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03 tourists alloWed Conditional entry to Murree a WeeK aFter Blizzard tragedy
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RAwALPINDI
NewS DeSk
aweek after the Murree blizzard tragedy that claimed 23 lives, the district administration on Saturday lifted a ban on tourists’ entry into the hill station.
According to a notification issued by the District Disaster ManagementAuthority, up to 8,000 vehicles will be allowed to enter into the Murree from all entry points for a limited time and under normal weather conditions.
It said no entry will be allowed between 5pm and 5am except for emergency services and vehicles carrying food items and fuel.
However, the restrictions will not be applicable to the residents of Murree, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and officials including PakistanArmy vehicles.
The chief traffic police officer of Rawalpindi will also devise a system to ensure that the traffic does not exceed the prescribed limit and provide timely information about the number of vehicles to the authorities concerned.
“XEN Mechanical Machinery and Chief Traffic Police Office shall have effective coordination with Pakistan Meteorological Department to set up, maintain, review and upgrade mechanism for early warning to regulate traffic, ” read the communiqué.
It further said that the police personnel will be deployed for accurate count of incoming/outgoing vehicles and maintain a database of the net traffic count.
Last week, the nation was left stunned when the news of 23 deaths owing to a deadly blizzard in Murree hit the mainstream and social media.
The deaths of the tourists, including women and children who had flocked to the scenic spot to witness the snowfall, were nothing short of the tragedy. The visitors ‘froze to death’ in their vehicles, amidst tonnes of snow in the surroundings as a snowstorm gripped the valley.
Free kidney, liver transplant on the cards for K-P patients
PesHAwAR
NewS DeSk
Patients from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) are set to receive free-of-cost liver and kidney transplantion services after a memorandum of understanding was signed between the provincial government, State Life Insurance and Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre (PKLI&RC) on Saturday.
According to the official statement, the service will be available under the provincialgovernment’sSehatInsafCard scheme.Itsaidtheprovincialgovernment wouldbeartheexpenseofRs5millionfor liver transplant and Rs1.4 million for kidney transplant per patient.
Chief Minister Mahmood Khan termed the move a “gift for the people of the province” , adding that treatment of cancer would also be covered under the health card scheme soon.
He further said that OPD services would also be provided to the people under the banner of the health card scheme soon.
The ‘Sehat Sahulat Programme’ is the flagship project of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, launched on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The programme envisaged support to the people in case of catastrophic healthcare expenditure.
new coronavirus cases top 4,000 per day for first time since august
IsLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
Pakistan registered more than 4,000 new confirmed coronavirus infections on Wednesday for the first time sinceAugust 25 as the fifth wave of the pandemic picked up speed.According to the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), the nation added 4,286 new cases over the past 24 hours, compared to 3,567 it registered Thursday. Meanwhile, the contagion rate also surged to 8.16 percent, the highest sinceAugust 11, when 52,522 tests were conducted. The total caseload of the infected climbed to 1.32 million across the country, said the NCOC, the department leading the campaign against the pandemic. Sindh has been the worst hit, with a total of 497,153 cases, followed by Punjab where the virus was detected in 451,408 people. The positivity rate in Karachi reached 35.3 percent, prompting Sindh Chief Minister Syed MuradAli Shah to convene a meeting of the provincial task force. Sharing a report on the Covid-19 situation in the province, Shah Friday said 23 of 24 samples tested in Karachi for the Omicron variant were infected by the latest mutant. The samples were analysed through Next Genome Sequencing and Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) at Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) andAga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). Shah said that so far, 430 infections of the latest coronavirus variant have been detected in Karachi. Citing officials from the Ministry of National Health Services, Geo News reported the contagion rate in the port city might hit 50 percent, further burdening the fragile provincial healthcare apparatus. Meanwhile, a total of 29,003 people died of Covid-19, including four who lost their lives to the virus over the last 24 hours, the NCOC said. Over the last 24 hours, 2,598 patients have recovered from Covid-19, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1.26 million, said the NCOC. BAN ON INFLIGHT MEALSAND SNACKS: Meanwhile, the NCOC imposed a complete ban on serving snacks and meals in flights from January 17, directing the CivilAviationAuthority to ensure wearing of masks during flights and implement Covid-19 standard operating procedures at all airports. The ban on snacks and meals will also apply on public transport from Monday. UNIVERSALVACCINE DISTRIBUTION ONLY WAYTO END COVID: The production and universal distribution of vaccines are the only response to the mutating coronavirus amid the health crisis, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Friday. Pakistan assumed chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China, a coalition of more than 130 developing nations, for the year 2022 on Friday.
Rs50bn business loans for youth under KJP: Dar
IsLAMABAD
app
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar on Saturday said 2022 would be celebrated as a year dedicated to youth in which Kamyab Jawan Programme (KJP) targets would be achieved to make them self-reliant.
He said steps were being taken to support youth in becoming financially sound as well as to help stand them on their own two feet.
He lauded Prime Minister Imran Khan for initiating Kamyab Jawan Programme as it would bring prosperity to the country.
He said Rs50 billion would be disbursed under various business loans schemes this year.
Addressing a press conference, he said that in 2021, Rs30 billion was disbursed among 22,000 people across the country.
He said KJPwas providing equal opportunities to the youth for empowerment and running different projects including employment, education and engagement.
Commenting on the achievements of the KP, Dar said over 50,000 direct and hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs were created in 2021 in a massive boost to the economy.
Through this programme, the government increased the number of technology-based courses which he declared were introduced for the first time in the history of the country.
He said the government was taking more steps to provide technical education and training to the unemployed youth and create employment opportunities for them.
Dar said that FIFA-certified international football coaches will arrive on January 17 to assist KJPin the football talent hunt drive.
He said projects worth Rs4 billion for youth have been kicked off in collaboration with Higher Education Commission.
The government was planning to launch a talent hunt programme in various sectors including sports, green youth movement, innovation league and establishment of KJP point in all public universities, he said. The official underlined that 100,000 skillbased scholarships worth Rs3.5 billion have been awarded in phases 1 and 2 and some Rs10 billion for skilled for all projects under KJP.
In the next phase, over 60,000 scholarships are being introduced on January 16 having a worth of Rs2 billion, he said. Dar said that around Rs5 billion have been given in Sindh among 3,000 youth.
President approves mini-budget
IsLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
President Dr Arif Alvi on Saturday granted approval to the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2022, under Article 75 of the Constitution.
The so-called mini-budget that will end exemptions on sales tax as part of fiscal tightening and a law to grant the central bank greater autonomy to win funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was adopted by the National Assembly on January 13.
The IMF approval is crucial for the country struggling with external and current account deficits, a depreciating currency, struggling foreign reserves and rising inflation.
Ending the tax exemptions would raise Rs343
Punjab govt has made record increase in health budget: Buzdar
LAHORe
app
Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Friday said the provincial government has made a record increase in health budget. In a statement, the CM said the health budget in 2013-18 was only Rs169 billion while the incumbent government has increased it from Rs369 billion to Rs399 billion in the current financial year. He said work is underway on health projects worth Rs36.65 billion in the Lahore division, adding that the state-of-the-art mother and child block is being constructed at Ganga Ram Hospital for Rs7 billion. A 1,000-bed hospital will be constructed on Ferozepur Road at a total cost of Rs8 billion, he said, adding that in the first phase, a 100-bed hospital will be made functional. He said the emergency and trauma centres will be built at Jinnah Hospital and Services Hospital while Child Health Sciences University will be constructed for Rs4 billion. Alongside, the up-gradation of various wards of Lady Willington Hospital will cost Rs35.5 billion, he noted. He said the hospital management information system is being brought in collaboration with Punjab Information Technology Board to bring government hospitals in a paperless era. The reforms would ensure the best health facilities for the citizens, he added. The CM said that dental colleges are also being set up in Rawalpindi and Bahawalpur, adding that a total of 8 mother and child hospitals are under construction in Punjab. In three years, the government has set up 78 new health facilities and 91 new health projects have also been included in the district development package, he said, adding that a total of Rs37.25 billion has been allocated for free medicines at hospitals across the province.
Child raPe viCtim’S Single teStimony SuffiCient to uPhold ConviCtion: lhC
LAHORE
INp
tHE Lahore High Court has ruled that single testimony of child rape victims, in instances where DNAor medical reports aren’t available, is sufficient to record a conviction.The remarks were passed by Justice MuhammadAmjad Rafiq at a hearing on Saturday.
“A rape victim stands on a higher pedestal than an injured witness, because an injured witness gets the injury of the physical form while the rape victim suffers psychologically and emotionally and a single testimony is sufficient to uphold the conviction. ”
The court was hearing an appeal by Kamran, 33, accused of raping a six-year-old student at a Gujranwala school in 2017. According to the police, Kamran was employed as the security guard at the child’s school. On May 12, 2017, when she was on her way to the washroom, the suspect and his accomplice Barkat Ali cornered the student. Kamran raped her, while Barkat waited outside, keeping guard.
Back at home, she narrated the entire ordeal to her mother, who, then took her to the CMH Hospital with a lady constable Humaira Bashir.
The child’s medical examination corroborated the rape. An FIR was registered three days after the crime and the police arrested Kamran within a week.
After investigation, the accused was taken to the judicial magistrate of Gujranwala where he was sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs100,000 compensation was imposed on him.
In 2019, Kamran filed an appeal in the Lahore High Court seeking an annulment of his sentence. He claimed that he was falsely booked in the case to save the real culprits. “No one saw the occurrence, no test identification parade was held, there was inordinate delay in reporting the matter to the police, the testimony of witnesses is inconsistent and contradicted each other and medical evidence negates the rape, ” the convict added.
In his 15-page verdict, Justice Rafiq, highlighted the following points. Children who are victims of sex offenses should be allowed the “tender years” exception, where they are provided flexibility in the interpretation of the hearsay rule to permit the admission in evidence of statement to others about sexual abuse.
The judge was referring to the admission of the victim’s mother as a witness in the case.The court remarked that what a patient says about her state of health to a doctor is admissible and vice versa.
Justice Rafiq observed that the defence, in its appeal, had questioned: 1. Whether after three days of examination, injury to hymen could be regarded as fresh? 2. To what extent the penal insertion attracts the requirement of penetration?
The verdict, citing examples of international publications, ruled: “Soon after the act, the torn margins are sharp and red, and bleed on touch. Even when examined after 3 to 4 days of offence, the edges of the laceration are congested and swollen.
Anomalies emerge in Karachi’s delimitation
KARACHI
INp
Anomalies have emerged in the gazette of delimitations issued by the provincial authorities in Karachi, creating confusion over the number of towns the city would be divided into. According to the gazette, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation will comprise of 26 towns, however, it only carried the names of 25 towns.
Not only that errors were found in the number of towns, the union councils were also added to other towns. One of the union councils in Saddar will be added to Lyari or Aram Bagh area.
A new gazette is likely to be released by the provincial authorities in order to bring more clarity on the delimitation of the city, which has already drawn criticism from mainstream opposition parties.
The provincial local government department notified that Sindh capital Karachi will have 26 towns, 233 union committees including 37 UCs and 5 towns in Korangi District, 26 UCs and 2 towns in South District, 26 UCs and 3 town councils in West District, 30 UCs in Malir District while Gadap, Ibrahim Haideri and Malir came under the category of towns.
In Central District, there will be 45 UCs and 5 towns, 26 UCs and 3 towns in Keamari District, whereas, the constituency of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Saeed Ghani was declared Chanesar Town in East District. In East District, there will be 43 UCs and 5 fives. 10 town committees in Shaheed Benazirabad, 17 in Sanghar, 12 in Nowshero Feroze, 10 in Hyderabad, 9 in Jamshoro, 8 in Matiari, 9 in Dadu, 7 in Tando Muhammad Khan and 4 in Tando Allahyar.
Airlines rearrange flight schedules to avoid foggy conditions at Lahore Airport
LAHORE
Staff RepoRt
International airlines have rearranged their flights’ schedules to skip the foggy conditions at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal InternationalAirport.
Lahore Airport was functional for flights landing and take-off with fog blanketing the runway reducing the visibility to 800 metres.
According to sources, international airlines have now rescheduled their night flights to the daytime.
QatarAirways flight QR-620 from Doha which was originally scheduled to touch down at 1:00 am at Lahore Airport will now arrive at 11:00 am.
Flight J-9501 coming from Kuwait was due to land at 5:00 am but now it will touch down at 11:30 am, flight TK-714 coming from Istanbul will now land at 1:00 pm and British Airways flight BA-259 coming from London will land at 11:00 am after delayed for four hours. The schedule of the flights leaving Lahore for Jeddah, Kuwait, Doha, Istanbul, London and Karachi was also altered.
Sindh writes letter to energy minister, demands gas share
KARACHI
Staff RepoRt
The Sindh government on Saturday wrote a letter to Energy Minister Hammad Azhar expressing its anger over what it called the ‘injustice’ in the matter of supplying gas to the province reminding him that the constitution provides the first right to the province which is producing the very resource.
In its letter, the Sindh government lodged a strong protest with the federal government saying that injustice was meted out to the province in the supply of gas. It said that if the Centre did not have the ability to effectively run the Sui Southern Gas Company then it could hand over the same to the Sindh govt. The provincial government would show the energy minister how to produce gas and distribute it correctly.
The epistle says that despite the fact that Sindh produces gas but it is deprived of it. Article 158-2 III grants the first right of use of the resource to the producing province. For the last three years, the federal government has been looting Sindh’s gas share.
The letter further says that the Karachiites have been facing difficulties due to gas closure and its low pressure since November last. Office people and school children have to leave their houses without food. Many citizens are forced to burn wood, coal and cylinders to cook food which is causing them health problems.
For the last two months, the CNG sector in the province has been shut which is rendering thousands of daily wagers jobless. The CNG closure has put a stop to the rickshaw, taxi and public transport business.
The industrial wheel has also been obstructed and thousands of labourers have been laid off. Moreover, factories are unable to fulfill their orders and country is losing foreign exchange.
The letter reminds the energy minister that since the Constitution of Pakistan gives preferential right to the resource producing province that’s why Sindh demands its rightful share of gas.
Pending cases at Supreme Court witness conisderable decline
ISLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
The number of pending cases in the Supreme Court of Pakistan has witnessed a considerable decline after they dropped to 51,766 in December 2021. The statistics were shared by the apex court, showing that the number of pending cases witnessed a drop from 54,000 in November 2021 to 51,766 in December 2021. It shared that 1116 cases were decided from 16 to 31 December 2021 as compared to 835 new cases during the same period. It is pertinent to mention here that the Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken measures needed for addressing the issue of pending cases and in July last year, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed ordered the formation of 120 new accountability courts for early decisions on pending accountability cases. Justice Gulzar Ahmed while hearing a case directed the Law Secretary to constitute 120 new accountability courts with the appointment of judges taking directives from the competent authorities. The top judge also directed for a decision on all pending references of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) within three months.
