A 20-BED facility that started off as a dispensary and was given the status of a hospital in 1983 is struggling to meet the needs of Nagarparkar, a small town at the foothill of the Karoonjhar mountains, which are famous for pink granite and Jain temples.

Nagarparkar (also known as Nangarparkar), the headquarters of Tharparkar district, is some 129km from Mithi and around 20km from the Pakistan-India border. The area with 51,428 households has a population of 260,170, according to the last year census.

A road trip to the area in an air-conditioned vehicle is an Instagram worthy adventure, but in case of emergency it can be nightmarish especially if you happen to be a poor resident of Nagar­parkar with the nearest medical facility available being the taluka hospital.

Mothers-to-be in need of C-section travel around 129km to reach civil hospital in Mithi

While the news of child deaths in Thar desert is often flashed in the media, miseries of small towns and their struggling basic health units (BHUs), rural health units (RHUs) and hospitals, including those in Nagarparkar, remain largely neglected.

With one female and 12 male doctors, besides two dentists, the OPD of Nagarparkar taluka hospital struggles to manage the daily load that often crosses 200 patients. As the hospital is not equipped to carry out emergency medical surgeries, patients in need of operation are referred to Mithi.

Talking to Dawn, senior medical officer Dr Chuni Lal says the hospital desperately needs specialist doctors, especially a paediatrician, more female doctors and an anaesthesiologist.

“Every time there is a drought, some specialists are sent our way but this isn’t the solution. The place needs more doctors and specialists who are committed and will not leave this area soon after they are posted here,” he says.

Dr Lal, himself a resident of Nagarparkar, was the first member of the marginalised Kohli community to become a doctor and continues to serve the local population as a physician. He proudly says that he had reported the last polio case in Tharparkar district, which has been polio-free since 1998. “But the area has many health issues. There is chronic malnutrition and anaemia. The disease-burden of typhoid, tuberculosis and Hepatitis B is on the rise with water-borne infections being one huge issue,” he says.

In the infants’ ward of the taluka hospital, two young mothers fan their sons. Lachmi, in her early 20s, anxiously stands by the side of her baby, Lajbat, weighing barely 2.2kg. Newborns weighing less than five pounds are classified as low-birth-weight (LBW) babies. She travelled from Kapora village after a home birth. Being severely malnourished herself, she got iron therapy at the hospital. In the same room is another mother, Wadhvi, with her 14-day-old baby, Hemu, who weighs less than 2.4kg.

According to Unicef, birth weight is a good indicator of “mother’s health and nutritional status but also of the newborn’s chances for survival, growth, long-term health and psychosocial development”.

“A lot of babies in Nagarparkar are LBW. Many are premature. Many newborns suffer from pneumonia and sepsis,” says a visibly frustrated Dr Lal, adding that the chances of survival become bleak depending on how long it takes to reach the hospital. “The serious cases are referred to Civil Hospital, Mithi.”

According to the 2014 Sindh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, the province has an infant mortality rate of 82 per 1,000 live births. When compared to the 52 per 1,000 rate of Sub-Saharan countries, these numbers are damning.

Talking to Dawn, Nazia Khoso, project in charge at the Thardeep Rural Support Programme and a resident of Nagarparkar, says female doctors are badly needed at the hospital. Her works as a social mobiliser in the taluka since 2011 has given her valuable insight into the plight of residents and the misery inflicted on them due to poverty. “There are some 40 villages near the town while hundreds of small settlements are scattered all over the remote region. The biggest issue is when women are due. Every time there is a serious complication or a C-section is needed, women have to be transported to Mithi, which is a long journey for a woman in labour.”

She says doctors at the hospital do a good job in dealing with many diseases but the obstetrics and gynaecology department needs more female doctors, an ultrasound facility as well as a standby generator.

“There is a private hospital in Nagarparkar, but even that cannot handle complicated cases and send women to Mithi for Caesarean,” she adds.

The trip to Mithi, which is a two-hour drive from Nagarparkar, costs between Rs4,000 and Rs5,000 depending on the time of the day (or night) and the type of vehicle hired. This amount is out of reach for many families who visit the taluka hospital at the last minute after a traditional birth attendant is unable to help them.

The situation for accident victims and cardiac patients is far worse in the absence of specialists in the area, as they have to be rushed to Mithi. In cases of emergency, locals say, the Rangers and police are kind enough to let them go without wasting time at checkpoints.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani said on Sunday that the present government was trying to ensure good governance so that people of the province could be provided best possible facilities.

Speaking to students of different universities and colleges during a ceremony here, the chief minister said that in past development projects and schemes worth billions of rupees were made only to benefit the privileged class instead of the general public.

The ceremony was held for distribution of laptops among students.

Laptops distributed among students of universities, colleges

The chief minister said the provincial government, through good governance, would use the public money for the welfare and betterment of the masses.

Mr Alyani said opponents of the country did not want Pakistan to prosper and progress. But, he added, through “our unity and better strategy we will foil their designs”.

The chief minister said the people of Balochistan were proud of their languages and cultures and this was the recognition of the province in the world. Enemies of the province and the country wanted to create rift among people, but “our youth will foil these designs by forging unity in their ranks”, he added.

He said the youth of Balochistan had great opportunities for acquiring modern education, hoping that they would play their role for the province’s development.

“We want to deliver to the people of Balochistan all those things and facilities in coming years which they deserve,” Mr Alyani said.

He said that because of bad governance and apathy, some important projects of the province were neglected in the past.

The chief minister mentioned the Poly Technique Institute project of Lasbela district which had been lying incomplete for the last seven years and said that had the institution been built on time, hundreds of students would have graduated from it till today.

Referring to Quetta Greater Water scheme, the chief minister said that the project had been started 15 years ago and billions of rupees had been spent on it, but the project was still incomplete and the people of Quetta city were still facing the problem of water shortage.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The government has called a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Tuesday to allow export of wheat for earning some foreign exchange and disbursement of about Rs1.6bn to Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) for settlement of minuscule gratuity and provident fund liabilities.

To be presided over by Finance Minister Asad Umar, the meeting is also expected to grant exemption from re-lending policy of the government for funds to be provided as grant to the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) and consider a report on sugarcane price and cost of production of sugar.

Sources said the ECC had in a recent meeting advised prime minister’s adviser on commerce, industries and production Abdul Razak Dawood to work out a plan for export of surplus wheat to boost the country’s declining foreign exchange reserves and free up storage.

PSM to get Rs1.6bn for settlement of gratuity, provident fund liabilities

The sources said Mr Dawood had held discussions with all the agencies concerned and concluded that substantial surplus wheat stocks were available in the public sector — both with provincial governments and the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation — that were creating storage problems and causing hardship to the farming community because of financial constraints. Therefore, the proposal for export will help boost foreign exchange reserves, reduce storage cost and ease financial problems of farmers.

The sources said a summary would be presented to the ECC seeking export of public sector stocks. The quantities and export mechanism would be determined in the summary that has not yet been circulated to the ministries concerned as required under the rules of business.

The government has already announced increasing wheat support price by Rs50 per 40kg to Rs1,350 in view of complaints that bumper crop last year did not yield early payments and hence good results to the farmers which could discourage them next year.

There are indications that the government may allow the export over one million tonnes of wheat with more than $100 per tonne subsidy.

The sources said the ECC was also expected to approve disbursement of Rs1.6bn provident and gratuity liabilities to deceased employees of PSM even though total liabilities on these two fronts had been estimated at Rs67bn, including Rs52bn provident fund and Rs15bn gratuity.

Another Rs8bn is payable to dealers, suppliers and contractors of PSM, besides huge sums of the National Bank of Pakistan and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited which have already approached the high court for recovery of dues as the company’s total losses and liabilities exceed Rs470bn, including about Rs13bn accrued during the tenure of the present government. The government has not been able to consider a plan for revival of the PSM in three months in office even though it has decided not to privatise it.

In the proposal for payment of gratuity and provident fund to families of the deceased employees after a recent ECC meeting, an additional secretary of the industries ministry holding the additional charge of chief executive of PSM was directed to visit the mill following humanitarian calls from some families.

The acting CEO along with the PSM ad hoc management visited the mill and had meetings with some representatives of the retired and serving employees, besides a marathon session with top management of Hub Power Company.

The ECC is also expected to give exemption from the re-lending policy of the government for funds to the PPAF as grant. Under the existing uniform re-lending policy, the government secures cheap funding for public sector organisations, including non-profit organisations, and re-lends them at 12-14pc mark-up. Given PPAF’s role in social protection, it is always given exemption to ensure cheaper grants to it without building mark-up.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018

LAHORE: Professionals of another 45 medical-related disciplines will now be eligible to get interest-free loans under the self-support scheme of the Punjab Health Foundation (PHF).

An announcement to the effect was made by Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid at the launching ceremony of a ‘road show’ here on Sunday.

She said that in the first phase, the PHF would provide 100,000 new job opportunities for medical professionals.

Calling the self-support scheme an ideal programme to reduce pressure on public sector jobs, the minister said the scope of the scheme would be extended gradually.

The minister said doctors, homoeopaths, hakims, telemedicine, homecare and dental experts, health gymnasium professionals and nurses of the private sector would be helped out to establish their own businesses.

“Loans ranging from Rs200,000 to Rs2.5 million would be given as ‘Qarz-i-Hassna’ to the professionals of more than 45 medical-related disciplines,” said Dr Yasmin. She said the applications for seeking loans would be received online and the process on all applications would be completed within 40 days.

Expressing satisfaction over the above 97pc return ratio of the interest-free loans, she said it showed people believe that the amount would be utilised in helping more jobless professionals to start their own business. “Setting up of private clinics in far-flung areas will not only provide health facilities at doorstep to the masses but will also help reduce trend of seeking government jobs,” she said

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: A team of polio vaccinators were caught faking data and wasting polio vaccines in the federal capital.

Confirming the incident, focal person on polio for Islamabad, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Dr Asif Rahim said the services of all 11 team members were terminated so no one dares repeat such a practice.

“We decided on severe punishment because this is not tolerable. This was not just a blunder or a mistake. Due to what the team did, a number of children were not vaccinated which can also delay getting to the goal of eradicating the virus from the country,” he said.

An official of the polio programme said that on Saturday, a team from the World Health Organisation caught vaccinators deputed at the permanent transit point (PTP) of Sabzi Mandi Mor.

They would spill two drops of the vaccine on the ground for every fake name they would enter in the data for vaccinated children.

“The monitoring team reported the matter to the district administration and requested that appropriate action be taken as this led to a waste of funds and also created a hurdle in the way of eradicating the polio virus,” he said.

“If such things can happen in the federal capital, what would the situation be like in the rest of the country? We have decided to take strict action to convey to polio teams across the country that such practices will not be tolerated,” he said.

A large number of people come from the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas where the polio virus is prevalent.

The virus can therefore spread to the urban areas as well. A PTP has been established in the area so that all children coming from the tribal areas are vaccinated.

“We will ensure every child is vaccinated so we are successful in the war against polio,” he said.

The district administration and polio programme are very serious about the issue and will not compromise on negligence and blunders, the ADC said.

A few days ago at an open hearing at the Koral Police Station, a woman was brought in with the complaint that she did not want to vaccinate her children against polio as she thought doing so will create health problems for them.

Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Hamza Shafqat swallowed polio drops in front of her to convince her they were safe and in the better interests of her children. The woman then agreed to vaccinate her children.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018

KARACHI: As the grand operation to remove heavy encroachments in Saddar and adjoining areas completed two weeks, authorities demolished 200 more shops, a restaurant and a bus terminal on Sunday.

“No encroachment can be allowed on city pavements, roads and parks after clear instructions of the Supreme Court,” said Mayor Wasim Akhtar, who is spearheading the anti-encroachment operation.

He said the country’s worst and hardest encroachments were removed in Saddar with the help and cooperation of various civic organisations, and law enforcement agencies.

Police kiosks built at roundabouts and obstructing traffic will also be demolished

“That is why this action is smooth and continues without hurdles. The removal of encroachments will continue in other neighbourhoods of the city as well without any leniency and discrimination.”

He asked shopkeepers to take away their belongings put on footpaths, else, they would be removed and “you, yourself would be responsible for the loss”.

Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Saifur Rehman said some 122 shops, illegally built on the storm-water drain behind the Rainbow Centre along Sohrab Katrik Road, were demolished.

Nearby, on the road connecting Preedy Street, another 50 shops were razed.

He said with more than 20 offices along with an inter-city bus terminal, called Shalimar Bus Adda, were demolished.

A restaurant and eight shops built on the footpath near Bambino Cinema on Aga Khan III Road and more than 20 shops near the Saddar Fire Station were also demolished.

“The operation continued for several hours today in which our teams have torn down more than 200 shops, a restaurant and a bus terminus,” Dr Rehman told Dawn.

He said the operation would be entering its third week on Monday and “we still need a great deal to accomplish this task”.

Encroachment removal along KCR track planned

Officials said that the removal of encroachments along both tracks of the Karachi Circular Railway was also being planned.

They said the encroachers had created a mess for pedestrians and the city at large and earning millions of rupees.

“We will bring Karachi into its original shape for which we already have the support of citizens and traders community,” said an upbeat Mayor Akhtar.

During his visit to various parts of Saddar, he interacted with area people and inspected the proceedings.

Officials said the citizens thanked the mayor for removing encroachments in Saddar and brought the iconic Empress Market to its original shape.

Mayor Akhtar said resistance always came when one did something good but they should not be given importance. “Most shopkeepers and traders have cooperated in this campaign and vacated the space in front of their shops or distanced from drains, footpaths and parks after receiving notices from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation for which we are thankful to them.”

He said it was the duty of the KMC to bring the glory of the teeming city back, which needed joint efforts from all citizens.

Dr Rehman said the removal of encroachments was being carried out peacefully without any discrimination.

He said though little resistance was faced at some places, the situation overcame with the help of police and paramilitary Rangers.

Officials said close to 90 per cent of the total encroachments in Saddar had been removed; however, it was still far from satisfactory.

“It is our duty to retrieve every inch of the land, whichever land owning agency it belongs to, that has been encroached upon, at any cost,” said Dr Rehman.

He said an encroachment-free city would offer right of the way to pedestrians and open space to every shop in addition to other positives.

The metropolitan commissioner said that the police pickets built on roundabouts and causing problems in the smooth flow of traffic would also be removed during the operation.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The independent monitoring board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has expressed its greatest concern that Pakistan has not been able to demonstrate success in clearing even one of the three traditional reservoirs of wild polioviruses.

The board in its sixteenth report, titled ‘How to cut a long story short’ says there is a regular isolation of wild poliovirus from Karachi, Quetta block and Peshawar. A critical mass of children is being missed in vaccination campaigns.

Pakistan’s failure to address variations in the quality and general inconsistency in performance of polio vaccination rounds is coming home to roost. Too many children, particularly in high-risk mobile populations, are being missed, something that the board has expressed serious concern in previous reports.

GPEI report says there is regular isolation of wild poliovirus from Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar

A review team of the independent board carried out visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan for 10 days and went deep into the field to some of the most challenging areas where the poliovirus has thrived.

The report says that the percentage of positive environmental samples in Pakistan is at the same level as this time last year. Worse five sites that were clear in October 2017 are now testing positive, indicating circulation of infection.

The polio programme in Pakistan has been seriously disrupted by the recent general elections. The pre-election assurances given to the board that there was political all-party agreement on retaining the national leadership arrangements for polio proved completely unsound.

In private conversation with senior government figures, the underlying belief has been evident that the polio problem is coming from Afghanistan, and that the situation in Pakistan is under control.

However, the report says ‘this is just not true’. Polio must be seen as the challenge of one Afghanistan and Pakistan epidemiologic zone to which serious weaknesses in both countries program­mes are contributing wild polioviruses.

For some years, the polio programme has viewed the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan as one epidemiological block, even though the management of polio-related activities is based on cooperation between the countries rather than a unified governance structure.

The northern corridor runs from Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan provinces in Afghanistan to Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa in Pakistan, extending across to Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore. The southern corridor covers Helmand, Urozgan and Kandahar in the south of Afghanistan and extends through to the Quetta block in Balochistan.

The report says that outside the corridors, poliovirus continues to circulate in central Pakistan — eastern Balochistan, northern Sindh and southern Punjab. There is also intense circulation of the poliovirus within and surrounding the core reservoir in Karachi, demonstrated by recurrent positive environmental samples. There are substantial population movements to every province in Pakistan, and parts of Afghanistan, making persistent transmission.

In its findings, the review team found a strong link between abysmal development indicators and the persistence of the poliovirus. In such communities, very poor health services frequently co-exist with no access to water, nutrition and sanitation or other basic public services. Neither are there real opportunities for work or education, such is the profound impact of multiple deprivations. The team saw a major opportunity for governments and partner organisations to target funding to the most deprived and at-risk communities.

Rumours and anti-polio sentiments posted on social media have infiltrated communities in Pakistan and Afgha­nistan, and turned some people against the polio vaccine. The review team heard propaganda in all three countries — Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria — that the vaccine is harmful to children.

Many parents in Pakistan and Afghanistan still refer to the Abbottabad incident, believe that the vaccine is ‘haram’ and have been persuaded that polio eradication is a western or international agenda that will not benefit local people.

It shocked the review team that delays and rejections of travel authorisations and visas in Pakistan have been a great hindrance to polio programme monitoring and quality improvement activities. The review team was concerned about pressures from the GPEI to reduce budgets, which were forecasted to range from 12.5 per cent in Afghanistan and Pakistan to as much 15pc to 20pc in Nigeria.

The GPEI is currently working to review this strategy and prepare a new document for the January 2019 WHO Executive Board meeting. The review will assess whether the current strategies, functions and activities in the existing strategy continue to be valid and sufficient to achieve the eradication goal and if new approaches are required.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018

LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar has issued a notice to the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) on an application moved by a candidate who had passed the Central Superior Services (CSS) written examination-2011, and challenged his failure in the interview for the provincial service jobs because of the speech fluency disorder.

Syed Zubair Habib Gillani pleaded through Advocate Humayon Faiz that he suffered from speech impediment and national and international certificates confirmed the condition.

He said he had speech fluency disorder and could not compete with other candidates in interviews.

“Previously, I have also qualified for CSS written examination-2011. The candidates having marks lesser than me in written exam were allocated in police and district management group (DMG) (on open merit). The medical board of FPSC itself declared me a candidate with speech problem. But in the final interview I was given low score, and I could not secure a position even in the last group. I was hurt because I was a victim of nature and a state institution discriminated (against me) just on the basis of something which was beyond my conscious control.”

He said that in 2014, the Government of Australia declared him as an ‘Emerging Leader of Pakistan’ and conferred on him the Australian Leadership Award-2014.

He said he did his two-year Masters in Public Policy from Australian National University.

“I appeared in the provincial competitive exam -- PMS-2017 -- and passed the written examination. I have sent a written application to the Chairman PPSC and let the interview panel know about my speech disorder and submitted all required medical certificates but I was again declared ‘fail’ in the interview on Nov 16, 2018.”

He said there were two seats reserved for the differently able persons in the PMS and these were still vacant due to non-availability of the candidates.

Mr Gillani said a state institution discriminated against him just on the basis of something which was beyond his control.

He requested the chief justice to direct the PPSC to review its decision and consider his case for the seats reserved for the differently able persons.

The chief justice sought a reply from the commission by Nov 29.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has decided to once again engage the opposition parties in an effort to break the deadlock over the issue of nomination of the chairman of the all-powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC) before making a “unilateral announcement” of the names of the members of all committees of the National Assembly.

Talking to Dawn on Sunday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the party had asked National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Defence Minister Pervez Khattak to hold talks with the leaders of parliamentary parties to get the issue resolved as early as possible since delay in formation of the committees had started affecting the functioning of parliament.

Read: Editorial: PAC tussle

Mr Chaudhry said that in his opinion the speaker should go ahead with the formation of the committees without the representation of the opposition members as “no one should be allowed to make parliament hostage”. He, however, said it was up to the speaker to take necessary action to get the issue resolved.

Minister says PTI has asked NA speaker to consult parliamentary parties’ leaders to get the matter resolved

The NA speaker is on a tight rope because of the ongoing tussle between the PTI and the opposition parties over the issue of the PAC chairmanship as he has to stop the process of formation of the committees due to the opposition’s threat to boycott the committees if the ruling party does not offer the PAC chairmanship to Leader of the Opposition and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif as per the “parliamentary traditions”.

Sources said the PTI had been divided over the issue, with one group supporting the nomination of Mr Sharif as the PAC chairman while the other comprising hawkish elements like Fawad Chaudhry strongly opposing the idea. Due to this division within the party, Prime Minister Imran Khan had delayed a final decision on the matter. However, the sources said that during a meeting of the party’s parliamentary group last month, the prime minister sought the members’ opinion through voting and a majority of them opined that the PAC chairmanship should not be offered to Mr Sharif or to the opposition.

On the other hand, the opposition parties claimed that the speaker during a meeting with them had previously agreed to their demand for nominating Mr Sharif as the PAC chairman, but later backtracked from his commitment due to the resistance by the party members.

The PTI is unwilling to give the PAC chairmanship to the PML-N, saying that it could not allow Mr Sharif to review the projects that had been initiated and executed by the previous government of his elder brother Nawaz Sharif.

Talking to Dawn, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart and former head of the PAC Syed Khursheed Shah disclosed that Defence Minister Khattak had recently asked him to help resolve the matter. However, he said he had advised Mr Khattak not to put a “reverse gear” and let democratic traditions be flourished.

Mr Shah said he had already conveyed to the ruling party that any deviation from the past parliamentary tradition would not be beneficial for the government, parliament and democracy. He was of the view that being the largest party in the opposition, it was the right of the PML-N to get the PAC chairmanship, adding that the PPP would have no objection if the PML-N itself decided to replace Mr Sharif with some other party leader. “But, it is up to them (PML-N leaders) to decide and we cannot ask them to do so.”

Mr Shah claimed that the PAC under his chairmanship had already cleared a backlog till 2017 and now the committee would take up audit objections on the expenditures to be made by the present PTI government and, therefore, the logic being given by the PTI for not giving the PAC chairmanship to the PML-N was not valid.

Moreover, he said, there were 18 members of the then ruling PML-N in the previous PAC, but they could not influence the committee’s working. Mr Shah said that by delaying the formation of the NA committees, the government was violating the Constitution and assembly rules.

When contacted, Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood said the government had asked the opposition to nominate any person other than Shahbaz Sharif for the office of the PAC chairman and allow the PTI to nominate its candidate for the same and then let the members decide who would head the PAC.

Mr Mehmood, who was also a member of the PAC under Mr Shah, claimed that the PAC was still unable to clear some of the audit objections raised by the auditor general in the accounts of 1998 and 1999. Moreover, he said, the PAC chairman could completely influence the functioning of the committee as he had the powers to convene the meetings and set the agenda.

Under the rules, the speaker is bound to constitute all standing and functional committees of the house “within 30 days after the election of the Leader of the House (prime minister)”. Since PTI chairman Imran Khan had been elected prime minister on Aug 18, the speaker had time till Sept 17 for the formation of over three dozen house committees.

Although there is no restriction on the government in the rules to give the chairmanship of the PAC to the opposition parties, it has been a parliamentary practice and tradition for the last 10 years that the office is given to an opposition member in order to ensure transparency in financial matters.

In the Charter of Democracy, signed by the PML-N and PPP in London in May 2006, the two parties had agreed that “the chairmen of public accounts committees in the National and provincial assemblies will be appointed by the leaders of opposition in the concerned assemblies”.

The PAC is the apex parliamentary watchdog that oversees the audit of revenue and expenditures by the government and it is considered to be the most powerful and important committee of parliament.

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb had already stated that they were determined to stay away from all the committees if the NA speaker did not fulfil his commitment of appointing Shahbaz Sharif as the PAC chairman.

The speaker in a recent TV interview had stated that the issue of PAC chairmanship was between the government and the opposition and that he was ready to play the role of a bridge.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday concluded the Katas Raj case and ordered D.G. Khan Cement Company Limited to deposit Rs100 million into the SC Dam Fund — Rs80m as payment for water utilised by the factory and a Rs20m penalty for attempting to mislead the apex court.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar issued the directives at the SC Lahore Registry while hearing a suo motu case initiated following media reports that the Katas Raj temple pond — considered sacred by Hindus — was drying out.

Take a look: 1500 years of our history: Enter the Katas Raj temples

During earlier hearings of the case, the bench had been told that nearby cement factories had sucked up large quantities of groundwater through a number of drill bores. The bores had severely reduced subsoil water levels and affected water usage of domestic users, as well as causing the pond's water levels to drop.

The court subsequently barred cement factories from extracting groundwater from the area.

In today's hearing, a special committee ─ tasked by the court in the last hearing to visit the DG Cement factory in Chakwal to determine how it stores water — submitted its report to the bench.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar said in his remarks that DG Cement claimed to have stored rainwater, but this was a lie since they had actually obtained groundwater.

During an earlier hearing, Justice Nisar had observed that the cement factories caused damage to the environment by using up the area's water as well as causing air pollution.

"The people who are not doing anything for water are not sincere with this country; those taking no measures for water [provision] are enemies of this country," the CJP had remarked.

The CJP said factory owners must have used influence to get permission to establish cement factories in the area. He admonished a former secretary industries, Khalid Sherdil, "for giving away everything for free", at which the official responded that a no-objection certificate was not a requirement when the factories were established.

The CJP noted that the factories had not taken any measures to resolve the issues voluntarily and that the owners only think of their own profits.

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday said that Usama Ahmad Khan — a Pakistani student at Shenyang Jianzhu University — had "committed suicide" in China and was not beaten to death as depicted in what it said was a "fake" video being circulated online.

In a video making the rounds on the internet, a man believed to be Usama, can be seen lying prostrate on a street with a trio of people pinning him down and hitting him multiple times.

However, the FO today clarified that the video is fake and the person apparently being given a beating in the video is not Usama.

"The video being circulated on the social media is fake and is not that of Usama Ahmad Khan," the FO said.

"Usama Ahmad Khan committed suicide at Shenyang city in Liaoning province in China," the FO added. "There is a need to respect sensitivity and privacy, especially of the bereaved family."

The FO requested "all to exercise caution in such matters, avoid sensationalism and stop spreading of fake news".

It further said that the country's Mission in China will send the body to Pakistan.

"The body was transported from Liaoning province to Beijing on the morning of Nov 17, 2018," the FO said. "All arrangements are now in place for transportation of the dead body to Pakistan tonight."

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday ordered the formation of a larger bench to establish a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe the 2014 Model Town incident.

Bisma Amjad, a woman affected by the incident, had filed a petition requesting to constitution a new JIT to probe the killings of killings of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers in the incident .

The larger bench, including Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and three other SC judges, will also include representatives from other provinces, and will begin hearing the case from December 5.

PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri who was present in court today said that since the indictment of former IG Sukhera, the case has "gone to zero".

Qadri requested the formation of another JIT to re-investigate the case.

The lawyer for Shahbaz Sharif and others, Advocate Azam Nazir Tarar, said that time is required for preparation.

On Saturday, the SC, while hearing the case in the Lahore registry, had issued notices to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif and 137 others nominated in a case lodged by PAT regarding the 2014 Model Town incident.

Model Town incident

On June 17, 2014, 14 people were killed and 100 others injured after police launched an assault on PAT supporters gathered outside the residence of Qadri in Model Town, Lahore.

A subsequent judicial inquiry report on the incident pointed fingers at then Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah and the Punjab police for what had transpired that day.

From a reading of the conclusions of Justice Baqar Najafi's report, it is understandable why the provincial government fought tooth and nail to prevent its release.

It is also understandable why its publication was preceded by a lengthy press conference by Rana Sanaullah in which he sought to highlight the report's flaws, including what he called its reliance on "secondary evidence" and it, therefore, having no legal status whatsoever.

He kept referring to it as "defective", and the Punjab government made sure the Justice Najafi report was accompanied online by a one-man committee's report on a review of its flaws.

Delineating the chronology of events, Justice Najafi reported that then Punjab minister for parliamentary affairs Rana Sanaullah seemed to have already decided on June 16, 2014, that the PAT Chairman Qadri would not be allowed any opportunity to hold a long march from Rawalpindi to Lahore, as the latter had planned to do on June 23, 2014.

This single-minded determination of the minister to thwart Qadri's political objectives ended up influencing the police's heavy-handed strategy in dealing with the situation, which resulted in the needless loss of lives the very next day, Justice Najafi argued in the report.

Though Justice Najafi himself did not affix responsibility for the tragedy, he invited readers to review the facts and circumstances and "easily fix the responsibility of the unfortunate Minhajul Quran incident" themselves.

A suspected Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) worker, Afzal Jhummad, was gunned down in Jhelum on Monday.

Jhummad was having tea at a roadside tea stall in Jhelum's Toor area when unidentified gunmen opened fire on him, police said.

Police said Jhummad was a local PTI worker, adding that he was embroiled in some personal disputes in the area.

His body has been sent to a hospital for a post-mortem examination and police have begun investigating the murder.

The Japanese government on Monday announced it will provide $4.6 million in grant-aid to Pakistan to support the supply of essential polio vaccine for the campaigns during the 2018-19 low transmission season of the poliovirus.

The agreement for the grant was signed in Islamabad between the Government of Japan, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).

The grant will support the procurement of 25 million doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV), sufficient to vaccinate children under the age of five in the high-risk districts across Pakistan and enabling the programme to quickly close the immunity gaps.

Acknowledging the commitment by the Japanese government, Prime Minister's Focal Person on Polio Eradication Babar Bin Atta said the government and people of Japan stood by Pakistan over the years even during difficult times. He said Pakistan’s polio eradication programme is today rated among the best public health service delivery initiatives across the globe.

“We are proud of our achievements so far and are keen to achieve our goal of interrupting the poliovirus during this critical low season. I want to thank the government and people of Japan and all partners whose support has been critical over the years to bring us to where we are today,” he said.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister for National Health Services (NHS) Aamer Mehmood Kiani said the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan is resolutely committed to eliminating polio. He said polio eradication is a top priority of his ministry and "no effort will be spared in attaining the goal of a polio-free Pakistan".

Japanese Ambassador Takashi Kurai said: “Polio is indeed a global challenge for public health but this crippling disease is preventable by vaccination. Japan continues to support polio eradication in Pakistan and I do hope that very soon, we will achieve the long-cherished goal of complete eradication of this disease from Pakistan.”

More than 200 cases of online sectarian and anti-state propaganda have been registered in Gilgit Baltistan since the inception of the Special Branch's Information Technology cell in 2017, a National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) revealed on Monday.

The report acquired by DawnNewsTV, showed that of the 208 cases lodged on the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority's (PTA) online portal, 75 cases of sectarian propaganda were lodged in GB alongside 133 cases pertaining to anti-state propaganda on social media.

The cases have been forwarded to the PTA for action, the report said.

The report said that 130 Facebook and Twitter accounts had been blocked, of which 52 were allegedly involved in sectarian hate speech, while 78 were allegedly involved in anti-state speech.

Additionally, one 'anti-state' website and 77 other "online pages" were blocked, the report said.

A case has been registered against a trio of Punjab police constables accused of harassing, filming and blackmailing couples in Lahore for money.

The case had first become public knowledge last month when the said police officials had accused Punjab Minister for Housing Mahmoodur Rasheed's son and his friends of kidnapping them, snatching their weapons, torturing them and hurling threats.

The policemen, named Nadeem Iqbal, Usman Mushtaq and Usman Saeed, had claimed that they allegedly caught a young couple in a car. As the couple was being taken to the police station, the man — identified as Ali Mustafa — had called Mian Hasan, the son of Punjab Minister for Housing Mahmoodur Rasheed.

Read: Karachi police chief forbids cops from asking couples for proof of marriage

Police had further claimed that the suspects, led by Hasan, snatched guns from the constables, bundled them into their cars and drove away before dropping the kidnapped policemen at different places and fled away.

However, according to a first information report (FIR) filed on Sunday, an inquiry and analysis of the police officials' phones found several videos of couples being blackmailed and even tortured.

The FIR filed by Ghalib Market Station House Officer (SHO) Rehan Jamal stated that in the aforementioned case, the police officials had snatched Mustafa's wallet and taken Rs2,000 from it, while demanding that he pay them Rs50,000 more.

SHO Jamal, in the FIR, said that the police constables' actions were "against the police discipline and utterly illegal", and resulted in bringing a bad name to the police.

The SHO recommended that strict departmental action be taken against the accused.

A 20-member Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) delegation on Monday left for China on a seven-day visit during which it will be briefed on Beijing's political history and review the Chinese ruling party's successes in eradicating poverty and corruption in the country.

PTI Central Secretary General Arshad Daad is leading the delegation, which was extended an invite by the Communist Party of China, Radio Pakistan reported.

Both parties are expected to hold meetings where they discuss matters of "bilateral value", according to Radio Pakistan.

A briefing on China's political history and inter-departmental arrangements will also be given to the PTI delegation, along with a review of Beijing's successes in eradication of poverty and corruption from the country.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has often praised the Chinese government's efforts for poverty alleviation.

"This is where we admire China so much. No country in human history, has ever taken 700 million people out of poverty in 30 years as China has done," he said while delivering a speech at the Central Party School during his recent visit to Beijing.

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the owners of 11 mineral water companies to present themselves in court on November 20 (tomorrow).

Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, while hearing a suo motu case against bottled water companies at the Lahore Registry today, warned that the failure of the owners of the companies to present themselves in court will result in their names being put on the Exit Control List.

The CJP reprimanded Advocate Aitzaz Ahsan for suggesting that the the case be heard after the top judge returns from a scheduled trip to the United Kingdom. Ahsan had proposed the court set Nov 30 as the date for the next hearing.

The CJP responded: "Do you want me to compromise and leave for my visit to the UK? Are those people [company owners] who are selling dirty water entitled to forgiveness?"

According to a report on the quality of bottled water, each company uses 90 million litres of water a day. There is no certified method to assess the quality of water, it said, adding that only Qarshi has a certified laboratory.

The report ─ which found that groundwater contains fluoride and arsenic ─ also highlighted that none of the other companies are aware of what is in the water that they extract from the ground.

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday formed a five-member committee to submit recommendations for the restoration of Lahore's United Christian Hospital (UCH).

A two-member SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, was hearing a suo motu case pertaining to the restoration of UCH at the top court's Lahore registry. The bench also ordered the clearing of encroachments from the hospital's land.

The top judge expressed annoyance at the dismal condition of UCH and said that there was "neither doctor nor electricity" available at the hospital.

"There are four operation theatres in the hospital of which only one is operational," Justice Nisar lamented.

He ordered the committee, which is to be headed by former interim health minister Dr Jawad Sajid Khan, to submit its recommendations by Dec 3.

"We have restored electricity in the hospital," Justice Nisar said, directing Parks and Horticulture Authority to "watch over [UCH'S] cleaning up".

"We have to restore this hospital within six weeks," the CJP declared, and added that he will visit UCH for his medical check up.

"This [hospital] is an icon of Lahore," the chief justice said. "We want it to operate once again."

During a hearing of the case last week, the chief justice had sought a plan for UCH's restoration from the Punjab health secretary, however, no report was submitted today.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday clapped back at United States (US) President Donald Trump on Monday, suggesting that Washington assess its efficacy in the War on Terror in Afghanistan instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for its failures.

While speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Trump had attempted to justify his administration's decision at the start of 2018 to pull "military aid" to Pakistan by linking it to Osama bin Laden being found in Pakistan in 2011. "They [Pakistan] don’t do a damn thing for us," the US president had said.

Speaking of the compound in Abbottabad where bin Laden was found in 2011, Trump said the bin Ladens had been "living in Pakistan right next to the military academy, everybody in Pakistan knew he was there."

However, contrary to Trump's insinuations, former US president Barack Obama, the raid was carried out, had said last year: "We had no evidence that Pakistan was aware of his presence — that is something that we looked at."

Trump also added that the US used to give Pakistan $1.3 billion a year, but doesn't anymore. "I ended it because they don't do anything for us."

Read more: 'Appeasement does not work with US': Shireen Mazari claps back at Trump over tirade against Pakistan

PM Khan responded to Trump's statements, saying that Islamabad had decided to "participate in the US War on Terror" although no Pakistani was involved in the 9/11 attacks.

"Pakistan suffered 75,000 casualties in this war and over $123 billion was lost," he added, of which "US 'aid' was a miniscule $20bn", the premier said.

In addition to economic losses, the PM highlighted the impact of the US war on Pakistan's tribal areas. "Our tribal areas were devastated and millions of people were uprooted from their homes. The war drastically impacted the lives of ordinary Pakistanis," he said.

"Pakistan continues to provide free lines of ground and air communications (GLOCs/ALOCs)," he added.

"Can Mr Trump name another ally that gave such sacrifices?" he asked.

"Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the US should do a serious assessment of why, despite 140,000 Nato troops, plus 250,000 Afghan troops and reportedly $1 trillion spent on the war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than before," he suggested.

Earlier today, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari also called Trump out over his remarks about Pakistan, saying: "@realDonaldTrump suffers conveniently from perpetual historic amnesia!"

Calling Trump's tirade a lesson for Pakistani leaders "who kept appeasing the US esp after 9/11", the minister added: "Whether China or Iran, US policies of containment and isolation do not coincide with Pakistan's strategic interests."

Relations between the United States and Pakistan, which began to strain in 2011, reached a new low in January when Trump suspended US security assistance to Islamabad over the alleged presence of Afghan militant groups in Fata. The government as well as the military had rejected the charge as incorrect.

The Inter-Services Public Relations had clarified at the time that that the Coalition Support Fund, received from the US, is reimbursement of money spent for operations in support of the coalition for regional peace.