The Punjab Assembly convened a session on Tuesday, chaired by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, during which the annual budget for fiscal year 2018-19 was approved with majority consensus.

During the session, the finance bill and developmental schemes for the year 2018-19 were also accorded approval by the cabinet.

CM Buzdar appreciated the "tireless efforts" put in by ministers of relevant departments in the preparation of the budget and complimented the chief secretary, chairman of the provincial planning and development department, and chairman of the provincial treasury department.

"The whole team engaged in the tough task of the preparation of the budget with a lot of zeal and hard work," noted CM Buzdar. "I thank them all on behalf of the entire cabinet."

"The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's first provincial budget has been devised keeping the common man in mind. Despite the tough [economic] situation the country is faced with, the budget has outlined measures to provide relief to the common man, in accordance with [Prime Minister] Imran Khan's vision," he said.

He said that the budget was a reflection of the party's manifesto, which will open the doors of progress and prosperity in Punjab. He added that unparalleled steps have been proposed for social development, especially in South Punjab.

Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Bakht, addressing the cabinet, said: "We have set reality-based targets in the budget. There has been no wizardry shown in the presentation of numbers and figures in the budget. It is based purely on facts."

"We have determined our priorities while remaining within our limited resources," he added.

During the session, the cabinet members were also apprised of the salient features of the provincial budget and annual development schemes envisioned for the province, for which the cabinet members presented their viewpoint in return.

The budget

The total outlay for the 2018-19 budget was presented as Rs2,026.51 billion, of which expenditures were estimated to be Rs1,264 billion, general revenue was apportioned to be Rs1,652 billion and Rs148 billion projected as a budget surplus.

The provincial revenue was estimated as Rs375 billion, of which tax revenue was estimated at Rs276 billion, whereas non-tax revenue was estimated at Rs100 billion.

Rs238 billion have been allocated to developmental projects, Rs373 billion to education, Rs500 million to pre-primary schooling, Rs50 million for technical training and education, and Rs1 billion reserved for scholarships for talented and deserving students.

The health ministry has been allotted Rs284 billion as well as 8 per cent of the amount allocated to developmental programmes. It was also decided that health insurance programmes will see an increase by 36 per cent.

For the supply of clean water and proper sewage disposal, Rs50.5 billion have been allotted. Rs6 billion will be devoted to the supply of clean water in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The Punjab government has also decided to open a cardiology centre and a children's hospital in Balochistan, it was announced.

Rs15 billion were apportioned for the welfare of farmers under the kisaan package. Besides this, Rs19.5 billion will be given to the irrigation department.

For total infrastructural development in Punjab, a sum of Rs149 billion will be allocated; the road sector will receive Rs68 billion, and transport will be given Rs35.5 billion. Additionally, Rs33 billion will be apportioned for the the Orange Line project, and Rs5 billion for the development of rural roads.

It was further announced that for the prime minister's Clean and Green initiative, a sum of Rs6.3 billion has been assigned and that public-private partnership programmes will be assigned a budget of Rs4 billion.

Another Rs4 billion will be spent on the Quaid-e-Azam industrial estate in Faisalabad.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday gave the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) another four weeks to reopen the Shahra-i-Suharwardy at Aabpara junction.

The ISI had closed the main artery in 2008 after terrorist attacks on several important government buildings. On July 6, the court had ordered for the road blocks to be removed within two months.

“Make a bombproof wall or shift the headquarters elsewhere,” the CJP had observed at the time.

The court has already issued directions to remove encroachments from all roads of the capital city. The court has said it has to ensure supremacy of the law at all cost.

"We had called the director general of ISI to court in the previous hearing," said Chief Justice Saqib Nisar who was heading the bench hearing the case today.

He added: "We already gave you two months' time to do this; why has the road not been opened yet?"

Members of the defence department told the court that most of the road has been cleared but it has not been opened for traffic.

"What good is an empty road for the people if it cannot be used," the chief justice remarked.

"The transfer of devices is taking a long time," Director Law Branch Ministry of Defence Brigadier Falak Naz told the court.

After enquiring how much more time the ISI would take to open the road, the court gave a four-week extension.

A snake was sighted on Tuesday on the Islamabad International Airport's apron area — more commonly known as the tarmac — where airplanes are parked, loaded, fueled and boarded.

The sudden appearance of the serpent panicked on-duty staff, who scrambled for safety amidst confusion and panic.

The airport staff told DawnNewsTV that this was not the first time a snake had been spotted on the Islamabad airport's premises, adding that the airport management "always turns a blind eye" and fails to address complaints of this nature.

Moreover, Airport Security Force (ASF) officials said that the trauma centre located within the facility does not have antivenom or medicines to treat animal/reptilian bites.

Explore: In pictures: Shiny new Islamabad International Airport gets final touches ahead of inauguration

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson Farah Hussain, trying to quell the panic, said: "The snake was not of the poisonous variety, like a cobra. It was the regular, harmless kind. It emerged in an area where only staff members have access and no passengers ever go there."

Hussain further said that the airport was spread over 4,000 kanals of land and that during rainy season, snakes often show up at urban spaces in search for dry ground.

"The snake does not know this is an airport," she remarked.

When asked whether the serpent had been killed, the CAA spokesperson failed to provide any concrete information, saying that while she does not have news of it being killed, "it probably must have been".

Pakistan Navy on Tuesday commissioned an indigenously built 17,000-tonne fleet tanker named PNS Moawin to its fleet during a ceremony held at Pakistan Navy Dockyard in Karachi, which was attended by President Dr Arif Alvi, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Naval Chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.

According to a statement issued by the navy’s media wing, PNS Moawin is the biggest warship ever constructed at Karachi Shipyard.

The newly inducted ship is “capable of performing a variety of maritime operations including the provision of logistic support to other ships at sea by transferring fuel and other important military cargo”, read the statement.

“PNS Moawin can transport two helicopters. The ship is also equipped with state of the art medical facilities and can provide overseas support to friendly countries during any humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” the navy’s media wing said.

While addressing the ceremony, President Alvi said the development of the maritime sector will enhance the country’s exports, generate employment and increase foreign exchange.

“With the realisation of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the maritime trade and activity off our coast will increase manifold which calls for a strong navy to provide security and seaward defence,” the president was quoted as saying.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered federal and provincial governments to furnish within 10 days reports on the use of government-owned vehicles by government officials and their purpose for doing so.

Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar delivered the instructions while heading a three-member bench hearing a case on the use of luxury vehicles by government officials.

"This is basically a matter that falls under the jurisdiction of provincial governments," said the assistant attorney general present in court.

"Some cars were kept under the name of Saaf Pani and 56 other companies," the chief justice replied.

"27 cars were found [in the use of] the Punjab government; these were hidden away in Ali Complex," he added.

"Where did the 500 cars recovered by the Sindh government go?" the chief justice asked the Sindh advocate general.

During the hearing today, the Punjab advocate general told the court that the Punjab government had recovered 201 cars.

"We should know which officials can use these cars as millions of rupees are spent on their upkeep," the chief justice said, adding that the extra cars in the government's use should be sold and the money be used for some "greater cause".

The federal and provincial governments were then ordered to compile and submit their reports on the matter within 10 days.

"No more time will be given after that," the chief justice warned before adjourning the hearing till October 26.

At least 10 people lost their lives in Kashmor district on Tuesday when Khushhal Khan Khattak Express, travelling from Karachi to Peshawar, slammed into an overloaded rickshaw carrying 15 passengers, Radio Pak reported.

According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred this afternoon at an intersection located between the Haibat Shaheed and Kandh Kot railway stations.

Of the 15 people riding the speeding rickshaw, 10 people died on the spot while the others received severe injuries. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention.

A spokesperson from Pakistan Railways said that incidents like these occur because railway crossings do not have gates attached to them.

"The provincial government is responsible for attaching these gates," the spokesperson said, adding that people crossing such areas are always told that they should look both ways before crossing railway intersections.

Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed expressed sorrow at the incident and formed an inquiry committee to look into the matter. The committee has been directed to provide a report on the matter as soon as possible.

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar visited Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar on Tuesday and met with families of the martyred school children.

In the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history, 131 schoolchildren and 10 other people were killed when heavily armed militants stormed the school building on Dec 16, 2014.

According to a statement issued by the protocol officer of Peshawar High Court (PHC), the chief justice laid a floral wreath at the martyrs’ monument and offered fateha for the departed souls.

During the interaction with the families of the deceased children, Justice Nisar said justice would be served and informed them that a judicial inquiry commission had already been formed in this regard.

Meanwhile, Tufail Khattak, the father of APS martyr Sher Shah, announced to donate Rs0.1 million to the Chief Justice Dam Fund on behalf of the families of APS martyrs.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had ordered the formation of a judicial commission to launch an investigation into the 2014 APS carnage in Peshawar.

The chief justice had taken suo motu notice of the matter on April 19 when parents of the martyred children requested him to order a judicial inquiry into the carnage while he was on a visit to the Supreme Court’s Peshawar registry.

ISLAMABAD: Months after temporarily doing away with additional taxes and service charges imposed on customers on the purchase of top-up cards for pre-paid cellular connections, the Supreme Court on Tuesday barred mobile phone companies from levying additional charges on post-paid connections.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar also ordered continuation of relief the court had provided to the pre-paid connection holders and ordered the government and the service providers not to charge any tax from them till a proper legislation was enacted to address the issue.

As the hearing went underway, the additional attorney general requested the court to grant more time to submit a response to it.

Companies used to collect 10 per cent service tax, in addition to other taxes, from consumers

In June, the Supreme Court had barred network providers and the Federal Board of Revenue from collecting service tax on pre-paid cards, saying it was exploitative and illegal.

Prior to the court orders, the consumers were charged 10 per cent service tax, in addition to other taxes, such as withholding tax (5.5pc) and sales tax (19pc). On a pre-paid card of Rs100, only Rs64 is availed by the consumers.

Advocate General Punjab Ahmad Awais and Advocate General Sindh Salman Talibuddin apprised the court that the respective provincial governments were incurring a loss of Rs2 billion and Rs1 billion per month, respectively, because of suspension of additional charges.

In response, CJP Nisar said the court was aware of the losses incurred by the provinces.

“If you stop receiving commissions and kickbacks, these losses can be reduced,” he remarked.

He also chided the Sindh advocate general for transfer of wealth abroad through launches and said this practice needed to be curbed to avoid losses.

Blasting the excessive service charges billed to the consumers he said: “If you buy Rs100 worth of credit, Rs25 are deducted. What are these service charges?”

“If people buy bread would they not want to eat it,” he remarked and asked should they pay separately for eating it.

The CJP also asked as to why some amount out of the money paid to buy a mobile top-up card should go to the provinces. “What is the service the provinces provide”, he asked.

A lawyer representing the FBR apprised the bench that Rs25, deducted as service charges, are not given to the board. “The tax deducted on each call is received by national exchequer,” he said.

The federal and provincial governments requested the court to grant some time to submit their responses.

The court adjourned further proceedings without announcing next date of hearing.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs was informed on Tuesday that Prime Minister Imran Khan had requested Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud to waive 2,000 riyals tax imposed by the Saudi government on Pakistanis performing Umrah every year.

The committee, presided over by Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, was briefed about the problems faced by Pakistanis while performing Haj and Umrah.

The chairman of the committee said he had received several complaints about the Saudi government imposing a tax of 2,000 riyals on pilgrims performing more than one Umrah within two years.

“I have been informed that this was some kind of a discriminatory tax on Pakistanis and the government should do something about it,” Senator Haideri said.

Secretary of Religious Affairs Muhammad Mushtaq said that the rationale behind the Saudi move was to discourage repeated Umrah by a few people only and the tax had not been levied on Pakistanis only but it had recently been imposed on anyone coming from any country of the world.

“However this new tax of 2,000 riyals on people performing more than one Umrah within two years has been abolished for the people of Egypt and Turkey after requests were made by governments of these countries to the Saudi government,” Mr Mushtaq said.

He said that the matter had been taken up with the Saudi authorities in Islamabad and it was suggested that Prime Minister Imran Khan should make the request to the Saudi crown prince for the tax waiver.

“The prime minister during his visit to Saudi kingdom took up the matter with the Saudi crown prince and he has agreed to abolish the tax,” the secretary said, adding that it was a matter of time and the Saudi government would notify the waiver soon.

Some senators, however, criticised the prime minister’s move saying it would benefit only a few rich people who wanted to perform Umrah every year.

The committee was informed about Haj operations 2018 and was told that the ministry of religious affairs would start preparations for Haj operations 2019 in January.

Senator Sajid Mir demanded that the draft of Haj Policy 2019 should be presented to the committee first, but Minister for Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri said that the committee could only forward its suggestions to the government as amendments to the Haj Policy of 2018.

Several senators criticised arrangements made by the government for Haj pilgrims last year.

The chairman of the committee, Senator Haideri, told the meeting that he had performed Haj almost every year on a special quota granted by the Saudi ambassador.

“I have seen more mismanagement only on Pakistan’s side than any other country,” he said.

He also asked the religious ministry to explain the reason why only army men were required for medical care of Haj pilgrims during Haj.

He suggested the religious ministry to seek applications for the medical mission from provinces and the federal government also.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Putting the blame on the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government for “setting up costly power projects” in the country, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday hinted at an imminent increase in electricity tariff.

Speaking at a news conference, the minister said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government had decided to carry out an audit of all power plants set up during the last five years.

Justifying the expected decision to increase electricity charges, he said the government was facing a daily loss of Rs1.2 billion by providing subsidy on electricity to the people, adding that this practice could not be continued for long.

“We have so far not taken any decision regarding increase in power tariff, but we will have to take this decisive step, we will make every effort to save the poor from facing the brunt,” the minister declared.

Minister says power plants set up by previous govt being audited; PML-N comes out with strong reaction

Hours after Mr Chaudhry’s presser, the opposition PML-N came out with a strong reaction, saying the minister was passing the buck on the previous government only to cover up “its own flawed policies and follies”.

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb welcomed the government’s move to scrutinise the power projects set up by the party’s government during the last five years.

The information minister said the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet could not discuss the issue of power tariff in its meeting earlier in the day as Finance Minister Asad Umar was to proceed to China on an official visit.

He said that presently the government was facing a loss of over Rs2.5 per unit as the actual cost of electricity generation was Rs14.22 per unit whereas it was charging the consumers Rs11.71 per unit.

Saying that it was necessary to inform the people of the “facts” and “criminal acts” committed by the previous government, Mr Chaudhry claimed that due to political compulsions the PML-N government had not taken bold and correct decisions and had not passed the burden of increased electricity charges to the consumers despite recommendations by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra).

He said Nepra kept on insisting that electricity charges should be increased to avoid losses, but the PML-N government did not pay any heed to it.

“Actually they (PML-N leaders) did not have political credibility and courage to make big decisions. They did not increase the price which they should have increased one and a half year ago,” he said.

The minister alleged that the Quaid-i-Azam solar power plant in Bahawalpur was the world’s most expensive project as it was generating electricity at a cost of Rs17 per unit. He said the government had decided to carry out an audit of the power plants set up at Bhikki, Haveli Bahadur, Sahiwal, Baloki and Port Qasim and other plants and those found responsible for causing losses to the national exchequer would be taken to task.

He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had already started investigation into the plants being run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Punjab.

The minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan would soon take the nation into confidence on the economic issues.

He said that with the continuation of their policies, a ‘New Pakistan’ the foundation of which had been laid by PM Khan would emerge after eight to 10 months.

He expressed the hope that the situation would soon improve as the government had put the country on right track, adding that the government’s focus was presently on increasing foreign remittances and exports, eliminating money laundering and encouraging investments.

Mr Chaudhry said there would be a lot of good news for the country with inflow of heavy investment during the next few months. The government, he said, would definitely give relief to the people, but it needed a few months to get its policies implemented.

Responding to a question, the minister said the PTI had bagged the highest number of votes in Sunday’s by-elections. He admitted that the party had suffered defeats in Attock and Bannu because of the division within the party ranks.

He said the ongoing accountability process would continue despite hue and cry of the opposition.

Meanwhile, the PML-N spokesperson said in a statement that the panic displayed by the information minister in his press conference was a clear indication that the government would soon announce an increase in electricity tariff.

Marriyum Aurangzeb, who had served as information minister in the previous PML-N government, said the PTI was panicky after facing anger of voters in the by-elections.

“The government is about to announce raise in electricity prices and that is why they have started spreading lies and deceit among the masses.”

She said the government had dropped an “inflation bomb” on the people and destroyed social life in the country.

“The government will now further pollute the social and political life in the country by telling lies in order to justify its decision to raise electricity prices.”

Ms Aurangzeb said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had ensured the availability of electricity and other necessities of life to the common people at the lowest price, adding that it was the PML-N government that gave a comprehensive power project package to Pakistan to improve the electricity supply situation and make cheap electricity available to the common people.

She said they would welcome the government to take PMLN power projects to NAB for investigation, but the bureau should also investigate 350 “ghost dams” supposedly constructed by the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

QUETTA: Sacrifices rendered by personnel of security agencies and the courage displayed by common people helped the authorities restore peace and tranquillity in Balochistan, said Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan on Tuesday.

Speaking at the passing-out parade of the third batch of Eagle Squad which consisted of 200 personnel, Mr Khan lauded the improvement in the law and order situation. The Eagle Squad completed its training under the guidance of Pakistan Army.

Commander Southern Comm­and Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa, IG Police Mohsin Butt, provincial ministers and senior military and civil officers were present on the occasion.

Army had been training the force on modern lines to help them in wiping out terrorists from the face of the earth, Mr Khan said, adding that the provincial government was conducting the training of police and Levies personnel under the Army’s command which had yielded positive results and also boosted the moral of security forces.

The chief minister said the police and Levies forces had become a striking force after completing their training. Since terrorists were using modern weapons, hence police and Levies force were also trained on modern lines and equipped with latest weapons, he said.

It was a matter of great satisfaction that Quetta re-emerged as a peaceful city after fighting extreme violence and terrorism in the last decade.

Number of targeted killings had reduced after the deployment of the Eagle Squad in streets, he added.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

SWABI: Nine leaders of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), including a retired colonel, were released on bail by a local court here on Tuesday.

Nineteen people, including PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen, had been booked by the district administration for several offences after their controversial public meeting held at a government high school playground on Aug 13.

The FIR against them was registered at the Swabi city police station.

District administration officials said the PTM leaders had been allowed to hold the meeting at Shahmansoor Cricket Stadium, but they violated rules and intentionally arranged the gathering at the school playground.

However, the PTM leaders said that when they got the information from the district administration about the venue of the public meeting it was too late to shift it from the school playground and the circumstances had forced them to hold the gathering at the earlier announced venue.

Gulalai Ismail, a well-known Pakhtun female activist and head of Peshawar-based Aware Girls, a non-governmental organisation, was among those booked. She was arrested and released by the Federal Investigation Agency at the Islamabad airport on her return from London on Oct 12.

She had also secured an interim bail from a local court and the hearing of her case has been fixed for Oct 18.

The nine PTM leaders released on bail by the additional session judge-2 are: Liaqat Yousafzai, Dr Mushtaq, Faiz Mohammad, Khairul Amin, Abidullah, Mohammad Ali Dagiwal, Dr Mohammad Jasim, Riaz Ahmad and retired Col Hidayatullah Ali.

Addressing a gathering at Karnal Sher Khan Chowk in the district headquarters after their release, they said they were patriotic people and never ever thought of acting against their beloved country, Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said his government will extend all-out support to the newspaper industry to enable it to deal with its longstanding problems.

At a meeting with a delegation of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) on Tuesday, Mr Khan said that dues of the print media would be cleared soon, according to a press release of the PM’s Office.

A strategy was being formulated to ease the financial pressures being encountered by the newspaper industry through payment of outstanding bills inherited from the previous government, the prime minister said.

The government would support the print media because the industry had played an important role in strengthening democracy in the country, Mr Khan said.

Talking about the role media had played in his ascent to power, he said: “I would not be here without the help of media.”

Earlier, members of the APNS delegation congratulated Mr Khan on assuming the office of prime minister and apprised him of the problems being faced by the newspaper industry.

Complaint cell

A special wing dealing with people’s complaints would start functioning at PM’s Office soon.

Chairing a separate meeting, the prime minister directed the officials concerned to establish a cell within two days, with a formal inauguration by next week.

The main function of the cell would be to receive complaints and forward it to the ministries and divisions concerned.

The prime minister will personally oversee the complaint cell’s performance.

There will be 40 telephone lines through which the public will be able to contact the cell.

Complaints will also be submitted through emails and WhatsApp, according to sources.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered upscale private schools to furnish their respective audit reports and formed a committee to be headed by federal ombudsman for finding an amicable solution to the issue of exorbitant fees being collected from parents.

There should be some capping or reasonableness in the fee structure, said Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar while heading a three-judge bench that had initiated suo motu proceedings against school fee hike.

He said the private sector would not be allowed to fleece parents.

“Education is something which should be imparted with passion,” he observed.

The chief justice also observed that Law and Justice Commission (LJC) drafted a policy on regularisation of school fee structure and highlighted the need for doing something for posterity.

Private sector will not be allowed to fleece parents, says chief justice

He quoted a couple of examples to emphasise that teaching was one of the noblest professions. He said once renowned Urdu writer and broadcaster Ashfaq Ahmed had to appear in the court of a magistrate in Rome over some traffic challan.

After learning that he was a professor, the magistrate cautioned the people in the courtroom to be respectful since there was a “teacher in the court”, the CJP quoted.

Likewise, he added, when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Milan (Italy) he pronounced that whosoever wanted to save his life could seek shelter in the houses of teachers.

“This is the respect of the teacher and institutions imparting education,” CJP Nisar observed, adding the institutions should not fleece the parents so much that it becomes unbearable for them to provide quality education to their children.

During the proceedings, he made it clear that the court was not going to close any private school nor nationalise any institution.

However, he explained, what the court wanted to see was that provision of quality education for children must remain affordable to most parents.

At one point, many parents who had come to attend the court proceedings started applauding when the CJP asked if the apex court should determine the fee structure of private schools. But he stopped them by saying this was against the decorum of the court.

The chief justice regretted that public schools had been “neglected deliberately” so that private schools should take over the entire education sector.

Senior counsel Faisal Siddiqui while representing parents pleaded before the apex court that forensic audit of big schools be conducted so that the court could be apprised about the perks and privileges being enjoyed by those running the schools.

Another counsel Ejaz argued that financial statements and account details of private schools were neither transparent nor available with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, however, emphasised that the basic question was whether the court could determine the amount of return or profits on investments in the education sector. He said as it was the job of regulator, how the court could say the investors could not get profits.

LJC Secretary Dr Mohammad Rahiem Awan said most of private schools hired teachers on a daily wage basis or visiting faculties, besides they developed infrastructure on amenity plots, but they did not provide free education to deserving students in “violation of the agreement”.

The chief justice regretted about the menace of narcotics in upscale schools and the sniffing opportunities being provided by waiters of school canteens. He highlighted the need of a crackdown to discourage such tendencies.

At this, a lawyer raised a complaint against “unethical dance and Halloween parties” in such schools.

Sardar Latif Khosa regretted that class distinction was being created through different school systems. He also highlighted the amount of hatred among students of upscale private schools and public schools against each other.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

PASHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to gradually abolish 6,500 low-cadre posts to save over Rs4 billion declaring them a burden on the exchequer.

“These posts have been declared the dying cadre’s. All these posts will be done away with after the retirement of the incumbents,” finance secretary Shakeel Qadar told the post- budget news conference here at the provincial secretariat on Tuesday.

The presser was mainly addressed by finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra and was attended by administrative secretaries.

The finance secretary told Dawn that the 6,500 low-cadre posts in question had been part of the provincial civil service since the British rule but those working on them had lost utility after the introduction of technology and development in society.

Secretary says KP foreign debts total $3.8bn; BRT service to begin in March

He said there existed 90 posts of mashalchis tasked with putting oil into the lantern.

The secretary said the cabinet had already approved the abolition of such posts in a meeting held on Monday.

He said the other posts to be abolished included basta bardar, dishwasher, misalchi, tandoorchi’s.

Earlier, the finance secretary told the news conference that the province’s foreign debts totaled $3.8 billion, while the provincial government spent 1.5 percent of its budget to return loans and pay interest on them.

He added that $3.8 billion also included the loans, which were in the pipeline.

Finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra briefed the media about the budget, which he had presented in the provincial assembly on Monday.

He praised the last provincial government for ‘best financial management’, which, he said, had resulted in the province’s stable financial conditions though there’s a financial crisis at the national level.

The minister said he was not happy with the current development outlay and that the province would need more money in future for development sector.

He said the finance department had set certain priorities for the current fiscal year, including the strengthening of the province’s own revenue base, finding of a compact yet permanent solution to the issues of net hydel profit and other dues to be cleared by the federal government.

The minister said the government’s third priority was to minimise its expenditure, which were going up by 20 percent every year.

“All efforts will be made to support the private sector for creating jobs,” he said.

The minister said the budget making mechanism also needed reforms as the existing designing of the budget was very old.

The finance secretary said the budget didn’t have new taxes for the relief of common man and had targeted the people not paying taxes.

He said most of the development budget had been allocated for ongoing schemes to reduce the throw-forward liabilities.

The secretary said the development schemes of every department would be rationalised to control the throw-forward liabilities.

Regarding the completion and cost of the ongoing Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project, planning and development secretary Shahab Ali Shah said the project cost stood at Rs66.4 billion.

He said the civil work on the BRT project would be completed by the end of Dec, while the service would begin by March next year.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on information technology has said that the Pakistan Telecom­munication Authority’s (PTA) new phone registration system is an overwhelming undertaking, one that is difficult for people to understand and adhere to.

“Considering the complications involved in the process, the committee asks the authorities to postpone the October 20 deadline,” said the chairperson of the committee, Senator Rubina Khalid of PPP.

With the impression that the system favoured telecom industry more than consumers, Muttahida Qaumi Move­ment’s Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh warned that he would ask the Supreme Court to take suo motu action on the issue if the registration deadline was not extended.

The subject of PTA’s new phone registration system was not on the committee’s agenda for discussion, but was taken up by its chairperson, who described it as complicated.

Senate committee says DIRBS is too difficult for people to understand

“This system is too confusing for the literate to wrap their heads around. We cannot imagine how the illiterate will understand it,” said Ms Khalid.

In May, the PTA launched a Device Identification, Registration and Bloc­king System (DIRBS) mechanism to counter the spread of substandard phones being smuggled into the country.

Last Friday, the PTA announced that its long-anticipated DIRBS would become functional on Oct 20, after which all unregistered mobile phones would become unusable.

PTA acting chairman Muhammad Naveed told the committee that it was not possible to push back the date for implementation of the DIRBS.

“Months of hard work and millions of dollars have been invested in this new system. The system was launched in May and several deadlines have been extended since then,” Mr Naveed informed the committee.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: In a strange move, the country’s major information technology and telecom regulatory body on Tuesday offered to surrender its role of monitoring electronic crimes to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

“The FIA has the capacity and expertise to approach the subject from an angle of fighting crime,” FIA director general for internet policy and web analysis Nisar Ahmed told the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology.

The committee met for a briefing by the FIA’s National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes about its mandate and initiatives taken to curb social media offences, including kidnapping of children for pornography, harassment and blackmailing, and steps taken in this regard.

Rules to scrutinise online content under process, Senate panel told

The committee was informed that under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), 2016, specifically sections 22 and 37, the role of monitoring content and blocking rests with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

However, the FIA is the designated authority to investigate cases of cybercrime.

Mr Ahmed informed the committee that the PTA rules under Peca on how to scrutinise online content were still under process since the law had been passed two years ago.

“PTA is only blocking content that too mostly on complaints from individuals. Some content is filtered through the industry and some through website administrators,” he told the committee.

PTA chairman Mohammad Naveed informed the committee that his department lacked the capacity to block content and did it manually only.

“We require millions of dollars of investment to install web management systems. The present monitoring equipment only checks the menace of grey traffic,” he told the committee.

The FIA, however, strongly felt that roles of monitoring and inquiries of cybercrimes should rest with the investigation agency, as exercised worldwide.

“Our hands are tied. Investigation is victim-based under the law. We must have the legal powers of monitoring and investigation to prevent cybercrime. This is necessary to fight crime,” director of FIA’s Cybercrime Wing retired Captain Mohammad Shoaib informed the committee.

He said the rules and procedures under Peca to approach and investigate cybercrime were approved last month, which were made in line with the Act.

Before Peca was passed two years ago, civil society and the IT industry, which opposed what they called a draconian law, strongly objected to giving the FIA both content monitoring and investigation powers.

Nonetheless, Senate committee chairperson Rubina Khalid, who believes in giving more powers to the investigation authority, directed both the PTA and FIA to get together to propose necessary amendments that would empower the FIA further within one week.

She said the Senate committee supported the idea of giving more authority to the FIA to monitor online content.

“The future of our generations is at stake here. Kidnapping of children to film pornographic content is a serious offence,” the PPP senator said.

Ms Khalid urged the PTA to check defamation of politicians on social media under Peca.

“Politicians do not mind healthy satire, but cannot tolerate insults,” she said.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

LAHORE: Rowdyism marred the all-important budget session of the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday, with members of the treasury and opposition coming to blows during the finance minister’s speech.

PA Speaker Pervaiz Elahi issued show-cause notices to six of the PML-N MPAs for what the treasury said attack on the assembly staff and damaging the furniture. He also banned their entry throughout the ongoing budget session.

The charged PML-N MPAs wearing black armbands stood on their seats when the speaker did not allow its member Malik Muhammad Ahmad to speak on a point of order. The speaker said as the finance minister was to present the budget speech, no point of order could be taken before it.

Reacting to it, many opposition members stood on the seats while others came right in front of the speaker’s dais and started chanting slogans against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government and Prime Minister Imran Khan. The opposition lawmakers forced the assembly staff sitting on the front row to leave the bench for them and even went to the extent of tearing the budget copies which they threw at the treasury members.

The opposition shouted slogans such as ‘Go Imran Go’ and ‘Kuch sharam karo kuch hiya karo Shahbaz Sharif ko riha karo’, making it difficult for Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht to be audible during his speech. Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan and Law Minister Basharat Raja stood up in support of Mr Bakht who kept sipping water to maintain poise.

The opposition’s protest took an ugly turn when lawmakers Tariq Masih Gill and Malik Waheed tried to pick up the chair of the assembly staff next to the speaker. This prompted the speaker’s sergeant-at-arms to intervene but the lawmakers shoved him back.

Many PTI MPAs moved forward and this led to a scuffle between the opposition and treasury members. Opposition leader Hamza Shahbaz and senior PTI legislators intervened and stopped their ‘charged’ members. The hullabaloo continued till the finance minister concluded the speech and introduced the Punjab Finance Bill 2018. Pervaiz Elahi issued show-cause notices to six PML-N MPAs for their alleged involvement in “attacking the assembly staff, damaging the furniture and using abusive language about the government” and stopped their entry to the House till conclusion of the budget session. They were Ashraf Rasool, Malik Wahid, Yasin Amir, Mirza Javed, Ms Zaibu Nisa and Tariq Masih Gill.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has observed that the quality of election result management significantly improved in the recent low-turnout by-elections held in 35 constituencies of national and provincial assemblies.

“While a considerable decline in the turnout in these constituencies as compared to July 25, 2018 is disconcerting, the transparency and efficiency of vote counting at the polling stations and tabulation of the provisional results by the Returning

Officers (Form-47-Provisional Consolidated Statement of the Result of the Count) was encouraging, improving the overall credibility of the electoral process,” says a report released by Fafen on Tuesday.

Women’s turnout remained above legal threshold of 10pc in all constituencies

Provisional results for all of these constituencies were finalised by the 2am deadline as stipulated by Section 13 (3) of the Elections Act, 2017, with the exception of PB-40 (Khuzdar), it points out.

This demonstrable improvement coupled with strengthened enforcement of voting processes also correlates with Fafen’s long-term finding drawn from the observation of over 100 by-elections held between 2008 and 2018 that election quality is enhanced when the exercise is managed directly by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) officials as district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs), in comparison to elections managed by officials employed from the lower judiciary for this purpose. For by-elections, the ECP appointed regional election commissioners as DROs and district election commissioners as ROs, except for PP-164 (Lahore-XXI) where the deputy director (local government) was given the responsibilities of RO.

Fafen deployed 1,737 election day observers ­— 1,296 men and 441 women — who observed the voting and counting processes at 4,038 polling stations in 11 National Assembly and 27 provincial assembly constituencies (13 in Punjab, nine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two each in Balochistan and Sindh).

Elections in PP-296 (Rajanpur-IV) and PP-87 (Mianwali-III) were uncontested. However, polling took place in the remaining 35 constituencies.

Nearly 54 per cent less women and 44pc less men turned out to cast their vote for National Assembly constituencies during the by-elections in comparison with the 2018 general elections.

However, women’s turnout remained above the legal threshold of 10pc in all the constituencies. The turnout for NA constituencies declined from 51.9pc to 26.5pc, for Punjab PA constituencies from 57.8pc to 43.7pc, for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa PA constituencies from 45.4pc to 21.7pc and for Sindh PA constituencies from 50.9pc to 36.8pc.

A total of 374 candidates ran for 35 constituencies. Of these, 139 candidates represented 27 political parties, while 235 contested independently.

The ECP had set up 7,489 polling stations comprising 21,783 booths for 9,283,074 registered voters in the 35 constituencies, averaging 1,239 voters per polling station and 426 voters per booth.

The by-elections witnessed an increased number of registered voters on the electoral rolls — 42,810 voters (18,540 men and 24,270 women) — in comparison with July 2018 general polls.

Nearly 1pc Fafen observers had been restricted from observing the voting process and around 6pc from the counting process. The Fafen observers reported a relatively lesser number of illegalities and irregularities during the voting process observed at 3,994 polling stations where they were allowed observation.

The right of voters to secrecy of the ballot was breached at 146 polling stations where the polling staff did not stop unauthorised persons from accompanying them behind secrecy screens. At 848 polling booths, secrecy screens were set up in a way that voters could be seen marking their ballots.

As many as 95pc of the presiding officers interviewed by the Fafen observers said they were trained by the ECP and had the required understanding of using the Results Transmission System (RTS) and 95pc of presiding officers successfully transmitted the results through RTS.

The Fafen observers reported 27 incidents of violence, albeit minor, inside and outside the polling stations.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Natio­nal Highway Authority (NHA) received a good response to the auction of its used luxury and normal vehicles as 62 of the 76 vehicles put on auction were sold on Tuesday.

No bidder shows interest in buying 12 vehicles due to certain reasons while two bidders cancelled their bids.

The auction began at 10.30am and closed late in the evening, generating Rs60.39 million for the cash-strapped NHA whose liabilities have swelled to Rs35 billion.

In the latest development on Tuesday, the finance division informed the NHA that it had decided to release Rs12bn to the authority to provide it immediate relief from the financial crunch.

According to the NHA, 219 vehicles will be auctioned at all its stations across the country.

The auction of vehicles at the Peshawar station will be held on Wednesday while the last auction will take place on Nov 5.

Out of a total of 219 vehicles, 42 are luxury sports utility vehicles (SUVs), including Land Cruisers and Parados. Twelve of such vehicles are in the NHA headquarters, eight in Peshawar, two in Abbottabad, five in Lahore, four in Multan and two in Sukkur, besides 177 cars at different stations.

“Buyers purchased vehicles on rates which were higher than our expectations. For example, a Land Cruiser, whose auction price was Rs2.5m was sold at Rs4.05m,” said NHA member of adminis­tration Ali Sher Mehsud, who supervised the auction.

He said that a total of 219 vehicles would be auctioned in phases and on the first day the response of buyers was quite encouraging.

Because of serious financial crisis in the NHA not only mega development projects, but also those being executed by the authority under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have been halted.

The amount of liabilities in terms of payments to contractors is increasing with each passing day because after certain days the NHA is bound to pay dues of contractors with a seven per cent interest rate.

Once the construction works stop because of non-payment of dues, the contractors also charge prolongation charges (for their labour, machinery, etc, on the site).

Therefore, liabilities of the NHA are increasing by Rs600m a month (with 7pc interest which is estimated at Rs200m and prolongation charges of Rs400m).

The contractors of the NHA have not received payments since June and cheques issued by the last caretaker government were bounced the same month.

According to sources, the development projects stop­ped because of non-payment of dues include the Hakla-D.I. Khan Motorway and Karachi-Lahore Motor­way.

Most of these projects were related to the CPEC and were to be completed by December this year.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018