Worst loadshedding spell as four Mangla Dam units break down

 

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: The country on Sunday witnessed the worst spell of loadshedding after five units of the Mangla Dam broke down.
Loadshedding is likely to increase in various cities after the power shortfall in the country exceeded 4,500 megawatts (MW) from 3,500MW.According to sources, thermal power plants are not producing electricity according to their capacity despite sufficient fuel supply. They said the power distribution companies were providing low voltage to reduce the duration of loadshedding .

The sources further said that the duration of loadshedding could be increased to 16 hours.Several areas of the country are experiencing power outages of 12-15 hours daily while the situation in some cities of the Punjab is even worse.

Power generation in the country stands at 13,350 MW while demand is 16,900MW.Meanwhile, Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali has claimed that the government is proactively executing diverse programmes to overcome the energy crisis.

Meanwhile, four people died of sunstroke and dozens others were hospitalised as the mercury rose to almost 50 degrees centigrade in several cities of the country on Sunday.According to reports, three persons, including two-year-old Arzoo of village 82/6-R, Ahsan, 10, and 32-year-old Muhammad Aslam hailing from village 67/5-R of Sahiwal, fell unconscious due to sunstrokes. They were shifted to hospitals where they expired.

Ahmed Deen, 65, of village 62/5-R died after exposure to the heatwave.Meanwhile, dozens of people affected by intense hot weather were shifted to different hospitals in Sahiwal where, according to medics, the condition of three was critical.

The citizens have expressed grave concern over the nearly 15 hours of loadshedding daily and demanded that the provincial government improve power supply.In Karachi, temperature was recorded at 40 degrees centigrade on Sunday morning. Rural Sindh is also suffering from the intense heat wave. Extremely high temperatures were recorded in various cities of the province including Jacobabad, Nawabshah, Larkana, and Sukkur. However, the temperature is likely to drop in the province from Monday (today).

In Punjab, the situation is no different as the heat wave is prevalent in most parts of the province. Extremely hot weather has gripped most of the plain areas of Punjab including, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and Bahawalpur divisions.

Severely hot weather also grips many parts of Balochistan, including Turbat and Sibi division, whereas the use of cold drinks has increased due to the heat.The Met Office has predicted that the heatwave would continue to grip most plains areas of the country for the next few days.

An intense summer is also being witnessed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The citizens are visiting parks, canals, beaches and recreational spots to battle the weather whereas the demand for cold beverages has also increased.

Meanwhile, the Met Office has predicted rain with thunderstorm in some areas of Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Malakand and Hazara Division.Jacobabad remained the hottest area during the last 24 hours where the temperature recorded was 50°C, while the maximum temperature recorded in other cities were: Dadu, Sukkur, Larkana, Moenjodaro, Sibi 49°C; Noorpur Thal, Rohri, Shaheed Benazirabad, Rahim Yar Khan, Padidan and Turbat 48°C.

Our correspondent from Lahore adds: With a high mercury level on Sunday, a majority of citizens thronged the city canal and other water spots to beat the heat.With loadshedding and severe heat, a large number of Lahorites went to the Lahore canal to beat the heat. All swimming pools and other water sports facilities were packed. Hours-long traffic jam was also witnessed at the canal road near Jallo Morr.

Met officials said the highest maximum temperature in the city was recorded as 46.3 C. They predicted very hot and mainly dry weather with chances of dust raising winds for the next 24 hours. They said a westerly wave lying over the extreme northern parts of the country had moved away eastwards while the seasonal low pressure lies over northern Balochistan.

Sale of plastic paddling pools has also increased in the city. A vendor sitting at the roadside in Faisal Town said since the morning he had sold over ten large and five small pools.

Sikh protesters break into Parliament Housev

 

ISLAMABAD: Members of the Senate remained confined to the four walls of the upper house of parliament for three hours on Friday afternoon when Sikh community members broke into the Parliament House premises, unnoticed by the law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Breaking all security checks and barricades, over 300 Sikh community members entered the premises of the Parliament House, despite the presence of a large contingent of police, to lodge their protest against the desecration of their holy book in Sindh.

Clarifying their position, the deputy commissioner and SSP Islamabad claimed that under an understanding, the district administration and the police had allowed the Sikh community members to hold a peaceful demonstration in front of the Islamabad Press Club but they violated the agreement.

The district administration, the Security Division and operational police passed the buck to each other but security experts pointed the finger at the Security Division and intelligence agencies.

“It was a failure of intelligence agencies first and thenthe Security Division is responsible for the serious negligence,” the officer said. The Parliament House security operators termed it the negligence of the district administration, the Security Division and operational police.

Police sources said about 300 Sikh community members reached Islamabad from Nankana Sahib (Hassan Abdal) on two buses when the police were battling the PTI protesters who were trying to enter the Red Zone.

The Sikh community members parked their buses at the Dhokri Chowk and marched towards the Parliament House and crossed the Serena check-post in the presence of 17 cops. The protesters entered the Red Zone from the Serena Hotel side and marched all the way down to the Parliament House through two kilometres of the Constitution Avenue housing the Diplomatic Enclave, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, Election Commission of Pakistan and the Supreme Court of Pakistan and finally entered the Parliament House facing no resistance from the police force.

When this correspondent contacted SSP Operations Mohammad Ali Naikokara for comments, he said the operational police were engaged with the PTI’s violent protest near Nadra when the Sikh community members entered the Red Zone and marched towards the Parliament House. He said though it was the responsibility of the Security Division, the operational police could intercept the rally but they were engaged with the PTI rally.

Meanwhile, Senate Chairman Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari and Acting Speaker National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi took notice of the Sikh community’s protest and sought a report from the Ministry of Interior and IGP Islamabad on the security lapse.

When the protesting Sikhs entered the Parliament House premises, Opposition Leader in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan and PPP’s Parliamentary Leader in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani, along with the opposition parties, were addressing a press conference. Seeing the protesters entering the premises, they stopped their press conference and moved into the Parliament House.

The protesters declared that multiple incidents of desecration of their holy book had taken place in different areas of the Sindh province during the last few weeks. They refused to leave the premises until the prime minister and interior minister assured them of an early arrest of culprits. They also called for protection in Sindh and other towns of Pakistan.

Later, after negotiations with the local administration, the Sikh protesters agreed to end their protest.Meanwhile, sources in the National Assembly told this reporter that SP Security, Islamabad, appeared before the acting speaker after the incident and told him that the police did not opt for baton charge as a sign of respect to the minorities. However, sources said Murtaza Javed Abbasi did not agree with the SP and told him that it was the third incidence of breach of the Parliament House’s security.

Meanwhile, IGP Aftab Cheema suspended SP Habibullah Khan Niazi, three DSPs, Khalid Virk, Safeer Hussain and Fida Satti, and two SHOs Sattar Shah (Bhara Kahu) and Abdur Rehman, making them scapegoats.

Khan energized after extended break from boxing

LAS VEGAS: Amir Khan is hungrier than ever to step back into the ring, saying he didn´t want to come off the longest break of his career against an easy opponent.

The 27-year-old Briton will end a 12-month hiatus on Saturday when he moves up in weight to face American Luis Collazo in a non-title fight at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. "I fight everyone," Khan says. "Collazo is a mixture of a boxer and a fighter. He is slick and he knows how to fight. I am a similar style so that is what is going to make this fight exciting."

Khan and Collazo´s 12-round welterweight fight is on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana 147-pound (67 kg) world title fight. "He is going to give it 100 percent and he is in great shape," Khan said at a news conference. "He will be bigger than me on the night of the fight and at times I will have to dig deep.”

Size and weight will be crucial for Khan in his first welterweight bout. “Trained my way up. I have not ate my way up to this weight. I trained my way up to this weight," Khan said, adding that he´s more comfortable at 147 pounds because he doesn´t have to starve himself to get down to 140 ahead of Friday´s weigh-in. "I feel so much stronger and happier at this weight," he said. "That seven pounds makes a big difference and I have kept all my power and speed."

Khan´s last fight was in April of last year when he won a 12-round decision over Julio Diaz in Sheffield, England.

Just over a month later, Khan got married and now the couple are expecting a baby. After the win over Diaz, Khan took four months off from boxing to spend time with his bride.

Khan (28-3, 19 knockouts) says the time away was good for him mentally and physically. "My body needed a break," he said.

Khan, who turned pro in 2005 after winning a silver medal for Britain in the Athens Olympics, is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport always willing to go toe-to-toe with his opponent. "I am the most exciting fighter in the world," Khan said. "My hand speed is explosive. When I go into the ring I give it my all, and I have been in with the best."

Before the break, Khan was also one of the busiest fighters, especially for the first six years of his pro career.

When he did finally return to the gym eight months ago it was a little different because instead of focusing on an upcoming fight, he just worked on conditioning and fine-tuning his craft. "I had to work on my own style and on things by myself," Khan said. "This training camp has gone really well. I have been working really hard. Even though I haven´t been in the ring in the last 12 months, I have been in the gym training for eight months."

In July, 2012, Khan lost to Danny Garcia in a fight for the World Boxing Council super lightweight crown.

It was his second straight defeat, following a controversial loss to Lamont Peterson. A rematch with Peterson was scuttled when Peterson failed a pre-fight drug test. "Every time I´ve been knocked down I got back up again," Khan said. "I have been stopped on my feet but that is just boxing. I´ve never been knocked out."

Collazo stood on the podium at Thursday´s news conference and said Khan is in for a surprise in his first fight as a welterweight. "Welcome to the welterweight division," said Collazo.

Collazo (33-5, 18 KOs) grew up selling drugs on the streets of Brooklyn. He turned pro in 2000 and won his first world title five years later. He also compiled an impressive 97-7 record as an amateur. "You´re going to see the best Collazo you have ever seen," said Collazo who has been with his trainer, Nirmal Lorick, since he was 12.

Saturday´s undercard also features a non-title super lightweight fight between Americans Adrien Broner and Carlos Molina. (AFP)

Textile, iron companies using FTO office to break tax queue

ISLAMABAD: As Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has framed rules ensuring tax refund on ‘first come, first served’ basis, the fat and shrewd claimants are using the officials of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) for breaking the queue and getting their money, either by hook or by crook.

Background discussions indicate that the FTO Registry Office, Lahore is very pro-active in getting the refund whether they are lawful or not and this practice has gained momentum after the exit of Dr Shoaib Suddle, former FTO, as during his time only he used to summon commissioners and that, too, on review applications.

The situation has now totally reversed on this count as advisers at Lahore Registry summon even the commissioners concerned to withdraw lawful orders.

In some cases, the Registry Office has directly approached sales tax refund office for passing telephonic instructions. This is in contrast with another revelation that one of the advisers, Haji Ahmed, was also working as private consultant dealing with refund issues while simultaneously discharging duties in FTO office.

M/s Irfan Textile Mills, one claimant, got five claims refunded out of turn by approaching FTO Registry Office. Similarly, two claims of M/s Eastern Spinning at serial number 383 and 377 have also been sanctioned out of turn on the instructions of the adviser of the FTO Lahore Office.

Seeing this practice, more and more taxpayers are approaching the FTO Lahore office for expediting their refunds. Recently, M/s US Apparel and M/s US Denim approached FTO and subsequently the FBR officers were issued instructions to sanction their refunds amounting to Rs300 million in a similar fashion.

There is an interesting case of M/s Siddiq Iron Industry which filed refund claim amounting to Rs555 million in complaint No 202/HR/ST (44)/337/2013. This claim was rejected, as the tax stated to have been paid at import stage was mis-declared. Accordingly, the refund was rejected and this order was confirmed by commissioner appeal but his action was declared as non-compliance of the FTO recommendation.

This action was contrary to earlier practice where the FTO used to recommend for processing the refund claim as per law. In the said case, the additional commissioner and young lady officers were summoned and asked to give in writing the schedule of refund which the FBR would issue to M/s US Apparel, a practice in violation of existing rules.

In another case, the FTO adviser earlier recommended that the refund of M/s Blackboard Industry amounting to millions of rupees should be processed as per law. As the officers concerned were in the process of concluding the proceedings, FTO office issued an order granting interim relief and instructed the officer not to pass an adverse action.

As ‘The News’ sent a list of questions to FTO for its version, the spokesman responding to a question about the adviser’s power said that the adviser had been delegated authority to summon and examine such officers as are relevant to the proceeding. However, they were silent on the point that the tax commissioners couldn’t be summoned by an official other than FTO himself, as they are supervisory officers.

On the question of registry office, the role in facilitating out of turn refund payment, the spokesman said there was no order for refund on ‘first come, first served’ basis.’ As a matter of fact, FBR issued these instructions vide letter C No 1(11)CSTRO/FBR/2013 directing tax officers to give priority to FTO recommendation. However, the FTO adviser can direct expedition in process only when a taxpayer is denied refund in normal proceedings whereas Lahore Registry Office invariably asked for sanctioning of refund by all means as was done in case of M/s Blackboard Industry through show of undue haste.

Contrary to spokesman’s version, the jurisdiction of FTO has been determined in section 9, sub-section (2) clause (b) of the Federal Tax Ombudsman Ordinance, 2000, which is re-produced as under: “The Federal Tax Ombudsman shall not have jurisdiction to investigate or inquire into matters which. (a) are subjudice before a court of competent jurisdiction or tribunal or board or authority on the date of the receipt of a complaint, reference or motion by him; or (b) relate to assessment of income or wealth, determination of liability of tax or duty, classification or valuation of goods, interpretation of law, rules and regulations relating to such assessment, determination, classification or valuation in respect of which legal remedies of appeal, review or revision are available under the relevant Legislation…(c) is contrary to law, rules or regulations or is a departure from established practice or procedure, unless it is bona fide and for valid reasons; (d) is perverse, arbitrary or unreasonable, unjust, biased, oppressive, or discriminatory; (e) is based on irrelevant grounds; or (f) involves the exercise of powers, or the failure or refusal to do so, for corrupt or improper motives, such as bribery, jobbery, favouritism, nepotism, and administrative excesses.

A plain reading of above law explains that the FTO is empowered to make inquiries where prima facie maladministration has taken place. It cannot take cognizance where departmental remedies are available as appear before commissioner (Appeals) or appellate tribunals. However, in routine or all cases involving refunds, the complaint is registered and inquiries are held. Then the officers from additional commissioners to commissioners are summoned given veiled threats to sanction the refunds, according to officials privy to the state of affairs in FTO Registry Office in Lahore.

To another question, the spokesman denied that Haji Ahmed was doing private practice. However, ‘The News’ confirmed from different sources that he was consultant with Arif Butt until recently while simultaneously discharging duties as FTO adviser.

Regarding contempt threats as a tool being used by advisers in the registry office, the spokesman denied this but stated that there were provisions that enabled the FTO to initiate contempt proceeding.

As a matter of fact, tax lawyers say, the FTO is empowered to do so but Lahore Registry adviser invariably invokes this provision for getting the refund sanctioned whether it is admissible under the law or not.

In M/s Blackboard Industry case, the spokesman said, there were inordinate delays in implementation of FTO recommendations and accordingly the officers concerned were cautioned till contempt petition was disposed of. No adverse action could be taken against the complainant. This was done as per complainant apprehension that his refund would be rejected arbitrarily raising demand against him.

The counter argument is that the officer concerned has right to pass the order as warranted under the law. He cannot be stopped from issuing an order which the law empowers him.

On M/s Siddiq Iron Industry (Pvt) Ltd and M/s Irfan Textile Mill cases, the spokesman said the adviser’s recommendations required that the department issued the refund as was due under law as they paid tax on import stage. However, the FBR officials say they did not pay any tax on the import stage on re-meltable scrap, which is refundable or adjustable. Rather the complainant through mis-declaration complained for refund that it has paid tax on import stage, they said. The FTO recommended refund on the grounds that they have paid tax on the import.

Mosques organize spring break youth camp in Carrollton

DALLAS: Beautiful spring break youth camp was held by the Madinah and Makkah Mosques in Carrollton. They provide a 2-day learn& fun activities for the participants.

This year the theme was "Muslim kids' future in America." The purpose of the 3rd annual spring break camp was to enrich and strengthen the hearts, minds, and bodies of American Muslim teenagers with an Islamic atmosphere.

The teenagers were engaged in lectures, workshops and activates that encompassed the understanding of Islam. The campers enjoyed the variety of educational programs, carriers counseling and indoor and outdoor activities.

They were also engaged and entertained with a structured schedule filled with game, sensory stations, art, science, Islamic stories and talent shows. All educational actives were designed specifically to cater to the enrolled campers and children by their developmental level.

Madinah Masjid and Makkah Masjid arranged a few professional doctors, attorneys, CPA'S to guide the teenagers to make the right decision for their future.

Youth camp chief coordinator Allama Babar Rehmani supervised the entire camp from day 1 to last. The camp was successful due to the day and night effort of the volunteers of Madinah and Makkah Mosques.

Allama Babar Rehman thanked Allama Siraj Ahmed Misbehi, Qari Fazl e Rasool, Ghulam Jangda, Shoeb Khan, Dr. Okail, Dr. Nasir Zaki, Bashir Noviwala, Musthtaab Habib, Qasim Hingora, Habib Ayub and several others who volunteered and took the time out to make the Youth camp successful.