| ISLAMABAD, April 25: A government girls secondary school at Shah Dara, just 10 kilometres from Aabpara, is without the required number of teachers for the last three years. Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan on Monday issued notices to the director of Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) to respond to the petition within two weeks. Making secretary education, director of the FDE and a teacher of the school as respondents, the petitioner through his counsel Chaudhry Imtiaz Ahmed said the school was established about 30 years back with the sanctioned posts of 11 teachers. However, for the last three years only three teachers have been managing the school. Ironically, even out of the three educators, a trained graduate teacher appointed in July 2008 is performing duty in a school at I-9/4 but drawing salary from the Shaha Dara school, the petitioner said. There are 150 girl students in the school of the village having a population of over 7,000. But the shortage of the teaching staff has forced the parents to send their daughters to either Bhara Kahu or Kot Hathial. The school does not offer science subjects for the Matric level students due to absence of science teachers. Besides, the school is running without a principal or vice-principal. He said the area people had time and again contacted the FDE for appointment of teachers but got the response that the file was pending with the education ministry. He requested the court to direct the FDE to fill the vacant posts of teachers in the school. —Our Reporter |
2000-11-30
Vacant posts in school: FDE put on notice
Experts for more taxation bodies
| ISLAMABAD, April 25: The government should devolve revenue collection along with value-added taxes and Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) to the provinces. The seminar, 'Macroeconomic challenges and the urgency of tax reform', was organised by the National Press Club. Former adviser to the Ministry of Finance on RGST Dr Ehtashamuddin said the country should not continue to test the efficiencies of FBR repeatedly. "It is time to abolish the FBR and create new taxation bodies," he said and informed the participants about the Iranian model where even the federal government had two tax agencies – one for remote areas and the other for mega issues and large tax-paying areas. He said the government should implement taxes on agriculture and value-added taxes must be ensured through a constitutional amendment. "Pakistan needs to reform its tax system to bring the economy out of the financial crunch," he said, adding: "The agenda must be decentralisation allowing the provinces to impose or reduce the taxes." Decentralisation of revenues is a prerequisite and its implementation must be the priority agenda of political authorities," he added. Economist Dr Anjum Nasim said the financial assistance-providing institutions will renounce monetary assistance, aid and debt until Pakistan itself generated its resources, adding revenue generation system must be reviewed and faults scrutinised and eradicated. Former commerce minister Dr Zubair Khan said devolution of the revenues to provinces was the need of time; however, the 18th amendment did not completely cover its devolution aspect. He said RGST had become a political issue but the politics of RGST is that there is institutional disharmony, while there are some parliamentarians who object to the RGST because their voters do not have trust in the FBR and want distribution of resources at provincial and local level. NFC member from Balochistan Dr Gulfaraz Ahmed said the federation should ensure security as peace and better law and order situation ensured prosperity. "Revenue generation and revenue collection is essential and the political reform could ensure tax reforms," he added. The FBR officials highlighted their achievements in improving the tax base and tax collections in the current fiscal year. |
Court moved against detention orders of acquitted men
| ISLAMABAD, April 25: Recently acquitted in two terrorism cases, five men have moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday against detention orders issued by federal government to keep them under arrest for 90 days. However, the five identical petitions could not be taken up because of the illness of IHC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameed- Wife of Dr Abdul Razzaq of the Railway Hospital, uncle of Faisal Mehmood and brothers of Mohammad Sarfraz, Zeeshan Jalil and Usama bin Waheed have challenged their detention orders, calling them unlawful. The five men along with four others were tried for a suicide attack that killed the army's surgeon general, Mushtaq Baig, in February 2008 and for possessing huge quantity of explosives. They were arrested on January 29, 2009. However, a trial court acquitted the nine men in the suicide attack case but convicted them for carrying explosives last year. This month the Rawalpindi bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) also set aside their conviction in the explosives case. The petitioners through Advocate Basharatullah Khan have cited secretary interior and chief commissioner Islamabad as respondents. They have maintained that earlier the deputy commission Islamabad issued detention orders for one month on March 9 this year. The orders were challenged and the IHC set aside the detention on April 6. On April 13 Islamabad's administration on the recommendation of the interior ministry imposed a 90-day detention for the five men – a day after they were acquitted by the high court. The petitioners have maintained that there was no reason in detaining them as they have been acquitted after long trial and investigation. No justification has been mentioned in the detention order, the petition said. They asked the court to order for their release as no case was pending against them. |
Forgotten victims of Pakistan’s Taliban war
| RAWALPINDI, April 25: Shadi Khan was once a proud soldier fighting the Taliban, but today he quivers in pain, socks bagged around metal pins after a bomb blew off his legs in South Waziristan in August 2010. "It was as if I had been shot. It was huge pain. Both my legs were blown up and I was injured in the stomach. I was conscious for the whole thing, but after around three hours I passed out," he says. One soldier was killed and Khan was the most seriously wounded out of four who were evacuated to a field hospital. He's since had multiple operations and both his legs have been amputated above the knee. "Now I’ll go home and just connect to my God. I'll remember Him. I'm still young, but I can't walk at my home, where the land is rough. What else can I do? Perhaps I can teach students, if I can get a job in any school." Under US pressure to root out Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked networks in its northwest and districts on the Afghan border, more than 2,795 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in fighting since 2004. Another 8,671 have been wounded. Those official statistics overshadow the more than 2,403 foreign, mostly American, soldiers who have been killed in 10 years in Afghanistan. Pakistan's war has also ignited revenge bombings that have killed another 4,200 people since July 2007, destablising the Khan is a patient at Pakistan's Armed Forces Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFIRM) in Rawalpindi, the country's only hospital of its kind that helps maimed and disabled soldiers rebuild their shattered lives. Their best efforts barely make the pain better for Khan. His family is in the southern province of Sindh, hundreds of miles away, and he has received only one visit — from his father — since he was injured. "I got some irritation," he said, shaking. His new legs were fitted only four days ago. An earlier pair didn't fit and had to be changed. Staff say they are desperately short-staffed and under-equipped. With only 100 beds and 147,000 troops committed in battle across the northwest, the work load has grown tremendously. Maj-Gen Akhtar Waheed, head of the hospital, said 750 patients are treated each day. He lists his main staff as five specialists, 13 general nurses, three psychologists, two speech therapists and 10 physiotherapists. While the military has agreed to help build a new block to raise the number of beds to more than 150, it is only in the planning stage. Maj Zahid Rustam has been staggered by how much things have changed in the six years he spent training in Australia, Britain and the United States. "Oh my God, the work load has tremendously increased. When I went, you know, we used to find some patients who had a fall or something like that, but now we have a lot of amputees. We have a lot of spinal cord injured patients. "We have a lot of work, a lot of work." Compared to hospitals in Pakistan, AFIRM has impressive facilities, is hygienic and seemingly well run. But compared to hospitals where Rustam and other medical officers have trained, its staff are over-stretched. "We need people who are specialised," Rustam told this agency. "We have like only three occupational therapists in the whole hospital and where I’ve been working, one ward would have like 10-15 occupational therapists, so how are we going to do?” Lieutenant Colonel Khalil Ahmad says staff work to rehabilitate It can take six months to a year for an amputated soldier to be fitted with a prosthetic limb. Officers who can stay in uniform are priorities. Sayed Altaf Hussain is one of the lucky ones. He lost his foot in battle on November 26, 2009, but has been allowed to return to duty in North Waziristan, even if in his own words he does "nothing much". He is 34-year-old and has served in the army for 14 years. "I can’t quit right now. I’ve got four years left. I want to complete, so I can get my pension otherwise I’ll lose out financially.” Despite risking his life for his country, Hussain receives a salary of just 14,670 rupees ($174) a month to support a family of 14. "There’s been a lot of inflation in Pakistan and it’s very hard to manage. "I joined the Frontier Corps to defend the country number one and number two because there is poverty and we need to do something to earn money.” Some of the more seriously wounded are taught data entry or skills that officers say can turn them into assistants for mobile repair men, electricians, mechanics or tailors. But when AFP asked to visit a wounded soldier who had been discharged, at home, to see how he was coping, the military refused permission. Major General Waheed concedes that the consequences of horrific injuries have a "massive impact". "It affects the whole family, even in the troops because so many soldiers from this unit, or this platoon, have been affected and so that’s naturally quite disturbing. "Once you rehabilitate them, train them in a specific job, give them something to do, I think the impact becomes much less, quite less," he said. For some parents, brought up on the doctrine that India was public enemy number one, the war against the Taliban is not one that Pakistan should be fighting in the first place. Colonel Abbas watches as his once talented commando son, Captain Qasim, is helped into a wheelchair after a physio session. Thanks to therapy at the hospital, he can now walk a little after a brain injury that left him on a ventilator for two months. "This army is not meant for this. There are no goals, there are no aims. We're fighting against Muslims. Muslims are killing other Muslims." — AFP |
Seven injured, rooms destroyed Mysterious blasts rock police station
| PESHAWAR, April 25: At least seven policemen were wounded, two of them seriously, in a series of mysterious blasts inside Gulbahar police station on the main G.T. Road here on Monday, police said. Capital City Police Officer Liaquat Ali later told media persons that according to preliminary investigation the explosions were caused by gas accumulated in a gutter or electricity short circuiting. However, he dispelled the impression that it was a sabotage act. He claimed that the affected rooms were sealed at the time of explosions. One of the rooms was being used as a store for electrical gadgets, he said, but did not give details of the gadgets or the extent of damage. However, another high-ranking police official, pleading anonymity, said that the costly detectors, bomb disposal suits, bomb locators, X-ray machine and other such sensitive items were given for the bomb disposal unit by donor agencies and stored in the room. He claimed that all the bomb disposal suits, valued at Rs4 million a piece, were gutted. The official said that the incident might have happened due to negligence. An eyewitness, SSP Tauseef Haider, told Dawn that he was sitting in his office on the second floor in the adjacent building of the police station that he heard a huge explosion followed by five other blasts at about 4:30pm. "The fist blast was severe," he SP Shaukat Raza also gave similar comments, saying that he heard about five blasts, but did not know as to what exactly had happened inside the police station. A source in the Lady Reading Hospital identified the injured police officials as Jahangir Khan, Mohammad Israil, Nisar Khan, Arif Khan, Feroz Shah, Mohammad Ayaz and Alamzeb Khan. A spokesman of rescue 1122 services said that the firefighters extinguished the fire within 30 minutes. It was confirmed that no case of the incident was registered by the police station concerned till late in the night. The blasts also caused severe traffic jam on both sides of the G.T. Road, as one lane of the road was closed for traffic for over one hour. |
Govt asked to shoot down drones
| PESHAWAR, April 25: A Jamaat-i-Islami sponsored roundtable conference held here on Monday asked the government to shoot down drones and take up the issue at international forums. The roundtable conference was held at the party headquarters against drone attacks in Fata. Pakistan Muslim League, dissident MNA of Awami National Party Khwaja Mohammad Khan Hoti, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, PML-Q, Pakistan People's Party-Sherpao and leaders of religious parties attended the conference. A joint declaration said that the CIA-operated drones were taking off from Pakistani airports which had carried out over 260 attacks in the tribal area so far. It said that about 4,000 innocent people including women and children had been killed in these attacks. The declaration termed drone attacks violation of the country sovereignty, fundamental human rights and United Nations charter. It said that the Parliament had passed unanimous resolution in October 2008, but it had not been implemented in letter and spirit. — Bureau Report |
Welfare of personnel Police want to follow army’s footprints
| PESHAWAR, April 25: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have asked government to let it turn its welfare trust into a commercial entity like The proposal, which has evinced opposition from the line departments, envisages construction of shops, markets and plazas for commercial purposes on the land that is lying unutilised adjacent to different police lines and stations across the province at the moment. Justifying the proposal, Mr Toru had argued that police department didn't have a sustainable source to continue different welfare initiatives for the retired personnel or the families of those killed in the line of duty. "The police department has to demand and rely on the provincial government from time to time," sources said, quoting the police chief's summary. The summary said that police department had been allotted 300 kanals land in Regi Lalma Township to compensate the families of those policemen, who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. However, this quota has almost exhausted during the last few years, as the number of police personnel being killed in fighting militancy has grown significantly. The KP-PWT, established in 1998, had the mandate to carry out income generating activities to mobilise resources for the welfare of the police force, thus, it should be allowed to utilise unutilised land in different parts of the province so that it The Chief Minister's Secretariat had forwarded the proposal to the departments concerned for comments before taking any final decision, sources said. "Almost all the line departments have opposed the move for the reason that it will set a bad precedent in the officialdom," they added. The revenue and estate department, which is custodian of the state land, has said that under the law land allotted for a specific purpose cannot be used for any other purpose, so allowing KP-PWT to utilise the un-utilised land adjacent to police lines and stations cannot be legally correct. "Likewise, it has also argued that it will set a bad precedent and instead it has requested the chief minister to get the additional land, if there is any, from police department so that government can utilise it for other purposes," sources said. The finance and home and tribal affairs department too had endorsed the views of the revenue and estate department, sources said. The provincial government had already offered the biggest-ever welfare package to police personnel in recent years as acknowledgment of their service in the current war against militancy in the province, they added. "The government is already spending generously under 'Shuhada Package' for Police, announced by the incumbent coalition Apart from substantially increasing salaries and allowances of police force, the government had also enhanced the welfare initiatives under the 'Shuhada Package'. As per this package, family of the police personnel killed in the line of duty would get Rs500,000, which now had been raised to Rs3 million. Similarly, facilities of free education to children of killed policemen, residence and payment of salaries till Moreover, the government is also providing plot to heirs of killed policemen, while in case of unavailability of plot in concerned areas, the government is offering cash in return so that they can buy plot on their own. |
Selling suicide bombers profitable trade: minister
| KARAK, April 25: Provincial Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that suicide bombers are being sold like a commodity and it has become a profitable business. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of Karak Press Club here on Monday, the minister said that durable peace could not be restored in the province till those factories of suicide bombers were present there. However, he claimed that earlier people used to help militants but now they hated them, which was a political success of their government. He said that journalists should play their role to guide society in right direction and discourage extremism. The minister also administered oath to the newly elected office-bearers of the press club. He said that the press club was constructed at a cost of Rs4.5 million. He donated Rs500,000 to the press club for buying furniture and other items. "The government wants to promote media as it has built press clubs in five districts of the province," he added. Mr Hussain said that provincial government condemned drone attacks and foreign aggression. He said that drone strikes would not eliminate terrorism rather it would be further fueled with such attacks. "Pakistan, the USA and Afghanistan can jointly defeat terrorism but there is lack of trust among them," he said. He said that people of those three countries should build up pressure on their respective governments to evolve a joint strategy against terrorism through intelligence sharing. The minister said that they would not bow before terrorists, who were destroying mosques, seminaries and schools and killing He lauded the role of army in Malakand and also appreciated police and masses for fighting against terrorism. He said that 4,500 alleged terrorists were arrested by police and army but 99 per cent of them were released by courts owing to lack of proofs. "Suicide jacket itself is a major proof," he added. Mr Hussain said that local people had right over their resources. "A jirga comprising elected representatives of southern districts will meet prime minister soon because chief minister has moved an application to him for the purpose. The issue of provision of gas to villages in the radius of five kilometres of gas fields would be resolved," he added. He said that local people would be recruited in the oil and gas companies, working in the district, and technical institutions would be opened to impart them training. He said that southern districts and South and North Waziristan agencies were full of oil and gas resources but due to bad law and order situation the same could not be explored. MPA Mian Nisar Gul and former district nazim Sharif Khattak also addressed the ceremony. |
Performances at GIKI festival win applause
| SWABI, April 25: Keeping its tradition alive, the Cultural, Dramatics and Entertainment Society (CDES) of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Science and Technology organised a three-day arts festival, which concluded here on Monday. Besides several other dramas, a GIKI production "The Great Al-Houdini" dazzled the crowd with the use of innovative effects and mesmerising gimmicks on stage backed by strong performances. A CDES member said that their main purpose was to motivate the youngsters. "We tried to convey to the youth not to remain idle, as there are numerous ways to express themselves. Also, the festival provided an opportunity to the participants to Both participants and actors said that it was the love for drama that brought them together. "We are proud of this culture and the government should support such festivals," said one of the performers. BOOST FOR PML-N: Sajjad Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa senior vice president of PML-Q, will quit his party and join PML-N on Tuesday (today) during a press conference of former chief minister Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, PML-N activists told this Mr Sajjad was one of the strong supporters of Amir Muqam, PML-Q provincial president, and contested 2008 elections from PF-35, Swabi-5, on PML-Q ticket but could not win. "Mr Sajjad will formally join our party at a press conference here at Rahatabad, which will be addressed by Sardar Mehtab and provincial and district leaders," said Liaquat Ahmad and other local PML-N leaders. They said that Mr Sajjad's joining of the PML-N would be a boost for the party and in future he would also be awarded PF-35 ticket for contesting election. —Correspondent |
Court cancels bail in spurious drugs case
| PESHAWAR, April 25: A chemist charged with selling spurious and expired drugs was arrested here after the Peshawar High Court cancelled the bail granted to him by a subordinate court. The court directed that the challan (charge sheet) of the case should be submitted before the trial court forthwith and the court should conclude the trial within two months. The bench had taken suo motu notice of the issue on April 11 when it was hearing bail petition of another accused person, Faheemzada Khan. —Bureau Report |
No lessons learnt from natural disasters
| PESHAWAR, April 25: The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas have been hit hard by natural and man-made disasters in recent years yet they lack awareness and resources to effectively respond in case of emergencies, reveal interviews with students and aid workers at a recently held exhibition on disaster management and preparedness at the University of Peshawar. "I think the government lacks in these things," he said. Asked whether they knew about safety measures they should take in times of disasters, Wilayat and Akhtar Ali, students of Environmental Sciences Department, took a considerable time for an answer and said: "We just pray we are never hit by a disaster." Participants of the two-day exhibition, which concluded on Thursday last, were unanimous in their views that there was a dire need for creating awareness of disaster management. Pakistan was hit hard in by magnitude 7.8 earthquake in October 2005, killing hundreds of people. The earthquake exposed lack of preparedness for such disasters at the government and private level. The devastating flood last year that hit many parts of Pakistan and displaced thousands of people was another case in point when both people and government agencies were caught off guard. People's lack of awareness and preparedness to respond to such disasters was fully exposed, as in many areas people stayed at their homes despite flood warnings. Sabeen, an aid worker of a relief organisation, said that though the government and non-governmental organisations provided relief items to people in the event of disasters, but nothing worthwhile had been done for disaster preparedness at the community level. Humaira, another visitor at the exhibition, said that when a natural disaster struck no one was prepared for it, but when man-made disasters hit, it was disturbing to see people's helplessness. Huma, an aid worker, said that in recent years people had suffered huge loss of life and property in conflicts. When military operations are launched, people of the area don't leave in time as they lack awareness of the consequences. "This is what we have seen in the recent conflict and IDPs crisis. People are helpless and don't have awareness," she observed. Shah Nawaz Khan, a research associate at the Centre for Disaster Management and Preparedness, said that the centre was established to train and prepare students to properly respond in times of disasters. He said that diploma courses were conducted for physical training of youth and educating them on how to respond in times of calamities. He proposed that a special unit should be set up at each district to evacuate people in emergency situations. |
KP to take water dues, canal issues to CCI
| PESHAWAR, April 25: The provincial government will take up the issues of nonpayment of dues by other provinces for using Khyber Pakhtunkhwa water and delay in implementation of the Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) project in coming meetings of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and inter-provincial coordination, Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told the assembly on Monday. Mr Khattak said that according to the Water Accord 1992 the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa couldn't use its share due to lack of infrastructure. "We have been making demands to the federal government to financially support this province in improving the irrigation system so as to use its water share for getting self-sufficiency in the agriculture sector," he said. The house also unanimously passed a joint resolution, demanding of the federal government to put the CRBC 1st Lift project on the agenda of Executive Committee of National Economic Counsel (ECNEC) as announced by the prime minister. Israrullah Gandhapur of PPP-S tabled the resolution, which was signed by Senior Minister Bashir Bilour, Abdul Akbar Khan of PPP, Mufti Kifayatullah of JUI-F, PML-N MPA Javed Abbassi and Munawar Khan. "Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had announced the CRBC project during the ECNEC meeting," Mr Gandhapur said while reading text of the resolution and added that some elements were making hurdles to the implementation of this useful project. He said that this province had suffered huge economics losses in the continued anti-terrorism struggle, which should be compensated with the implementation of mega projects. He said that the provincial government had been paying billions of rupees in subsidy on buying wheat. He said that if the CRBC project was implemented this province would become self-sufficient in production of wheat and other crops. "Through this resolution we demand of the prime minister to put the CRBC project on the ECNEC agenda and approve it immediately," the PPP-S MPA said. The assembly also passed amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Procedure and Conduct of Business Rules 1988, to ensure the production of any of the MPA, who is in custody in connection with any offence, to attend the assembly. Dr Faiza Rasheed of the PPP walked out from the assembly proceedings to record her protest over, what she called, discriminatory attitude of the assembly secretariat. The PPP member said that she was not less than the other MPAs politically and educationally then why the assembly secretariat was ignoring her. "No resolution, call attention and privilege Dr Faiza asked her parliamentary leader Abdul Akbar Khan to cancel her membership as she didn't want to be a show piece here if she can't raise any issue. Later, on the request of Speaker Kiramatullah Chagharmatti, Abdul Akbar, Minister for Higher Education Qazi Asad and Minister for Social Welfare Sitara Ayaz brought her back to the house. Speaking on a call attention notice, Ms Noor Sehar drew attention of the house to the destruction of water channels by last year's floods in Swat. She said that farmers were unable to irrigate their orchards and other crops, which had damaged the Minister for Irrigation Pervez Khattak said that the government couldn't reconstruct the water channels because it had no income from them. However, he said that the government had decided to provide 50 per cent financial support to those owners of the land, who wanted to reconstruct the water channels. The house also passed The Provincial Motor Vehicle (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (Amendment) Bill, 2011 and The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2011. The speaker adjourned the session till Tuesday morning. |
NEWS IN BRIEF
| Two killed in Haripur In the first incident occurred in Dartiaan village, Mohammad Hanif shot dead his brother-in-law, Mohammad Wajid, over a martial dispute, said police quoting Mohammad Sajid, brother of the deceased. Police found body of a man in his thirties from Mang village. The victim, Tahir Mehmood of Mohalla Said Mir Rata Amral, Rawalpindi, was strangulated by unknown men who had hired his vehicle, a Suzuki carry, from Rawalpindi railway station. They decamped with the vehicle. The body was shifted to Civil Hospital Khanpur for autopsy. —Correspondent Rs100m for irrigation channels A statement issued here on Monday said the chief minister had announced package of Rs100 million for flood affected water courses in Batagram during a public meeting on 14th October, 2010, to assist the poor farmers. Meanwhile, the CM, chairing a meeting at his office on Monday, stressed the need for promotion of economic activities, Diarrhoea in IDP camp The Nahaqi camp which is housing the people displaced by military action against miscreants in Mohmand Agency is short of basic facilities, like water, electricity and sanitation, said Dr Faisal of the primary healthcare programme. Talking to this correspondent, he said situation was under control as curative and preventive measures were underway to control its spread. The affected children, he said were being monitored. We are asking the people to boil water before drinking, he said. —Correspondent Regional cricket tourney Speaking to reporters at the Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium on Monday, Nasim Danish, Chief Executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, said the first round of the regional cricket tournament had been completed and now the second round would be played in Peshawar. "The cricket stadiums in Kabul are under-construction due to which we have decided to play the second round in Peshawar," he said, adding, six teams had arrived in Peshawar which will play three-day matches that will continue for 20 days. He appreciated the International Cricket Council and Pakistan Cricket Board for promoting cricket in the war-ravaged Afghanistan. —Bureau Report Assistance for small farmers Under the plan, the organisation will provide fertilizers and technical assistance to small growers, said the ILAP central chairman, Sajjid Ashaq, while talking to journalists here on Monday. Mr Ashaq said the ILAP had extended relief assistance after the devastated floods in Nowshera and Charsadda districts where about 16,000 families had been provided with food and non-food items. He said the organisation had also established several medical camps and provided free medicines and check ups of patients suffering from different diseases. —Bureau Report Gas facility This was stated by the Provincial Minister for Housing, Amajid Khan Afridi, while addressing a public gathering in the area on Monday. He told the elders the chief minister had approved a girls degree college for his PF-37 constituency. He said the government had spent millions of rupees on blacktopping of roads in Khamartu and also sanctioned funds for installing 20 electricity poles. He said a women degree college will soon be constructed in Bilitang whereas work on the Rs23 million degree college for boys in Gumbat was in progress. —Correspondent Condolence reference In this connection, a condolence reference was held at press club, which was attended by local drama and television artistes. The participants held Quran Khawani and offered Fateh for departure souls of Moin Akhtar, Baboo Baral, Khiyam Sarhadi, Liaqat Soldier, Rabia Tabasem and Mastana. The artistes said the death of renowned actors had created great vacuum, which would take long time to fill. They said Moin Akhtar was recognised as a great actor at international level. —Bureau Report Arms seized A police team chased the truck and intercepted it near Jalal petrol pump and arrested the driver, Ameer Khan, after recovering five 30-bore pistols and 400 cartridges during search. The driver was taken to the Riaz Shaheed police station along with the truck for interrogation and a case was registered against him under arms act. —Correspondent Book launched Sornik, which is published by Anjuman-i-Taraqi Khowar, Chitral, is the collection of folk songs which faced the threat of being consigned to oblivion as they were yet to be preserved.The collection and compilation work of the folk songs had been entrusted to Gul Nawaz Khaki who has been an eminent folk singer apart from being poet and his rich contribution to the Khowar prose. —Correspondent |
TV broadcasts resume in Bajaur after four years
| KHAR, April 25: The PTV restarted airing programmes in restive Bajaur tribal region on Monday after reconstruction of the booster, which was destroyed by militants about four years ago. With the repair of the booster, thousands of viewers in Bajaur and bordering areas of Malakand and Dir Lower will watch the transmissions of PTV Home and PTV News. Militants in tribal region occupied the booster building on the hilltop in Barang area, some 25 kilometres from agency headquarters Khar, and later blew it up in 2007. The machinery and other equipment of the booster as well as rooms of the building were destroyed, depriving thousands of Apart from the TV booster, militants also destroyed dozens of educational institutions and health centres in the region. The destruction and years' long closure of schools and colleges deprived thousands of children of education. The music and CD centres were closed, radio and cassette players were removed from vehicles, TV sets were brought out of the houses and broken and barbers were asked by militants not to shave beards in the tribal region during the past few years. However, security forces launched operation in 2008 and after prolonged gun-battle they succeeded in restoring government's writ in most of the militant-infested areas. The government has also launched developmental activities in parts of the region. The completion of repair work on PTV booster and other uplift schemes encouraged tribal people. "Normalcy is returning to the violence-ravaged region. The reconstruction of the TV booster was completed in a short span of four months by security forces," said residents of the area. An overjoyed TV viewer, Ahmed Hassan of Pattak area said after restoration of PTV broadcasts that they would be able to see sports, music and other entertainment programs. |
Protests in Lower Dir against trader’s killing
| TIMERGARA, April 25: Traders, lawyers and Jamaat-i-Islami workers in Lower Dir held protest demonstrations at Timergara, Talash and Khall on Monday against the killing of a businessman and demanded of the district administration to ensure security of traders. Over 4,200 shopkeepers at Timergara closed their businesses and held a protest rally at the Gorgorai Chowk and also briefly blocked the Timergara-Maidan road. JI central leader Sirajul Haq, Timergara Anjuman-i-Tajran president Anwaruddin, JI Dir chief Maulana Asadullah and district bar president Mohammad Saleem spoke to the protest rally and said that police and administration had failed to provide security to common people and traders. "There has been no writ of the government in the province," Mr Haq said and demanded of the government to take immediate steps to arrest and punish the killers of Mr Jauhar. Anwaruddin said the traders had been left at the mercy of kidnappers and none of them felt secure. "We will soon hold a joint meeting of traders, lawyers and political activists to prepare a strategy on how to tackle the situation," he said. Traders at Talash also closed down their businesses and demanded of the government to arrest the killers immediately. Lawyers at Chakdara bar boycotted court proceedings against the killing of Timergara trader. Talking to reporters, Chakdara bar president Mohammad Ishaq called upon the authorities to take practical steps to avoid such incidents in future. When contacted, an official of Timergara police station said that they had been investigating the case. He said that curfew was imposed after evening in Arang area of Bajaur to arrest the killers of Mr Jauhar. Relatives of the victim had claimed on Sunday |
Call for increase in education budget
| PESHAWAR, April 25: Educationists at a seminar have expressed concern over meagre allocations for the education sector by successive governments and called upon the present rulers to allocate maximum funds for education to ensure achievement of 100 per cent literacy target by the end of 2015. Prominent among the speakers were TAP (KP) president Misbahullah, vice president Khairullah Havari and Officers School Association president Nisar Mohammad. Senior educationists and teachers from colleges and universities were also in the audience. The speakers demanded implementation of the recommendations of Pay and Pension Commission to address problems of the teachers in the country. Prof Ikram said that the government had presented mini budgets in the form of different taxes which had directly affected the common man. He said that the education sector was allocated 2 per cent of the GDP, but that too was not materialised. He claimed that 49 per cent of the total education budget of the country was implemented in Punjab during the last financial year while the budgets in other provinces had not been spent on promotion of education. He said that it was the duty of the state to provide all basic facilities in education institutions. Prof Ikram said provision of adequate funds allocation, basic infrastructure, facilities and access to education were essential to promotion of education in the country. Giving an overview of the state of education in the country, he said that 17,000 educational institutions had no shelter, 500,000 no electricity, 66,000 no drinking water, 80,000 no boundary walls and 82,000 lacked latrine facility. He said that The dropout rate is about 60 per cent in the country, he claimed and stressed the need for allocation of maximum funds to meet 100 per cent literacy target by end of 2015. He called for retaining the Higher Education Commission to maintain uniformity in curriculum development process. |
Militants free trader after getting ransom
| PARACHINAR, April 25: Militants have released a trader of Kurram Agency after receiving Rs5.4 million as ransom, sources say. The kidnapped trader, Haji Asghar Hussain Turi, also a former agency councillor, had been kidnapped along with 35 other passengers when militants attacked a convoy at Beggan area of Kurram Agency on March 26. Three passengers had also been killed and two others injured in the attack. The bodies of seven hostages were found in Shaheedan Dhand area near Afghan border last week. Relatives said that Mr Turi remained in custody of militants for at least one month. He reached home after the family paid a ransom of Rs5.4 million to militants. Narrating his ordeal, Mr Turi said that he was going in the convoy from Peshawar to Parachinar when militants attacked it near Beggan. He said that he jumped off the vehicle, ran away and hid in the nearby fields but local people captured him. He said that he was carrying Rs600,000 cash with him at the time of attack on the convoy. He said that local people, who captured him, snatched the amount from him and later handed him over to Taliban. The trader said that during custody militants had chained him in a room and treated him badly. He said that he had no information about the other hostages. —Correspondent |
World Malaria Day Speakers urge use of mosquito nets to prevent disease
| LAKKI MARWAT, April 25: Speakers at a seminar held in connection with the World Malaria Day on Monday said malaria caused more deaths after tuberculosis in the world, and urged the people to adopt precautionary measures to protect themselves from the disease. Deputy district officer health, Dr Abdul Rehman, MS Dr Mohammad Ishaq, ACD's representative Zahoor Jan and others spoke on the occasion. They said the dangerousness of the disease could be judged from the fact that it killed a child every after 30 second in the world. "As part of measures to control malaria the government, health organisations and other stakeholders set up diagnostic centres and imparted case management training to the doctors and health workers to enhance their capacity to diagnose and They said the ACD has been providing the residents especially pregnant women and children up to five years of age with long-lasting insecticides nets for the last couple of years. "The use of bed nets can save us from mosquito bite," they said. The speakers said rapid diagnostic kits had been provided to the health facilities so as to help the health staffers and even laymen to diagnose the disease easily. Later, an awareness walk was arranged on the premises of DHQ hospital participated by doctors, paramedics and people from different walks of life. Participants carried banners inscribed with messages in connection with the World Malaria Day. Meanwhile, the ACD in collaboration with the health and elementary and secondary education departments also held a function in government higher secondary school Tajazai to mark the Day. The ACD representative Zahoor Jan, principal Khalid Wahab, microscope expert Haji Abdul Razzaq and focal person Abdul Aziz called upon the students to educate their parents and residents of their respective localities to use bed nets for keeping |
Torture of student Police asked to take action against school
| PESHAWAR, April 25: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Commission (CPWC) has taken notice of the severe beating of a minor student by a teacher at a local religious academy and asked the concerned police station to register the case under relevant provisions of the Child Protection and Welfare Act. The accused teacher, Tariq Azam, has been absconding after the occurrence and the private school-cum-religious institution, Iqra Taleem-ul-Quran, has been locked by the management since Friday last. The victim, who is a 5th grade student, is carrying violence marks on his body. The local police have so far not registered the FIR of the incident stating that they had sought legal opinion from the prosecution. The deputy protection officer of the commission, Mohammad Ijaz Khan, informed this correspondent that they had contacted the officials at the concerned Khazana police station and asked them to register the case under sections 33, 34, 36 and 37 of He stated that corporal punishment was prohibited under the said Act and it carried punishment up to six months imprisonment or fine up to Rs50,000 or both. Moreover, he added that section 36 prohibited violence against a child and it was punishable up to three years imprisonment and fine up to Rs100,000. Mr Ijaz stated that they would send letters to the high-ups of the police in this regard. Moreover, he stated that the commission was also in contact with the provincial education ministry so as to ascertain whether the said educational institution was registered with the government or not. The officer stated that a fact finding team sent to the concerned Kashmir Korona area at Haryana village noted that the victim was brutally thrashed by the teacher. "As the said teacher has been missing along with the management of the school, therefore, their version of the motive behind the thrashing of the victim could not be ascertained. However, the family of the boy stated that he was beaten on pretext of not learning daily lessons," the officer informed. |
Parachinar residents seek security
| ISLAMABAD, April 25: After waiting for five years to visit his hometown, Ali Mohammad returned to the country from UAE last month, but all that was received by the family was his burned corpse, released three days back by suspected Taliban commanders after negotiations. Like rest of the family members the excitement of Saqib Hasan faded away when he received the body of his cousin Ali Mohammad. In sheer frustration and anger against the authorities, Saqib arrived in the federal capital on Monday to participate in the protest demonstration and sit-in at the Parliament against Taliban brutalities. The participants narrated tales of sufferings faced by their family members at the hands of Taliban who have blocked the road leading to Parachinar, creating severe shortage of fuel, food and medicines in the area. "My brother's leg had to be amputated only because he could not receive medical care in time," said one protester, adding, Speakers at the protest held in front of National Press Club said Taliban were creating unrest in the region. The organiser of the protest Sajid Hussain Bangash said more than 2,200 Turi and Bangash tribesmen have been killed and over 5,000 injured by the Taliban in four years. Later residents of Parachinar staged a a token sit-in at D-Chowk opposite to the Parliament House. In his speech, MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi, expressed sympathies with the residents of Parachinar. "Our party will take up the issue with the president, prime minister and the interior minister," he added. Sajid Turi, MNA from the area announced to leave his seat in protest if the authorities failed to implement the peace accord between the Shia and Sunni tribes. |
Experts for more taxation bodies
| ISLAMABAD, April 25: The government should devolve revenue collection along with value-added taxes and Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) to the provinces. They stressed creating multiple tax collection agencies instead of the single federally-administered authority. The seminar, 'Macroeconomic challenges and the urgency of tax reform', was organised by the National Press Club. Former adviser to the Ministry of Finance on RGST Dr Ehtashamuddin said the country should not continue to test the "It is time to abolish the FBR and create new taxation bodies," he said and informed the participants about the Iranian model where even the federal government had two tax agencies – one for remote areas and the other for mega issues and large tax-paying areas. He said the government should implement taxes on agriculture and value-added taxes must be ensured through a constitutional amendment. "Pakistan needs to reform its tax system to bring the economy out of the financial crunch," he said, adding: "The agenda must be decentralisation allowing the provinces to impose or reduce the taxes." Decentralisation of revenues is a prerequisite and its implementation must be the priority agenda of political authorities," he added. Economist Dr Anjum Nasim said the financial assistance-providing institutions will renounce monetary assistance, aid and debt until Pakistan itself generated its resources, adding revenue generation system must be reviewed and faults scrutinised and eradicated. Former commerce minister Dr Zubair Khan said devolution of the revenues to provinces was the need of time; however, the 18th amendment did not completely cover its devolution aspect. He said RGST had become a political issue but the politics of RGST is that there is institutional disharmony, while there are some parliamentarians who object to the RGST because their voters do not have trust in the FBR and want distribution of resources at provincial and local level. NFC member from Balochistan Dr Gulfaraz Ahmed said the federation should ensure security as peace and better law and order situation ensured prosperity. "Revenue generation and revenue collection is essential and the political reform could ensure tax reforms," he added. The FBR officials highlighted their achievements in improving the tax base and tax collections in the current fiscal year. |
Website puzzle for HE
| ISLAMABAD, April 25: Already fighting for its survival, the officials of Higher Education Commission (HEC) were on Monday left dazed by the discovery of a website with uncanny resemblance to its www.hec.gov.pk. The 'edu' domain is mostly used by educational institutions across Pakistan. "I am amazed the website is running. Moreover, it also has ads," a senior official of the commission, who requested not to be named, told Dawn. "We will take up the matter with our information technology officials on Tuesday." Admitting that the HEC did not know about the website, the official insisted on distancing the commission from it. "The HEC is not associated with the domain. We have our official website running on the gov.pk server hosted by a federal telecom organisation. It is managed by the Electronic Government Directorate," he said. "A team of IT officials at the commission manages and regularly updates the website." About the hec.edu.pk also offering links to scholarships, admission to universities, and announcing exams and results related to getting admissions in the US and UK universities, he said: "We don't own it and it's a news for us." The official browsed the website and was 'amazed' it has advertisement links powered by the Google search engine. According to an IT expert, if traffic (per day visitors) of a website crosses a certain number of hits, Google search engine often places its online advertisements on it, becoming a source of revenue for the website. The website has also caught the attention of Federal Investigation Agency's Cyber Crime Wing despite the fact that the commission has not registered any complaint with it. "The website cannot be uploaded on until it clears certain registration procedures mandatory for getting edu domain," an official of the wing, requesting anonymity, said. He added that for getting an edu domain, the individual must be linked to a degree awarding education. "We have to check the domain registration process and who owns it. Once we go through it, we will be in a better position to comment." The official said HEC has to register a complaint with the wing "if they want to take action against the owner of the 'parallel' website." He added that the wing was already probing 'parallel websites' after receiving complaints from different institutions. "We don't share details until we nab individuals behind them." When a message was sent on the cellphone of Dr Sohail Naqvi, executive director of HEC, to get his comments, he answered back: "Watching a play". |
Power riots erupt in Pindi region
| GUJAR KHAN, April 25: Massive loadshedding in Rawalpindi region forced the residents of Gujar Khan, Taxila and Chakwal to protest and block leading arteries of their respective cities by burning tyres and parking trucks and trawlers on the roads. In Gujar Khan, participants of a rally not only blocked the G. T. Road for over four hours but ransacked two offices of Iesco damaging record, furniture and other equipment. The protesters, including traders, mechanics, farmers from the nearby villages, thronged the G. T. Road and started chanting slogans against PPP regime and President Asif Ali Zardari. Soon they turned into a well organised mob and forcibly parked trawlers and truck at dual carriage way to block traffic between Rawalpindi and Lahore at about 3pm. Later, the mob, equipped with clubs, ransacked a nearby complaint office of Iesco and burnt its wooden furniture and destroyed gadgets by heaping them on the burning tyres. The office of SDO (construction) located in the vicinity of the grid station was also attacked by a crowd of over 300 youth. They damaged record, furniture and whatever they could lay their hands on. During all this anarchical situation police led by SHOs of Mandra, Gujar Khan and Jatli kept making frantic efforts to negotiate with the mob but there was no leader in the agitation. "We have been making efforts to contact any political figure of Gujar Khan including Raja Pervez Ashraf, MNA but the cellphones of all the political figures were off and there was no body to help the police in pacifying the angry mob." In Taxila, protesters blocked G. T. Road near Wah Cantt for more than one hour leaving the traffic stranded on different roads. The angry protesters also chanted anti-government slogans. Talking to newsmen Chairman Taxila Traders Association Sheikh Ziaud Din said that the horrific loadshedding had made the lives of masses miserable. He called on the government to deal In Boun, a village of Chakwal, protesters blocked Chakwal-Sargodha Road for more than two hours. They burnt tyres and shouted slogans against the government and Wapda. Kallar Kahar SHO Saleem Akhtar rushed towards the town of Chakwal with heavy contingents of police but they failed to calm When the police resorted to firing in the air, the protesters got violent and they manhandled the SHO. At this the situation slipped towards the worst. DSP (Headquarters) Chaudhry Abdul Saleem also came and assured the protesters that the SHO would be suspended and Wapda would be requested to rationalise the loadshedding. This soothed the protesters and they dispersed. Later, District Police Officer Syed Ali Mohsin suspended the SHO. A protest rally was also held in Chakwal city in which traders and members of the civil society participated. The protesters were carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans against the government and Wapda. Meanwhile, the lawyers of Chakwal, Talagang and Choa Syedan Shah boycotted the courts and gave seven days ultimatum of to government to end loadshedding. Addressing a press conference the lawyers representatives said that unannounced loadshedding had almost brought their daily work to a standstill. "The cases of the poor people have been delayed as photo stat, fax machine and computers are lying In Attock, worst load shedding has affected the routine of the people as they are spending sleepless nights. The children are the worst sufferers of the loadshedding as it has affected their studies. People in the Attock district and adjoining areas undergo 15 to 18 hours of loadshedding while rural areas are facing up to 20 hours of power suspension. |
Martyred policemen’s families
| ISLAMABAD, April 25: Pakistan Baitul Mal (PBM) will give Rs5,000 per month to families of policemen who have died in the line of duty. Addressing the ceremony, Islamabad's IGP Wajid Ali Khan Durrani said 43 men of Islamabad police have lost their lives in the fight against terrorism. He said police across the country had fought valiantly against terrorists. Mr Durrani added that terrorists were on the run due to the efforts and sacrifices of policemen. —Staff Reporter |
Court moved against detention orders of acquitted men
| ISLAMABAD, April 25: Recently acquitted in two terrorism cases, five men have moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday against detention orders issued by federal government to keep them under arrest for 90 days. Wife of Dr Abdul Razzaq of the Railway Hospital, uncle of Faisal Mehmood and brothers of Mohammad Sarfraz, Zeeshan Jalil and Usama bin Waheed have challenged their detention orders, calling them unlawful. The five men along with four others were tried for a suicide attack that killed the army's surgeon general, Mushtaq Baig, in February 2008 and for possessing huge quantity of explosives. They were arrested on January 29, 2009. However, a trial court acquitted the nine men in the suicide attack case but convicted them for carrying explosives last year. This month the Rawalpindi bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) also set aside their conviction in the explosives case. The petitioners through Advocate Basharatullah Khan have cited secretary interior and chief commissioner Islamabad as respondents. They have maintained that earlier the deputy commission Islamabad issued detention orders for one month on March 9 this year. The orders were challenged and the IHC set aside the detention on April 6. On April 13 Islamabad's administration on the recommendation of the interior ministry imposed a 90-day detention for the five men – a day after they were acquitted by the high court. The petitioners have maintained that there was no reason in detaining them as they have been acquitted after long trial and investigation. No justification has been mentioned in the detention order, the petition said. They asked the court to order for |
Man kills mother in property dispute
| ISLAMABAD, April 25: In a horrific incident a man murdered his mother and injured his younger brother in the capital's outskirts over property dispute, police said. Hearing gunshots, his younger brother Shahzad Khan rushed out to find Khalida on the ground. Police said Ijaz also opened fire on his younger brother and escaped. The neighbours also rushed to the house and informed the police. The mother and son were shifted to the hospital where Khalida's body was handed over to the family after the autopsy for burial. Police said the family was living in separate portions of a house. The accused, who owns a spare parts shop, was living with his family in one portion and in the other lived his parents and younger brother. Quoting neighbours, police said Ijaz had frequent scuffles with his parents and young brother over property. He used to allege that his parents had given "better land" to his brother. |
Forgotten victims of Pakistan’s Taliban war
| RAWALPINDI, April 25: Shadi Khan was once a proud soldier fighting the Taliban, but today he quivers in pain, socks bagged around metal pins after a bomb blew off his legs in South Waziristan in August 2010. "It was as if I had been shot. It was huge pain. Both my legs were blown up and I was injured in the stomach. I was conscious for the whole thing, but after around three hours I passed out," he says. One soldier was killed and Khan was the most seriously wounded out of four who were evacuated to a field hospital. He's since had multiple operations and both his legs have been amputated above the knee. "Now I’ll go home and just connect to my God. I'll remember Him. I'm still young, but I can't walk at my home, where the land is rough. What else can I do? Perhaps I can teach students, if I can get a job in any school." Under US pressure to root out Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked networks in its northwest and districts on the Afghan border, more than 2,795 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in fighting since 2004. Another 8,671 have been wounded. Those official statistics overshadow the more than 2,403 foreign, mostly American, soldiers who have been killed in 10 years in Afghanistan. Pakistan's war has also ignited revenge bombings that have killed another 4,200 people since July 2007, destablising the nuclear-armed country and forcing the establishment to fight hard against homegrown Taliban. Khan is a patient at Pakistan's Armed Forces Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFIRM) in Rawalpindi, the country's only hospital of its kind that helps maimed and disabled soldiers rebuild their shattered lives. Their best efforts barely make the pain better for Khan. His family is in the southern province of Sindh, hundreds of miles away, and he has received only one visit — from his father — since he was injured. "I got some irritation," he said, shaking. His new legs were fitted only four days ago. An earlier pair didn't fit and had to be changed. Staff say they are desperately short-staffed and under-equipped. With only 100 beds and 147,000 troops committed in battle across the northwest, the work load has grown tremendously. Maj-Gen Akhtar Waheed, head of the hospital, said 750 patients are treated each day. He lists his main staff as five specialists, 13 general nurses, three psychologists, two speech therapists and 10 physiotherapists. While the military has agreed to help build a new block to raise the number of beds to more than 150, it is only in the planning stage. Maj Zahid Rustam has been staggered by how much things have changed in the six years he spent training in Australia, Britain and the United States. "Oh my God, the work load has tremendously increased. When I went, you know, we used to find some patients who had a fall or something like that, but now we have a lot of amputees. We have a lot of spinal cord injured patients. "We have a lot of work, a lot of work." Compared to hospitals in Pakistan, AFIRM has impressive facilities, is hygienic and seemingly well run. But compared to "We need people who are specialised," Rustam told this agency. "We have like only three occupational therapists in the whole hospital and where I’ve been working, one ward would have like 10-15 occupational therapists, so how are we going to do?” Lieutenant Colonel Khalil Ahmad says staff work to rehabilitate soldiers to their fullest possible capabilities, but the brutal reality for the most seriously wounded is early retirement and even life in a wheelchair. It can take six months to a year for an amputated soldier to be fitted with a prosthetic limb. Officers who can stay in uniform are priorities. Sayed Altaf Hussain is one of the lucky ones. He lost his foot in battle on November 26, 2009, but has been allowed to return to duty in North Waziristan, even if in his own words he does "nothing much". He is 34-year-old and has served in the army for 14 years. "I can’t quit right now. I’ve got four years left. I want to complete, so I can get my pension otherwise I’ll lose out financially.” Despite risking his life for his country, Hussain receives a salary of just 14,670 rupees ($174) a month to support a family of 14. "There’s been a lot of inflation in Pakistan and it’s very hard to manage. "I joined the Frontier Corps to defend the country number one and number two because there is poverty and we need to do something to earn money.” Some of the more seriously wounded are taught data entry or skills that officers say can turn them But when AFP asked to visit a wounded soldier who had been discharged, at home, to see how he was coping, the military refused permission. Major General Waheed concedes that the consequences of horrific injuries have a "massive impact". "It affects the whole family, even in the troops because so many soldiers from this unit, or this platoon, have been affected and "Once you rehabilitate them, train them in a specific job, give them something to do, I think the impact becomes much less, quite less," he said. For some parents, brought up on the doctrine that India was public enemy number one, the war against the Taliban is not one that Pakistan should be fighting in the first place. Colonel Abbas watches as his once talented commando son, Captain Qasim, is helped into a wheelchair after a physio session. Thanks to therapy at the hospital, he can now walk a little after a brain injury that left him on a ventilator for two months. "This army is not meant for this. There are no goals, there are no aims. We're fighting against Muslims. Muslims are killing other Muslims." — AFP |
Water sports gala at Khanpur lake from tomorrow
| HARIPUR, April 13: The annual three-day Khanpur water sports gala will begin at Khanpur lake from Friday, organisers of the event told this correspondent here on Wednesday. As witnessed in the past, picnickers from different cities, including Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Taxila, Wah Cantonment and nearby cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are likely to throng the festival and enjoy different water sports. The organisers said that during the three-day gala sportsmen from different departments and cities would exhibit their skills in motor boating, scooter boating, fishing contests, paragliding, hang-gliding, hot air ballooning, motor gliding, power gliding, air safari, etc. The festival als o offers cultural events such as Hazara dance, Chitrali dance, and Khattak dance and songs in local languages like Pashto, Hindko and Punjabi for the entertainment of picnickers. TWO INJURED: Two people received bullet injuries during a celebratory firing in a wedding party in the jurisdiction of Kotnajibullah police station on Tuesday night. According to police, some youngsters were indulging in rapid celebratory firing during a wedding ceremony in village Bhera when a few shots hit Tanveer and Salim of the same village. The injured were taken to district headquarters hospital, Haripur, from where they were referred to Ayub Medical Complex, Abbottabad, in critical condition. EDUCATIONIST DIES: Renowned educationist and member of provincial Public Safety and Police Complaint Commission, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Prof Taj Kareem passed away here on Wednesday. He was 62. According to family sources, Mr Kareem was a hear t patient and was in his office in Sir Syed Model School and College when he suffered cardiac arrest. He was taken to Yahya Medical Complex where the doctors pronounced him dead. Mr Kareem was president of Private Educational Institutions Management Association (PEIMA) and member Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Abbottabad. His funeral will be held at village Kalas at 10am on Thursday (today). |
Politicians asked to join hands
| PESHAWAR, April 13: ANP Germany chapter, president Hidayat Khan Bangash has called upon politicians to join hands and devise a strategy to curb militancy and secure life and property of people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said this while speaking at a 'Guest Hour' programme of Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday. He said that the role of political parties and Pakistani nation was very important to wipe out militancy from the society. —Bureau Report |
TMA workers want allowances included in salaries
| aKARAK, April 13: The Municipal Employees Union has demanded of the authorities to include ad hoc relief allowances in their basic pay and implement the recommendations of Pay and Pension Commission in true sense. The low paid employees were passing through difficult time as they could not manage their kitchens and schooling of their children, said Azam Khan Khattak, the district president of the union, while addressing a large number of workers here on Wednesday. He hoped that the movement of municipal employees would reach its logical end. The last public protest of the employees would be held at Islamabad on April 27, he said. Employees of all three tehsils of the district were present on the occasion. Mr Khattak said that skyrocketing prices and stoppage of their salaries time and again made their live miserable. He said that government announced ad hoc relief allowances for municipal employees but failed to give permanent relief to them. He said that ad hoc relief allowances should be merged in the basic pay of employees to end their financial woes. He added that their salaries should be increased according to price hike. He said that recommendations of Pay and Pension Commission should be implemented in true sense. He said that 30 per cent of the amount allocated for developmental projects of TMA was spent on salaries and pensions of employees and municipal services instead of uplift schemes. Mr Khattak said that provincial government objected to the practice and stopped paying 30 per cent share to Karak TMA that created problems in paying salaries to the employees. The union leader said if government did not release the amount to Karak TMA it would not be able to pay salaries and pensions to employees. "Besides that, the TMA will not be able to provide municipal services to Karak city," he added. He said that they would continue struggle for their rights. "The employees of Karak TMA will fully participate in the protest on April 27 in Islamabad," he added. —Correspondent |
Four Taliban ‘commanders’ arrested
| TIMERGARA, April 13: Police claimed on Wednesday to have arrested four Taliban commanders during a raid in Maskini Darra of Lower Dir district. He said that Nimatullah belonged to Rawalpindi, Saifur Rahman to Bibiaur area of Dir Upper, Umar Bacha to Gandiri Mayar and Abu Bakar to Maskini Darra. "These militants were trying to enter Afghanistan via Maskini," the SHO said, adding that they were shifted to undisclosed location for interrogation. |
NEWS IN BRIEF
| Teenager dies on road Eyewitnesses said that the pick-up (BUB-3943) overturned due to high speed and as a result, 14-year-old Arsalan died on the spot. His mother Rasheeda Begum and two brothers, Ishfaq and Ishaq, suffered serious injuries in the accident. They were taken to women and children hospital for treatment. The police arrested the driver and impounding the vehicle. — Correspondent Beekeepers to get bees The decision was taken in USAid meetings with the farmers and NGOs. A civil society activist Khaliur Rehman on Wednesday said that the distribution process of bees would start from Friday (April 15) in different union councils of Swat. He said that the project was aimed at supporting the flood affected people associated with beekeeping and it would also distribute beekeeping kits among 3,000 affected people in the business. The deserving beekeepers, he said, had been identified in the union councils including Tilagram, Janu Chamtalai, Shalpin, Sheen, Miandam, Beshgram, Sakhra, Darai, Gwalerai and Beha Matta. —Bureau Report Lawyers seek governor's help The members of the delegation also put forward certain proposals to strengthen the barrooms in various districts and sub-divisions of Malakand and requested the governor to help them in resolution of their grievances. Meanwhile a 22-member delegation comprising elders as well as social and political figures of Sherkot area of Kohat also called on the governor on Wednesday. The delegation led by a prominent social and political personality of the area, Mr. Sultan Hussain requested the governor to help them in resolution of their grievances especially with regard to provision of natural gas and improvement of Quality education Addressing the parents day ceremonies at PAF primary and Chakarkot girls high schools, he said that education was the real gift for society which could secure the future of the nation. He awarded prizes to the top position holders. He also inaugurated the construction of three classrooms in the PAF school which would cost Rs1.8 million and also reviewed and praised development work at the Chakarkot high school. He gave Rs30,000 to the principal of Chakarkot high school for distributing it among the deserving students. —Correspondent Teachers' allowances A general body meeting of the association held on the KGMC premises on Wednesday set up a committee to apprise the concerned authorities about their grievances. The committee would also chalk out a strategy to deal with the issue of allowance deduction. The meeting discussed the government's move to deduct basic science and teaching allowances from their salaries. Another committee was also formed to coordinate with teachers' associations of other public sector medical colleges in the province on the issues and problems of medical teachers. —Bureau Report Tribesmen fined The source said that the tribesmen had ignored the clear-cut orders of the political authorities regarding ban on poppy cultivation in the tribal region, forcing the administration to destroy crops on a vast area of land and launch a crackdown on growers in recent days. "As many as 36 tribesmen hailing from different clans were arrested and sent to jail under FCR during a special offensive against poppy cultivators," he maintained. The source said that the elders held a Jirga with assistant political agent Muhammad Fayyaz Khan Sherpao and assured him that the tribesmen would not cultivate poppy in future. —Correspondent FIA raid An official, Amjad Khan, said that the accused, Abdullah, was an Afghan national posing himself to be a resident of North Waziristan Agency and was involved in preparing fake Pakistani computerised national identity cards. During the raid, he said, the accused managed to flee however the entire record of illegal business had been taken into possession. He said that FIA had launched a drive against all the illegal moneychangers, as it was causing a huge loss to the national exchequer. —Bureau Report |
Chief of Mashwani tribe back in his hometown only to be buried
| TIMERGARA, April 13: The news of killing of Malik Mohammad Zarin in a suicide attack in Kunar province of Afghanistan on Wednesday spread like a jungle fire in the entire Lower Dir district, but many people were not ready to believe it. He was killed along with 10 other tribal elders when a suicide bomber entered a village council's meeting, hugged him and detonated his vest full of explosives, sources said. The incident occurred when the meeting was about to end, they added. Ten Haji Lal Zada, a cousin of the deceased, told Dawn that Malik Zarin, who remained head of the Mashwani tribe for the last 40 years, would be buried in Jandul on Thursday. "We are making necessary arrangements for his funeral prayer," he said. Malik Zarin, former governor of Kunar province, who also remained minister for forests in Afghanistan for some time, had dual citizenship of Afghanistan and Pakistan. A source close to him told this reporter that he had also American citizenship. "By birth he belonged to Bin-Shahi area, a border village with Afghanistan, where he owned lands and properties mainly in Maskini Darra, Sadbar Kallay, Mayar and Samar Bagh," Hidayatullah, one of his close aides, told Dawn by telephone. Malik Zarin, 78, had married four times. He contracted his last marriage with a young girl few months ago. He left behind three wives and three sons, besides scores of grandsons. No one in Jandul was ready to believe that Malik Zarin had been killed, said Fateh Mohammad, a local. Malik Zarin, a tribal elder and guerrilla commander, had great influence in this part of Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. He lost one of his sons Raees Khan when a watchman shot him dead at Asmar district of Kunar province in Afghanistan few years ago. His son Zahir Shah was also killed with him in the Wednesday's suicide blast at Asmar, Mr Hidayat said. His other son Ayub Khan was elected nazim of Maskini Darra union council in 2001. Malik Zarin led his own militia in Kunar province when the former USSR invaded Afghanistan, said a former jihadi commander Naseeb Rawan. He said that Malik Zarin and his militia had given tough time to Soviet forces in Kunar. The deceased, according to Mr Hidayat, had very close relations with former Afghan president Sibghatullah Mujjaddidi. He was a pro-government tribal elder and the present Afghan President Hamid Karzai also respected him, he said. He also got freed more than 150 Pakistani prisoners, who had gone to Afghanistan with Maulana Sufi Mohammad to fight against Nato forces, during the Karzai's previous regime. According to his close friends Malik Zarin was the first person in Jandol to persuade Sawar Khan, a brigadier of Pak Army, and deputy commissioner of Dir Taj Mohammad in 1976 to build a link road to Bin-Shahi to connect the area with Afghanistan. They said that he had survived another assassination attempt earlier. "Though he had some personal feuds too, but none of his enemies could dare to attack him," they said. Remembering achievements of Malik Zarin, a resident of Maskini Darra, Qari Asmat, said that because of his bravery, courage and wisdom the whole area of Jandul remained peaceful as none of the militants dared enter it. |
US commits $17m for equipping KP police
| PESHAWAR, April 13: The United States will provide vehicles, communications and other equipment worth $17 million to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police to boost its capacity to protect the local population. A statement issued here said, that these vehicles and equipment, funded by the US, would support the police – including the State Department Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Ambassador William R Constance C Arvis and the embassy's narcotics affairs section director Garace Reynard were also present on the occasion. It was stated that this year the US would continue to supply the KP police with approximately 440 additional vehicles, including trucks, armoured vehicles and personnel carriers, ambulances and motorcycles besides other equipment vital to the execution of its critical mission. "The signing of this agreement is another example of ongoing American support and is a symbol of the continuing close cooperation between our two countries," the statement said.—Bureau Report |
21 more booked in Swabi for growing poppy
| SWABI, April 13: Police booked 21 more people for cultivating poppy and destroyed the crop over 258 kanals in Naranji area of the district, said officials here on Wednesday. Police had registered FIRs against 63 farmers and landowners on Feb 19 during the first operation against poppy cultivation in the area. The second operation was conducted on Tuesday wherein 21 more poppy growers were booked and the crop on 258 kanals was destroyed, officials said. It was learnt that only three of the alleged poppy growers were arrested while the rest of them managed to escape. Officials were not clear as to how those people would be handled. "Reason for not taking prompt action against the farmers and landowners is that none of them resisted destruction of their poppy crop and the entire operation was conducted in peaceful atmosphere," an official said. Meanwhile, principals and headmasters of various public sector educational institutions said that they were faced with shortage of textbooks at beginning of new academic year. The provincial government has been providing free textbooks to students and usually heads of institutions place their demand in advance. However, teachers and heads of both boys and girls schools said here on Wednesday that they submitted demand in advance but despite that they could not get books due to unknown reasons. A headmaster said when they came to know about shortage of class 6th books they collected old books from students and distributed the same among new comers. However, if heads of schools did not collect old books from students after annual examinations they would certainly face shortage of books, he said. The students and parents face a lot of problems due to non-availability of course books, published by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board. "The free books printed by the textbook board are not available in the market," they said. "I visited the markets of the entire district but could not find class 6th textbooks for my son. The book sellers said that books would be provided by the government," said Jamil Khan of Maneri Bala. |
Human trafficker held, fake visas, passports recovered
| MANSEHRA, April 13: Following public complaints, the Federal Investigation Agency on Wednesday arrested a human trafficker and recovered over a dozen passports and fake visas from his possession. They claimed that during preliminary investigation it was found that Sajid Khan was involved in human trafficking for the last many years. The FIA lodged the FIR of the case and have started investigation to trace other members of the gang. FAKE DOMICILES: Elders of Torghar have demanded of the provincial government and district administration to check issuance of their area's domicile to people from other districts, especially students who used it for admission on quota seats for youth of the newly-created district in different educational institutions of the country. "Over 90 per cent population of Torghar is illiterate and non-residents are getting employments and admissions in medical colleges on illegally obtained domiciles of area. With the change of tribal status of the area this practice should come to an end so that local people can get their due share in college admissions and jobs," said elders of Torghar while speaking at a press conference in Oghi on Wednesday. The elders, including Jahanzab Khan, Haji Sultan and Gulnawaz Shah, said that after change of the tribal status of the area the ratio of non-local people getting Torghar's domicile had increased, as the government had started induction of local people in government departments of the new district. They also demanded official investigation into documents of people working in government departments on Torghar's domicile. FOREST CUTTING: The forest owners and people at a forum in Battal area on Wednesday vowed to check timber smuggling and illegal cutting of forests in Konsh and Siren valleys on self-help basis. The local people organised the forum, which was also attended by district forest officer of Siren forest division Ijaz Qadir, DSP Shinkiary Rasool Shah and elders of the area. The owners said that illegal cutting of Ko-Tanglai forest was on its peak in connivance with officials of the forest department. The elders of the area announced that they would now restrict the illegal cutting of forests on their own. The forest officer praised the spirit of people and forest owners and assured them of the forest department's cooperation in checking illegal tree cutting. |