ICC name hosts of mega events to be held from 2016 to 2023

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the names of the hosts for its various mega events to be played between 2016 and 2023.

According to sources, cricket’s Big Three have distributed the hosting of all cricket events among themselves.

The World Twenty20 would be hosted by India in 2016 while Australia would host the Champions Trophy in 2017.

The One-day International World Cup would be played in England in 2019 and the World T20 would be held in Australia in 2020

Later, India will host two mega events – Champions Trophy in 2021 and World Cup in 2023.

Saudi to mark Ramzan from Sunday: TV

RIYADH: Ramzan, the holy month of fasting, will begin on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, the state-run Al-Ekhbariya television channel reported on Friday.

Citing the authorities, it said that because the crescent moon was unable to be seen with the naked eye on Friday, Ramazan would begin on Sunday.

According to tradition, it is the sighting with the naked eye of the new moon that signals the start of Ramzan.

Other Gulf monarchies, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also said Ramzan will start in their countries on Sunday.

Yemen’s religious authorities said in a statement that fasting would begin on Saturday. (AFP)

Imran Khan says PTI to start revolution from Bahawalpur rally

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has said that the revolution will begin from his party’s rally in Bahawalpur.

Speaking to media on Friday, he said that the PTI will start much needed revolution from the rally.

According to reports, PTI workers were thronging the venue of Jalsa in Bahawalpur district.

Three UK varsities, 57 colleges banned from sponsoring international students

 

LONDON: Three universities and 57 private colleges have been told they cannot sponsor any new international students in a major crackdown on suspect English language qualifications.
In a statement to the House of Commons on June 24, immigration minister James Brokenshire said he was taking the action in the light of “detailed and wide-ranging investigation into actions by organised criminals to falsify English language tests for student visa applicants”.

It follows a BBC Panorama expose in February, which revealed systematic cheating in tests from an organisation called the Educational Testing Service (ETS).More than 29,000 invalid results and 19,000 questionable results had been identified so far, though “it is likely that the true totals will be higher,” said Brokenshire, who condemned the organised criminality behind the fraud.

Brokenshire said the Home Office had suspended the highly trusted status of Glyndwr University, in north Wales, which enables it to sponsor the visas of non-European Union students.

Some 230 students sponsored by Glyndwr had been identified as having invalid test results provided by ETS – a figure rising to 350 if questionable scores were counted.The Home Office has also told the University of Bedfordshire and the University of West London that “they are no longer allowed to sponsor new students pending further investigations which will decide whether they too should be suspended”, Brokenshire added.

At the UWL, the number of sponsored students with invalid scores stood at 210 – rising to 290 if questionable ones were included, he said.In addition, Brokenshire said the licences of 57 private further education colleges to recruit foreign students had been suspended. According to an official list seen by the Times Higher Education, they include the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF).

Further abuse was also taking place in the London sub-campuses of other UK universities, but they had not been suspended as they were taking steps to resolve the issues, Brokenshire added.

However, the Quality Assurance Agency had been asked to examine the London campuses to see whether any further action should be taken against the parent institutions, he said. Immigration officers had also established that a number of overseas university students were earning more than £20,000 a year despite the rule that they must not work more than 20 hours a week during term time, he said.

One university student was working a 60-hour week for six months, he said. Overseas students at several private colleges are not allowed to work, yet one college — LSBF — has 290 foreign students who worked and paid tax last year, he added.

A Glyndwr spokesman said the university was “deeply upset” that its sponsor licence had been suspended and was working with the UK Visas and Immigration “to investigate the issues raised”.

Bedfordshire said it had audited “all current students who have progressed to us from ETS” and this had enabled it to “reassure” the UKVI that there was no “evidence of any organised attack” on the university’s compliance with immigration rules.

West London vice-chancellor Peter John said it would be “working closely with UKVI over the next seven days and will issue a further statement after that time”. A spokesman for the LSBF said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the visa licence suspensions. “We take our commitments very seriously and we will work closely with UKVI to resolve this situation swiftly in the near future,” he said.

Liam Byrne, shadow minister for universities, science and skills, said Labour supported “any action” that protects the “hard-earned reputation” of the UK higher education “but today’s threat has come from another immigration crisis that’s happened on this government’s watch.”

Karachi: Four bodies recovered from Baldia Town

KARACHI: Four bodies bearing torture marks and hands tied behind their back were recovered from Baldia Town area of Karachi on Monday morning, Geo News reported.

According to police, four blind-folded bodies were found from Rais Goth area of Baldia Town today morning. The bodies had torture marks and bullet wounds while their hands were tied behind their back

The spent shells of 9mm pistol were also recovered near the bodies.

The bodies were shifted to the hospital for medico-legal formalities and identification purpose, however, the identity of the deceased could not be ascertained until the last report was filed.

Dependent parents entitled to maintenance from children

 

LAHORE: The Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) has recommended amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to restrict the police/law enforcers from causing injury or death to a person being arrested unless there is a strong threat to the life of the officer making the arrest.
It also recommended an amendment to the CrPC to make it compulsory for the police to inform a person about the grounds of his/her arrest. The commission recommended these amendments in its meeting held on Saturday at the Supreme Court Registry, Lahore. Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani chaired the meeting.

The proposed amendment to Section 46 of CrPC 1898 with the addition of new sub-section (4) says the police officer or other person making an arrest shall not use any means which may cause death or grievous bodily injury to the person being arrested, unless there is probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested poses an imminent threat of causing death or grievous bodily injury either to the police officer or any person making the arrest.

The proposed addition of a new Section 54-A in the CrPC says every person, upon arrest, by a police officer, shall be informed of the grounds of his arrest.

The commission also approved a law reform proposal by the addition of the new section 9-A in the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, and recommended that a parent who is unable to maintain himself shall be entitled to claim maintenance from his children.

It further proposed amendments to Sections 91 and 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and recommended that suits in respect of public nuisance and public charities may be brought by two or more persons with the leave of the court in addition to being brought by the advocate general.

The commission also recommended that suits under a Fatal Accident Act, 1855 shall be brought for the benefit of legal heirs of the deceased; the same may be awarded with interim compensation and the cases under the said law shall be decided within a period of six months. Besides members of the commission, the National Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson Ms. Khawar Mumtaz and a senior advocate Abid Hassan Minto also attended the meeting.

APP adds: The LJCP approved the Law Reform Proposals regarding amendments to Rule 4 of the Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Rules, 1976, to the effect that the parties have an option to attach the list of dowry articles, presents and gifts with the Nikahnama.

The commission also approved the law reform proposals by amending the Fatal Accident Act, 1855 and recommended that suits under the said law shall be brought for the benefit of the legal heirs of the deceased, the same may be awarded with interim compensation and the cases under the said law shall be decided within a period of six months.

Musharraf be restrained from going abroad: govt

 

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Saturday filed a petition in the Supreme Court on Saturday urging that former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf should be restrained from going abroad.
The federal government, challenged the order of the Sindh High Court (SHC) striking down the name of former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf from the Exit Control List (ECL).

In this regard, the apex court constituted a two-member bench to take up the petition.

The government filed leave to appeal under Article 185(3) of the Constitution against the judgment of the learned SHC of June 12, 2014, ordering the removal of the name of Pervez Musharraf from the ECL.

The federation prayed to the apex court to set aside the SHC judgment in the interest of justice.

It further prayed that during the pendency of the instant petition, the impugned judgment might be suspended and the name of the respondent (Pervez Musharraf) might continue to remain on the ECL and he might be restrained from going abroad without the permission of this court.

A two-member SHC bench on June 12, 2014 struck down the name of Pervez Musharraf from the ECL observing that mere pendency of civil and criminal cases against a citizen was no ground to deny him the fundamental right of travelling within or outside the country.

The court, however, had suspended the operation of the judgment for 15 days observing that since the court order was self-executory, therefore the respondents, if they so desired, might file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

In its appeal, the federal government, however, contended that the impugned judgment was void, without jurisdiction, against the facts and law and the Constitution and the same was liable to be set aside in the interest of justice.

It further submitted that the SHC lacked the territorial jurisdiction for the reasons and facts narrated herein above. The impugned judgment was therefore, without jurisdiction and the same was liable to be set aside in the interest of justice.

The federation recalled that it was specifically argued that the name of the respondent was placed on the ECL pursuant to the order of the court dated 8-4-2013 whereunder, the respondent was restrained from going abroad.

“The said order of this court was an independent order which did not merge into the final order”, the government maintained, adding that it still held the field and the SHC was bound to follow that order.

It submitted that the SHC completely ignored this aspect of the matter and passed the impugned judgment by treating the said order as only an interim order without realising and keeping in view the most important factor that the said petitions wherein the aforesaid order had been passed were disposed of and not dismissed.

It contended that the doctrine of merger was not applicable to the instant case, adding that it was applicable to the orders and judgment of the Appellate Court.

“It is submitted that the impugned judgment is a nullity in law and the same is liable to be set aside in the interest of justice”, the government stated.

The federal government submitted that the respondent (Pervez Musharraf) was accused of the offence of high treason under Article 6 of the Constitution, adding that if the respondent was allowed to go abroad, his trial would eventually end, since the extradition treaty executed between Pakistan and UAE did not cover an act of ‘Political Crime’.

“This basis was not appreciated by the SHC”, the government contended, adding that the permission granted by the SHC under the impugned judgment would adversely affect the proceedings in the trial of the respondent.

The federal government further submitted that the learned division bench which passed the impugned judgment was bound by the order/judgment of a coordinate bench passed in Criminal Misc Application No262 of 2013 passed on 23.12.2013 which held that the name of the respondent was placed on the ECL on the order of the Supreme Court.

“The reasoning of the learned division bench regarding the said order of the coordinate bench’s finding is flawed in as much as there was a specific plea to that effect taken by the respondent and there was clear finding on it by the bench”, the federation contended, praying that the impugned judgment was therefore liable to be set aside on this score alone.

The federation submitted that the respondent had been avoiding his trial on one pretext or the other and since he was accused amongst other offences of the most serious offence of high treason, the petitioner had rightfully placed the name of the respondent on the ECL in the public interest.

“The respondent has all the reasons not to come back to Pakistan once he leaves Pakistan and his trial, which is at an advanced stage, would simply be brought to a standstill”, the government contended adding that in the public interest and pursuant to the orders of the superior courts, it disallowed the application of the respondent and had insisted for the respondent’s name to be kept on the ECL.

SHC orders removal of Musharraf's name from ECL

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday ordered the removal of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf´s name from the Exit Control List (ECL), however the court has suspended the operation of its order for 15 days.

During this 15 day period, the government may appeal before the Supreme Court against the order. If the government does not appeal in the stipulated time, Musharraf will be free to travel.

A two-judge bench of the SHC comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Shahnawaz Tariq delivered the verdict on the petition against the placement of Musharraf’s name on the ECL.

"The court has allowed our appeal and ordered to strike down Musharraf´s name from the Exit Control List. The order will be executed after 15 days," said Musharraf’s lawyer Farogh Naseem.

The delayed execution of the order "will give time to the government to appeal in a superior court if they so desire," he added.

The court had reserved its order on May 29 after the defending counsel Barrister Dr Farogh Naseem, Attorney General of Pakistan Salman Aslam Butt and advocate Maulvi Iqbal Haider, who became a party in the case in favour of keeping Musharraf’s name in the ECL had completed their arguments.

It may be mentioned that the federal government had opposed the petition of the former president and contended that his name had been placed in the ECL on the direction of the Supreme Court in high treason case and high court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain and adjudicate the matter.

Musharraf, 70, flew to Karachi in April to undergo medical tests. He has said he wants the travel ban lifted so he can visit his sick mother in Dubai, but many in Pakistan see it as a ruse to flee the country and avoid the litany of criminal cases against him dating back to his 1999-2008 tenure.

Musharraf was indicted for treason in March over his imposition of emergency rule in 2007 -- a case seen as a test of civilian authority in a country long dominated by the military. He also faces several murder cases.

Legal experts’ remarks on removal of Musharraf name from ECL

KARACHI: The Supreme Court of Pakistan could extend the suspension of Sindh High Court orders for 15 more days in which the Sindh High Court ordered lifting travel ban on former military dictator Pervez Musharraf, legal experts said on Thursday.

The SHC while directing the government to lift travel ban on Musharraf further ruled that implementation of its order—removal of accused name from the Exit Control List (ECL)--- be suspended for 15-days so that the government may file appeal before the apex court.

“It seems the ball is now in the court of Supreme Court as it has to make a final decision,” says Justice (retd) Wajihuddin, former judge of the top court.

Eminent lawyer SM Zafar said that the Musharraf’s path to travel abroad will be clear if the government didn’t move the apex court against SHC decision.

Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood said that although the reasons that were stated to put Musharraf on ECL were not substantial, the issue is now once again in the government’s hand.

Another law expert Babar Sattar said that the government will have to make a legal and political decision to resolve the imminent issue.

Seven bodies recovered from cargo complex handed over to families

KARACHI: The corpses of seven unfortunate persons who were trapped in cold storage of the cargo complex at the Karachi airport were handed over to their families after identification on Tuesday, Geo News reported.

The rescue teams had recovered the seven bodies 28 hours after the attack on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport and were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for identification as they were burnt and unrecognizable.

The teams of Army Engineering Core, Rangers, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and others took part in the rescue operation.

Senior MLO JPMC Dr Kaleem Sheikh told that the relatives of the deceased recognized their beloved family members with the help of their possessions including mobile phones and some other items that were present with the dead bodies.

The deceased who were identified included Sultan, Saifur Rehman, Farhanul Haq, Nabeel Ahmed, Faizan Ahmed, Enayatullah and Fareedullah.

The MLO further told the body parts that were brought to the hospital were of Jaman who was the members of the Airport Security Force (ASF).

MLO Dr Kaleem further told that DNA samples of the victims have been collected to ascertain their identity and the process will approximately take three weeks.

It is pertinent to mention that during the attack, local employees of a foreign company took refuge in the cargo complex; however, they could not come out after the fire erupted in the vicinity.

Death toll from Karachi airport attack rises to 22

KARACHI: Death toll from a brazen militant attack on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport attack has risen to 22 after recovery of two more bodies from Cargo Terminal, according to a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority.

The spokesman said that the two men were burnt to death after a fire erupted at the terminal during the militant attack.

He further said that five people were still missing and efforts were underway to recover them.

India stops Sikh pilgrims from boarding Pak train

LAHORE: After some unforeseen technicalities, around 1,000 Sikh pilgrims arrived on Sunday at the Wagah border via bus from India.

In anticipation of Indian Sikhs intending to perform their pilgrimage at Punjab’s historic Gurdwaras, the Pakistani government had dispatched a special train to Attari in India to transport Sikhs to the Wagah Railway Station.

But India refused sending the Sikh pilgrims on that train citing ‘security concerns’ and fear of bomb blasts.Talking to ‘The News’, Foreign Office (FO) officials in Islamabad said the Indian government had taken the decision due to fear of terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Some media reports in Pakistan suggested that the move was made in advance and the pilgrims had been advised by the Indian authorities to cross the Wagah-Attari border by foot.

Representatives of Sikh pilgrims said they had come to Pakistan to practice their religious rituals at Gurdwaras, especially Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hassan Abdal, 40 km from Rawalpindi.

They said both the Indian and Pakistan governments could not be blamed for the inconvenience they faced travelling to Lahore. They expressed their gratitude for the warm reception by a Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) officials in Pakistan. They referred to the concerns of the Indian government as a ‘misunderstanding’ and said Sikhs in Pakistan enjoyed equality in all affairs of the state.

Militants storm checkposts in Bajaur from Afghanistan Four soldiers killed

 

KHAR: Four soldiers were killed and four others sustained injuries when Afghanistan-based militants attacked the security forces checkposts in the Mamond Tehsil of Bajaur Agency, official sources said on Wednesday.
The sources said the militants attacked the security forces checkposts in Manro Zangal and Makha Top in Mamond Tehsil with heavy weaponry at 4am.

“Two soldiers were killed and three others sustained injuries in the attack in Manro Zangal while two soldiers were killed and another sustained injuries in an attack on a checkpost in Makha Top,” an official said.

The official sources claimed several militants were killed in the retaliatory fire by the soldiers manning the checkposts.However, the claim could not be confirmed from independent sources due to the inaccessibility of the area for journalists.

Local sources said the exchange of fire continued for several hours. The security forces sources said the militants escaped from the area after the forces returned the fire.It was the third such attack in Mamond Tehsil during the last two weeks. The sources said security forces had beefed up the security in the border villages.

Around 19 militants were killed and five Frontier Corps soldiers were injured in clashes between the security forces and militants on May 25 and 31.

APP adds: Pakistan condemned the unprovoked attacks from the Afghan side and the matter was raised with the Afghan government in Kabul and with their embassy in Islamabad.

The Foreign Office spokesperson, in a statement, said early Wednesday morning, two Pakistani border posts — Manro Zangal and Makha Tops in Bajaur Agency — were attacked by terrorists from Afghanistan.

The spokesperson said as a result of this unprovoked firing, two Pakistani soldiers were martyred and three others, including one officer, were injured.Pakistan said it was the third incident of cross-border attack in the last 10 days.

The spokesperson said it had been emphasized that Afghanistan must take concrete steps to stop the use of its territory against Pakistan. For its part, Pakistan remains committed to supporting all efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan, said the spokesperson.

Opposition dubs budget removed from reality

 

ISLAMABAD: Opposition parties Tuesday rejected the new budget as anti-people and alleged it was aimed at promotion and protection of the capitalists and businessmen interests.
Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah in his reaction alleged that the budget carried no good news for the masses, big figures were shown but the fact was that the federal government has miserably failed to achieve its own targets.

“Finance minister’s speech was based on unrealistic figures and had no connection with ground realities of Pakistan. The government claims to have controlled the inflation whereas prices of onions, tomatoes, potatoes, atta and other commodities are at all time high. Even bananas today are touching Rs200 a dozen,” he noted.

Expressing deep concern over the current situation, Shah said that the security issues were threatening the nation while people continued to live in darkness because of long hours of load-shedding.

Finance Minister Dar mentioned austerity measures in his speech but he forgot that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had 14 official foreign visits to his credit in the first year of his government, he noted. “Austerity begins at home so the government needs to cut its own expenses and provide immediate relief to people,” he said.

The 10 percent ad hoc salary increase, he said, also sounded like a joke when everything was so expensive, adding salary increase should be in balance with ground realities and government seemed to be insensitive about it.

He said that the government had totally failed to meet its own budget targets and was now again setting higher targets which they would never meet. Shah said that it was sad to see that an amount of only Rs10 million was kept for Lyari Expressway while the Karachi Circular Railway also given an insufficient allocation of only Rs250 million.

“PPP believes in equitable distribution of resources and wealth and all cities of Pakistan should be treated equally in terms of development”, Shah said.Other opposition leaders termed the budget speech of Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar as a jugglery of words and statistics and claimed there was nothing in it for the common man.

They contended that linking of GST to electricity bills of big plaza and shopping centres would ultimately be a burden on the consumers, as it would be shifted to them by enhancing prices of goods.

Withdrawal of exemptions on some dairy items, they pointed out, would also be affecting the common man and the increase in tax on compressed natural gas (CNG), mostly used by the lower and middle segments of the society, would also increase its price by at least Rs3 per kilo.

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Sirajul Haq called the budget as anti-people and alleged the government intended to provide no relief to 95 percent of the total population. “In no way, it is a revolutionary budget and just a traditional budget which serves interests of the 5 per cent elite class,” Sirajul Haq in his immediate reaction to the federal budget, said.

The JI Ameer also regretted a meager 10 percent rise in salaries of the government employees and 10 per cent raise in pensions of retired persons.Siraj also lamented imposition of tax on retailers and dairy product and increase in taxes on the CNG sector. “Such taxation will directly affect the common man,” he said.

Deputy Speaker of the Sindh Assembly, Shehla Raza, who belongs to PPP, in her reaction to the budget, said that the budget was for the interests of industrialists and capitalists. She pointed out already the prices of common kitchen items like pulses and vegetables were sky-rocketing.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Ayesha Gulalai also came hard on the government for presenting a budget that offered no real relief to the masses. She pointed out if the rulers were sincere in giving some relief to the common man, the GST should have been slashed.

The cut in revenue, she contended, could have been made up or even much more would have been pocketed by focusing on 4 million potential persons, who must be brought in the tax net.The legislator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reiterated that the masses’ money stashed in foreign banks should be brought back to give a push to the national economy.

She contended there was a mechanism to find out whether or not the massive amounts kept in off-shore banks was legitimately earned or otherwise. “Politicians’ reluctance to bring back it to Pakistan clearly indicates they are not ready for audit of it,” she maintained.

Talking to media persons outside the Parliament House, Awami Muslim League President Sh Rashid Ahmad rejected the budget and charged that the government failed to achieve even a single economic target during the out-going financial year.

Independent MNA Jamshaid Dasti also did not appear happy with regards to the budget and alleged that instead of offering relief and breathing space to labourers, capitalists had been given further protection in the budget.

Our correspondent add from Lahore: Awami Workers Party (AWP) has termed the federal budget 2014-15 as a document favouring the corporate sector of the country and carrying very little for the poor.

In a statement issued Tuesday, AWP Secretary General Farooq Tariq stated that human development had almost been ignored and major preference had been given to the infrastructure. He said Rs113 billion had been allocated for construction of roads but for the health sector, an amount of Rs26 billion, quite lesser, had been allocated.

Rejecting only 10 percent raise in the salary of the government employees, Farooq Tariq said at least 50 percent increase should be announced in this regard. He demanded that minimum wage of labourers should be Rs20,000 per month. The AWP leader demanded more allocation for health and education.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) ameer Sirajul Haq termed federal budget as anti people and scripted by IMF, with privileges for the elite class and deprivations for the 95 percent of the masses.

Far from being a revolutionary budget, this is yet another traditional jumble of words that aims at giving false hope to the masses, Sirajul Haq said, adding the rulers believed that masses were speechless and won’t react to the budget. However, he said, it would have been better if the government had announced a pro-poor budget.

JI chief said electricity was the basic requirement of masses and budget proposed an advance tax on every household, which was sheer injustice.

JI Secretary General Liaqat Baloch described federal budget as highly disappointing, especially for the poor workers, womenfolk and pensioners. JUP president Pir Ijaz Hashmi said the budget is a jugglery of words prepared by elite businessmen to plunder the basic needs of the poor. He termed the budget as “anti-poor” which contain heavy privileges for the affluent class while giving nothing to the poor.

JUI-S secretary general Maulan Abdul Rauf Farooqi said those working to please the IMF and World Bank were simply unable to prepare a poor-friendly budget, and any budget from them has to be anti-poor.

Agencies add: All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) has rejected additional taxes imposed on the CNG sector in the budget 2014-15.Additional taxes and double taxation will destroy the limping CNG sector, said Pervaiz Khan Khattak, central chairman APCNGA.

In a statement, he said that government has been collecting over 26 percent sales tax from CNG outlets illegally as the Supreme Court has directed collection of 17 percent sales tax. He said government has been collecting double taxes which will have an impact of Rs3 per kg which will be impossible for CNG owners to absorb. In this scenario an upward revision in the price of CNG has become imperative, said Khattak.

He rejected efforts to provide cover to illegal sales and income taxes in the budget. Pervaiz Khattak said that why prices have been increased when the commodity is not available for the masses.

Price hike can be justified if supply of natural gas is increased to the CNG outlets. National textile industry has outrightly rejected government’s decision of any further increase in gas, electricity tariff, warning that implementation of such would bring country’s industry to edge of virtual destruction.

The chairman All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) expressed his strong concerns at the way the largest and shining export industry of Pakistan was suffering due to accursed load shedding; especially more than 10-hours of load shedding in industrial sectors of Punjab and northern areas, forcing these hapless victims to resort to more expensive alternate means of energy, which raised production costs.

He also pointed out that textile industry provided 38% of nation’s employment, which was in danger of suffocation due to this tariff increase of electricity.

PML-Q Punjab has termed the federal budget as one of the biggest fraud with the masses and has announced a protest against it.

Commenting on the budget 2014-15, PML-Q leader Muhammad Basharat Raja said the government of has failed to save the interest of poor. AML head Sheikh Rashid Ahmad has termed the 2014 budget as an IMF-oriented ‘Dar Budget’.

Talking to media outside Parliament House on Tuesday, he berated the budget’s failure to provide for the common man, saying that Ishaq Dar had no talent except that of filling a pile of paperwork. He also expressed his displeasure at the failure of government to provide Altaf Hussain with passport, due to which he thought Hussain was arrested in London.

Protests can’t stop govt from working for progress: Shahbaz

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif has said that sit-in or protest could not stop the incumbent government from working for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan.

Talking to a delegation of journalists, columnists, and intellectuals from Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan here Sunday, Shahbaz said the government is moving in a right direction and will continue the mission to serve the masses at all costs.

He said if the Nadipur power project could be completed in 7 months, the government could overcome energy crisis in four years.

Shahbaz said the federal government has allocated Rs55 billion for Karachi-Lahore Motorway and Rs30 billion for Diamer-Bhasha and Dasu Dams, adding work on these projects would begin soon.

Travellers from Pakistan will require polio vaccination from June 1

ISLAMABAD: Polio vaccination certificates will become mandatory for travellers from Pakistan to foreign countries from June 1.

According to Ministry of Health Services, provinces have been issued one million health certificates. Officials from the ministry say district health officers, medical superintendents and EDO health will be authorised officers for issuing polio certificates.

All major government hospitals and airports in provinces will have special polio counters. At airports officials from the Civil Aviation Authority and Health Ministry will issue vaccination certificates. It is mandatory to carry passports and present them at polio counters.

Polio cells have been formed at PIMS and Polyclinic hospitals in Islamabad.

Power bills to be deducted from provinces’ funds

 

ISLAMABAD: In a major development, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has managed to persuade the four federating units for at source deduction of 25 percent of their current electricity arrears as this will help eradicate the emergence of the circular debt.
Sindh Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah said that at source deduction of electricity bills of provinces would start from July 1, 2014 and the federal adjuster would deduct 25 percent of the electricity bills that the province would receive in the month of July. The issue of previous arrears would be reconciled within 30 days.

The 75 percent amount will be adjusted after reconciliation process between the federal government and the province concerned and in case it is found that the Centre has deducted an unjustified amount, it will be adjusted later next month. The federal adjuster will be appointed by the federal government in finance ministry.

Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, when contacted, also confirmed that the federal adjuster would deduct 25 percent of current bills and in order to clear the old arrears, the Ministry of Water and Power and the provinces would settle the issue through reconciliation.

He told the CCI meeting that the process would be in place from July 1, 2014 through the federal adjuster. The participantsof the meeting also stressed the need for reconciling the old dues. The meeting decided that representatives of the provinces would sit together to sort out the issue of old dues within 30 days and its report should be presented in the next CCI meeting.

Shah said that Balochistan chief minister had objected to the initiation of the population census process in the country saying his government had successfully held the local bodies’ polls in the province and the current security situation in the province was not good enough to carry out a census. In case the census was held, what would be the fate of the existing local governments? He wondered if the local bodies’ polls in the province would be held again.

However, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab chief ministers said that they had no objection to holding of the population census in their provinces, but maintained that the local bodies polls should be held after the census.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif then said that he would personally consult the chief ministers of the four provinces and the issue would be discussed in the next CCI meeting for final decision.Shah also said that the provinces had refused to absorb the new employees recruited in those departments and ministries by the federal government which had been devolved to the provinces after the 18th Amendment.

However, the provinces were ready to accommodate those employees who were working in the said departments and ministries the time the 18th Amendment was passed.

Sindh objected to the summary of the KP seeking changes in the Irsa Act 1992 for monetary compensation from the province that consumes water from the share of other provinces, which it cannot utilise because of non-availability of required infrastructure. He said that Sindh had also objected to the move under which the federal government wanted to utilise the water of the river Indus for consumption of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. In the meeting, it was decided that the federal government would approach the Irsa (Indus River System Authority) to resolve this issue.

A press release says that the CCI meeting also approved the Pakistan Energy Efficiency and Conservation Bill 2014 (PEEC) for placing it before parliament. The PEEC will formulate the national policy on energy conservation and will suggest measures in this regard. It will also create an awareness about energy conservation.

The meeting also approved an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) 1898 for restoration of executive magistracy.

While discussing the agenda item on inquiry into the Kacchi Canal, the prime minister expressed displeasure at the delay in the inquiry and directed the holding of the inquiry through international auditors to fix responsibility. He called for technical as well as financial audit of the scheme.

The agenda of the sixth population census was deferred till the next meeting. The prime minister directed that the concerns raised by the Balochistan CM should be discussed with the Balochistan government and a report be submitted within two weeks.

The CCI also approved amendments to the Gwadar Port Authority Act. It was decided that the chairman of the Gwadar Port Authority would be a nominee of the Balochistan chief minister. Regarding the matter of 50 percent membership of the Board of Governors of Gwadar Port Authority, it was decided that amendments to the Act would be made.

The CCI also approved permanent absorption of federal employees transferred to the provincial governments after devolution through the 18th Amendment. The meeting also decided to expedite the absorption process.

Senator Ishaq Dar briefed the CCI on public debt management and supervision policy. He said in order to improve the debt management operation, the government had initiated a process of preparing a comprehensive medium-term debt strategy in consultation with all the stakeholders. The strategy would facilitate in making strategic decisions for new borrowing, including an appropriate mix between domestic and external loans to finance the budget deficit, he added.The meeting also endorsed the Framework for the 11th Five-Year Plan (2013-18) and Pakistan Vision 2025.

AG says govt cannot risk removing Musharraf’s name from ECL

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court heard a petition pertaining to removing the name of former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf from the Exit Control List (ECL).

The petition was heard by a two member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar.

In his arguments, Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt said the government could not risk removing the name of the former president from the ECL.

The SHC has reserved its decision on removing Musharraf’s name from the ECL till May 31 stating that the lawyers of the parties should submit their documents in the court.

Efforts being made to separate NWA from Pakistan, says Imran

ISLAMABAD: Referring to the military action against terrorists, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan told journalists Tuesday that it appeared that efforts were being made to separate North Waziristan from Pakistan. He said the internally-displaced persons were fleeing more to Afghanistan than to other parts of Pakistan.

“Why we want to push North Waziristan out of Pakistan? Foreign actors are also involved in this dangerous game.”Appealing to Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, he said: “For God sake think about Pakistan”. He claimed that women and children were dying in the ongoing operation and the East Pakistan-like thinking was developing among people.

The PTI chief asked where was the leadership of Pakistan and said the prime minister was busy undertaking foreign visits. He said the prime minister had undertaken record 14 foreign tours whereas foreign investment was the lowest ever during this period.

He again said Pakistan must come out of others’ war and insisted that war was no solution to Pakistan’s problems. He advocated resumption of talks with the Taliban. Imran pointed out that there had been significant decrease in terror acts after the start of peace process with the Taliban. He noted there had been a change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following talks with the Taliban.

Criticizing the government policies, he said the sense of deprivation among smaller provinces was increasing.Imran claimed to have received scores of messages that locals in Waziristan thought as if the agency was being separated. He recalled how he had witnessed a sense of deprivation among the people of East Pakistan when he was on tour as part of under-19 cricket team, where it was felt they were being treated as a colony of Pakistan. Imran said the same feeling was seething in Balochistan.

The PTI chief said it seemed as if only the Punjab was Pakistan for mega projects, as projects like metro bus were being launched there instead of funds allocation for hydel power projects.Imran claimed that circular rail project was for Karachi being Pakistan’s biggest city, but it was abandoned and now metro train project was to be started in Lahore, costing double amount.

“An impression is being given to the people of smaller provinces that Punjab was the only Pakistan,” he asserted.He repeated his demand for thumb verification of voters in four constituencies and claimed worst ever rigging was carried out during the last year’s general election. Imran noted that a party which could not hold public meetings in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore had bagged so many votes after the polls.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak said the prime minister should follow the Constitution in running Pakistan as a federation. He also complained that the Centre was ignoring his province. He said if the federation supported his province, they could produce power at the rate of Rs2-3 per unit. He reminded Nawaz Sharif that he was the prime minister of Pakistan and not of Punjab only.

Imran reiterated that they had proposed to the Centre to hand power generation and distribution over to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying they could not only cut down line losses, but also reduce power tariff. But, he continued, the federal government had declined to hand the electricity system over to them.

Khattak noted that his province that produced gas, hydel power and oil was being deprived of its rightful share of funds by the federal government. He said the federal government was yet to pay Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the agreed payment of Rs6 billion net hydel profit.

In addition, the decision on uncapping of net hydel profits, which was finalized by the technical committee of the federal government in March 2013 and duly notified, had yet to be implemented. “These arrears stand in excess of Rs138 billion owed to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government,” he said.

He said levy of excise duty on crude oil came under Article 161 of the Constitution. “This is the provincial revenue but the federal government has to notify it which they are refusing to do. As a result, the annual loss of revenue for his province is in excess of Rs15 billion,” Khattak said.

Khattak said provision of Windfall Levy under Clause 4.1 of the Petroleum Policy 2015 of which 50 per cent was to go to the province had not been levied. This had caused a loss of more than Rs25 billion per annum to the province.

Non-payment of royalty on LPG as decreed by the PHC was resulting in losses of hundreds of millions of rupees annually, he maintained.Meanwhile, the Geo News team was Tuesday afternoon barred from covering the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan’s news briefing at his Bani Gala residence here.

“Sorry, we have orders not to let you in,” asserted a security official when asked by a Geo journalist as to why they were not being allowed in to cover the event.The Geo team waited outside Imran’s residence along with the DSNG van but no one came out to let them enter the premises.

During the news briefing, when one of the media persons drew Imran’s attention towards the issue, he said the PTI was on boycott of Geo/Jang Group which will continue unless Jang Group owner apologised to him for their alleged campaign against him.

Meanwhile, a Jang Group spokesman said no campaign was launched against Imran Khan. If he had any proofs in this regard, he should send these to the Jang Group. He said the Jang Group people were in touch with the PTI team and they were never informed of any such alleged campaign.

The spokesman said as for as the coverage of recent days is concerned it was in self defence and consisted of replies to the allegations leveled by the PTI chief. He said these allegations have been proved wrong one by one. Imran Khan would not accept this but all will be clear in courts.The spokesman said Imran Khan can approach Pemra, Council of Complaints and courts in this regard.

151 Indian fishermen released from Karachi, Hyderabad prisons

KARACHI: The government of Pakistan has released 151 Indian fishermen from Karachi and Hyserabad prisons as a goodwill gesture on the eve of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to India, Geo News reported

Sources said that the 59 Indian prisoners freed from Malir Jail in Karachi and 92 from Nara Jail, Hyderabad have been sent in air-conditioned bus to Lahore, where Pakistan authorities would hand them over to Indian officials at the Wagah border.

The freed Indian fishermen expressed their gratitude to Pakistani authorities for providing them all necessary facilities including good food and healthcare in prisons. The freed prisoners said that they are quite happy over their release and appealed to the Indian government for release of Pakistani fishermen in Indian prisons.

Fishermen from both countries are routinely arrested and their boats seized by maritime security forces in both countries when they trespass territorial waters jurisdictions.
Justice (retired) Nasir Aslam Zahid’s NGO has borne the traveling and other expenses of the freed fishermen’s return home.