Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 06 2015
KPK Updates
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Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
jAN 07 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 08 2015
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 09 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
[h=1]Split along CPEC: Federal minister fails to address K-P’s reservations
[/h]PESHAWAR: The federal government has failed to address Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s reservations over China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal was unable to satisfy the provincial government.
During a meeting at Governor House in the city on Wednesday, Iqbal briefed government representatives and parliamentary leaders regarding a series of questions raised by the K-P government regarding the $46 billion mega project. The questions had been raised in a letter addressed to the federal minister on December 14. The provincial government’s major concern was the federal government would overlook the western route of CPEC, which passes through K-P.
Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, K-P Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan and K-P Assembly Opposition Leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman attended the meeting. Parliamentary leaders from various political parties were also present on the occasion.
Insiders familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune all political leaders from K-P were on the same page regarding the matter.
After Iqbal gave his briefing, Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan voiced a series of objections. He said the briefing has turned their doubts into reality. According to the LG minister, the issues regarding CPEC were politically motivated.
As per the insider, Iqbal clarified the matter was not politically motivated. On the contrary, the federal minister said CPEC had more to do with the economy than politics.
Iqbal insisted that if the matter is politicised or made needlessly controversial, future generations would not forgive them.
“Awami National Party K-P General Secretary Sardar Hussain Babak criticised the briefing,” the insider said. “He told Iqbal that he was only referring to the future generations of other provinces. Babak said if representatives of the K-P government did not raise this issue, the future generation of the province would not forgive them.”
According to the insider, the governor served as an intermediary in the meeting. On his request, a four-member committee, comprising K-P assembly speaker, K-P opposition leader, LG minister and K-P Chief Secretary Amjad Ali Khan was constituted. The committee would address all reservations and misunderstandings the K-P government has over CPEC.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister Mushtaq Ghani termed the meeting unsatisfactory. Speaking at a news conference, he said the federal government was simply deceiving them and not providing concrete answers.
“However, we will not step back from our demands,” he said
During a separate press conference, Iqbal said, “The federal government is still committed to what was agreed during the all-parties conference (APC) in May.” Iqbal said the K-P government has a false impression of the project.
Youth development
Later in the day, Iqbal visited Institute of Management Sciences (IMSciences), Peshawar to discuss the planning commission and Youth Development Corps (YDC) projects.
In his welcome address, IMSciences Director Dr Muhammad Mohsin Khan briefed the federal minister about the aims and objectives of the institutions. He expressed his gratitude to the minister and lauded the government’s efforts to make IMSciences one of the leading higher education institutes in the country.
Iqbal said he was honoured to include IMSciences in the YDC projects in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
He emphasised the importance of management education in reshaping the socio-political and economic paradigm of the country.
“This coincides with the incumbent government’s vision for progress and prosperity,” he said.
The federal minister paid rich tributes to the founding members of IMSciences.
“The institute has played a pivotal role in imparting quality management education in K-P, he said.
Iqbal also shed light on the initiatives taken by the federal government in reviving the national economy on modern lines.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1023234...-minister-fails-to-address-k-ps-reservations/
[h=1]Infringement of privacy: Journalists briefed on electronic cybercrime bill[/h]
PESHAWAR: A sensitisation session for journalists on the Prevention of Electronic Cyber Crime Bill (PECB ) was organised on Wednesday.
Journalists from various media organisations participated at the event, according to a press release. The event was organised by Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network (PCSN) in collaboration with Blue Veins, Tribal NGOs Consortium (TNC), Peace Justice and Youth Organisation (PJYO) and AAS Foundation.
Tracking cyber laws
Various experts spoke to journalists about the journey of the cybercrime laws in the country. The Prevention of Pakistan Electronic Crime Ordinance (PECO) 2007 was presented under Article 89(2) of the Constitution. The ordinance was then redefined in 2008, 2009 and 2014 and a new draft of the PECB 2015 was sent to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunication in May 2015.
The Ministry of IT has currently made amendments to the previously drafted bill. It talks more about internet control in which users will be fined for sharing any information the government deems inappropriate, vulgar or against Islam.
According to the handout, at the sensitisation session, various clauses of the cybercrime bill were discussed in detail. The participants appreciated the government’s effort of introducing a bill which can prevent cybercrime, terrorism and electronic fraud but expressed their disappointment in the vague language of the bill which in its current shape has the potential to pose a serious threat to fundamental rights and freedoms in Pakistan and can promote criminalisation of dissent.
Freedom of expression
According to the document, the journalists expressed grave concerns over the current state of cybercrime bill and called it an attempt by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government to take legislative control of internet freedom in Pakistan. They feared control of cyber space by the government may lead to numerous violations of their basic rights including access to information, privacy, and freedom of speech – all of which remain fundamental to their profession.
The journalists expressed their concern on the lack of inclusiveness and transparency by the standing committee of National Assembly on IT in finalising the draft of the bill.
Further grievances
“The bill is aimed at regulating internet usage and control of civil liberties and focuses less on cybercrime,” the press release quoted a civil society activist Qamar Naseem as saying. He added people will support the government in its efforts to curb extremism and militancy through electronic and online means but it must remove controversial clauses from the bill before it is presented in the assembly.
According to the document, Jamil Khan, a member of the governing body at Peshawar Press Club said, “In today’s reality of Pakistan, digital media is a basic tool for communication where people express their points of view on political, social and other issues and the government cannot just take away these rights with a legislation so vague.”
The handout also quoted PCSN Coordinator Taimur Kamal as saying, “Many coherent strategies to counter cyber-attacks are missing in the bill and technical language used in it is vague.” He added the bill therefore, should be redefined in order to make it acceptable.”
Human Rights Director Noor Zaman Khattak also participated in the event and assured his full cooperation in conveying these messages to the relevant ministry at provincial and federal levels.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1023205...alists-briefed-on-electronic-cybercrime-bill/
[h=1]Fighting for western corridor: K-P parties reaffirm stance on CPEC [/h]
CHITRAL / PESHAWAR: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has united foes of a feather—opposing parties—over the divisive issue of its western route, thought to be beneficial for the region. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf at yet another all-parties conference on Thursday reiterated their reservations which they wished to convey to the prime minister.
“There is no indicators that the promised the gas pipeline, power lines, fibre optic cables or railway lines [will come into existence],” JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said at the conference. He will lead the team which will convey the regional leaders’ reservations to the prime minister in a day or two.
“This has made our doubts become reality, proving this is just a road and not a corridor.” Fazl added without the projects discussed at the May 28, 2105 APC, “the road” has no importance.
“The western route that has been inaugurated by the prime minister is not in accordance with what was accepted at the APC convened by the PM.” Fazl said the demands regarding the corridor and its specifications should be implemented and the federal government should make sure all the packages are included. Not only did he express his reservations, Fazl also demanded the government define areas where the economic or industrial zones will be constructed and when.
An insider present at the meeting told The Express Tribune, “Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s Mahmood Khan Achakzai were against meeting the prime minister and were of the view to force the government to implement the CPEC project in its letter and spirit.”
The insider quoted Khattak, saying, “It is our due right to get the corridor with all its components otherwise we don’t need the road that was inaugurated by the PM.” The stance was reiterated by Achakzai who insisted the reservations not be conveyed to the PM.
However, Fazl convinced them to first meet the PM. He is quoted to have said they would not extend their support and do whatever they could if Nawaz Sharif does not agree to the demands over the corridor.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, present at the occasion, said he would support the Centre but since it was a matter concerning the province he would side with provincial parties. “The province gives me an identity and I promise to fight for its rights,” the insider quoted Jhagra as saying.
A news conference was also held at Peshawar Press Club where Pakistan Peoples Party K-P President Khanzada Khan demanded the federal government share the map and other details of the corridor with political parties.
Across districts
A conference held in Chitral saw politicians demand the federal government pass the route from the district as well. The conference, chaired by Chitral district nazim Maghfirat Shah, was held in District Council Hall.
Speakers on the occasion said Chitral was the safest route for the CPEC as it offered easy access to Asian counties. They argued the route should pass through all underdeveloped districts so all get a chance to progress.
Shah said they would hold three more conferences in Darogh, Chitral and Boni to make the same demand.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1023826...corridor-k-p-parties-reaffirm-stance-on-cpec/
[h=1]Work to be done: Mineral act to be presented soon in assembly, says Tahirkheli [/h]
PESHAWAR: Minister for Mines and Mineral Development Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli has said the provincial government will soon present the mineral act after consulting relevant stakeholders.
“We are not going to pass any law in haste; a formal discussion should be held on the proposed draft of the mineral act before it is endorsed by the K-P Assembly,” said Tahirkheli at the oath-taking ceremony of Frontier Mine Owners Association members at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday. She added the law for mines and mineral development would prove to be beneficial for the development of the sector in K-P.
She promised association members the government would take all possible steps to solve their problems and added mine owners are expected to extend their support towards the progress of the mines sector in the province.
However, the minister acknowledged the fact the sector lacked the required workforce, whereas primitive mining methods were being used to excavate and explore reserves. Tahirkheli warned the government will not allow illegal mining in the province. “We will take stern action, as per law, against people involved in illegal practice.”
She added steps would be taken to expand the labour force from 100,000 to 150,000 labourers. Foreign investors are keen to invest in the mines and mineral sector, she said; a representative of a Chinese company participated in the event and was assured the government will fully facilitate foreign and local investors.
On the occasion, it was demanded a joint committee of the government and mine association members be formed to discuss the revision of the mines policy. “Unfortunately, the government made a mines policy without consulting [association members],” said FMOA K-P President Shirbandi Khan.
However, Shirbandi said the mines revenue would increase from Rs74 million to Rs3 billion annually if the government takes on their 10-point suggestion regarding the rights and authorities of association members. Mine owners on the occasion said the sector should be included in the industrial policy of 2016.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1023794...e-presented-soon-in-assembly-says-tahirkheli/
[/h]PESHAWAR: The federal government has failed to address Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s reservations over China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal was unable to satisfy the provincial government.
During a meeting at Governor House in the city on Wednesday, Iqbal briefed government representatives and parliamentary leaders regarding a series of questions raised by the K-P government regarding the $46 billion mega project. The questions had been raised in a letter addressed to the federal minister on December 14. The provincial government’s major concern was the federal government would overlook the western route of CPEC, which passes through K-P.
Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, K-P Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan and K-P Assembly Opposition Leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman attended the meeting. Parliamentary leaders from various political parties were also present on the occasion.
Insiders familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune all political leaders from K-P were on the same page regarding the matter.
After Iqbal gave his briefing, Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan voiced a series of objections. He said the briefing has turned their doubts into reality. According to the LG minister, the issues regarding CPEC were politically motivated.
As per the insider, Iqbal clarified the matter was not politically motivated. On the contrary, the federal minister said CPEC had more to do with the economy than politics.
Iqbal insisted that if the matter is politicised or made needlessly controversial, future generations would not forgive them.
“Awami National Party K-P General Secretary Sardar Hussain Babak criticised the briefing,” the insider said. “He told Iqbal that he was only referring to the future generations of other provinces. Babak said if representatives of the K-P government did not raise this issue, the future generation of the province would not forgive them.”
According to the insider, the governor served as an intermediary in the meeting. On his request, a four-member committee, comprising K-P assembly speaker, K-P opposition leader, LG minister and K-P Chief Secretary Amjad Ali Khan was constituted. The committee would address all reservations and misunderstandings the K-P government has over CPEC.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister Mushtaq Ghani termed the meeting unsatisfactory. Speaking at a news conference, he said the federal government was simply deceiving them and not providing concrete answers.
“However, we will not step back from our demands,” he said
During a separate press conference, Iqbal said, “The federal government is still committed to what was agreed during the all-parties conference (APC) in May.” Iqbal said the K-P government has a false impression of the project.
Youth development
Later in the day, Iqbal visited Institute of Management Sciences (IMSciences), Peshawar to discuss the planning commission and Youth Development Corps (YDC) projects.
In his welcome address, IMSciences Director Dr Muhammad Mohsin Khan briefed the federal minister about the aims and objectives of the institutions. He expressed his gratitude to the minister and lauded the government’s efforts to make IMSciences one of the leading higher education institutes in the country.
Iqbal said he was honoured to include IMSciences in the YDC projects in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
He emphasised the importance of management education in reshaping the socio-political and economic paradigm of the country.
“This coincides with the incumbent government’s vision for progress and prosperity,” he said.
The federal minister paid rich tributes to the founding members of IMSciences.
“The institute has played a pivotal role in imparting quality management education in K-P, he said.
Iqbal also shed light on the initiatives taken by the federal government in reviving the national economy on modern lines.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1023234...-minister-fails-to-address-k-ps-reservations/
[h=1]Infringement of privacy: Journalists briefed on electronic cybercrime bill[/h]
PESHAWAR: A sensitisation session for journalists on the Prevention of Electronic Cyber Crime Bill (PECB ) was organised on Wednesday.
Journalists from various media organisations participated at the event, according to a press release. The event was organised by Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network (PCSN) in collaboration with Blue Veins, Tribal NGOs Consortium (TNC), Peace Justice and Youth Organisation (PJYO) and AAS Foundation.
Tracking cyber laws
Various experts spoke to journalists about the journey of the cybercrime laws in the country. The Prevention of Pakistan Electronic Crime Ordinance (PECO) 2007 was presented under Article 89(2) of the Constitution. The ordinance was then redefined in 2008, 2009 and 2014 and a new draft of the PECB 2015 was sent to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunication in May 2015.
The Ministry of IT has currently made amendments to the previously drafted bill. It talks more about internet control in which users will be fined for sharing any information the government deems inappropriate, vulgar or against Islam.
According to the handout, at the sensitisation session, various clauses of the cybercrime bill were discussed in detail. The participants appreciated the government’s effort of introducing a bill which can prevent cybercrime, terrorism and electronic fraud but expressed their disappointment in the vague language of the bill which in its current shape has the potential to pose a serious threat to fundamental rights and freedoms in Pakistan and can promote criminalisation of dissent.
Freedom of expression
According to the document, the journalists expressed grave concerns over the current state of cybercrime bill and called it an attempt by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government to take legislative control of internet freedom in Pakistan. They feared control of cyber space by the government may lead to numerous violations of their basic rights including access to information, privacy, and freedom of speech – all of which remain fundamental to their profession.
The journalists expressed their concern on the lack of inclusiveness and transparency by the standing committee of National Assembly on IT in finalising the draft of the bill.
Further grievances
“The bill is aimed at regulating internet usage and control of civil liberties and focuses less on cybercrime,” the press release quoted a civil society activist Qamar Naseem as saying. He added people will support the government in its efforts to curb extremism and militancy through electronic and online means but it must remove controversial clauses from the bill before it is presented in the assembly.
According to the document, Jamil Khan, a member of the governing body at Peshawar Press Club said, “In today’s reality of Pakistan, digital media is a basic tool for communication where people express their points of view on political, social and other issues and the government cannot just take away these rights with a legislation so vague.”
The handout also quoted PCSN Coordinator Taimur Kamal as saying, “Many coherent strategies to counter cyber-attacks are missing in the bill and technical language used in it is vague.” He added the bill therefore, should be redefined in order to make it acceptable.”
Human Rights Director Noor Zaman Khattak also participated in the event and assured his full cooperation in conveying these messages to the relevant ministry at provincial and federal levels.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1023205...alists-briefed-on-electronic-cybercrime-bill/
[h=1]Fighting for western corridor: K-P parties reaffirm stance on CPEC [/h]
CHITRAL / PESHAWAR: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has united foes of a feather—opposing parties—over the divisive issue of its western route, thought to be beneficial for the region. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf at yet another all-parties conference on Thursday reiterated their reservations which they wished to convey to the prime minister.
“There is no indicators that the promised the gas pipeline, power lines, fibre optic cables or railway lines [will come into existence],” JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said at the conference. He will lead the team which will convey the regional leaders’ reservations to the prime minister in a day or two.
“This has made our doubts become reality, proving this is just a road and not a corridor.” Fazl added without the projects discussed at the May 28, 2105 APC, “the road” has no importance.
“The western route that has been inaugurated by the prime minister is not in accordance with what was accepted at the APC convened by the PM.” Fazl said the demands regarding the corridor and its specifications should be implemented and the federal government should make sure all the packages are included. Not only did he express his reservations, Fazl also demanded the government define areas where the economic or industrial zones will be constructed and when.
An insider present at the meeting told The Express Tribune, “Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s Mahmood Khan Achakzai were against meeting the prime minister and were of the view to force the government to implement the CPEC project in its letter and spirit.”
The insider quoted Khattak, saying, “It is our due right to get the corridor with all its components otherwise we don’t need the road that was inaugurated by the PM.” The stance was reiterated by Achakzai who insisted the reservations not be conveyed to the PM.
However, Fazl convinced them to first meet the PM. He is quoted to have said they would not extend their support and do whatever they could if Nawaz Sharif does not agree to the demands over the corridor.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, present at the occasion, said he would support the Centre but since it was a matter concerning the province he would side with provincial parties. “The province gives me an identity and I promise to fight for its rights,” the insider quoted Jhagra as saying.
A news conference was also held at Peshawar Press Club where Pakistan Peoples Party K-P President Khanzada Khan demanded the federal government share the map and other details of the corridor with political parties.
Across districts
A conference held in Chitral saw politicians demand the federal government pass the route from the district as well. The conference, chaired by Chitral district nazim Maghfirat Shah, was held in District Council Hall.
Speakers on the occasion said Chitral was the safest route for the CPEC as it offered easy access to Asian counties. They argued the route should pass through all underdeveloped districts so all get a chance to progress.
Shah said they would hold three more conferences in Darogh, Chitral and Boni to make the same demand.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1023826...corridor-k-p-parties-reaffirm-stance-on-cpec/
[h=1]Work to be done: Mineral act to be presented soon in assembly, says Tahirkheli [/h]
PESHAWAR: Minister for Mines and Mineral Development Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli has said the provincial government will soon present the mineral act after consulting relevant stakeholders.
“We are not going to pass any law in haste; a formal discussion should be held on the proposed draft of the mineral act before it is endorsed by the K-P Assembly,” said Tahirkheli at the oath-taking ceremony of Frontier Mine Owners Association members at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday. She added the law for mines and mineral development would prove to be beneficial for the development of the sector in K-P.
She promised association members the government would take all possible steps to solve their problems and added mine owners are expected to extend their support towards the progress of the mines sector in the province.
However, the minister acknowledged the fact the sector lacked the required workforce, whereas primitive mining methods were being used to excavate and explore reserves. Tahirkheli warned the government will not allow illegal mining in the province. “We will take stern action, as per law, against people involved in illegal practice.”
She added steps would be taken to expand the labour force from 100,000 to 150,000 labourers. Foreign investors are keen to invest in the mines and mineral sector, she said; a representative of a Chinese company participated in the event and was assured the government will fully facilitate foreign and local investors.
On the occasion, it was demanded a joint committee of the government and mine association members be formed to discuss the revision of the mines policy. “Unfortunately, the government made a mines policy without consulting [association members],” said FMOA K-P President Shirbandi Khan.
However, Shirbandi said the mines revenue would increase from Rs74 million to Rs3 billion annually if the government takes on their 10-point suggestion regarding the rights and authorities of association members. Mine owners on the occasion said the sector should be included in the industrial policy of 2016.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1023794...e-presented-soon-in-assembly-says-tahirkheli/
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 10 2015
[h=1][/h]
[h=1][/h]
Last edited:
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 11 2015
KP government fails to enrol 16,000 out-of-school children
PESHAWAR: More than 16,000 out-of-school children, who were selected for getting education in private schools at the government’s expense, couldn’t be enrolled for various reasons, according to sources.
They said that provincial government allocated Rs500 million for supporting out-of-school children to get education in private schools under Iqra Faroghe Taleem Voucher Scheme.
The Elementary Education Foundation, which executes the scheme in the province, selected 30,000 out-of-school children during a door-to-door survey for enrolling them in private schools with the full support of the government. The voucher scheme was applicable to those children, whose parents couldn’t afford expenses of their education in private schools.
Sources said that the voucher scheme was applicable to the children of selected areas where state-run primary or middle school didn’t exist within one or one-and-a-half kilometre radius.
Last year, sources said, EEF selected 30,000 out-of-school children through a firm in six districts including Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Mansehra, Mardan and Swat. Of them, it could only enrolled 14,000 children, they said.
Official cites lack of awareness among parents about importance of education as the main reason
Earlier, sources said, the education department convinced the parents to enrol their children in private schools at government’s expenses during the selection drive. However, when the enrolment process of out-of-school children started, more than half of the selected students couldn’t be enrolled obviously for four major reasons, they said.
Lack of awareness about importance of education among the parents and earning money as child labour by most of the out-of-school children was one of the main reasons for not enrolling the children in the schools, a senior officer in the education department told Dawn.
He said that enrolment drive under the voucher scheme and awareness campaign should be run parallel in the selected areas for maximum enrolment of out-of-school children.
The officer said that some parents told the officials of education department that many master degree holders were roaming jobless so what their children would do if got education. “Instead of going to schools it is better to learn some skills at workshops and earn some money,” the officials said while quoting the parents.
Migration from one place to another of the selected children was another reason, an official in education department told Dawn. In some cases a child was selected during the survey but at the time of enrolment his family shifted to other areas, he said.
The third reason was that the parents sometime also demanded other incentives like edible items for enrolling their children, he said, adding that some of the UN agencies were giving edible oil in a few far-off districts for promotion of education. The parents of the out-of-school children were very poor so they demanded financial help, he added.
The official said that fourth reason was that many parents didn’t allow their daughters to go to a school which was one kilometre away from their residence.
He said that the government’s initiative to enrol out-of-school children couldn’t be succeeded fully without making proper legislation to suggest punishment for the parents, who were not sending their children to schools.
The official said refusal cases of oral polio vaccine in many areas of the province were reduced to a large extent when the district administration in the respective areas forced the parents for it. If punitive action was also taken against the parents for not enrolling their children, the number of out of school children would also reduce with the passing of time, he added.
Under the voucher scheme, the provincial government has been paying Rs500 as tuition fee to the students, enrolled in the private primary schools through vouchers. Similarly, the tuition fee for up to the middle class is Rs600.
The fee of the students enrolled in high and high secondary classes is Rs800.
Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Mohammad Atif Khan was not available for comments despite several attempts by this scribe to contact him through his cellular phone.
Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1232213/kp-government-fails-to-enrol-16000-out-of-school-children
KP saw hectic accountability drive in 2015
Accountability of ‘corrupt’ elements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained in the limelight during the outgoing year. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which is the prime federal anti-corruption institution, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC), the top provincial anti-corruption body, were seen engaged in vigorous drives of arresting public office-holders, including the government servants as well as politicians.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wing of NAB, functioning under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 has been actively pursuing cases of corruption and arresting individuals in this regard. Similarly, KPEC, which is set up under the KPEC Act, 2014 started arresting people in April 2015 and since then has taken into custody several notables on the charges of corruption and misuse of authority.
Apparently, a competition is going on between the two bodies each trying to outclass the other. KP NAB is having edge over the KPEC due to some constitutional provisions which give preference to a federal law over a provincial one. Under the KPEC Act, the Ehtesab commission could not interfere in an inquiry or investigation already started by NAB.
Comparing the two bodies, the KP NAB had arrested two former provincial ministers, Syed Mureed Kazim of Awami National Party (ANP) and Mehmood Zeb of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), whereas KPEC had arrested a sitting minister, Ziaullah Afridi of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) who was subsequently removed from cabinet and his party membership also suspended, and ex-provincial minister Liaquat Shabab of PPP.
Furthermore, the Ehtesab commission’s director general had also issued arrest warrants for former provincial minister and sitting Senator Sitara Ayaz. However, she could not be arrested due to a restraining order issued by the Peshawar High Court. She had also levelled allegations against an official of the commission in the investigation wing of victimising her as he was allegedly settling some personal vendetta with her.
Mureed Kazim was arrested by NAB on Aug 3 and was later set free on bail by the high court. The NAB alleged that he in connivance with the officials of revenue department were involved in illegal transfer of valuable state land measuring 1,976 kanals in DI Khan as alternate land to the Naval Families Rehabilitation Organisation (NFRO) in 2010 and subsequently unlawful transfer of 182 kanals residential land to officers /officials of revenue department in kickbacks. It is alleged that as a minister he had overstepped his authority as it was the domain of the chief minister to allow the said summary regarding provision of alternate land to NFRO.
Similarly, Mehmood Zeb and nine other co-accused were arrested on July 9 on the charges of inflicting losses of Rs355.2 million to the exchequer while awarding lucrative mining contract to a female school teacher. He was denied bail by the high court.
One major arrest made by NAB in 2015 was that of Syed Masoom Shah, a former special assistant to then chief minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, on the charges of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. By end of the year, the NAB had accepted his plea bargain in return of Rs258 million of his ill-gotten wealth. His case has now been in final stages and after fulfilling certain legal requirements he would be released by the accountability court.
In April 2015, the KPEC started its activities KP saw hectic accountability drive in 2015 by first arresting a district coordination officer of Kohat, Noor Daraz Khattak, along with several other persons in a land scam. Noor Daraz is the father of PTI MPA from Karak, Gul Sahab Khan. He was subsequently granted interim bail by the high court. Afterwards, the commission arrested Liaquat Shabab on the charges of possessing illegal assets. He was also released on bail by the high court.
With the arrest of Ziaullah Afridi the commission landed itself in hot waters as its credibility was questioned by him even in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. However, different judgments of the high court came in favour of the commission helping to improve its image. Ziaullah Afridi, who was arrested on multiple charges of misusing his authority as minister of mines and mineral development, was denied bail by the high court as well as the Supreme Court.
The two bodies had also arrested several government functionaries. The NAB had arrested two former vice-chancellors of Hazara University, Prof. Ihsan Ali (presently serving as VC of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan) and Dr Syed Sakhawat Shah and six other persons on the charges of giving affiliation to an illegal medical college. They were granted bail by the high court in the case.
Furthermore, the bureau had arrested around a dozen persons, including some bureaucrats, on the charges of embezzlement of funds to the tune of Rs100 million through ghost/substandard development schemes in districts of Mansehra and Tor Ghar. Prominent among those suspects were: Dr Ambar Ali, a DMG officer of BPS-19 who was serving as additional secretary at the Planning and Development Department; Zulfiqar Shah, a DMG officer of BPS-19 serving as director general Independent Monitoring Unit (IMU); Mohammad Aslam Rafique, a deputy director audit; Maqboolur Rehman, an accountant; and sub-engineers Mohammad Raziq and Azhar Jalil.
The Ehtesab commission had also apprehended owner of private Iqra National University, Obaidur Rehman, on the charges of buying a precious land at Hayatabad Township in Peshawar from Peshawar Development Authority at throwaway price. He was released on bail by the high court.
Perhaps, the social welfare department remained the prime target of Ehtesab commission as several of its serving and former officials were arrested, while warrants were also issued for arresting the then minister for social welfare Sitara Ayaz. Prominent among the arrested persons were: chief child protection officer, Dr Murad Ali; ex-additional secretary Noorullah; former director social welfare Imtiaz Ayub; ex-district social welfare officer Afsar Khan, former administration officer Nisar Mohammad; ex-district social welfare officer Insafur Rehman; and several others. They were arrested on multiple charges of corrupt practices and misuse of authority. Looking at the performance of these two bodies, the accountability drive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is far ahead than the other provinces.
Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1232204/kp-saw-hectic-accountability-drive-in-2015
Progress on new health law continues at snail’s pace
PESHAWAR: The members of Board of Governors at the hospitals where Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act was implemented last year in January, said that their decisions weren’t enforced owing to which progress couldn’t be made on the new law.
“Not only administration failed to implement the decisions of BoG regarding biometric system of attendance and uniforms but the provincial bureaucracy didn’t move fast which hampered our progress,” Prof Shah Jehan Khan, a member of BoG at Khyber Teaching Hospital, told Dawn.
He said that those decisions should have been enforced as it was necessary for hospital staff to be identified among thousands of people, who visited the hospitals every day.
“We have informed the chief minister about this issue in the presence of Imran Khan in a meeting recently. There is no need of BoG if its decisions aren’t taken seriously,” said Prof Shah Jehan.
Members of BoG at hospitals say their decisions are not enforced
The PTI-led provincial government passed Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act in early 2015 to replace the old healthcare system at the four teaching hospitals of the province -- Khyber Teaching hospital (KTH), Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar and Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad -- but no improvement could be brought in the system even after one year.
Each of the hospitals has a 10-member BoG. All the members of these boards are volunteers, who are supposed to run the respective hospitals through medical, hospital, nursing and finance directors, but these posts are still vacant.
Another member of BoG at one of these hospitals said that they needed to create a chain of command with clear mention of job description of the employees and tackle with dozens of vested interest groups in the respective hospitals for which the government should help to enforce their decisions.
“We want a clear policy about the working of the hospital and its employees,” he said. He added that the process of writing annual confidential reports of the employees was outdated and required to be changed.
“We want a mechanism under which the performance of the employees is directly evaluated and do away with British-era system adopted for promotions and appointments etc,” he said. He said that the law couldn’t be implemented due to snail’s pace work and lawsuits against it. He added that they were running against time to put in place the system the soonest.
“We are about to start institution-based practice (IBP) and take other measures once we are done with recruitment of people on key positions,” said Prof Shah Jehan. He added that they had advertised all posts and hopefully within a month they would appoint people on them.
“The board is determined to develop the hospital into a state of the art teaching medical facility as soon as possible provided our decisions are taken seriously,” he said.
Khyber Teaching Hospital has 35 units and 20 major operation theaters to provide health services to the patients.
Prof Shah Jehan said that Accident and Emergency Department of KTH received 657,835 patients and 542,080 visited its OPD, which included 24,117 different operations. The hospital also conducted 73,422 ultrasounds, 15,986 CT scan and 8,541 MRI besides spending Rs400 million on patients’ care in 2015, he added.
“We want the government to implement BoG’s decisions to improve patients’ care to a desired level,” said Prof Shah Jehan.
Dr Faisal Sultan, the chairman of BoG at KTH, told Dawn that a meeting to be held January 16 to take crucial decisions about implementation of the law. He said that once the hospitals recruited people on important positions, the situation would improve.
Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1232202/progress-on-new-health-law-continues-at-snails-pace
Massive tree plantation planned in Hazara division
ABBOTTABAD: Tree plantation would be carried out over an area of 40,000 hectors in the Hazara division during the second phase of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s Billions Trees Afforestation Project (BTAP).
This was stated by forest conservator Javed Arshad, who is taking care of the project through watershed management setup, while talking to Dawn here on Sunday.
He said besides common trees, fruit trees would also be planted on barren land, government and private owned forests in the division.
He said Rs9.8 billion had been allocated for the second phase of the BTAP project to be completed by end of the current year. He said work on 40 sites had been launched in the second phase wherein at least 1,000 nurseries would be utilised for production of plants in Hazara and Malakand divisions.
Mr Arshad said the ‘Green Growth Initiative’ of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was a flag-bearer of clean and green revolution in the province. “It will provide a better quality of life to citizens, create job opportunities for youth and also provide a means for social uplift and poverty eradication from the province.”
Mr Arshad said the billion trees project had multiple effects on socio-economic development of KP. “The forest area will be increased four times with revival of greenery in hilly areas of Hazara division and its impact on environment will be unmatchable. The farmers and agriculturalists will be one of major beneficiaries of the project due to increase of grazing field for their livestock. Youth and females will be involved in the entire process.”
He said a large number of people would be hired as watchmen to take care of newly planted forests and they would be paid remunerations.
The forest conservator said under the scheme, area of forests would be expanded by two per cent through converting 30,000 hectors of additional land into forests annually. Plantation of multi-purpose fast growing tree species on community owned and private lands between the natural forests and farmlands would be ensured, he added.
Mr Arshad planting over 2,000 hectors of land along roads, canals and railway tracks and motorways would also be made.
He said planting of 87.13 million seedlings under farm and agro-forestry were part of the project. Besides, 10 million seedlings will be planted under farm-forestry through 2,000 mass planting events, he added.
Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1232197/massive-tree-plantation-planned-in-hazara-division
Court summons nine including ex-minister in corruption case
PESHAWAR: An accountability court on Monday summoned 10 accused persons, including former provincial minister Nawabzada Mehmood Zeb, in a reference in which they was accused of causing a loss of Rs355.2 million to the exchequer while awarding a lucrative mining contract to a woman schoolteacher.
Judge Mohammad Asim Imam fixed Jan 21 for the next hearing into the case directing the accused to appear in the country on that day.
The reference was filed by National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, last month against the accused including former mines and mineral development minister and PPP leader Nawabzada Mehmood Zeb, former technical education and minerals secretary Shah Wali Khan, former additional secretary of the department and current Bannu commissioner Asmatullah Khan Gandapur, section officer Farhad Ali, deputy director of the department Khan Badshah, geologist at the directorate of mines and minerals Nauroze Khan, senior inspector of mines and mines commissioner Ziarat Khan, then director licensing of minerals department Shakirullah, assistant director (litigation) of mineral department Pervaiz Khan, and Mehmood Zeb’s alleged front man Ehtishamul Mulk.
The accused were arrested by the NAB on July 9, 2015.
Later, the Peshawar High Court dismissed the bail petitions of five of the accused including Mehmood Zeb, Ehteshamul Mulk, Khan Badshah, Shakirullah and Nauroze. It however granted bail to the remaining five accused.
Mehmood Zeb, others suspected of causing Rs355.2m loss to kitty through award of mining contract
In the reference, the NAB alleged that Mehmood Zeb in connivance with the other suspects had misused his authority in illegal allotment of 500 acres of proven deposit of phosphate to a woman schoolteacher, Rukhsana Javed, who illegally excavated phosphate in collaboration with the front man of the minister and jointly caused loss to the national exchequer
The NAB said in an illegal manner, the then minister presided over a meeting on Jan 1, 2009, wherein the award of the prospective mining licence to the woman was decided.
It added that Mehmood Zeb signed minutes of the said meeting two days after the woman made a partnership with his front man on Jan 19, 2009.
The NAB alleged that the licence was given to the woman on the payment of the petty amount of Rs15,000, the licence fee, though the site had proven deposits of phosphate.
Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1232348/court-summons-nine-including-ex-minister-in-corruption-case
KP government fails to enrol 16,000 out-of-school children
PESHAWAR: More than 16,000 out-of-school children, who were selected for getting education in private schools at the government’s expense, couldn’t be enrolled for various reasons, according to sources.
They said that provincial government allocated Rs500 million for supporting out-of-school children to get education in private schools under Iqra Faroghe Taleem Voucher Scheme.
The Elementary Education Foundation, which executes the scheme in the province, selected 30,000 out-of-school children during a door-to-door survey for enrolling them in private schools with the full support of the government. The voucher scheme was applicable to those children, whose parents couldn’t afford expenses of their education in private schools.
Sources said that the voucher scheme was applicable to the children of selected areas where state-run primary or middle school didn’t exist within one or one-and-a-half kilometre radius.
Last year, sources said, EEF selected 30,000 out-of-school children through a firm in six districts including Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Mansehra, Mardan and Swat. Of them, it could only enrolled 14,000 children, they said.
Official cites lack of awareness among parents about importance of education as the main reason
Earlier, sources said, the education department convinced the parents to enrol their children in private schools at government’s expenses during the selection drive. However, when the enrolment process of out-of-school children started, more than half of the selected students couldn’t be enrolled obviously for four major reasons, they said.
Lack of awareness about importance of education among the parents and earning money as child labour by most of the out-of-school children was one of the main reasons for not enrolling the children in the schools, a senior officer in the education department told Dawn.
He said that enrolment drive under the voucher scheme and awareness campaign should be run parallel in the selected areas for maximum enrolment of out-of-school children.
The officer said that some parents told the officials of education department that many master degree holders were roaming jobless so what their children would do if got education. “Instead of going to schools it is better to learn some skills at workshops and earn some money,” the officials said while quoting the parents.
Migration from one place to another of the selected children was another reason, an official in education department told Dawn. In some cases a child was selected during the survey but at the time of enrolment his family shifted to other areas, he said.
The third reason was that the parents sometime also demanded other incentives like edible items for enrolling their children, he said, adding that some of the UN agencies were giving edible oil in a few far-off districts for promotion of education. The parents of the out-of-school children were very poor so they demanded financial help, he added.
The official said that fourth reason was that many parents didn’t allow their daughters to go to a school which was one kilometre away from their residence.
He said that the government’s initiative to enrol out-of-school children couldn’t be succeeded fully without making proper legislation to suggest punishment for the parents, who were not sending their children to schools.
The official said refusal cases of oral polio vaccine in many areas of the province were reduced to a large extent when the district administration in the respective areas forced the parents for it. If punitive action was also taken against the parents for not enrolling their children, the number of out of school children would also reduce with the passing of time, he added.
Under the voucher scheme, the provincial government has been paying Rs500 as tuition fee to the students, enrolled in the private primary schools through vouchers. Similarly, the tuition fee for up to the middle class is Rs600.
The fee of the students enrolled in high and high secondary classes is Rs800.
Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Mohammad Atif Khan was not available for comments despite several attempts by this scribe to contact him through his cellular phone.
Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1232213/kp-government-fails-to-enrol-16000-out-of-school-children
KP saw hectic accountability drive in 2015
Accountability of ‘corrupt’ elements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained in the limelight during the outgoing year. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which is the prime federal anti-corruption institution, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC), the top provincial anti-corruption body, were seen engaged in vigorous drives of arresting public office-holders, including the government servants as well as politicians.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wing of NAB, functioning under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 has been actively pursuing cases of corruption and arresting individuals in this regard. Similarly, KPEC, which is set up under the KPEC Act, 2014 started arresting people in April 2015 and since then has taken into custody several notables on the charges of corruption and misuse of authority.
Apparently, a competition is going on between the two bodies each trying to outclass the other. KP NAB is having edge over the KPEC due to some constitutional provisions which give preference to a federal law over a provincial one. Under the KPEC Act, the Ehtesab commission could not interfere in an inquiry or investigation already started by NAB.
Comparing the two bodies, the KP NAB had arrested two former provincial ministers, Syed Mureed Kazim of Awami National Party (ANP) and Mehmood Zeb of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), whereas KPEC had arrested a sitting minister, Ziaullah Afridi of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) who was subsequently removed from cabinet and his party membership also suspended, and ex-provincial minister Liaquat Shabab of PPP.
Furthermore, the Ehtesab commission’s director general had also issued arrest warrants for former provincial minister and sitting Senator Sitara Ayaz. However, she could not be arrested due to a restraining order issued by the Peshawar High Court. She had also levelled allegations against an official of the commission in the investigation wing of victimising her as he was allegedly settling some personal vendetta with her.
Mureed Kazim was arrested by NAB on Aug 3 and was later set free on bail by the high court. The NAB alleged that he in connivance with the officials of revenue department were involved in illegal transfer of valuable state land measuring 1,976 kanals in DI Khan as alternate land to the Naval Families Rehabilitation Organisation (NFRO) in 2010 and subsequently unlawful transfer of 182 kanals residential land to officers /officials of revenue department in kickbacks. It is alleged that as a minister he had overstepped his authority as it was the domain of the chief minister to allow the said summary regarding provision of alternate land to NFRO.
Similarly, Mehmood Zeb and nine other co-accused were arrested on July 9 on the charges of inflicting losses of Rs355.2 million to the exchequer while awarding lucrative mining contract to a female school teacher. He was denied bail by the high court.
One major arrest made by NAB in 2015 was that of Syed Masoom Shah, a former special assistant to then chief minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, on the charges of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. By end of the year, the NAB had accepted his plea bargain in return of Rs258 million of his ill-gotten wealth. His case has now been in final stages and after fulfilling certain legal requirements he would be released by the accountability court.
In April 2015, the KPEC started its activities KP saw hectic accountability drive in 2015 by first arresting a district coordination officer of Kohat, Noor Daraz Khattak, along with several other persons in a land scam. Noor Daraz is the father of PTI MPA from Karak, Gul Sahab Khan. He was subsequently granted interim bail by the high court. Afterwards, the commission arrested Liaquat Shabab on the charges of possessing illegal assets. He was also released on bail by the high court.
With the arrest of Ziaullah Afridi the commission landed itself in hot waters as its credibility was questioned by him even in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. However, different judgments of the high court came in favour of the commission helping to improve its image. Ziaullah Afridi, who was arrested on multiple charges of misusing his authority as minister of mines and mineral development, was denied bail by the high court as well as the Supreme Court.
The two bodies had also arrested several government functionaries. The NAB had arrested two former vice-chancellors of Hazara University, Prof. Ihsan Ali (presently serving as VC of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan) and Dr Syed Sakhawat Shah and six other persons on the charges of giving affiliation to an illegal medical college. They were granted bail by the high court in the case.
Furthermore, the bureau had arrested around a dozen persons, including some bureaucrats, on the charges of embezzlement of funds to the tune of Rs100 million through ghost/substandard development schemes in districts of Mansehra and Tor Ghar. Prominent among those suspects were: Dr Ambar Ali, a DMG officer of BPS-19 who was serving as additional secretary at the Planning and Development Department; Zulfiqar Shah, a DMG officer of BPS-19 serving as director general Independent Monitoring Unit (IMU); Mohammad Aslam Rafique, a deputy director audit; Maqboolur Rehman, an accountant; and sub-engineers Mohammad Raziq and Azhar Jalil.
The Ehtesab commission had also apprehended owner of private Iqra National University, Obaidur Rehman, on the charges of buying a precious land at Hayatabad Township in Peshawar from Peshawar Development Authority at throwaway price. He was released on bail by the high court.
Perhaps, the social welfare department remained the prime target of Ehtesab commission as several of its serving and former officials were arrested, while warrants were also issued for arresting the then minister for social welfare Sitara Ayaz. Prominent among the arrested persons were: chief child protection officer, Dr Murad Ali; ex-additional secretary Noorullah; former director social welfare Imtiaz Ayub; ex-district social welfare officer Afsar Khan, former administration officer Nisar Mohammad; ex-district social welfare officer Insafur Rehman; and several others. They were arrested on multiple charges of corrupt practices and misuse of authority. Looking at the performance of these two bodies, the accountability drive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is far ahead than the other provinces.
Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1232204/kp-saw-hectic-accountability-drive-in-2015
Progress on new health law continues at snail’s pace
PESHAWAR: The members of Board of Governors at the hospitals where Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act was implemented last year in January, said that their decisions weren’t enforced owing to which progress couldn’t be made on the new law.
“Not only administration failed to implement the decisions of BoG regarding biometric system of attendance and uniforms but the provincial bureaucracy didn’t move fast which hampered our progress,” Prof Shah Jehan Khan, a member of BoG at Khyber Teaching Hospital, told Dawn.
He said that those decisions should have been enforced as it was necessary for hospital staff to be identified among thousands of people, who visited the hospitals every day.
“We have informed the chief minister about this issue in the presence of Imran Khan in a meeting recently. There is no need of BoG if its decisions aren’t taken seriously,” said Prof Shah Jehan.
Members of BoG at hospitals say their decisions are not enforced
The PTI-led provincial government passed Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act in early 2015 to replace the old healthcare system at the four teaching hospitals of the province -- Khyber Teaching hospital (KTH), Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar and Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad -- but no improvement could be brought in the system even after one year.
Each of the hospitals has a 10-member BoG. All the members of these boards are volunteers, who are supposed to run the respective hospitals through medical, hospital, nursing and finance directors, but these posts are still vacant.
Another member of BoG at one of these hospitals said that they needed to create a chain of command with clear mention of job description of the employees and tackle with dozens of vested interest groups in the respective hospitals for which the government should help to enforce their decisions.
“We want a clear policy about the working of the hospital and its employees,” he said. He added that the process of writing annual confidential reports of the employees was outdated and required to be changed.
“We want a mechanism under which the performance of the employees is directly evaluated and do away with British-era system adopted for promotions and appointments etc,” he said. He said that the law couldn’t be implemented due to snail’s pace work and lawsuits against it. He added that they were running against time to put in place the system the soonest.
“We are about to start institution-based practice (IBP) and take other measures once we are done with recruitment of people on key positions,” said Prof Shah Jehan. He added that they had advertised all posts and hopefully within a month they would appoint people on them.
“The board is determined to develop the hospital into a state of the art teaching medical facility as soon as possible provided our decisions are taken seriously,” he said.
Khyber Teaching Hospital has 35 units and 20 major operation theaters to provide health services to the patients.
Prof Shah Jehan said that Accident and Emergency Department of KTH received 657,835 patients and 542,080 visited its OPD, which included 24,117 different operations. The hospital also conducted 73,422 ultrasounds, 15,986 CT scan and 8,541 MRI besides spending Rs400 million on patients’ care in 2015, he added.
“We want the government to implement BoG’s decisions to improve patients’ care to a desired level,” said Prof Shah Jehan.
Dr Faisal Sultan, the chairman of BoG at KTH, told Dawn that a meeting to be held January 16 to take crucial decisions about implementation of the law. He said that once the hospitals recruited people on important positions, the situation would improve.
Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1232202/progress-on-new-health-law-continues-at-snails-pace
Massive tree plantation planned in Hazara division
ABBOTTABAD: Tree plantation would be carried out over an area of 40,000 hectors in the Hazara division during the second phase of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s Billions Trees Afforestation Project (BTAP).
This was stated by forest conservator Javed Arshad, who is taking care of the project through watershed management setup, while talking to Dawn here on Sunday.
He said besides common trees, fruit trees would also be planted on barren land, government and private owned forests in the division.
He said Rs9.8 billion had been allocated for the second phase of the BTAP project to be completed by end of the current year. He said work on 40 sites had been launched in the second phase wherein at least 1,000 nurseries would be utilised for production of plants in Hazara and Malakand divisions.
Mr Arshad said the ‘Green Growth Initiative’ of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was a flag-bearer of clean and green revolution in the province. “It will provide a better quality of life to citizens, create job opportunities for youth and also provide a means for social uplift and poverty eradication from the province.”
Mr Arshad said the billion trees project had multiple effects on socio-economic development of KP. “The forest area will be increased four times with revival of greenery in hilly areas of Hazara division and its impact on environment will be unmatchable. The farmers and agriculturalists will be one of major beneficiaries of the project due to increase of grazing field for their livestock. Youth and females will be involved in the entire process.”
He said a large number of people would be hired as watchmen to take care of newly planted forests and they would be paid remunerations.
The forest conservator said under the scheme, area of forests would be expanded by two per cent through converting 30,000 hectors of additional land into forests annually. Plantation of multi-purpose fast growing tree species on community owned and private lands between the natural forests and farmlands would be ensured, he added.
Mr Arshad planting over 2,000 hectors of land along roads, canals and railway tracks and motorways would also be made.
He said planting of 87.13 million seedlings under farm and agro-forestry were part of the project. Besides, 10 million seedlings will be planted under farm-forestry through 2,000 mass planting events, he added.
Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1232197/massive-tree-plantation-planned-in-hazara-division
Court summons nine including ex-minister in corruption case
PESHAWAR: An accountability court on Monday summoned 10 accused persons, including former provincial minister Nawabzada Mehmood Zeb, in a reference in which they was accused of causing a loss of Rs355.2 million to the exchequer while awarding a lucrative mining contract to a woman schoolteacher.
Judge Mohammad Asim Imam fixed Jan 21 for the next hearing into the case directing the accused to appear in the country on that day.
The reference was filed by National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, last month against the accused including former mines and mineral development minister and PPP leader Nawabzada Mehmood Zeb, former technical education and minerals secretary Shah Wali Khan, former additional secretary of the department and current Bannu commissioner Asmatullah Khan Gandapur, section officer Farhad Ali, deputy director of the department Khan Badshah, geologist at the directorate of mines and minerals Nauroze Khan, senior inspector of mines and mines commissioner Ziarat Khan, then director licensing of minerals department Shakirullah, assistant director (litigation) of mineral department Pervaiz Khan, and Mehmood Zeb’s alleged front man Ehtishamul Mulk.
The accused were arrested by the NAB on July 9, 2015.
Later, the Peshawar High Court dismissed the bail petitions of five of the accused including Mehmood Zeb, Ehteshamul Mulk, Khan Badshah, Shakirullah and Nauroze. It however granted bail to the remaining five accused.
Mehmood Zeb, others suspected of causing Rs355.2m loss to kitty through award of mining contract
In the reference, the NAB alleged that Mehmood Zeb in connivance with the other suspects had misused his authority in illegal allotment of 500 acres of proven deposit of phosphate to a woman schoolteacher, Rukhsana Javed, who illegally excavated phosphate in collaboration with the front man of the minister and jointly caused loss to the national exchequer
The NAB said in an illegal manner, the then minister presided over a meeting on Jan 1, 2009, wherein the award of the prospective mining licence to the woman was decided.
It added that Mehmood Zeb signed minutes of the said meeting two days after the woman made a partnership with his front man on Jan 19, 2009.
The NAB alleged that the licence was given to the woman on the payment of the petty amount of Rs15,000, the licence fee, though the site had proven deposits of phosphate.
Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1232348/court-summons-nine-including-ex-minister-in-corruption-case
Last edited:
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 12 2015
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
[h=1]Hard to breathe: 27 ventilators out of order at LRH
[/h]PESHAWAR: Patients at Lady Reading Hospital are running out of breath as they struggle to survive. Ventilators at LRH in the city have not been functioning and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has yet to take steps to resolve the matter.
An LRH official on condition of anonymity told The Express Tribune 27 out of 35 ventilators in the hospital are out of order.
He said of eight ventilators at the intensive care unit, only one is in working condition. The neurosurgery ICU has eight ventilators of which only four are functioning properly. Only three out of 13 ventilators work at the cardiovascular section. The official added at least six ventilators in the cardiothoracic facility, the only one in the area, are not operating.
He pointed out ventilators were a lifeline for patients in critical condition. When contacted, LRH focal person Jamil Shah confirmed most of the ventilators in the hospital are out of order and admitted the LRH is facing a severe shortage of facilities and equipment.
He said the hospital administration has requested the health department to provide ventilators as soon as possible. Shah said Japan International Cooperation Agency will provide 11 ventilators, while Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas also promised to provide nine. Shah said 20 ventilators were being procured. He told The Express Tribune he was hopeful this undertaking would help overcome the crisis.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1025277/hard-to-breathe-27-ventilators-out-of-order-at-lrh/
[/h]PESHAWAR: Patients at Lady Reading Hospital are running out of breath as they struggle to survive. Ventilators at LRH in the city have not been functioning and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has yet to take steps to resolve the matter.
An LRH official on condition of anonymity told The Express Tribune 27 out of 35 ventilators in the hospital are out of order.
He said of eight ventilators at the intensive care unit, only one is in working condition. The neurosurgery ICU has eight ventilators of which only four are functioning properly. Only three out of 13 ventilators work at the cardiovascular section. The official added at least six ventilators in the cardiothoracic facility, the only one in the area, are not operating.
He pointed out ventilators were a lifeline for patients in critical condition. When contacted, LRH focal person Jamil Shah confirmed most of the ventilators in the hospital are out of order and admitted the LRH is facing a severe shortage of facilities and equipment.
He said the hospital administration has requested the health department to provide ventilators as soon as possible. Shah said Japan International Cooperation Agency will provide 11 ventilators, while Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas also promised to provide nine. Shah said 20 ventilators were being procured. He told The Express Tribune he was hopeful this undertaking would help overcome the crisis.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1025277/hard-to-breathe-27-ventilators-out-of-order-at-lrh/
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 13 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 14 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 15 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 16 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
[h=1]Peshawar to get its first zoo soon
[/h]PESHAWAR: Peshawar will soon get its first zoo as the first phase of construction at a cost of Rs127 million has been approved.
Talking to The Express Tribune on Wednesday wildlife department’s chief conservator, Safdar, said forest department has given them 25 acres of land free of charge and government has allocated funds for the construction.
On all fours: Pet show has Peshawar’s animal lovers purring
He also said the zoo will be constructed in phases and development will commence when funds are made available.
“A zoo serves several purposes including entertainment, education, awareness, research and development and most importantly, breeding of rare native species,” Safdar explained. He added the zoo will be situated on Palosai Road and will be easily accessible to people.
Walls up
“The first PC-1 costing Rs127 million has been approved by the government and the first phase will see the completion of the zoo’s boundary walls,” he said. Safdar stated the foundation laying ceremony will be performed within a week since a summary has already been sent to the chief minister.
Zoo in Peshawar
The large zoo spanning over 25 acres will provide the denizens a place for recreation. Currently, Peshawar Development Authority has provided several hog deer and zebras for Bagh-e-Naran in Hayatabad but it lacks the facilities and infrastructure of a proper zoo.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1027107/animal-crew-first-phase-of-zoo-construction-approved/
[h=1]Three years and counting: Boys in Mashokhel study under the sky; girls have no choice but stay home
[/h]PESHAWAR: It was 2013 when Government Primary School Mashokhel was blown up. As 2016 settles in and brings with it new highs and lows, GPS Mashokhel still awaits reconstruction – along with three other schools in the area.
GPS Mashokhel was one of 750 schools which militants blew up and destroyed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. According to data from the K-P Elementary and Secondary Education department these education centres were destroyed over the past six years.
The area of Mashokhel is located near the border of Khyber Agency. Four local educational institutes were in the list of schools destroyed in violence, including two primary schools for boys, one primary school for girls and one high school. Now the children of Mashokhel are left studying exposed to the elements; hot or cold, they study outdoors.
Locals have few kind words to offer when it comes to the government as the education department has displayed negligible interest in repair work. Families whose children are enrolled at GPS Mashokhel say the area is considered a part of the provincial capital but their attitude says otherwise. All four schools in the area lay in ruins, they say, but no one seems worried that the future of so many children is at stake.
Fazal Rabi, an elder of Mashokhel village, said, “Everyone who lives here wants their children to get an education and have a bright future but the enemies of education stole those rights.” And the fact that the government has not replaced a single brick in three years makes Rabi feel the right to an education has been usurped from the younger generation – the future of Mashokhel.
Rabbi requested the government to reconstruct local schools.
According to Mashokhel elder Rasool Jan, two of the schools in his neighbourhood were bombed. One was for boys and the other for girls. Jan said boys still had a fighting change as they attended classes regularly under the open sky but he was worried about the girls. “Parents do not allow their girls to sit outside in public; their school building can no longer be used.”
Jan echoed Rabi’s requests – that the government reconstruct schools and provide security so militants think twice about targeting it again.
The headmaster of GPS Mashokhel recalls 2013 as the year schools went down. “The same year K-P Elementary and Secondary Education department officials visited the school, took pictures of it.” He added, “In 2014, people from the same department came back – but nothing happened, nothing was reconstructed.”
He wrote five letters to the Peshawar DEO and the education department but he heard nothing positive in reply. “I even suggested they use our school’s Parent Teacher Council funds to rebuild, but that failed to get a reply from the department.”
When contacted, Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Muhammad Atif Khan confirmed 750 schools were blown up by militants across K-P. “So far 705 have been reconstructed; the remaining 45 are scattered across the province, including the schools in Mashokhel.”
According to Muhammad Atif, he planned to check the status of schools in the border area and why reconstruction has not taken place so far.
The education minister stated all destroyed and damaged schools would be reconstructed and repaired. “New schools will be built in those areas where educational facilities are not available.” He added, the government has also allotted Rs10 billion to be used on providing adequate security and other facilities – these funds are being released to PTCs.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 15[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1027650...r-the-sky-girls-have-no-choice-but-stay-home/
[/h]PESHAWAR: Peshawar will soon get its first zoo as the first phase of construction at a cost of Rs127 million has been approved.
Talking to The Express Tribune on Wednesday wildlife department’s chief conservator, Safdar, said forest department has given them 25 acres of land free of charge and government has allocated funds for the construction.
On all fours: Pet show has Peshawar’s animal lovers purring
He also said the zoo will be constructed in phases and development will commence when funds are made available.
“A zoo serves several purposes including entertainment, education, awareness, research and development and most importantly, breeding of rare native species,” Safdar explained. He added the zoo will be situated on Palosai Road and will be easily accessible to people.
Walls up
“The first PC-1 costing Rs127 million has been approved by the government and the first phase will see the completion of the zoo’s boundary walls,” he said. Safdar stated the foundation laying ceremony will be performed within a week since a summary has already been sent to the chief minister.
Zoo in Peshawar
The large zoo spanning over 25 acres will provide the denizens a place for recreation. Currently, Peshawar Development Authority has provided several hog deer and zebras for Bagh-e-Naran in Hayatabad but it lacks the facilities and infrastructure of a proper zoo.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1027107/animal-crew-first-phase-of-zoo-construction-approved/
[h=1]Three years and counting: Boys in Mashokhel study under the sky; girls have no choice but stay home
[/h]PESHAWAR: It was 2013 when Government Primary School Mashokhel was blown up. As 2016 settles in and brings with it new highs and lows, GPS Mashokhel still awaits reconstruction – along with three other schools in the area.
GPS Mashokhel was one of 750 schools which militants blew up and destroyed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. According to data from the K-P Elementary and Secondary Education department these education centres were destroyed over the past six years.
The area of Mashokhel is located near the border of Khyber Agency. Four local educational institutes were in the list of schools destroyed in violence, including two primary schools for boys, one primary school for girls and one high school. Now the children of Mashokhel are left studying exposed to the elements; hot or cold, they study outdoors.
Locals have few kind words to offer when it comes to the government as the education department has displayed negligible interest in repair work. Families whose children are enrolled at GPS Mashokhel say the area is considered a part of the provincial capital but their attitude says otherwise. All four schools in the area lay in ruins, they say, but no one seems worried that the future of so many children is at stake.
Fazal Rabi, an elder of Mashokhel village, said, “Everyone who lives here wants their children to get an education and have a bright future but the enemies of education stole those rights.” And the fact that the government has not replaced a single brick in three years makes Rabi feel the right to an education has been usurped from the younger generation – the future of Mashokhel.
Rabbi requested the government to reconstruct local schools.
According to Mashokhel elder Rasool Jan, two of the schools in his neighbourhood were bombed. One was for boys and the other for girls. Jan said boys still had a fighting change as they attended classes regularly under the open sky but he was worried about the girls. “Parents do not allow their girls to sit outside in public; their school building can no longer be used.”
Jan echoed Rabi’s requests – that the government reconstruct schools and provide security so militants think twice about targeting it again.
The headmaster of GPS Mashokhel recalls 2013 as the year schools went down. “The same year K-P Elementary and Secondary Education department officials visited the school, took pictures of it.” He added, “In 2014, people from the same department came back – but nothing happened, nothing was reconstructed.”
He wrote five letters to the Peshawar DEO and the education department but he heard nothing positive in reply. “I even suggested they use our school’s Parent Teacher Council funds to rebuild, but that failed to get a reply from the department.”
When contacted, Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Muhammad Atif Khan confirmed 750 schools were blown up by militants across K-P. “So far 705 have been reconstructed; the remaining 45 are scattered across the province, including the schools in Mashokhel.”
According to Muhammad Atif, he planned to check the status of schools in the border area and why reconstruction has not taken place so far.
The education minister stated all destroyed and damaged schools would be reconstructed and repaired. “New schools will be built in those areas where educational facilities are not available.” He added, the government has also allotted Rs10 billion to be used on providing adequate security and other facilities – these funds are being released to PTCs.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 15[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1027650...r-the-sky-girls-have-no-choice-but-stay-home/
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Jan 17 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Edit Post
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 19 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
JAN 20 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
21 JAN 2016
Bacha Khan remembered: Khudai Khidmatgar leader enshrined in his spirit rebellion
PESHAWAR: Known for his manifesto highlighting women empowerment and the separation of religion from the state, Bacha Khan or Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan is hailed for his forward stance even today, over two decades after his demise.
Bacha Khan’s political beliefs eventually carved out Khudai Khitmatgar (Servants of God) and his pro-peace views resulted in people in India calling him Gandhi of the Frontier.
“It was in December 1929 when I and Amir Mumtaz Khan, the headmaster of our Azad School, decided to visit Lahore and watch the All India Congress annual rally, though we were not in the party, but were active in the Khilafat Movement,” Bacha Khan says in his autobiography Zama Jund o Jadojehad (My life and struggle), translated excerpts from which are paraphrased in this profile.
“We were impressed by the rally and organised one in Utmanzai, Charsadda upon our return. In my address, I told
participants even Hindu women were united to work for their country and its freedom.”
Bacha Khan’s tale to come alive in English
In Zama Jund o Jadojehad, Bacha Khan recalls that night a few people from his village, after hearing him speak, visited him and discussed with him the possibilities of forming a political party. “For three days, I delayed them,” wrote Bacha Khan, “But on the third day we decided.” Thus came into existence Khudai Khidmatgar, its workers were known as Surkh Posh or Red Shirts due to the colour of their clothes.
Political downfall
While his political alliance with the Congress and friendship with Mahatama Gandhi inspired and refined his political thoughts, it won him great opposition in Pakistan.
As an ally of the Congress, Bacha Khan opposed the creation of Pakistan which set him on a warpath against the All India Muslim League. This did not prove positive for the Surkh Posh leader as even when he eventually accepted the creation of Pakistan, he was viewed with suspicion.
He spent over 25 years behind bars unfortunately his imprisonment did not end with the Raj.
He was arrested in the December of 1921 as a leader of the Khilafat Movement, and was put in Central Prison Peshawar. However, it was his involvement in this very movement which made him famous even before he started his own party around 1929.
Post-Partition years saw the Khudai Khidmatgar’s decline as the government mobilised against it. His own brother Dr Khan Sahab abandoned Bacha Khan and joined the government.
Nonetheless, the local, inward, focus of Bacha Khan’s party lent the Surkh Posh a powerful appeal among people desperate for basic rights and amenities.
Ruffling rulers
Before his arrest in 1921, Bacha Khan and others formed Anjuman-e-Islah-e-Afghan. They established a school in Utmanzai to educate children free of cost.
“There was a shortage of teachers and funds for our school so I taught children myself,” he writes in his autobiography. “We started visiting villages to gather support for our school. This enraged the British rulers.”
He adds Sir Hamilton Grant was the chief commissioner of the then NWFP. “He called my baba [father] and told him his son was creating unrest against the government by establishing schools and visiting villages.”
Bacha Khan writes his father stopped him from carrying on as it displeased the rulers. “I replied to my father, saying many people do not pray to God so should I also stop praying; my father told me prayers are a must so I replied education is also a religious obligation.”
Days of yore
Bacha Khan’s father Behram Khan, was a landlord in Utmanzai and was popularly known as Masher Khan (the elder Khan). Behram did expect his sons would grow up to become prominent political leaders.
Bacha Khan, the great Khudai Khidmatgar leader, died in 1988 and was buried in Jalalabad, Afghanistan as per his request.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1030547/khudai-khidmatgar-leader-enshrined-in-his-spirit-rebellion/
Taliban Kill 20 in Attack at Bacha Khan University in Pakistan
CAIRO — Attacks on education have long been a signature atrocity of the Pakistani Taliban, whose militants have torched schools, banished girls from classrooms and gunned down students at their desks in their quest to impose an extremist ideology on Pakistani society.
Those attacks seemed to reach their nadir in December 2014 when gunmen swarmed through a school in Peshawar, massacring dozens of schoolchildren in an assault that triggered widespread revulsion and prompted a fierce military crackdown on militants.
But on Wednesday, Pakistanis were drawn back into their national nightmare. At least four Taliban attackers stormed a university campus in another northwestern town, gunning down at least 20 people, most of them students and teachers.
After a year in which the Pakistani Taliban had finally seemed to be pushed to the margin, with attacks at their lowest pace in a decade, the new school assault has again renewed worries that the insurgency, even if diminished, has survived and retained its capacity for brutality.
The attack, at the Bacha Khan university in Charsadda, 20 miles from Peshawar, began just before 9 a.m. when the militants, using winter fog as cover, slipped through nearby fields and scaled the rear university wall. Gunfire and explosions rang out across the campus as the attackers, some apparently teenagers themselves, stormed through classrooms and dormitories shouting “Allahu akbar!” as they fired.
Witnesses described scenes of carnage as gunmen sprayed bullets at students, one of whom leapt through a window while others cowered in bathrooms. Many staff members locked themselves in their offices. But one junior chemistry lecturer, who was armed with a pistol, was reported to have returned fire; witnesses said his actions helped several students escape before he, too, was killed.
The assault ended after hours of pitched combat when the security forces cornered the attackers into two university blocks. They were killed before they could explode their suicide vests, officials said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/world/asia/bacha-khan-university-attack-charsadda.html?_r=0
یونیورسٹی پر حملے میں 20 ہلاکتیں، قومی سوگ کا اعلان
پاکستان کے صوبہ خیبر پختونخوا کے شہر چارسدہ میں واقع باچا خان یونیورسٹی پر بدھ کی صبح مسلح شدت پسندوں کے حملے میں 20 افراد ہلاک ہوئے ہیں جبکہ فوج کے آپریشن میں چار دہشت گرد بھی مارے گئے ہیں۔
پاکستان کے وزیراعظم نواز شریف نے ایک روزہ قومی سوگ کا اعلان کیا ہے جبکہ صوبائی حکومت کی جانب سے تین روزہ قومی سوگ کا اعلان کیا گیا ہے۔ اس موقعے پر قومی پرچم سرنگوں رہے گا۔
وزیراعظم نے چارسدہ حملے کے بعد آرمی چیف کو ٹیلی فون کر کے کہا کہ دہشت گردی کے خلاف جنگ کو منطقی انجام تک پہنچایا جائےگا۔ وزیراعظم کا کہنا تھا کہ قوم دہشت گردی کے ساتھ جنگ میں ہمارے ساتھ ہے۔
انھوں نے علاقے کو محفوظ بنانے کے لیے حملے کے بعد فوج کے فوری ردِ عمل کی تعریف کی۔
باچا خان یونیورسٹی پر حملہ تصاویر میں
’اسے چھوڑیں میرا بیان نشر کریں
یونیورسٹی پر حملے کے بعد کے مناظر، تصویروں میں
ادھر بدھ کی شام فوج کے محکمہ تعلقاتِ عامہ، آئی ایس پی آر کی جانب سے جاری بیان میں بتایا گیا کہ کور ہیڈ کواٹر پشاور میں آرمی چیف جنرل راحیل شریف کی زیرِ صدارت سپیشل سکیورٹی کانفرنس ہو رہی ہے جس میں خفیہ اداروں کے حکام بھی موجود ہیں۔
گیا کہ ہے کہ اس کانفرنس میں شرکا کو بریفنگ دی جا رہی ہے۔
بدھ کی صبح شروع ہونے والے حملے کے بعد سے جاری آپریشن کے خاتمے کا اعلان صوبائی گورنر مہتاب خان عباسی نے جائے وقوعہ کے دورے کے بعد کیا۔
اس سے قبل پاکستان کے وزیرِ دفاع خواجہ آصف نے بتایا تھا کہ اس حملے میں 20 افراد ہلاک اور 20 زخمی ہوئے ہیں۔
ہلاک ہونے والوں میں یونیورسٹی کے شعبۂ کیمیا کے ایک پروفیسر اور متعدد طلبہ بھی شامل ہیں۔
لعدم تحریک طالبان پاکستان کے مرکزی ترجمان کی جانب سے یونیورسٹی پر حملے سے لاتعلقی کا اظہار کیا گیا ہے تاہم ایک اور طالبان رہنما خلیفہ عمر منصور نے بی بی سی اردو کو ٹیلیفون کر کے دعویٰ کیا ہے کہ یہ حملہ تحریک طالبان درہ آدم خیل و پشاور نے کیا تھا۔ ان کا کہنا تھا کہ پشاور سکول حملہ فوج جبکہ یہ حملہ ملک کی سیاسی قیادت کو پیغام دینے کی غرض سے کیا گیا۔
گورنر مہتاب خان عباسی نے صحافیوں سے بات کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ یونیورسٹی میں آپریشن مکمل کر لیا گیا ہے اور حملہ آوروں کی شناخت کے لیے فورینسک ٹیسٹ کیا جائے گا تاہم ابتدائی اطلاعات کے مطابق حملہ آور مقامی افراد ہی تھے۔
مہتاب خان عباسی کے مطابق یونیورسٹی کے اندر 54 پولیس اہلکار تعینات تھے اور اس کے علاوہ یونیورسٹی کے سکیورٹی گارڈز بھی موجود تھے اور ان اہلکاروں کی جانب سے بروقت جوابی کارروائی کی وجہ سے دہشت گردوں کو گھیر لیا گیا۔
پاکستانی فوج کے مطابق کارروائی کے دوران چار دہشت گردوں کو ہلاک کیا گیا ہے جبکہ یونیورسٹی کی عمارت پر اب فوج کا کنٹرول ہے۔
چارسدہ کے ڈی آئی جی سعید خان وزیر کے مطابق حملہ آور خودکش جیکٹیں پہنے ہوئے تھے تاہم دو حملہ آوروں کی خودکش جیکٹیں نہیں پھٹی
انھوں نے بتایا ہے کہ حملہ آور دھند کا فائدہ اٹھاتے ہوئے صبح نو بجے کے قریب یونیورسٹی کے عقبی حصے سے احاطے میں داخل ہوئے تھے۔
پی ٹی وی کے مطابق حملے کے نتیجے میں اساتذہ اور طلبا کی بڑی تعداد یونیورسٹی کی عمارت میں محصور ہوگئی تھی۔
ایک عینی شاہد طالبعلم نے بی بی سی اردو کے عزیز اللہ خان کو بتایا کہ حملہ آور یونیورسٹی کے عقب میں واقع گیسٹ ہاؤس کی جانب سے داخل ہوئے اور فائرنگ شروع کر دی۔
ان کا کہنا تھا کہ ہاسٹل کی جانب فائرنگ کے بعد طلبا اور اساتذہ کو یونیورسٹی کے ایک دیگر دروازے سے باہر نکالا گیا ہے۔
وزیراعظم پاکستان محمد نواز شریف نے حملے میں ہونے والے جانی نقصان پر گہرے رنج کا اظہار کیا ہے۔ اپنے پیغام میں وزیراعظم کا کہنا تھا کہ دہشت گردی کا جڑ سے خاتمہ کر دیا جائے اور ملک کے لیے جان دینے والوں کی قربانی رائیگاں نہیں جائے گی۔
باچا خان یونیورسٹی چارسدہ شہر کے مضافات میں واقع ہے۔ جس وقت یونیورسٹی پر حملہ ہوا تو وہاں باچا خان کی برسی کے موقع پر ایک مشاعرہ بھی منعقد ہو رہا تھا جس میں سینکڑوں افراد شریک تھے۔
خیال رہے کہ خیبر پختونخوا میں چند ہفتے قبل ہی سکیورٹی اداروں کی جانب سے تعلیمی اور سرکاری اداروں اور دفاتر پر حملے کے خطرے کے بارے میں الرٹ جاری کیا گیا تھا۔اس الرٹ کے بعد گذشتہ سنیچر کو صوبائی دارالحکومت پشاور میں پہلے چھاؤنی اور پھر شہر بھر میں درجنوں سکول بھی بند کروائےگئے تھے۔
خیال رہے کہ پشاور میں ہی دسمبر 2014 میں آرمی پبلک سکول پر طالبان کے حملے کے نتیجے میں طلبا اور عملے کے ارکان سمیت 140 سے زیادہ افراد ہلاک ہوئے تھے۔
Last edited:
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
22 JAN 2016
