Speaking at a departmental meeting held at the PEF regional office, Rawalpindi, Islam said that the PEF was trying to promote education among the poor who could not afford to send their children to school. “The PEF efforts will go a long way in eradicating illiteracy and ignorance from the province,” he said.

“We are extending life-changing opportunity of free school education to the children who otherwise cannot access it due to lack of resources.

The PEF has introduced various programmes based on public-private partnership for school education in the province.

Free educational initiatives of the PEF are the biggest venture of its kind in the province,” he said.

He said that the PEF had also taken steps to ensure conducive atmosphere in its partner schools besides arranging capacity-building training for teachers and principals.

“We have also started an initiative for child workers and housemaids so that they can change their life through education,” he said.

PEF Regional Director Naveed Abbas said that around 175,000 deserving students were enrolled in PEF partner schools in 10 northern districts of the Punjab. “The PEF provides monthly fee and textbooks to students of partner school,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2015.

LAHORE: A woman filed a petition at the district and sessions court on Monday seeking compliance orders to register an FIR against Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri among others for not returning her ID card and paying her Rs3,500 for each day she had participated in PAT’s Inquilaab March.

Earlier, Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Masood Hussain had directed her to file a complaint with the Faisal Town SHO. He had also told the SHO to record the woman’s version and proceed with the case.

Petitioner Hajan Momina said that she had visited the Faisal Town police station on January 6 to file her complaint against Qadri, his son Hassan Mohyuddin, his daughter Fatima and PAT president Raheeq Abbasi. She said the SHO did not register the case.

At previous proceedings, PAT officials had said that Momina was not a member of the PAT. However, this time she brought to court a life membership certificate which bears Tahirul Qadri’s signature.

Momina said the PAT had promised to pay each woman joining the Inquilaab March Rs3,500 for every day she stayed at the protest camp.

The judge sought comments from the SHO by January 14.

PAT spokesman Qazi Faiz said Momina was telling a false tale. He said she had been planted by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to damage PAT’s reputation. He said no one had offered anyone money to join PAT’s Inquilaab March.

Asked why PAT was not pursuing a libel case against the woman, he said it was a minor issue and that PAT had no time to respond to it.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2015.

Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq inaugurated the polio campaign at a hospital in Model Town in Lahore.

Extended Programme for Immunisation Director Munir Ahmed, World Health Organisation representative Ubaidul Islam and senior officials of the Health Department were also present.

Speaking on the occasion, Raza urged women to ensure their children were vaccinated regularly.

She said the drive would focus on immunisation of immigrants’ children.

She also visited a union council with a large immigrant population and monitored performance of the polio teams.

She met the elders of the community and spoke to them about the importance of the drive.

Residents of the area told her that they lacked access to safe drinking water and demanded installation of water filtration plants.

In Faisalabad, DCO Noorul Amin Mengal said as many as 1,318,285 children under the age of five years would be administered polio drops in the drive.

He said 2,762 teams of the Health Department had been constituted for the drive.

The DCO said 2,243 teams would go door to door to vaccinate children at their homes.

He said 289 union council monitoring officers had been appointed and 458 area heads would supervise the campaign.

The DCO said some polio teams had been deputed at recreational spots, the general bus stand, and other public places to provide vaccinations on the spot.

He said announcements were also being made through loudspeakers about the drive.

City Police Officer (CPO) Sohail Habib Tajik said a comprehensive security plan had been devised for protection of polio workers during the campaign.

He said 2,319 police officials would be on security duties. He said 10 reserve forces of the Punjab Constabulary would remain on stand by to cope with any emergencies.

The CPO said SHOs had been directed to ensure patrolling in areas being covered by the polio teams.

In Bahawalpur, Executive District Health Officer Shahid Khaleeq said 587,000 children under five years would be administered the polio vaccine.

He said 1,293 teams had been constituted for this purpose. He said 1,025 mobile teams would a conduct door-to-door drive and 147 fixed teams and 106 mobile teams would administer polio vaccine at hospitals, basic health units, rural health centres (RHCs), the general bus stand, railway station and toll plazas.

He said 15 teams would be deputed at markets.

In Bhakkar, Health Department officials said 163,148 children would be vaccinated in the drive.

The Health Department formed 682 teams for the campaign and 1,300 workers were deployed for this purpose.

As many as 300 policemen were deployed for security of the polio teams. 574 mobile teams were constituted for a door-to-door campaign and 44 fixed teams at hospitals.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2015.

LAHORE: The top police officials of the province, led by Inspector General Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera, on Monday decided to step up efforts to combat terrorism at the annual RPOs’ conference.

The meeting, held at the Central Police Office, was attended by regional police chiefs.

The officials decided to take stern action against illegal aliens, especially Afghan refugees, no go areas, facilitators of terrorists, those involved in subversive activities, especially elements involved in instigating people through provocative speeches and spreading religious hatred.

The officials decided that Quick Response Force (QRF) would remain in constant touch with the administration and the heads of the school managements.

Sukhera asked field officers to direct the SHOs to coordinate their efforts with QRF personnel deployed around schools.

It was decided that all decisions of the Apex Committee constituted by the federal government and security establishment to fight terrorism would be implemented in the province in letter and spirit.

The officials decided that loudspeakers should only be used for azaan, Friday sermons and funeral announcements. Internal speakers might be used during religious gatherings. In case of violation, the use of loudspeaker may be banned for six months and the violators fined.

The field officers were instructed to ensure the protection of minorities at all cost and allow no one to take law in their own hands.

The officials also decided to start serious action against banned outfits, involved in sectarian violence.

The officials were asked to take action against those involved in heinous crime, including bank robbery, murder, rape and kidnapping for ransom.

The provincial police chief directed the field officers to complete the installation of monitoring systems at all 68 entry points to the province within a week. Funds have already been issued for the project.

The meeting decided to establish 80 police service centres to facilitate people.

The field officers were directed to complete the postings and transfers of SHOs and DSP-level officers in their respective districts within a week. No such officer may be transferred afterwards without the permission of the CPO. The purpose of the policy is to enable field officers to be free of political pressure.

The policy for withdrawal of non-operational staff was also reviewed. It was decided that only performance-based annual confidential reports (ACRs) of officers would be accepted.

Various proposals regarding the change of police uniform were discussed. However, no decision was taken. The meeting decided that Rs4,300 per annum will be paid to officers for purchasing uniforms.

Additional IGP Rai Altaf Hussain, Additional IGP Investigation IGP Tariq Masood Yasin, Additional IGP Punjab Highway Patrol (PHP) Javaid Islam, PHP DIG Salman Chaudhry, Headquarters DIG Farooq Mazhar, DIG Ghulam Mehmood Dogar, DIG Azhar Hameed Khokhar, DIG Zafar Iqbal, Lahore CCPO Amin Wains, all RPOs, CPOs and DPOs attended the conference.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2015.

The newly appointed chief of bureaucracy was presiding over a high-level meeting of administrative secretaries, commissioners and DCOs at the Civil Secretariat. Gondal said that the situation in the province demanded that all officers perform their duties efficiently and take all necessary measures to eradicate terrorism.

He urged administrative secretaries to do their best to solve people’s problems. “Negligence will not be tolerated in this regard,” he said.

Gondal directed the provincial administration to facilitate the masses and solve people’s problems on priority. He was given briefings by the provincial secretaries of Home, Health, Revenue, Planning and Development, Higher Education and Industries Departments.

The home secretary said foolproof security arrangement had been made in the province to control terrorism.

He said old weapons’ licences would be cancelled and new ones would be issued. The fine for misuse of sound system would be raised from Rs25,000 to Rs100,000. He said security arrangements were being improved at all schools in the province.

The health secretary said all out measures had been taken to cope with polio. He said the virus became active between January and March. The best results would be achieved by holding polio campaigns in this period, he said.

He also commended the performance of health officials in making the anti-measles campaign a success.

The communication and works secretary said the department was overseeing repairs and reconstruction of 10,426 km long roads under the Khadim Punjab Green Road Programme. He said 73,619 km long roads would be repaired and reconstructed in various districts. Roads will be widened from 10-feet to 12-feet and all roads to be constructed in the future would be 12-feet wide.

A representative of the Revenue Department said they were hoping to increase recovery of revenue. He said action would be taken against patwaris resisting the move to computerise land records. He said the performance of patwaris and tehsildars will be regularly monitored.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday directed the federal and Punjab governments to submit details about death-row convicts.

Justice Mahmood Maqbool Bajwa was hearing a petition filed by Judicial Activism Panel (JAP) chairman Muhammad Azhar Siddique.

A standing counsel told the court that implementation of death penalties had been resumed and the execution of the condemned prisoners was in progress. The judge directed the law officer to submit statistics of the prisoners whose execution had been pending and the reasons for the delay.

Advocate Siddique had said that around 8,000 prisoners were on death row. “The government suspended the the execution of death penalty in 2008. It is the right of every citizen to know how many prisoners there are in jails whose clemency appeals have been rejected by the president,” he said.

He also sought details about the number of foreigners who had been awarded capital punishment and were waiting execution. The judge adjourned the hearing till January 19.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2015.

He was addressing a conference on the security situation.

“All nations face testing times. Only those that work with courage and determination rise to the challenges,” the chief minister said.

He said the December 16 terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar had united the nation against terrorists. He said the unity would rewrite the history.

“It is time for us to unite and eradicate the menace of terrorism. He praised Pakistan Army, police and citizens for rendering numerous sacrifices in the country’s war on terrorism.

He said national leaders and institutions were on the same page in the fight against terrorists. “More than 50,000 Pakistanis have lost their lives in the war. It is time for us to learn from the mistakes made in the past and move to achieve the goal of a peaceful Pakistan,” Sharif said.

He said peace was linked to providing education, health, justice and socio-economic services. He stressed the need for taking steps to attract foreign investment and boost trade and economic activity.

“It is our duty to rid the country of oppression, injustice, corruption and nepotism. We should give our youths a safe and peaceful Pakistan.”

Sharif said it was sad to see that the country’s elite living a life of luxury while the common man struggled to get access to education, health and justice. He said injustice had to be checked to fight extremism and terrorism.

“Corruption, nepotism and all forms of injustice need to be curbed. A fair distribution of resources will help us prevent extremism from taking roots in the society,” he said.

The chief minister stressed the need for changing the country’s police culture. He said police should effectively play its role of providing relief at police stations.

Sharif said police would have to play a crucial role in the war on terror. He said there were laws against wall-chalking, hate speech and the misuse of loudspeakers. The government had now made new laws to take stringent action those not abiding by the rules, he said.

The chief minister asked police to keep record of those staying at hotels, motels and inns. He stressed the need for improving the intelligence system.

Home Minister Shuja Khanzada told the conference the spirit and determination shown by the nation during natural calamities was now needed to fight terrorism. He said victory was the only option in the war.

Provincial ministers Atta Manika, Bilal Yasin and Rana Mashhood Ahmed; National Assembly members Hamza Shahbaz Sharif and Afzal Khokhar; Provincial Assembly Member Rana Sanaullah, the chief secretary, the additional chief secretary, the advocate general, the IGP and the home secretary attended the conference.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2015.

Most of the missionary schools did not open citing the arrangements they were making to improve security.

“We received an SMS from the school administration that it was not reopening on Monday in view of security arrangements,” said Mustafa Ahmad whose son studies at a leading missionary school.

“The text did not confirm the date… it just read that the school was likely to reopen in a week.”

Police and law-enforcement agencies had placed 135 schools in the category A+ – indicating a high level of threat.

Operations DIG Haider Ashraf told The Express Tribune that divisional SPs had visited schools in their areas to review security arrangements there. He said police had also arranged a two-day training programme for security guards at schools. Police patrol around the schools, the DIG said.

Aitchison College also extended holidays to complete security measures.

“The school reopened on Monday but its board of governors extended the vacation noticing that a wall being built around it was incomplete,” Civil Lines SP Imtiaz Sarwar said.

The attendance was thin at many schools.

“The attendance was around 50 per cent. The government is taking all-out steps to ensure the safety of children but still there are apprehensions in the parents’ minds,” an official at the office of education EDO said.

Most universities too reopened on Monday.

The Punjab University administration banned the entry of ‘irrelevant’ people.

A spokesman for the Education Department said the department discouraged the extension in holidays.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has tasked provincial ministers and secretaries with reviewing security arrangements made by schools in A+ and A categories.

Education Minister Mashhood Ahmad Khan said commissioners and RPOs would chalk out a roadmap for the inspection on a daily basis.  The minister himself visited Government Girls High School, Model Town, Divisional Public School, Government. College of Home Economics, Queen Mary College, Government Girls College, Model Town, and Aitcheson College on Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2015.

ISLAMABAD: According to a report submitted by the Sindh government in the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday, Punjab and Sindh governments have failed to adhere to the five per cent job quota for minorities’ in the police department.

A three judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, had taken up the implementation of its June 19, 2014, judgment regarding protection of minorities’ rights.

The Sindh government admitted before SC that five per cent job quota in police department for minorities has not been maintained between 2010 and 2014. However, it defended the numbers by claiming that very few members of minorities had applied under general recruitment in various ranges or units of the Sindh police.

Additional Advocate General (AAG) Sindh Shafi Muhammad Chandio, while submitting the report in the apex court, said that 326 minorities have been appointed in the last five years.

According to the report, the police department has received 116,661 applications for the post of constable in 2014-15. Of these, 3,412 applications were from members of minorities.

In the Karachi range, 20,037 people applied for the post of constable. Of these only 76 applicants belonged to minority communities, the report said.

Meanwhile, Inspector General Punjab police Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera also submitted a report on the same matter. He said that 2,488 inspectors are working in the police department.

The report noted that 8,477 sub inspectors are currently working in the police department with 500 vacancies filled in 2014. Of these, only 17 belonged to minority communities have been recruited.

Similarly, 126,338 constables are working in Punjab police. In 2014, 4906 officials were recruited, of which only 61 were selected as part of the minority quota.

The report said that Punjab government is considering whether to form a ‘special task force’ of 16,800 police officials for the protection of worship places of minorities, adding that Rs52 billion will be allocated for this project.

All the chief secretaries and Inspector Generals (IGs) were present during Tuesday’s hearing.

The bench directed the Attorney General for Pakistan to ensure that the Hindu Marriage Bill is passed by the federal cabinet within two weeks.

The bench also asked the minority representatives to hold meetings with the federal and provincial governments on their issues and submit a report in this regard on February 11, 2015.

Forced conversions

During the course of proceedings, the Patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hindu Council Dr Ramesh Kumar had requested the bench to direct the Sindh government to hand over of two teenage Hindu girls over to their parents since they are living in shelters.

The bench, however, denied his plea, noting that the matter was sub-judice in the Sindh High Court (SHC).

AAG Sindh Chandio also submitted the details regarding forced conversions of Hindu girls.

The report said that a 13 year old Hindu girl named Anjli has been transferred from Daharki to Karachi and was confined in a shelter due to her age.

The report also mentioned an accused, Riaz, was facing trail in lower court under Sindh Marriage Restraining Act 2014. The SHC is expected to hear the case on January 15.

The report added that another girl, 14-year named Kiran embraced Islam and married a man named Qurban Ali.

She said in a statement before an Additional Sessions Judge that her present name was Fatima and that she was impressed by teachings of Islam and had entered into a contract marriage with Qurban, she further said that she was not willing to return with her parents.

On the basis of her statement, the judge on November 22, 2014, dismissed the case.

The report further cited the case of Sunainina, who was allegedly kidnapped on October 4, 2014, and recovered on November 20.

Another girl named Jyoti embraced Islam and married Abdul Wasay with her consent.

The hearing of this case is adjourned until February 11, 2015.

ISLAMABAD: Amid growing disenchantment among its ranks, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday asked the Punjab chapter of the party to reorganise.

“I ask the provincial president to maintain close liaison with the party workers in every nook and corner of the province and use the occasion of district wise conventions to explain to the workers party policies, listen to their views and address their grievances”, Zardari said in directives issued to PPP Punjab chief Mian Manzoor Wattoo.

Spokesperson to Zardari, Senator Farhatullah Babar said in a statement that the former president was keen to revitalise the party at the grass root levels throughout the country. Further, they will hold worker conventions at district levels in Punjab as a first step in reorganisation of the party. Later, district level conventions will also be held in other provinces.

Zardari also directed Watto to complete all party reorganisations at the level of union councils as soon as possible.

PPP, once the most popular party with its roots across the country, is now in a state of disarray after remaining five years in power at the centre owing to poor performance and severe allegations of corruption. The resurgence of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the meteoric rise of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has not helped PPP’s cause either with the party being routed in Punjab in the May 2013 elections.

The party is also facing internal wrangling in Sindh, the party’s traditional stronghold and the only province where it still has a government.

Despite being the second largest party in terms of seats in the national assembly, it has so far acted as a friendly opposition to the incumbent PML-N, despite holding key slots including the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) and the Senate.

There were also reports of differences between co-chairperson Zardari and chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari as the latter sought to revamp the party.

As a result, party failed to host a marquee event to observe the assassination anniversary of former premier Benazir Bhutto on December 27 .

Zardari, however, has announced plans to hold worker conventions in Faisalabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa soon.

“The former president said that holding of conventions at district level was a consensus demand of the workers that emerged on the eve of the party’s founding day convention held in Lahore recently and called for its full implementation in letter and spirit” Babar said in the statement.

“He also call upon the workers to participate in these district level conventions and, in keeping with the traditions of the party, express their views candidly on all issues be that of local or national importance or about organisational matters”, he quoted former president as saying.

Zardari also sought periodic reports on these conventions.

The committee held an annual general meeting and an extraordinary general meeting under Mian Misbahur Rehman on Monday to approve the club’s budget and decide on an election date.

The CoM passed 18 articles including the decision that elections would be held on a yearly basis. It decided that a member could not contest for a CoM position more than three consecutive terms. He or she must retire for a year to be able to participate in the elections again.

The Co-operative Societies registrar previously objected to holding elections every year. He wrote a letter to the CoM chairman in December 2013 saying that elections should be held after three years as the club was registered under the Company Act.

The CoM, however, decided to elect the club cabinet every year. The club has been holding elections in December every year since it was registered as a company in 1896.

This year three panels – one headed by business tycoon Rehman and two by former bureaucrats Kamaran Lashari and Tasneem Ahmed Noorni – are in the race.

Given a close three-way race no group might have seven members needed to elect the chairman on its own.

The incumbent CoM has arranged dinners, a musical night, a golf tournament, a tennis competition and a swimming gala. The candidates have started campaigning by sending letters and text messages and arranging corner meetings and dinners.

“But members are not happy with the delay in the vote,” a member told The Express Tribune.

He said members of all three panels might share prestigious slots such as head of guestrooms in case they did not win independent majority. The chief secretaries have traditionally shown keen interest in elections. Former chief secretaries Pervez Masood and Salman Siddique were quite active in this regard.

“This is not the case this year,” said the member who did not wish to be named. The interest of political parties has also increased over the years.

One of the contesting members alleged that Rehman had been delaying the announcement of election date because his panel was facing difficulty nominating popular candidates. Rehman said this was not the case. He said the date could not be announced until the registrar approved the articles passed by the CoM. He said the incumbent CoM would continue running club affairs until a new management was elected. He ruled out negation with a group to constitute a consensus panel.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek central president Raheeq Ahmed Abbasi said on Tuesday that the party would be organising a nation-wide campaign against the government’s failure to form a judicial commission to probe the June 17 Model Town violence and apprehend those responsible for it.

Abbasi said protest demonstrations in this regard would be staged across the nation. He said the first of these protests would be staged on January 17 in the city. Abbasi said a signature campaign would also be started against former principal secretary to chief minister Tauqeer Shah, who had been posted to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). He said the campaign would commence on Wednesday at the PAT secretariat. Abbasi said relatives of those killed and injured would sign a complaint exposing Shah’s role in the episode. He said the complaint will be forwarded to the organisation’s headquarters.

The PAT leader said that the party had postponed the staging of its rallies in the wake of the Peshawar carnage. He said the party had organised the rallies to mark the passage of six months since the violence. Abbasi said the government had failed to make the report of a one-man judicial commission probing the violence public.

Abbasi said the government was incapable of nabbing those responsible for the Peshawar massacre and the Wagah border bombing. He said those resoponsible for the June 17 Model Town violence on the other hand had influential posts. Abbasi said the party had to approach Lahore High Court to get the report of the commission but the home secretary had failed to forward the report to it despite the court’s order to its bewilderment.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.

The protesters gathered at the road and blocked it for vehicular traffic. A number of them were seen wielding staffs, rods and hockey sticks on the occasion. They chanted slogans against the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Company Limited (SNGPL) and demanded the immediate restoration of gas supply to the area.

Asifa Hassan, a protester, said unscheduled gas load shedding had made citizens’ lives hell. She said her children had been unable to reach their school on time as she had not been able to prepare breakfast on time due to gas load shedding.

“Residents of Sadhar have been grappling with the unavailability of full-pressure gas for three days,” she said. Hassan said they had been compelled to stage the demonstration as their complaints to the SNGPL had gone unheeded.

Bushra Bibi, another protester from Sabzi Mandi area said they would surround the SNGPL office on Sargodha Road if gas supply was not restored in 24 hours. “My husband quarrels with me when I am unable to prepare his breakfast due to gas load shedding. He has not been able to go to work on time due to this. One cannot even purchase food from markets because of gas load shedding. The few joints that are able to cook meals are not in a position to satisfy demand,” she said.

Abdul Kareem, another demonstrator, said residents of Sabzi Mandi area had been told by SNGPL officials that the locality did not fall in the city area after they had complained regarding poor pressure. He said they had been told that their gas connections would be checked and then supply at full pressure would be restored to their locality.

A team from Thikriwala police station visited the scene on learning about the demonstration and pacified the protesters. The protest was called off after the policemen assured the demonstrators that their grievances would be addressed soon.

SNGPL spokesperson Adnan Rafiq told The Express Tribune that demand for gas tended to increase during winter and weather conditions usually caused pressure at source to decline.

He said the company had been compelled to formulate a load management schedule due to this. Rafiq said some citizens had to grapple with load shedding because gas was being supplied to different localities on rotation. He said the challenge would be overcome with the passage of winter.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Wikipedia, a free-access and free-content internet encyclopedia, will be creating individual biography pages of all National Assembly Members (MNAs) to make its 14th birthday a special occasion for Pakistanis.

The encyclopedia has entries regarding 250 lawmakers currently that it intends to increase to include biographical articles on all National Assembly Members (MNAs) including parliamentarians elected on seats reserved for women and minorities. The National Assembly has 340 seats. Out of these 60 are reserved for women and 10 are reserved for minorities.

The encyclopedia has been seeking the assistance of staff at the National Assembly to obtain basic information on parliamentarians. Wikimedia Pakistan representative Saqib Qayyum told The Express Tribune that the organisation needed the parliamentarians’ particulars including their dates of birth, qualifications and alma maters. “The information will come in handy as we will incorporate it into articles on them. Most citizens are not privy to this information. It is not even available on the website of the National Assembly,” he said. The encyclopedia also wants their profile shots to illustrate articles on them. “We cannot obtain photos from the internet due to copyright restrictions. We have to wait and see whether they will cooperate with us over this. We can take photos from the National Assembly’s website only after securing written authourisation, Qayyum said.

He said there was a need to involve a greater number of people in the project to develop more articles and to ensure that entries do not face the prospect of deletion. Qayyum said only entries regarding notable people could be created at the encyclopedia. He said this made it binding on them to provide references regarding the work done by every lawmaker that had made them conspicuous. Qayyum said the organisation needed volunteers to come forward and offer their services to regularly review and update the articles.

“Many people use Wikipedia but very few give back to the website. Improving the quality of information in articles related to Pakistan is a fitting way of giving back to it,” he said. Qayyum said it was interesting that no one had bothered to create entries on Pakistan’s lawmakers. He said people mostly ended up creating entries on themselves or banal topics. Qayyum said they could possibly get the assistance of the National Assembly’s staff to edit these entries to ensure that they were not deleted.

Wikipedia, one of the most frequented websites in Pakistan, will be marking its 14th birthday on January 15.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.

These recommendations were put forth by participants during a consultative meeting on institutionalising the SHP in the Punjab. The event was organised by the Nur Centre for Research and Policy (NCRP), a policy think-tank and technical arm of the Fatima Memorial Hospital in Lahore.

The meeting aimed at forming an alliance for advocating the SHP’s institutionalisation. It also focused on the drawbacks and weak areas of the programmes. Dr Mubina Agboatwalla, the HOPE Foundation chairperson, said intervention through hygiene and health-related programmes in schools helped increase the level of understanding in children and their families as well as the community. “This has helped raise awareness at a large scale, making health and hygiene a priority among masses,” she said.

According to an ongoing research study, funded by Ilm Ideas and conducted by the NCRP in Lahore, 90 per cent of students cited the school and teachers as a source of health and nutrition information. The data from October 2014, when 255 students were surveyed in Lahore over 14 days, indicates that 18 per cent students were absent due to falling ill. “Worms in stomach” was reported to be the highest cause of illness among students.

Punjab Elementary Education DPI Malik Riaz said it was unfair to burden teachers with tasks other than teaching in classrooms. “Teachers are engaged in all sorts of campaigns, including census-taking, polio vaccination and elections. Asking them to contribute to more campaigns will be too much,” he said.

“They should not be expected to ignore their classrooms. Why are people not hired for the Health Department for health-related programmes instead of assigning duties to teachers?” he asked.

He pointed towards the failure of the Tawana Programme – a school nutrition package for rural girls across 29 districts that ran from 2002 to 2005.

Dr Nisar Cheema, the former health services director general, said that such programmes were initiatives of the Health Department. However, he said other departments should also take their ownership.

“Their grievances too should be understood. We also have to address issues pertaining to the education system while expecting them to participate and take ownership of the programme,” he said.

He said that advisers and supervisors under any such programme only visited government schools. “Their reach should be expanded to include all schools in their areas. Their recommendations should be taken seriously. They should also be used to disseminate information to a larger number of people,” he said.

Tahir Manzoor, a health expert at the UNICEF, stressed the need for a multi-sector approach in order to produce a comprehensive strategy. “Collaboration amongst departments is necessary to ensure that the programme is sustainable in the long run,” he said.

Dr Hassan Raza, a health adviser at the USAID, expressed similar views. “Once anyone enters a school, there can be no success unless there is support and collaboration from the teachers and head teachers,” he said. Dr Raza added that gaps must be identified in terms of making the programme self-sufficient and sustainable.

Nur Foundation CEO Dr Haroon Ihsan said that people at the grassroots level must be included in community interventions. He expressed the hope that the recommendations suggested at the discussion would manifest in practical form.

The participants agreed to form a consultative group to work on several key points including, promotion of health, coordination between Education and Health Departments and anchoring of the SHP in the education policy. The group decided to hold another meeting in January.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.

Corridor One will be 18.5 kilometres long and 12 kilometres of it will be elevated from the ground. It will start from Bahauddin Zakariya University and end at Chowk Kumharan.

The meeting was told that 21 bus stations will be built for the metro. The foundation stone will be laid next month. Sharif gave instructions for flyovers along the route to be used for the Metro Bus.

The chief minister said the Metro Bus Project will be a blessing for the people of Multan. It will be state-of-the-art and will benefit thousands of students, labourers, teachers, doctors and women, he said.

“The project will be completed in a transparent fashion in the least possible time.” The rapid bus transit would provide affordable and comfortable travelling facility, he said.

The Multan commissioner gave a briefing on the project. The Punjab Metro Bus Authority MD, the finance secretary and the LDA director general attended the meeting.

Polio campaign

Lahore Division Commissioner Abdullah Khan Sumbal visited various areas of the city as part of the three-day polio campaign.

He said only two drops of polio vaccine could protect a child from permanent disability.

He said polio vaccination teams were going door-to-door.

Their efforts would stave off the disease for all future generations.

Sumbal also administered polio drops to children at a clinic on Lytton Road. He said polio led to permanent disability and was a curse on the society.

He said the ongoing campaign was being monitored strictly at every level.

Pakistan-South Korea exchange

Governor Chaudhary Muhammad Sarwar addressed a delegation of 50 students from South Korea who visited the Governor’s House as part of a study tour on Tuesday.

Sarwar said Pakistan had sacrificed a lot to establish world peace.

He stressed the need for cordial bilateral relations and said it was not possible to progress without developing key linkages with other countries.

Governor Sarwar said South Korea had set a shining example of progress and success in every walk of life. He said Pakistan and South Korea enjoyed excellent relations and Pakistan sought to benefit from South Korea’s experience with energy, transportation and infrastructure development.

The study visit to Pakistan was proof of South Korea’s fondness for Pakistan, he said.

The governor stressed the need for more student exchange programmes between the two countries to strengthen their relations.

He welcomed the students to the cultural capital of Pakistan and hoped that they would take home sweet memories.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.

LAHORE: The Damocles sword once again hangs over Ikramul Haq alias Lahori and two other members of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi as a compromise to exonerate two Shiites, also on death row, in their stead apparently fell apart. The court has given Lahori’s counsel five days to file another application for a compromise before the Lahore High Court.

According to the complainant, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) failed to record statements to exonerate two Shiites sentenced for murdering a member of the LJ in 1992 in Jhang.

On Tuesday, Faisalabad Anti Terrorism Court Judge Raja Parvaiz Akhtar dismissed the appeal for a compromise and issued black warrants for Lahori. He is now scheduled to be hanged at the Lahore Central Jail on January 17.

Ghulam Mustafa Mangan, counsel for Lahori, told The Express Tribune that three heirs of Nayyer Abbas, one of the six people Lahori murdered in 1992, had agreed to record statements to exonerate Lahori. However, they failed to turn up in court on Tuesday and record their statements before the judge. This is why the court dismissed the appeal, Mangan said.

He said they would file another application for a compromise at the LHC on Wednesday (today).

Altaf Hussain Shah, the complainant in the FIR against Lahori, told The Express Tribune that they (Shiites) had promised to record statements to forgive Lahori and two other members of LJ, Sarwar and Khalil, for killing six Shiites including a six-month-old baby in Jhang in 1992. In return, Shah said, LJ members had promised to forgive Syed Ishaq Shah alias Saqi and Liaqat Hussain Shah, two Shiites on death row. An FIR against Saqi and Hussain Shah was registered in 1992 at the Jhang Saddar police station for murdering Mukhtar Ahmad, a member of the LJ. The deceased’s son, Muhammad Asif, had filed the complaint. Section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act was not added to the FIR against Saqi and Hussain Shah; it was added to the FIR against Lahori.

Three relatives of Nayyer Abbas had promised to record statements to forgive Lahori, Altaf Hussain Shah said. However, Ahmad’s relatives had not yet recorded statements forgiving Saqi and Hussain Shah, he said. “It seems that they are trying to dodge us,” he said. Ahmad’s family had even refused to sign the affidavits required before recording statements before the judge, Shah said. He said they had collected stamp papers for Ahmad’s family members to write the affidavits on but they left. “That’s when we realised that they were trying to con us,” said Shah.

Shah appeared in court and told the judge about the situation, upon which he dismissed the application. He said their application to release the Shiites, filed before an additional sessions judge in Jhang, would have been dismissed on Tuesday but the judge was on leave. He said the hearing would take place on Wednesday (today).

“We still want a settlement,” Shah said. “We just need a guarantee that the LJ members will not breach our trust.”

Earlier, Lahori was scheduled to be executed on January 8 at 6:30am. The execution was stayed.  The superintendent of the Lahore Central Jail wrote, “Lahori was on the gallows to be executed at 6:30am. At 6:28am, we received information that Abbas’s mother, brother and complainant were at the prison gate.

After consulting Magistrate Imran Ishaque, the proceedings were stayed under Rule 105(iv) (amended) and 104 (ix) of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978. He said the legal heirs had said that they had forgiven Lahori in the name of Allah.”

Lahori was sentenced to death in an FIR registered under Sections 302, 148/149 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of Anti Terrorism Act for the murder of Nayyer Abbas Qureshi, driver of Altaf Hussain Shah, the complainant in the FIR. Lahori, a resident of Shorkot Cantt, district Jhang, has no heirs. On April 26, 2003, an anti-terrorism court sentenced him to death.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.

LAHORE: At least seven people, including the bride, were killed when the roof of a wedding hall in Lahore caved in early on Wednesday.

According to initial details, the roof of Faizan Marriage Hall in Shadbagh area of Lahore caved in when a wedding reception was in progress.

It was the first function after the marriage hall was inaugurated, said Edhi officials told The Express Tribune.

A rescue official said that 20 injured and six bodies had been shifted to Mayo Hospital and Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital. He said that the bride Shumaila’s dead body had been recovered while the groom was recovered injured, adding that the debris is being removed to recover injured or dead bodies under it.

Local police, Rescue 1122, officials of city district government and Edhi officials have reached the spot and started the rescue efforts.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has the taken notice and ordered the investigation into the incident.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Multan had awarded death sentence on two counts, 40 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs260,000 to Zahid Hussain alias Zahida.

The court had announced that he would have to spend another 11 years and six months in jail if he failed to pay the fine. The court had also issued perpetual arrest warrants for Shahabuddin, the co-accused in the case.

Central Jail authorities have recently written to District and Sessions Judge Taufiq Iftikhar Ahmad requesting him to depute a judicial magistrate to witness the execution and attest Hussain’s ‘last will’, if there was any.

They said Hussain would be executed at 6.30am on January 15. The judge has asked Judicial Magistrate Imran Yousaf to witness the execution.

Hussain was wanted for several terrorist attacks.

According to the prosecution, on August 13, 2000, more than five police officials were on duty on a picket in Multan’s Seetal Mari area when Zahid Hussain and his accomplice rode there on motorcycles.

They opened fire when the policemen tried to arrest Hussain. Assistant Sub- Inspector Ghulam Rasool and Constable Arshad were killed and Muhammad Yousaf was injured in the attack. The suspects fled.

Police had later arrested Hussain.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.

NANKANA SAHIB: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Rai Mansab Ali Khan died of a heart attack on Monday morning in the city of Nankana Sahib in Punjab, Express News reported.

Khan won NA-137 seat (Nankana Sahib-III) by 61,506 votes during the general elections of 2012.

Mansab Ali Khan was born on September 15, 1938 in Nankana Sahib and completed his law degree from University of the Punjab in 1960.