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Fata medical college issue in North Waziristan

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:34:36 +0000

MIRAMSHAH: Tribal elders on Wednesday threatened to set on fire the house of their lone member of the National Assembly (MNA), Kamran Khan, and block the Ghulam Khan-Khost Road if the government did not build the Fata Medical College in North Waziristan.

Speaking at a news conference, tribal elders including Malik Rab Nawaz Khan, Malik Niaz Khan, Malik Shams, Maulvi Usman Khan and others complained that the government on March 23, 2009 announced the Fata Medical College and decided to build it in Tapi area on the Bannu-Miramshah Road.

The elders said that after an agreement with the then political agent, head of Communication and Works Department and agency surgeon, the Utmanzai tribe donated 500 kanals of land on the main road for the college free of cost.

Also, the elders said the entire Utmanzai tribe and shura or council of North Waziristan led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur had taken the responsibility of providing security and protection to the college, teachers, students and other staff.

The elders said that all arrangements had been made for initiating work on the college building in North Waziristan but now they had come to know that the government had decided to shift the Fata Medical College to Bajaur Agency.

“We approached the Fata additional chief secretary and other senior officials at the Fata Secretariat in Peshawar and they told us that MNA Kamran Khan never demanded the medical college in North Waziristan.

They also told us that Kamran Khan and another MNA Engineer Shaukat from Bajaur Agency had demanded that the medical college be set up in Bajaur,” Malik Rab Nawaz claimed. He termed it a conspiracy against the people of North Waziristan and vowed to utilise all available means for bringing the Fata Medical College to Waziristan.

The tribal elders gave February 11 as the deadline to the government to publicly announce building of the college in North Waziristan otherwise they would burn the house of MNA Kamran Khan and would displace him from his native area.

They threatened to block the Ghulam Khan-Khost Road for traffic and close all educational institutions and business and commercial centres in North Waziristan if their demand was not met by the expiry of the deadline.

The elders said that they had also asked the military officials to play their role in bringing the medical college to North Waziristan otherwise they would stop work on the Bannu-Ghulam Khan Road, which is being constructed by the Pak Army.

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NARA stands for ‘Non-Achieving Redundant Authority’?

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:44:21 +0000

KARACHI – The National Aliens Registration Authority (NARA) has been unable to achieve even a single objective it was formed for.
The authority was formed in 2002 under the interior ministry to register illegal immigrants and unauthorised foreigners, and issue them work permits.
NARA was supposed to complete its work (registration of all illegal immigrants in the country) within three years, but despite the passage of more than a decade, the authority has failed to obtain its principal objective, disclosed the annual audit report prepared by the auditor general of Pakistan.
According to the audit papers, more than Rs 50 million have been spent by NARA, but they have gone to waste as none of the authority’s goals have been met.
The audit department also unearthed misappropriation of around Rs 20 million, which have been spent on compensation, purchase of vehicles or under other heads.
NARA was formed exercising powers conferred by sub-section (1) of 14 D of the Foreigner Act, 1946. NARA had to establish a force of its own to locate illegal aliens, in addition to setting up provincial task forces to assist it in performing its functions.
NARA has been able to register only 119,811 aliens until June 2011 and issue just 1,155 work permits.
The registration of illegal aliens is a very sensitive issue as they are not only a burden on the country’s economy, but also involved in crimes including drug trafficking and human smuggling.
According to misappropriation of funds data mentioned in the audit report, the high-ups of the authority paid Rs 6.417 million under the head of office building rent and also gave away Rs 837,000 as compensation, beyond the approved rate.
A sum of Rs 5.564 million was spent on purchasing vehicles without the approval of the finance division.
The authority also paid Rs 2.724 million under the head of purchasing fuel and repairing government vehicles.
A sum of Rs 3.660 million was paid as house rent, Rs 1.239 for unauthorised maintenance of a Toyota Corolla 1,300 CC car, Rs 1.150 million for “secret service”, Rs 575,000 for cash rewards to employees in violation of financial rules, Rs 593,000 on advertisements on television cable networks and Rs 483,627 on stationary items. Pakistan Today

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notification assuring Upgradation package Teachers perplexed over delays, modalitie

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:38:24 +0000

ISLAMABAD:
It has been a month since the notification assuring the time-scale formula for promotion of federal government colleges’ teachers was issued. Yet the issue has had no visible progress.
After a prolonged boycott of classes by the teachers, the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) and Capital Administration and Development Authority (CADD) in October approved the time-scale formula for teachers’ promotion, as announced by the prime minister (PM) in 2010.
However, the teachers are yet to benefit from the package due to some “complicated conditions for their promotions”, according to Federal Government Colleges Teachers Association (FGCTA).
FGCTA Secretary General Professor Tahir Mehmood said, “The teachers are confused by the perplexing conditions laid down for their promotions.
The administration is again creating hurdles and it seems it would take another year for the teachers to avail their rights.”
As per the notification, the teachers are entitled to be promoted to the next grade immediately, he added.
Mehmood said they are contemplating over reinitiating pressure tactics for the implementing of the notification and also for removing ambiguities in up-gradation scale, which is an integral part of the package and is missing in the notification.
“We are really fed up of the attitude of the bureaucracy, but at the same time we are also concerned about the students whose studies would suffer if we take to the streets again,” he said.
“But if the bureaucracy continues this attitude, we might not have an option,” he added.
He again blamed CADD Joint Secretary Rafiq Tahir for “creating this mess”. He maintained that the joint secretary is “incompetent and unable to handle the file work” as he is a teacher by profession and not a professional bureaucrat.
He said that as Tahir is going to retire next month, he is not taking interest in the implementation of the package.
The teachers passed a joint resolution reaffirming their resolve to sideline the CADD joint secretary from the issue.
FDE Director General Atif Kayani assured that the process of teachers’ promotion has already started and the promotions will be granted after thorough evaluation of more than one thousand teachers in the Departmental Promotion Committee’s Annual Confidential Report.
He said only teachers that meet the criteria will be promoted.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 22nd, 2011.

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organised in Karachi last year to celebrate the completion of the 22-volume Urdu Lughat (dictionary)

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 10:06:51 +0000

KARACHI Different events were organised in Karachi last year to celebrate the completion of the 22-volume Urdu Lughat (dictionary) with fanfare, claiming that 52 years of hard work had come to fruition.

Ever since its inception in 1958, the Urdu Dictionary Board has been headed by many noted individuals and has had to experience ups and downs, mostly the latter, primarily because of the lack of attention towards the board of the government-led institutions. No different is the situation today.

The Urdu Dictionary Board, these days, doesn`t have a chief editor, and is being run by a certain official belonging to the National Language Authority (NLA) in Islamabad. Add to this the issue of the projects announced during poetess Fahmida Riaz`s tenure as chief editor. The publishing of a concise dictionary, for example, has hit snags and doesn`t seem to be heading in any direction.

The Drawing and Disbursing Officer at the Urdu Dictionary Board, Aqeel Siddiqi, has been associated with the board for many years. The current situation is clearly unsettling for him. Speaking to Dawn , he said: “Ever since Ms Riaz left after her two-year contract expired in June, things have been on a standstill. Till 2007 the board fell under the federal ministry of education. But after the passing of the 18th amendment, it was given to the cabinet division, following which the National Langrage Authority was asked to look after the affairs of the board. Now an official of the NLA, Sarfaraz Tariq, is the caretaker chief editor of the Urdu Dictionary Board.

“A lot of things have been held up. Our computer section has become non-functional; there`s only one computer which is in working condition. On Oct 4, Mr Tariq came to Karachi for one day. He was here at the board offices for the whole day and signed a number of documents which were lying pending. Our staff is diminishing by the day. There haven`t been any promotions for quite some time. We have no government support. There`s no budget and things are on hold. Also, now they`ve made a ministry of heritage and integration and put institutions like the UDB and the NLA under it,” says Mr Siddiqi.

Ms Riaz says: “My two-year contract finished on June 18, 2011. I was expecting it to be renewed and thought it was a routine matter and I`d get an extension. When I was there, I tried my best to get the board on its feet. But I think it`s a rule that no one above the age of 65 can get an extension. After the devolution process, the board went under the cabinet division and now they`ve formed the ministry of heritage and integration. You see, it`s not easy to compile a dictionary. It doesn`t take months, but years to do that. I feel that matters pertaining to academics should be free from the yoke of bureaucracy.”

There are people who might not agree with Ms Riaz. The bottom-line is the institution needs government attention.

Liaquat Ali Asim, who recently retired from a senior post at the board, says: “Before I left, updating of the Lughat had already begun. However, there are budget issues, there`s not enough staff, funds are not forthcoming, etc. If the ministry concerned can decide when someone`s tenure should end, it should also make arrangements for bringing in someone else in his/her place.”

A few years back, when a chief editor completed his term, the ministry advertised the post saying anyone who held a PhD, had experience in lexicography and was less than 55 years old could apply for the position. The only one candidate who applied and went through an interview in 2008 (and he believes he fulfilled all the requirements and got a good vibe during the question-answer session) wasn`t entertained. Then the government changed and the board operated without a chief editor. In the meantime, Farhat Fatima Rizvi filled that gap and did her job well.

Today, the Urdu Dictionary Board is again without a chief editor. It`s not exactly a headless body, but has a head which is far away (read: Islamabad) from the body.Dawn.

Sex education in schools curriculum

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:52:30 +0000

Sex education must be made part of curriculum: experts
Karachi, July 24: With a majority of the victims in rape cases turning out to be minors and the accused culprits in their 20′s, civil society members have expressed deep concern over the emerging trend of such incidents.

Rukhsana Siddique, rehabilitation officer of War against Rape (WAR), has called for the introduction of sex education in schools. “The state should pay attention towards the current situation and start programmes to educate the public, especially the youth about this issue. Sex education should immediately be started in schools and the media should also play its role to raise awareness.”

She said that the society is drifting from basic morals and family values as the culprits are mostly family members, a relative or an acquaintance.

Suhail Ahmed Abro of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) corroborated and said, “There was a time when a home was said to be the safest place for a child but not any more. The family institution has disintegrated.”

He said that since an acquaintance has easy access to a rape target and considers them as an easy prey; therefore, they are becoming involved in such activities.

“The average age of the victim is between 5 years to 14 years whereas the average age of the culprits ranges from early 20s to 30. Youngsters are raping children in order to vent their frustration, which arises due to rising unemployment, low literacy rate, rising poverty as well as the obscenity being shown on television programmes and in movies.” The news

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University of Karachi admin staff resume duty with student wing

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:03:56 +0000

Karachi The staff of the Administration Block, University of Karachi (KU) resumed their work after the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof Dr Nasir Uddin Khan, KU, resolved their issue with the student wing of the ruling party.

On Friday the unpleasant incident was reported when some activities of the students’ wing manhandled the staff members of the Administration Block. The staff of KU had immediately refused to work and the news of the incident circulated in different departments of the Administration Block.

Khan called the affected staffers and the activists of the students’ wing of the political party at his office to investigate the matter.

After one hour of the meeting he announced at the ground floor of the Administration Block that the issue has been resolved after which employees agreed to end their protest.

Since Friday not a single person at the Administration Block was willing to resume the work. During the meeting both parties expressed their reservations and concerns against each other regarding the matter.The news.

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Pakistan-china ties: Finance ministry to issue commemorative Rs20 coin

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:37:55 +0000

Coin to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China.

ISLAMABAD: The ministry of finance has approved the issuance of a coin of Rs20 denomination to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China.

According to a notification issued by the ministry, the coin to be issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will weigh 9.5 grammes and its diameter will be 3.3 milimetres. The coin will be issued on May 21. The SBP will release 1,00,000 copies of the coin.

The front side of the coin will depict the crescent and the star with Islami Jamhoria Pakistan embossed beneath it while the other side will have the words Pak-China Friendship 1951-2011 embossed
beneath it.

The Rs20 currency notes currently in circulation will continue to be used as usual at the exchange along with the commemorative coin, the notification said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2011.

:::ref:tribune:::

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CAP committee fails into admission deadline

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:17:48 +0000

CAP committee fails to meet admission deadline

KARACHI, Sept 3: The deadline fixed by the Sindh education department for completing the process of admissions to first year classes in government educational institutions will end on Saturday with no sign in sight how many more days will be required to accomplish the entire process of admissions and when the new academic session for the new students will begin.According to a Centralised Admission Policy’s (CAP) brochure, the process of admissions to first year classes in the city’s government colleges and higher secondary schools was scheduled to be completed by Sept 4 and the new academic session for the fresh first year students was to commence on Sept 6.

However, since the CAP committee which has been assigned the task of completing the admissions process has not yet been able to issue the placement lists, the question of new academic session’s beginning from Sept 6 did not even arise.

More than one-and-a-half month of thousands of fresh matriculates have already been wasted since the announcement of their results and yet all the over 70,000 candidates who have applied for admissions to first year classes in the city’s public sector colleges and higher secondary schools under the CAP are still uncertain about their new academic session as the CAP committee is silent over the issue.

Some students seeking admissions to first year said that the inordinate delay in completing the process of admissions had already left them behind the students in the city’s private colleges and other parts of Sindh as the latter’s classes had already begun about a month ago.

“Since our new academic session is going to be reduced considerably, we will not be able to complete our entire courses and hence will lag behind our counterparts in private colleges and those studying in government colleges in other parts of the province,” they said.

Although the process of admissions to first year classes had initially begun on July 23 and still continuing, the last date fixed for completing the class XI admissions would expire on Saturday. (Dawn)

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Re-examination of MSc Physics, Part-I, Paper-III

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 06:50:15 +0000

LAHORE: (Sunday, July 25, 2010): Punjab University Punjab University Examinations Department’s partial suppression notification regarding date sheet of MA/MSc, Part-I, Annual Examination 2010, the candidates of MSc Physics, Part-I will re-take their written examination in Paper-III (Quantum Mechanics) on August 2, 2010. The same paper of the candidates, conducted on June 30, 2010, will be treated as cancelled. A notification has been issued in this regard.

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AJK University fake degrees issue

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 05:34:43 +0000

AJK varsity denies issuing fake degrees with political motives
Muzaffarabad, July 01: The AJK University spokesman has vehemently denied the allegation appeared in the media that university administration has issued/issuing fake degrees with political motives.

Zafar Iqbal, the AJK University spokesman, explained that most of the cases related to allegedly fake degrees belong to the period from 2001-2006 when the BA degree was imposed as an eligibility condition for contesting in election. He further said that these allegedly fake degree cases were brought to the notice of the university administration when the opponents of the some of the candidates contesting election reported to election commission and the university.

It is important to note that these are not cases of issuance of fake degrees by the university but cases where possibly unfair means during the examinations have been used for which investigation is underway. In most cases, the candidates appeared in the BA examination on production of fake certificates issued by various boards of examinations. The AJK University has already constituted a committee to scrutinise the record of those whose degrees/result cards have been challenged.

As regards not presenting the record in the Supreme Court, the spokesman clarified that an assistant controller of examination was recently deputed to present the record in the Lahore Election Tribunal of the Lahore High Court. He was asked to come back on 2nd July 2010. He stressed that the AJK University is fully cooperating with legal authorities.

In addition, the university’s committee is also undertaking investigations and has already in this context called four of the candidates to appear before the committee to record their evidence.

The committee’s findings are likely to come out shortly. In the end, the spokesman emphasised that the allegation that the AJK University is involved in issuing fake degrees is absolutely baseless and unfounded. The university is under no pressure whatsoever from any quarter and is functioning under rules.

The university enjoys confidence and trust of public as well as academic community, including Higher Education Commission. The spokesman reiterated that the alleged cases belong to 2001-06 period and the university has taken measures to prevent such cases in the future. (The news)