LAHORE: Schools that have made the required security arrangements will reopen on the 12th, said Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan, the minister for education and youth affairs.

Talking to reporters at the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday, Mashood said: “86,000 schools in the Punjab have taken the measures suggested in the government guidelines and will be allowed to reopen.” He said only 750 schools had not met the conditions set by the government. “We are hopeful that they will also be able to implement them by the end of the current week. Officials are going to meet the representatives of the school management on Saturday,” he said.

“The government has received several complaints from parents that schools are charging them for the enhanced security measures. We have formed a committee to look into the matter,” he said.

He said that the government had formed a comprehensive security plan for schools to follow. “We set security parameters for schools under various categories. Schools in the A category, including schools in Cantonment area and those funded or operated by foreigners, face a greater threat.” Mashhood said a 500,000-strong Youth Volunteer Force for Peace was being setup at the union council level across the province.

Mashhood said students from grade 9 and 10 willing to participate in this effort would be registered and core groups composed of 20 students from each college would be established in one week. He was speaking at a meeting with officials of non-governmental organisations regarding the constitution of the Youth Volunteer Force for Peace.

The minister said the time was ripe to take firm decisions. Mashhood said any compromise was tantamount to letting the sacrifices of the nation’s children go in vain. He said civil defence modules had been formulated to train members of the force in the shape of district groups. Mashood said the January 9 deadline for education institutions to beef up security was still in place.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2014.

LAHORE: In yet another indication that the nation’s state-owned power infrastructure is crumbling, transmission lines into Punjab from Sindh tripped because of foggy weather, causing 700 megawatts of electricity to become unavailable to the country’s largest province and adding to the already high burden of rolling blackouts.

“We have been facing this issue since Monday morning. The lines tripped due to fog but electricity was restored by mid-day,” said Masood Ahmad, a National Power Control Center (NPCC) consultant, while talking to The Express Tribune.

Over the last two days, electricity consumers in Punjab have been facing unscheduled blackouts due to the tripping of those transmission lines, said a water and power ministry official. The transmission lines tripped near Guddu, which caused the South-to-North supply of electricity to be interrupted. In winter, when hydroelectric power production in the north of the country is lower, the overall direction of flow of electricity is from thermal power plants based mostly in Sindh and southern Punjab.

While about half of power generation in Pakistan is owned by privately-owned companies, almost the entirety of the transmission grid is owned by the government. State-owned companies that manage the grid have gotten so poor at maintaining the infrastructure in their care that tripping in main transmission lines in the south has now become routine. This adds frequent and sudden shortfalls to the system since the NPCC has to shut down some transmission lines to keep the National Grid frequency level above 50 megahertz in order to avoid another national blackout.

Bureaucracy can sometimes add to the delays. “We have to prepare and send an inquiry report before we restore the electricity each time the main transmission line trips,” said Ahmad.

Power shortages in Pakistan appear to have gotten worse in recent days as the government shut down natural gas supply to thermal power plants in order to supply the captive power generation units of the politically powerful textile industry.

Given the annual canal closures in winter, water flow in the river system and therefore hydroelectric power production is also down. Water flow at Tarbela Dam as of January 5 is 12,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs), and at 8,000 cusecs at Mangla Dam. On December 24, prior to the canal closures, the outflow was 26,000 cusecs and 40,000 cusecs respectively. As a result, hydroelectric power generation is down to an average of 966 MW, from its summer peak of 6,000 MW.

“Before the canal closure, we were getting more than 3,000 MW electricity which has now dropped to this level”, Ahmad added.

Independent Power Plants in the south that were using gas as fuel are now generating electricity through diesel. These includes SAIF, Sapphire, Orient and others. Meanwhile, the textile sector is getting six hours of gas every day, or 25% of their entire quota, said the water and power ministry official.

Yet despite the fact that the state-owned Sui Northern Gas Pipelines is not supplying gas to IPPs, there is still a shortfall of around 1,600 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) out of total demand of 3,000 mmcfd in the SNGP system. Gas production in Pakistan is projected to have peaked last year and is set to decline, according to an analysis conducted by the petroleum ministry in 2011.

As a result, the electricity shortfall is currently hovering around the 5,000MW range. Each year around 800,000 new electricity connections are adding around 1,200MW of additional demand in the system, said the ministry official. “Our generation cannot keep pace with the demand at this stage, which is increasing the shortfall every year. In addition, the dilapidated transmission system is causing line losses of around 25%. It is expected the things to get worse in coming years if no serious efforts are made to rehabilitate the transmission system,” the official added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th,  2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.

LAHORE: Three panels – one headed by a business tycoon and two by retired bureaucrats – are preparing to contest annual elections of Lahore Gymkhana Club.

Usually, two groups headed by a businessman and a retired bureaucrat take the field. This year, however, three groups are in the race.

The elections have traditionally been held on December 31. This year they are likely to be held in the last week of January since the Committee of Management (CoM) has yet to hold its annual meeting to set a date. The committee meeting and an extraordinary general meeting are scheduled for January 12.

The polling was postponed for a week in 2007 following the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The candidates have started sending SMS and letters and holding corner meetings and making phone calls to the members. Some of them have invited voters to lunches and dinners. Lavish dinners and banquets have always been a feature of the poll campaigns, members say.

Mian Misbahur Rehman, the incumbent CoM chairman, has fielded a panel of candidates, including Mian Pervaiz Bhandara, Zahid Nabi Malik, Pervaiz Bashir Agha, Shafqat Rana and Agha Ali Imam.

Kamaran Lashari, a former bureaucrat, is heading a group supported by Salman Siddique, a former CoM chairman.

Candidates from Lashari’s group include Samiur Rehman, Shaukat Javed, Atif Kazmi, Sarmad Nadeem, Qamar Bobby and Khwaja Imran Zubair.

Tasneem Ahmed Noorani is leading the third penal. Its candidates include Mian Waqarud Din, Mian Samiur Rehman, Javed Nasirullah, Ashan Qadri, Sumera Maroof, Zahid Pervaiz, Muhammad Azam, Iqbal Sheikh and Arif Khan.

The 5,100 voters elect 12 members of the committee. Each voter can vote for 12 candidates.

Misbahur Rehman is considered favourite among the businessmen.

Caste and vocation have greatly influenced elections previously.

Political parties have traditionally not had significant influence on the outcome. This year the Pakistan Peoples Party is favouring Misbahur Rehman, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is backing Lashari and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is favouring Noorani.

Noorani says, if elected chairman, he would revoke membership of more than 300 members inducted by Siddique.Given a three-way race no group might have seven members needed to elect chairman on its own. “We will hold the annual general meeting on January 12… to remove objections raised by the Punjab Co-operative Societies registrar about the tenure of elected body,” Misbahur Rehman said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2014.

He was speaking at the inaugural meeting of the commission in his capacity as the chairman of the OPC. It was decided that 36 district committees would be established across the Punjab under the auspices of the commission that would include a DPO and a CPO. The committees would be chaired by an overseas Pakistani.

An official present at the meeting told The Express Tribune that upright overseas Pakistanis would be appointed chairmen of district committees to help non-resident Pakistanis overcome the challenges confronting them including land grabbing and problems with customs at ports of entry. He said a web portal would also be established to enable them to file complaints online. The official said a helpline would be established for the same purpose. He said that it had been proposed that a complaint should be redressed within a month.

The commission was constituted after the passage of a bill by the Provincial Assembly. Afzaal Bhatti has been appointed as the first commissioner of the OPC and Shaheen Khalid Butt has been appointed as its vice-chairman. The chief minister said the commission would play a crucial role in helping non-resident Pakistanis overcome the challenges confronting them. He said the commission had been given constitutional sanction and the government would provide it with all kinds of support. Sharif said he would personally monitor the commission’s work.

The chief minister said overseas Pakistanis were ambassadors of the nation and the commission had been established to solve their problems. Sharif said the OPC had been empowered to address the complaints of overseas Pakistanis in the Middle East, Europe and America among other regions. He said the commission would strive to effectively address their problems. Sharif said no stone should be left unturned in this regard. He said district committees would be established under the auspices of the commission. The chief minister said advisory councils composed of overseas Pakistan would also be established. He said immediate action would be taken on complaints received by the commission and he would personally review steps taken to redress complaints lodged.

Commissioner Afzaal Bhatti assured the chief minister that the OPC would live up to his expectations and work according to his vision.

Women Development Minister Hameeda Waheed-ud-Din, Overseas Pakistanis Commission Vice-Chairperson Shaheen Khalid Butt, Provincial Assembly Members (MPAs) Mian Tariq, Mansha Ullah Butt and Rana Liaqat Ali were also present on the occasion.

National consensus:

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the national consensus over the war against terrorism was ‘auspicious.’ He said extraordinary circumstances demand extraordinary measures. The chief minister said it was necessary to rid Pakistan of the menace of terrorism to transform it into a peaceful and prosperous nation. He said it was binding on every citizen to participate in the war against terrorism as it could only be won through national unity and popular support.

Sharif was speaking to MPAs on Tuesday. He said the quick implementation of the National Action Plan would restore order in the nation. The chief minister said the nation would be rid of terrorism at all costs. He said the progress, stability and survival of the nation was incumbent on eradicating terrorism. The chief minister said this had to be done to bequeath coming generations with a secure Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2014.

ISLAMABAD: The national counter-terrorism authority (Nacta) has been directed to maintain close and effective coordination with all provinces and other stakeholders as the government seeks swift implementation of the 20-point national action plan (NAP).

The directions came during a meeting to review implementation of in Islamabad on Wednesday. Interior Minister  Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who chaired the meeting, said that it was of vial importance that they rise to the occasion to meet the expectations of the nation.

The minister stressed that everyone should do their bit and work diligently to curb extremism once for all with the support of whole nation.

Nsiar also reviewed progress made on setting up a dedicated national counter-terrorism helpline, 1717, and directed formulation of a standardised mechanism for ensuring provinces take requisite action on actionable intelligence received and relayed through the helpline. He added that Nacta was now acting as a centralised, intelligence-based information point for all the provinces, the armed forces and intelligence agencies.

Further, the minister said that the issue of un-registered Afghan refugees will be taken up with the UNHCR and the Afghan government to settle the matter amicably.

On the subject of illegal SIMs, Nisar said that it was only a matter of few months when all old SIMs will be completely re-verified.

The meeting was attended by Secretary Interior Shahid Khan, National Coordinator NACTA and other senior relevant officials.

Lahore police devises roadmap for Nap implementation

Meanwhile, in Lahore police finalised a roadmap to implement NAP.

During an internal high-level meeting of the Lahore Police at Police Lines on Wednesday, it was decided that restrictions on banned outfits collecting donations will be strictly implemented. Protests by members of banned outfits will not be allowed with police retaining the option to baton charge such protesters.

Further immediate action will be taken against the misuse of loudspeakers with an FIR to be registered against the prayer leader, prayer caller and mosque committees in case of violation.

“Operation clean sweep will be launched immediately against the hate material of any sort whether it is in the form of print, Audio or Video CD,” a senior police official familiar with the meeting said on the condition of anonymity.

He added that officials had decided to stringently implement rules relating to display of weapons and aerial firing. In the event that a licensed weapon is used for aerial firing, police will register a case and request the DCO to cancel that license.

Further, attendance of officials under the fourth schedule will be implemented and action will be taken against those who do not show up for duty.

Afghan refugees and other foreigners living in the country on expired visas will be prosecuted under foreigners act against.

“A crackdown in this regard have already been started which will be intensified.”

The meeting was chaired by the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Captain Retired Amin Wains and attended by DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf, DIG Investigation Shahzad Sultan, SSP Investigation Rana Ayaz Salim and senior officials of the special branch.

LAHORE: Two months after a deadly suicide bomb attack on the Wagah border post with India left at least 60 people dead, Pakistan on Wednesday took precautionary measures and curbed movement of the bi-lateral ‘Dosti Bus’.

DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf told The Express Tribune that the Pak-India Dosti Bus had been restricted to the Wagah Border due to terror threats. Authorities have shifted the entire bus operation to a sub-office at the border.

“We are operating the entire bus operations at the border — including arrival and departure,” a Pakistan Toursim Development Corporation (PTDC) official confirmed to The Express Tribune.

Per the new measures, those seeking to travel to India on the bus via Wagah, will need to make their way to the border post to board the bus to Delhi or Amritsar. Previously, the bus used to run from the PTDC office in Lahore.

Similarly, those passengers travelling to Pakistan from India will now disembark at Wagah Border. Previously, passengers from India were dropped off at one of two destinations in Pakistan, either the PTDC office in Gulberg, Lahore, or at the city office in Nankana Sahib.

“Although it will be a hassle for passengers on both sides, we have taken these steps for their security,” the official said, adding that the government might consider restoring the old terminals after reviewing the law and order situation.

Officials also cited the attack on the school in Peshawar and the possibility of reprisal attacks after the moratorium on the death penalty for terrorists was lifted in December.

Earlier, police had started providing escort to the Dosti Bus travelling between Wagah, Gulberg and Nankana Sahib.

The bus service between the two countries was started in March 16, 1999, primarily to enhance people-to-people contact.

The protestors gathered at the DCO’s Complex and blocked University Road, suspending traffic for hours.

Talking to newsmen, Talib Hussain said his family had been living in Chak 531-GB for 30 years.

He said Sumundri assistant commissioner had declared residential area an encroachment on state land.

He said the assistant commissioner had ordered demolition of their houses without serving a notice to his family.

He said a revenue official had surveyed the area and had asked for bribes.

“When we refused, he told us that he would displace us,” he added.

The protesters chanted slogans against the city district government and demanded action against the Sumundri assistant commissioner and the revenue official.

District Coordination Officer (DCO) Noorul Amin Mengal called a delegation of the protesters to his office and held a meeting with them.

He assured them that the issue would be reviewed and resolved soon.

The DCO also assured them that if the Sumundri administration needed the area for any purpose, the city district government would provide them an alternate site for their houses.

The protesters called off their protest on his assurance.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Sumundri assistant commissioner said three notices had been served on encroachers in Chak 531-GB and they had been asked multiple times to vacate the land.

He said the houses had been demolished after all legal formalities had been completed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

Talking to newsmen at a press conference, PYMA chairman Qaisar Shams Guccha and vice chairman Adnan Zahid Butt said the national action plan announced by the government recently only addressed terrorism in the country.

“The plan does not cover economic conditions in the country. If the economy is not strengthened, progress will remain elusive,” said Guccha.

He said prices of petroleum products had dipped by 50 per cent in the international market.

He said the import bill for petroleum products should be halved.

“The government should not have to borrow from the IMF,” he said. “It is imperative that the government should announce emergent measures to boost business activity in the country.”

Guccha said the economy had been crippled by the energy crisis.

“Emergency steps should be taken to overcome the energy crisis,” he added.

He said the price of furnace oil had dipped by $270 per ton which made it feasible to run some power plants on furnace oil during winter.

“Similarly some gas-run plants could also be converted to furnace oil temporarily for winter months”, he added.

He urged the government to expedite work on coal and solar energy plants and speed hydel projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

The protesters gathered at police station and chanted slogans against police.

They also demanded immediate release of the men in custody. Talking to newsmen, Muhammad Atif said Sandal Bar police had arrested Rana Maqsood and Rana Azeem for firing in the air at an Eid Milad procession.

He said some rivals had submitted a false complaint against Maqsood and Azeem and got them implicated in a fabricated case avenge of an old enmity. He said the policemen had been bribed.

Iqbal Town Police Superintendent Zulfiqar Ahmad met the protesters and assured them that Azeem and Maqsood would be released after preliminary investigations.

The protesters then called off their protesters and dispersed peacefully. Talking to The Express Tribune, Ahmed said Mudasssar Sharif, a resident of Chak 30-JB, had filed a complaint against the men.

He said Sharif had told them that he had arranged a procession in connection with Eid Milad celebrations.

He said when it was passing through the streets of the locality, 19 people, including Rana Maqsood, Rana Azeem, Rana Javaid, Rana Zakariyya, Rana Yousuf, Ejaz, Qadeer help up the procession.

“They abused the participants of the procession and fired shots in the air,” Sharif said in his complaint.

He said the men had also shot at rickshaws and a tractor trolley.

The SPO said an FIR had been registered under Sections 341, 427 and 337 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and a team had been constituted to find and arrest those involved in the incident.

He said police managed to arrest Azeem and Maqsood in a raid while their accomplices were still at large. He said he did not know about any old enmity between Sharif and the families of the two men in police custody.

“Police will investigate the case on merit,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

Rehman was speaking to a youth delegation. He said the Rs2.5 billion-initiative had been taken to ensure that load shedding did not disrupt their academic endeavours. The minister said lamps and laptops were being distributed among students according to merit during the current fiscal year.

He said terrorism and unemployment could be eradicated by the promotion of quality education. The minister stressed the need for equitable distribution of resources to foster peace and ensure citizens’ welfare. Rehman said corruption, nepotism and unemployment could be curbed by good governance and transparency.

The minister said the government considered education as a development tool and had allocated record funds for the sector. He said Rs2.4 billion had been allocated to provide two million illiterate people with non-formal basic education. Rehman said the comprehensive measures taken by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had increased enrollment in public schools to 11.273 million.

He said UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID) Head Richard Montgomery had verified that textbooks had been provided in schools before the beginning of the new academic session for the first time. Rehman said the reforms being implemented in the sector had been lauded by educationist Michael Barber. Rehman said teacher attendance at schools had increased due to the implementation of reforms jointly-formulated by the DIFD and the government.

The minister praised Sharif’s initiative to distribute lamps and laptops among gifted students. He said this would arrest the dropping out trend in remote areas of the Punjab. The minister said the DFID had agreed to provide a Rs351 million grant to finance the construction 15,000 classrooms in public schools with substandard facilities.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

LAHORE: The Women Ombudsperson Office has launched a Harassment Awareness Volunteer Programme (HAVP) in the province, Punjab Ombudswoman Dr Mira Phailbus said on Wednesday.

“The project aims at empowering and protecting working women and raising mass awareness about their rights under the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Work Place Act 2012,” the ombuswoman said. She was talking to a group of working women.

The initiative has been launched under the auspices of the Women Development Department in 36 districts of province.

“The Women Ombudsperson Office is disseminating information among working women about their legal rights. We want them to report their grievances of sexual harassment to the authorities concerned. We want to inform the managements of their responsibility to provide an environment free of sexual harassment at the workplace. HAVP has been successfully launched in Layyah, Muzaffargarh and Okara,” she said.

“Under the project, 20 volunteers in each district will be trained. They will then visit 30 work places, such as banks, hospitals, factories and colleges and inform the staff of the Women’s Protection Act and the management of their responsibility for creating an environment free of sexual harassment,” she said.

“It has been observed that most working women in public and private sectors are unaware of their rights or protection against harassment under the law. They do not know what type of behaviour at the workplace amounts to sexual harassment and how to seek a legal remedy. They are totally unaware of the legal mechanism available for them to get justice from the inquiry committees at the department, districts and organisation level,” she said.

She said that the districts administrations and the departments concerned would cooperate with the volunteers in carrying out the outreach campaign of awareness. She said that a seminar would be held on January 10 at Arts Council, Sahiwal, about the issue of harassment.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

The protesters gathered outside the house where the girl had been employed and threw stones at the gate.

Some of them tried to break into the house to set it on fire. They also broke windows and damaged an entrance to the house.

Talking to newsmen, Rizwan Muhammad said his 10-year-old daughter Maria Rizwan had been working for Saheem Shah and Zaeem Shah in Shadman Colony. He said the men ran a restaurant near D-Ground”.

He said Maria had been working for over a year.

He said the girl had been beaten twice during her time working for the brothers. He said she had complained to her mother about it two weeks ago. “We went to the house and talked to Saheem about the situation,” he said. He said he took away Maria from the house.

“Later, Saheem called me and apologised,” he said. “He told me that Maria was like his own daughter and assured me that she would be safe working for him.”

He said he sent Maria back to work after Saheem apologised.

He said on Wednesday, he called them and told them that Maria had fallen from the stairs and had been critically injured.

He said a few minutes later, Saheem called again, saying she had died before getting any medical help. He said Saffiya, another maid at the house, saw Saheem beat Maria after she got late in giving him breakfast.

He said Safiyya fled from the house, called him and told him what had happened.

After the incident, Maria’s family reached the house and tried to break into the house.

Saheem managed to escape before they arrived.

Later, a police team arrived and pushed them away from the house.

The protesters also chanted slogans against police and demanded immediate arrest of those responsible.

Peoples Colony Station House Officer Faryad Cheema told The Express Tribune that a complaint had been registered and team had been formed to investigate the case.

He said the body had been sent to the mortuary of Allied Hospital for post mortem examination. He said further action would be taken once the medico-legal report was obtained.

He said the police team was conducting raids to find the brothers nominated in the complaint.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

Thousands of workers from Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Mardan, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sukkur, Rahim Yar Khan, Multan, Faisalabad, Karachi and Hyderabad rallied in front of the Press Club. They carried banners and placards against the government’s plan to privatise the PIA, and electricity, rail, and oil and gas utilities. They said the move would be against public interest.

Workers of the All Pakistan WAPDA Hydro Electric Workers Union, Railway Workers’ Union, National Bank of Pakistan Employees Union, Irrigation Workers Confederation, Bata Mazdoor League and several other industrial trade union workers, and the LESCO Engineering Association were present at the rally.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, All Pakistan Workers Confederation information secretary Osama Tariq said the rally sought not only to benefit employees of government organisations but the country as a whole. He said the institutions being privatised were public welfare institutions which should work to benefit people, not private corporations.

“When the Multan Electric Supply Company was privatised, the company only provided electricity connections to areas where there were more than 100 consumers,” he said. Similarly, after privatisation, the Karachi Electric Supply Company laid off more than 5,000 employees and several employees were hired on a contractual basis.

He said the confederation’s executive will meet in a few days and decide a plan of action if the federal government did not pay heed to their demands. Tariq said they would consider moving their protest to the parliament house in Islamabad.

The protesters urged political parties to adopt a plan of action to challenges of abject poverty, growing unemployment, growing extremism and ignorance and the ever increasing gap between the rich and the poor. They demanded action against child abuse and bonded labour and protection for women.

The government needs to put an end to feudal structures in the society, the protesters demanded. They also demanded work safety measures for WAPDA employees and steps to clamp down on power theft.

The protesters also condemned the murder of Rai Zayyad Ahmed, a LESCO SDO, resident of Ittehad Colony, and an attack on Assadullah Khan, also of LESCO. They demanded the culprits be arrested on priority. All Pakistan Workers Confederation general secretary Khurshid Ahmed, Engineering Association senior vice president Amjad Hussain Nagra, Engineering Association president Rubeena Jameel, additional general secretary Akbar Ali Khan and representatives of the All Pakistan Workers’ Confederation spoke at the occasion.

The speakers urged the prime minister to pay special attention to public sector organisations. They said attempts to privatise utilities in Multan, Rawalpindi and Karachi had failed miserably. The speakers urged the prime minister to hold a dialogue with trade unions on alternatives to privatising these sectors. The government should recover money stashed in Swiss banks, they said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

LAHORE: As the January 9 deadline for taking enhanced security measures for schools and colleges draws close, funds for the purpose are yet to be transferred to public schools.

The Home Department issued a security plan on December 16. It required schools to strictly comply with a 24-point plan, including increasing the height of boundary walls to 8 feet, installation of CCTV cameras, hiring of trained guards, providing metal detectors and maintenance of visitors’ record.

Schools were to reopen on January 5, but the date was extended to ensure compliance. They are now expected to reopen on January 12. Schools have been asked to comply with the security measures by January 9.

In the wake of the Peshawar school attack, the government had announced winter vacations earlier than usual.

Amidst uproar during the recent Punjab Assembly session regarding the schools security situation, Law Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rahman had said that Rs2 billion had been released by the provincial government for the purpose.

Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan has also announced on Tuesday that only 750 schools out of 86,000 had yet to complete security arrangements.

The Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) has, however, complained of a lack of seriousness on part of the government. “A majority of schools are still unable to comply with the required measures owing to non-availability of funds,” PTU general secretary Rana Liaquat Ali said.

“If the government cannot provide the funds, then it is best not to make such announcements,” Ali said.

Education Executive District Officer Pervaiz Akhtar says availability of funds is not a hurdle in ensuring security measures at schools. “Rs112 million has been released for Lahore schools. However, the funds are yet to be transferred to schools,” he says. He would not reveal the number of schools that have received the funds.

District Education Officer (Secondary) Malik Liaquat says that the funds would be transferred to schools by Thursday (today).

“Fund allocations to schools will be made according to individual requirements. It will depend upon the number of CCTV cameras required to be installed, length of the boundary walls and barbed wires etc,” he said.

Responding to claims that no funds were being provided for schools with less than 500 students, he said that the schools not getting the funds did not fall in the categories that required funds for security. He said that they were schools that already had adequate security measures in place. PTU’s Ali says given the delay in with the release of funds, ensuring security measures by January 9 will be a challenge. School Education Department deputy secretary Mushtaq Sial, who is overlooking inspection in Muzaffargarh and Bahawalpur districts, says that ensuring supply of required materials and funds was the issue. He says the government schools are on track to meet the prescribed standards of security, but private schools are far behind. “Many think the government really isn’t that serious regarding security plan, but we will not spare any school,” he says.

He says the government has been focusing on ensuring schools adopted the security by January 12. However, he says, reopening will depend upon the completion of measures.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

LAHORE: The operations of the Pakistan-India Dosti Bus service have been restricted to the Wagah border due to security concerns.

Operations DIG Haider Ashraf told The Express Tribune that the service had been restricted to the border in the wake of the Peshawar carnage and the lifting of a moratorium on execution of convicts on death row.

Security SP Liaqat Malik said police used to escort the bus earlier to terminals in Gulberg area and Nankana Sahib. He said this had stopped as the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) had shifted its terminal to the border. Malik said the government was not taking any chances regarding the law and order situation following the Peshawar carnage.

Passengers travelling to India and those coming to Pakistan have been disembarking at the border following the development. Previously they used to arrive at a terminal in Gulberg area and another in Nankana Sahib. A PTDC official told The Express Tribune that operations had been completely relocated to the border. He said passengers had to board a bus at the border to proceed to Amritsar and Delhi. The official said arriving passengers had to disembark at the spot. He said the decision had been taken due to security concerns. The official said the department regretted the inconvenience caused to the public following the initiative but had no option but to take the step to guarantee security. He said operations could be shifted back to the Gulberg and Nankana Sahib terminals once the government had reviewed the law and order situation.

The India-Pakistan Dosti Bus service started operating in 1999 to strengthen people-to-people contacts between the citizens of both states.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

LAHORE: Nearly 125 Ahmadis from 23 families are still running from pillar to post to return to homes they had vacated after an enraged mob set alight eight houses belonging to members of the Ahmadiyya community on July 27 in Gujranwala, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Four people were burnt alive in the incident. A member of the Jamaat-i-Ahmadiyya (JA) said an aged woman had been taken into custody by the police after she had gone to visit the area. He said she was released after the intervention of the CPO. The member said police had stopped them from returning to their houses due to security concerns. He said the department could not let them return till the clerics behind the attack had been convinced to let them come back.

Chaudhry Muhammad Amin, another member of the JA told The Express Tribune that the families had appealed to the police to access their residences several times in vain. He said CPO Waqas Nazeer had called him three times to his office to meet with members of the district peace committee but the meetings had never materialised. Amin said a meeting was held with CPO Nazeer and City SP Tahir Masood Chheena at conference hall. He said CPO Nazeer had constituted a coordination committee of six Ahmadis and five members of the peace committee to facilitate the peaceful return of the displaced families.

SP Chheena expressed hope regarding the ability of the committee to ensure the safe return of the families in 10 days. He said the committee would meet again on Saturday to review proposals in this regard. SP Chheena said committee members had inspected the affected area on Wednesday to evaluate losses and possibilities of rehabilitating the families.

An exasperated mob had attacked residences belonging to Ahmadis on July 27 following an announcement from a mosque that had accused a member of the community of blasphemy. The house of Muhammad Boota was the first to have been targeted by the mob. Boota’s mother, expectant wife and his two daughters perished in the incident.

Six people were nominated and 500 unidentified suspects were accused in an FIR of the incident. The residences of Muhammad Boota, Hasnain Ahmed, Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Aslam, Saleem Ahmed, Feroz Deen, Hameed Ahmed and Bashir Ahmed were pillaged and burnt according to the FIR.

Another FIR was registered against Aqib Ahmed, an Ahmadi, who was later arrested.

Munir told The Express Tribune no one had been arrested for setting their houses alight and killing Ahmadis. He said the rioters were free to roam and police had not taken action against them. Munir said police had instructed them to desist from demanding the arrest of the perpetrators before the meeting on Wednesday.

Qari Zahid Saleem, a member of the peace committee, said they were trying to solve the issue amicably. He said he was hopeful that they would be successful in this regard. Saleem said the members of the peace committee would help the families get water, gas and electricity connections restored.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Captain (retd) Amin Wains chaired the meeting held at the Police Lines to implement the National Action Plan announced by the prime minister earlier to deal with terrorism.

Operations DIG Dr Haider Ashraf, Investigation DIG Shahzad Sultan, Investigation SSP Rana Ayaz Salim and Special Branch officers attended the meeting.

Requesting anonymity, an official who attended the meeting said that FIRs would be registered against prayer leaders and mosque committees misusing the loudspeakers.

“Action will be taken against anyone who distributes hate material in any form. The ban on display of weapons, whether licensed or unlicensed, will be strictly implemented. In case of firing in the air from a licensed weapon, police will register an FIR and write a letter to the DCO for the cancellation of the licence,” the official said.

“Cases will be registered under the Foreigners Act against Afghan refugees who are residing in Pakistan with expired visas. A crackdown in this regard has already been started,” he said. He said that members of banned outfits would not be allowed to block roads. “We will not allow any banned militant outfit to sabotage the law and order situation in the city. We would deal with them strictly,” the official said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

HAFIZABAD: A seven-year-old girl was criminally assaulted and then stoned to death in the Mianda Kot village of Hafizabad district on Wednesday, according to Daily Express. The sickening incident came three days after a child was criminally assaulted and then strangled to death on the rooftop of a mosque in a Lahore neighbourhood.

The girl, A*, went to a shop in Mianda Kot village Tuesday evening but didn’t return home. When the subsequent search failed, the worried family reported the incident to the local police. However, the ‘slacking police’ did not make much effort to find the girl. On Wednesday, her body was found in a field near Vaneki Road.

Following the grisly discovery, a police contingent reached the spot and shifted the body to the District Headquarters Hospital. According to officials, the killer had criminally assaulted the girl before stoning her to death. The police registered a case and launched a manhunt for the killer.

Incensed by the harrowing incident, hundreds of people, including the girl’s family and relatives, took the body to Fawara Chawk and staged a protest against the police. They claimed that the tragedy could have been averted if the police had taken action on Tuesday night. They demanded the killer be arrested immediately and tried in a military court.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif took notice of the tragic incident and directed authorities to submit a report within 24 hours.

In a similar incident, a toddler was ‘criminally assaulted’ and then tortured to death in Mumtazabad Colony of Multan.

The less than three years’ old M* had crawled out of her house while her mother was sleeping. The toddler was later found critically wounded. She was rushed to the Nishtar Hospital where she died early Wednesday morning.

According to officials, the initial autopsy confirmed torture, including a slit throat. The report said the child died due to excessive bleeding. “The body is badly mutilated due to torture. However, we have taken samples to establish rape,” one of the medics told The Express Tribune.

The police registered a case and recorded the statements of the family and eyewitnesses.

(*Names of the victims have been changed to protect their identities)

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2015.

He was speaking at a meeting in the Elite Force Police Training School in Bedian. The chief minister visited the school for five hours and inspected the training programme of corporals being trained. Sharif also reviewed the law and order situation in the province and security arrangements at educational institutions during the meeting at the school. The chief minister praised the high standards of training being imparted to the corporals and lauded the efforts of experts from the army, the police and Turkey. He said the first batch of the anti-terrorist force would finish training by the end of January.

The chief minister said the entire nation had united against terrorism. He said the war against terrorism would be won at all costs. Sharif said terrorists would not find any sanctuary in Pakistan. He told the corporals that the nation had high hopes from them and the responsibility of ridding the nation of terrorism rested with them. The chief minister said people of their ilk were national heroes and they should strive to protect the live and property of citizens. He expressed hope that they would succeed in riding the nation of terrorists, extremists and their empathisers with the support of the nation.

Sharif said security arrangements at educational institutions should be implemented according to the plan formulated in this regard. He said security arrangements at institutions should be effectively monitored. Sharif said it should be made certain that private institutions adhered to the formulated security plan. He said the education minister, secretaries and district officials should personally review security arrangements at institutions. The chief minister said private institutions would need to ensure foolproof security and there would be no compromise in this regard. Sharif said the cabinet committee on law and order should regularly review security arrangements at institutions.

The chief minister said the Peshawar carnage had saddened the entire nation. He said justice would be meted out to the perpetrators of the massacre. Sharif said the anti-terrorist force would play a pivotal role in the war against terrorism. The chief minister said proposals regarding the enshrining of a service structure for the force should be reviewed. Sharif ordered strict action against those found guilty of misusing loudspeakers, distributing provocative literature, delivering hate speeches and chalking graffiti. He said shops selling sectarian material should be sealed immediately. The chief minister said officials who took a lead in this regard would be rewarded.

Sharif was briefed on security arrangements at institutions and the law and order situation in the province during the meeting.  Home Minister Shuja Khanzada, Law Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed, former law minister Rana Sanaullah, government spokesperson Zaeem Qadri, and Special Assistant Rana Maqbool Ahmed were also present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

The appeals of Ahmed Ali alias Sheesh Naag and Ghulam Shabbir alias Doctor had been rejected by a division bench of the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court and their mercy pleas were turned down by the president of Pakistan last week.

Ahmed Ali, who belonged to Jhang district, was convicted for killing three members of the Shia community. He was also charged in 20 other cases between 1992 and 1998. Ghulam Shabbir, hailing from Khanewal district, was convicted of murdering three police officials. He was also the prime accused in over two dozen cases of sectarian violence from 1994 to 1998.

Death in waiting

Mian Muhammad Ajmal, known as Akram Lahori, one of the founders of the LeJ, will be executed in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail on Thursday (today) at 5am. On April 26, 2003 an ATC had sentenced Lahori and his two accomplices to death on three counts in a sectarian killings case.

The court had also handed down the capital punishment on two counts to Muhammed Azam, alias Sharif, and Attaullah, alias Qasim, in a double murder case. They were also given the death penalty in another case.

Lahori was also involved in the killing of Imtiaz Haider, brother of former interior minister Moinuddin Haider, and 24 people in Mominpura. He was involved in more than 30 sectarian killings, including attacks on Iranian cadets in Rawalpindi and Iranian ambassador Sadiq Gunji. Before his arrest, Punjab and Sindh governments had offered a Rs5 million bounty for Akram Lahori.

Death before execution

A convicted murderer on death-row died on Wednesday due to cardiac arrest just after the news broke of the execution of two LeJ terrorists at the Multan prison, jail officials told The Express Tribune.

Mehtab Dilawar, 35, a resident of Vehari, was condemned to death by an ATC for the murder of two men. However, his black warrant was not issued yet. Superintendent jail Attaullah said Dilawar’s had a fatal cardiac arrest after he heard the news of execution of the two LeJ terrorists.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2015.