Centre asked to defer ministry`s devolution

PESHAWAR, April 1: Provincial Minister for Labour Sher Azam Wazir has demanded of the federal government to defer transfer of the federal ministry of labour to the provinces for a period of three years to enable them to provide resources for the labour welfare projects on their own. Talking to media men here on Friday, he said the postponement of the transfer of the ministry to the provinces will help the families of labourers to have health, education and other amenities of life. In case of the immediate transfer of the ministry, he said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would not be able to ensure timely payment of salaries to workers. He said that small provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were lacking resources to bear the expenses on pensions and provision of health and education facilities to workers, construction of labour colonies, social security and other development schemes worth billions of rupees. He said the devolution of the ministry to the provinces should be deferred till small and backward provinces were able to carry the labour welfare oriented schemes on their own. Mr Wazir said that the unity and force exhibited by the workers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had proved that they would not let usurpation of their rights in any circumstances. — APP

Pesco gears up to curb power theft

PESHAWAR, April 1: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) have decided to initiate a joint operation to curb power theft in the province. It was decided at a high-level meeting, which was chaired by Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs Arbab Muhammad Arif here on Friday. Besides Pesco chief executive Muhammad Wali, divisional commissioners, deputy inspector general (police) and officers of the public utility attended the meeting. The meeting was convened to discuss the issues of loadshedding and to find out means to help the public utility ensure uninterrupted power supply to the consumers, said a press release. The meeting decided setting up of enforcement units at district level. These units will consist of the respective district coordination officer, district police officer and XEN Pesco. These units would be responsible for coordinating operations to remove kundas (illegal power connections).< /p> It was also decided that civil administration will support the Pesco officials in this campaign, as police force will be provided for removing kundas as well as recovery of arrears, the release said. The meeting also decided that FIRs would be registered on the spot against the accused and there would be no discrimination during the campaign. However, anybody willing to remove kunda voluntarily will be given a fresh electricity connection. Speaking on the occasion, Pesco Chief Executive Muhammad Wali explained that field staff of the public utility had been directed to avoid overbilling and in case of any complaints, prompt action should be taken. He anticipated that supply of electricity will be smoother and duration of the loadshedding will also be reduced as a result of this campaign. The meeting also decided to engage local elders and parliamentarians to make this campaign a success, the press release added.

Sports gala

GILGIT, March 31: A week-long sports gala concluded in Degree College for Women here on Thursday.The Governor Gilgit-Baltistan, Syed Pir Karam Ali Shah, was the chief guest on the concluding day who gave away trophies, certificates and prizes among the winners, organisers, best teachers and other participants. Addressing the ceremony the chief guest said that he was highly inspired by the performance exhibited by the students and said they were the mothers of future generation so they should learn how to educate them in a way that they will become healthy nation. Pir Karam Shah urged students to go by the traditional values and maintain dignity as there was huge responsibility on their shoulders. The governor asked students to focus on their studies and said side by side also participate in extra-curricular activities. —Correspondent

Body formed to solve Lakki village problems

LAKKI MARWAT, March 31: The residents of Dallokhel village have formed a committee to launch concerted efforts for provision of gas and resolution of other problems of the village. In this connection, a meeting was held in the village on Thursday, which was also attended by former nazims, elders, retired officials and notables. The villagers constituted Islahi Committee Dallokhel and besides other office-bearers they nominated former nazim Mohammad Johar and Jehanzeb Khan as its president and general secretary, respectively. The office-bearers said that they would launch a peaceful struggle for resolution of the problems of village people. They said that Dallokhel was located two kilometres from Lakki city, but its residents had been kept deprived of the gas facility. In this regard, the committee members said that they would meet their public representatives and put pressure on them to ensure solution to their problems. They also called upon the authorities of SNGPL to extend gas facility to the village. SCHOOL BAGS DISTRIBUTED: The Al-Khidmat Foundation, a wing of Jamaat-i-Islami, on Thursday distributed school bags and other items among students of Working Folks Grammar Higher Secondary School, Naurang, and Faiz Model High School, Lakki city. Students belonging to workers` families were also given notebooks, geometry boxes, gift packs and food packages. Speaking on the occasion, the foundation`s district president Abdul Ghaffar said that they would provide assistance to children of poor families so that they could continue their education. Working folks school principal Arif Kamal and FMHS principal Faiz Mohammad thanked the foundation for helping poor students to smoothly continue their education. ARRESTED: Tajori police arrested an outlaw on Thu rsday. An official said that following a tip-off, a police contingent raided the house of proclaimed absconder Sahibullah in Tajori town and took him into custody. The official said that police also recovered a Kalashnikov from the possession of Sahibullah, who was wanted to them in several cases. Another outlaw identified as Wali Rehman of Bettanni tribe, meanwhile, surrendered to police in Tajori police station.

Sports gala

GILGIT, March 31: A week-long sports gala concluded in Degree College for Women here on Thursday.The Governor Gilgit-Baltistan, Syed Pir Karam Ali Shah, was the chief guest on the concluding day who gave away trophies, certificates and prizes among the winners, organisers, best teachers and other participants. Addressing the ceremony the chief guest said that he was highly inspired by the performance exhibited by the students and said they were the mothers of future generation so they should learn how to educate them in a way that they will become healthy nation. Pir Karam Shah urged students to go by the traditional values and maintain dignity as there was huge responsibility on their shoulders. The governor asked students to focus on their studies and said side by side also participate in extra-curricular activities. —Correspondent

Body formed to solve Lakki village problems

LAKKI MARWAT, March 31: The residents of Dallokhel village have formed a committee to launch concerted efforts for provision of gas and resolution of other problems of the village. In this connection, a meeting was held in the village on Thursday, which was also attended by former nazims, elders, retired officials and notables. The villagers constituted Islahi Committee Dallokhel and besides other office-bearers they nominated former nazim Mohammad Johar and Jehanzeb Khan as its president and general secretary, respectively. The office-bearers said that they would launch a peaceful struggle for resolution of the problems of village people. They said that Dallokhel was located two kilometres from Lakki city, but its residents had been kept deprived of the gas facility. In this regard, the committee members said that they would meet their public representatives and put pressure on them to ensure solution to their problems. They also called upon the authorities of SNGPL to extend gas facility to the village. SCHOOL BAGS DISTRIBUTED: The Al-Khidmat Foundation, a wing of Jamaat-i-Islami, on Thursday distributed school bags and other items among students of Working Folks Grammar Higher Secondary School, Naurang, and Faiz Model High School, Lakki city. Students belonging to workers` families were also given notebooks, geometry boxes, gift packs and food packages. Speaking on the occasion, the foundation`s district president Abdul Ghaffar said that they would provide assistance to children of poor families so that they could continue their education. Working folks school principal Arif Kamal and FMHS principal Faiz Mohammad thanked the foundation for helping poor students to smoothly continue their education. ARRESTED: Tajori police arrested an outlaw on Thu rsday. An official said that following a tip-off, a police contingent raided the house of proclaimed absconder Sahibullah in Tajori town and took him into custody. The official said that police also recovered a Kalashnikov from the possession of Sahibullah, who was wanted to them in several cases. Another outlaw identified as Wali Rehman of Bettanni tribe, meanwhile, surrendered to police in Tajori police station.

China to rebuild school, hospital in Baffa

MANSEHRA, March 31: The Chinese government will reconstruct a government higher secondary school and a civil hospital in Baffa area of the district with a cost of Rs780 million. "We are thankful to China for its generous assistance to the people of Pakistan following the October 8, 2005 earthquake. I assure the Chinese engineers that there will be no hurdle in implementation of reconstruction projects in the area," Sahibzada Anis, the commissioner of Hazara, told a meeting in Baffa on Thursday. The coordinator of Provincial Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority, Dr Fazal Mehmood, briefed the meeting about the school and hospital, which were destroyed in the October 8, 2005 devastating earthquake and China pledged to reconstruct them. Mr Anis, who also visited the sites of both the projects, said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would provide foolproof security to Chinese staff and engineers. Later, talking to journalists he said that government wanted to immediately address all outstanding issues of the survivors of the October 8, 2005 earthquake. He said that work on New Balakot City was in progress. He said that the issue of the royalty of Diamer-Basha dam would be settled soon as provincial government had constituted a commission for it. The commissioner said that negotiations were in progress with the elders of all tribes for selection of an appropriate place as district headquarters of the newly created district of Torghar. FEE CONCESSION: The residents of Balakot have called upon the district administration to initiate action against schools for violating court`s verdict regarding fees concession to two or more siblings studying in the same educational institution. A delegation of the people of Balakot, headed by Khursheed Zaman, told journalists here on Wednesday that binding schools to provide concession to two or more siblings studying in the same education institution was a satisfactory step taken by the district administration of Mansehra. They alleged that schools in Balakot were violating order of apex courts regarding fee concession. Schools in Balakot were still receiving full fees from two or more brothers and sisters studying in the same institution but district administration and education department were not taking any action against them, they added. They said that they would be left no other option but to launch protest if education department and district administration failed to take action against school managements for defying court`s order about fee concession.

Educated youth to serve Fata well

PESHAWAR, March 31: The Fata Secretariat has been giving importance to education in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) so that the tribal youth could support their families and contribute to development of the tribal areas. Additional chief secretary of Fata Fazal Karim said this on Thursday at a ceremony, arranged to give away degrees to the Fata students who completed their studies with the scholarship support from the Fata Development Programme — Livelihood Development (FDP-LD). Thirty students belonging to various agencies of the Fata and Frontier Regions were awarded certificates and degrees. Mr Karim said that the literacy rate in Fata was very low compared to other parts of the country and the secretariat was trying to provide educational facilities to the youth. He said that Fata youth, through education, could bring positive changes by utilising their skills and expertise which they had learnt in the country`s reputable institutions. He said that under the scholarship scheme some 1,363 Fata youth had been offered support to complete their studies in various academic disciplines. The secretary said that education would help students to find jobs, support their families and contribute to development of Fata. A student Khan Asghar said that the scholarship support helped him to complete a master`s in Mass Communication studies from Gomal University. He said that working as a journalist he would try to correct the negative perceptions about the tribal people, who were true lovers of Pakistan and not extremists. "Education is the primary tool that can be used to bring change in people`s lives," Asghar said. The organisers said that of the 1,363 FDP-LD scholarships, 318 had been awarded to master`s degree students, 60 to bachelor`s students, 458 to intermediate students (HSSC), 436 to vocational and technical education students (DAE), and 91 to secondary school students in grades 7 to 10 (SSC).

NEWS IN BRIEF

Reconciliation committees KARAK, March 31: The reconciliation committees at the police station level would be made more affective to resolve the public disputes instead of going to courts, said the DPO while addressing members of the reconciliation committees here on Thursday. The DPO said since the committees started functioning after their formation in 2009 pressure on courts had reduced considerably. He added reconciliation committees were the new shape of jirga system which was the part of Pakhtun culture. The DPO said so far hundreds of disputes of serious nature had been settled by the committees comprising respectable citizens. He assured the committees that police would extend full support to them in resolving the disputes. —Correspondent Annual day PESHAWAR, March 31: Annual day of the Law College, University of Peshawar, was held on Thursday in which more than forty students who got distinction in curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities were given away shields and certificates by the chief guest Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Azmat Hayat Khan. A press release issued here said principal Law College, Prof Dr Adnan Sarwar Khan, while presenting the annual performance of the college, said the pass percentage this year was 80 per cent which was highest in twenty years. Dr Adnan said apart from these achievements, the students had won several distinctions in extra-curricular activities as well. Recently, a student had won a competition in France. The chief guest said Law College was once one of the best colleges of Pakistan and efforts were needed to make it the best again. —Bureau Report Development schemes KOHAT, March 31: The district development committee (DDC) on Thursday approved Rs13.7 million from the Khushal Pakistan Fund for 32 development projects. DCO Shahidullah Khan who is also the chairman of the DDC asked the heads of line departments and parliamentarians to identity the land for the development projects before preparation of PC-1. He gave approval of 21 projects costing Rs6 million and 11 general schemes at a cost of Rs7.25 million to be carried out in the three provincial assembly constituencies. Meanwhile, the police claimed to have found the body of a proclaimed offender 19 days after he had jumped into the River Indus during exchange of fire. Officials said Arif Khan had jumped into the river to avoid arrest in police encounter near Shadipur area. People of Pasta Sanda informed the police of the body. —Correspondent Juvenile prisoners BUNER, March 31: The Child Rights Committee at its monthly meeting on Thursday expressed concern over lack of facilities for under age detainees at sub-jail Daggar where there was no separate section for them. The participants of the meeting, chaired by district coordinator Inamur Rehman advocate and attended by active members, said despite issuance of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, condition of the underage prisoners was still pathetic. The meeting said juvenile section was a must under the ordinance but the sub-jail Daggar lacked such a facility. They said the 17 underage detainees at the jail had time and again raised the issue but to no effect. Therefore, the meeting decided in principal to raise the issue at high level. —Correspondent Professors appointed PESHAWAR, March 31: Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has approved ad-hoc based appointment of eight associate professors for Bannu Medical College and Khalifa Gul Nawaz Teaching Hospital (KGNTH) for one year or till availability of Public Service Commission selected faculty, upon recommendation of departmental selection committee, says a handout. The step will remove hurdles in recognition of BMC and KGNTH to Pakistan Medical Dental Council. A requisition has also been sent to PSC regarding filling of vacant seats in these institutes while the PSC has issued an NOC in light of needs of the college and hospital. —Bureau Report Attack condemned PESHAWAR, March 31: Politicians condemned attack on convoy of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F in Charsadda on Thursday while Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti directed heightened security for the JUI-F leaders. In separate statements, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan, Chief Minister Hoti, Senator Afrasiab Khattak and former JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad expressed deep concern over the killing of innocent people including police officials, and showed solidarity with the JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Suicide bomber attacked a convoy carrying JUI chief in Charsadda, killing 12 people and wounding 32 others. Maulana Fazlur Rehman survived the attack. JUI will hold protest rallies across the province on Friday (today) against the attacks. Asfandyar Wali and Afrasiab Khattak said some elements were trying to vitiate political atmosphere in the province. Mr Hoti directed administrations of Charsadda DHQ hospital and Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar for provision of better treatment facilities to the injured. —Bureau Report JUI-F meeting MARDAN, March 31: The JUI-F held a public meeting at railway station ground here on Thursday in the wake of two suicide attacks on its leadership including Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Swabi and Charsadda districts. The JUI-F leaders strongly condemned the suicide attacks on the JUI leadership and termed it a foreign conspiracy. They said the party leadership was on the hit list of the foreign spy agencies due to its firm stance against the influence of America and western countries in Pakistan's internal affairs.They made it clear that such kinds of attacks could not hold them back from their mission. They criticised the ANP leadership for pursing 'anti-Pakhtun policies' and deteriorating law and order situation in the province. —Correspondent

Political ownership of war on terror stressed

ISLAMABAD, March 31: Pakistan cannot overcome terrorism completely unless the parliament and civil society take ownership of the problem, speakers said at a debate session on Thursday. The session, organised by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), was attended by political analysts, former military officers, journalists and intellectuals, and a delegation from International Center for Counter Terrorism (ICCT), The Hague. The participants believed that dealing with militancy through military means only will bring about temporary respite. They said the political leadership has not yet come up with a clear counter-terrorism strategy. Malik Amad Khan, former minister of state for foreign affairs, however, said the terrorists have been dented by effective military strategy. He was confident that the situation will improve in the days to come. The minister told the ICCT delegation that the Afghan conflict and the outstanding issues like Kashmir and Palestine and the decisions in France and Belgium to ban face veil for Muslim women give birth to extremist feelings in Muslim countries. Lt General (retired) Masood Aslam, former corps commander Peshawar, said a significant portion of the population believes that Pakistan`s cooperation with the United States on the war on terror has created many militancy-related problems in the country. "Political deprivation, unemployment and poverty have to be addressed to control militancy," the general stressed.

Hindus seek marriage law

ISLAMABAD, March 31: The scheduled caste Hindu community on Wednesday called upon the government to legislate a marriage registration law for them as without which they remained deprived of many basic rights. Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club, president of the Scheduled Caste Rights Movement Pakistan (SRMP) Guru Sukh Dev and Ramaish Jae Pal threatened to stage a sit-in in front of parliament if the government failed to protect their basic rights particularly that of marriage registration within two months. They also announced their decision to launch a nationwide signature campaign for Hindu marriage registration. Flanked by representatives of ActionAid and Hindu minority women hailing from different parts of the country, the SRMP leaders regretted the government`s failure to end injustice against poor women of Hindu community. They alleged that due to the absence of a marriage registration law, they were being discriminated against in getting the national identity card. Sumetra Devi from Khairpur said she came to Islamabad on Wednesday along with her husband Babu Lal and wanted to get a room in different hotels but they refused as the couple had no marriage certificate. "The other members of SCRM told the guest house administration that both were husband and wife and finally we got a room in Jinnah Super Market," she said. Ramaish Jae Pal also narrated the story of Sainti Mai from Sukkhar who applied for an ID card but Nadra sought proof of their marriage. Upon this, she contacted a local lawyer who managed an affidavit stating that her marriage was held with that person. "One cannot produce a marriage registration certificate in case of divorce, we are not entitled to get national identity card. We are denied the right to vote as well. Despite having Supreme Court`s suo motu ruling of November 23, 2009, in our favour, no measures have been taken to introduce legal provisions for our right," said Sangeeta Devi. It may be mentioned that National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) rejected one Parmasry Mai`s request for a marriage certificate on the ground that there was no mechanism or legislation to issue such a certificate to a Hindu. After the matter was reported in the perss, the chief justice of Pakistan took suo motu action on November 23, 2009, and directed the government to legislate for Hindu marriage registration. The apex court also ordered Nadra to issue a CNIC to the Hindu woman within 15 days. Shami Mai hailing from Rahim Yar Khan said: "In case of separation or domestic violence, a Hindu woman cannot register a complaint with the police or any other government department as they demand documents to prove their marriage."She said Hindu families were also facing a lot of problems while traveling from one place to another within the country. Aita Vadhani said Hindu women were facing much more problems compared to their counterparts in Muslim and Christian communities. Shanktala Devi said absence of marriage registration law had also deprived Hindu women of their right to property.

Overseeing measures for housing societies proposed

ISLAMABAD, March 31: A parliamentary body has proposed tough overseeing measures for the future and existing private housing societies in the capital. The sub-committee of the National Assembly`s House and Library Committee, which is headed by the deputy speaker, has made several recommendations in its 62-page report to bring transparency in the workings of the housing societies. According to a draft proposal available with Dawn , any negligence of the Capital Development Authority`s legal framework while dealing with the housing societies will land its officials in trouble. "With this proposed draft, the corruption would be easily detected at any stage by the National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency in case the CDA fails in performing its basic developmental responsibility in a transparent manner," the report said. The sub-committee has proposed to clip the powers of administrators, who run the show at the private housing societies. The committee wants to keep administrators away from purchasing and selling land and allotting plots. According to the proposals, the administrators` role should be limited to "holding elections" only. According to an official of the National Assembly, the sub-committee had also proposed to push the housing societies` general councils out of the monetary business, barring them from purchasing any land. But this proposal is linked to approval from the annual general meeting of a private housing society. The official said the report proposed to give CDA a "key role" in overseeing the private housing societies. "It is to block both â€" violations by housing societies and the authority ignoring them." The committee wants the authority to initiate criminal proceedings if its directions are violated at any stage of developing a private housing society. Countersigned by CDA, it proposes to authenticate all allotment letters issued by a housing society to ensure difference between residential, commercial and amenity plots. "All plans and building regulations are supposed to conform with the laws of CDA ordinance and no allotment letter or provisional transfer of even plots should bear any credence unless stamped and verified by planning directorate to block future land frauds," the report said. The rules, after getting approval from the main committee, will be sent to the National Assembly for discussion and approval.

NA finance committee meets today

ISLAMABAD, March 31: The National Assembly Finance Committee will meet here today (Friday) to discuss its budget proposals for the next financial year and to grant ex-post facto approval to a number of decisions which Speaker Fehmida Mirza has been taking since the committee met last time in mid 2010, Dawn has learnt. Being the highest decision-making body for the National Assembly secretariat, all the decisions related to its administration and financial affairs need to be approved by the finance committee, which is chaired by speaker National Assembly. Director General NA Public Relations Anjum Mughal while talking to Dawn confirmed that the finance committee meeting had been convened on Friday but expressed his ignorance about its agenda items. However, sources in the National Assembly secretariat said that apart from discussing budgetary proposals for the next financial year, a number of officials of the house who had been granted extensions by Dr Mirza would be given ex-post facto approval. Secretary Karamat Hussain Niazi who has been given an unprecedented fifth extension after his retirement in 2006 by Speaker Dr Mirza, is also likely to get approval of the finance committee. Talking to Dawn , Engineer Khurram Dastagir of the PML-N who is also member of the finance committee said, "I don`t expect anything new in this finance committee meeting where ex-post facto approval would be given to various decisions taken by the speaker National Assembly." However, he said that he would persist with his earlier stance of opposing this kind of decision making. "Instead of carrying on with retired employees on extensions, the house needs young blood to improve its performance, but sadly they are getting regular extensions by the speaker," Mr Dastagir added. He said that strict oversight of the National Assembly`s administrative and financial affairs should be the major concern of the finance committee which he said unfortunately was not being done properly. However, he said, he would try his level best to pursue other members of the committee to strictly review cases of officials who were on extensions. Moreover, he said, after the Supreme Court ruling on retired employees, in which the apex court had asked the government to strictly observe rules before awarding any extension in their service, his stance got further strengthened. Director General, NA Public Relations Anjum Mughal, Secretary to the Speaker Talib Javed Hussain, Public Accounts Committee`s Joint Secretary Najma Siddiqui, Joint Secretary of Legislation Latif Qureshi, Deputy Secretary Tariq Bhatti and Deputy Secretary Sultan Ahmed are all working on contract basis in the National Assembly. As per section 14 of the Civil Servant Act 1973, "a retired civil servant shall not be re-employed under the federal government, unless such re-employment is necessary in the public interest and is made with the prior approval of the authority next to the appointing authority". Once superannuated and re-employed on a certain contract, efficiency and discipline rules of the government do not apply to them as their annual confidential reports are not written. Therefore, naturally their commitment and dedication to the job cannot be judged or evaluated like those of regular employees of a certain establishment. Therefore, under the rules, extensions could only be given under extraordinary circumstances and for that a case should be moved six months in advance, but at the Parliament House, most of the extensions are endorsed with ex post facto.

Accord signed to install refuse-derived fuel plant

RAWALPINDI, March 31: In what appears to be an encouraging development in Punjab keeping in view the ailing financial situation and increasing terror incidents, foreign investors here on Thursday signed an agreement with the authorities to install a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plant in Rawalpindi worth 10 million euros (around Rs1.2 billion). The provincial government allowed a private company – Waste Management Pakistan – to install the plant in the city for lifting and converting garbage into fuel. Representatives of the Punjab government through its urban unit, Public Health Engineering, were in the city to attend the meeting, as the idea to install the RDF plant was brought home by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif from Mashhad city in Iran which is famous for its cleanliness due to such plants. Director General Urban Unit Dr Nasir told Dawn that the contract to lift and recycle garbage had been given to the private company which was financed by German and Saudi investors. "The entire garbage materials generated in the city will be lifted and converted into fuel, gas and fertilizer through the RDF plant that will be installed at Losar near Adiala jail," he said. Under the agreement, the investors will pay Rs50 per ton to the district administration for the garbage. The city generates around 800 tons of garbage daily. The installation of the RDF plant in the city faced delay due to some disagreements between the two parties until the foreign investors threatened to quit the project in case they were not facilitated. Official sources told this reporter that the chief minister had taken notice of the issue and instructed the authorities to get the agreement signed with the firm in order to encourage investment in the province. "There were some rifts with the private company over the price and transportation of the waste products; however, the directives from the chief minister secretariat to accommodate the company resulted in the agreement," said an official who attended the meeting. According to chief executive Waste Management Pakistan Asif Farooqui, the plant was worth Rs90 million while the construction of a building and other necessary infrastructure will cost Rs30 million. "We will purchase lifters and hire labourers for operating the plant. After the plant is installed, there will be no garbage and other non-combustible items in the streets and commercial centres. Garbage is now a valuable commodity in the city," Mr Farooqui said. Consultant M. Osman Hanif told Dawn that the plant would be first of its kind in the country as the one installed in Peshawar was wound up before its operation.

Book out to inspire faith in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, March 31: A book designed to inspire confidence in the future of Pakistan was launched here on Thursday – a refreshing idea in the aftermath of the sour defeat at Mohali overnight. In fact the launch was set for Wednesday but had to be postponed because the India-Pakistan World Cup clash held all the attention that day. That the national cricket team lost to arch rival cast no shadow on the event, hosted by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI). Pakistan: Beyond the Crisis State Dr Maleeha Lodhi, who edited and is among the 17 professionals who contributed to the book , told fellow ex-diplomats and others present at the launch that the nation showed vitality and maturity before and after the `mother of all matches`. "I watched the match in F-9 Park," she said. "It was wonderful. Thousands of people of different backgrounds were there – men, women, boisterous youth, girls in hijab, girls in jeans – but all united by one idea." "Zahid Hussain (who has written about the mortal danger that the country faces from religious extremism in the book) was with me. I asked him could his apprehensions come true and he agreed `no, not`," she said. Dr Maleeha said there was "much too much empty talk about what was wrong with Pakistan, and its society, but nothing about what could be put right". So she approached 16 persons recognised for their scholarship to pen their views on what ails Pakistan and how it could be nursed to health, for a book which the Oxford University Press agreed to publish. "They (the contributors) don`t agree on all issues but faith in Pakistan binds them all," she said. "Pakistan may need foreign assistance to address its problems but Pakistan has to provide the solutions for its problems." Her own chapter in the book deals with the country`s fractious electoral politics. "It is really the governance issue," she said, with her eyes on the next general elections and hopes pinned on the middle class. "Representative politics is out of sync with the way our society is changing. Today`s tradition-based patronage and spoils system has to give way to needs-based system," she said, adding that the political parties can adopt and pursue a national agenda set out in the book at the 2013 elections. She said she once asked Sahibzada Yaqub Khan how could a society change in the absence of a true leader and the wise man replied: "Sometimes an idea substitute for the missing leader." ISSI chairman Dr Tanvir Ahmad Khan presented an incising review of the book but highly recommended it for dispersing the negative air that has long surrounded the national discourse. He took issue with Ayesha Jalal`s views in the book. He found her "least optimistic" among the contributors about the resilience of Pakistan but one who had some hope for the country compared to American academician Stephen P. Cohen who sees a turn around "out of reach" of Pakistan and its crises creating "parallel Pakistans". Dr Tanvir also disagreed mildly with the contributors who think "the only game in town is the army", look "unrepentant believer in IMF" prescriptions which, in the words of Dr Maleeha produced "borrowed growth with its inevitable fragility", and the term "strategic clout" that former ace diplomat Munir Akram used while discussing the nuclear issue. At the end he pointedly reminded all that "hope is not policy" – only to return a little later to add that "neither is despair". His praise for "the long overdue, easy-read book of the hour that every home should have" really boosted the sale to the delight of publisher Ameena Saiyid OBE who announced plans for many more books.

Children`s Hospital: 41 children die during doctors` `total strike`

LAHORE, March 31: At least 41 children died while hundreds of others were either discharged forcibly or had to be rushed to some other health facility by the parents in panic during the two days of closure of emergency, ICU-CCU and other departments of Children's Hospital by the protesting doctors, Dawn learnt on Thursday. Most of the patients shifted their ailing children to the private health facilities after repeated attacks of the agitating doctors at the indoor and emergency department of Children's Hospital. The agitating doctors, however, called off their strike at 4pm on Thursday after a 'successful' dialogue with the Punjab government. Such an alarming number of deaths at the Children's Hospital, the only healthcare institution offering specialised care of minors in Punjab, took place on March 29 and 30 when the striking doctors had withdrawn all kinds of health services from all 42 departments of the institution, including emergency, ICU-CCU and operation theatres. The number of deaths is said to be double the figure at the hospital in normal days when the emergency, ICU-CCU departments and operation theatres are fully functional with full attendance of the doctors and other staff. A source said that according to the statistics compiled by the administration branch of Children's Hospital, out of the total 41 children who died in two days of the closure of all the critical care departments, 19 babies died on March 29 and 22 children on March 30. Of these, the source said 13 deaths — six on March 29 and seven on March 30 — occurred alone at the hospital's emergency department. The data shows 11 children had died at the hospital on March 28, before the withdrawal of critical care by the protesting doctors. The source said on an average, 10 to 12 children died at the hospital daily when all its departments were functional. The death toll, however, failed to move the Punjab government led by Shahbaz Sharif, who has otherwise built his image as a 'strict administrator', as so far no departmental action has been taken against the leadership of the Young Doctors Association, the body which had given the strike call. "You are devil not a doctor. How many more innocent babies will you kill?" the mother of a dead baby was witnessed wailing in the face of striking doctors outside the Children's Hospital emergency department, who were dragging parents of sick children out of the facility on Thursday morning. Scores of other visitors, mostly parents of ailing children, who were also denied access to the emergency department, came forward in support of the grieved mother and condemned the doctors' attitude. They later blocked Ferozepur Road for traffic and continued the agitation for an hour. Police later dispersed the protesters, assuring them that "justice will be done". An office-bearer of YDA's Punjab chapter, Dr Abubkr Gondal, said the decision to withdraw emergency services and deny critical care to patients was taken as a last resort. "We have no option but to take this step as our colleagues were arrested and tortured by the police during a peaceful demonstration on March 29 on The Mall. We were not willing to put the lives of the patients at grave risk, but it was the only way left to put pressure on the government for a special pay package for the doctors," Dr Gondal said. To a question about the deaths, particularly of 41 children at Children's Hospital, in two days of the closure of emergency and ICU-CCU, he said though the association felt sorry for the families of the deceased children, the health bureaucracy and the Punjab government were responsible for these deaths. Hospital's Medical Director Dr Ahsan Waheed Rathore dispelled the impression that the death ratio increased, particularly in two days of complete strike by the doctors. He said 12-16 patients died daily at the institution in normal days. He said 'only' eight children died during the last 24 hours at the hospital, adding the senior doctors had been providing treatment to the children in the absence of junior medics at the emergency and ICU-CCU.

Winter departs but LPG price goes up, not down

PESHAWAR, March 31: Distributors of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the provincial metropolis increased the price of the fuel by Rs5 per kilogram on Thursday. This raise hit the consumers when they were expecting the price of LPG fall as it did in the past with the weather warming up in March. They said the retailers were selling LPG at Rs110 per kilogram the day before but found the price increased to Rs115 per kilogram overnight in Peshawar. LPG Distributors Association provincial president Bakht Munir on the other hand defended the increase in price, citing the increase in the international market as the justification. The LPG sold here had no relation with the local production, he said. "We have been facing serious financial problems owing to ever increasing rates of natural gas. The fresh hike will further worsen the situation," he said and added that dealers were not ready to revise the price but it was their compulsion. Mr Munir said that about one-third of the dealers had quit the trade as their main consumers were drivers of auto-rickshaws but the owners replaced the two-stroke vehicle with four-stroke to save money. Officially, he said, distributors were not allowed to charge more than Rs105 per kilogram for the fuel but it was sold at higher rates. He said that till Thursday its official rate was Rs105 but now it would be revised to Rs110. However, small dealers would sell it at Rs115 in different rural localities. Meanwhile, All Pakistan LPG Distributors chairman Abdul Hadi said that Saudi Aramko raised the price of the commodity by 37 dollars per metric ton a couple of days ago that also led to an increase of Rs3750 per metric ton in its price in Karachi. "Now the dealers will get one metric ton LPG at Rs89,000," he said. Another wholesale dealer said that with the recent increase the price of LPG would be raised by Rs3.75 per kilogram in the wholesale market while the small dealers would charge people more after including transportation charges in the rate. The producers and owners of companies, he said, used to arrange transportation of commodity in the past but now they had stopped doing so and asked the small scale dealers to purchase it in the open market otherwise they would have to afford the charges. He said that the rates had been increased owing to unrest and clashes in different countries of Middle East. He feared that the price would increase further. He said that the price of oil might also go up if crises in oil producing countries were not resolved.

YDA `resumes` strike after calling it off

LAHORE, March 31: In a late night development, the Punjab chapter of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) has announced it will continue its strike as the Punjab government had taken a U-turn on its commitment made at a meeting with an association delegation. In a short message to this reporter received on late Thursday night, a Punjab YDA office-bearer Dr Abubakar Gondal said the health department authorities had hatched a 'conspiracy' against the doctors striving for their rights. Sources said the latest rift between the YDA and the Punjab government developed at a late-night meeting between the two sides, after which the association conveyed to the young doctors at the public hospitals to continue their strike. Sources at various public sector hospitals confirmed that the young doctors who had joined their duties in the day, after the YDA had called off the strike, again left their assignments to continue the protest. Earlier in the day, the association President Dr Hamid Butt had called off the strike. Talking to the media at the Services Hospital, Dr Butt had said the doctors had resumed their duties at the public sector hospitals of the province as the Punjab government had accepted the doctors' demand for a special pay package. In a meeting with a five-member delegation of YDA leaders, he had said, Senior Adviser to Chief Minister Zulfiqar Khosa assured them that the government would immediately announce a 'reasonable and handsome' raise for the doctors. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif would announce the salary raise within a couple of days, Dr Butt had said quoting Mr Khosa. Dr Butt had said Mr Khosa promised that a house officer (HO) would be given a monthly raise of Rs12,000, while a medical officer, postgraduate trainee, registrar, senior registrar, assistant/associate professor and professor would be given a raise of Rs25,000 to 30,000 at least in the annual budget. He further said Mr Khosa also assured the delegation that the rest of the raise demanded by the YDA office-bearers would be announced in the next budget. Now there was no justification to continue the strike at the government hospitals, he had said, adding all the striking doctors had been conveyed the decision taken by the government and the YDA leadership.

Kalash society losing cultural traits to outside influence

CHITRAL, March 31: Once as peaceful as the serenity of valleys, the Kalash people and culture has been subjected to a rapid change by the outside influence during the last two decades, which is denting their cultural values of tolerance and non-violence. "In olden days people used to be non-violent and peaceful, abstaining from quarrels and altercations and even would resign from their rights for peace," said a Kalash elder Gurum Shah while talking to Dawn here. He said that the people living in the three segregated valleys of Bamburate, Birir and Rumbur in the south of Chitral were known for their docile and submissive nature and crime was unheard of in the valley. "The people were as calm as the valleys and even crying loud was a taboo in their culture," he said and added that their religious dogmas propagated peace. Shah Murad Baig, a researcher of Kalash culture, said that with the opening of the valleys to the outer world, the cultural traits and norms of Kalash society had been subjected to a rapid change. He said that during the last two decades a defining change was noted in the attitude of Kalash people towards other people. Mr Baig observed that the young generation was no more committed to its culture and they were found deviating from both material and non-material cultural traits including dress, ways of living and even naming their newborn children. He said that as long as the Kalash culture was in its pure form, the people were peaceful, but they got inclined to violence when their culture went through changes. He recalled that a few years ago, the tourists would freely visit the Kalash houses and interact with local people, but now it had been prohibited and the tourists were required to hire the services of a Kalash guide to go inside the houses. The researcher said that in the olden days, the Kalash people were confined to their valleys and the influx of tourists was not in the present magnitude, which contributed to the peaceful nature of Kalash. Mr Baig said that there were many incidents when the Kalash youngsters had beaten up the tourists who dared to pester their womenfolk. He said that some tourists came with the perception that the Kalash people would not resist them and they tended to transgress the limits. The researcher said that in a major change the Kalash people had started reporting their family disputes to local police and now they were also found facing each other in the court in criminal cases.

PCS officers end strike

LAHORE, March 31: The opposition is requisitioning a special session of the Punjab Assembly to discuss procurement of wheat and law and order in the province. "We will submit a requisition in the assembly on Friday (today) for a special session as the speaker `illegally` prorogued the session in the absence of the opposition," Opposition Leader Raja Riaz said at a press conference on Thursday. He said it was unfortunate that the chair revised the agenda and took advantage of the absence of the opposition which had boycotted the proceedings in protest at the insult of opposition women members by some treasury members. "It is against the parliamentary traditions," he said, adding next time the opposition would go for a "token boycott" so that the government could not bulldoze the agenda. He said by proroguing the session the PML-N government could not save its skin from the blunders it had committed in wheat procurement matters. "The Punjab government instead of returning loans to banks it had taken for procurement of wheat is spending those on other heads. This is a glaring example of mismanagement," he said. Mr Riaz said the provincial government had yet to announce any policy regarding wheat procurement. Criticizing Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for his "bad governance", Mr Riaz said the leader of the house did not bother to come to the house even after his visit to London. "Shahbaz preferred to hold a press conference to clear his position on Raymond Davis case but did not tell the house what forced him to cooperate with the US on the matter," he said. He said if the chief minister was not consulted on the release of Davis, he should have resigned. The opposition leader suggested Shahbaz to `sack` Rana Sanaullah as his government was earning "bad name" by torturing PCS officers, doctors and students.

KP rebuilding efforts hailed

PESHAWAR, March 31: Members of the judicial commission constituted by the Supreme Court on floods visited Peshawar on Thursday to get firsthand information about the government response towards 2010 flood. The commission, set up under constitutional petition No.62/2010 titled Marvi Memon vs Federation of Pakistan held a meeting with the officers of different line agencies at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) here on Thursday, said a press release. The commission comprised of former chief secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Azam Khan, former federal secretaries Khwaja Zaheer Ahmed and A.W. Kazi and former chief secretary of Balochistan Fateh Khan Khajak. The flood commission, comprising members representing all the provinces, after conducting field visits of the flood-affected areas, had already submitted an interim report to the Supreme Court on March 25, 2011. Officers from PDMA, irrigation department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and army gave presentations to the commission about the achieved targets along with the ongoing work in the rehabilitation, restoration and construction, carried out on the onset of floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The PDMA as well as the provincial rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts were applauded by the commission members. The commission had been tasked with assessing the damages as well as finding the reasons due to which the dykes were breached during the floods and also prepare suggestions about compensation to the people who suffered due to the diversion of floodwaters. The commission decided to initiate field visits of flood affected areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to get a sense about the work so far accomplished in the reconstruction and rehabilitation.

Privilege motions adopted against ‘rowdy’ MPAs

LAHORE, March 31: The opposition in the Punjab Assembly on Thursday staged a mock session outside the assembly building while the treasury adopted two privilege motions against "rowdy" opposition MPAs. The PPP-led opposition which had boycotted the house proceedings on Wednesday was not asked by the PML-N-led treasury to return to the house, a violation of parliamentary traditions. In protest, PPP and PML-Q MPAs held mock proceedings at the stairs of the assembly building where former finance minister Tanveer Ashraf Kaira acted as speaker and Hasan Murtaza the law minister. Nosher Langrial, Samina Khawar, Faiza Malik, Col Naveed (retired), Shaukat Basra and Pervaiz Rafiq on points of order demanded production of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in the house, but the "chair" showed his helplessness in this regard. "The chief minister has vanished somewhere and no one knows about his whereabouts. I'll issue a Rs500,000 ad in papers to find him," Ms Malik said on a point of order. Naveed said all segments of society, including doctors, students and government officers, had taken to the streets as the provincial government seemed to be non-existent. Langrial said Punjab was taking Rs89 billion loans as the provincial kitty was being consumed by "political orphans". Seemal Kamran said the government was promoting lotacracy or horse trading to complete its constitutional term. With her comments, the Kaira speaker prorogued the session. Inside the assembly, the treasury set a unique record as in the last sitting of the parliamentary year it adopted two privilege motions against their colleagues on the opposition benches. The motions were moved by Sheikh Alauddin and Ghazala Rana against Samina Khawar Hayat of the PML-Q and Azma Zahid Bokhari of the PPP. The house under the chair of Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhud was taking up question regarding the Agriculture Department when PPP's Shaukat Basra came and alleged that in violation of the parliamentary traditions the opposition, which had been boycotting the proceedings since Wednesday, was not being persuaded to rejoin the session. He claimed that the committee formed by Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal did not meet any opposition member. Rana Mashhud took a serious notice of the allegation and asked committee members Chaudhry Ghafoor, Ali Ahmad Olakh, Ghazala Saad Rafique and Asad Ashraf for explanation. These members said they had not only held meetings with the opposition MPAs but also assured them of full cooperation. Basra said the opposition had not been approached on Thursday. The chair asked the committee members to revisit the opposition. In the ensuing development, neither the opposition returned nor the committee members updated the house about their negotiations with the protesting members as the chair prorogued the house. Earlier, the house adopted various resolutions which included the one moved by Chaudhry Ghafoor declaring 2011 as year of Pakistan-China Friendship. Mohsin Leghari of the PML-Q, who along with Humaira Awais Shahid did not join the boycotting opposition, also moved a resolution demanding that the federal government withdraw a 17 per cent tax imposed through an ordinance on farm inputs and machinery like tractors, pesticides, fertilizers and seed. Then, the house took up privilege motions against its own members. Unification Bloc's Sheikh Alauddin and PML-N's Ghazala Rana in the motions blamed the opposition's Samina Khawar for using abusive language and hurling make-up items and some "objectionable" items at the Sheikh. Ghazala Rana moved another privilege motion against PPP's Azma Bokhari, alleging the latter had used "abusive" language in the house which breached the mover's privilege. The law minister supported the motions although the chair as well as treasury members like Ali Haider Noor Niazi and Dr Ashraf Chohan spoke against the measure. However, the motions were referred to the Privileges Committee. Rana Sanaullah argued if judges could be questioned for contempt of courts, what was wrong in moving privilege motions against MPAs. Four bills were also passed in the absence of the opposition. The rules of procedure were suspended to pass three of the four bills, including Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2011, Punjab Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011, and Punjab Land Revenue (Amendment) Bill, 2011, while Qarshi University Muridke Bill, 2010, was also passed with a majority of vote. The law minister said the opposition instead of walking out should have ensured its participation in the house business to uphold sanctity and traditions of the house.

Prisoners suffer for police inaction

RAWALPINDI, March 31: The brother of Hashim Ali is in the Adiala Jail for the last three months awaiting trial in a drug case. "The investigation officer had been changed, and therefore the report could not be submitted in the court to start trial against him," Ali told Dawn . His younger brother was arrested by the Civil Lines police for carrying 400gm charas. Waiting outside the court of an additional district and sessions judge, the plight of Ali`s family highlights how the ever increasing number of cases pending probe with Rawalpindi police were negatively affecting the people`s lives. Data obtained from the District Prosecution Branch show that increasing number of pending cases are causing problems both for the under trial prisoners and the complainants. In December 2009, probe into 4,676 first information reports (FIR) was pending in 25 police stations of the district. The number jumped to 7,750 in December 2010. The increasing number of pending cases is one of the major reasons for overcrowded jails as accused in minor cases are kept in the prison without trial. Adiala Jail, which also accommodates prisoners from Islamabad, has the capacity of 1996 inmates but at present it has over 5000 prisoners. For most of the time, investigating officers fail to submit their reports with 14 days of registering an FIR, as prescribed under the criminal procedure code. In December last year, the 25 police stations of the district had 17,654 criminal cases, but only 9,678 cases were sent to the court for starting trials. Out of the 9,678, probe within two weeks was completed only in 4,686 cases. A visit to the judicial lockup in the district courts revealed that daily 200 under trial prisoners are taken to the courts. Delayed submission of investigation reports within two weeks favours the accused, said District Public Prosecutor Malik Muhammad Asghar. Citing delay in probe, they seek bails from courts. Mr Asghar holds both the police and the judiciary responsible for delay in completing probes. "Trial courts are not following the high court rules that require day-to-day hearings of the under trial prisoners." Senior police officials say `overburdened policemen` without basic facilities fail to probe cases within the two weeks. An investigation officer has to bear all the expenses of travel, telephone and obtaining relevant record as he is probing a case, said a deputy superintendent of police DSP, requesting anonymity. He said the policemen were overworked, adding that besides probing into cases, they have to provide security and attend court proceedings. But Regional Police Officer Rawalpindi Hamid Mukhtar Gondal said despite all these problems, completing probes within the `given time` was the prime duty of police. "For the last many months efforts have been made to bring down the backlog of pending investigations. I have been personally visiting police stations to ascertain the actual causes of delay and penalising the guilty police officers." The RPO said he could understand delays in cases of heinous crimes and blind cases. "But in minor offences, probes should be completed sooner than later."

Lawyers protest delay in judges appointment

MINGORA/PESHAWAR, March 31: The lawyers of Swat staged a protest demonstration on Thursday against delay in nomination of judges for the Darul Qaza and announced to convene an all parties` conference on the issue. The protesting lawyers took out a peaceful procession against delay in nomination of judges for Circuit Bench/Darul Qaza and termed a violation of constitution. Addressing the procession, Swat Bar Association president Asghar Khan, Sher Ali Shah and Shamsher Ali said that building had already been acquired for setting up the bench. The inordinate delay in making it functional had increased the problems of litigants, they added. They said that an all parties` conference would be held on Monday to discuss the issue. They added that the chief justice of Peshawar High Court had promised that judges would be nominated for Darul Qaza but so far the promised had not been fulfilled. Meanwhile, Peshaw ar High Court Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan on Thursday ordered to send all the case files related to Darul Qaza (Mingora Circuit Bench) to the additional registrar concerned so as to make the bench functional as soon as possible. The Sharia Nizam-i-Adl Regulation, promulgated in April 2009, envisaged establishment of Darul Qaza. Later on, the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, also endorsed establishment of a Circuit Bench of Peshawar High Court at Mingora. According to a press release, Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan had directed the registrar on Jan 31 to make all arrangements to make Mingora Bench (Darul Qaza) functional. The registrar on Wednesday submitted a report to the chief justice stating that almost all the staff of Darul Qaza had been recruited except two private secretaries and one superintendent. About 3,184 cases pertaining to Darul Qaza had been segregated, the release said. The registrar also reported that there were some b uilding defects in the premises acquired for Darul Qaza and repair work was under progress. The chief justice directed the registrar to send all the case files pertaining to Darul Qaza forthwith to additional registrar concerned so that the bench might be made functional. The chief justice also directed the registrar to get the defects in building removed at the earliest.

Rescue 15 suicide attack Accused acquitted for want of evidence

RAWALPINDI, March 31: An anti-terrorism court on Thursday acquitted two persons allegedly involved in planning and perpetrating a suicide attack at the gate of Rescue 15 in Islamabad in June 2009 for want of relevant evidence. Special Judge ATC-II Raja Ikhlaq Hussain absolved Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, resident of Islamabad and Shafiq-ur-Rehman, resident of Vehari of the charges of hatching conspiracy to carry out a suicide attack at the office of Rescue 15 located in the area of Margalla police station. The trial court while announcing the short order on Thursday observed that the prosecution left many aspects of the case unproved creating many doubts therefore, the accused could not be convicted in the case. The Rescue 15 office in sector G-8 was attacked by a young suicide bomber on June 6, 2009 killing two policemen and the two accused were arrested by Islamabad police in April 2010 for their alleged involvement in the terror incident. According to the police investigation, one of the accused Ghulam Mustafa was arrested on April 3, 2010 for his suspicious activities and during interrogation he revealed to have planned the suicide attack at the Rescue 15 office. On his revelation, the police arrested Shafiq-ur-Rehman on April 18, 2010. The investigators further said that two Rescue 15 officials had seen three men prowling around the office two days before the suicide attack. Later, during the identification parade, the police officials recognised Mustafa and Shafiq as being the same who had earlier been seen around the office. Therefore, the investigators figured them out to be the two accomplices of the suicide bomber. On the other hand, the accused had denied the allegations saying that Mustafa`s mother reported to the 1-9 police in August 2009 that her son had been kidnapped by unknown persons.She also moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench for the recovery of her son and the matter was referred to the Supreme Court and it was appended with the missing persons` case, said Advocate Basharat Ullah Khan while talking to Dawn after the decision. In April last year, then Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad informed the Supreme Court that Mustafa was being interrogated for his alleged involvement in the suicide attack at the Rescue 15 office. On the question from the SC, the IGP said that before his arrest on April 3, 2010 Mustafa was in the custody of intelligence agencies, advocate Khan said. The lawyer of the accused maintained that the investigation officer had informed the court that they could not establish any connection between the teenage suicide bomber and the two arrested men. The revelation of the investigating officer created further doubts in the case. —Our Reporter

Many a `star` performer in Class-V, VIII exams

LAHORE, March 31: The Punjab Examination Commission (PEC) on Thursday declared the results of province-wide uniform examination of Grade-VIII students while downgrading pass percentage from 33 per cent to 25 per cent besides promoting hundreds of students with a "star" mark, who failed in any one of seven subjects. In Grade-V examination, the PEC top officials said, the pass benchmark was kept at 33 per cent, however, students failing in any one of the five subjects were promoted with a "star" mark. According to the results statistics, as many as 1.471 million students were registered for the Grade-V examination while 1.420 million appeared for the exam. Some 51,783 students did not appear for the examination. As much as 89.24 per cent candidates passed the examination including those failed in any one of the five subjects. For Grade-VIII exam, the PEC had registered 1.059 million students and out of them as many as 1.034 million took the exam. Some 24,442 students did not appear for the examination. Of those appeared, 83.93 per cent students were declared pass (according to 25 per cent pass percentage benchmark) including those who failed in any one of the seven subjects. When contacted, PEC chief executive officer Naseem Nawaz said the commission had declared the district-wise results and no overall top positions were declared. PEC operation manager Iqbal Ahmad Awan said the commission had identified position holders at respective districts level. Lahore executive district officer (education) Pervaiz Akhtar said his examination branch officials had themselves identified the position holders overall as well as gender-wise as no such data was communicated by the PEC. He said the EDO office also faced pressure from students and their parents because the PEC uploaded the results in the afternoon. It may be mentioned that the Grade-V and VIII results were again removed from the website at around 10pm. In Lahore district, the pass percentage in Grade-V examination stood at 90.74 per cent and 83.96 per cent in Grade-VIII. According to the overall positions in Grade-V in Lahore, Nimra Khalid of Khairunnisa Girls High School stood first with 533 marks out of 600. The second position was shared by four students by obtaining 529 marks each. Of four second position holders three students – Bushra Majeed, Fizza Javed, Amina Farooq are from Khairunnisa Girls High School and Muhammad Arqam Ghaffar belongs to St. Anthony School. The third position was bagged by Farah Arif of Convent of Jesus and Mary with 527 marks. In Grade-VIII exam, the overall first position was bagged by Ifrah Irshad of Crescent Model High School with 746 marks out of 800. The second and third positions were secured by Divisional Public School's Fizza Ali and Muhammad Ali Akhtar with 730 and 729 marks, respectively. A number of students complained that they had been given quite less marks as they were expecting higher scores on the basis of their performance in the examination.

Bridegroom meets a gloomy end

SWABI, March 31: A 28-year-old man committed suicide by shooting himself on the day of his marriage in Alladher village of Chota Lahor tehsil on Thursday. Nisar Khan, who returned a week ago from Saudi Arabia, was forced by his parents to marry a girl against his will, causing him to take the extreme step. He shot himself with a pistol. CHILD DIES ON ROAD: A seven-year-old child was knocked to death by an over-speeding car near Baja village. The child was crossing the Swabi-Topi road when he was hit by the car. Driver of the vehicle fled the scene. IGP VISIT: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fayyaz Ahmed Toru on Thursday visited the place of the Wednesday`s suicide attack on the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F caravan near Swabi Interchange on Peshawarâ€"Islamabad Motorway, said police officials. The IGP inspected the place of the blast and the local police officials briefed him about the incident. He was told that when the in-charge of the Khunda police post Sardar Ali and constable Qaisar attempted to stop a man after getting suspicious about him he blew himself up. The police officials prevented a big disaster by sacrificing their lives.

Missing addict a headache for police

RAWALPINDI, March 31: A 26-year-old addict given into police custody by his family early this week, to keep him away from drugs and crime, has disappeared causing headache to the police. His sister, Mumtaz Tabassum, has been pestering senior police officers for his "release" or trial if wanted on any charge but the R.A. Bazaar police say Sikandar Iqbal was left with them by Ms Tabassum and an uncle and that there exist no complaint of theft or any other crime against him in their records. "He was just an addict, not involved in any other crime. Please release him or send him to jail if he is involved in any other crime but don`t torture or kill him as his father has already died and there is no one to look after him," his sister said sobbing. She alleged that she was threatened of dire consequences by the policemen when she went to the police station. She said she even approached police high-ups seeking their help in tracing her missing brother whose fate was not known even after five days. A police sub-inspector, when contacted, said: "I didn`t handcuff him when he was kept in the police station and I wanted to release him the following morning. But, unfortunately, he went missing from the police station."

Opposition submits call for special session

LAHORE, March 31: The opposition is requisitioning a special session of the Punjab Assembly to discuss procurement of wheat and law and order in the province. "We will submit a requisition in the assembly on Friday (today) for a special session as the speaker 'illegally' prorogued the session in the absence of the opposition," Opposition Leader Raja Riaz said at a press conference on Thursday. He said it was unfortunate that the chair revised the agenda and took advantage of the absence of the opposition which had boycotted the proceedings in protest at the insult of opposition women members by some treasury members. "It is against the parliamentary traditions," he said, adding next time the opposition would go for a "token boycott" so that the government could not bulldoze the agenda. He said by proroguing the session the PML-N government could not save its skin from the blunders it had committed in wheat procurement matters. "The Punjab government instead of returning loans to banks it had taken for procurement of wheat is spending those on other heads. This is a glaring example of mismanagement," he said. Mr Riaz said the provincial government had yet to announce any policy regarding wheat procurement. Criticizing Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for his "bad governance", Mr Riaz said the leader of the house did not bother to come to the house even after his visit to London. "Shahbaz preferred to hold a press conference to clear his position on Raymond Davis case but did not tell the house what forced him to cooperate with the US on the matter," he said. He said if the chief minister was not consulted on the release of Davis, he should have resigned. The opposition leader suggested Shahbaz to 'sack' Rana Sanaullah as his government was earning "bad name" by torturing PCS officers, doctors and students.

Research in local context can help prevent diseases

PESHAWAR, March 31: Lack of evidence-based research has been hampering the plans of government to devise a realistic policy regarding prevention of diseases, officials say. "We have studies, conducted by international organisations, in this regards but they are not applicable in local context. We need local research to find out causes of different kinds of diseases in different areas and devise policy accordingly," they said. They added that they had got the services of epidemiologists but funds for research were not available. The government had established Provincial Health Services Academy in 1995 to start clinical as well as health system research and devise plans for controlling diseases and removing weaknesses from the system. "The total budget allocated to the academy is Rs16.5 million of which Rs16 million go to the salaries of staff while only Rs500,000 are kept for research," they said. The government had jacked up the health budget from Rs4 billion to Rs12 billion between 2005 and 2011 but there is no improvement in the healthcare facilities being provided to people. The officials argued that health department desperately needed research on the prevalence of HIV/Aids, polio, tuberculosis and mother and child health but non-availability of the required funds was an obstacle to it. "The failure of Family Planning Programme is glaring example in this regard. Most of the people want family planning but government has no mechanism to facilitate them," they said. Same was the case with HIV/Aids and polio, they said. However, the hospitals conducted clinical research through trainee medical officers and specialists doctors without informing health department, they said. "The research conducted by doctors is a part of their academic requirements and has nothing to do with the improvement of healthcare delivery," officials added. The doctors, they said, had never contacted health department to know the needs for research studies or to ask the government about the type of research it needed. The officials said that the Centre for Control and Prevention of Diseases Atlanta had provided training to five epidemiologists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Islamabad but there was no use of such training if funds were not available for research. They said that government should allocate specific funds for research to ascertain the causes of diseases and find out flaws in health system, particularly at rural level.