LAHORE / MULTAN: Thousands of citizens woke up early morning on Sunday to queue up at the handful of fuel stations selling fuel in the provincial capital. It has been six days since the supply of petrol began dwindling in the province. Most petrol stations in Lahore, Multan, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura and Kasur have cordoned off their premises.  

Obaid Ahmad, a resident of Kamoke, told The Express Tribune that he had come to Lahore with his wife in search of petrol. He said they had run out of fuel eight kilometres from Shahdara and had to drag the motorcycle all the way to a relative’s house in Shahdara. Then he took a rickshaw to go search for petrol somewhere in the city. He said that he had been unsuccessful and would now have to return home on public transport.

“I woke up early on Sunday to get petrol…it’s 2pm and I can’t find a drop of fuel anywhere,” said Muhammad Tahir. He had been standing in a queue at a petrol station near Mozang Chungi for two hours but had decided to return home. “What’s the point of waiting when there’s no fuel,” he said.

Several citizens said they had been buying petrol for as much as Rs200 per litre.

An employee at a petrol pump at Shahdara told The Express Tribune that they were selling one litre to motorcycle drivers and five litres to cars. He said they were rationing fuel in order to serve as many citizens as possible.

Most public transport and rickshaws disappeared off the roads and ones that were still operating charged twice the usual fare. Passengers and transporters were seen arguing at several wagon stops in the city. The number of people using Metro Bus and Lahore Transport Service has doubled in the past few days.

On Sunday, Pakistan Awami Tehrik slammed the government for the fuel crisis. PAT president Raheeq Ahmed Abbasi said the chief minister should resign for his inability to ensure reliable supply of fuel to the people of the province. “In 2012, Shahbaz Sharif set up a camp office at Minar-i-Pakistan to highlight people’s problems on account of load shedding…why is he hiding now?”

Protests in the Punjab

Several protest demonstrations against fuel shortage erupted in south Punjab districts on Sunday. College students and their parents held demonstrations in front of 21 petrol pumps in these districts demanding that educational institutes be closed till petrol supply was resumed. They said the December tests had been postponed earlier due to the security situation and now students were having trouble reaching their institutes due to fuel shortage.  Students of colleges in Multan, Sahiwal, Layyah, Muzafargarh, Okara, Bhakkar, Rajanpur, Bahawalnagar and Khanewal held demonstrations.

“It is compulsory for all college students to appear in the tests or our college administrations will not allow them to sit final examinations,” Ali Mohsin, a student of second year, said. He was shouting slogans against the government at Ghora Chowk, Sahiwal. “Many students could not appear in the exams on Friday and Saturday due to the fuel shortage.”

An examination comptroller at a college told The Express Tribune that attendance in the December tests had gone down to 30 per cent at the college he worked at.

PTI Multan president Ijaz Janjua said the government should either shut down colleges or provide fuel immediately. “The government should not play with the students’ futures…they are forcing students to take law into their own hands.” he said.

Higher Education Department Colleges Director Professor Shameem Arif told The Express Tribune that colleges could not be shut down because of protests. Only the provincial government or the district government had the authority to shut down colleges in a district, he said.

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

He was addressing the Hurmat-i-Rasool March, organised by the Tehreek Hurmat-i-Rasool from Nasser Bagh to Masjid-i-Shuhada on The Mall.

Participants of the rally, carrying placards and banners, chanted slogans against the United Nations and France. They demanded death penalty for those responsible for the caricatures.

Saeed said the United Nations should declare blasphemy ‘terrorism’ and pass an intentional law against it. “If it fails to do so, Muslim countries should sever ties with it and form a Muslim Union.”

He demanded that legislation against blasphemy be given more importance than the war against terrorism. “Blasphemy is the worst form of terrorism in the world. It is terrorism against 1.5 billion Muslims. There will be no peace if international laws are not made against blasphemy,” said Saeed.

He said Pakistan was established in the name of Islam. He said a resolution passed by the National Assembly against the caricatures was not enough. He called upon the government to raise the issue at all forums, including the Organisation of Islamic Conference. The international community must ensure that such caricatures are not published again, he said.

The JuD leader accused the US of supporting such activities to avenge its defeat in Afghanistan. He said Muslims across the world had launched a movement to safeguard the sanctity of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). The movement would result in an ‘Islamic revolution’, he said.

Saeed said the JuD would hold Hurmat-i-Rasool Marches in other parts of the country, including Azad Kashmir on January 23. All religious and political parties would participate in the marches, he said.

“A grand Hurmat-i-Rasool March will be organised in Karachi on January 25.”

He said the JuD had always faced a negative propaganda for its efforts to unite political and religious segments on one platform.

Jamaat Ahle Hadith leader Hafiz Abdul Ghafoor demanded that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sever diplomatic and economic ties with France and declare a war against the country.

Tehreek-i-Hurmat-i-Rasool chairman Maulana Amir Hamza said the West had declared a war against Muslims as 40 European countries had united to show solidarity with the caricatures’ publisher. He said the sacrilegious images had hurt sentiments of Muslims.

Jamaat-i-Islami central leader Maulana Abdul Malick stressed the need for unity and integration among Muslim countries to foil what he called conspiracies of the West against Islam. Leaders of all 20 religious and political parties of Tehreek-i-Hurmat-i-Rasool addressed the protesters.

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

Special teams, supervised by District Monitoring Officer Amin Akbar, will launch a campaign against such vendors. Several teams conducted raids and confiscated fuel inventories.

The city government has designated 11 petrol stations to supply fuel to vehicles of Rescue-1122, Edhi Foundation and hospital ambulances.

Routine life was paralysed for those in the city who were unable to get fuel for their vehicles. Hundreds of people waiting in long queues at petrol stations shouted “Go Nawaz Go”.

Long queues of women and even children were seen carrying bottles and cans at petrol stations.

Several vendors set up food stalls near petrol stations. They wove their way through queues selling peanuts and other edibles.

Several roads with petrol stations on them were blocked for traffic as queues of vehicles waiting for fuel stretched for miles.

Many CNG station owners did not receive the gas schedule from authorities and refused to sell CNG to consumers.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.

Muhammad Amin, father of the missing girl, told newsmen his seven-year-old daughter Javeria had been missing for nearly a month. He said police appeared clueless as to where she might be.

He said she had disappeared while she was on her way home after buying vegetables from a market a kilometre away.

The protesters dispersed peacefully when a team led by the DSP assured them that the girl would be found soon.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Saddar SHO Malik Muhammad Jahangir Khan saod he had joined the police station a week ago while the incident was took place a month earlier.

He said a case under Section 363 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) had been registered against Muhammad Yasin and Noor Bhakhi.

He said the suspects had been nominated by Javeria’s father. He said they had been taken into custody and were being interrogated”.

He said her mother had told them that the girl had been carrying vegetables and was following her on their way home.

He said Javeria was walking a few paces behind her mother but when latter arrived at home, she saw that the girl was not with her.

He said she waited for her to return before enlisting neighbour’s help to look for her. The SHO said the girl’s parents had nominated the suspects because they had been seen in the area on the day. The SHO villagers were being questioned about the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.

LAHORE: The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) says it will build a road to connect the Delhi Gate market with Circular Road to facilitate businesses in the area.

The road in Gur Mandi would be constructed to address complaints of shopkeepers who said the renovation of the bazaar, carried out over three years, had affected their businesses, Nauhseen Zaidi, the WCLA social mobility coordinator, said.

Restoration of several Walled City areas has been underway since 2012. It includes improving the sewage system and moving wires underground. The exercise is part of a larger project to restore the Royal Trail that the Mughal emperors used to enter Lahore Fort when arriving from New Delhi.

“Five shops will have to be demolished to build the road. We are negotiating with their owners to take them on board for the project,” Zaidi told The Express Tribune.

She said the artery would provide supply vehicles direct access to the Delhi Gate market. It would reach Delhi Gate via Circular Garden and a yard controlled by the WCLA, she said.

The shopkeepers have a different story to tell.

Shahzeb, who has been running a packaging shop for 40 years, is among those whose shops will be demolished.

“They are doing this to accommodate shopkeepers inside Delhi Gate. They have closed a road entering Gur Mandi from behind Shahi Hamam,” he said.

Muhammad Ashraf’s two cotton shops will also have to be demolished. “We have yet to reach an agreement with the WCLA regarding compensation,” he says.

Muhammad Ajmal and Noor Muhammad are two other persons whose shops are to be demolished. They say the road would provide tourists direct access to Delhi Gate surpassing many shops in the area. “How will it benefit the shopkeepers outside the Gate?” said Ajmal.

Naimat Khan, another shopkeeper in the area, says he does not know what the WCLA wants to do.

“The Walled City Traders’ Association tells us one thing and the WCLA another.” He says some shopkeepers are even considering going on a strike to protest what he calls a poor renovation plan.

Hamid Munir, president of the Walled City Traders’ Association, says the renovation has been ongoing for three years.

“Shopkeepers in the Delhi Gate area have lost many of their customers.”

WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari says he understands that shopkeepers have not benefitted directly from the renovation.

“I sympathise with them… but most of the things they sell do not interest tourists,” he says. The area has been developed for the benefit of residents and the shopkeepers, he says.

“Water seepage was a big problem in the area. We have improved the sewage system and it is now better than many upscale localities,” Lashari says. He says overhead electricity wires have also been moved underground. He says the WCLA is committed to making people of the Walled City direct beneficiaries of the development process.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.

The protesters, including a large number of women and children, gathered at main Jhang-Faisalabad Road. The protesters blocked the road for traffic and chanted slogans against the SNGPL.

Saeed Sharif, a protester from Saifabad, said hundreds of complaints had been lodged with the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) authorities over low gas pressure.

He said that SNGPL officials had told them that Saifabad did not fall in the city area where gas connections were allowed. The officials said that their gas connections would be checked before gas was provided to the area.

Atifa Naseer, one of the protesters, told newsmen that her children were late to school every day because she could not prepare breakfast on time.

She said hundreds of residents of Lakkar Mandi had not received gas supply for three days.

“We have complained to the SNGPL a number of times but no one paid attention to our problems,” she said.

On being informed, a police team from Jhang Bazaar reached the scene and pacified the protesters by assuring them that their issue would be solved soon. The protesters dispersed on this assurance.

Separately, some protesters from State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali’s constituency gathered and complained about gas supply at their homes.

Members of the delegation, led by Muhammad Ismail, said that residents had also met SNGPL General Manager Amjad Mumtaz and told him about their problems.

They alleged that he had misbehaved with them.

Sher Ali assured them that action would be taken and gas supply would be restored soon. He then went to the SNGPL office and met with the general manager.

Mumtaz told The Express Tribune that the gap between demand and supply had affected Faisalabad the worst.

He said while new industrial and domestic gas connections had been provided over three years, gas quota for Faisalabad had not been enhanced.

“It is difficult to sustain gas supply in this weather,” he said. He said the situation would improve 10 days.

Commenting on his meeting with the state minister, he said that gas was being provided to industrial units according to government policy.

“I candidly told the minister about the situation. He wanted us to enhance supply pressure to his constituency but that is impossible”, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Pakistan is fighting the war against terrorism to protect its future generations. The nation will win this war at all costs, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Monday.

He was talking to British High Commissioner Philip Barton, who called on him. Matters of mutual interest, bilateral relations and promotion of cooperation in various sectors came under discussion at the meeting.

Referring to National Action Plan against terrorism, Shahbaz Sharif said that political parties of the country had displayed exemplary unity and agreed on the plan. “Steps taken under the National Action Plan are yielding positive results. The whole nation has united to crush terrorists as terrorism is seen to be the biggest hurdle in the process of national development and prosperity,” he said.

He said that terrorists had displayed extreme brutality in killing children in Peshawar. “The tragic incident has been strongly condemned throughout the world. Every Pakistani is grieved over the martyrdom of innocent children in Peshawar,” he said.

He said that more than 50,000 Pakistanis had lost their lives in the war against terrorism. “These include officers and jawans of the armed forces and policemen. The sacrifices rendered by the Pakistani nation in the war against terrorism are unprecedented,” he said.

“Terrorism will be rooted out and Pakistan will be made a haven of peace. Terrorists will be eradicated from the country with the force of unity. The war against terrorism will continue till a comprehensive victory. Pakistan is facing the challenge of terrorism and extremism. This menace will be eliminated using the force of unity,” he said.

“The relations between Pakistan and Great Britain are strong. The government values the British cooperation in education, health, law enforcement and other sectors,” he said. Shahbaz stressed the need for improving trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Britain. “Solid measures should be taken to improve the level of trade between the two countries. Various programmes in education, health and skills development sectors are being successfully implemented in the Punjab with the cooperation of British Department for International Development (DFID),” he said.

He said that education had vital importance for curbing extremism and terrorism. “Therefore, the government is paying special attention to the uplift of education sector. State-of-the-art Daanish Schools have been established in backward districts of the province,” Shahbaz said. He said that quality education was being imparted on modern lines to the students in Daanish Schools. “Job opportunities have been provided to youth through imparting them various skills under the Skills Development Programme. The scope of this programme is being expanded,” he said. He said that Punjab government wanted to expand the scope of cooperation with Britain for the development of the social sector.

Barton said that Britain attached great importance to its relations with Pakistan. “Cooperation with Pakistan will continue,” he said. He said that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had taken practical measures for the progress and prosperity of the people of the province which was highly commendable. “Shahbaz Sharif is serving the people with commitment and determination,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Representatives of Sikh, Hindu, Christian and Muslim communities unanimously passed a resolution on Monday, condemning the Peshawar attack and expressing their support for the government and armed forces in eliminating terrorism.

The meeting praised Pope Francis for his statement against blasphemous caricatures published in France.

The meeting was convened by Pakistan Ulema Council. PUC head Tahir Ashrafi chaired the meeting.

Participants included Maulana Zahid Mahmood Qasmi, Bishop Munawar, Sardar Sham Singh, Dr Munawar Chand, Hafiz Kazim Raza, Dr Abdul Ghafoor Rashid, Hafiz Muhammad Amjad, Maulana Muhammad Mushtaq Lahori, Pastor Shahid Meraj, Father James Chanan, Pastor Emanuel Khokhar, Pir Mahfooz Mashhadi, Maulana Abdul Qayoom, Pastor Enayat Barnard, Bishop Sibtain, Maulana Muhammad Khan Leghari, Maulana Shahbaz Alam Farooqi and Mian Rashid. The meeting called for a protest demonstration on January 23 against the blasphemous caricatures. On January 25, the Christians of the country will protest against the caricatures. The PUC will hold an All Parties Conference in Islamabad on January 26.

The communiqué issued after the meeting expressed grief over the publishing of the caricatures. It appealed that United Nations and European Union ensure legislation defining limits for freedom of expression.

“The participants consider the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) a source of peace and love. The publication of caricatures is an attempt to sabotage world peace,” the statement said.

The meeting also appealed to the protesters around the world to remain peaceful. The participants appealed to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Saudi king, rulers of other Islamic countries, European countries, China and America to play their role in ensuring legislation against hurting religious sentiments.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) passed a resolution demanding that the government move the International Court of Justice against publication of sacrilegious cartoons in a French satirical magazine.

At a general house meeting on Monday, the LHCBA said the Organisation of Islamic Countries must call an emergency meeting and develop a strategy to protect the prestige and respect of the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

LHCBA members observed a token strike on Monday. They kept away from court proceedings and attended only a few important hearings.

The meeting was chaired by LHCBA president Shahfqat Mahmood Chohan. Vice president Aamir Jalil Siddiqui, secretary Mian Muhammad Ahmad Chachar, finance secretary Mian Muhammad Iqbal, Syed Faiz Ahmad Sherazi and Allah Bakhsh Gondal spoke on the occasion.

They said Islam had been revealed for the whole of humanity and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) preached love and equality. They said publishing sacrilegious caricatures against him would not serve anyone well.

They said it also went against the UN Charter. “Self-styled human rights champions should not forget that it is the sacred duty of everyone to respect religious sentiments of others.”

Separately, more than 100 members of the Lahore Bar Association walked from Aiwan-i-Adil to GPO Chowk to protest against caricatures published by Charlie Hebdo. Chohan addressed the rally at GPO Chowk.

LBA president Chaudhary Ishtiaq said conspiracies were being hatched against the Muslim community and the government should not let that happen. He condemned the silence of Pakistan’s media on the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.

The room was abuzz with whispers of Jahan Ara and her teacher Maharaj Kathak. “How many of you had met her?” asked actress Sania Saeed. No one replied.

Saeed read out a letter Jahan Ara had written to famed dancer and choreographer Guru Chandralekha on October 11, 1998. She had received a scholarship to learn dance at the Chandralekha Dance Company in Chennai (then Madras) but left the academy after only three months. Jahan Ara said that she had not enjoyed working with the company. “I don’t know what I want but I do know what I do not want. I do not want to be unhappy. I cannot work in a negative space.”

Zoya Sajid, one of Sheherezade Alam’s close friends, recalled her meetings with Jahan Ara. “When Jahan Ara gave up her scholarship I asked why she had forgone such an amazing opportunity. She told me that she could not love her guru enough to learn from her.” Jahan Ara said that she used to get stared down for tying her hair in a bun that would come loose during her performances.

“I remember Jahan Ara performing to Baba Farid’s poetry,” she said. “This was Jahan Ara – bearer of the red flames.”

Artist Mira Hashmi, one of Jahan Ara’s childhood friends, said that she had a set of drawers stuffed with childhood memorabilia. In those drawers, she had kept letters that Jahan Ara had written to her from the US. “Pakistan is where you can truly live life,” Hashmi read out. “People here [in America] don’t even know how to tell jokes.”

Hashmi recalled their sleepovers where sleep never featured. “We would always end up on the rooftop singing classics till dawn.”

This one time, a wonderful performance by Naheed Siddiqui at Ali Auditorium had left Jahan Ara in raptures, Hashmi recalled. “She ran backstage to see Siddiqui but fell into a 10-foot deep pit and had to get stitches. My grandmother used to comment on how strange she looked wearing her peshwas with a cap to hide the stitches.”

At an event held in the memory of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Jahan Ara performed on a few verses of the poet. “Her hands in cuffs, Jahan Ara prostrated herself during the performance and the audience burst into applause. It was a dramatic moment,” Hashmi said. Jahan Ara flashed a smile to the audience, her teeth gleaming in the light. “I still have that flashback.”

Hashmi’s talk ended with the screening of one of Jahan Ara’s performances.

Faryal Gohar remembered one of Jahan Ara’s performances at the Goethe Institut. “She danced under a banyan tree in front of the institute. It was so intense that I was afraid for her and was moved to tears.”  What Jahan Ara did there was not humanly possible, Gohar said. She compared her to Farida Kahlo. “The world just did not deserve Jahan Ara.”

Gohar said she had approached Jahan Ara to perform in a documentary that she was planning at that time. She said she had told her that the character she wanted Jahan Ara to play was deaf. “Jahan Ara replied you don’t have to listen to music to dance…music is within you.”

Pointing to one of her pictures, Sania Saeed said that when actor Sarmad Khoosat saw this picture he had exclaimed, “Look at this face, it isn’t real!” Saeed said, “Yes it’s not real. This face wears brains.”

Adnan Jahangir paid a tribute to Jahan Ara through a dance performance. He said she had inspired him to take up dancing as a career. Jahangir’s performance transported the audience to a world of music and grace.

“My daughter was a very hardworking girl…this is why she picked up things fast,” said Sheherezade Alam. She spoke of her daughter’s regard and love for her guru Maharaj Kathak. “My father went to visit Kathak when Jahan Ara was born…later she chose to learn the beautiful art from him.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Opposition parties on Monday strongly criticised the government for failing to resolve the petrol crisis.

Supporters and leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) staged demonstrations at two points in the city.

The first protest was held outside the Lahore Press Club and the second at Lalik Jan Chowk. The protests were led by MPA Saadia Sohail, PTI central joint secretary Shabeer Siyal and Dr Seemi Bokhari.

They protesters demanded the removal of the ministers responsible for the crisis.

The protesters were carrying placards. Some of them had brought a donkey-cart. “What else can we do now? Eventually, we will all have to resort to donkey-carts if there is no fuel,” said Shahid Atif, a protester outside the press club.

Saadia Sohail said that people were being forced to stand in long queues in search of petrol.

At Lalik Jan Chowk, protesters carried placards and chanted slogans ‘Muk gaya tera show; Go Nawaz go’.

PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry said that it had been more than a week since petrol shortage had started. “Mismanagement by the government is the cause of the crisis. Why did no one at the petroleum and finance ministries realise earlier that oil marketing companies did not have enough stocks. The petroleum minister should resign immediately,” he said.

PTI secretary general Dr Yasmin Rashid said the government had not provided any relief to the people after oil prices dropped in the global market and had instead caused a shortage. “The government has managed the affairs so poorly that there is no justification for not taking action against the petroleum minister. Why has action not been taken against the petroleum minister?” she asked.

Information secretary Andleeb Abbas asked why CNG stations had been opened only in the provincial capital and not in the rest of the province. “The furnace oil reserves in the country are also about to end. The government must immediately address the situation,” she said.

PAT

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri held the prime minister, the finance minister and petroleum minister responsible for the petrol crisis and demanded their resignation.

In a statement on Monday, he urged the people to take to the streets against the government for failing to deal with the petrol crisis. “At a time when in the rest of the world, prices of petrol have fallen sharply, people are standing in long lines to get petrol in Pakistan, at up to Rs150 per liter. This has been done by leaders who once claimed they would make Pakistan an Asian Tiger,” he said.

“Those who are responsible for petrol shortage must suggest their own punishments. Sacking bureaucrats cannot save the rulers,” he said.

“This shortage has prevented our children from going to schools and colleges, Rescue 1122 and ambulances have come to a standstill and normal life has been paralysed,” he said.

PML-Q

The government’s failure to resolve the petrol crisis even after several days is highly condemnable, said Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) senior central leader and former deputy prime minister, on Monday.

Talking to party leaders and workers at his residence, Elahi said: “People have been running around for a week to get petrol. However, the government has failed to change the situation.”

“This is the government that promised to end load shedding in six months before the general elections. Instead of fulfilling their campaign promise, they have burdened people with another problem: petrol shortage,” he said.

Elahi said that people also faced a severe shortage of gas. “The government has raised the prices of electricity and gas, but the supply remains the same,” he said.

“A bicycle apparently is a common man’s best companion,” he said.

“During the PML-Q’s tenure, the situation was different. Law and order, prices of edibles, electricity and gas supply were in a far better shape then. The present government has ruined the progress achieved by our government in the province. They are only focusing on publicity campaigns,” he said. Elahi also criticised the government for neglecting the education sector. “The government has spent most of its funds on mega publicity projects, like the metro bus project.

They have no funds for government schools and colleges, especially those located in rural areas,” he said. He said that the government’s security guidelines for schools had only been followed by private institutes. “Many government schools and colleges are still without boundary walls, CCTV cameras and armed guards,” he said.

He said that 26,000 educational institutions in the province still lacked boundary walls.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.

The project using an electronic surveillance based policing system aims at checking violation of traffic rules and monitoring wardens’ performance.

Selected traffic wardens on several city roads were provided high-power cameras to take pictures of registration numbers of vehicles violating traffic rules. Using the data, Traffic Police retrieved details about the vehicle owners from the Excise and Taxation Department.

SMU officials said nearly 100 motorists were sent notices, warning them against the violation, at their residences along with the pictures.

Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Tayyab Hafeez Cheema said the notices were mailed to the motorists. The offenders included drivers of cars, motorcycles and public transport, he said.

Cheema said the offenders had not been fined. “We want to give them the message that they are being watched.”

“The purpose of the project is to ensure that law is applied equally to all citizens… this is only possible through the use of technology,” Senior SMU Member Salman Sufi told The Express Tribune.

Sufi said several hotspots would be set up in the city allowing motorists to pay fines on the spot. “A warden will deposit the fine tickets and the cast at his sector headquarters the same day.

The motorists will have an option of paying the fines online.”

Sufi said the SMU had recommended that the Law Department make necessary amendments to the law relating to issuance of tickets. He said currently a ticket had five copies; three of these are given to the offender. Under the new system, he said, only one would be issued to the offender. The remaining copies would be generated through computers, he said.

He said that the system would help detect tampering of fine books. “It will also help monitor the wardens’ performance and discourage misuse of ticket books,” he said.

CTO Cheema said that currently more than 2,000 wardens, working in two shifts, issued tickets to motorists who deposited fines at the National Bank of Pakistan before collecting the documents from the traffic sector concerned.

“Under the new system, wardens will not collect documents from the motorists,” the CTO said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday sought a detailed report on the supply and demand of petrol in the province.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of the LHC directed the petroleum secretary and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) officials to submit the report on Thursday (today).

He was hearing two petitions filed against the shortage of petrol in the province. The counsel for ministry of petroleum stated that the demand of petrol in the province was 12,290 metric tonnes per day in December. “The demand rose to more than 40,000 metric tonnes a day in January after petroleum prices fell. The rise in demand caused the shortage of petrol. Petrol is now available in the province and anyone can get it without any hassle,” he claimed.

The judge asked why then people were still standing in long queues for petrol. “Where is that petrol being kept? Didn’t the government know that the decline in prices will raise its demand? Why did the government not have sufficient stock?” Justice Shah asked. The judge said that it was important to know what had caused the crisis. He directed the respondents to inform the court about the mechanism of fixing the prices of petroleum products.

The petitions had been filed by Advocate Safdar Shaheen Pirzada and Advocate Gohar Nawaz Sindhu. The lawyers had said that the government had created an artificial shortage of petrol. The petitioners had requested the court to order a judicial inquiry into the crisis.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2015.

Muhammad Rafiq, an uncle of the victim, told The Express Tribune that Mazhar Iqbal, a resident of Abbaspura, had been working on Mehr Muhammad Yousaf’s fields for five years.

He said his family lived in abject poverty.

“A few days ago, Iqbal’s wife fell ill and he needed money to buy medicines for her, so he went to Yousaf’s haveli to ask for his salary.”

At the haveli, Yousaf signalled to his son Muhammad Jabbar to let a pack of dogs loose on Iqbal, Rafiq said.

“The dogs attacked viciously and bit him all over,” he said, “While Yousaf and Jabbar stood by laughing and cracking jokes.”

Upon hearing his screams for help, several people in the area gathered at the scene and pulled the dogs away from Iqbal, he said.

They took him to the Bhowana tehsil headquarters hospital where doctors treating him said that his condition was serious but they were doing their best to save his life, Rafiq said.

“We filed a complaint with the Bhowana police. The landlord and his son have not been arrested nor is the police willing to take any action against them,” he said.

The Bhowana SHO said, “We have advised Iqbal to get a medical examination report. We will take action after they file the medico-legal report to us.”

When asked why the men had not been arrested so far, the station house officer said, “We have constituted a police team to arrest them. The men are at large but we are looking for them.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2015.

LAHORE: Jamia Naeemia chief Raghib Naeemi said on Thursday that the imposition of Arab culture on the nation had caused bloodshed.

He was speaking at a seminar organised by the Information and Culture Department at the Punjab Institute of Language and Culture to promote religious tolerance in an effort to formulate a coherent and comprehensive strategy to fight extremism. Naeemi said an attempt had been made to impose Arab culture on the nation to replace the rich heritage and culture of the subcontinent. He said this had caused bloodshed. Naeemi said national leaders had not prioritised the formulation of a counter narrative against exclusionist takfiri groups. He said this had caused confusion among the people. He said only the state had the right to declare who was Muslim and who was not. Naeemi said the Islamic Ideology Council should be given this role.

Columnist Attaul Haq Qasmi spoke about the beliefs of some of the extremist groups. He said lack of knowledge of history had made people susceptible to views propagated by such elements. Journalist Sohail Warraich said extremists want to compromise order. He said they were guilty of hypocrisy as they made a show of rejecting modernity and progress but do not shy away from using it to further their own ends. He stressed the need to introduce humanity in the curricula to teach students regarding other religions to foster social tolerance.

Writer Arifa Syeda said the ruling elite had wreaked havoc on the historical narrative. She said it was necessary to rewrite history to change the narrative of a nation. Syeda said the nation’s denial of the secular values emphasised by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in his August 11 speech had made the proliferation of extremist thoughts and ideologies possible. She said religious and class differences could be overcome by the imposition of a uniform education system in the nation.

Pakistan Ulema Council chairman Tahir Ashrafi criticised those who thought they had the authority to issue religious edicts. He said such elements were guilty of treating religion as a matter of trade. Ashrafi said terrorism could only be challenged through national unity.

Former governor Lt-Gen (retd) Khalid Maqbool stressed the need to check divisive thoughts that targeted people due to their attires or their looks. He said it was necessary to realise that all religious taught virtue and righteousness.

Writer Parveen Atif took the speakers to task. She commended them for their liberal outlooks and progressive thoughts but asked why they had failed to implement these values when they were in positions of power. Poets Baba Najmi, Shaukat Ali and Amjad Islam Amjad read poetry in memory of those martyred in the Peshawar carnage. Former education minister Mian Imran Masood, Shafqat Mehmood, Rana Muhammad Arshad Khan and Naveed Chaudhry of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) respectively also spoke on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015.

BAHAWALPUR: Three children were seriously injured when a fire broke out in a special education school in Hasilpur on Thursday.

A Rescue 1122 spokesman told newsmen that seven-year-old Sanaullah, seven-year-old Pir BakHsh and eight-year-old Ali Raza got burns after they had sprinkled kerosene oil on coal to make a fire.

They said the children were taken to Civil Hospital in Hasilpur and later referred to Bahawal Victoria Hospital.

They said one of them was in a critical condition.

Seminary sealed

Police on Thursday sealed a seminary after they were informed that it was being run by banned outfit Shaukatul Islam.

A police spokesman said National Highway police had spotted some suspicious activity near the seminary. He said a police team had raided the seminary and sealed it.

He said banned literature was also seized.

The spokesman said 20 unregistered Afghan refugees and four people found distributing banned literature were also arrested.

He said the four Afghan were arrested during routine patrolling. He said a case had been registered against them under Section 14 of the Foreigner’s Act. Separately, he said Muhamamd Abdullah, Shah Muhammad, Fayyaz Ahmad and Muhammad Ramazan were caught distributing banned literature.

He said a case had been registered against them under Section 9 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA.) He said 16 unregistered Afghans were arrested from various hotels and cases were registered against them.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015. 

Talking to The Express Tribune after a meeting with Border Military Police Commandant Shahid Mehboob, he said the Punjab government had planned several projects for development of tribal areas. He said tenders had been approved for upgrading hospitals.

He said new roads would also be constructed in the tribal areas this year.

He said the government was dedicated to improving public welfare.

Earlier, during his meeting with Mehboob, Leghari was told about the steps being taking for restructuring the BMP.

Mehboob said the chief minister had formed an eight-member committee which would be headed by the Home Department secretary to survey the problems being faced by the BMP force. He said the committee comprised the DPO, the RPO, and commissioners of Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan.

He said after the committee presented its recommendations, fresh recruitments would be made against vacancies.

He said new weapons and training would also be provided to the force. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015.

FAISALABAD: Press Market Anjuman-i-Tajiran members on Thursday staged a protest demonstration against publication of blasphemous caricatures in the French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Participants of the rally walked from Zila Council Chowk to Aminpur Bazaar where they staged a sit-in. They were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans.

Addressing the rally, Press Market Anjuma-i-Tajiran president Chaudhary Muhammad Akram condemned the publication of blasphemous caricatures.

“The world should know that Muslims will not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),” he said.

He said by publishing blasphemous caricatures, editors of the magazine had hurt the sentiments of Muslims all over the world.

He said the men who attacked the magazine were neither Pakistanis nor had they obtained religious education from Pakistani madrassahs.

“With great freedom comes great responsibility,” he said. “Freedom of expression does not mean one should hurt the sentiments of billions of Muslims across the world by insulting a man they hold so dear,” he said.

Akram said the emerging right-wing tendencies in Europe were alarming. He said European leaders should take responsibility of their Muslim populations, as they did with Jews and Christians.

“European leaders should take steps to reassure the Muslim populations in Europe that they would not be discriminated against on the basis of religion,” he said.

“European leaders should recognise the message they send to the Muslim community when they stand by such publications in the name of freedom,” he said.

Akram said the role of Muslims in shaping modern Europe could not be denied.

“Germany, the country that is holding up the European Union, rebounded after the World War II due to an influx of Turkish immigrants,” he said.

He said Muslims were now an important part of the European society and their customs and values should be respected.

“Freedom of speech is a wonderful tradition,” he said. “But by using it for hateful purposes, some misguided people will lead the world into a clash of civilisations.”

“We condemn blasphemy and Charlie Hebdo,” he added. He said non-Muslims should respect the sentiments of Muslims and avoid committing blasphemy.

The protesters chanted slogans against the US, UK, Israel and France. They carried placards inscribed with ‘Down with Charlie Hebdo’.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015.

Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique on Thursday inaugurated the training programme at the Punjab Health Development Centre (PHDC).

Health Department officials say health officials would be trained at the PHDC’s office on Birdwood Road.

Health executive district officers, district officers, district coordinators of various programmes, lady health superintendents, nursing tutors, vaccinators and sanitary inspectors are among the master trainers. They will later impart training in their districts to improve the basic health management system.

PHDC Director Sohail Saqlain said the trainees had been divided in nine batches. The first batch would be trained by January 29 and the remaining by March 4, he said. Each batch will receive a three-day training. He said that in 2012 the Health Department, in collaboration with the Department for International Development, had prepared two guidelines to improve health services at grassroots level. The guidelines Essential Package for Health Services and Minimum Services Delivery Standards set some minimum standards for healthcare.

Saqlain said master trainers would help implement the guidelines. Earlier, Rafique said the government was committed to providing basic health facilities to all citizens. He said various reforms were being introduced in the Health Department.

He said said nearly 900 doctors had been posted at basic health units and rural health centres. He said 172 assistants had recently been recruited to monitor performance of health centres. He said the government had eliminated political interference in the affairs of the Health Department.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015. 

Protests against the proposed move were also staged in other cities including Peshawar, Swat, Abbotabad, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha, Sukkur, Larkana, Hyderabad, Quetta and Islamabad. The demonstrations had been organised by the All Pakistan Wapda Hydroelectric Workers Union (CBA).

The participants took out a procession from the Bakhtiar Labour Hall in the city and staged a rally in front of the Lahore Press Club (LPC) and marched to the Chief Minister’s House via Davis Road and The Mall. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Secretary General IA Rehman and LPC President Arshad Ansari addressed those present on the occasion.

CBA General Secretary Khurshid Ahmed urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to review case studies regarding the failure of the Multan and Rawalpindi electric supply companies and to ascertain why they had been transferred to the Wapda. He said why had K-Electric (KC) not been running its own power plants despite cheap electricity from the Wapda and billions of rupees annually from the federal government. Ahmed said the company had failed to eliminate load shedding and provide the citizens of Karachi with affordable electricity.

He said access to electricity was a basic right and the government was constitutionally bound to supply citizens, industries, farmers and commercial entities with power. Ahmed said the private sector could not fulfil this obligation. He said the government should strive to provide people with affordable electricity and eradicate load shedding instead of privatising the utility.

Ahmed said the government should hold talks with employees before unilaterally deciding to privatise electricity. He said workers had avoided industrial action as the armed forces were engaged in a war against terrorism. Ahmed said workers would march to Islamabad and stage a demonstration there on January 28 if the government failed to look into the matter. A resolution condemning the publication of offensive caricatures by French magazine Charlie Hebdo was also moved on the occasion. The resolution urged the United Nations to ban publications that fostered hatred among the people of the world.

FESCO workers protest privatisation bid

Workers of the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) on Thursday observed a strike and protested against the proposed privatisation of the company.

They locked their offices and staged a sit-in at the Fesco headquarters on Canal Road. The protesters chanted slogans against the government and warned that they would continue to protest if the Fesco was privatised.

Speaking to the protesters, Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union General Secretary Sarfraz Hundal said the government had no justification for privatising the Fesco. He said it was among the few power distribution companies of Pakistan that made a profit.

He said the government wanted to privatise Fesco under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said Fesco workers should not allow privatisation of the company and should continue to protest till the government announced its decision to scrap the plans for selling off the company.

“If the government does not desist, we will be forced to stop electricity supply to the region,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015.