WEATHER UPDATES
SUNDAY
Sunday, 16 March, 2014
PRAyER TImINgS FAJR
SUNRISE ZUHR
ASR
MAGHRIB ISHA
4:51
6:11
3:37
6:11
12:12
7:33
AN ABLUTION FOR SEMINARIES 48 foreign students arrested from seminaries in Punjab LAHORE: The police rounded up 48 foreign students from registered and unregistered seminaries during a search operation Saturday in various cities and towns of Punjab province. The operation was planned after “suspicious activity” was noted in a few madrassas, said official sources. More than 10 madrassas were raided and several foreigners were taken into custody, a police source said, revealing that a majority of the seminaries were unregistered. Raids were carried out various cities and towns of Punjab including it capital Lahore, Faisalabad, Chakwala and Dera Ghazi Khan. As many as 25 foreigners were arrested from Lahore alone, source said. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has confirmed raids and arrest of foreigner students allegedly involved in “unwanted” and terror activities in the country. Visas of most of suspected students were expired while some of them did not possess any passport as they had entered in the country illegally. These students belong to Arab countries, Afghanistan, Middle East and Central Asia, sources said. The arrested students were shifted to undisclosed location for investigations, sources said adding that embassies of concerned countries would be consulted regarding their citizens. The operation comes at a time when there have been two terrorist attacks being carried out across the country. There are around 24,000 registered madrassas in Pakistan. There are countless more unregistered seminaries. It was also recently reported that 90 percent of foreigners studying in religious seminaries across the Punjab had expired visas. STAFF REPORT
280C 160C
MONDAY
290C 140C
TUESDAY
250C 120C
WEDNESDAY
250C 120C
LAHORE 07
ThaT is noT permanenT enough for nurses
As government announces three-year extension in contracts of ad-hoc nurses, nurses continue sit-in, say it’s not enough Nurses’ representative says they do not trust government, demand nothing less than regularisation LAHORE
n
LAHORE: Nurses continue their protest in favour of their demands and against brutal use of force by the Punjab Police against them on Friday. INP
STAFF REPORT
URSeS’ prayers were partially answered Saturday when the government offered them a three-year extension in their service contracts, however, till the filing of this report, they denied ending the protest at Charring Cross in the city, demanding an “absolutely permanent” place in the Health Department. The announcement came as their violence-marred protest entered its sixth day. Nurses have been protesting against the Health Department for firing those who had been working on ad-hoc basis and for the regularisation of their services. As per the government’s announcement made by Advisor to Punjab Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique, the nurses will be required to pass the Public Service Commission (PSC) exams at the end of the three-year contract to become eligible for a permanent post. Rafique had proposed that in the event that the nurses under this contract fail to pass PCS exam, their contract will stand dissolved at the end of the three years. However, after observing that the nurses were not buying the deal, the government representative assured the nurses that they will be given a permanent place upon the termination of their threeyear contract. ‘FALSE HOPES’: To government’s disappointment, nurses denied relying on the hope of a permanent place after three years and termed the proposition a “false hope”. Unfettered despite Friday’s police baton-charge and unmoved by the government’s ‘positive’ gesture, nurses refused to give up until the ‘complete’ acceptance of their demands and
continued their peaceful sit-in throughout the day. Responding to the government’s move, a representative of nurses, while talking to the journalists, said that they did not trust the government for regularising them after the termination of three-year contract. “We are not asking for land cruisers or plots; all we want is our rights and the government is powerful enough to grant them. They had earlier promised regularisation to Ganga Ram nurses as well but did not grant them. We will not buy their proposal and continue our protest till the government regularises us,” she said. STANDING UNITED: On the other hand, nurses of the government hospitals in different cities of Punjab on Saturday morning also stopped working in support of the ad-hoc nurses’ sit-in.
Sources said that the Rawalpindi Allied Hospital and Holy Family Hospital emergency nurses observing protest strike stayed away from their duties causing immense problem for the patients. Nurses in Multan have also been protesting for the last five days, while the attendants of the patients in Children Complex are being irked by strike. Moreover, Faisalabad’s civil and allied hospitals and Institute of Cardiology’s OPDs are also closed on account of a strike. Vehari and Bhakkar nurses also staged protest, while the nurses of Bhawalnagar District Headquarter Hospital and Bhawalpur Victoria Hospital staged sit-in outside the hospitals. Besides, Rahimyar Khan Sheikh Zaid Hospital nurses are also observing a strike.
In the city on Friday, a group of nurses staged a sit-in in front of the office of the nursing director general. They later rallied to The Mall to sit-in in front of the Punjab Assembly, where a session was in progress. On seeing them advance towards The Mall, where protests are banned under Section 144, women police were called to stop them. Some nurses scuffled with the policewomen when they were stopped near Charring Cross. Police baton charged the nurses to disperse them. The baton charge continued for over 10 minutes. Resultantly, two nurses were injured. One of them was later identified as Amina, reported to be seven-month pregnant. They were taken to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where Amina was said to be in critical condition.
SHARIFS WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR DAMSELS IN DISTRESS Nawaz, Shahbaz take notice of torture on nurses, Muzaffargarh gang-rape case CM announces Rs 0.5m for family of Muzaffargarh rape victim, suspends DPO, reprimands RPO, orders arrests of DSP Asghar, investigating officer, SHO LAHORE/MUZAFFARGARH STAFF REPORT
MUZAFFARGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif expresses concerns with the family of gang rape victim in the city. INP
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday discussed the issues of torture on nurses and Muzaffargarh gang-rape case. The prime minister in a meeting with the CM at Raiwind said that the government was doing its best to provide basic facilities to masses. He directed the CM to take steps for provision of relief to the people. Talking about torture on nurses and Muzaffargarh gang-rape case, the PM directed for provision of justice to the victims and asked to take strict action against the persons involved in these condemnable incidents. Separately, the chief minister announced Rs 0.5 million for the family of the rape victim who set herself on fire in Muzaffargarh. He visited the family of the victim in Muzaffargarh and assured them that those responsible for the tragedy will be held accountable. He also said that he will do everything he can to give her justice. Shahbaz had taken notice of the incident earlier and had directed the authorities concerned to submit a report. While speaking to the media, Shahbaz said that the investigating officer Rana Zulfiqar had done great injustice and that the incident was “a slap on the face of humanity”. Shahbaz suspended
Muzaffargarh District Police Officer (DPO) Usman Akram Gondal and reprimanded Regional Police Officer (RPO) Abdul Qadir Qayyum. He also ordered Punjab IG Khan Baig to arrest the culprits as soon as possible. The chief minister also ordered that the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Chaudhry Asghar, the investigating officer and the SHO be arrested. The girl had set herself on fire on March 13 in front of the Mir Hazar Khan Police Station after hearing that the suspects who had allegedly raped her were granted bail. With 70 percent of her body burnt, the girl succumbed to her injuries on March 14 in the hospital. The father of the deceased, while speaking to the chief minister, claimed that the investigating officer took Rs 70,000 as bribe and had declared the suspected rapists innocent and released them on bail. The mother of the victim also threatened to set herself on fire if justice was not delivered. According to intelligence sources, the officials were reprimanded on the fact that the culprits were not adequately taken to task inspire of a strong FIR against the accused. Sources further revealed that the police knew beforehand about the intentions of the girl that she was about to commit suicide but did not take any action.