AHD News Network | Current ! Breaking News | National ! World Updates: August 2014

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Govt has crossed limits of tyranny: Tahirul Qadri

Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri. — File photo

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on Saturday announced that his party and supporters would be observing Youm-i-Shuhada on August 10 and would be holding sit-ins across the country.

Speaking to media representatives in Lahore, Qadri said the rulers were willing to harm the country to any degree in order to safeguard their own government.

Qadri claimed that seven of his supporters had been killed in "straight firing" from the police. However, his claims could not be confirmed.

He said the government had crossed the limits of tyranny and the people were on the receiving end.

Qadri said the government was so cruel that it was not letting PAT workers carry those wounded in clashes with law enforcement personnel to hospitals for treatment.

The PAT chief said the government had closed the borders linking Punjab to Sindh and Balochistan and was taking all measures at its disposal against his party.

Qadri advised his supporters travelling from different towns and villages to stay put and hold sit-ins and demonstrations at their current venues instead of marching towards Lahore and endangering their security.

He also accused the government of cutting of "food and water supplies from Model Town", which he claimed was being done to "starve the workers" of his party.

Earlier today, At least one PAT worker died in Punjab's Multan district after succumbing to his injuries sustained during a clash in Bhakkar with members of law enforcement agencies.

Two companies of Rangers arrive in Lahore

Two companies of Rangers have been stationed in Lahore to maintain law and order in the city and its outer areas in the backdrop of PAT's Youm-i-Shuhada.

The Rangers have been mandated to assist the police and district administration in maintaining law and order.

The paramilitary force was sent to the district following a request from the administration — one company has been designated security duties for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Jati Umra residence and the second is currently stationed at Qadhafi stadium and is on standby.

The remaining two companies slated to be posted in the district will be brought in any time.

The government had initially recommended that 10 companies be posted in Lahore. However, eventually the administration and the Rangers authorities had agreed that four companies would be brought in.

PAT worker injured in Bhakkar clash dies

At least one PAT worker died in Punjab's Multan district after succumbing to his injuries sustained during a clash in Bhakkar with members of law enforcement agencies.

The PAT worker was injured in Bhakkar and was shifted to Multan's Nishtar Hospital where he died.

A number of policemen were reportedly injured in clashes with Awami Tehrik workers across Punjab.

55 policemen injured in Gujranwala clash

At least 55 policemen were injured in clashes with PAT workers in Gujranwala and were being provided medical treatment in the district headquarters hospital.

Eight out of the 55 injured were in a critical condition.

The injured policemen include high-ranking police officials.

After the clash, the Awami Tehrik workers set off for Lahore for the August 10 Youm-i-Shuhada. The workers also left a trail of vehicles set ablaze.

A PAT official also claimed that at least one female worker died and 16 other party members were injured due to firing.

The clashes started when workers faced obstacles on their way on Qila Chand Bypass, Toll plaza, Aimenabad turn and Sadhuki where police personnel had placed containers to block the way.

During the movement, a clash erupted between policemen and PAT workers with policemen firing tear gas shells and baton-charging Qadri’s supporters.

Protestors broke windows and damaged vehicles of police and set motorcycles on fire.

Three policemen briefly taken hostage by PAT workers in Lahore

Three policemen were briefly taken hostage by PAT workers in Lahore on Saturday.

At the time, the Awami Tehrik workers had said that they will take more policemen hostage if “provoked” and demanded the release of their arrested colleagues in exchange for the policemen. .

The personnel who were in custody of PAT members said they were going to their duty points when Awami Tehrik workers ambushed them, snatching away their arms as well as other possessions.

The policemen were released in a couple of hours.

15 policemen taken hostage in Jhelum

Moreover, in Jhelum's Pind Dadan Khan town, PAT workers were holding 15 police personnel hostage following a clash.

The policemen were taken hostage after the workers thwarted the barriers fixed to restrict their movement in the area.

Somali Shebab say 18 dead in attack on government troops

African Union peacekeepers and the Somali army have begun a major offensive against al Shabaab militants -Photo by Reuters

MOGADISHU: Somalia's hardline Islamists reported heavy fighting Saturday in battles against government and African Union troops in the central Hiran region.

Shebab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab told AFP at least 18 were killed and several others wounded after the group's fighters attacked a base of the AU force in Buloburde town, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu.

The casualties could not be immediately confirmed, but the Al-Qaeda-linked extremists said the dead included five of their own men.“Nine soldiers with the African Union, four of their Somali counterparts, and five mujahedeen from our Shebab were killed in the fight,” Musab said.

Fighting begin around midnight Friday, lasting for about four hours into Saturday morning, he said. “Our fighters went into the camp, that is where the killing took place, “Musab added. Troops from the 22,000-strong AU force captured Buloburde from the Shebab earlier in the year, but the Islamists control large parts of the rural area surrounding the town.

The Shebab continue to launch attacks in the heart of the capital Mogadishu -- including recent brazen commando raids on the presidential palace and parliament -- in a bid to topple the internationally-backed government.

The latest fighting comes amid growing warnings of a humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country, three years after more than 250,000 people, half of them children, died in a devastating famine.

The United Nations has warned Somalia is sliding back into an acute hunger crisis, with over 350,000 people in Mogadishu in need of food aid, with parts of the city facing emergency levels just short of famine.

The hardline Shebab, which once controlled most of southern and central Somalia, has been driven out of positions in Mogadishu and Somalia's major towns by the AU force.

The UN-mandated force is widely expected to launch a fresh push in coming weeks to seize the last few major settlements still in Shebab hands in southern Somalia, especially the port of Barawe.

Also on Saturday, Somalia's government said that a journalist accused of killing colleagues and working for the Shebab has been arrested in Kenya, and would be extradited to Mogadishu.

A series of journalists have been killed in recent years in Somalia, one of the most dangerous countries in the world to work as a reporter.

US drops new aid to Iraqis fleeing militant surge

US Airmen with the 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron palletize halal meals for a humanitarian airdrop in Iraq, Thursday Aug. 7, 2014- Photo by AP

BAGHDAD: The US launched a new airdrop Saturday to aid thousands of members of an Iraqi minority group who fled the advance of the Islamic State group, trying to stem a worsening humanitarian crisis in a country reeling from the extremist offensive.

The extremists have captured hundreds of women from the Yazidi religious minority, according to an Iraqi official, while thousands of other civilians fled in fear. Many of America's allies backed the US intervention, pledging urgent steps to assist the legions of refugees and displaced people.

Those in jeopardy included thousands of members of the Yazidi whose plight _ trapped on a mountaintop by the militants _ prompted the US to airdrop crates of food and water to them.

Yazidis belong to ancient religion seen by the Islamic State group as heretical. The group also sees Shiite Muslims as apostates, and has demanded Christians either convert to Islam or pay a special tax.

American planes conducted a second airdrop of food and water early Saturday for those trapped in the Sinjar mountains, said Pentagon chief spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby. Escorted by two Navy fighter jets, three planes dropped 72 bundles of supplies for the refugees, including more than 28,000 meals and more than 1,500 gallons of water, said Kirby, who spoke from New Delhi during a trip with US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

The extremists' “campaign of terror against the innocent, including the Yazidi and Christian minorities, and its grotesque and targeted acts of violence bear all the warning signs and hallmarks of genocide,” said US Secretary of State John Kerry. “For anyone who needed a wake-up call, this is it. “

Underscoring the sense of alarm, a spokesman for Iraq's human rights ministry said hundreds of Yazidi women had been seized by the militants. Amin, citing reports from the victims' families, said some of the women were being held in schools in Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul.

“We think that the terrorists by now consider them slaves and they have vicious plans for them,” Amin told The Associated Press. “We think that these women are going to be used in demeaning ways by those terrorists to satisfy their animalistic urges in a way that contradicts all the human and Islamic values. “

For the US military, which withdrew its forces from Iraq in late 2011 after more than eight years of war, the re-engagement began when two F/A-18 jets dropped 500-pound bombs on a piece of artillery and the truck towing it. The Pentagon said the militants were using the artillery to shell Kurdish forces defending Irbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, and home to a US consulate and about three dozen US military trainers. Later Friday, the US launched a second round of airstrikes near Irbil, US officials said. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the strikes publicly, said unmanned aircraft hit a mortar and four Navy F/A-18 fighter jets destroyed a seven-vehicle convoy.

Expanding from their stronghold of Mosul, the militants have captured a string of towns and Iraq's largest hydroelectric dam and reservoir in recent weeks. Ethnic and religious minorities, fearing persecution and slaughter, have fled as their towns fell. According to the U.N., more than 500,000 people have been displaced by the violence in Iraq since June, bringing the total this year to well over 1 million.

In contrast to Washington's decision to invade Iraq more than a decade ago, both the airdrop and the authorization of military action against the Islamic State group were widely welcomed by Iraqi and Kurdish officials fearful of the militants' advance. “We thank Barack Obama,” said Khalid Jamal Alber, from the Religious Affairs Ministry in the Kurdish government.

In his announcement Thursday night, Obama had identified protecting the Yazidis and defending Americans as the two objectives for the airstrikes. But on Friday, his spokesman, Josh Earnest, said the US was also prepared to use military force to assist Iraqi forces and the Kurds' peshmerga militia.

The Islamic State group captured Mosul in June, and then launched a blitz toward the south, sweeping over Sunni-majority towns almost to the capital, Baghdad. It already holds large parts of western Iraq, as well as swaths of neighboring Syria. Iraqi government forces crumbled in the face of the assault but have since been able to prevent the militants from advancing into Shiite-majority areas. In the north, the Kurds have been the main line of defense against the radicals, but their fighters are stretched over a long front trying to fend them off.

Hagel, traveling in India, said if Islamic militants threaten US interests in Iraq or the thousands of refugees in the mountains, the US military has enough intelligence to clearly single out the attackers and launch effective airstrikes.

At the White House, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes met with members of the Iraqi Yazidi community and “noted that the United States will act, carefully and responsibly, to prevent a potential act of genocide,” said Deputy NSC spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan. Rhodes “emphasized that the United States will continue to pursue a strategy that empowers Iraqis to confront this crisis, including by providing urgent assistance to Iraqi government and Kurdish forces,” Meehan said.

The International Rescue Committee said it was providing emergency medical care for up to 4,000 dehydrated Yazidis, mostly women and children, who survived without food or water for up to six days hiding in the Sinjar mountains before fleeing to a refugee camp in Syria, where a civil war is raging.

Officials in Britain, Germany and elsewhere pledged financial aid to support humanitarian efforts in Iraq, and several top European officials supported Obama's decision to intervene with airstrikes.

Israelis, Gaza militants fight on, defying truce efforts

Smoke rises after an Israeli missile strike hit Gaza City, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014. — Photo by AP

GAZA: Israel launched more than 20 aerial attacks in Gaza early on Saturday and militants fired several rockets at Israel in a second day of violence since a failure to extend an Egyptian-mediated truce that halted a monthlong war earlier this week.

The Israeli military said that since midnight it had attacked more than 20 sites in the coastal enclave where Hamas are dominant, without specifying the targets.

Palestinian witnesses and officials said the air strikes lasted through the night, that two mosques were destroyed and three houses were bombed, and that fighter planes had also strafed open areas.

Gaza militants fired four rockets at towns in Israel's south on Saturday setting off alarm sirens and causing no damage or injuries, a military spokeswoman said.

Violence also picked up in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian territory where President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement holds sway, where a Palestinian man, 43, died of a gunshot wound to the chest from a confrontation with Israeli soldiers in the city of Hebron, medical officials said.

Israeli troops shot and killed another Palestinian man, 20, on Friday at a protest near a Jewish settlement outside Ramallah, Israeli military officials said.

Egypt has made no visible progress toward resuming a 72-hour ceasefire that halted the fighting between Israel and Gaza militants that began on July 8, but was expected to pursue these efforts again on Saturday.

The ceasefire expired on Friday with the sides still far apart on the terms for renewing the deal and each side blaming the other for refusing to extend it.

Israel accused Hamas of firing several rockets about four hours before the deal expired at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT). In all, Gaza militant fired 57 rockets at Israel throughout Friday.

Israel also launched air strikes in Gaza on Friday, killing five Palestinians, among them a 10-year-old boy near a mosque in Gaza City. A militant and three other Palestinians were killed in the southern Gaza Strip.

Police said two people in Israel were injured by mortar fire from Gaza on Friday.

Ramping up the pressure

By resuming attacks against Israel, Gaza militants appeared to be trying to ramp up pressure and making it clear they were ready to fight on to fulfil a goal of ending a blockade of the territory that both Israel and neighbouring Egypt have imposed.

Heavy civilian casualties and destruction during Israel's campaign against militants in packed residential areas of the Gaza Strip have raised international alarm over the past month, but efforts to prolong a ceasefire at talks in Cairo failed.

Gaza officials say the war has killed 1,880 Palestinians, most of them civilians. Hamas said on Thursday it had executed an unspecified number of Palestinians as Israeli spies.

Israel says 64 of its soldiers and three civilians have died in the fighting that began on July 8, after a surge in Palestinian rocket salvoes into Israel.

It expanded its air and naval bombardment of the Gaza Strip into a ground offensive on July 17, and pulled its infantry and armour out of the enclave on Tuesday after saying it had destroyed more than 30 infiltration tunnels dug by militants.

The White House urged Israel and the Palestinians to do what they could to preserve civilians after having failed to extend their ceasefire. Spokesman John Earnest said on Friday “the United States is very concerned” about the renewed violence.

“We condemn the renewed rocket fire and we are concerned about the safety and security of civilians on both sides of the conflict,” Earnest said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a similar statement urging the parties “not to resort to further military action that can only exacerbate the already appalling humanitarian situation in Gaza.” Israel had earlier said it was ready to agree to an extension as Egyptian go-betweens pursued negotiations with Israeli and Palestinian delegates.

Hamas did not agree. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Israel had rejected most of the group's demands. He said the Palestinians had wanted Israel to agree in principle to lift a Gaza blockade, release prisoners and permit the opening of a sea port, but these had been rebuffed.

“However, we did not close the door and will continue with the negotiations,” Abu Zuhri said. Israel has shown little interest in easing its naval blockade of Gaza and controls on overland traffic and airspace, suspecting Hamas could restock with weapons from abroad.

Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet said the issue of a sea port should be part of wider peace negotiations with the Palestinians and that Hamas should not at this time be rewarded for “using force against Israeli citizens.” In Cairo, the foreign ministry called on both sides “to return immediately to the ceasefire and exploit the opportunity available to resume negotiations on the very limited sticking points that remain in the fastest possible time”.

Azadi march madness: 5 days to go

PTI leader Shireen Mazari. — File photo

With the date for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Azadi march drawing near, each day is bringing with it a new set of moves on the political chessboard.

But the questions are becoming more pressing with each controversial move and with every passing day.

Will the government be able to manage the crisis? Is imposing Section 144 in the capital the best possible approach? Will the art of the possible finally yield some results?

Below is a round-up of the day’s political happenings and statements which will be updated in the build-up to August 14.

Govt has crossed limits of tyranny: Qadri

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on Saturday announced that his party and supporters would be observing Youm-i-Shuhada on August 10 and would be holding sit-ins across the country.

Speaking to media representatives in Lahore, Qadri said the rulers were willing to harm the country to any degree in order to safeguard their own government.

He said the government had crossed the limits of tyranny and the people were on the receiving end.

Qadri said the government was so cruel that it was not letting PAT workers carry those wounded in clashes with law enforcement personnel to hospitals for treatment.

The PAT chief said the government had closed the borders linking Punjab to Sindh and Balochistan and was taking all measures at its disposal against his party.

'Qadri is destroying peace'

Punjab Law Minister Rana Mashood on Saturday said that the government made every effort to speak to Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri but that he was determined to destroy the peace in the country.

“Qadri is inciting violence. He is asking workers to bring wooden sticks with nails fixed at the end — does this happen in any country? The closest comparison to this is the situation in Syria and Libya,” said Mashood, adding that calls for revolution in these volatile countries resulted in civil war and chaos.

He was speaking at a press conference in Lahore, amidst of the current political crises in the country where Qadri and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) have locked horns ahead of Imran Khan’s ‘Azadi’ march.

55 policemen injured in Gujranwala clash

At least 55 policemen were injured in clashes with PAT workers in Gujranwala and were being provided medical treatment in the district headquarters hospital.Eight out of the 55 injured were in a critical condition. The injured policemen include high-ranking police officials.

After the clash, the Awami Tehrik workers set off for Lahore for the August 10 Youm-i-Shuhada. The workers also left a trail of vehicles set ablaze.

PTI denies Imran agreed to call off march for recount on 10 seats

PTI’s Shireen Mazari has denied that the party had agreed to call off the long march in exchange for vote recount on 10 seats.

She added that the party’s demands would be announced by Imran on August 14.

Imran said long march to be called off if recount done on 10 seats: PM

Addressing the country's civilian and military leadership on Saturday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that after meeting with Imran Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq had approached him and had also conveyed PTI’s concerns.Nawaz said that Siraj had told him of Imran agreeing to call off the march if recounting was carried out on 10 seats.

The premier said he was open to discussion on the subject, adding that Imran was welcome for negotiations.

PAT worker injured in Bhakkar clash dies

At least one worker of the Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) died in Punjab's Multan district after succumbing to his injuries sustained during a clash in Bhakkar with members of law enforcement agencies.

The PAT worker was injured in Bhakkar and was shifted to Multan's Nishtar Hospital where he died.

US jets strike militants in Iraq

Peshmerga fighters stand guard as smoke rises after airstrikes targeting Islamic State militants near the Khazer checkpoint outside of the city of Arbil in northern Iraq, Friday, Aug. 8, 2014. — Photo by AP

ARBIL: US warplanes bombed militant positions in northern Iraq on Friday, in what the federal and Kurdish governments vowed would allow them to start clawing back areas lost in two months of conflict.

President Barack Obama's order for the first air strikes on Iraq since he put an end to US occupation in 2011 came after Islamic State (IS) militants made massive gains on the ground, seizing a dam and forcing a mass exodus of religious minorities.

The Pentagon said US forces bombed an artillery position after fire against Kurdish regional government forces defending their capital Arbil.

In a second wave hours later, a drone destroyed a mortar position and jets hit a seven-vehicle IS convoy with eight laser-guided bombs.

The US operation began with air drops of food and water for thousands of people hiding from the Sunni extremist militants in a barren northern mountain range.

Many people who have been cowering in the Sinjar mountains for five days in searing heat and with no supplies are Yazidis, a minority that follows a 4,000-year-old faith.

Late Friday the Pentagon said that cargo planes escorted by combat jets made a second air drop of food and water to “thousands of Iraqi citizens “threatened by the militants “on Mount Sinjar, Iraq. “Obama accused the IS, of attempting “the systematic destruction of the entire people, which would constitute genocide”.

The UN said it was “urgently preparing a humanitarian corridor”.

Panic had begun to grip Arbil after IS thrust into the Nineveh plains separating it from the ilitant-held city of Mosul and Obama's decision was welcomed there.

“We were very nervous these past few days. Daash (Islamic State) is powerful and well-equipped,” said Karwan Ahmed, 27, a taxi driver. “This is good news.

Coordinated fightback

The Kurdish peshmerga, short of ammunition and stretched thin along a huge front, have been forced to retreat in the face of brazen assaults by the militants.

Their withdrawal from the Christian heartland on Wednesday and Thursday sparked a mass exodus — 100,000 people according to Iraq's Chaldean patriarch — and spurred Western powers into action.

Obama suggested the strikes would be “limited” in scope. But he “has not laid a specific end date,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters, while insisting a “prolonged military conflict that includes US involvement is not on the table. “Iraq's military chief of staff told AFP he expected to see his forces and the peshmerga reclaim large tracts of land “in the coming hours”.

He said he thought the US air strikes would extend to other towns controlled by IS, but he did not say which ones.

The jihadists control towns west, south and north of Baghdad.

The Kurdish presidency's chief of staff, Fuad Hussein, said at a news conference in Arbil late Friday that 150 peshmerga had been killed in two months of fighting a long a front stretching more than 1,000 kilometres.

He said the US strikes would allow routed Kurdish forces to retake the initiative and carry out a three-phase plan: regroup, redeploy in lost areas and assist the return of displaced populations.

Obama's announcement came after an emergency UN Security Council meeting called by France, which also offered to support the emergency effort.

Emotional test for police recruits

KP police department has decided to evaluate the EI of the successful candidates before final enlistment. — File photo

PESHAWAR: Upon completion of physical endurance and written test for recruitment to the post of constables, carried out through National Testing Service, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police department has decided to evaluate the emotional intelligence of the successful candidates before final enlistment.

The emotional intelligence test has been introduced as a substitute for the interview to eliminate the element of discretion and nepotism.

The test will be conducted by a panel comprising specialised psychologists, concerned regional police officer and concerned district police officer.

A workshop in this regard was held at the Central Police Office here on Friday wherein DIG training, DIG headquarters and AIG establishment informed the participants about the expected level of emotional intelligence that KP police expected to have in its recruits. Around 12 specialised psychologists participated in the workshop.

After the workshop, the participants also held a meeting with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Nasir Khan Durrani who briefed them about his expectations from them, according to a statement.

Governor briefed on Zarb-i-Azb progress

about 11 hours ago

KP Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan.— File photo

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan on Friday hoped that smooth and congenial atmosphere would soon prevail in North Waziristan and internally displaced persons would be able to return to their homes with honour and dignity.

He stated this during a visit to Miramshah where army commanders briefed him about the ongoing operation Zarb-i-Azb.

Operation Commander Maj-Gen Zafarullah Khan informed the governor about advancements, successes and future targets of the operation, which was launched against militants on June 18, according to a handout.

“Security of the country and peace and development of the nation and ensuring better future for the coming generations are the cherished objectives of all of us and we will spare no efforts to materialise them,” said Sardar Mahtab.

He said the nation saluted mothers of soldiers and officers whose sons were facing difficult circumstances with courage and offering sacrifices for making security of the country impregnable.

The governor said that there would be no dearth of resources as far as taking care of the IDPs and their rehabilitation in their respective areas was concerned.

Later, talking to army soldiers during his visit to Miramshah Bazaar, the governor said that their spirit of courage and sacrifice deserved a tribute.

Regional language programme at govt schools comes to a halt

The regional languages were made compulsory under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Regional Languages Authority Act, 2011. — Photo by AFP

PESHAWAR: The programme under which regional languages were introduced as a compulsory subject in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa schools at nursery level during the last academic year has come to a halt.

The reason is that textbooks for next grades have yet to be printed.

The relevant officials told Dawn on Friday that the printing of textbooks of the regional languages for one and next grades hadn’t begun due to the disinterest of the provincial government.

They said regional languages were introduced in all government schools but private schools didn’t do so in violation of the government’s decision.

According to the officials of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board, the primers of four regional languages, including Hindko, Kohar (Chitrali), Saraiki and Kohistani, were published last year, while the textbooks of Pashto are available.

They said on the demand of the district education offices, the primers of regional languages were dispatched for nursery students during the previous academic year except Kohistani as the respective office didn’t made any demand.

Textbooks for grades next to nursery not printed

The officials said the students promoted to grade 1 had no textbooks of regional language though the new academic year began in April.

They insisted the Directorate of Curricula and Teacher Education (DCTE) was to blame as it didn’t publish the curricula of regional languages.

According to the officials, it’s the responsibility of the directorate to prepare and approve the curricula.

The textbook board develops books on the regional languages after its curricula is approved by the chief minister.

The officials said the DCTE was ready to print the curricula for grade 1 to grade 12 and even the payment was made to the government’s printing press but the process was stopped at the ‘intervention’ of some key Regional language programme at schools comes to a halt men at the helms of the affairs.

When contacted, DCTE director Bashir Hussain Shah said the curricula was ready and would be published soon.

He said the directorate had a special fund for the printing of the curricula and that there was no problem with it.

The last ANP-led government had introduced five regional languages in 2012 as a compulsory subject in all educational institutions up to intermediate level, according to a notification available with Dawn.

Pashto, Hindko, Seraiki, Kohar and Kohistani have been declared regional languages, showed the notification.

The regional languages were made compulsory under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Regional Languages Authority Act, 2011. Any regional language has to be taught in the area where it is spoken by the local residents.

The officials said the teaching of regional languages was made compulsory in educational institutions for their promotion and preservation.

They said according to the implementation plan formulated by the education department at that time, the regional languages had to be introduced gradually in the respective areas.

Tsunami cannot march on an empty stomach!

about 11 hours ago

A well-known restaurant, specialising in Chicken Pulao, has been asked to provide a mobile canteen for deployment at the site of the sit-in. — File photo

RAWALPINDI: In keeping with Napoleonic wisdom, it seems the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has taken the adage “an army marches on its stomach” to heart.

Having learned from past experiences, party workers are said to have finalised catering arrangements for the party’s Azadi March, which is expected to roll into the capital on Independence Day.

The PTI plans to provide party supporters and activists – who come all the way to Islamabad for the long march – with subsidised food in anticipation of an extended sit-in in the capital, PTI Punjab North President Sadaqat Ali Abbasi told Dawn.

The party’s local chapter, sources say, has been in touch with a number of known food outlets in the twin cities in this regard and they have been asked to set up food stalls near Parliament House.

Caterers told to prepare food for 5,000 people; party leaders say nearly 100,000 expected to join Azadi March from twin cities alone

A well-known restaurant, specialising in Chicken Pulao, has been asked to provide a mobile canteen for deployment at the site of the sit-in.

The outlet has several branches across the twin cities and has been picked for its cost-effectiveness.

Participants can purchase a food packet – which will include fried rice, chicken pieces and shami kebabs – from the canteen at the reduced cost of Rs70 or Rs80, while the difference of Rs50 will be borne by the party itself, a senior PTI leader told Dawn.

He said that the party had reached an agreement with three food outlets but said the hoteliers feared government reprisals if they went ahead with this plan.

“To assuage them, the party decided to transport the food on PTI-hired vehicles, with representatives from each outlet being on hand to collect money from those who would be buying the food,” he said.

The caterers have been asked to ensure that there was no shortage of food for rally participants, adding that initially, 5,000 food packets would be prepared while additional orders would be placed once the extent of the turnout at the venue could be established.

He said that some local leaders had been assigned the task of arranging food for participants in case of an emergency.

The PTI leader said that some PTI leaders were worried about the number of people who would gather in the capital, but the party had asked them to engage the caterers to ensure immediate food supply at the venue.

Abbasi said that the party had formed teams to make arrangements for the participants and each party official would arrange the food packets for 30 people.

To a query about the expected number of participants, he said that more than 100,000 people would join the sit-in from the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad alone.

He said that the food arrangements had been made only with outsiders in mind and did not take Rawalpindi and Islamabad residents into account.

Abbasi said he had been in Khushab on Friday for a local workers’ convention in the district.

“The local administration sealed all the roads going to the venue,” he said.

The party has finalised its arrangements for August 14 and formed teams of workers who will be responsible for bringing people to the venue on Independence Day, he said.

Police crackdown continues in Punjab

File photo

RAWALPINDI: The police have rounded up over 177 PAT activists in the last two days under the 16 Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance.

Seven Pakistan Awami Tehreek workers were also arrested from Taxila and Wah Cantonment.

In Taxila, those arrested were identified as Hameed Gul and Wahid Khan. Four activists were arrested from Wah Saddar and their names are Habib Khan, Mengal Khan, Ismail Khan and Niaz Mohammad. One activist, Sadaqat Khan, was picked up from Wah Cantt. However, the police failed to trace the main local leader of PAT.

Police sources said more arrests were expected within the next 24 hours.

Despite strict checking of vehicles and passengers at exit points of Rawalpindi city, a large number of PAT workers managed to leave the city and reach Lahore to attend a gathering of the party there. The police rounded up 95 PAT workers in Rawalpindi, 23 in Jhelum, 39 in Attock and 20 in Chakwal.

Since the police started impounding containers, transporters have kept their wagons and pickup vans off the roads.

Without disclosing his location, Ghulam Ali Khan, the media coordinator of PAT, told Dawn on phone that the police had stepped up its crackdown against his party workers.

He said police raids were carried out at his Bangash Colony residence but he escaped.

The police have also started surveillance of over 30 seminaries of Minhajul Quran.

Twin cities witness fuel frenzy

ISLAMABAD: The first signs of a showdown between the police and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) in Lahore, combined with the rumours related to strict security measures ahead of Independence Day, triggered ‘panic buying’ of petrol in the twin cities on Friday evening.

On Thursday, the deputy commissioner office also extended the imposition of Section 144 for another two months. This directive was previously given in anticipation of Dr Tahirul Qadri arrival in Rawalpindi in June.

Within moments, social networks were abuzz with information and gossip that the authorities had decided to cut the fuel supply for the federal capital from Saturday.

“The long queues started to appear at fuel stations in Islamabad late in the afternoon on Friday. By evening, these serpent-like lines had even blocked the roads,” said Abid Hayat, a senior Petroleum Dealers Association of Pakistan member.

Some petrol stations run dry as people queue up to fill up their vehicles amid rumours of fuel shortage

Petroleum dealers attribute the frenzy purchase as ‘panic buying’; some of the pumps even went dry as they were not prepared for the sudden jack in petrol demand.

There are around 100 petrol pumps in the twin cities and the buying rush that started in the federal capital soon engulfed the garrison city too.

At the same time, customers had their own set of woes. Some were upset for getting only a limited amount of fuel as some pumps had imposed a sale quota – five litres per motorcycle and 10 litres per vehicle – to accommodate all customers in the queue.

Some of the buyers even remained in the line for up to three hours – something which is usually seen only at CNG filling stations.

Many motorists were eager to get petrol because they failed to get CNG too, and that was because the gas supply to stations was disconnected after midnight by the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines.

Many pumps not only witnessed separate queues for cars and motorcycles, but a special line had to be established for pedestrians who wanted to buy petrol in cans and bottles.

The situation became serious for the pump owners too as fear of running out of petrol became more serious amid limited supply from oil companies.

“We wanted to have two tankers, but the oil company supplied only one,” said Raja Wasim, a petrol pump owner in Sitara Market Islamabad. “The usual sale is between 5,000 and 10,000 litres daily, but it went to almost 20,000 litres on Friday.”

The oil companies are under stress too as there are fears that even the Sihala oil depot could empty out by late Friday night.

“Petrol sale has jacked by almost 40 per cent in the first seven days of August this year, compared to August last year,” said an official of Pakistan State Oil (PSO).

“But the surge in demand is coming from Punjab, which shows that it is an impact of political rattling.”

An official of Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) said initial figures of collective petrol sales by all oil marketing companies (OMCs) from Machike depots increased to 1.7 million litres by late Friday night, compared to the average normal sale of 900,000 litres daily.

“The increase in sale is even more than what was witnessed during the Eid days,” the official added.

UHS awaits Rs25m grant for conducting entrance test

The UHS VC said the centres would be established in 13 major cities of the province and declared Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, and Faisalabad. — File photo

LAHORE: A coordination committee on the arrangements of medical colleges entrance test 2014-15 being conducted by the University of Health Sciences (UHS) has raised the issue of non-release of Rs25 million advance matching grant for holding the test.

The committee also shared that this year around 9,000 more candidates are appearing in the entrance test scheduled for August 31 compared to the last year that would cause additional financial burden on the UHS management.

Headed by Punjab additional chief secretary, the meeting, however, gave a final shape to all the other arrangements for entrance test with the hope that the funds would be released without any further delay.

Health Secretary Dr Ijaz Munir, vice chancellor of UHS, and other senior officials concerned were also present in the meeting.

According to the meeting minutes, the UHS is expecting 50,000 candidates to appear in the entrance test 2014 compared to the last year’s 41,677.

70pc of candidates to be girls in this year’s test

It further stated that of the total candidates, 70pc will be females that showed that the trend of girls’ joining the medical profession continued without any break.

The committee shared that the government was yet to release advance matching grant worth Rs25m to the UHS to meet the expenses.

The participants were apprised that the UHS had proposed an increase last year in the entrance test fee from Rs5,00 to Rs1,000 to meet the expenses.

However, the competent authority had rejected the proposal on the ground that no extra burden would be put on the candidates. Consequently, Rs25 million was proposed to meet the expenses but the UHS had not received a single penny.

The health secretary informed the meeting that a note had been moved to the finance department in the light of the policy approved by the Punjab government for the release of the grant.

He further said that as the said grant was not a part of the government’s new policy on entrance test, a fresh summary would be initiated for allocation of Rs25m for the conduct of entrance test.

The house also recommended increase in the number of women police at the centres established all over the province for holding the entrance test according to the number of female candidates appearing in the exam.

“As per the policy, it was decided that the secretaries of 16 provincial departments, all the divisional commissioners, district coordination officers will monitor the arrangements,” the meeting minutes said.

The UHS VC said the centres would be established in 13 major cities of the province and declared Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, and Faisalabad challenging districts for the entrance test due to high number of candidates there.