LAHORE: Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad says the process to hire 10,000 workers will soon be started.

“At least 10,000 skilled workers are required on an emergency basis to improve Pakistan Railways (PR) efficiency and Prime Minister Imran Khan granted approval for the purpose,” said the minister at a news conference at railways headquarters here on Saturday.

People seeking jobs in their native districts would be given preference over residents of other areas, he said while adding that all the recruitments would be on merit.

All employees, rehired on contract after retirement from service, would be sent home within a year and young people would be given a chance, he said while adding that a summary to regularise the service of workers, employed on a contract basis under the PM’s Package, would soon be sent for approval.

Main Line-I will be fenced; Walton Academy to be upgraded as university

Announcing that the vigilance cell in the railways has been wound up, the minister said the PR Walton Academy would be upgraded as a university for the provision of better training facilities to the railways workers.

Sheikh Rashid said rail fares would not be revised upward in spite of hike in POL products’ price.

“We are planning to make rail journey further safer and faster by erecting fence on both sides of Main Line 1— from Peshawar to Karachi. It will enable us to run trains at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour. Catering services in the Green Line Express have been restored while Karachi Express and Tezgam would soon have same facility,” said Sheikh Rashid.

The prime minister would inaugurate Hyderabad Express on Nov 15 while the route of the train, running between Lahore and Faisalabad at present, would be extended up to Multan.

To another question, Rashid said the prime minister’s visit to China had been more successful than expected. “The Chinese hinted at gifting us primary feasibility to upgrade Main Line 2 and 3 during the forthcoming visit of China railways deputy minister,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2018

LAHORE: The Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) has some reservations over the Aasia Bibi issue but it also has respect for the national institutions including the judiciary and that’s why it did not join the recent protest.

Explaining the low profile of the JuD in the otherwise violent protests by religiopolitical parties, party spokesman Ahmed Nadeem told Dawn that the party issued protest call for Friday last two days after the court decision was announced. But as the protests started going violent, the JuD decided to restrict itself to Friday sermons instead of coming on the roads.

“The day the decision was announced, the party consultative body was already in meeting. It discussed the decision threadbare and consulted senior lawyers on the issue. After the consultation, the party thought that it was legal mistake and can only be rectified through legal process. After all, the trial court sentenced her to death after a long trial. Later, the Lahore High Court upheld the sentence. Now the Supreme Court has set her free, giving her the benefit of the doubt.

“The JuD was of the opinion that the quantum of the benefit of the doubt (whether it was reasonable or not) can only be judged by lawyers and only they could plead it before court. So, instead of taking to the street, the party decided to wait for exhaustion of the legal process. That is precisely why the JuD chief was the first to demand a review petition. Others (Mufti Munib, Sirajul Haq et al) followed him the next day,” says Mr Nadeem.

Substantiating his claim of non-violence being party philosophy, Mr Nadeem said the party kept its cool even when the government took over its charity organisations. It only challenged the decision in court. It did not go violent when its leader Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was arrested in January this year and the party chief himself had directed his men to stay peaceful and concentrate on Kashmir Day. “It only goes to prove that the party respects the legal process and will wait for its exhaustion,” he said and added: “It was very much part of a day-long (Friday) peaceful protest but went quiet when protests turned violent.”

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2018

KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet on Saturday decided to impose a phase-wise ban on use of polythene and plastic bags in the province, with Sukkur being the first district where such bags would be banned within next three months.

The meeting of the cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, was held at the New Sindh Secretariat with all provincial ministers, advisers and special assistants, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Inspector General of Police Kaleem Imam and other officials in attendance.

After the meeting, CM’s Adviser on Information and Law Barrister Murtaza Wahab briefed reporters that the government had decided to implement the Sindh Environmental Protection Act under which non-degradable polythene bags could not be purchased, used, manufactured or imported.

He said that the ban would be imposed in phases within three months. In the first phase, Sukkur region had been selected and in the second phase a complete ban on non-degradable polythene bags in Karachi and Hyderabad regions and rest of Sindh would be implemented, he added.

The cabinet was told that a normal plastic bag took 400 to 1,000 years to degenerate and almost every piece of plastic ever made still existed in the environment. The amount of plastic waste had been increasing about 10 per cent each year for the past 20 years.

The enforcement of the ban on polythene bags will first begin in Sukkur; Murad bans purchase of new vehicles for cabinet members for three years

CM Shah said his government had promulgated the Sindh Environment Protection Act 2014 and its Section 14(3) stated that “no person shall import, manufacture, stockpile, trade, supply, distribute or sell any scheduled plastic product which is non-degradable”.

The cabinet discussed the issue saying an abrupt ban on plastic bags might cause loss to traders involved in the business. The CM asked Environment Minister Taimur Talpur to discuss the issue with traders.

List of prisoners sought 

The cabinet took up the issue of human rights of the terminally ill prisoners languishing in various jails of the province for their early release.

The home department had sent a list of 27 terminally ill inmates, which was forwarded to the health department for constitution of a medical board.

The board recommended 12 cases, including one of a condemned prisoner. The other one was an Indian national, thus, his case had been sent to the federal interior ministry. The third one had been released from Hyderabad in July. Four of the prisoners are under trial and their premature release cases were forwarded to the cabinet for approval.

The cabinet approved their premature release on humanitarian grounds. The chief minister also asked Prisons Minister Nasir Shah to send a list of prisoners still languishing in jails for want of surety and also provide him with a list of foreign nationals in jail.

 Armoured vehicles allowed for top officials 

Discussing the use of luxury vehicles, the cabinet approved a proposal to authorise the governor, the chief minister, speaker, chief justice of the Sindh High Court, chief secretary, IGP, two additional IGs use of armoured vehicles.

Any provincial ministers or officers identified to have a threat would be provided an armoured vehicle available in the pool.

The chief minister was told that there were 28 vehicles of 1,800cc available in the pool for ministers. Most of the vehicles have already been allotted to ministers.

The CM asked the chief secretary to notify a ban on the purchase of new vehicles for ministers, advisers and special assistants for next three years. The new ministers would use vehicle available in the government pool. 

Body formed to review draft rules for Sindh police 

The cabinet also approved three bills for their introduction in the assembly for legislation.

They were the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Institute of Trauma (SMBBIT) Karachi, the Sindh Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, and Sindh Institute of Child Health And Neonatology, (SICHN) Karachi.

The cabinet was informed in Sindh there was no such institute to treat victims of accidents and injuries, thus, the trauma centre was established in Karachi. “The centre is successfully providing services and is an autonomous institution. The trauma centre, which has been named as SMBBIT, would establish its satellites across Sindh and serve as a teaching institute.”

The cabinet was informed that the SICHN, Karachi would also establish its satellite centres as had been established by the NICVD and serve as a teaching hospital and offer diplomas in various related sectors.

The cabinet also discussed the draft Sindh Police (Posting, Transfer & Tenure) Rules 2017 and constituted a committee comprising Barrister Wahab, Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh and IGP Imam to review the document and give their recommendations before it was sent to the assembly for approval.

The recruitment rules of IG prisons and DIG prisons were also discussed. It was informed the caretaker government had amended Rule 890 for which it had no mandate. The cabinet restored the original Rule 890 with slight amendment. It reads: “The Inspector general of prisons shall be appointed by promotion from amongst the deputy inspectors general of prisons.”

 Food dept wants Rs7.6bn subsidy to retire debt 

The food department requested the cabinet to fix the price of wheat. The cabinet was told during 2018, the food department procured 1.4 million metric ton (mmt) of wheat at the support price of Rs3,250 per bag.

It requested the cabinet to approve the issue price of wheat at Rs3,150 (packed in PP bag) and Rs3,250 (packed in jute bag) and a subsidy of Rs7.656 billion might also be approved to retire the commercial banks’ borrowing.

The chief minister constituted a committee to meet with traders and others and give its recommendation for fixation of price.

The cabinet, on the recommendation of the selection committee, appointed Iqbal Nafees Khan as the managing director of Sindh Civil Servants Housing Foundation (SCSHF) for two years.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2018

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and chose to bat in the third and final one-day international against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.

Pakistan left out opener Imamul Haq as a precautionary measure after he was hit on the helmet by a rising delivery from Lockie Ferguson in the second match in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Imam had CT scans which were clear but the team management decided to rest him and bring in Haris Sohail. Imad Wasim makes way for Asif Ali.

New Zealand are without skipper Kane Williamson due to injury, with Tom Latham taking over the captaincy. BJ Watling replaces Williamson while Tim Southee makes way for pace bowler Matt Henry.

The series is level at 1-1 after New Zealand won the first match by 47 runs before Pakistan claimed the second by six wickets, both in Abu Dhabi.

Teams:

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi.

Zealand: Tom Latham (capt), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, BJ Watling, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Ross Taylor, George Worker.

Umpires: Joel Wilson (WIs) and Shozab Raza (Pak), TV umpire: Nigel Llong (Eng), Match referee: Javagal Srinath (Ind).

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that it has decided to suspend the repatriation process of Afghan refugees in Pakistan for around four months due to cold weather, Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday.

According to a spokesperson of the UNHCR, the repatriation process will be halted from Dec 1 till Feb 28 next year due to drop in temperature and severe cold.

The spokesperson further said that UNHCR centres in Pakistan and Afghanistan will remain closed during the winter.

It was also announced that registered refugees will not be given financial compensation in case of returning to Afghanistan during the period. The operation will resume from March next year.

Heavy rain has interrupted the third one-day international as New Zealand are chasing a daunting 280-run target set by Pakistan in the third and final one-day international in Dubai on Sunday.

New Zealand were 35-1 after 6.5 overs when the umpires signalled for a stoppage in play after light rain turned into heavy showers.

Earlier, a well-crafted 92 from Babar Azam and half-centuries from Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail guided Pakistan to 279-8.

Lockie Ferguson, though, put the brakes on with a fine display of fast bowling, taking a career-best 5-45 from his 10 overs.

With the series on the line with each side having won a game, Pakistan's batting clicked from the outset after Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and chose to bat.

Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez (19) added 64 for the first wicket before Hafeez dislodged a bail with his heel while working Ferguson to long leg, bringing Azam to the crease in the 14th over.

Zaman hit eight boundaries in his eighth one-day half-century before being caught on the long-on boundary off Colin de Grandhomme for 65.

Azam then paced the innings during a third-wicket stand of 108 with Sohail.

Sohail struck two sixes and six boundaries in his 59-ball 60 before he was caught in the deep off Ferguson.

Azam continued to work the gaps well, happy to pick up singles and only occasionally open his shoulders. He faced 100 balls for his 92 but that included just four fours and one six.

He finally fell in the 49th over as he tried to reach his ninth one-day hundred, caught in the deep off Trent Boult, small consolation for the left-arm seamer whose 10 overs cost 80 runs.

Pakistan lost four wickets in the last two overs and may regret scoring only 38 runs in the last five.

New Zealand are without their skipper Kane Williamson who pulled out with a groin injury with Tom Latham leading the side.

Pakistan left out Imam-ul-Haq on precautionary grounds after he suffered a blow on his helmet in the second match on Friday but his scans were clear.

The series is level at 1-1 after New Zealand won the first match by 47 runs before Pakistan claimed the second by six wickets, both in Abu Dhabi.

Teams:

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi.

Zealand: Tom Latham (capt), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, BJ Watling, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Ross Taylor, George Worker.

Umpires: Joel Wilson (WIs) and Shozab Raza (Pak), TV umpire: Nigel Llong (Eng), Match referee: Javagal Srinath (Ind).

Two minor brothers, a one-and-a-half-year-old and a five-year-old, died on Sunday afternoon while receiving treatment for food poisoning after which the authorities sealed a restaurant in the metropolis, said Karachi Police.

SSP South Pir Muhammed Shah said the victims' mother has also been hospitalised and is currently under treatment.

According to the police, the family had dined out the previous night at Arizona Grill restaurant located in Defence Housing Authority's (DHA) Zamzama area in Phase V and had consumed sweets from Chunky Monkey amusement park located in Phase IV, DHA.

Police have initiated a full probe into the matter and the restaurant has been sealed for forensic investigations.

The bodies of both minor brothers have so far not been brought to any government hospital to fulfill legal formalities and to ascertain the exact cause of their death, said Police Surgeon Dr Aijaz Khokhar.

Additional Inspector General (AIG) Dr Amir Ahmed Shaikh told Dawn that he has directed the police to get post-mortem examination results as the cause of death was still not certain.

A senior medico-legal official, who wished not to be named, told Dawn that in such cases of purported poisoning, crucial evidence is often lost as doctors at private hospitals tend to wash the stomach of affected patients.

The city police chief said quoting the mother said that they reached home at 2:00am and they started vomiting at 6:00am. However, other relatives present in the home took them to the hospital after considerable delay, at 2:45pm. AIG Amir said that food poison tends to affect the body within four hours of its consumption.

Police investigators have taken samples of vomit from dustbin and clothes of the children and their blood and urine samples. These samples will be sent to Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) for testing, according to the police.

Whilst speaking to Dawn, police revealed that the children had also consumed some milk at home, of which samples have also been collected by them.

The mother in her statement to the police said that the candy which the children had bought from a shop outside the amusement park in DHA has a "strange flavour". Therefore, the police have also taken eight samples from the candy shop.

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and sought a report from the city commissioner. The commissioner was also directed to make every possible effort to save the life of the victims' mother.

CM Shah has instructed that a report be submitted of the last time the two facilities underwent an inspection, with details of the inspection mechanism clearly outlined. He has also issued instructions for the identification of government institutions whose negligence could have contributed to this incident.

Meanwhile, Sindh IG Kaleem Imam also took notice of the incident after it was reported on various media outlets. The Sindh police chief has also sought a detailed report from SSP Shah to be submitted at the earliest.

PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Salman Rafique on Saturday submitted an application with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman retired justice Javed Iqbal and sought transfer of the ongoing investigations against them, DawnNewsTV reported.

The Khawaja brothers wrote a letter to the NAB chairman, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, and expressed their distrust in the accountability watchdog and its Lahore DG Shahzad Saleem, and blamed the official of doing character assassination and running a malicious media trial against them.

In their plea, the Khawaja brothers have mentioned that on November 8, the NAB DG "in complete disregard to the standard norms of the investigation process, participated in various talk shows".

"He [DG NAB] went on to make partisan, partial and prejudicial statements pertaining to the investigations since pending and insisted upon his predisposed and jaundiced opinion [the applicants are guilty]," the application read.

"The DG did not have the authority to make above sweeping remarks at this juncture when the matter is still pending and particularly he is investing the same," they added.

They claimed that they were facing maliciously motivated inquiries and mentioned that no credible evidence could be collected against the applicants to attract the mischief of any offence under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999. "The investigation teams were bent upon to make out a case against the applicants by any means whatsoever," the applicants claimed.

According to the application, the two believe that they would not get a fair investigation from the team working under the incumbent DG, "who has become an inimical instrument in the hands of political rivals of the applicants".

"It is requested that the inquiries/investigations pending at [NAB's] Lahore [office,] may kindly be transferred to some other region to be conducted and concluded by an independent, impartial and honest investigator," read the application.

First lady Bushra Bibi on Sunday visited a rehabilitation centre in the federal capital and interacted with women and children housed there who have mental health conditions.

Bushra Bibi, accompanied by her friend, visited various wards of Fountain House and was briefed about the medical facilities provided to the patients.

The women present at the facility thanked the first lady for the visit and also took selfies with her.

Bushra Bibi's first trip as the first lady was also to an orphanage in Lahore in early September. She had spent time with orphans at the Darul Shafqat and visited Data Darbar, the shrine of Ali Hajveri.

LAHORE: Prime Minis­ter Imran Khan has hinted at launching the first-of-its-kind mega poverty alleviation venture within seven to 10 days to bring people out of abject poverty in the country.

“The poverty alleviation package will be the most important component in the PTI government’s 100-day performance to be unveiled before the people of Pakistan within the next few days,” Mr Khan said.

He said it would be a coordinated effort of all the state organs already working on the project. “All the relevant state organs will work under one umbrella,” he said.

Acknowledging the advice and guidance of China, the prime minister said, “We have learnt from our China visit how they did the historic job of bringing 700 million people out of poverty in just three decades.”

PM opens construction of first shelter home in Lahore, says Pakistan has come out of financial crisis

Laying the foundation stone for the first shelter home Panah Gah near the railway station, the prime minister said it would be the first step towards transforming Pakistan into a welfare state. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” he quoted a Chinese proverb.

Later, the prime minister tweeted: “Today, I laid foundation for first of five shelters for the homeless in Lahore and one in Rawalpindi to be followed by shelters in other cities. We are committed to building a social net for our poor citizens so everyone has a shelter over his/her head and access to health and education.”

Mr Khan said the Panah Gah project would benefit the homeless and needy. The visitors would be offered quality food to be provided by philanthropists. “Such people were never taken care of in previous governments,” he lamented. He said the other shelters would be established at Icchra, Chauburji, Data Darbar and Shahdara.

He said the financial crisis that was looming large in the country did not allow the government to focus on projects like shelter homes in its first two-and-a-half months. “Now, the country is out of the financial crisis as it is in a position to pay off the loan and interest instalments,” he asserted.

Emphasising that the Panah Gah projects will be made centres of excellence, the prime minister said that a board of governors (BoG) would oversee the maintenance and functioning of these centres. “The BoG will finalise the policy for the shelter homes,” he added.

The prime minister said that he would recommend names for the board of governors. He said he had met several such philanthropists and people of high calibre during his two-decade experience of running the Shaukat Khanum cancer hospital.

Acknowledging that Chief Minister Usman Buzdar is a humble person who is well aware of the miseries of the poor, the prime minister said Mr Buzdar picked his point well on establishing the shelters and immediately located five sites in Lahore and started work on the project within no time. He also acknowledged the diligence and passion of LDA Director General Amina Imran Khan in executing the welfare project. Mr Khan said the chief minister’s selection had invited fiery comments and reservations from within the party. He asserted that Mr Buzdar would come out as a star performer like his selected boys in cricket — Wasim Akram and Inzamamul Haq. Looking towards Buzdar sitting on the stage, Mr Khan said, “Another Wasim Akram will emerge from Punjab’.

The prime minister said he had also asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister to find locations to establish shelter homes in Peshawar. Similarly, he said, the Sindh governor had also been instructed and the chief minister would be asked to work on establishing shelter homes in Karachi and other big cities in the province.

Answering a question about the government stance on the release of Aasia Bibi, the prime minister said, “A government always stands with Supreme Court decisions to help the country to move forward”. The rule of law depends upon accepting the decisions of the Supreme Court, he added.

PM’s Punjab Initiatives

The prime minister later chaired a meeting to review the `Prime Minister’s Punjab Initiatives’ at the Chief Minister Secretariat.

Mr Khan stressed that the Punjab government should find out some innovative ways of governance.

The meeting discussed proposals to transform the governance system to bring about visible change in people’s lives. The Punjab cabinet informed the prime minister about different priorities and targets and their implementation. It also informed the premier about Punjab’s 100-day plan and its implementation. The 100 days are completing on Nov 29.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2018

An employee of a private hospital in Rahim Yar Khan was reportedly tortured to death on Saturday night for allegedly stealing Rs10,000.

The victim's father, a resident of Chachran Sharif, told police that his son, Muhammad Asif, a 20-year-old student at a technical institute was a part-time employee at Ameena Jamal Medical Complex, located in Town Hall area.

On Saturday night, a former employee of the hospital informed the boy's father, Hussain Baksh, that his son had consumed poison and the hospital staff were taking him to the emergency of Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH).

When the victim's father arrived at SZMCH, he found his son had expired and his dead body was in an ambulance, with blood flowing from the nose.

Baksh has alleged that it later came to his knowledge that Dr Farhan Qureshi of Amna Jamal Hospital — who is also an assistant professor of urology at SZMCH — along with Dr Rizwan Qureshi, Muhammad Nazim, Furqan Saleem, Muhammad Tahir, and Abid Hussain gave Asif a thrashing on the accusation that he had stolen Rs10,000.

In his statement before police, Baksh has claimed that Asif died due to the severity of beating.

Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on Sunday under Sections 302 (punishment of qatl-i-amd), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offence) and 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapons) of the Pakistan Panel Code and arrested all the accused.

SZMCH spokesperson Professor Dr Burhan Mustafa told Dawn that the cause of Asif's death will be known after the postmortem report is issued.

The third and final one-day international between Pakistan and New Zealand was abandoned after persistent rain in Dubai on Sunday, leaving the series tied at 1-1.

The play was interrupted due to heavy rain as New Zealand were chasing a daunting 280-run target set by Pakistan. New Zealand were 35-1 after 6.5 overs when the umpires signalled for a stoppage in play after light rain turned into heavy showers.

Earlier, a well-crafted 92 from Babar Azam and half-centuries from Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail guided Pakistan to 279-8.

Lockie Ferguson, though, put the brakes on with a fine display of fast bowling, taking a career-best 5-45 from his 10 overs.

With the series on the line with each side having won a game, Pakistan's batting clicked from the outset after Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and chose to bat.

Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez (19) added 64 for the first wicket before Hafeez dislodged a bail with his heel while working Ferguson to long leg, bringing Azam to the crease in the 14th over.

Zaman hit eight boundaries in his eighth one-day half-century before being caught on the long-on boundary off Colin de Grandhomme for 65.

Azam then paced the innings during a third-wicket stand of 108 with Sohail.

Sohail struck two sixes and six boundaries in his 59-ball 60 before he was caught in the deep off Ferguson.

Azam continued to work the gaps well, happy to pick up singles and only occasionally open his shoulders. He faced 100 balls for his 92 but that included just four fours and one six.

He finally fell in the 49th over as he tried to reach his ninth one-day hundred, caught in the deep off Trent Boult, small consolation for the left-arm seamer whose 10 overs cost 80 runs.

Pakistan lost four wickets in the last two overs and may regret scoring only 38 runs in the last five.

New Zealand are without their skipper Kane Williamson who pulled out with a groin injury with Tom Latham leading the side.

Pakistan left out Imam-ul-Haq on precautionary grounds after he suffered a blow on his helmet in the second match on Friday but his scans were clear.

The series is level at 1-1 after New Zealand won the first match by 47 runs before Pakistan claimed the second by six wickets, both in Abu Dhabi.

Teams:

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi.

Zealand: Tom Latham (capt), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, BJ Watling, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Ross Taylor, George Worker.

Umpires: Joel Wilson (WIs) and Shozab Raza (Pak), TV umpire: Nigel Llong (Eng), Match referee: Javagal Srinath (Ind).

Two minor brothers died on Sunday afternoon from 'food poisoning' after which the authorities sealed a restaurant in the metropolis, said Karachi Police.

SSP South Pir Muhammed Shah said the victims' mother was also hospitalised and was under treatment.

“Two minor brothers namely Ahmad, one and half year old, and Muhammad, five, died from food poisoning on Sunday afternoon,” said SSP Shah.

According to the police, the family had dined out the previous night at Arizona Grill restaurant located in Defence Housing Authority's (DHA) Zamzama area and afterwards, had consumed candy from a shop outside Chunky Monkey amusement park located in Phase IV, DHA.

Police initiated a probe into the matter and the restaurant was sealed for forensic investigation.

The bodies of both minor brothers have so far not been brought to any government hospital to fulfill legal formalities and to ascertain the exact cause of their death, said Police Surgeon Dr Aijaz Khokhar.

Additional Inspector General (AIG) Dr Amir Ahmed Shaikh told Dawn that he has directed the police to get post-mortem examination results as the cause of death was still not certain.

A senior medico-legal official, who wished not to be named, told Dawn that in such cases of purported food poisoning, crucial evidence is often lost as doctors at private hospitals tend to wash the stomach of affected patients.

Quoting the mother, the city police chief said that the kids reached home at 2am and they started vomiting at 6am. Relatives present in the house took them to the hospital at 2:45pm. AIG Amir said that food poisoning tends to affect the body within four hours of its consumption.

Police investigators took samples of the children's blood, urine, and of vomit from dustbin and clothes. These samples will be sent to Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) for testing, according to the police.

While speaking to Dawn, police revealed that the children had also consumed milk at home, samples of which had also been collected.

The mother in her statement to the police said that the candy which the children had bought from a shop outside the amusement park in DHA had a "strange flavour". Therefore, the police have also taken eight samples from the candy shop.

CM, governor take notice

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and sought a report from the city commissioner. The commissioner was also directed to make every possible effort to save the life of the mother.

CM Shah instructed that a report be submitted of the last time the two facilities underwent an inspection, with details of the inspection mechanism clearly outlined. He also issued instructions for the identification of government institutions whose negligence could have contributed to this incident.

Meanwhile, Sindh IG Kaleem Imam also took notice of the incident after it was reported on various media outlets. The Sindh police chief sought a detailed report from SSP Shah to be submitted at the earliest.

Subsequently, Sindh Food Authority Director Operations Ibrar Shaikh visited the eatery and submitted an initial report to the CM, stating that they took 12 food samples from the restaurant and sealed it.

The food authority gave a notice to the restaurant to "improve" their hygiene conditions, said the chief minister's spokesperson, Rasheed Channa, adding that the CM had directed the food authority to start inspection of all restaurants in the city.

The authorities also obtained CCTV footages of both places from 4pm to midnight for investigation purposes.

THAR: Ahead of energisation of the first Thar coal-based 660MW power project, the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) — a public-private enterprise — is seeking substantial reduction in returns on future energy projects and shift in focus to gasification for fertiliser and other uses from domestic coal.

The “generation cost (of electricity) is way too high in Pakistan and becoming so unaffordable” that the consumer is forced to steal it, according to Chief Execu­tive Officer of SECMC Shamsuddin Shaikh.

Speaking to a group of journalists from Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad at the project site, Mr Shaikh said the first Thar coal-based power project of 660MW had achieved 92 per cent physical progress by now against targeted 83pc and the project cost was 20pc less than the approved cost. This had become possible despite the inherent risk of the unknown about Thar, the coal deposit, its quality, etc.

Advocating a reduction both in capital costs and return investments, Mr Shaikh said Pakistan’s power sector had gone bankrupt and it was becoming difficult for the investors to sell their energy to a system which had no way to pay while sitting on Rs700-1,200bn circular debt.

“Pockets are now empty. Expensive power generation has collapsed the national grid.”

Thar coal-based power project of 660MW achieves 92pc physical progress

He said not only the generation cost was very high but the distribution system had too much losses and theft had become part of it because high prices offer incentive.

“Theft will keep on increasing as prices go up,” he said, adding that all stakeholders — the government, companies, investors, consumers — needed to put their efforts together to reduce power prices and make them reasonable.

The SECMC chief said the power generation should now shift to renewable sources where the prices were declining steeply and now stood at 4 to 4.3 cents per unit, compared to above 8 cents of coal and other fossil fuels.

“The future is now in renewable, not in fossil fuel,” he said, adding that his company was now working on solar projects of 200MW and above at 3.9 cents per unit. In the next 20 to 25 years it will be all the renewable energy and the use of fossil fuel will diminish.

He said the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had given very high rates in the past and should now find the right prices and reduce them.

Responding to a question, Mr Shaikh said the first 660MW project at Thar now in final stage was also given 20pc return but would no more require such rates for the second phase of 660MW.

“Now is the time to rationalise returns and capital costs simultaneously,” he said, adding that every future project should now go through competitive bidding.

“We are ready to reduce prices, others should also bring them down otherwise the country cannot afford electricity while Nepra and CPPA should get together and hold international competitive bidding for all future projects,” he said.

In reply to a question, he said the return on equity (ROE) of 27.2pc for Sahiwal Coal power project was actually 18pc internal rate of return (IRR) on investment which was very high compared to 12 to 14pc global IRRs.

“Sahiwal Power project is a national suicide,” he said in response to a question saying a coal plant in the fertile land of Punjab was not only illogical and hence criminal but also expensive because of huge transportation costs being far away from the port.

When asked what would then be the future of 175 billion tonnes of Thar coal after switching over to renewable, the SECMC chief said the time had come to shift from power generation to other purposes initially to fertiliser production in view of diminishing domestic natural gas. “We should not see our coal just as a resource to produce power, in fact, world is now converting coal into diesel, gas and industrial materials and we should also start working in this direction.”

He said the first ever Thar-based 660MW Lignite Coal Power plant was set to go into production by January 2019 against scheduled commercial operation date of June 2019. With 94pc and 92pc completion respectively, the power project and mine project both are five months ahead of their schedule and will add the first electron from Thar to the national grid by January 2019.

He said the company successfully connected its power plant with the national grid to receive back-feed power supply for plant startup. The next part of this dream will be achieved by next month or January 2019, when the first electron from Thar Coal will be added to the national grid. Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to inaugurate the project.

Mr Shaikh suggested that all coal projects in Pakistan, including Sahiwal and Port Qasim coal projects should use at least 20pc of Thar coal by blending it with imported coal to save foreign exchange and facilitate indigenous resource utilisation. He said the cost of per unit power production from Thar coal block-II would reduce significantly after phases II and III became operational.

He said the first project now in final stage was based on subcritical technology but the company had now asked the government to allow super-critical technology for all future projects in phases II and III to achieve 3pc greater efficiency than ­subcritical plants.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018

LAHORE: Future of the mega housing project — LDA City — seems gloomy, as those entrusted with the task to accomplish it are not ready to do so keeping in view the ongoing probe into the issue by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

“What to do when the project is being probed by NAB involving various officials appearing before the investigation officers in this regard. We can only go ahead if the NAB clears it, directing the LDA to either start further land acquisition or develop the scheme at the land acquired so far,” says an LDA official, who requested anonymity. The LDA governing body had approved to launch the project on May 25, 2011 after issuance of a notification under section 18 of LDA Act, 1975 on May 20 the same year.

Subsequently another notification under section 13 (3) of LDA Act, 1975 was issued on Oct 27, 2011, regarding announcement of execution of the scheme. The notification under section 4 (1) (2) of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was issued on Nov 24, 2011 about the acquisition of as many as 60,000 kanal in Mouzas Halloki, Toor Wariach, Thay Panju, Sidher, Rakh Jhedu, Katcha and Kahna.

Probe into files sold by development partners under way

Later, the authority decided on March 16, 2013, to launch the scheme on the pattern of DHA and to engage development partners to negotiate with land owners and to get the land transferred to LDA. Under a formula, the LDA agreed to give development partners 31 per cent exemption of the plots against surrend of the total land.

According to the official, approximately 14,000 kanals, which were acquired and transferred in the name of LDA before April 9 this year, were cleared and the authority has issued allotment/exemption letters to as many as 7,200 people.

“There is no issue with this land (about 14,000 kanal), which included a chunk of about 6,000 kanal, as the same was acquired and transferred to LDA before April 9, the date when the NAB started probe into the project. The LDA is carrying out development work here with a slow pace,” the official said.

But the development partners sold files on their own to as many as 1,400 people, which, according to them, were from another chunk of around 5,000 kanal that is yet to be transferred to LDA [to date]. So the issue lies with these 1,400 files as NAB is of the view that why were the excess files sold when there was no land acquired and transferred to LDA. These 5,000 kanals, according to developers, were purchased by them after April 9.

He said the current LDA administration had briefed the bureau about the project besides providing the [respective] record off and on. During various discussions with the NAB authorities, the LDA’s management urged them to finalise the case and devise a strategy for LDA to go ahead.

“They (NAB) ask us verbally to go ahead. But the LDA administration wants something concrete or in writing from them, as they fear that how to go ahead when the project is being investigated in depth,” the official said.

He urged the NAB to decide the case as soon as possible, enabling the LDA to move ahead further in this regard.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018

LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Sunday ordered to devise a policy for collection of donations at shrines and mosques across Punjab.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar issued the order at the court’s Lahore registry while hearing a case pertaining to the use of donations being collected at shrines in the province. The Auqaf secretary was present in the court.

The CJP remarked that people were not donating their hard-earned money to shrines and mosques for the Auqaf department to pay salaries to its officials.

“How can you misuse something that is entrusted to you?” he asked.

He said donations worth Rs850 million were being collected at various shrines and mosques and being spent on salaries of Auqaf department officials. The CJP inquired about the whereabouts of the chief secretary and said that if the Auqaf secretary did not want to perform his duty, why he had not left his post.

“The toilets inside mosques and shrines have not been maintained for years, while the donations are being used to pay salaries of department officials,” he remarked.

He ordered to make a policy for the use of donations being collected at mosques and shrines, and adjourned the hearing till next week.

RELIC: The CJP also called all the members of the joint investigation team (JIT) probing into the recovery of the missing Nalain Mubarak (shoe) of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from the gallery of Badshahi Mosque.

He was hearing an application moved by Pir SA Jafri questioning inefficiency of the government authorities to fix responsibility. The Auqaf secretary and his counsel were present.

At the previous hearing, the court had ordered formation of a three-member JIT to probe into the alleged theft of the Nalain Mubarak.

The CJP remarked that the theft of the Nalain Mubarak was a case of someone’s faith and the authorities had no information of where they had gone.

The Auqaf department counsel told the court that his client had registered a case of the theft, adding that 10 investigations had been conducted, but nothing could be concluded.

The CJP asked the authorities if there was anything more valuable than the shoe of the Prophet. “It is a simple case. Sixteen years have passed but you could not complete the probe into the matter,” he said. The hearing was adjourned till next week.

At the last hearing, the additional advocate general told the court that the relic had been taken to Brunei in 2001 for displaying in an exhibition. After that it was placed inside the Badshahi Mosque. Later, some visitors revealed in 2002 that the relic had been missing.

The petitioner had been filing petitions at the district and sessions court in the past seeking recovery of the relic. The police, submitting its progress report in those petitions, claimed that progress had been made and different committees formed under senior officials.

The officials said an investigation had been carried out from various angles, but they remained clueless. The petitioner had sought registration of a case against 94 respondents, including 40 police, for failing to recover the relic allegedly stolen in 2002.

On March 5, 2014, the then Rangers deputy superintendent Muhammad Sarwar, lance naik Noshad Khan and others were interrogated, who said the relic had been taken to Brunei in 2001 under the supervision of Capt Jawad Cheema.

The officials added that when the Pakistani delegation returned in September that year, the Rangers personnel boarded a truck and went straight to their positions on Wagah border, adding that the relic was neither taken to nor placed at the Badshahi Mosque under their supervision.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018

KARACHI: The ongoing anti-encroachment operation in Saddar entered its crucial phase on Sunday as authorities demolished more than 1,000 shops in four markets in the surroundings of the iconic Empress Market in an attempt to restore the British-era structure to its original shape.

The joint operation by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and other civic bodies backed by law enforcers was launched on the directives of the Supreme Court.

Police said no untoward incident took place during the operation, except that a shopkeeper set his own shop on fire in protest.

The mayor says alternative place will be provided to those having rent agreement with KMC

While authorities said that they had engaged the protesting shopkeepers in talks that led to end of their sit-in, shopkeepers accused the authorities of violating an agreement reached during their meeting with the Karachi commissioner under which they were supposed to give time to remove their goods, furniture, etc, from their shops by Sunday noon.

Saddar’s old clothes, birds, dried fruits markets no more

KMC authorities backed by heavy contingents of police and Rangers brought heavy machinery to the Empress Market on Saturday night.

Roads leading to the Empress Market were closed for vehicular traffic and at 7am the operation was launched.

The authorities said “four illegal markets” dealing with dried fruits, old clothes and a bird market were demolished.

“We have demolished 1,043 shops,” said KMC’s anti-encroachment director Bashir Ahmed Siddiqi.

He said the Empress Market would be restored to its original shape within next 15 days.

Talking to the media, Mr Siddiqi said a task force comprising officials of the KMC, anti-encroachment police and district police had been formed to prevent future encroachment in Saddar.

Preedy SHO Liaquat Mehsud told Dawn that no untoward incident took place during the operation. However, one shopkeeper set his shop on fire apparently in protest during the operation, he added.

Mayor promises alternative places

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhter, who visited the spot, told the media that beautiful parks would be established in the surroundings of the Empress Market.

He recalled that illegal shops were established on the places where parks existed in the past. Due to this the original master plan of the market was changed, he added.

He clarified that the anti-encroachment drive had been launched on the directions of the chief justice of Pakistan and prime minister.

He promised that the shopkeepers who had been giving rent to the KMC under a 30-year-old agreement would be accommodated at alternative places, preferably in the markets being run by the KMC in other parts of the city.

The mayor said that a committee had been established to this effect and an alternative place would be provided to the shopkeepers in a transparent manner.

Shopkeepers to decide strategy today

Terming the demolition “injustice with shopkeepers”, All Empress Market Associations president Iqbal Kakar told Dawn that a meeting of the affectees would be held on Monday (today) for seeking compensation and alternative places for running business as ‘hundreds of thousands of workers’ had been deprived of their livelihood.

He said that the shopkeepers had ended a protest sit-in on Saturday after successful talks with the Karachi commissioner. It was agreed in the meeting that the shopkeepers would be given time till Sunday noon to take their belongings from their shops.

“As a goodwill gesture and in compliance with the SC order we agreed to end the protest with a heavy heart,” said Mr Kakar, who is also the president of now demolished Umar Farooq Market.

However, he said the authorities violated the agreement and launched their operation at 7am without allowing shopkeepers to take their goods.

‘Goods, furniture worth Rs450m destroyed’

He claimed that he rushed to the scene after receiving information of the operation and reminded the municipal commissioner about the agreement but he expressed his ‘helplessness’ in that regard.

Mr Kakar claimed that at least 1,450 shops located in four markets were demolished, causing an estimated loss of Rs450 million to shopkeepers in the head of goods and furniture.

He said that two old clothes markets adjacent to the Jehangir Park were also demolished despite the fact that the shopkeepers had already approached a court where the first hearing of their case took place on Nov 5 and second hearing was scheduled for Nov 15.

He claimed that the office-bearer of the old clothes market showed court documents to the officials concerned but they (KMC) warned the shopkeepers to take away their old clothes and other stuff ‘within two hours’.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018

GUJRANWALA: A teenage girl was allegedly gunned down on Sunday in Gakhar Mandi by her father and uncle on the pretext of honour. Police arrested one of the suspects and registered a case against him.

Sixteen-year-old Sara had asked her father, Sohail Butt, if she could marry a person of her choice. Butt along with his brother, Tumba, who is said to be a local PML-N leader, opened fire on Sara and buried her discreetly in a nearby graveyard.

Police registered a case and started an investigation during which it was revealed that Sara had been murdered by her father and uncle. Police arrested Butt while Tumba managed to escape. Police were conducting raids to arrest him.

INJURED: Twenty-six members of a family, including six women, were injured in road accident near Gakhar Mandi.

Sheikh Bashir of Mughalpura, Lahore, and his family members were going to Islamabad by a bus. The bus overturned near Ojla Bridge in Gakhar Mandi as its driver had dozed off.

As a result, 26 people were injured critically. Rescue 1122 shifted them to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital.

CLEAN-UP: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) and district administration retrieved eight kanal state land worth Rs80m from the land grabbers at Sadhoke, GT Road, by demolishing shops and a plaza.

Residents of Majju Chak Road, Sadhoke, had submitted applications with ACE Director General Hussain Asghar alleging that some influential people had constructed shops on the stated land and blocked the road for traffic.

The ACE registered a case and started investigation and it was proved that the shops were constructed illegally.

A team under the supervision of Deputy Director Muhammad Qasim along with assistant commissioner conducted the operation registered cases against Muhammad Sarwar, Sakhawat Ali, Yousaf, Ghulam Muhammad, Pappu Shah, Tahir Sandhu and others.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) is set to approve a Rs66.4 billion revised plan for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in Peshawar this week.

The revised plan of the BRT is being sent to Ecnec on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan which he issued during a meeting with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mehmood Khan at Banigala here on Sunday. It was the second meeting of the prime minster with the chief minister in three days.

The two also discussed the law and order situation in the province, the federal government’s 100-day plan, merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with KP and the local government elections.

The prime minister also discussed with the chief minister issues of education, health and other aspects that are part of the 100-day plan.

“Our political agenda is not artificial and we are not afraid of controversies,” the prime minister said.

The BRT’s revised plan has already been approved by the Provincial Development Working Party and the Central Development Working Party (CDWP).

According to an official press release, the multi-billion-rupee BRT project is not only a bus corridor, but also a grand plan for other roads in the city. There are also designs to construct drainage ways, a cycle track and moving utility service lines along the three-kilometre long underpasses and the 13km long elevated road.

The opposition has been criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf governments — both at the Centre and in KP — for doubling the estimated cost of the BRT project from Rs30 billion to Rs60bn. However, the fact is that the original cost of the project was Rs57bn and the revisions amount to only Rs9bn.

When contacted, a senior official of the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) told Dawn that the original cost of the project was Rs57bn, but the CDWP made a 15 per cent cut and removed contingency expenditure — a provision created in all mega projects — reducing its cost to Rs49bn.

Meeting with MNAs

The prime minister has also initiated meetings with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s members of the National Assembly (MNAs) based on divisional groupings. A meeting has already been held with MNAs from the Peshawar division.

It is expected that the prime minister will discuss the issue of a recent video tape in which leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) were complaining to PTI leader Jehangir Tareen about alleged interference of Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar in the affairs the Punjab government.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri has demanded immediate measures for ensuring the provision of inexpensive and early justice to people.

Speaking to party leaders here on Sunday, he argued that the states and societies get strengthened only with the rule of law and supremacy of justice.

Asserting that non-provision of justice is one of the reasons behind extremism and frustration among the masses, he lamented that announcements were made in the past about reforming the judicial system but nothing was implemented. He called for urgent steps for the provision of inexpensive and speedy justice.

Recalling the 2014 Model Town incident, Dr Qadri said workers of PAT passed the period in much agony and pain. He regretted that no progress had been made in the case during this period as the heirs of the Model Town tragedy victims were still waiting for justice.

He hoped that the process of justice would come on track after summoning of the Sharifs in the case by the Supreme Court on Nov 16 (Friday).

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018