LAHORE: Smog has continued to engulf major cities of Punjab as the ranking of Air Quality Index (AQI) has reached 424 today (Friday).
Residents choking in acrid smog pleaded with officials to take action. Air pollution has worsened in Pakistan in recent years, as a mixture of low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal crop burn off, and colder winter temperatures coalesce into stagnant clouds of smog.
Lahore, a bustling megacity of more than 11 million people in Punjab province near the border with India, consistently ranks among the worst cities in the world for air pollution.
In recent years residents have built their own air purifiers and taken out lawsuits against government officials in desperate bids to clean the air — but authorities have been slow to act, blaming the smog on India or claiming the figures are exaggerated.
DHAKA: The Men in Green will look to continue their form against a dangerous Bangladesh side at home as the two sides lock horns in the first of the three-match Twenty20 International series today in Dhaka.
The clash will take place at 1pm PST. The two teams yesterday took part in a practice session ahead of their first faceoff.
Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a 12-member team for today’s T20I.
Skipper Babar Azam will lead the team with Shadab Khan as his vice-captain. Pakistan fielded the same line-up in all six World Cup matches and have retained almost the same squad for the Bangladesh series.
Babar’s side stormed through the Super-12 phase of the ICC’s Twenty20 World Cup in the UAE with five straight victories before they were handed a five-wicket defeat in the semi-final at the hands of Australia, who went on to win the T20 World Cup.
From the World Cup squad, Mohammad Hafeez is the only player who opted out of the team, with Iftikhar Ahmed brought on as his replacement.
Bangladesh are missing several senior players who have been ruled out due to injury or rested after a disastrous World Cup campaign, where they failed to win a single Super-12 match.
Captain Mahmudullah Riyad said his side were looking to start afresh and put the Dubai debacle behind them. “Whatever happened happened. If we think much about it that would affect us negatively. We want to think positive,” he said.
Eager cricket fans will be returning to the stands in Bangladesh for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic forced stadiums to close for crowds in March 2020.
Pakistan will also play two Test matches during their tour.
The two teams will play their second and third T20Is at the same venue on 20 and 22 November respectively.
The Men in Green are expected to keep up the momentum from their strong T20 World Cup showing with a largely unchanged squad for the Bangladesh tour, said skipper Babar Azam Thursday.
“Momentum always matters in cricket and we would like to carry that momentum,” Babar told reporters ahead of the game.
The world’s number one ranked T20 and ODI batter said Pakistan will not take Bangladesh lightly.
“Despite the absence of senior players in the team, the cricketers that are currently part of the squad have experience playing in the Bangladesh Premier League,” said Azam.
“Hence, we will play with confidence throughout the series.”
Babar Azam said Pakistan has six upcoming matches against Bangladesh and the West Indies, adding that the Men in Green will experiment with different combinations during the matches.
Speaking about the different conditions in Bangladesh, Babar Azam said the team will adjust to the environment here and play accordingly.
LONDON: Pakistan-born economist a senior educationist of London School of Economics (LSE) Dr Adnan Qadir Khan has been appointed as Chief Economist for the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in the UK government.
The LSE’s School of Public Policy announced in a congratulatory message that their Academic Director and Professor Adnan Qadir Khan, currently a professor at the LSE, has been appointed as the chief economist at the FCDO from January 2022.
The LSE said that Dr Adnan Qadir Khan will be missed. Dr Khan has served as LSE’s professor and academic director at the School of Public Policy for several years, it added.
Originally from Dera Ghazi Khan, Dr Khan studied engineering, philosophy and international affairs from UET and Punjab University.
He has worked in different positions in Pakistan. Dr Khan was recruited to the Pakistan Administrative Service after standing first in the Civil Service Examination in 1995.
The statement further mentioned that he also stood first after completing training at the Civil Services Academy. He has also worked with socially relevant theatre when in Lahore and worked with several organizations working for human rights in Pakistan.
He has been a founding board member of the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP) since 2010.
ISLAMABAD: Despite the required legislation to hold elections using electronic voting machines (EVMs) going through, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is still not sure if EVMs will actually be used in the next polls.
This observation from the ECP came during a meeting of the members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice, chaired by PTI MNA Riaz Fatyana.
It took India 20 years and Brazil 22 years to start using these machines, ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan told lawmakers, explaining that it will also take them “a while” to get EVMs up and running.
The ECP official said there are challenges in using EVMs and they cannot say anything with surety on whether the use of EVMs will be applicable in the next elections or not.
Khan said EVMs would have to go through 14 steps before they can be used in the next general elections. There would be three to four more pilot projects related to the use of the EVMs, he maintained.
“How many EVMs will there be at a polling station also remains to be figured out,” he said, adding that the state institution is working to facilitate overseas Pakistanis.
On this occasion, MNA Aalia Kamran raised some very pertinent questions, including how the EVMs would be used in areas without internet.
“[The] people of Balochistan barely go to cast votes. How will they cast a vote on an EVM?” she asked.
On Friday, the PTI government bulldozed 33 bills in a joint session of Parliament, including the election amendment bill, making way for the use of EVMs in the next elections.
The Opposition has continually objected to the use of these machines, saying they are prone to hacking and not reliable.
Meanwhile, senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal says EVMs are vulnerable to rigging even if they do not operate online.
“The machines will work under the government’s supervision. They can be tampered with,” he said while addressing the media outside Parliament House alongside PPP parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman, JUI-F’s Shahida Akhtar and PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb.
“What happened yesterday will go down as a black day in Pakistan’s history, where a red line was crossed by the government and the world saw the worst demonstration of Pakistan’s government pass controversial, polarising legislation with an artificial majority, created by coercion and carrots,” Rehman said.
Iqbal said there was information that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) chairperson was allegedly using organizational resources and data for the government’s upcoming election campaign.
“If NADRA is found leaking national data to the government, they will be liable to face treason charges,” he said.
Iqbal, too, said it was the “blackest” day in the history of Parliament, expressing the hope that the courts would now uphold the Constitution.
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar Police busted a four-member gang of bandits and recovered millions of rupees looted cash, three motorcycles and arms from their possession here on Thursday.
According to details, the Cabinet Division police traced a criminal gang and detained it during a raid in Hayatabad.
The police recovered three motorcycles, 6.3 million rupees looted cash and arms from possession of the detainees.
The detainees in the preliminary investigation admitted of snatching 9.8 million rupees cash from currency dealer in Hayatabad, involvement in motorcycles, mobile snatching and other crimes in Hayatabad, Agha Mirjani, Phandu, Pashtkhara and Gulberg police stations jurisdiction.
Various cases were registered against the detainees and further investigation was underway.
Meanwhile, Peshawar Police also foiled a bid to smuggle arms and ammunition to Punjab and arrested an accused here on Thursday.
According to details, SHO Matni police station Imran Khan on a tip-off regarding arms smuggling, along police contingent started snap checking of vehicles.
During search of a suspected car, five rifles and 12 thousand bullets of different bores were recovered from secret cavities of vehicle.
The police arrested the car driver identified as Jawad Khan s/o Muhammad Rasood, impounded the vehicle along with recovered weapons being smuggled from Dara Adam Khel to Punjab and after registering a case against detainee started an investigation.
SWABI: The Women University Swabi (WUS) has been functioning without a regular vice-chancellor since May this year after Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who is also chancellor of public sector universities in the province, sent its regular VC, Prof. Shahana Urooj Kazmi on forced leave twice spanning six months.
Additional charge of WUS VC was given to Prof. Zahoorul Haq, the VC of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan. Earlier, Prof. Mukarram Shah also worked as acting VC.
It has been learnt that the WUS senate meeting, which was scheduled to be held at the Governor House last Wednesday, has been postponed for lack of quorum.
Prof. Shahana Urooj said that before convening the senate meeting it was expected that she would be terminated from service. “They wanted to end my service, but after the court verdict on the show cause notice it was difficult,” she said.
“I have submitted a 70-page reply to the show cause notice. I never indulged in any wrong doing and performed my official duty,” she said.
The Peshawar High Court’s “interim relief” order in the show cause notice says that “no final order shall be passed” against Prof Shahana till November 26, the next date of hearing.
University sources said that Prof. Kazmi’s forced leave would end on November 20.
They said she can not be sent on forced leave for third time and the university senate or chancellor had to make a decision either terminating or allowing her to resume charge as VC again.
On the show cause case, the decision was handed down on Saturday, giving relief to the petitioner (Prof. Kazmi) and directing her to submit a reply to the notice.
Earlier, a writ petition filed by Prof. Shahana against the recommendations of the Governor Inspection Team and the order of the chancellor for sending her on forced leave was dismissed. However, she challenged the PHC verdict in the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, around 11 departments of Women University Swabi were closed down by Swabi Model School (SMS) after the university failed to pay the building rent.
Officials said university has rented building from Swabi Model School (SMS) in Kota village where 11 departments are functional for the past few years but the university has failed to pay the rent and it has Rs6.4 million in dues to be paid to the school.
On Monday, after repeated warnings, the SMS staff closed down all the 11 departments working in its building and didn’t allow the students to enter,” said another official, adding that like the rest of the universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the varsity is also passing through a financial crisis.
It is worth mentioning here that Swabi Model School was established during the MMA government by the then minister education Fazal Ali Haqqani on a large piece of land in Kota village. He named it Fazal Ali Haqqani School but the ANP government renamed it Swabi Model School. Since the school has a large building which is more than enough for its own use so it rented a large part of the school building to WUS which established 11 departments in the building where hundreds of female students are enrolled. Its own main campus is under construction adjacent to the school.
The payment of rent is a perennial issue between the school and university administration.
The school administration says that they are not treated well by the university administration and they don’t pay on time. On the other hand the university administration claims that the school was merged into the university by its first vice chancellor Shahzadi Akhunzadi.
There are allegations and counter allegations from both sides. After the merger, the school experienced financial losses three years ago following which the university started efforts to end the merger on one pretext or the other.
The university didn’t want to share the financial burden of this school in the face of its own financial losses so Minister Education Shahram Tarakai was also involved in negotiations and at long last in August 2021 the university issued a letter that it has nothing to do with the school.
A teacher of the women university claimed that a few days ago the students were not allowed to take classes in the building and the university administration had asked for one week time to clear its dues.
“Now after two days they have again stopped the classes. The university has to pay Rs3.4 million in rent and Rs3 million in security,” she claimed.
A school teacher claimed that they have not been paid for four months and they are waiting for the payment of rent from the university so that their salaries could be released.
University students also blamed that the tussle on the rent and use of the building is wasting their precious time.
When contacted the university administration rejected the claims of the school teachers and administration.
ISLAMABAD: Information Secretary Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian (PPP) Shazia Atta Marri and Information Secretary Pakistan Peoples Party Faisal Karim Kundi have said that the country is being run in an undemocratic manner.
PPP leaders while talking to media said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has made a mockery of the country and the parliament. Joint session of the parliament was used to pass black laws which is unfortunate, they said adding the last joint meeting was also canceled due to the non-availability of members as 30 to 40 members were not available to them. PTI members themselves had said that they did not come on their own accord.
Shazia Marri and Faisal Karim Kundi said that even the copies of the bill were not provided. We asked for the mic and were not able to speak. Among the bills was a NEPRA bill that abolished provincial representation. The joint session of the parliament was used maliciously.
Shazia Marri said that they talk about the problems of the people through the media. No government policy or legislation is for the relief of the people. The people will not vote for the PTI. Those that have voted for the PTI are regretting it now. Cameras were found inside polling booths during the Senate elections. FBR’s website is hacked 71,000 times monthly.
She said, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had said to the Speaker that the voting machine in the National Assembly has been there for the last 26 years, but it has not been used. Elections are rigged in the name of magic ink and RTS. The RTS system fails and then the polling staff is abducted.
We have no objection over the use of technology but there is no transparency in the political system. Yesterday was a dark day, the people can decide when Imran Khan is to leave the country. Imran Khan has snatched roofs from the poor, she added.
Faisal Karim Kundi said that hurdles were erected against the PPP to halt its meetings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Various excuses are being used. The Sindh High Court had clearly ordered that strict security arrangements be made for Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. However, the KP government is refusing to provide security to Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. He clarified that PPP meetings will be held in any case.
Former federal minister Asma Arbab Alamgir and Nazir Dhoki were also present on the occasion.
ISLAMABAD: Top military officials will brief a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) comprising members of the National Assembly (NA) and Senate on the current national security issues today (Monday).
The meeting of the PCNS will be held at 11am today with NA Speaker Asad Qaisar in the chair.
Moved by Minister for Law and Justice Muhammad Farogh Naseem, the National Assembly passed a motion in its sitting on November 5, to allow the use of the chamber of the National Assembly on November 8, for a briefing to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.
During the meeting, the top military brass will brief legislators about the overall affairs of national security.
The four provincial chief ministers, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) president and prime minister and the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan have also been invited to the meeting. All the members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence will also attend the meeting.
Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were also invited to the meeting.
Earlier on November 8, the opposition had decided to attend the PCNS meeting at the Parliament House.
Leader of the PDM in Senate Senator Azam Nazir Tarrar had told The News on Thursday evening that the decision to attend the PCNS meeting was made to hear the authorities and government on sensitive issues pertaining to national security and apprise them of the point of view of people at large on subjects the government lacks understanding of.
Senator Azam Nazir Tarrar had made it clear that the opposition wouldn’t give the government any opportunity to misguide the officials and people on sensitive issues.
He earlier had a detailed meeting with the former prime minister and Leader of Opposition in Senate Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani in his chamber.
TANK: A mega water supply scheme was inaugurated at Kot Murtaza village in Gomal area of district Tank on Sunday. The inauguration ceremony was held at Frontier Corps’ Sector Headquarters South (FC SHS) and Sector Commander Brigadier Naiknam Muhammad Baig was chief guest on the occasion.
The ceremony was attended by local elders, officials of District Administration, representatives of Civil Societies and journalists.
The clean drinking water scheme will facilitate more than 5,000 people of four villages including Kot Murtaza, Kot Ghulam, Kot Nawaz and Gardez.
Speaking on the occasion, the Sector Commander South Brigadier Naiknam Muhammad Baig said that after restoration of peace in the area, special steps were being taken to provide basic amenities of life to the local people.
He further stated that Pak-Army and Frontier Crops would never spare any sacrifice for the peace and prosperity of the area, adding, on special directives of IG FC South efforts were being made to overcome the issue of scarcity of potable water in the district.
The local elders and representatives of civil societies have highly applauded the services of FC South and hoped the continuation of these services in future to bring more prosperity to their area.
