The petition had been filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) candidate Ibrahim Khan in the Bahawalpur election tribunal.

Shah had won the NA-152 seat.

Khan had accused Shah of rigging and casting fake votes to alter the election result.

Shah had secured 81,015 votes and Khan 64,611 votes. Ahmed Mujtaba Gillani of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had secured 32,514 votes.

In his petition, Khan alleged rigging in two polling stations at Soman village and Mochipura.

He said counterfeit ballot papers had been used and they did not carry serial numbers.

The tribunal had ordered an audit of the two polling stations.

Votes were recounted and checked for authenticity by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

After no irregularities were found, the tribunal dismissed the petition.

Shah told The Express Tribune that justice had prevailed.

“The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz came to power with the blessings of the people,” he said.

“So far, widespread rigging as alleged by the PTI has not been found.”

He urged the PTI to accept election results and work towards securing the government in the next elections through hard work.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2015.

Witnesses said Asif Butt was leaving after dropping off his children to the school on University Road at around 8am when he was hit by a bullet accidentally fired by a guard at the entrance.

Panic ensued around the school after the incident. Scores of people gathered there and called Rescue 1122.

The rescuers took Butt to the district headquarters hospital where doctors later said his condition was stable. Teams from two police stations responded to the emergency calls and cordoned off the area. They also arrested the security guard, Imanullah, a resident of Layyah. His gun was seized.

Talking to The Express Tribune, a spokesman for the school said the guard had not been employed by the school. “He was probably hired by someone else.” Annie Shahid, a witness, said that the guard had been cleaning his gun when it went off. She said he was the only guard manning the school entrance.

Cantt Station House Officer Farooq Hasnaat told The Express Tribune that the guard had been employed by the school. He said the man was not trained to use a gun. He said police would recommend action against the school administration for failing to train him before employing him.

Butt said he did not remember much after he was hit.

“I had just dropped my children at school and was turning away when I was hit,” he said. “When I regained conscious, I was at the hospital.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Academic Raza Naeem said on Thursday that Angaarey, a collection of short stories published in 1932, had transformed the literature of the subcontinent.

He was speaking at an event organised at Faiz Ghar to discuss the controversial collection. Naeem said Angaarey had stirred a hornet’s nest by challenging the two predominant Muslim narratives prevalent in the subcontinent at the time of its publication. The first of these was inspired by the work and vision of educationist Syed Ahmad Khan that exhorted Muslims to acquire western education and to challenge the British from a vantage point. The other school of thought, led by religious leaders, called on Muslims to return to religion and focus efforts on studying the Quran.

The collection, which includes nine short stories and one play, was authored by Sajjad Zaheer, Rashid Jehan, Ahmed Ali and Mehmuduz Zaman. The collection critiqued British rule in India and exposed double standards of religious leaders in the subcontinent. All the authors had been influenced by Marxist thought at some point in the course of their education.

The book’s publication was met with widespread criticism from religious circles and a fatwa was issued against its writers. Bookshops were not allowed to sell copies of the collection and copies of the collection were consigned to flames. The authors of the collection remained undaunted and refused to tender an apology for their work. Only five copies of the collection survived out of which two made their way to the Oriental Library in London. They subsequently established the Progressive Writers’ Association with the idea of using literature as a means of fostering social change.

Naeem said that the collection was the first work that had employed this style of writing in a vernacular language. He said this had left an indelible mark on literature indigenous to the subcontinent. Some of the most influential writers from the subcontinent including Urdu writers Munshi Premchand and Ismat Chughtai were associated with the movement.

An English translation of the collection was released by Penguin Books India and Rupa Publications in 2014.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Minister Bilal Yasin said on Thursday that the government had been striving to ensure foolproof security at schools.

He was speaking to reporters at the Rajgarh Government Middle Model Girls School. Yasin had arrived at the school after a threatening letter had been found on the premises. He exhorted teachers at the school and ordered security to be beefed up at the institution.

Yasin said the incident appeared to be an act of mischief.

He said police were probing the incident and action would be taken against those responsible for the act.

The minister had been reviewing security arrangements at schools on Thursday when he learned about the development. He said security arrangements had been completed at most educational institutions. Yasin said protective equipment and CCTV cameras had been installed at their entrances. He said provincial assembly members (MPAs) had been reviewing security arrangements at institutions in their constituencies daily.

Gulshan-i-Ravi DSP Ghulam Abbas Rana told The Express Tribune that forensic lab authorities had taken the letter to conduct tests and the police were waiting for the results. He said a search had also been conducted in the area. Rana said the incident appeared to be an act of mischief. The handwriting appeared to be that of a child’s.

A teacher from the school said that the letter had been written to create panic among teachers and students. “Acts like this will not intimidate us,” she said. The teacher said no one could stop students from being educated. “We are not afraid of anti-state elements,” she said.

The teacher said the government and police had been cooperating with the school’s administration.

She said all security arrangements had been completed at the school in accordance with the standard operating procedures devised by the Education Department and the police.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Most of the filling stations in the city remained shut for the second day on Thursday after they exhausted their petroleum stores.

Muhammad Aslam, owner of a petrol station, said oil refineries had stopped supplying them petroleum despite a recent spike in demand.

“You will see long queues of motorbikes and cars in front of some petrol pumps… only a handful of petrol stations in the city have fuel,” he said.

Owners of filling stations, which had run out of fuel, cordoned off petrol stations with barbed wire and tents.

Signboards carrying the message “Petrol not available, sorry for the inconvenience” were placed in front of several petrol stations. Most of their staff took the day off and security guards stood in front of the petrol pumps waving potential customers away.

Aslam said the shortage began on Monday and worsened on Thursday. Petroleum stores dwindled and fresh supply had halted, he said.

Muhammad Safdar, an irate citizen who had been waiting in queue to fill his car, said, “I have been waiting in line to get petrol for the past two hours. The government has not been able to handle the supply and demand of fuel.”

News of petrol shortage has been making rounds all week but the government hasn’t taken any steps to ameliorate the situation, he said. “Fuel stations that do have petrol aren’t selling more than five litres per car,” he said.

Muhammad Asif stood next to his motorcycle waiting for his turn. “They’re not giving us [motorcycle drivers] more than one litre. It is not fair. I’ve been waiting for my turn for so long.”

Small quarrels erupted at various petrol stations over the petrol rationing which many customers deemed unreasonable.

Ahmed Din, a worker at a petrol station, said the owner of the fuel station had told them to sell one litre of petrol to motorcycle riders and five litres to cars. He said their stores of petrol were almost depleted.

Several people set up makeshift stalls in some areas to sell petrol in black. They charged Rs110 of a litre compared to the market price of Rs78.80 for a litre.

Ustad Majid, the owner of a vehicle workshop, said most of these stalls were selling adulterated fuel, because of which several vehicle owners had visited his workshop complaining of mechanical faults their vehicles had developed.

A spokesperson for the city district government said the government was in contact with petrol supply companies. He said 1.3 million litres of petroleum had been supplied to petrol stations in the city in the last 24 hours. He said the government would not allow anyone to sell fuel in black.

PPP slams govt over fuel shortage

As if gas and electricity load shedding was not enough, long queues at petrol filling stations are salt to the wound, PPP Punjab Secretary General Tanvir Ashraf Kaira said in a statement issued on Thursday.

He said most people had taken to cooking food on wood fire because of the persistent gas and electricity load shedding. Because of the energy crisis, citizens have already begun to fear their fate in the scorching summer, he said.

The government should have planned ahead, he said. “They should have realised the gravity of the situation and pre-empted the supply halt.”

An assurance from the minister for petroleum that the situation will improve once ships transporting petrol reach Karachi port, is peanuts, he said.

Kaira called on the government to fix the responsibility for the shortage on someone. “We deserve to know who caused this miserable state of affairs. They must be taken to task.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Various organisations from the Barelvi school of thought on Thursday staged a rally in front of the US Consulate against French magazine Charlie Hebdo for publishing blasphemous caricatures.

More than 500 people carrying placards marched from The Mall to the US Consulate. They shouted slogans extolling the attack at the publication’s office in Paris leaving left 12 people, including its editor and seven other employees, dead. They also offered funeral prayers for Saïd Kouachi and Chérif Kouachi, two brothers who were killed during a manhunt on January 9 for attacking the magazine.

Activists from the Tehreek Sirat-i-Mustaqeem, the Namoos-i-Risalat Mahaz and the Sunni Tehreek attended the rally. Tehreek Sirat-i-Mustaqeem leader Maulana Ashraf Asif Jalali led the rally. Mian Waleed Ahmed Sharaqpuri, Maulana Muhammad Shadab Raza Qadri, Maulana Muhammad Ali Naqashbandi and Maulana Raza-i-Mustafa were among the prominent participants.

Jalali said those who had attacked the magazine were “heroes”. He said they were neither Pakistanis nor had they obtained religious education from Pakistani madrassahs. “They were Muslims and we praise them for whatever they have done.”

The protesters assembled at Charing Cross shouting slogans against the US, UK, Israel and France. They carried placards inscribed with quotes ‘Down with Charlie Hebdo’, ‘Down with Charlie Hebdo’.

They walked behind a truck that had a loudspeaker attached to it. Speeches condemning the magazine, the US, UK, Israel and France were played on the loudspeaker.

The rally stopped briefly in front of the CM Secretariat where a speaker addressed the crowd using a loudspeaker. A few minutes before the rally, Home Minister Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada had told a press conference that the government had amended various laws to clamp down misuse of loudspeakers to discourage hate speech.

Stringent security measures had been adopted at and around the rally and at the US Consulate.

“We condemn blasphemy and Charlie Hebdo,” Jalali said addressing the protesters in front of the US Consulate. He said they could sacrifice their lives but would not accept blasphemy.

He accused the US of funding the publication. He said non-Muslims should respect the sentiments of Muslims and avoid committing blasphemy.

“The West is deliberately indulging in blasphemy to hurt Muslims around the world. Blasphemy too is a kind of terrorism and the West should stop it.”

Jalali said that the magazine had published similar caricatures in 2006, 2011 and 2013. He also condemned those who had held a vigil for slain governor Salmaan Taseer. He praised Malik Mumtaz Qadri, the confessed killer of Taseer. “He is our hero.” The Tehreek Sirat-i-Mustaqeem leader requested Pakistanis to take out rallies against the West on Friday (today). He also appealed to the Saudi Arabian government to organise a ‘Medina March’ against a rally that had recently been organised in France to show solidarity with the magazine.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of the Lahore High Court (LHC) directed the government on Thursday to review security arrangements at educational institutions province-wide and submit a report covering all aspects of standard operating procedures (SOPs) adopted in the wake of the Peshawar carnage to the court.

Judge Shah said this was a national issue as lives of schoolchildren were at stake and their parents were worried about their safety.

He said it was heartening to note that students were going to schools despite security threats. Judge Shah said the government should have completed security arrangements at schools before they had reopened for the current academic session.

Advocate Zain Sikander, the petitioner, said a notification regarding the opening of schools should be declared null and void due to the absence of foolproof security arrangements. “Parents should be kept in the loop regarding the implementation of SOPs and a report be submitted to the court in this regard,” he said. The court ordered the respondents in the petition to appear before the court personally due to the pressing nature of the matter after hearing the petitioner at some length.

The court resumed hearing of the petition after the Home Department Special Secretary Syed Wajahat Hamdani, Schools Secretary Muhammad Gulzar and CCPO Amin Wains appeared before the court.

Special Secretary Wajahat Hamdani said schools had been classified according to their level of vulnerability. He said they had prioritised securing of the schools thought to be most vulnerable.

Secretary Gulzar said progress was being monitored by secretaries and a report in this regard was being sent to the chief minister daily. Gulzar said security at sensitive schools has been beefed up and special branch officials have also been deployed there.

CCPO Wains said the issue has been prioritised and efforts to update security paraphernalia were underway.

The court announced to hold hearings in camera due to the sensitive nature of the matter and adjourned proceedings till January 19.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2015.

A number of security steps have to be taken during the transfer of the convict,” he said. “Recently, eight convicts, Aqeel alias Dr Usman, Arshad Mehrban, Ghulam Sarwar Bhatti, Zubair Ahmed, Rashid Qureshi, Akhlaq Ahmed alias Roosi, Nawazish Ali and Muhammad Mushtaq were transferred from the central jail to the district jail for their execution,” he said. He said that phansi ghaat had been set up at Barrack 5 at an estimated cost of Rs1.3 million.

“A compound will also be constructed before the inauguration of the gallows platform in the central jail. Until then, the black warrants will be executed at Faisalabad district jail,” Ali said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2015.

The RO also submitted copies of Forms 14 and 15 and packing invoices of the 281 polling stations. The forms and packing invoices of polling stations 57, 143 and 150 are missing.

Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)’s counsel, Anees Ali Hashim, had submitted an application, requesting that forms be made part of record. He had said that the record submitted by the RO and the items recovered from the polling bags did not match. “Forms 15 for 59 polling stations and Forms 14 for 69 polling stations are missing,” he had said.

Asjad Saeed, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s counsel, said after the submission of record, the PTI had no moral ground left to continue its argument.

“If the PTI still contends the record does not match, it should bring substantial evidence rather than just make claims,” he said.

The judge adjourned the proceedings till January 19.

A local commission had earlier submitted its audit report. It had reported 519 discrepancies in the record, including 23,639 unsigned and unstamped counterfoils. It had declared 3,642 votes invalid.

The commission said that 275 counterfoils of votes cast in favour of Imran Khan were without thumb impressions and 232 counterfoils of votes cast in favour of Ayaz Sadiq were without thumb impressions.

It further stated 2,693 votes were without the stamps of the polling staff and 750 votes were found without the stamps of the presiding officers. The report stated that 180,115 votes were polled in the constituency, out of which 92,393 were in favour of Ayaz Sadiq and 83,542 were in Imran Khan’s favour. It said that counterfoils of 23,639 votes were unsigned and unstamped.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2015.

ISLAMABAD: A plan is on the cards to take action against hospitals which dispose off infectious medical waste improperly.

The Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) has written letters to hospital administrations in Islamabad to appear for personal hearing to apprise the environmental body of measures they have put in place for disposing of their waste, an official said.

“In the first phase, we have called hospitals for personal hearing in the EPA and if they fail to come with concrete and satisfactory answers, legal suits will be filed against them in the Environment Protection Tribunal,” EPA Director Laboratories Ziauddin Khattak told The Express Tribune. 

He said most hospitals, clinics and labs in the federal capital are playing with the lives of people by disposing of their medical waste improperly, which is causing spread of fatal infectious diseases such as hepatitis. Khattak added that children and elderly people are prone to these infectious diseases because of their weak immunity systems.

“The Pak-EPA monitoring team visited almost 28 public and private hospitals and clinics in the federal capital and except for two, all of them have zero facilities for disposing of their infectious and non-infectious waste,” Khattak said. He said that some hospitals were even found throwing their hazardous waste into municipal garbage, particularly in the Bhara Kahu area.

The official said that civic bodies should also establish integrated infectious waste incinerators in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) to overcome the issue.

The hospital waste, if not handled properly, not only poses a serious threat to human health but also to the environment, he said.

There is a serious inadequacy in handling industrial and medical waste in the country but the improper disposal of medical waste in Islamabad is increasingly becoming a potential public health risk and an environmental burden.

Data on waste generation by hospitals in the city is also inadequate or missing, making it difficult to put in place an efficient solid waste system.

“The EPA is struggling against inadequacy in hazardous waste management and consistently asks hospitals to take every possible measure to rectify the situation,” Khattak claimed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2015.

Police said the boiler exploded at a dye factory in Akbarabad near Ghulam Muhammadabad police station where over three dozen workers were had just come in.

Muhammad Ismaeel, a factory worker, told newsmen that it exploded due to a high steam pressure. He said no boiler engineer was present at the time. After the explosion, panic ensued in the area and a number of people rushed to the factory. Rescue 1122 officials said Muhammad Tahir, Majeed Abbas, Muhammad Asif and Noor Ahmad died on the spot.Rescue teams took Muhammad Waheed, Muhammad Waqas, Kashif Rasheed and Muhammad Umar to Allied Hospital where doctors said Kashif’s condition was serious.

District Coordination Officer (DCO) Noorul Amin Mengal and Assistant Commissioner Shahrukh Niazi visited the factory and sealed it. Talking to newsmen, Mengal said the managers at the factory had not installed emergency equipment at the factory. The DCO also visited Allied Hospital and inquired about the health of the injured workers. Ghulam Muhammadabad police registered a case against factory owner Gulraiz Yaqoob and his partners for not maintaining safety standards at the factory.  Bodies of the deceased have been sent to Allied Hospital for autopsy examination. Sub Inspector Muhammad Akram said Yaqoob had been arrested and raids were being conducted to arrest his partners. Yaqoob told police that the boiler had exploded accidentally.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2015.

Muhammad Jameel, a student of the school, told newsmen that students waiting for their exams to start when the roof collapsed. He said his class fellows Asghar Ali, Tayyab Shafiq, Bahadur Ali and Saad Rafiq were injured.

Students rushed out of the classroom and informed their teachers about the incident.

Jameel said the teachers called Rescue 1122 who pulled out the injured from under the debris and took them to Ghulam Muhammadabad General Hospital.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the DCO said a similar incident occurred three days ago in Government Girls School in Karkhana Bazaar. He said a girl was injured.

The DCO said the Education Executive District Officer (EDO) Bashir Ahmad Zahid Goraya had been asked to inspect the school and submit a report on the condition the building as soon as possible.

The DCO said the EDO would conduct a comprehensive survey of all schools in the district and make arrangements for their repair so that such incident could be avoided.

He directed the district officer of the Buildings Department to assist the EDO and take steps to repair dilapidated school buildings.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.

Satellite Town SHO Nasir Nawaz told The Express Tribune that police had received an anonymous call that some bodies had been spotted in Model Town. He said a police team was sent to Model Town to look for the bodies.

He said after several hours, they found fresh earth near some bushes and found four bodies buried there.

He said the one of the deceased was less than a year old, while another was four years old. He said the body of a 30-year-woman was also found. Nawaz said the bodies had been taken to a mortuary for autopsy.

He said the woman and the children had been shot dead.

He said police had detained Ghazanfar Ali, a resident of Model Town.

He said during interrogation, he had confessed to killing his sister Nazia Bibi and her three sons.

Nawaz said a case under Section 302/34 and 201 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the complaint of Muhammad Hayat, husband of the deceased. He said Ali would be produced in the court of a judicial magistrate on Monday for his physical remand.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.

He was speaking at the closing ceremony of a week-long training workshop at the Punjab Emergency Services Academy.

“Rescue 1122 is working to build socially responsible and resilient communities in the province through Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs),” he said.

He said that the programme aimed at reducing vulnerabilities and strengthening people’s capacity to enhance their hazard identification skills, assessment, learning and implementation of early warning systems, and to cope with various disaster risks at community level.

“Direct involvement of the community members in undertaking local level risk reduction measurements is integral for the establishment of safer communities,” Naseer said.

He said the core objective of the training was to initiate, formalise and develop community emergency response teams to ensure that a trained human resource was available to mitigate disasters.

Naseer said that Rescue 1122 and the NDMA planned to implement the programme at grassroots level so that communities in the Punjab might play an active role during disasters.

He added that the training dealt with risk and hazard assessment, vulnerability assessment and capacity development; formation of disaster risk management plans at the community level, community based multi-hazard early warning and dissemination mechanisms, school evacuation plans and a community evacuation plan.

Naseer urged Rescue safety officers to transfer these skills at the community level to raise awareness on engagement.

The training session had been organised by NDMA and NIDM representatives including Brig (retd) Sajid Naeem; Capt (retd) Asif Iqbal and NIDM Capacity Building specialists Waseem Ahmed and Head of Community Safety Wing Roqiya Bano Javed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.

LAHORE: The district officer for Environment has been directed to take action against stone-crushing factories that are yet to implement orders of an Environment Tribunal passed in 2012. The decision was taken last week at a meeting chaired by Environment Secretary Muhammad Iqbal Chauhan. He said that action would be taken against the factories under Section 16 of the Environmental Protection Act 1997, Amended 2012, (actions causing adverse environmental impact). 

The Environment Protection Agency had asked the factories to ensure a dust suppression system using water sprays at key dust generating points to stop fine particles from becoming airborne. The agency had also asked the factories to regularly clean and spray water on the factory premises.

Over the past few years, the agency has been asking stone-crushing factories, located in a 15-km radius around Sargodha Bridge 111, to control dust pollution. EPA officials said that the factories not only posed environmental hazards but also caused health problems for workers and residents of the area.

EPA officials said residents of as many as 11 villages were adversely affected because of the stone-crushing factories.

The Sargodha Welfare Trust filed a case against the factories in 2000 after which the EPA conducted an investigation. The EPA found out that there were 354 stone-crushing factories in the area that were violating several provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1997. Of these, 325 stone-crushing units were prosecuted in an Environment Tribunal. In 2012, the judge ordered the factories to ensure implementation of safety measures as prescribed in the EPA.

Deputy Director Nasimur Rehman Shah told The Express Tribune that they had held several meetings with the factories to bring them on board with the recommended changes. He said the EPA had now directed its legal wing to proceed against the factories as there had been no progress.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Railway Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique said on Sunday stringent steps would be taken against those responsible for the petrol shortage crisis. He said the matter would be taken up by the cabinet.

He was speaking at a ceremony to inaugurate the construction of a road near Walton railway station.

The minister said the prime minister had suspended four senior officials and ordered an inquiry in this regard. He said the country could not afford agitation.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman and several party members had been levelling baseless allegations against the government, he said. He said the PTI should realise that people only vote for those who deliver on campaign promises. He said the road, to be constructed at a cost of Rs100 million, would help ease traffic flow on Walton Road. He said Pakistan Railways planned to remove encroachments from along rail tracks. Fences would be installed along the tracks to curb accidents, he said. Rafique said that work on Bab-i-Pakistan would be completed soon. The project includes a playground, a jogging track, a park and a monument.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.

He said the committee would survey challenges faced by the BMP officials and submit a report on recommendations on restructuring the force.

He said the BMP would induct fresh recruits to the force and special training courses would be offered for its officials.

Talking to newsmen at a press conference, he said there were 355 BMP officials currently in the field. He said there were at least 165 vacancies. He said shortage of manpower had greatly hindered effectiveness of the BMP in policing provincial borders. BMP Commandant Shahid Mehboob and Risaldar Khurram Abbas Khosa were also present at the press conference.

Rehman said the committee would make suggestions for the BMP to cope with the challenges of increasing population and arms smuggling. He said purchase of the latest ammunition for the BMP would also be considered by the committee.

Rehman told newsmen that on Saturday night, the Border Military Police had seized 1,073 bottles of imported liquor being smuggled from Balochistan to the Punjab. He said the driver of the vehicle transporting the liquor had been arrested.

He said a truck had been stopped for a search at Bwatta check post. He said the crates packed with liquor bottles were found hidden under cartons of apples. He said a case had been registered against Bismillah Ali, the truck driver.

He said the driver had told them that he was taking the liquor, estimated to be worth Rs5 million from Quetta to Lahore via Dera Ghazi Khan.

He said the driver would be presented before a judicial magistrate for his physical remand on Monday (today.)

Rehman said nearly 4,500 litres diesel being smuggled from Balochistan to the Punjab had been seized over the weekend. He said over the last three months, 22 stolen motorbikes being transported from the Punjab to Balochistan had been seized and 14 non-custom paid cars had been handed over to the Customs Department. He said it  was imperative to improve the BMP to prevent smuggling across provinces.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.

Lahori was hanged on Saturday. He was sentenced to death on April 26, 2003 by an anti-terrorism court (ATC). The FIR had been registered under Sections 302, 148/149 of Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act in the murder of Nayyer Abbas Qureshi, driver of Altaf Hussain Shah, the complainant. Lahori was a resident of Shor Kot Cantonment, Jhang district.

Zahid Hussain was hanged at the Central Jail on Thursday. He had been convicted by an ATC of killing two policemen and injuring several others in Multan in August 2000. He was given death sentence on two counts, 40 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs260,000.

Last week, two men were awarded death and life imprisonment for attacking an Ahmadi place of worship.

This is the first time anyone has been convicted of violence against Ahmadis.

George Clement, a former minority MNA, said the development was a step in the right direction. “However, a lot more needs to be done to restore the confidence of the minorities. Justice has not been done in Gojra, Shanti Nagar and Joseph Colony cases,” he said. He said that the state should establish its writ to assure the minorities that they would be treated as equal citizens. “Those responsible for attacking the Ahmadis have been convicted. However, they can still be released due to legal loopholes,” he said.

On May 28, 2010, the terrorists had attacked two Ahmadi places of worship in Lahore killing 94 people and wounding 100 others. The Punjabi Taliban, an affiliate of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Moavia and Abdullah, who had attacked Baitun Noor in the Model Town, were caught.

On Saturday, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) sentenced Moavia to death on seven counts. Abdullah was sentenced to life in prison on nine counts. The court also imposed a fine of Rs3 million each on the two.

The law enforcement agencies were unable to arrest anyone involved in attacking the Garhi Shahu place of worship.

Last week, an ATC acquitted two suspects accused of murdering a Shia man and his son after the prosecution witnesses refused to testify. Raoof Gujjar and Sabir Shah had been arrested for allegedly killing Dr Ali Haidar and his son in 2013.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Lahore Bar Association (LBA) president Chaudhry Ishtiaq A Khan on Sunday opposed military courts saying that setting up of such courts amounted to imposing a ‘mini martial law’ in the country.

The LBA and the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) would hold press conferences on Monday (today) against the establishment of military courts and publishing of blasphemous caricatures in a French magazine, Khan said.

The LBA members The Express Tribune spoke to said the military leadership apparently believed that civil courts had failed to execute terrorists. They said the impression was wrong as the courts had issued verdicts; implementing them was an executive function.

Khan said setting up military courts not eradicate terrorism from the country. “Establishing such courts is like handing a pen to military officials and a gun to judges.”

He said Lahore High Court had issued a verdict in 2012 directing the government to take steps, in consultation with the authorities concerned, to prevent blasphemous publications.

Khan said the LBA would file a contempt of court petition against the government. “We will take the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.

He was presiding over a meeting that reviewed steps taken to implement the plan and security measures at schools across the province.

The chief minister endorsed a suggestion to make it compulsory for educational institutions to install an advance alarm system on their premises. He ordered provincial ministers and secretaries of various departments to continue monitoring security arrangements made by educational institutions.

Sharif said the nation was united in the country’s war against terrorism. The unity would help rid the country of the menace. He said the government was committed to making Pakistan a land of peace.

“All segments of society will have to fight the war.”

The chief minister said victory was the only option in the war on terror. He said the December 16 terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar had united the nation against terrorists. “The martyrs of the school attack have strengthened our resolve to fight terrorism,” he said.

Sharif said terrorism, extremism and sectarianism would be fought with the force of national unity. He said extraordinary measures demanded extraordinary steps.

He ordered that a comprehensive plan be made to improve the performance of Civil Defence Department.

Earlier, the chief minister was briefed about steps that had been taken to implement the National Action Plan, the security situation in the province and a security plan evolved for educational institutions.

Railway Minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Provincial Ministers Col (r) Shuja Khanzada, Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman and Ata Maneka; MPAs Rana Sanaullah and Zaeem Hussain Qadri, MNA Raza Hayat Hiraj, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Rana Maqbool, the chief secretary, the IGP and the home secretary attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.