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.

Three killed in separate accidents in Karachi

KARACHI: Three people were killed and two others injured in separate accidents here on Friday.

An unidentified man aged 30 was killed when a vehicle hit him at Natha Khan Goth in Shah Faisal Town. The body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) for medico legal formalities.

A man, Muhammed Iqbal-26, was electrocuted during work on a grinder machine in Abaseen Company in Green City Quaidabad. The body was shifted to JPMC for post mortem examination.

Separately, 25 year old young man Farrukh was electrocuted while Farhan, 30 and his father Khurshid, 50 were injured due to electric shocks during electricity work at home in Orangi Town No 13.

The body and injured were brought to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for an autopsy and treatment respectively.

CJ wants separate force for courts’ security

 

LAHORE: Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani has called for establishing a separate force for the security of courts in the country. He directed the Punjab police to prepare a feasibility report on the construction of security walls at courts in seven days and ordered starting the installation of foolproof screening equipment at the courts’ doors.
He was chairing a meeting at the Supreme Court Lahore Registry here on Saturday to discuss security in the superior as well as lower courts of Punjab.

He said no secret information about any terrorist activity should be ignored and all judges, lawyers and litigants should be provided complete security in courts. He said that the implementation of his orders should be visible in seven days.

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, IG Punjab Khan Baig, Home Secretary Azam Salman and other senior police officials were also present in the meeting.

Also, the Planning & Development department presented a report on the construction of walls, the IG Punjab Khan Baig a proposed security plan for the courts in the province and DIG Operations Rana Abdul Jabbar briefed the chief justice about the security of the Lahore courts. The Additional IG Special Branch told the meeting that the number of policemen has been increased for the security of the courts.

Our correspondent adds: Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani has said it is unfortunate that in Pakistan education has not been accorded top priority. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), here on Saturday he said education was one of the major factors for the socio-economic development of a society. He said no country could achieve sustainable economic development without improvement in the field of education.

The chief justice said even today only 1.9 per cent of the GDP was being spent on education in Pakistan, whereas the UN’s minimum benchmark was 4.5 per cent of GDP. In this backdrop, the contribution of the private sector to the realm of education was a welcome development, he added.

Justice Jillani said the existence of an efficient justice delivery system resulted in establishing a belief in the general public that their rights would be protected. “On the other hand, the absence of rule of law gives rise to a collective sense of despair and injustice which creates a negative impact on the development of society,” he added.

A society plagued by inner fissures, lawlessness, uncertainty and corruption is headed only for decay, he said adding that the rule of law, which is one of the most vital characteristics of an effective judicial system, finds its place in the eight essential components of good governance as defined by the United Nations.

An effective judicial system has a close nexus with good governance, maintenance of peace and socioeconomic development in society, he added.

He said he was confident that the law and policy programme which had been launched by LUMS would achieve its goal, namely, offering excellent professional education and research facilities and playing a positive and productive role in bringing about social change reform in the legal system, promoting social responsibility, stimulating intellectual dialogue and debate, providing informed input to regulators and policymakers besides strengthening the legal profession and judicial institutions by ensuring rule of law and good governance.

Later, the CJ inaugurated the Ahmad Hassan School of Law and congratulated LUMS Vice Chancellor Dr Sohail Naqvi, chair and faculty members of the Ahmad Hassan School of Law and all those who provided assistance in this noble cause.

Chief justices of the Lahore High Court and Balochistan High Court were also present on the occasion.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin separate after 11 years of marriage

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, 41, and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, 37, have called it quits after 10 years of marriage.

The couple, currently holidaying in Bahamas with their kids -- Apple, 10, and Moses, seven, announced their separation, bizarrely calling it 'Conscious uncoupling,' on Paltrow's lifestyle website Goop a few hours ago.

Here's what the official announcement says:

It is with hearts full of sadness that we have decided to separate.

We have been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separated, to see what might have been possible between us, and we have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much we will remain separate.

We are, however, and always will be a family, and in many ways we are closer than we have ever been.

We are parents first and foremost, to two incredibly wonderful children and we ask for their and our space and privacy to be respected at this difficult time.

We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and coparent, we will be able to continue in the same manner.

Love,

Gwyneth & Chris