by members of the British Pakistani communities to relevant British authorities saying the activity, allegedly sponsored by third party financial backing, could harm inter-communities relations in British cities.

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ICC hopes plane incident will not occur again

LEEDS, England: The World Cup organisers faced a major headache during the group match between Pakistan and Afghanistan here at Headingley when a small plane started to hover around the venue carrying a controversial political message.The International Cricket Council (ICC) has strict policies against displaying political or religious messages at any international cricket matches more so at the World Cup.But they were unable to stop the plane from flying above Headingley with the controversial political message. The message is part of a controversial campaign aimed against Pakistani authorities.The game’s governing body took note of the plane that hovered over Headingley carrying the controversial message stressing that such incidents won’t happen again."We work with local police forces around the country to prevent this type of incident occurring and were assured that given Headingley is under the flight path for the Leeds Bradford Airport it would not be an issue,” the ICC said.“We do not condone any sort of political messages at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and will work with West Yorkshire police to deal with and understand why this has happened and to ensure it does not happen again,” the ICC said.

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Uncontrollable AIDS/HIV in Pakistan - Its alarming growth - Misuse of Global AIDs funding

Sitara -e -Shujaat, Nishan-e-ImtiazWhile looking at the salient features of budget 2019–2020, I noted that there are hardly any substantive funds allocated to health and education sectors. The most detrimental disease, AIDs spreading in Pakistan by leaps and bounds but unfortunately, like the other fatal diseases it is also not being taken seriously in Pakistan hence no required funding in the budget.Federation instead of working ways and means to control it has now started a blame game on provinces making the figures of the AIDS Patients as a dispute instead of finding counter measures.It is not a dispute that highest number of AIDS patient are in Punjab or 2nd highest number of patients in Sindh. Blame game is not the solution whereas the solution is the level of combined counter measures to stop this growing monster. This disease is increasing at an alarming pace and we need to worry about it at all levels.AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection and it kills its victims. An HIV-infected person takes 10-15 years to develop AIDS. After developing AIDS it is usually observed that the victim dies in six months. There is no effective vaccine or treatment for AIDS; however, antiretroviral drugs (ART) can slow down the progress so which makes infected people enjoy few more years of lives.I have discussed AIDS in this article and other two diseases will be discussed in my subsequent articles:According to estimates, Pakistan is registering approximately 20,000 new HIV infections annually. It is the highest rate of increase among all countries in the region. There are 0.165 million estimated number of HIV patients in Pakistan (The actual undeclared number is much more). This statistical data does not include the real figures as the patients of AIDS avoid reporting it due to social problems/compulsions.According to my available information the province wise distribution of patients reported till 2018 is as under:1. Punjab – 75,000, 2. Sindh - 60,000, 3. Balochistan – 5000, 4. KPK – 15000.It is unfortunate to state that Punjab has the highest number of patients which is equally alarming both in Punjab and Sindh and other parts of the country. The number of patients is rising even more increasingly as a shocking development in the country. The most alarming thing is that the list of new cases includes children as young as 16 months which is due AIDS infected mothers.The reasons for the rising number of HIV/AIDS in our country include unlicensed medical quackery, and large-scale medical malpractice via the re-use of syringes and unsterilised medical tools, unsafe blood transfusions and use of contaminated multiple use of blades by the community.Health and health-related issues are given low priority by the government and the seriousness can be seen as no serious funds have been allocated for AIDS control and treatment.In 1987, a National AIDS Prevention and Control Programme (NACP) was initiated by Federal Health Ministry. Initially, the programme was only focused on blood screening and some health promotion and HIV education activities for the general public. Since then, the programme is suffering from a weak strategy as it does not address treatment services properly due to lack of funding and dull response to health sector.In other parts of the world, the number of HIV patients is declining by the use of advanced technology followed by their prime focus towards health but Pakistan till remains the one with no focus upon health sector.Recently, Dr Bashir Ahmed Achakzai, MD NACP National Programme Manager made an honest confession regarding the organisation that they do not have enough funds or resources at federal and provincial levels to curb this fatal disease.Although 27 HIV/AIDS treatment centres and 22 community home-based testing centres had been established in all four provinces yet no resources have ever been allocated for other activities of HIV prevention as the only drug ARV that prevents AIDS is not available in Pakistan. The country is totally relying on HIV test kits which cost over rupees one lac and the hospitals do not have any sufficient budget to buy or import these kits.In 2017, the government had announced free HIV testing system that was only available in three cities of Pakistan Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore whereas in order to fill this gap, the NACP took this step to avail the Aga Khan University Hospital’s (AKUH) 200 plus nationwide network of collection units to collect blood samples from areas that are far. NACP had decided to pay Rs1500 to Aga Khan Hospital per patient from the funds allocated to it by Global Funds against AIDS, malaria and TB while the private laboratories charge Rs15000-17000 for the same test.As per my personal enquiry, the above mentioned plan remains only on papers as no such facility is now being provided to common people. According to a reliable senior official source, the real position reported to the state is that the total estimated HIV positives in Pakistan in 2018 were over 170,000 among which 24,331 cases have been registered in 35 centres only.Moreover, out of all these registered patients, only 17,149 are actually getting a treatment. The diagnosis of this ever spreading disease requires community based testing and the govt should encourage the testing of this disease free of cost.According to the Health Ministry, there is immediate requirement of funds as the estimated amount in national strategic plan for 5 Years is $266 million. The Global Aid Funds is providing fund whereas the govt has provided resources through domestic resources. There is a gap of $201 million which are urgently required only to treat the reported patients.In Pakistan, the HIV is in a concentrated epidemic which means that it is confined to 4 key populations where national prevalence is more than 5%. National prevalence in injecting drug users has risen to 38.4% of their population (150000).Number of female sex workers has gone up to 2.2% (180000 estimated figures). The prostitution has increased in Pakistan due to increased economic issues and use of drug which forces young girls to adopt this profession for easy money.According to a report, some organised criminals are running their business from big cities and the young sex workers are taken to Middle East on visit visas. They contract aid form these countries and so are responsible for spreading the disease increasingly.The country is going through another social issue as the transgender community is jobless and they are also being used as sex workers. Transgender are also contributing 7.6% of AIDS infected patients. According to an estimate, there are (60,000-70,000) people from transgender community who are infected with this deadly disease. It is unfortunate to note that the homosexuals contribute to 5.2% of the total population of Pakistan and are being another cause of spreading AIDS across the country which means there are about 85,000 added patients of AIDS from homosexual community as well.While making this matter as case study I decide not only to write but also probe into misappropriation of funds released at federal level for this very programme.While continuing this probe I am presenting following suggestions to be paid attention to:1. A legislation should be made in order to discipline the use of medical instruments to ensure hygiene among the patients.2. There must be a complete ban over the reuse of syringes.3. Use of auto disable syringes must be introduced.4. All hospitals need to reserve at least 50 beds for AIDS patients along with the provision of extra budget.5. An effective media campaign both at public and private media should be started with immediate effect.6. The govt should strengthen NACP not only through funding but it should also be made responsible enough to ensure the provision of increased number of beds in the treatment centres and should also become the regulator of all matters related to AIDS treatment and control programme.7. All drug addicts must be passed through AIDS tests and all the addicts diagnosed with AIDS must be sent to AIDS treatment centres.8. There should be a compulsory drug addiction test of students studying at high school, colleges and universities as it will not only help in curbing addictions but also help in detection of AIDS too among the frog addicts.9. All the provincial govts and federal govt should launch an SOS programme to curb all the factors contributing to this widespread disease.Although I am very glad to have penned down such a vital national issue to increase awareness among the people but I’m equally disappointed to see how only the Sindh govt was blamed for the increase in number of patients whereas the above figures clearly show that Punjab has the highest number of AIDS patients in the province.It is not the matter of blame game but the irresponsibility of federal govt needs to be questioned as to why this dangerous disease is being ignored which is multiplying its patients by many folds. The Global Aid Funds have been misused badly which needs to be probed. The Govt is needed to act on SOS basis.The writer is Chairman of think tank "global eye" & former interior minister of Pakistan, Email: rmalik1212@gmail.com, Twitter @Senrehmanmalik, @GlobalEye_GSA, WhatsApp +923325559393

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Legal minds explain Nawaz, Zardari’s surprise moves in IHC

ISLAMABAD: Incarcerated former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision to get a long adjournment of his appeal against his conviction and detained ex-president Asif Ali Zardari’s move to withdraw all of his three bail pleas came as a surprise to many.Both developments happened in a quick succession in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which is the competent judicial forum as these cases fall in its jurisdiction.Nawaz Sharif’s appeal will now be heard after mid-September when the annual summer vacations of the IHC will end while Zardari’s bail applications relating to the Park Lane, Tosha Khana luxury vehicles and bulletproof vehicles cases will come up when and if these were filed afresh. Ex-premier’s lead lawyer Khawaja Haris himself opted for the adjournment after the summer holidays and Zardari’s attorney took back the bail requests.Former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Kamran Murtaza told The News that the ex-prime minister’s appeal will now be heard after September 15 when the summer holidays will conclude. He expressed dissatisfaction with the way Nawaz Sharif’s cases have been pursued and argued in courts and said too much hurry has been shown with the aim of securing favourable results. “Haste and mishandling marred the defence of the former premier,” Kamran Murtaza believed and said when the Supreme Court had rejected such bail request on medical grounds only a few weeks back, it should not have been filed in the IHC as it was unexpected to be accepted on the same grounds.He said Nawaz Sharif’s lawyers have not been able to convince the judges that the former prime minister’s health was too serious, deserving his exit from the jail for treatment, and that there was no grave problem that could not be addressed in the prison.The former SCBA chief said that the reason seeking adjournment till the end of the summer vacations could be that the attorneys felt that they did not want the bench that will be available during these holidays to hear the case.Kamran Murtaza disagreed with the six-week bail earlier granted by the Supreme Court to Nawaz Sharif on his request and said there should either be bail or no bail, and it can’t be limited. About Zardari’s decision to withdraw his bail pleas, the seasoned lawyer said that it was possible that the former president came to the conclusion that at present not a good case for such relief was made out. “The former president’s remark made in the court while retracting his bail applications that he did not want the judges to be in a difficult situation was in fact a gibe.”Kamran Murtaza said that he always advised his clients not to be in a hurry and let him move the bail application after the investigations have been completed. Before that, he said, such a move is considered premature. The lawyers representing the two top opposition politicians declined to talk to The News on the record about the decisions of their clients. However, sources close to their legal teams cited different reasons behind the moves.One of them said that the prevailing circumstances necessitated leaving aside the fast track strategy adopted by Nawaz Sharif’s legal team as it hasn’t produced the desired results. He was of the view that from now on a slow track might be followed and added that the overall environment was also not conducive, creating prospects for any immediate relief. Azam Nazir Tarar, one of the Sharif family’s lawyers, told The News that sensing that the bail is going to be rejected, he had withdrawn the application in the case of Hamza Shahbaz from the Lahore High Court (LHC).He said that there was a strong possibility that an appeal against the rejection of the former prime minister’s bail on medical grounds by the IHC would be filed in the Supreme Court shortly.A Zardari lawyer told this correspondent on condition of anonymity that his client could file the bail application in the IHC even after the withdrawal of the previous requests. He said that when Zardari would be sent to the prison on judicial remand, the plea would be submitted to the IHC. He said that even if the bail had been granted, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) would not have freed Zardari and would have arrested him in another case. The former president himself had told the IHC while withdrawing his bail pleas: “I know who has framed cases against me and why I am standing before this court. The prosecution fabricated false cases against me.” The NAB is investigating the Park Lane case for Zardari’s alleged involvement in extending loan and its misappropriation by Parthenon Private Limited, Park Lane Estate Private Limited and others. Another allegation pertains to getting vehicles from Tosha Khana and payment of import duty/taxes from fake bank accounts. The third case is about purchase of armoured vehicles and payment of import duties through fake bank accounts.In the Avenfield and Tallat Ishaq cases, the Supreme Court has toughened the bail criteria and bail can only be awarded in extreme hardship cases. However, the high courts have recently granted bails to accused persons facing NAB cases, including some high-profile politicians. In the IHC the accused persons facing NAB references related to Diplomatic Shuttle Service and Safa Gold Mall have been given bails after these Supreme Court judgments.

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PAT urges CM to accept debate offer on killings

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Secretary General PAT Khurram Nawaz Gandepur has urged Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar to accept an offer by PML-N MPA Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan to hold a debate on Model Town killings Incident in Punjab Assembly. In a letter to the Punjab CM, the PAT secretary general said the Punjab government must accept forthwith Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan’s offer and fix a day for general discussion on the tragedy, in which 14 innocents were killed and dozens wounded. He said the Model Town killings were a worst case of human rights violations, it not only gained global attention, but also tarnished the image of Pakistan regarding democratic and civil rights. He said the victim families were still waiting for an impartial investigation into incident despite a lapse of five years, as justice was denied to them so far. He said every hurdle created to the investigation and dispensing justice to the victims must be raised during discussion in the Punjab Assembly. He alleged that former rulers were directly involved in gory incident, and they created hurdles to way of justice.

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PML-N MPA booked for torturing maid

FAISALABAD: Peoples Colony police on Saturday booked PML-N MPA Tahir Jameel on the charge of torturing his maid. Complainant Riaz Masih, father of maid Saima Riaz, filed an application with the police, stating that Bano Bibi, the wife of the MPA, allegedly tortured Saima while her two sons Afaq and Saad also abused the maid. On the other hand, no torture on Saima has been established in the medical report got by the police. However, the police have dispatched the medical report and other samples to Lahore for forensic report. Meanwhile, MPA Tahir Jameel claimed that a false report had been lodged against him in the police station. He alleged that Saima and her sister stole cash and precious clothes from his house and fled. He claimed that the stealing of cash and other articles was recorded in the CCTV footage.

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111th Midshipmen & 20th SSC course commissioning parade held

ISLAMABAD: 111th Midshipmen and 20th Short Service Commission (SSC) course commissioning parade was held at Pakistan Naval Academy PNS Rahbar, says a press release on Saturday.The commissioning parade comprised 65 Pakistani and 12 Midshipmen from friendly countries as well as 98 cadets of Short Service Commission Course including 25 female cadets. Commander Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) Vice Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily graced the occasion as chief guest. Upon his arrival, the chief guest was received by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.In his address, Commander RSNF, Vice Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily highlighted that close collaboration of armed forces of both the nations are reflective of the deep rooted fraternal relationships between them.While highlighting the common desire of both the nations for regional peace & stability, the chief guest acknowledged that Pakistan has rendered countless sacrifices for eradicating the menace of terrorism and for establishing peace both on the internal as well as external fronts.The chief guest thanked Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi for giving him an opportunity to return to his Alma Mater and rejoice the old memories. Vice Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily joined Pakistan Naval Academy in 1979 and upon completion of his initial training here he passed out from PNA in 1984. The chief guest, while felicitating the commissioning term on this momentous day, advised the young officers that they should follow the footsteps of great Shuhada and Ghazis and become the pride of their service and the nation.He also advised them to earn the trust of their subordinates who will look up to them for guidance in all matters.Earlier in his welcome address, Commodore Vaqar Muhammad Commandant Pakistan Naval Academy highlighted the salient features of officers' training. He mentioned that cadets from Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Yemen are also undergoing training at Pakistan Naval Academy. He also advised the youngsentinels to keep integrity, honour and interest of their country first and foremost. Later, the chief guest gave away prizes to the high achievers.

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Pak-Afghan ICC match: Manchester company behind controversial banners

HEADINGLY, Leeds: An unauthorized airplane flew over the Headingly Cricket Ground during an ICC match between Pakiastan and Afghanistan carrying controversial banners.The incident was followed by violent scenes outside the cricket ground between supporters of the two teams. Police have taken two persons in custody. Footage of the brawl has emerged on the social media.While Pakistan were looking to strengthen their chances of reaching the semifinals of the 2019 championship in their penultimate match before playing their last fixture against Bangladesh, an airplane flew overhead towing the messages “Justice for Balochistan” and “Help end disappearances in Pakistan”. An ICC source told the media that the “aircraft was unauthorized” and said that Leeds air traffic will investigate the matter. Leeds Air Control, however, said they were not aware of the incident and had no prior instructions preventing the operator from allowing the plane to fly over the ground with the banners. Interestingly, a similar attempt by a Manchester-based company, Arabian Nites (Manchester) Limited to fly “Justice for Balochistan” banner was thwarted by the British High Court Judge, Mr Justice Murray, in a judicial review. The court disallowed the company to fly these banners through Air Ads Limited after the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police disallowed the activity stating the message was capable of inciting hatred if allowed to fly over Old Trafford where Pakistan was playing against India. Political messages about Balochistan have constantly sprung up in the last couple of years on billboards, passenger busses and taxis in British cities.They were taken down when strong protests were lodged by members of the British Pakistani communities to relevant British authorities saying the activity, allegedly sponsored by third party financial backing, could harm inter-communities relations in British cities.

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ICC hopes plane incident will not occur again

LEEDS, England: The World Cup organisers faced a major headache during the group match between Pakistan and Afghanistan here at Headingley when a small plane started to hover around the venue carrying a controversial political message.The International Cricket Council (ICC) has strict policies against displaying political or religious messages at any international cricket matches more so at the World Cup.But they were unable to stop the plane from flying above Headingley with the controversial political message. The message is part of a controversial campaign aimed against Pakistani authorities.The game’s governing body took note of the plane that hovered over Headingley carrying the controversial message stressing that such incidents won’t happen again. "We work with local police forces around the country to prevent this type of incident occurring and were assured that given Headingley is under the flight path for the Leeds Bradford Airport it would not be an issue,” the ICC said. “We do not condone any sort of political messages at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and will work with West Yorkshire police to deal with and understand why this has happened and to ensure it does not happen again,” the ICC said.

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KP govt decides to relocate headquarters of three tribal districts

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to relocate the headquarters of three tribal districts i.e. Khyber, Orakzai and South Waziristan to enable government officials to better serve the local people.Senior government officials in Peshawar told The News that they may ‘rethink about relocating the deputy commissioners’ office from Tank to Wana, due to tussle between the Mahsud and Wazir tribes.Before merger of the tribal areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, headquarters of three tribal regions, including Khyber, Orakzai and South Waziristan used to be in the settled areas far away from the respective tribal areas. Tribespeople used to travel for miles to reach their regional headquarters in connection with their routine issues concerning the political administration.After merger as a result of Fata reforms, the position of political agent was replaced by deputy commissioner and assistant political agent by the assistant commissioner. The political agent and people working under his command in the political administration used to be the most powerful people in their respective tribal region for the absolute powers they exercised. There was a growing demand by the tribesmen following the merger that headquarters of the three tribal districts should be shifted to their respective districts.The demand was genuine as the police and other government departments had already shifted their offices to the tribal districts and started functioning there.The KP government on Saturday finally issued a notification, directing all the three deputy commissioners to shift their offices to their respective districts. The deputy commissioners have been given a three-month time for shifting offices.Even in the notification, the government has admitted that offices of the deputy commissioners were far away from the tribal districts and people used to face difficulties.Also, the government had noticed that there was a sense of deprivation among the people of the three tribal districts, living far away from their district headquarters.“The security situation has improved in the tribal districts and this is the right time that offices of deputy commissioners of tribal districts may be shifted/relocated inside tribal districts for better service delivery so as to truly implement the Fata reforms process,” the government has explained in the notification, a copy is available with The News.The offices of deputy commissioner of Khyber district will be shifted from Peshawar Cantonment to Jamrud subdivision in Khyber, the deputy commissioner offices of Orakzai district will be relocated from Baber Mela in Hangu district to Kalaya in Lower Orakzai, while the headquarters of deputy commissioner South Waziristan would be sent to Wana from Tank district.In the past and particularly before the Fata’s merger, the political agent of South Waziristan used to sit in his Wana office during summer and then spend the winter in Tank district and the office was called ‘political compound’.Many tribesmen welcomed this decision and hoped it will give them an easy access to their respective government officials.Now when the KP government has made these important decisions, it is expected that it should also shift headquarters of the two paramilitary forces – Frontier Corps and Frontier Constabulary – from Peshawar to their own locations.The Frontier Corps is headquartered in the Balahisar Fort though it was heard during the coalition government of Awami National Party and Pakistan People’s Party to make arrangements for shifting the FC to their spacious camp in Hayatabad.And the purpose was to open Balahisar Fort for tourists and turn it into a picnic spot for the people of Peshawar and elsewhere in KP.Presently, there is no open public space or park where Peshawarites could take their families and children and spend a few moments in fresh air. The second is Frontier Constabulary. It also has a sprawling space in Shabqadar area of Charsadda district, but presently is based in the busiest place in Peshawar Cantonment.

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Alvi calls for addressing social issues

By TT Singh CorrespondentISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi reiterated his pledge to play constitutional role to address the social changes and societal issues.Talking to a delegation of the Executive Committee of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), the president said it is imperative to address issues like malnourishment, infant mortality, high population rate and property rights for the women in the shortest possible time.Special Assistant to the prime minister on Information and Broadcasting, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and Secretary Information and Broadcasting Zahida Perveen were also present on the occasion.Highlighting the role and importance of media to create public awareness about national development and social changes among the people, the president warned about the threat of fake news leading to disastrous consequences. President Alvi highlighted the role of new and emerging technologies saying if the nation does not benefit from the emerging artificial intelligence technologies it cannot achieve prosperity and become a modern country.The president appreciated media’s support for the promotion of his initiative on artificial intelligence which would revolutionise the way scientists and researchers approach scientific issues. He said his endeavor on artificial intelligence received very good response from Karachi which needs to be expanded to the rest of the country. Alvi said the programme has also been started in Faisalabad and Islamabad. He said the Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms can be helpful in raising awareness about societal issues like potable water, health, education. He said youth learning media sciences confront problems while seeking employment so it is imperative that market realities and requirements are reflected in the academic curriculum. This would help the graduating students claim gainful employment, the president added.Alvi said besides constructive criticism, the media should create awareness about social issues. The public issues must be discussed in news, analyses and commentaries in order to effectively address them, he said.The president announced to give awards to channels conducting best reporting on health, education and other social issues. Alvi said government is doing its best for the growth of the media industry despite complex economic challenges. The president termed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s visit as productive and result oriented and expressed the hope for early achievement of regional peace. He said Pakistan fully backs Afghan peace process and is playing an effective role in that country’s reconstruction.Earlier, the prime minister’s special assistant, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said President Dr Arif Alvi’s leadership and support is very encouraging. She said the president has always supported and emphasised on the growth of media industry. Dr Awan said the government has also always accorded top priority to the growth of media’s industry.She said in order to address the issues faced by journalists the government has ensured urgent payment of the advertisement dues, while those remaining outstanding will also be soon resolved. She said the owners of the media houses must pay attention to the problems faced by the journalist community. The PM’s special assistant said a new advertisement policy would be devised with the consultation of all the stake holders which would include policy for social media, electronic and print media.The APNS president expressed gratitude over president’s consistent support to the media. He said the media is responsible for abolition of fake news, curbing it before it turns viral and offering factual news.The APNS delegation comprising Sarmad Ali, Mumtaz Tahir, Mehtab Khan, S M Munir Jilani, Shahab Zuberi, Wasim Ahmad, Khushnood Ali Khan, Javed Mehar Shamsi, Irfan Athar, Haroon Shah, Sardar Khan Niazi, Fauzia Shaheen and other members informed the president about the issues facing the media industry and requested him to play role to address them. Man killed in accident: A man died and three others sustained injuries in an accident near Painsara. Tanzeem, Hussain, Mohsin and Sharif were on their way on a car when their vehicle collided with a truck on Motorway-4 Interchange. As a result, Tanzeem was killed on the spot while three others sustained injuries. Meanwhile, a trailer and a truck collided on the Rajana-Kamalia Road. As a result, truck driver Aslam Khan died instantly while trailer’s driver was injured.

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US charges ‘politically-motivated’, Naqvi’s lawyer tells UK court

LONDON: Abraaj founder and Pakistani businessman Arif Naqvi has told a court here that over a dozen charges brought against him and other Abraaj executives by the United States government in relation to the collapse of Abraaj are “politically motivated”.Before the Westminster Magistrate’s Court, Naqvi’s lawyer Barrister Hugo Keith QC said his client believes the US case against him is politically motivated because Abraaj threatened US interests. The lawyer didn’t specify the US interests and didn’t go into details during the short course of the hearing where it was decided that Naqvi’s trial for extradition to America will start next year in February at the Magistrate’s Court.Submission by Naqvi’s lawyer before the Magistrate’s Court set the tone of his defence, which is likely to rely on arguments that Naqvi will not get chance to a fair trail in the US due to political reasons, bias and victimisation by media if extradited by the British government on request of the US.“We’re not able to expand on the arguments outlined in court,” a spokesman for the Abraaj founder said. “Mr Naqvi continues to maintain his innocence, and he fully expects to be cleared of any charges.”US prosecutors have accused Naqvi and former Abraaj executives of fraudulently inflating the value of the firm’s investments by more than $500 million. The firm went into liquidation last year but Arif Naqvi has strictly denied any personal liability and has vigorously maintained his innocence.Meanwhile, former Abraaj Managing Partner Mustafa Abdel Wadood, 49, entered his plea before Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein in Manhattan, agreeing to cooperate with US prosecutors in a criminal fraud case targeting five other former Abraaj executives: Arif Naqvi, the founder and ex-chief executive officer; chief financial officer Ashish Dave; and managing directors Sivendran Vettivetpillai, Rafique Lakhani and Waqar Siddique.A few days ago, the US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York brought charges against three more former senior executives of Abraaj. The new charges were introduced against Ashish Dave, Rafique Lakhani and Waqar Siddique. They have joined Naqvi, Wadood and Sev Vettivetpillai who were charged around three months ago.Wadood has pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including racketeering, securities fraud and wire fraud, and faces up to 125 years in prison. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this year but changed his mind recently.Arif Naqvi secured conditional bail from the court here after paying the largest ever bail cash deposit of more than £15 million before the Westminster Magistrate’s Court. He lives at his Kensington home under curfew.Naqvi has described charges against him as "ludicrous", denying any wrongdoing.At its peak, Abraaj managed funds of more than $14 billion and Naqvi was the driving force of the enterprise.

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Govt working hard to arrange funds for K-IV: Murad

KARACHI: Sindh’s chief minister said on Saturday that he was committed to completing the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme (commonly known as the K-IV project).Addressing a meeting that was held to review the present status of the K-IV project, CM Syed Murad Ali Shah said that he had been working hard to arrange funds for the scheme and was waiting for the National Engineering Services Pakistan’s (Nespak) report for design verification. The chief executive was told that the K-IV project was planned for providing 660 mgd (1,200 cusecs) of water to Karachi in three phases: phase-I of 260 mgd, phase-II of 260 mgd and phase-III of 130 mgd, which were expected to be completed between 2022 and 2026. The meeting was informed that the contract for the K-IV project’s phase-I was awarded to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) in 2016 for Rs28.187 billion, which was to be completed in two packages within a period of 24 months. The package-A of civil works was signed for Rs15.254 billion and package-B of electrical & mechanical works was signed for Rs12.9 billion. The K-IV project is basically a three-phased scheme of channels or conduits (conveyance system) only to carry water from the Keenjhar Lake to Karachi.In 2015-16 it was realised that even if the K-IV project’s phase-I was completed, it would not give any benefit to the people of the city because there would not be enough electricity to pump and supply water, meaning there was no connectivity of bulk channel with the distribution network.Moreover, over 120km of conveyance system was being laid passing through a variable terrain as well as the highway, as there was no provision of bridges and culverts as well as staff colonies for the personnel.Therefore, the Sindh government decided to build ancillary and supplementary components of the project. They are road and pedestrian bridges, staff colonies, fencing workshops, etc.The augmentation plan was included to connect three filter plants of the K-IV project with the existing bulk water supply system of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) through three augmentation pipelines: one at Pipri, one at NEK and one at COD at a cost of Rs18.679 billion.

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Indian health minister bans biscuits in ministry meetings

NEW DELHI: Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has directed its ministry to stop offering biscuits in the departmental meetings, officials said Saturday.A circular issued by the ministry urged officials to provide participants with healthy alternatives such as roasted channa, almonds, dates and walnuts during departmental meetings of the health ministry.“The health and family welfare minister has desired that healthy snacks only to be served in official meeting and biscuits are to be avoided,” reads the circular. “Henceforth, therefore, biscuits shall not be dispensed through the departmental canteen and healthy snacks like lahiya channa, khajoor (dates), bhuna channa (roasted channa), badam (almond) and akhrot (walnuts) will be served in the official meetings in the department.”Earlier, biscuits and cookies were offered during official meetings in the ministry. The ministry also reiterated its earlier order of not using the drinking water in plastic bottles. “The order issued earlier by the administration division for not using plastic water bottles shall also be implemented in letter and spirit,” the order reads.

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2 dead, several hurt as windstorm wreaks havoc

TOBA TEK SINGH: Two people died and several sustained injuries due to windstorm at Gojra and Toba on Friday night. The windstorm was so strong that it damaged walls and roofs of dozens of houses, root-out trees and destroyed electric poles, signboards and billboards installed alongside various roads. Due to strong windstorm, a wall of a house collapsed at Chak 431/JB, Gojra. As a result, Nasir (35) and his niece Zainab (seven) came under the debris and died. Similarly, a roof of a house fell at Chak 427/JB, Gojra. As a result, five persons came under the debris and sustained serious injuries. They were identified as Muhammad Ilyas, his wife Nazia Bibi, his two sons, Junaid Ilyas and Ahmad Ilyas, and daughter Haseena Ilyas. All the injured were shifted to the THQ Hospital. Likewise, a wall of a house fell at Chak 295/GB. As a result, two men were injured.

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Rs175m funds to Bars: Lawyer leaders vow to continue protest

ISLAMABAD: The legal fraternity has termed the distribution of Rs175 million by the ruling Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) among the bar association across the country as a dignified bribe to muster up support for the Presidential References filed against two judges of the superior courts.Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Syed Amjad Shah, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Aman Ullah Kanrani, and Rashid A Rizvi, former President of the SCBA, vowed to continue to protest and protect the judiciary and constitution, demanding of the government to withdraw the presidential reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa which they termed as an outcome of mala fide intention of the government.As the Supreme Judicial Council has started its proceedings on the Presidential References filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a senior Judge of the Supreme Court, and Justice Karim Khan (KK) Agha, a judge of Sindh High Court, and will be holding its 2nd proceeding on July 2, Federal Minister for Law Dr Farogh Nasim the other day distributed Rs175 million among 137 bar associations across the country.The legal fraternity vowed to remain adamant terming the presidential references filed against the two judges of the superior courts as mala fide intention and reaffirmed commitment to continue its peaceful protests across the country.“The distribution of money by the federal law minister among the bar associations is a dignified bribe to muster support for the presidential reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa,” said Rashid A Rizvi.He questioned as to what prompted the government to distribute the money among the bar associations at a time when the momentum of layer’s movement is at peak in connection of the Presidential Reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.“What does it mean? Definitely the government has opted to muster support of the lawyers for the presidential references, filed against two judge of the superior courts”, he told The News.He said that for the past six years, the legal fraternity was demanding the funds but nobody paid any heed but now when the lawyers are united at one common platform protesting over the government’s move filing the references with the Supreme Judicial Council, the government came into action only just to muster its support.In the past, he said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government through its law minister Dr Babar Awan had disbursed Rs776.4 million among 132 district bar associations for mustering support in response of the Supreme Court pressure, seeking implementation of its orders regarding the National Reconciliation Ordinance and the reopening of the Swiss case against the then president Asif Ali Zardari.“But I don’t think that the lawyers will get back from their earlier stance and would continue to protest to protect the judiciary and rule of law, stressing the government to withdraw the instant references”, Rashid A Rizvi said adding that he too of the view that the presidential references were filed on mala fide intention and its should be withdrawn at the earliest.Commenting on what he termed the non-transparent distribution of money among the bar associations, Rizvi said that judgments of Supreme Court as well as High Courts are in field holding that there should be unified distribution of money among the bars associations.He said that the law minister gave Rs10 million to Sindh Bar Council as it along with other bar councils had demanded withdrawal of presidential references as well as resignations of Law Minister Farogh Nasim and Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan.“But the Law Minister gave Rs30 million to Punjab Bar Council because it had supported the presidential references,” Rizvi said adding that there should be transparent and unified distribution of the funds among the bar associations.Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council Syed Amjad Shah said that it was the constitution right of all the bar associations to get the funds and the government should not get the credit for distributing the said fundsHe, however, said that the distribution of money among the bar councils would not make the lawyers across the country get back from their stance, demanding of the government to withdraw the presidential reefreence filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa which he said was filed on mala fide intention.The money distributed by the law minister among the bar associations would further energized the lawyers to continue their protest by protecting the state”, Amjad Shah told The News.Aman Ullah Kanrani, the SCBA President, also vowed to continue their resolve to protect the judiciary and extend maximum support to Justice Qazi Faez Isa whom he said has been targeted by the government for his bold decisions.He said that the law minister had asked him to nominate a representative for getting the cheque of money however, he said that he refused to get the money. “We are still committed to our stance that the government has filed the reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa on mala fide intention and we demand its withdrawal,” Kanrani told The News.He said it’s time to protect Justice Qazi Faez Isa who is hailing from province of Balochistan and the future chief justice of Pakistan adding that if they did not raise their voice then the province will be deprived for next 30 years from having its chief justice of the country’s highest court.

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CDA asked to allocate three housing sectors for Pak expats

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Overseas Pakistan & Human Resource Development has asked the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to allocate three new sectors – C-15, C-16 and B-16 – in the federal capital for Pakistani expatriates.It is estimated that the CDA will be able to mobilise more than Rs48 billion by selling residential, apartment and commercial plots in C-15 and C-16 sectors only. Several billions to be collected from B-16 will be apart from these hefty proceeds.A meeting presided over by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development Zulfi Bukhari was told by the CDA that it is planning to launch C-15, C-16 and B-16 sectors [after several years], says an official letter, a copy of which is available with The News, said.These sectors are already planned and acquired, but development is stalled since the CDA doesn’t have the required resources. The Ministry of Overseas Pakistan & Human Resource Development and Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) desire to mobilise much-needed resources in foreign exchange by getting the CDA allocated the plots for overseas Pakistanis.According to the letter, the CDA proposed that in order to provide housing facility exclusively for overseas Pakistanis, the OPF may develop these sectors for subsequent allotment of plots to Pakistani expats. This will fulfill the growing housing needs of overseas Pakistanis in the capital, it argued.However, the OPF held the view that they are currently involved in reviving the stuck up projects and have also launched a few new projects for overseas Pakistanis. It proposed that the CDA may like to launch new sectors exclusively for overseas Pakistanis. However, the OPF offered its marketing services and support facilitating the CDA by sharing its databank of overseas Pakistanis.The CDA was asked to consider the OPF proposal and furnish its views and comments to the Ministry of Overseas Pakistan & Human Resource Development. An official said that the development work will be carried out at a fast track so that the cash-starved civic body generates whopping funds and the growing housing gap in the federal capital is also plugged to some extent.The move will have a likely positive effect on reducing prices of plots in Islamabad. The offered price of plots in the new sectors may be almost one-third of cost compared to F-11, E-11 or D-12 sectors. The allottees will have the facility of making payments in installments.According to revenue estimates, C-15 will bring to the CDA some Rs17b while C-16 Rs31 billion. In C-15, a total of 500 residential plots of one kanal each (500 square yards) may mobilise Rs7.5b @ Rs1.5 million per kanal; 150 kanals meant for multi-storeyed apartments will contribute Rs4.5b @ Rs30 million per kanal; and the commercial area measuring 100 kanals will add Rs5b @ Rs50 million per kanal.In C-16, as many as 1,000 plots of one kanal each may generate Rs15 billion; 200 kanals meant for apartments will contribute Rs6 billion and commercial area will add Rs10 billion at the same rates applied in C-15.The CDA may allot 1,500 residential plots through balloting to interested citizens. After compensating the landowners by adopting the innovative and progression land sharing policy of the Defence Housing Authority, the CDA may get this windfall bonanza of Rs48 billion without spending a single penny. The policy was introduced by former CDA Chairman Kamran Lashari in 2007.While the CDA will pocket huge funds, it may have to spend paltry money of around Rs10 billion on provision of services like roads, drainage, sanitation etc.The CDA acquired the land falling in scenic C-15 and C-16, overshadowing the Margalla Hills, located along the under-construction Margalla Avenue, from its owners by giving one 500 square yards plot in lieu of 2,000 square yards land back in 2008 and took its possession. However, it handed over the plots to the landlords six years later in 2014.As per the CDA policy, all construction done after December, 2008 particularly by non-residents, when the land was acquired by it, are to be demolished during the operation. The policy committed to allot a residential plot of 6.5 marlas to a person who loses his dwelling or built-up property (BUP) to land acquisition, and has not been compensated in lieu of land acquired or is a non-proprietor of land, but has a dwelling built on land belonging to local landowners.Certain safeguards have been provided in the policy against the land mafia to protect genuine residents and house owners by creating a bulwark against wrongdoing. The claimant has to be resident of Sang Jani or Sarai Madu prior to notification of the award by the CDA if he is non-proprietor and the CDA never allotted plots in lieu of land acquired.Compensation of houses to landowners and non-proprietor dwellers has been a perpetual problem for the CDA. Compensation to landowners is seldom an issue because their rights and entitlements are documented in the land record. The issue of arbitrariness and abuse of authority has always cropped up while compensating the non-proprietor dwellers living on land which does not belong to them.

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