Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
02 MAY2016
KPK Updates
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Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
03 MAY 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
MAY 04 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
[h=1]Govt withdraws ‘controversial’ Ehtesab commission ordinance
[/h] PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has withdrawn a controversial ordinance promulgated around three months ago through which drastic changes were made in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act and resulted in resignation of the commission’s director general.
An order was issued by Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra on May 2, through which the controversial ordinance -- KP Ehtesab Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 (KP Ordinance No II of 2016) -- was withdrawn.
The said ordinance was promulgated on February 9, 2016, and was scheduled to expire after completion of its constitutional life of 90 days on May 9, 2016.
The provincial government has already drafted a bill for making changes in the Ehtesab law and is expected to introduce it in the provincial assembly on May 6.
The first director general of the commission, retired Lt Gen Hamid Khan had tendered his resignation on February 10 in protest against promulgation of the said ordinance through which several changes were made in the existing KPEC Act, 2014 including reducing certain powers of the director general.
The then acting governor Asad Qaiser had accepted his resignation on February 12.
After his resignation, Hamid Khan had accused the provincial government of trying to influence the accountability process which he had launched.
Prior to promulgation of the ordinance, the provincial government had constituted a cabinet committee headed by Senior Minister Inayatullah Khan, belonging to Jamaat-i-Islami, for putting forward recommendations so as to suitably amend the KPEC Act as the law had been drawing criticism on different counts, especially about the unbridled powers of the director general.
In the light of report of the said committee, the ordinance was introduced by the provincial government.
Interestingly, while the former director general had been criticising the ordinance the Ehtesab commission including its five commissioners had put its weight behind the amendment and termed it suitable.
Through the amendments made in the law, the government had enhanced certain functions of the Ehtesab commission and certain checks were placed on powers of its director general, especially in arrest of suspects and filing of reference before Ehtesab court.
After the said ordinance, the law further provided Govt withdraws ‘controversial’ Ehtesab commission ordinance that upon completion of the inquiry or investigation as the case may be there shall be a prosecution conference within seven days under chairmanship of Chief Ehtesab Commissioner and to be attended by two commissioners, the director general and the prosecutor general to determine the charges to be framed and the matter to be referred to the court by way of reference.
Decision in that regard had to be made by majority of the votes.
Another important amendment was that all persons appointed in directorate general before the commencement of this ordinance shall be examined by a scrutiny committee to be constituted in the prescribed manner by the government.
The ordinance provided that no senator, MNA or MPA shall be arrested by the commission without prior intimation to chairman of Senate or speaker of National Assembly or provincial assembly, as the case may be.
Similarly, it was provided that in case of a civil servant intimation shall be given to the chief secretary.
It merits a mention that the KPEC Act, 2014, was passed by the provincial assembly on January 7, 2014, and the governor assented to it on January 10, 2014. Initially, under the Act, five Ehtesab commissioners were appointed after search and scrutiny process following which the then director general was appointed in October 2014. The law provided different powers to the director general.
Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1256195/govt-withdraws-controversial-ehtesab-commission-ordinance
[h=1]Imran flays Nawaz for ‘using students for political motives’
[/h] PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has criticised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for keeping Hazara University closed during his address to a public meeting in Mansehra and closure of schools in Bannu during his visit to the district on Tuesday.
Such tactics were tantamount to using students for political motives, he told the inaugural ceremony of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Under-23 Games at Qayyum Sports Complex here on Tuesday.
The PTI chief asked the provincial government to take action against those people, who allowed closure of educational institution in both the districts.
On the occasion, Provincial Minister for Sports Mahmood Khan, Minister for Elementary Education Mohammad Atif Khan, Minister for Public Health Shah Farman, Adviser to Chief Minister on Information Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, Chief Secretary Amjad Ali Khan, Additional Chief Secretary Mohammad Azam Khan, Additional Secretary Sports Tariq Khan, Director General Sports Rashida Ghaznavi and other officials were also present.
[h=4]Asks govt to take action against people responsible for closure of educational institutions in Mansehra, Bannu[/h]
The PTI chief said that Nawaz Sharif closed Hazara University and schools in Bannu for his public meetings, wasting the precious time of students. Such illegal practices were intolerable, he added.
Mr Khan highlighted the importance of sports and urged the youths to promote sports activities and spirit of competition. He said that sports activities were vital for healthy life. Without sports and exercise, fitness of mind and fitness of body was impossible, he added.
The PTI chief said that players should not fear defeat because those, who learnt from defeat, became champions in the world. “God have gifted you the ability to challenge every one and you have the capability to earn a good name for the country,” he said.
Encouraging the players, Mr Khan said that he learned from his mistake when he was dropped from the team for the first time. “When I controlled all of my mistakes, I was re-selected and never dropped from the team in the entire career. I always opted to become best captain and best all rounder of the world and never accepted defeat till last ball of the match,” he added.
Mr Khan said that there was competition in every field of life whether it was sports, politics, business or education. Those people, who could learn from the past would win the competition, he added.
The organisers of the event said that over 3,000 players were participating in the three-day sports gala. The directorate of sports arranged the event to hunt talented players and polish their abilities.
The logo and trophy had already been displayed at various divisions of the province including Abbottabad, Mardan, Kohat, Swat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan, the organisers said. The unveiling of logo and trophy was aimed at creating awareness among the players of various games to participate in the event, they added.
The outstanding players would be given prizes, trophies and sports kits at the end of the sports gala.
Earlier, committees were formed in Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Swat, Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat and other districts to select players.
Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1256193/imran-flays-nawaz-for-using-students-for-political-motives
[h=1]Village, neighbourhood councils to get powers for dispute resolution
[/h] PESHAWAR: Senior minister for local government and rural development Inayatullah Khan on Monday announced that the government would give legal powers to the village and neighbourhood councils to resolve the local petty disputes through arbitration, mediation and reconciliation.
He criticised the federal government for denying the provincial government the initial installment of Rs25 billion on the head of net hydel profit in the current financial year.
The minister was speaking to reporters at the Peshawar Press Club, where additional secretary of the local government, elections and rural development department Barakatullah Khan Marwat and local government director general Adil Siddiq were also present.
He said the government had strengthened local bodies in the province to efficiently serve the people on their doorstep.
[h=4]Minister complains centre not giving province hydel profit funds[/h]
“We’ve simplified the procedure for approval of the Annual Development Programme schemes for village and neighborhood councils, while in response to the demand of councillors, special financial grant of Rs200 million has been released to the district councils to pay the staff members’ salary and Rs500 million for TMAs to meet financial needs,” he said.
The minister said for the first time in history, the provincial government had allocated 33 per cent of its development outlay for local governments.
He said putting an end to all sorts of discrimination in allocation of funds to the local bodies, the government allocated Rs42 billion for local governments during the current financial year and that 50 per cent of the development funds had already been released to all the three tiers of local governments.
The minister said the government had allocated Rs13 billion for 3,501 village and neighbourhood councils in the province.
“A total of 2,600 village and neighbourhood council secretaries have been hired in a transparent manner to enable the lowest tier of the local government to serve the people. Similarly, the government has released Rs1.75 billion (Rs0.5 million each) to these councils as operational cost of offices to help these lowest tiers of the local body entities function properly,” he said.
The minister said a number of reforms had been initiated in collaboration with donors to improve service delivery in the province through local governments.
“To coordinate these reforms, a management cell has been established in the local government and rural development department,” he said.
The minister said among the successes of the local body system were Peshawar beautification project, Regi Model Town initiatives, e-governance measures, resource mobilisation (generation) plan for TMAs and local authorities and development of performance indicators for TMAs and the SADP programme reforms.
He complained that the federal government didn’t pay the KP government the initial installment of Rs25 billion on the head of net hydel profit in the current financial year despite agreement on the Rs70 billion payment.
Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1255984/village-neighbourhood-councils-to-get-powers-for-dispute-resolution
[h=1]Soran Singh’s murder uncovers flaws in election laws
[/h] The killing of a member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Sardar Soran Singh, on April 22, 2016 in Buner district has brought to light flaws in the provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan and other relevant laws related to filling of seats reserved for non-Muslims in the National Assembly as well as provincial assemblies in the country.
Soran Singh was elected to the provincial assembly in the 2013 general elections on one of the seats reserved for non-Muslims on the basis of placement of his name at Serial No 1 of a priority list of candidates submitted by his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
In a strange twist of events the prime suspect arrested by the police in his murder case is another PTI leader, Baldev Kumar, who was at Serial No 2 of the said priority list of candidates. Under the Constitution, Baldev Kumar, who is also an elected district councillor in his native Swat district, is entitled to become an MPA on the seat which has fallen vacant with the death of Soran Singh.
Chief Minister Pervez Khattak stated in the provincial assembly on April 29 that his government would try to stop the way of Baldev Kumar from becoming an MPA. “We’ll consult our legal experts on how to expel the name of Baldev Kumar from the PTI priority list of the candidates for non-Muslims seats. I will also ask the law secretary to secure a stay order on the issue from the court of law,” he had told the assembly.
Both the treasury and opposition members asked the federal government to amend the relevant law to block the way of Baldev Kumar to the assembly. The officials concerned of the ECP have reportedly stated that under the law they had to declare Mr Kumar as returned candidate on the said seat as presently he was only a suspect and not a convict in the case.
At the time of filing of nomination papers during the 2013 general elections, the then provincial president of PTI Asad Qaiser had submitted the priority list of candidates of his party against the three seats reserved for non-Muslims in the provincial assembly. The priority list included the names of Soran Singh, Baldev Kumar, Ravi Kumar and Wazir Zada.
Keeping in view the number of general seats won by PTI in the provincial assembly it was entitled to a single seat reserved for non-Muslims on which Soran Singh was declared elected.
For filling the seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in a provincial assembly, Article 106 (2) (C) provided that such members shall be elected in accordance with law through proportional representation system of political parties’ lists of candidates on the basis of the total number of general seats secured by each political party in the provincial assembly. The total number of general seats won by a political party shall also include the independent returned candidates who may duly join such a political party within three days of the publication in the official Gazette of the names of returned candidates.
Article 224 (6) of the Constitution provides for filling a reserved seat which falls vacant. It states: “When a seat reserved for women or non-Muslims in the National Assembly or a provincial assembly falls vacant, on account of death, resignation or disqualification of a member, it shall be filled by the next person in order of precedence from the party list of the candidates to be submitted to the Election Commission by the political party whose member has vacated such seat. Provided that if at any time the party list is exhausted, the concerned political party may submit a name for any vacancy which may occur thereafter.”
The seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in the National Assembly and all the four provincial assemblies in its present form were introduced by retired General Pervez Musharraf during his military rule in 2002.
The then military government had made drastic changes in the Constitution through the Legal Framework Order, 2002, which also included introduction of the reserved seats. The then government had also introduced Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002, for the purpose of conducting the 2002 general elections. Article 8 EE of the Conduct of General Elections Order 2002 provided that the parties’ priority lists may contain as many names of additional candidates as a political party may deem necessary for contesting seats reserved for women and non-Muslims to provide for any disqualification of candidates during scrutiny of nomination papers or for filling of any vacant seat during the terms of National Assembly and provincial assemblies, as the case may be.
The said section also provided that a vacant seat shall be filled by the next person in order of precedence from the party’s list of the candidate submitted to the ECP.
Legal experts believe that the present mechanism of filling vacant reserved seats is faulty. They say that once a list is considered during general elections for the purpose of filling reserved seats, the same should not be considered for filling any future vacancy.
“The applicability of a priority list of candidates submitted during general elections should end after that polls and whenever any vacancy occurs the political party concerned shall be asked to submit a fresh name for that particular seat,” said Shahnawaz Khan, an advocate of the Supreme Court.
Under the existing system, no independent candidate could contest for these reserved seats and the candidates are dependent on political parties. Another major point of concern is the indirect mechanism of filling these seats.
Prior to the present mechanism, the seats reserved for non-Muslims in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies were filled through direct polls on the basis of separate electorate. In that mechanism all the non-Muslim voters were entitled to cast vote for electing their representatives against seats reserved for minorities.
A former woman MPA said that through the present mechanism mostly blue-eyed candidates of political parties’ leaders were placed on top of their priority lists. She said that these reserved seats were basically introduced for political mainstreaming of disadvantaged groups in the society, including women and non-Muslims.
Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1255746/soran-singhs-murder-uncovers-flaws-in-election-laws
[h=1]Work on power station begins in Garam Chashma
[/h] CHITRAL: Work on a micro hydropower station began in Garam Chashma village of Lot Koh valley on Saturday.
The power project is being executed by Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) under its programme for economic advancement and community empowerment with the financial assistance of European Union at a cost of Rs4.2 million. The power station will generate 40 kilowatts of electricity.
SRSP chief executive officer, Shahzada Masoodul Mulk, performed the ground-breaking of the project at a ceremony. He also handed over a cheque of first installment to the president of the male community organisation of the village for the purpose.
The village has been without power supply for last couple of years after a power station was hit by flash floods.
On the occasion, Mr Mulk said the power station was approved as a special case to electrify the town of Garam Chashma as area was also a tourist resort. He said another EU-funded development project ‘Community Driven Local Development’ had been launched in Malakand Division, including Chitral.
“Derive maximum benefits from the project which is being implemented on community participation basis and reduce the backwardness of your area by launching development projects in different sectors,” he urged the people.
Earlier, the district programme manager of SRSP, Tariq Ahmed, briefed the gathering about the salient and technical features of the project.
Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1255551/work-on-power-station-begins-in-garam-chashma
[/h] PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has withdrawn a controversial ordinance promulgated around three months ago through which drastic changes were made in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act and resulted in resignation of the commission’s director general.
An order was issued by Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra on May 2, through which the controversial ordinance -- KP Ehtesab Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 (KP Ordinance No II of 2016) -- was withdrawn.
The said ordinance was promulgated on February 9, 2016, and was scheduled to expire after completion of its constitutional life of 90 days on May 9, 2016.
The provincial government has already drafted a bill for making changes in the Ehtesab law and is expected to introduce it in the provincial assembly on May 6.
The first director general of the commission, retired Lt Gen Hamid Khan had tendered his resignation on February 10 in protest against promulgation of the said ordinance through which several changes were made in the existing KPEC Act, 2014 including reducing certain powers of the director general.
The then acting governor Asad Qaiser had accepted his resignation on February 12.
After his resignation, Hamid Khan had accused the provincial government of trying to influence the accountability process which he had launched.
Prior to promulgation of the ordinance, the provincial government had constituted a cabinet committee headed by Senior Minister Inayatullah Khan, belonging to Jamaat-i-Islami, for putting forward recommendations so as to suitably amend the KPEC Act as the law had been drawing criticism on different counts, especially about the unbridled powers of the director general.
In the light of report of the said committee, the ordinance was introduced by the provincial government.
Interestingly, while the former director general had been criticising the ordinance the Ehtesab commission including its five commissioners had put its weight behind the amendment and termed it suitable.
Through the amendments made in the law, the government had enhanced certain functions of the Ehtesab commission and certain checks were placed on powers of its director general, especially in arrest of suspects and filing of reference before Ehtesab court.
After the said ordinance, the law further provided Govt withdraws ‘controversial’ Ehtesab commission ordinance that upon completion of the inquiry or investigation as the case may be there shall be a prosecution conference within seven days under chairmanship of Chief Ehtesab Commissioner and to be attended by two commissioners, the director general and the prosecutor general to determine the charges to be framed and the matter to be referred to the court by way of reference.
Decision in that regard had to be made by majority of the votes.
Another important amendment was that all persons appointed in directorate general before the commencement of this ordinance shall be examined by a scrutiny committee to be constituted in the prescribed manner by the government.
The ordinance provided that no senator, MNA or MPA shall be arrested by the commission without prior intimation to chairman of Senate or speaker of National Assembly or provincial assembly, as the case may be.
Similarly, it was provided that in case of a civil servant intimation shall be given to the chief secretary.
It merits a mention that the KPEC Act, 2014, was passed by the provincial assembly on January 7, 2014, and the governor assented to it on January 10, 2014. Initially, under the Act, five Ehtesab commissioners were appointed after search and scrutiny process following which the then director general was appointed in October 2014. The law provided different powers to the director general.
Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1256195/govt-withdraws-controversial-ehtesab-commission-ordinance
[h=1]Imran flays Nawaz for ‘using students for political motives’
[/h] PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has criticised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for keeping Hazara University closed during his address to a public meeting in Mansehra and closure of schools in Bannu during his visit to the district on Tuesday.
Such tactics were tantamount to using students for political motives, he told the inaugural ceremony of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Under-23 Games at Qayyum Sports Complex here on Tuesday.
The PTI chief asked the provincial government to take action against those people, who allowed closure of educational institution in both the districts.
On the occasion, Provincial Minister for Sports Mahmood Khan, Minister for Elementary Education Mohammad Atif Khan, Minister for Public Health Shah Farman, Adviser to Chief Minister on Information Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, Chief Secretary Amjad Ali Khan, Additional Chief Secretary Mohammad Azam Khan, Additional Secretary Sports Tariq Khan, Director General Sports Rashida Ghaznavi and other officials were also present.
[h=4]Asks govt to take action against people responsible for closure of educational institutions in Mansehra, Bannu[/h]
The PTI chief said that Nawaz Sharif closed Hazara University and schools in Bannu for his public meetings, wasting the precious time of students. Such illegal practices were intolerable, he added.
Mr Khan highlighted the importance of sports and urged the youths to promote sports activities and spirit of competition. He said that sports activities were vital for healthy life. Without sports and exercise, fitness of mind and fitness of body was impossible, he added.
The PTI chief said that players should not fear defeat because those, who learnt from defeat, became champions in the world. “God have gifted you the ability to challenge every one and you have the capability to earn a good name for the country,” he said.
Encouraging the players, Mr Khan said that he learned from his mistake when he was dropped from the team for the first time. “When I controlled all of my mistakes, I was re-selected and never dropped from the team in the entire career. I always opted to become best captain and best all rounder of the world and never accepted defeat till last ball of the match,” he added.
Mr Khan said that there was competition in every field of life whether it was sports, politics, business or education. Those people, who could learn from the past would win the competition, he added.
The organisers of the event said that over 3,000 players were participating in the three-day sports gala. The directorate of sports arranged the event to hunt talented players and polish their abilities.
The logo and trophy had already been displayed at various divisions of the province including Abbottabad, Mardan, Kohat, Swat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan, the organisers said. The unveiling of logo and trophy was aimed at creating awareness among the players of various games to participate in the event, they added.
The outstanding players would be given prizes, trophies and sports kits at the end of the sports gala.
Earlier, committees were formed in Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Swat, Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat and other districts to select players.
Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1256193/imran-flays-nawaz-for-using-students-for-political-motives
[h=1]Village, neighbourhood councils to get powers for dispute resolution
[/h] PESHAWAR: Senior minister for local government and rural development Inayatullah Khan on Monday announced that the government would give legal powers to the village and neighbourhood councils to resolve the local petty disputes through arbitration, mediation and reconciliation.
He criticised the federal government for denying the provincial government the initial installment of Rs25 billion on the head of net hydel profit in the current financial year.
The minister was speaking to reporters at the Peshawar Press Club, where additional secretary of the local government, elections and rural development department Barakatullah Khan Marwat and local government director general Adil Siddiq were also present.
He said the government had strengthened local bodies in the province to efficiently serve the people on their doorstep.
[h=4]Minister complains centre not giving province hydel profit funds[/h]
“We’ve simplified the procedure for approval of the Annual Development Programme schemes for village and neighborhood councils, while in response to the demand of councillors, special financial grant of Rs200 million has been released to the district councils to pay the staff members’ salary and Rs500 million for TMAs to meet financial needs,” he said.
The minister said for the first time in history, the provincial government had allocated 33 per cent of its development outlay for local governments.
He said putting an end to all sorts of discrimination in allocation of funds to the local bodies, the government allocated Rs42 billion for local governments during the current financial year and that 50 per cent of the development funds had already been released to all the three tiers of local governments.
The minister said the government had allocated Rs13 billion for 3,501 village and neighbourhood councils in the province.
“A total of 2,600 village and neighbourhood council secretaries have been hired in a transparent manner to enable the lowest tier of the local government to serve the people. Similarly, the government has released Rs1.75 billion (Rs0.5 million each) to these councils as operational cost of offices to help these lowest tiers of the local body entities function properly,” he said.
The minister said a number of reforms had been initiated in collaboration with donors to improve service delivery in the province through local governments.
“To coordinate these reforms, a management cell has been established in the local government and rural development department,” he said.
The minister said among the successes of the local body system were Peshawar beautification project, Regi Model Town initiatives, e-governance measures, resource mobilisation (generation) plan for TMAs and local authorities and development of performance indicators for TMAs and the SADP programme reforms.
He complained that the federal government didn’t pay the KP government the initial installment of Rs25 billion on the head of net hydel profit in the current financial year despite agreement on the Rs70 billion payment.
Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1255984/village-neighbourhood-councils-to-get-powers-for-dispute-resolution
[h=1]Soran Singh’s murder uncovers flaws in election laws
[/h] The killing of a member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Sardar Soran Singh, on April 22, 2016 in Buner district has brought to light flaws in the provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan and other relevant laws related to filling of seats reserved for non-Muslims in the National Assembly as well as provincial assemblies in the country.
Soran Singh was elected to the provincial assembly in the 2013 general elections on one of the seats reserved for non-Muslims on the basis of placement of his name at Serial No 1 of a priority list of candidates submitted by his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
In a strange twist of events the prime suspect arrested by the police in his murder case is another PTI leader, Baldev Kumar, who was at Serial No 2 of the said priority list of candidates. Under the Constitution, Baldev Kumar, who is also an elected district councillor in his native Swat district, is entitled to become an MPA on the seat which has fallen vacant with the death of Soran Singh.
Chief Minister Pervez Khattak stated in the provincial assembly on April 29 that his government would try to stop the way of Baldev Kumar from becoming an MPA. “We’ll consult our legal experts on how to expel the name of Baldev Kumar from the PTI priority list of the candidates for non-Muslims seats. I will also ask the law secretary to secure a stay order on the issue from the court of law,” he had told the assembly.
Both the treasury and opposition members asked the federal government to amend the relevant law to block the way of Baldev Kumar to the assembly. The officials concerned of the ECP have reportedly stated that under the law they had to declare Mr Kumar as returned candidate on the said seat as presently he was only a suspect and not a convict in the case.
At the time of filing of nomination papers during the 2013 general elections, the then provincial president of PTI Asad Qaiser had submitted the priority list of candidates of his party against the three seats reserved for non-Muslims in the provincial assembly. The priority list included the names of Soran Singh, Baldev Kumar, Ravi Kumar and Wazir Zada.
Keeping in view the number of general seats won by PTI in the provincial assembly it was entitled to a single seat reserved for non-Muslims on which Soran Singh was declared elected.
For filling the seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in a provincial assembly, Article 106 (2) (C) provided that such members shall be elected in accordance with law through proportional representation system of political parties’ lists of candidates on the basis of the total number of general seats secured by each political party in the provincial assembly. The total number of general seats won by a political party shall also include the independent returned candidates who may duly join such a political party within three days of the publication in the official Gazette of the names of returned candidates.
Article 224 (6) of the Constitution provides for filling a reserved seat which falls vacant. It states: “When a seat reserved for women or non-Muslims in the National Assembly or a provincial assembly falls vacant, on account of death, resignation or disqualification of a member, it shall be filled by the next person in order of precedence from the party list of the candidates to be submitted to the Election Commission by the political party whose member has vacated such seat. Provided that if at any time the party list is exhausted, the concerned political party may submit a name for any vacancy which may occur thereafter.”
The seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in the National Assembly and all the four provincial assemblies in its present form were introduced by retired General Pervez Musharraf during his military rule in 2002.
The then military government had made drastic changes in the Constitution through the Legal Framework Order, 2002, which also included introduction of the reserved seats. The then government had also introduced Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002, for the purpose of conducting the 2002 general elections. Article 8 EE of the Conduct of General Elections Order 2002 provided that the parties’ priority lists may contain as many names of additional candidates as a political party may deem necessary for contesting seats reserved for women and non-Muslims to provide for any disqualification of candidates during scrutiny of nomination papers or for filling of any vacant seat during the terms of National Assembly and provincial assemblies, as the case may be.
The said section also provided that a vacant seat shall be filled by the next person in order of precedence from the party’s list of the candidate submitted to the ECP.
Legal experts believe that the present mechanism of filling vacant reserved seats is faulty. They say that once a list is considered during general elections for the purpose of filling reserved seats, the same should not be considered for filling any future vacancy.
“The applicability of a priority list of candidates submitted during general elections should end after that polls and whenever any vacancy occurs the political party concerned shall be asked to submit a fresh name for that particular seat,” said Shahnawaz Khan, an advocate of the Supreme Court.
Under the existing system, no independent candidate could contest for these reserved seats and the candidates are dependent on political parties. Another major point of concern is the indirect mechanism of filling these seats.
Prior to the present mechanism, the seats reserved for non-Muslims in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies were filled through direct polls on the basis of separate electorate. In that mechanism all the non-Muslim voters were entitled to cast vote for electing their representatives against seats reserved for minorities.
A former woman MPA said that through the present mechanism mostly blue-eyed candidates of political parties’ leaders were placed on top of their priority lists. She said that these reserved seats were basically introduced for political mainstreaming of disadvantaged groups in the society, including women and non-Muslims.
Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1255746/soran-singhs-murder-uncovers-flaws-in-election-laws
[h=1]Work on power station begins in Garam Chashma
[/h] CHITRAL: Work on a micro hydropower station began in Garam Chashma village of Lot Koh valley on Saturday.
The power project is being executed by Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) under its programme for economic advancement and community empowerment with the financial assistance of European Union at a cost of Rs4.2 million. The power station will generate 40 kilowatts of electricity.
SRSP chief executive officer, Shahzada Masoodul Mulk, performed the ground-breaking of the project at a ceremony. He also handed over a cheque of first installment to the president of the male community organisation of the village for the purpose.
The village has been without power supply for last couple of years after a power station was hit by flash floods.
On the occasion, Mr Mulk said the power station was approved as a special case to electrify the town of Garam Chashma as area was also a tourist resort. He said another EU-funded development project ‘Community Driven Local Development’ had been launched in Malakand Division, including Chitral.
“Derive maximum benefits from the project which is being implemented on community participation basis and reduce the backwardness of your area by launching development projects in different sectors,” he urged the people.
Earlier, the district programme manager of SRSP, Tariq Ahmed, briefed the gathering about the salient and technical features of the project.
Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1255551/work-on-power-station-begins-in-garam-chashma
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
[h=1]City’s urban failure results in occupation by rats
[/h]PESHAWAR: Rats, like many other problems faced by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, have existed for a long time. They had bitten children and even killed several others in the past, but nobody bothered about where they were coming from and why they have increased in numbers in recent years.
The impression is that the rodents landed from another planet to plague the streets of the city in an intergalactic conspiracy. Like terrorism, the rats are symbols of our collective apathy and reflect how we look away from the real problem. It is not rocket science to decipher the code of a failed urban policy that has led to this point. The affected areas, where the number of rats has now stretched beyond the human population – at least in the public imagination – are all located by the side of canals and were once agricultural lands, but not anymore.
Without planning
The entire strip leading from Warsak Road to Charsadda Road and beyond, as well the canal that runs parallel to it and cuts through areas of Bashirabad, is where many cases of rat bites have surfaced.
But the rodents have not emerged suddenly. They have been there for a long time. The only things that are new are the mushrooming private housing schemes. Although these schemes satisfy the immediate need of providing basic shelter to an ever-increasing population of the city, they present examples of unplanned urbanisation with little to offer in terms of sanitation and cleanliness.
Since these are not government-owned lands, there is hardly any mechanism that keeps checks on the subnormal living conditions of locals.
The population of these areas mostly include people who have migrated for economic purposes and IDPs from tribal areas who can neither afford land in the main city nor are used to living in more urbanised constructions. Therefore, the comparative cheap accommodation with a self-styled building is a cheap bargain in accordance with the demand.
In leftover lands
The fields are disappearing and so is the natural habitat of whatever survived within those fields. Both humans and rats are battling for their survival. With hardly any knowledge on building codes, malpractices in the process to get projects approved and above all no plan for cleanliness, this was bound to happen.
What is even funnier is the way everything is politicised. The Peshawar district administration’s cheap take of announcing “head-money” for rats — the same failed colonial methods to control the increasing population of cobras and mice — is not just ludicrous but shows the immaturity of the people we elect to office, and their lack of understanding of the very areas they are asked to govern.
Experts have even suggested that the rodents, whose size is well beyond six to eight inches, are either genetically mutated or cross breeds. Even if that is true, it reflects a failure at the policy level because residents of Peshawar have hardly ever heard of fumigation in the city (which is now called the ‘anti-rat campaign’) prior to the increasing number of victims of rat bites.
Old becomes new
Since the campaign has begun, there have been more than 300 cases treated at the hospitals. I am pretty sure there were cases reported before that. But there was no official data on them and they were probably not considered a problem.
So, will the incumbent government live with mythologising Peshawar as the sister city of Hamelin in Germany or will it actually go into the root-cause of the problem? One can only hope that governance issues become real and are not just public relations campaigns that bring no relief to the residents for whom the system was put in place in first place.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 4[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1096710/citys-urban-failure-results-in-occupation-by-rats/
[h=1]3,000 players participate in three-day inter-regional games
[/h]
Participants take part in inter-regional games at Qayyum Sports Complex. PHOTOS: MUHAMMAD IQBAL/EXPRESS
PESHAWAR: Over 3,000 players from across the province will participate in the three-day Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inter-Regional Under-23 Games.
The event was inaugurated by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairperson Imran Khan at a ceremony held in Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium of Qayyum Sports Complex on Tuesday.
Three-day Mardan Regional Games begin
A large number of players gathered at the sports complex for the event that was organised by the K-P Directorate General of Sports. The initiative provided a platform for players to hone their skills and flesh out emerging talent.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Imran said, “While education is our government’s priority, sports is the right of every individual.”
On the occasion, he reiterated the promise he had made earlier about establishing a sports stadium in every district of the province.
“We will make this province an example for other parts of the country,” Imran said. He also shared his own experience as a cricketer with young players present on the occasion.
The PTI chief highlighted the importance of sports and the significance of healthy competition in every field of life including games.
Imran said the government was making an effort to revive such activities at schools and colleges to foster upcoming talent. “There is no dearth of capability in the province and sports activities will be extremely helpful in bringing the youth’s actual talent to the forefront,” he said.
Temporary closure
Imran also vehemently condemned the temporary closure of Hazara University, saying education was his government’s foremost priority and closing educational institutions was unacceptable.
The varsity’s registrar in Mansehra district had issued notification to close the varsity for two days ahead of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to the area on April 28. The notification also directed authorities to vacate the boys hostels and restrict the movement of girls to their hostels.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Provincial Sports Director General Rashida Ghaznavi said, “This is an innovative idea which has been appreciated by not only the players but also other stakeholders.”
Modus operandi
Sharing details of the event, Ghaznavi said committees to carry out the selection process of players were constituted in Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Swat, Kohat, DI Khan, Lakki Marwat and other districts earlier.
She added a large number of participants from across the province took part in competitions. Men and women were given equal opportunities in all competitions.
South Asian Games: Defeating India is our top priority: Khoushleem
The games for men that will be played during the three-day event include cricket, football, volleyball, hockey, squash, badminton, table tennis, boxing, athletics, gymnastic, judo, karate and taekwondo.
Women will also participate in cricket, hockey, squash, badminton, table tennis, athletic, judo and taekwondo in addition to basketball
and netball.
Minister for Sports, Culture, Archaeology, Museums and Youth Affairs Mehmood Khan and other government officials were also present on the occasion. The male and female U-23 games were held at divisional level earlier.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 4[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1096712...articipate-in-three-day-inter-regional-games/
[h=1]The line of fire: Auqaf minister under the microscope at assembly
[/h]PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami came under fire at the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly during Monday’s session. Opposition members demanded an enquiry over allegations that the Auqaf department’s funds were being used for political purposes such as appointments.
The minister for Auqaf, JI’s Habibur Rahman, answered questions fielded by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl lawmaker from Buner, Mufti Fazal Ghafoor. Rahman was visibly enraged by Ghafoor’s allegations. The latter said Rahman favoured JI-run madrassas and mosques and provided aids from the Auqaf department, while ignoring others. Rahman recited the Kalma and swore he never misused his authority to appoint JI’s people for the khatib posts. He underlined the selection criteria was never violated.
The debate between the two started in a question and answer session which focused on Rahman’s ministry. Majority of questions on the day’s agenda were about his department.
Evidence in hand
Ghafoor said his questions were answered by the Auqaf department of K-P which revealed Rs500,000 had been given to Madrassa Markaz-e-Islami in Buner. He called the madrassa a political office of JI and accused Rahman of using government funds for political purposes. Ghafoor added mosques and seminaries in his constituency had been ignored and some districts were handed more funds and others totally sidelined.
Responding to a question, Rahman said, “I have given funds to madrassas and mosques without any discrimination.” He added funds were given to those mosques and seminaries seeking aid in accordance with government-defined procedures.
Ghafoor was calling for accountability – something the government claims to have a process in place for. He even asked Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to conduct an enquiry into the matter, but the latter refused.
Ghafoor accused Rahman of favoring and appointing JI’s favourite boys as khatibs. He wanted K-P Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to refer the question to the relevant committee of the house.
Rahman responded saying he never used unfair means even for his own son and had no idea if any of the appointees were affiliated with JI.
He then came under fire from Sardar Hussain Babak of the Awami National Party for privatising Auqaf Model School in Tangi, Charsadda. School students and teachers protested outside the assembly over the privatisation and were brought into the building by lawmakers.
Explaining the issue, Rahman said the school was built on the principle of no profit and no loss. However, the institute faced losses worth Rs242,000 a month. He added it was beyond the means of the department to sustain the school. He made assurances the students’ fees would not be increased and the teachers and other staff would not be rendered jobless.
Matters of migration
Pakistan Peoples Party parliamentary leader Nighat Orakzai drew the house’s attention to people migrating from Chitral to Afghanistan. “The people of the area are being forced to migrate to the neighbouring country as they need assistance after being hit by an earthquake,” she added.
“The federal government and Sharif brothers, who call themselves public servants, are unmoved by the grievances of these victims.”
She demanded the chief minister put pressure on the federal government and stop people from becoming refugees. Orakzai called Nawaz Sharif a “king” who doesn’t care about the public’s problems.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 3[SUP]rd[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1095901...af-minister-under-the-microscope-at-assembly/
[/h]PESHAWAR: Rats, like many other problems faced by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, have existed for a long time. They had bitten children and even killed several others in the past, but nobody bothered about where they were coming from and why they have increased in numbers in recent years.
The impression is that the rodents landed from another planet to plague the streets of the city in an intergalactic conspiracy. Like terrorism, the rats are symbols of our collective apathy and reflect how we look away from the real problem. It is not rocket science to decipher the code of a failed urban policy that has led to this point. The affected areas, where the number of rats has now stretched beyond the human population – at least in the public imagination – are all located by the side of canals and were once agricultural lands, but not anymore.
Without planning
The entire strip leading from Warsak Road to Charsadda Road and beyond, as well the canal that runs parallel to it and cuts through areas of Bashirabad, is where many cases of rat bites have surfaced.
But the rodents have not emerged suddenly. They have been there for a long time. The only things that are new are the mushrooming private housing schemes. Although these schemes satisfy the immediate need of providing basic shelter to an ever-increasing population of the city, they present examples of unplanned urbanisation with little to offer in terms of sanitation and cleanliness.
Since these are not government-owned lands, there is hardly any mechanism that keeps checks on the subnormal living conditions of locals.
The population of these areas mostly include people who have migrated for economic purposes and IDPs from tribal areas who can neither afford land in the main city nor are used to living in more urbanised constructions. Therefore, the comparative cheap accommodation with a self-styled building is a cheap bargain in accordance with the demand.
In leftover lands
The fields are disappearing and so is the natural habitat of whatever survived within those fields. Both humans and rats are battling for their survival. With hardly any knowledge on building codes, malpractices in the process to get projects approved and above all no plan for cleanliness, this was bound to happen.
What is even funnier is the way everything is politicised. The Peshawar district administration’s cheap take of announcing “head-money” for rats — the same failed colonial methods to control the increasing population of cobras and mice — is not just ludicrous but shows the immaturity of the people we elect to office, and their lack of understanding of the very areas they are asked to govern.
Experts have even suggested that the rodents, whose size is well beyond six to eight inches, are either genetically mutated or cross breeds. Even if that is true, it reflects a failure at the policy level because residents of Peshawar have hardly ever heard of fumigation in the city (which is now called the ‘anti-rat campaign’) prior to the increasing number of victims of rat bites.
Old becomes new
Since the campaign has begun, there have been more than 300 cases treated at the hospitals. I am pretty sure there were cases reported before that. But there was no official data on them and they were probably not considered a problem.
So, will the incumbent government live with mythologising Peshawar as the sister city of Hamelin in Germany or will it actually go into the root-cause of the problem? One can only hope that governance issues become real and are not just public relations campaigns that bring no relief to the residents for whom the system was put in place in first place.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 4[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1096710/citys-urban-failure-results-in-occupation-by-rats/
[h=1]3,000 players participate in three-day inter-regional games
[/h]
Participants take part in inter-regional games at Qayyum Sports Complex. PHOTOS: MUHAMMAD IQBAL/EXPRESS
PESHAWAR: Over 3,000 players from across the province will participate in the three-day Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inter-Regional Under-23 Games.
The event was inaugurated by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairperson Imran Khan at a ceremony held in Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium of Qayyum Sports Complex on Tuesday.
Three-day Mardan Regional Games begin
A large number of players gathered at the sports complex for the event that was organised by the K-P Directorate General of Sports. The initiative provided a platform for players to hone their skills and flesh out emerging talent.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Imran said, “While education is our government’s priority, sports is the right of every individual.”
On the occasion, he reiterated the promise he had made earlier about establishing a sports stadium in every district of the province.
“We will make this province an example for other parts of the country,” Imran said. He also shared his own experience as a cricketer with young players present on the occasion.
The PTI chief highlighted the importance of sports and the significance of healthy competition in every field of life including games.
Imran said the government was making an effort to revive such activities at schools and colleges to foster upcoming talent. “There is no dearth of capability in the province and sports activities will be extremely helpful in bringing the youth’s actual talent to the forefront,” he said.
Temporary closure
Imran also vehemently condemned the temporary closure of Hazara University, saying education was his government’s foremost priority and closing educational institutions was unacceptable.
The varsity’s registrar in Mansehra district had issued notification to close the varsity for two days ahead of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to the area on April 28. The notification also directed authorities to vacate the boys hostels and restrict the movement of girls to their hostels.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Provincial Sports Director General Rashida Ghaznavi said, “This is an innovative idea which has been appreciated by not only the players but also other stakeholders.”
Modus operandi
Sharing details of the event, Ghaznavi said committees to carry out the selection process of players were constituted in Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Swat, Kohat, DI Khan, Lakki Marwat and other districts earlier.
She added a large number of participants from across the province took part in competitions. Men and women were given equal opportunities in all competitions.
South Asian Games: Defeating India is our top priority: Khoushleem
The games for men that will be played during the three-day event include cricket, football, volleyball, hockey, squash, badminton, table tennis, boxing, athletics, gymnastic, judo, karate and taekwondo.
Women will also participate in cricket, hockey, squash, badminton, table tennis, athletic, judo and taekwondo in addition to basketball
and netball.
Minister for Sports, Culture, Archaeology, Museums and Youth Affairs Mehmood Khan and other government officials were also present on the occasion. The male and female U-23 games were held at divisional level earlier.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 4[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1096712...articipate-in-three-day-inter-regional-games/
[h=1]The line of fire: Auqaf minister under the microscope at assembly
[/h]PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami came under fire at the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly during Monday’s session. Opposition members demanded an enquiry over allegations that the Auqaf department’s funds were being used for political purposes such as appointments.
The minister for Auqaf, JI’s Habibur Rahman, answered questions fielded by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl lawmaker from Buner, Mufti Fazal Ghafoor. Rahman was visibly enraged by Ghafoor’s allegations. The latter said Rahman favoured JI-run madrassas and mosques and provided aids from the Auqaf department, while ignoring others. Rahman recited the Kalma and swore he never misused his authority to appoint JI’s people for the khatib posts. He underlined the selection criteria was never violated.
The debate between the two started in a question and answer session which focused on Rahman’s ministry. Majority of questions on the day’s agenda were about his department.
Evidence in hand
Ghafoor said his questions were answered by the Auqaf department of K-P which revealed Rs500,000 had been given to Madrassa Markaz-e-Islami in Buner. He called the madrassa a political office of JI and accused Rahman of using government funds for political purposes. Ghafoor added mosques and seminaries in his constituency had been ignored and some districts were handed more funds and others totally sidelined.
Responding to a question, Rahman said, “I have given funds to madrassas and mosques without any discrimination.” He added funds were given to those mosques and seminaries seeking aid in accordance with government-defined procedures.
Ghafoor was calling for accountability – something the government claims to have a process in place for. He even asked Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to conduct an enquiry into the matter, but the latter refused.
Ghafoor accused Rahman of favoring and appointing JI’s favourite boys as khatibs. He wanted K-P Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to refer the question to the relevant committee of the house.
Rahman responded saying he never used unfair means even for his own son and had no idea if any of the appointees were affiliated with JI.
He then came under fire from Sardar Hussain Babak of the Awami National Party for privatising Auqaf Model School in Tangi, Charsadda. School students and teachers protested outside the assembly over the privatisation and were brought into the building by lawmakers.
Explaining the issue, Rahman said the school was built on the principle of no profit and no loss. However, the institute faced losses worth Rs242,000 a month. He added it was beyond the means of the department to sustain the school. He made assurances the students’ fees would not be increased and the teachers and other staff would not be rendered jobless.
Matters of migration
Pakistan Peoples Party parliamentary leader Nighat Orakzai drew the house’s attention to people migrating from Chitral to Afghanistan. “The people of the area are being forced to migrate to the neighbouring country as they need assistance after being hit by an earthquake,” she added.
“The federal government and Sharif brothers, who call themselves public servants, are unmoved by the grievances of these victims.”
She demanded the chief minister put pressure on the federal government and stop people from becoming refugees. Orakzai called Nawaz Sharif a “king” who doesn’t care about the public’s problems.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 3[SUP]rd[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1095901...af-minister-under-the-microscope-at-assembly/
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Championing women’s rights: Tabassum Adnan bags Nelson Mandela-Graca Machel Innovation Award
SWAT: Pakistani activist Tabassum Adnan won the prestigious 2016 Nelson Mandela-Graca Machel Innovation Award on Thursday.
Adnan hails from Saidu Shareef in Swat and was born in 1975. She completed her intermediate in fine arts from a degree college.
Tabassum was married off at 13 and divorced her husband after 20 years. She is the mother of four children and a victim of domestic violence.
A space for women
After the security situation deteriorated in Swat, she raised a voice for women and took the initiative to form the Khwendo Jirga to tackle their issues.
Traditionally, Pukhtun women are not allowed to hold jirgas as it offends the male-dominant mindset. It is largely difficult for women to hold jirgas in K-P’s patriarchal society, but her bravery and freethinking made her goal possible.
“As a result, many women are benefitting from Tabassum’s services,” her brother Irfan Hussain told The Express Tribune.
After the jirga was constituted, she held seminars and conducted meetings highlighting the importance of women’s right to vote.
“We all are overwhelmed with joy over her success and the award adds to our determination to work for women,” Hussain said.
Earlier, she won the 2015 Secretary of State’s International Woman of Courage Award as a victim of domestic violence who is fighting for the rights of other women. In 2013, she was awarded the Human Defenders Award.
After Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Peace Prize, women from Swat have been at the receiving end of prestigious awards, thus showing their abilities and determination.
Earlier in 2015, Hadiqa Basheer from Swat clinched the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for her services.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
05 AUGUST 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
6 MAY 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
MAY 07 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
MAY 08 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
[h=1]‘KP has 0.112m people with disabilities’
[/h] PESHAWAR: There are 112,013 people with disabilities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said the Provincial Disaster Management Authority on Friday.
According to a recent survey’s details shared by the PDMA, nearly half of the ‘disabled population’ was men totaling 54,623 followed by 29,409 women and 27,981 children.
The survey was jointly conducted by the PDMA and provincial social welfare development. The survey showed that districts of Swat, Lower Dir and Battagram topped the list with the highest number of the people with disabilities.
There are 16,192 special persons in Swat, 10,483 in Lower Dir and 9,672 in Battagram.
According to the survey, 33,803 men, 17,401 women and 14,826 children were physically challenged, while 7,189 men, 4,263 women and 3,438 children were visually impaired.
In the ‘deaf and dumb’ category, there were 7,099 men, 3,860 women and 4,241 children, while 6,532 men, 3,885 women and 5,476 children were mentally challenged.
The survey showed that the provincial capital had 7,506 people with disabilities, Malakand 8,139, Mansehra 6,172, Mardan, 6,638, Hangu 5,139 and Buner 4,170.
Torghar and Kohistan districts had the lowest number of ‘disabled population’ with 255 and 785 special persons respectively. PDMA spokesman Latifur Rehman said the survey teams visited all districts across the province and gathered the data, which would be fed into a database.
“We have names, addresses and other details of the people with disabilities. Other government organisations can use it for own purposes,” he said.
The spokesman said special persons were particularly vulnerable to disasters and that their details would help secure quick help for them in times of natural calamities. He said the PDMA would try to organise training workshops and other programmes for the people with disabilities.
Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257053/kp-has-0112m-people-with-disabilities
[h=1]Thousands of schoolchildren still without free textbooks
[/h] PESHAWAR: Even a month after the start of the new academic year, the authorities have yet to provide free textbooks to thousands of students of government schools in the province.
While blaming it on the faulty need assessment, the relevant officials fear the problem will take five more months to resolve.
They told Dawn on Saturday that the schools were bound by the departmental procedure to submit demand for new books to the respective district education offices 10 months ahead of the new academic session and therefore, they’re unable to precisely assess fresh enrolments in their respective schools in the next academic year.
The officials said the denial of textbooks to schoolchildren after the start of new academic year had become a norm due to the prevalent faulty need assessment system.
[h=4]Officials fear problem will take five more months to resolve[/h]
They said the district education offices received demand for textbooks from schools in June and forwarded it to the provincial secretariat of the elementary and secondary education department, which sent it to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board for printing of books.
The officials said the distribution of books to around four million students enrolled in 29,000 government schools in the province begins in April.
They said since it was a huge and time-consuming exercise, the authorities concerned struggled to distribute books to schoolchildren.
A school headmaster told Dawn that there was a 10 months gap between the book demand and supply.
He said headmasters didn’t know in June about the students to be enrolled in their respective schools in the next April.
“The headmasters provide data to the education department in June about the books to be needed in April. At that time, they know how many students would promote to next classes after the annual examinations but can’t say anything with certainty about fresh enrolments in different classes,” he said.
The school head said most headmasters hardly got free textbooks for new students.
An official involved in the book distribution insisted the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board had fulfilled the demand for Peshawar by the middle of April.
“Now, we are facing problems to fulfil additional demand for books,” he said.
The official said the district education offices floated fresh demand for new books and that the KPTB took almost five months to meet it.
He also said there were flaws in the mechanism of book distribution at the district level.
“Only two teachers, each for boys and girls schools, are deputed to distribute books to all middle, high and higher secondary schools in Peshawar,” he said.
The official said it was beyond the capacity of a single person to distribute millions of books to hundreds of schools and that despite being responsible for the distribution of books, he also taught students.
“Initially few books at the primary level were in short supply but they’re supplied by the end of April,” a senior KPTB official told Dawn.
He said the board had completed the supply of books for grade 7-12 in the first week of March.
During a visit to a government high school, a teacher said the students enrolled in the ninth grade having science subject totaled 46 but only 12 of them had so far gotten all textbooks.
He said textbooks of physics subject for grade 10 and Arabic for grade 7 were also in short supply.
The teacher said he visited the Government Higher Secondary School City No 1 several times, a books distribution centre for Peshawar, but got no textbooks.
He said he had asked students to share books with classmates but had no solution to the issue of doing homework without books.
Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257065/thousands-of-schoolchildren-still-without-free-textbooks
[h=1]Two kidnappers among 58 held in Kohat
[/h]KOHAT: The security forces and police in a joint operation arrested 58 suspects, including two alleged kidnappers, here on Friday.
They arrested two illegal Afghan nationals and 17 suspects during house-to-house search. One alleged kidnapper, identified as Sardar Hussain of Orakzai Agency, was rounded up from a house in Ustarzai village.
The police also arrested 36 suspects and an alleged kidnapper, Saifullah, in Bilitang area.
The seizure included two rifles, one repeater, four pistols, 10 chargers, three cars and six motorcycles. The police also fined 15 drivers for having tainted glasses on the vehicles.
All the suspects were taken to the police stations of City, Ustarzai and Bilitang for interrogation and cases were registered for possession of illegal weapons.
[h=4]Three cars, arms also seized during operation[/h]
Meanwhile, the police on Friday busted a gang of forgers who were selling fake prize bonds through women and arrested its members from a bank and a house. The police also arrested a man who was trying to smuggle counterfeit currency for disbursing it in the market.
Sources said that the manger of the main branch of NBP reported to the police that a couple of women were trying to get cash for forged prize bonds on the second consecutive day.
The police came to the bank and arrested Aisha Bibi and Bakhtawar Bibi who revealed that the head of the gang was named Jalal who lived in Hayat Shaheed Colony. The police later raided a house in that area and arrested Jalal and allegedly seized more fake prize bonds.
The women were sent to the Kohat prison after registration of a case against them.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1256839/two-kidnappers-among-58-held-in-kohat
[h=1]KP govt tables bill to amend Ehtesab commission law
[/h] PESHAWAR: The provincial government on Friday tabled a bill in the provincial assembly to amend the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act with a suggestion that the commission shall not take action in matters related to the ongoing development schemes and procedural lapses at the government departments.
The proposed law – KPEC (Amendment) Bill 2016 – tabled by law minister Imtiaz Shahid also proposed curtailment of the powers of the commission’s director general stating that the director general should only order an inquiry or investigation in matters involving financial loss to the provincial exchequer not less than Rs50 million.
Under the existing law, the KPEC DG is empowered to ‘order inquiry or investigation into any incident or an act or omission of a person or accused that reasonably appears to constitute an offence under the Act.’
The bill added that if the financial loss to the exchequer is less than Rs50 million, the matter shall be inquired and investigated by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE).
Initially, when the KPEC Act was enacted in 2014, it provided for the abolition of the ACE suggesting there shouldn’t be two parallel anti-graft bodies.
[h=4]Proposed law stops KPEC from acting in matters on uplift projects, procedural lapses at departments[/h]
However, the Act was later amended to allow the ACE to continue to function.
Following the promulgation of a ‘controversial’ ordinance by the provincial government on Feb 9, through which drastic amendments were made to the KPEC Act, the then director general, retired Lt-Gen Hamid Khan had resigned.
Chairman of the ruling PTI Imran Khan referred the matter to a committee headed by noted lawyer Hamid Khan for examination and recommendation. The current bill was drafted in light of a report submitted by that committee.
Through the said ordinance, powers of the five-member Ehtesab commission were increased specially in the filing of references, arresting of suspects and starting of investigation and inquiries.
However, the governor withdrew that ordinance on May 2 and thus, restoring the KPEC Act in its previous form.
The KPEC (Amendment) Act 2016 provides for the setting up of the directorate general of the commission to be headed by the DG and consisting of several wings.
Contrary to the ordinance, it doesn’t include any noteworthy provision for enhancing powers of the five Ehtesab commissioners and therefore, the DG will continue to call the shots.
Earlier during the question hour, the sports and tourism department in a written reply to a question of PML-N MPA Amna Sardar revealed that it had appointed two officers in BPS-16, one in BPS-14 and one of Class-IV in 2014 without advertising those posts in newspapers.
Sports, culture and tourism minister Mehmood Khan didn’t defend his department on the floor of the house and instead said such officers were appointed before he was given the portfolio.
“I have been heading this department for two months, while the appointments in question were made in 2014,” he said.
Amna Sardar said the matter should be referred to the relevant house committee for investigation as the relevant department had admitted on record that the officers in question were appointed in violation of law and procedure.
The matter was referred to the committee after Deputy Speaker Dr Mehr Taj Roghani, who was chairing the session, put it to vote.
Through another question, Amna Sardar had sought details of the funds used to organise different festivals and other tourism-related activities in parts of the province.
She however said the department had given wrong information to the house in reply to her question.
“It (department) has violated the sanctity of this august house,” she said.
In a written reply tabled on the floor of the house, the sports and culture department revealed in the reply that Rs14.5 million had been utilised on Khanpur Festival in Haripur, Rs13.77 million on Polo Festival in Shandur, Chitral, and Rs7.3 million on Khor Khurtti, Peshawar.
“I have the correct information released by the department at the time of organising these festivals, which doesn’t match the details shared in the house,” she claimed.
The chair referred the question to the relevant committee of the house after the assembly’s approval.
Speaking on a point of order, ANP parliamentary secretary Sardar Hussain Babak demanded that the government provide free vaccines to the victims of rat bites, whose incidence had increased alarmingly.
The house didn’t pass the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Foundation Bill, 2016, which was on the agenda, due to a lack of quorum after the prayer break.
The chair later prorogued the session while reading out the message of Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra.
Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1256885/kp-govt-tables-bill-to-amend-ehtesab-commission-law
[h=1]Federal minister refuses to speak on CPEC in presence of nationalist leader
[/h]PESHAWAR: The lengthy speech by Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on “China-Pak Economic Corridor -- Myth and Reality” at Islamia College University here on Thursday had an unpleasant start when he refused to speak in the presence of Pakhtunkhwa Ulasi Tehreek leader Dr Said Alam Mehsud.
It is pertinent to mention here that Dr Said Alam Mehsud had earlier briefed the provincial government and leaders of political parties on CPEC and rights of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa connected with this project being termed by the PML-N minister as the ‘game-changer in the region’.
Dr Mehsud and his team, holding files, had come prepared to raise some questions at the seminar where they had been invited by the ICU, which had organised the discussion.
However, Dr Mehsud got up and told the large gathering mostly students of the university that they had been asked to leave since the federal minister had refused to speak in their presence. “We are leaving because Ahsan Iqbal has refused to speak if we are here. They myth is gone. This is the reality,” he said ironically.
[h=4]Ahsan Iqbal’s speech at seminar focuses on ‘Vision-2025’ instead of economic corridor[/h]
Some of the students even raised slogans against this discourteous behaviour but Dr Mehsud and his team left the venue peacefully.
Soon Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal came to the stage and started his speech with ‘Vision-2025’ which focused more on having a future where economy of the country would be among that of the top 10 countries in the next 10 years.
He also assured the Islamia College University of providing the grant of Rs1 billion that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had earlier announced for the ICU during his visit.
He also clarified how those few people, who raised hue and cry about neglecting Pakhtuns in the CPEC, were wrong since Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were frontline provinces and geographically it was not possible to bypass those provinces in interlinking Gwadar with Central Asia and China.
The minister said that he had a four-hour long sitting earlier at Governor’s House in Peshawar to explain the CPEC and remove misconceptions that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was ignored in the project but some people did not get it while many understood his point of view.
Although he told the participants that he would be ready to answer and satisfy those, who had critical questions, and wanted to clear their minds on CPEC, the minister made such a long speech, having more focus on how Pakistan was envisioned under ‘Vision-2025’, that by the time he started talking on CPEC many of the participants were yawning and looked exhausted.
With Dr Mehsud and his team having all the documentary details of the CPEC gone, the students looked lost at the details the minister was giving about Pakistan’s geographical position and advantages that needed to be taken from its location than just raising slogans of Pak-China friendship.
Mr Iqbal said that Pakistan needed to become a robust economy than taking pride in just being an atomic power since times had changed. “Now quality, productivity and innovation are new currencies,” he added.
Finally coming to the topic of the seminar, “CPEC-Myth and Reality”, he said that it was a fusion of China and Pakistan and meant ‘one belt, one road’. It consisted of reviving the old Silk Route and establishing a maritime silk road. “It is unique because it would be bridging the land and sea routes,” he added.
The minister said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were very important for regional connectivity. “To integrate Central Asia or for the Gwadar to be outlet for Central Asia, tell me how come we can neglect Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? It is not possible geographically to bypass these provinces,” he added.
He said that CPEC was a long-term framework so in next 15 years Pakistan needed to produce energy to run Economic zones and industries.
He said that out of 46 bn dollars that were expected to be invested, some 35 bn dollars were supposed to be invested in energy sector. Ignoring the fact that KP had a potential for hydle and natural gas power generation, the federal minister said that since 70 per cent of the energy was produced in country from hydle , they have decided to induct coal for energy production which was why such projects would be started in Sindh and Balochistan.
APP adds: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday rejected the Terms of Reference (ToRs) of opposition parties about Panama leaks issue, saying the ToRs were not against corruption.
[h=1]http://www.dawn.com/news/1256654/federal-minister-refuses-to-speak-on-cpec-in-presence-of-nationalist-leader
[/h][h=1]Delay in approval of mineral development law resented[/h] PESHAWAR: The mine owners and leaseholders have expressed concern over delay in enactment of proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mineral Development and Regulation Act 2016 and urged the government to remove all hurdles to the legislation to ensure their protection and strengthen local economy.
Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, Frontier Mines Owners Association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, president Sherbandi Khan Marwat said that the provincial government has prepared the mineral development act in consultation with the relevant stakeholders, but the law department was creating hurdles in its way.
He said that if the proposed law was approved from the provincial assembly the government could increase its annual revenue from the existing Rs700 million to Rs3 billion from the mining sector.
Flanked by the association’s general secretary Abdul Jalil, and vice-president Abdul Rasheed and other mine owners, Mr Sherbandi said the mine owners were faced with a host of problems.
The provincial government, he said, had made commitment with the mine owners, but it didn’t take steps to decrease rent on mining machinery.
He said that the provision of licences for mine blast explosives and resolution of issues related to the department of forest were still awaited.
Mr Sherbandi said that the mineral development department was taking measures for bringing improvement in the rules and regulations, but some institutions and influential political figures were creating hurdles in this regard.
He said that the negative propaganda against mine owners had deprived the province of huge revenue and also rendered thousands of people jobless due to closure of many mines.
He claimed that genuine cases of mine owners were pending with the provincial mining department due to pressure of investigating institutions.
He said that projects worth billions of rupees in mining sector had been halted as forest department had started intervention in Hazara division, which led to closure of many mines.
He demanded of the chief minister to take notice of the prevailing issues in mining and mineral development sector and take steps for approval of the proposed KP Mineral Development Act from the provincial assembly.
Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2016
[h=1]http://www.dawn.com/news/1256652/delay-in-approval-of-mineral-development-law-resented
[/h][h=1]Relatives of KP CM, opposition leader given sapling contracts
[/h] PESHAWAR: The PTI government has contracted more than 50 people, including the relatives of the chief minister, opposition leader, chief secretary and other politicians, to supply one million saplings each for its Billion Tree Tsunami programme in the province, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Forestry secretary Syed Nazar Hussain Shah justified the award of these contracts during a news conference at his office here on Wednesday saying these people were approached following the initial reluctance on part of general public to provide their lands for the provincial government’s flagship afforestation initiative launched in Feb 2015.
The issue came to the fore following the transfer of Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) director Ziaullah Toru, who had been investigating the alleged irregularities in the Billion Tree Tsunami programme for few months.
Mr. Toru’s transfer, which took place on May 2, came amid reports of his differences with the chief secretary and was immediately linked with investigation into the afforestation programme.
[h=4]Forestry secy insists people were initially reluctant to offer land for Billion Tree Tsunami programme[/h]
The secretary told reporters that special assistant to KP chief minister for prison Malik Qasim Khattak, a cousin of chief minister Pervez Khattak, opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman, revenue minister Ali Amin Gandapur and the brother of KP chief secretary Amjad Ali Khan were among over 50 people contracted to plant over one million saplings each.
He said during the first year of the programme, the department had planned to give 50 percent of saplings to private nurseries and 50 percent to government nurseries.
Mr. Shah said during the first year, the department managed to give only 23 percent of saplings to private parties as people were not ready to provide their land to government due to the credibility issues.
“The people were not even ready to provide their barren lands to the government for sapling plantations,” he said.
The secretary said the department asked all and sundry in the province, including chief minister, speaker, cabinet ministers, assembly members and councillors, to help department arrange land to set up nurseries for the subsequent sapling plantations.
He said the ACE director was illegally residing in a forest department bungalow on the premises of the FMC Colony and when he was issued notice to vacate the house, he started investigating the programme.
“Mr. Toru was not only person to be issued with eviction notices; rather, there were 16 others who were also issued notices,” Mr. Shah said.
Mr. Shah said thereafter, Mr. Toru started to defame this important programme, which was launched with good intent.
He said the Billion Tree Tsunami was most successful programme and third party valuation has also showed about 95 percent sapling survival rate. He said that a total of 500 million sapling figure will be reached by this December.
He said that the department has also encircled about 3.500 mountainous sites each of 50 to 1000 hectares and was planting native species on these sites.
He said that department will plant about 500 million saplings during 2017 to meet billion tree goal and another 100-200 million saplings will be planted during 2018.
When contacted, Mr. Toru said the investigation which he undertook at the request for forestry minister predated the eviction notice issued to him. He said the things started to go wrong, when he raided the house’ of chief secretary brother in connection with Billion Tree Tsunami investigations.
Mr. Toru alleged that the department had given contract of planting one million trees to the chief secretary’s brother in violation of the project PC-1 and that he was about to provide one million more saplings, which he stopped.
He said that other people in Mardan and other areas were running from pillar to post to get over 5,000 sapling contracts, while a single person was contracted for 1 million saplings.
“There is no issue with a million saplings being allotted to a person in the barren southern KP. However, doing so in fertile Mardan and other neighbouring areas is an injustice with thousands of local residents,” he said.
Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2016
[h=1]http://www.dawn.com/news/1256426/relatives-of-kp-cm-opposition-leader-given-sapling-contracts
[/h]
[/h] PESHAWAR: There are 112,013 people with disabilities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said the Provincial Disaster Management Authority on Friday.
According to a recent survey’s details shared by the PDMA, nearly half of the ‘disabled population’ was men totaling 54,623 followed by 29,409 women and 27,981 children.
The survey was jointly conducted by the PDMA and provincial social welfare development. The survey showed that districts of Swat, Lower Dir and Battagram topped the list with the highest number of the people with disabilities.
There are 16,192 special persons in Swat, 10,483 in Lower Dir and 9,672 in Battagram.
According to the survey, 33,803 men, 17,401 women and 14,826 children were physically challenged, while 7,189 men, 4,263 women and 3,438 children were visually impaired.
In the ‘deaf and dumb’ category, there were 7,099 men, 3,860 women and 4,241 children, while 6,532 men, 3,885 women and 5,476 children were mentally challenged.
The survey showed that the provincial capital had 7,506 people with disabilities, Malakand 8,139, Mansehra 6,172, Mardan, 6,638, Hangu 5,139 and Buner 4,170.
Torghar and Kohistan districts had the lowest number of ‘disabled population’ with 255 and 785 special persons respectively. PDMA spokesman Latifur Rehman said the survey teams visited all districts across the province and gathered the data, which would be fed into a database.
“We have names, addresses and other details of the people with disabilities. Other government organisations can use it for own purposes,” he said.
The spokesman said special persons were particularly vulnerable to disasters and that their details would help secure quick help for them in times of natural calamities. He said the PDMA would try to organise training workshops and other programmes for the people with disabilities.
Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257053/kp-has-0112m-people-with-disabilities
[h=1]Thousands of schoolchildren still without free textbooks
[/h] PESHAWAR: Even a month after the start of the new academic year, the authorities have yet to provide free textbooks to thousands of students of government schools in the province.
While blaming it on the faulty need assessment, the relevant officials fear the problem will take five more months to resolve.
They told Dawn on Saturday that the schools were bound by the departmental procedure to submit demand for new books to the respective district education offices 10 months ahead of the new academic session and therefore, they’re unable to precisely assess fresh enrolments in their respective schools in the next academic year.
The officials said the denial of textbooks to schoolchildren after the start of new academic year had become a norm due to the prevalent faulty need assessment system.
[h=4]Officials fear problem will take five more months to resolve[/h]
They said the district education offices received demand for textbooks from schools in June and forwarded it to the provincial secretariat of the elementary and secondary education department, which sent it to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board for printing of books.
The officials said the distribution of books to around four million students enrolled in 29,000 government schools in the province begins in April.
They said since it was a huge and time-consuming exercise, the authorities concerned struggled to distribute books to schoolchildren.
A school headmaster told Dawn that there was a 10 months gap between the book demand and supply.
He said headmasters didn’t know in June about the students to be enrolled in their respective schools in the next April.
“The headmasters provide data to the education department in June about the books to be needed in April. At that time, they know how many students would promote to next classes after the annual examinations but can’t say anything with certainty about fresh enrolments in different classes,” he said.
The school head said most headmasters hardly got free textbooks for new students.
An official involved in the book distribution insisted the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board had fulfilled the demand for Peshawar by the middle of April.
“Now, we are facing problems to fulfil additional demand for books,” he said.
The official said the district education offices floated fresh demand for new books and that the KPTB took almost five months to meet it.
He also said there were flaws in the mechanism of book distribution at the district level.
“Only two teachers, each for boys and girls schools, are deputed to distribute books to all middle, high and higher secondary schools in Peshawar,” he said.
The official said it was beyond the capacity of a single person to distribute millions of books to hundreds of schools and that despite being responsible for the distribution of books, he also taught students.
“Initially few books at the primary level were in short supply but they’re supplied by the end of April,” a senior KPTB official told Dawn.
He said the board had completed the supply of books for grade 7-12 in the first week of March.
During a visit to a government high school, a teacher said the students enrolled in the ninth grade having science subject totaled 46 but only 12 of them had so far gotten all textbooks.
He said textbooks of physics subject for grade 10 and Arabic for grade 7 were also in short supply.
The teacher said he visited the Government Higher Secondary School City No 1 several times, a books distribution centre for Peshawar, but got no textbooks.
He said he had asked students to share books with classmates but had no solution to the issue of doing homework without books.
Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257065/thousands-of-schoolchildren-still-without-free-textbooks
[h=1]Two kidnappers among 58 held in Kohat
[/h]KOHAT: The security forces and police in a joint operation arrested 58 suspects, including two alleged kidnappers, here on Friday.
They arrested two illegal Afghan nationals and 17 suspects during house-to-house search. One alleged kidnapper, identified as Sardar Hussain of Orakzai Agency, was rounded up from a house in Ustarzai village.
The police also arrested 36 suspects and an alleged kidnapper, Saifullah, in Bilitang area.
The seizure included two rifles, one repeater, four pistols, 10 chargers, three cars and six motorcycles. The police also fined 15 drivers for having tainted glasses on the vehicles.
All the suspects were taken to the police stations of City, Ustarzai and Bilitang for interrogation and cases were registered for possession of illegal weapons.
[h=4]Three cars, arms also seized during operation[/h]
Meanwhile, the police on Friday busted a gang of forgers who were selling fake prize bonds through women and arrested its members from a bank and a house. The police also arrested a man who was trying to smuggle counterfeit currency for disbursing it in the market.
Sources said that the manger of the main branch of NBP reported to the police that a couple of women were trying to get cash for forged prize bonds on the second consecutive day.
The police came to the bank and arrested Aisha Bibi and Bakhtawar Bibi who revealed that the head of the gang was named Jalal who lived in Hayat Shaheed Colony. The police later raided a house in that area and arrested Jalal and allegedly seized more fake prize bonds.
The women were sent to the Kohat prison after registration of a case against them.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1256839/two-kidnappers-among-58-held-in-kohat
[h=1]KP govt tables bill to amend Ehtesab commission law
[/h] PESHAWAR: The provincial government on Friday tabled a bill in the provincial assembly to amend the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act with a suggestion that the commission shall not take action in matters related to the ongoing development schemes and procedural lapses at the government departments.
The proposed law – KPEC (Amendment) Bill 2016 – tabled by law minister Imtiaz Shahid also proposed curtailment of the powers of the commission’s director general stating that the director general should only order an inquiry or investigation in matters involving financial loss to the provincial exchequer not less than Rs50 million.
Under the existing law, the KPEC DG is empowered to ‘order inquiry or investigation into any incident or an act or omission of a person or accused that reasonably appears to constitute an offence under the Act.’
The bill added that if the financial loss to the exchequer is less than Rs50 million, the matter shall be inquired and investigated by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE).
Initially, when the KPEC Act was enacted in 2014, it provided for the abolition of the ACE suggesting there shouldn’t be two parallel anti-graft bodies.
[h=4]Proposed law stops KPEC from acting in matters on uplift projects, procedural lapses at departments[/h]
However, the Act was later amended to allow the ACE to continue to function.
Following the promulgation of a ‘controversial’ ordinance by the provincial government on Feb 9, through which drastic amendments were made to the KPEC Act, the then director general, retired Lt-Gen Hamid Khan had resigned.
Chairman of the ruling PTI Imran Khan referred the matter to a committee headed by noted lawyer Hamid Khan for examination and recommendation. The current bill was drafted in light of a report submitted by that committee.
Through the said ordinance, powers of the five-member Ehtesab commission were increased specially in the filing of references, arresting of suspects and starting of investigation and inquiries.
However, the governor withdrew that ordinance on May 2 and thus, restoring the KPEC Act in its previous form.
The KPEC (Amendment) Act 2016 provides for the setting up of the directorate general of the commission to be headed by the DG and consisting of several wings.
Contrary to the ordinance, it doesn’t include any noteworthy provision for enhancing powers of the five Ehtesab commissioners and therefore, the DG will continue to call the shots.
Earlier during the question hour, the sports and tourism department in a written reply to a question of PML-N MPA Amna Sardar revealed that it had appointed two officers in BPS-16, one in BPS-14 and one of Class-IV in 2014 without advertising those posts in newspapers.
Sports, culture and tourism minister Mehmood Khan didn’t defend his department on the floor of the house and instead said such officers were appointed before he was given the portfolio.
“I have been heading this department for two months, while the appointments in question were made in 2014,” he said.
Amna Sardar said the matter should be referred to the relevant house committee for investigation as the relevant department had admitted on record that the officers in question were appointed in violation of law and procedure.
The matter was referred to the committee after Deputy Speaker Dr Mehr Taj Roghani, who was chairing the session, put it to vote.
Through another question, Amna Sardar had sought details of the funds used to organise different festivals and other tourism-related activities in parts of the province.
She however said the department had given wrong information to the house in reply to her question.
“It (department) has violated the sanctity of this august house,” she said.
In a written reply tabled on the floor of the house, the sports and culture department revealed in the reply that Rs14.5 million had been utilised on Khanpur Festival in Haripur, Rs13.77 million on Polo Festival in Shandur, Chitral, and Rs7.3 million on Khor Khurtti, Peshawar.
“I have the correct information released by the department at the time of organising these festivals, which doesn’t match the details shared in the house,” she claimed.
The chair referred the question to the relevant committee of the house after the assembly’s approval.
Speaking on a point of order, ANP parliamentary secretary Sardar Hussain Babak demanded that the government provide free vaccines to the victims of rat bites, whose incidence had increased alarmingly.
The house didn’t pass the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Foundation Bill, 2016, which was on the agenda, due to a lack of quorum after the prayer break.
The chair later prorogued the session while reading out the message of Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra.
Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1256885/kp-govt-tables-bill-to-amend-ehtesab-commission-law
[h=1]Federal minister refuses to speak on CPEC in presence of nationalist leader
[/h]PESHAWAR: The lengthy speech by Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on “China-Pak Economic Corridor -- Myth and Reality” at Islamia College University here on Thursday had an unpleasant start when he refused to speak in the presence of Pakhtunkhwa Ulasi Tehreek leader Dr Said Alam Mehsud.
It is pertinent to mention here that Dr Said Alam Mehsud had earlier briefed the provincial government and leaders of political parties on CPEC and rights of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa connected with this project being termed by the PML-N minister as the ‘game-changer in the region’.
Dr Mehsud and his team, holding files, had come prepared to raise some questions at the seminar where they had been invited by the ICU, which had organised the discussion.
However, Dr Mehsud got up and told the large gathering mostly students of the university that they had been asked to leave since the federal minister had refused to speak in their presence. “We are leaving because Ahsan Iqbal has refused to speak if we are here. They myth is gone. This is the reality,” he said ironically.
[h=4]Ahsan Iqbal’s speech at seminar focuses on ‘Vision-2025’ instead of economic corridor[/h]
Some of the students even raised slogans against this discourteous behaviour but Dr Mehsud and his team left the venue peacefully.
Soon Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal came to the stage and started his speech with ‘Vision-2025’ which focused more on having a future where economy of the country would be among that of the top 10 countries in the next 10 years.
He also assured the Islamia College University of providing the grant of Rs1 billion that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had earlier announced for the ICU during his visit.
He also clarified how those few people, who raised hue and cry about neglecting Pakhtuns in the CPEC, were wrong since Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were frontline provinces and geographically it was not possible to bypass those provinces in interlinking Gwadar with Central Asia and China.
The minister said that he had a four-hour long sitting earlier at Governor’s House in Peshawar to explain the CPEC and remove misconceptions that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was ignored in the project but some people did not get it while many understood his point of view.
Although he told the participants that he would be ready to answer and satisfy those, who had critical questions, and wanted to clear their minds on CPEC, the minister made such a long speech, having more focus on how Pakistan was envisioned under ‘Vision-2025’, that by the time he started talking on CPEC many of the participants were yawning and looked exhausted.
With Dr Mehsud and his team having all the documentary details of the CPEC gone, the students looked lost at the details the minister was giving about Pakistan’s geographical position and advantages that needed to be taken from its location than just raising slogans of Pak-China friendship.
Mr Iqbal said that Pakistan needed to become a robust economy than taking pride in just being an atomic power since times had changed. “Now quality, productivity and innovation are new currencies,” he added.
Finally coming to the topic of the seminar, “CPEC-Myth and Reality”, he said that it was a fusion of China and Pakistan and meant ‘one belt, one road’. It consisted of reviving the old Silk Route and establishing a maritime silk road. “It is unique because it would be bridging the land and sea routes,” he added.
The minister said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were very important for regional connectivity. “To integrate Central Asia or for the Gwadar to be outlet for Central Asia, tell me how come we can neglect Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? It is not possible geographically to bypass these provinces,” he added.
He said that CPEC was a long-term framework so in next 15 years Pakistan needed to produce energy to run Economic zones and industries.
He said that out of 46 bn dollars that were expected to be invested, some 35 bn dollars were supposed to be invested in energy sector. Ignoring the fact that KP had a potential for hydle and natural gas power generation, the federal minister said that since 70 per cent of the energy was produced in country from hydle , they have decided to induct coal for energy production which was why such projects would be started in Sindh and Balochistan.
APP adds: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday rejected the Terms of Reference (ToRs) of opposition parties about Panama leaks issue, saying the ToRs were not against corruption.
[h=1]http://www.dawn.com/news/1256654/federal-minister-refuses-to-speak-on-cpec-in-presence-of-nationalist-leader
[/h][h=1]Delay in approval of mineral development law resented[/h] PESHAWAR: The mine owners and leaseholders have expressed concern over delay in enactment of proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mineral Development and Regulation Act 2016 and urged the government to remove all hurdles to the legislation to ensure their protection and strengthen local economy.
Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, Frontier Mines Owners Association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, president Sherbandi Khan Marwat said that the provincial government has prepared the mineral development act in consultation with the relevant stakeholders, but the law department was creating hurdles in its way.
He said that if the proposed law was approved from the provincial assembly the government could increase its annual revenue from the existing Rs700 million to Rs3 billion from the mining sector.
Flanked by the association’s general secretary Abdul Jalil, and vice-president Abdul Rasheed and other mine owners, Mr Sherbandi said the mine owners were faced with a host of problems.
The provincial government, he said, had made commitment with the mine owners, but it didn’t take steps to decrease rent on mining machinery.
He said that the provision of licences for mine blast explosives and resolution of issues related to the department of forest were still awaited.
Mr Sherbandi said that the mineral development department was taking measures for bringing improvement in the rules and regulations, but some institutions and influential political figures were creating hurdles in this regard.
He said that the negative propaganda against mine owners had deprived the province of huge revenue and also rendered thousands of people jobless due to closure of many mines.
He claimed that genuine cases of mine owners were pending with the provincial mining department due to pressure of investigating institutions.
He said that projects worth billions of rupees in mining sector had been halted as forest department had started intervention in Hazara division, which led to closure of many mines.
He demanded of the chief minister to take notice of the prevailing issues in mining and mineral development sector and take steps for approval of the proposed KP Mineral Development Act from the provincial assembly.
Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2016
[h=1]http://www.dawn.com/news/1256652/delay-in-approval-of-mineral-development-law-resented
[/h][h=1]Relatives of KP CM, opposition leader given sapling contracts
[/h] PESHAWAR: The PTI government has contracted more than 50 people, including the relatives of the chief minister, opposition leader, chief secretary and other politicians, to supply one million saplings each for its Billion Tree Tsunami programme in the province, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Forestry secretary Syed Nazar Hussain Shah justified the award of these contracts during a news conference at his office here on Wednesday saying these people were approached following the initial reluctance on part of general public to provide their lands for the provincial government’s flagship afforestation initiative launched in Feb 2015.
The issue came to the fore following the transfer of Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) director Ziaullah Toru, who had been investigating the alleged irregularities in the Billion Tree Tsunami programme for few months.
Mr. Toru’s transfer, which took place on May 2, came amid reports of his differences with the chief secretary and was immediately linked with investigation into the afforestation programme.
[h=4]Forestry secy insists people were initially reluctant to offer land for Billion Tree Tsunami programme[/h]
The secretary told reporters that special assistant to KP chief minister for prison Malik Qasim Khattak, a cousin of chief minister Pervez Khattak, opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman, revenue minister Ali Amin Gandapur and the brother of KP chief secretary Amjad Ali Khan were among over 50 people contracted to plant over one million saplings each.
He said during the first year of the programme, the department had planned to give 50 percent of saplings to private nurseries and 50 percent to government nurseries.
Mr. Shah said during the first year, the department managed to give only 23 percent of saplings to private parties as people were not ready to provide their land to government due to the credibility issues.
“The people were not even ready to provide their barren lands to the government for sapling plantations,” he said.
The secretary said the department asked all and sundry in the province, including chief minister, speaker, cabinet ministers, assembly members and councillors, to help department arrange land to set up nurseries for the subsequent sapling plantations.
He said the ACE director was illegally residing in a forest department bungalow on the premises of the FMC Colony and when he was issued notice to vacate the house, he started investigating the programme.
“Mr. Toru was not only person to be issued with eviction notices; rather, there were 16 others who were also issued notices,” Mr. Shah said.
Mr. Shah said thereafter, Mr. Toru started to defame this important programme, which was launched with good intent.
He said the Billion Tree Tsunami was most successful programme and third party valuation has also showed about 95 percent sapling survival rate. He said that a total of 500 million sapling figure will be reached by this December.
He said that the department has also encircled about 3.500 mountainous sites each of 50 to 1000 hectares and was planting native species on these sites.
He said that department will plant about 500 million saplings during 2017 to meet billion tree goal and another 100-200 million saplings will be planted during 2018.
When contacted, Mr. Toru said the investigation which he undertook at the request for forestry minister predated the eviction notice issued to him. He said the things started to go wrong, when he raided the house’ of chief secretary brother in connection with Billion Tree Tsunami investigations.
Mr. Toru alleged that the department had given contract of planting one million trees to the chief secretary’s brother in violation of the project PC-1 and that he was about to provide one million more saplings, which he stopped.
He said that other people in Mardan and other areas were running from pillar to post to get over 5,000 sapling contracts, while a single person was contracted for 1 million saplings.
“There is no issue with a million saplings being allotted to a person in the barren southern KP. However, doing so in fertile Mardan and other neighbouring areas is an injustice with thousands of local residents,” he said.
Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2016
[h=1]http://www.dawn.com/news/1256426/relatives-of-kp-cm-opposition-leader-given-sapling-contracts
[/h]
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
The Express Tribune > Pakistan > KP & FATA
[h=1]Shift of focus: Health secretariat goes paperless
[/h]PESHAWAR: Keeping in view the influx of files and data, modern technology will be put to use to introduce a ‘paperless system’ at the health secretariat.
“It will reduce the burden and will make tracking of files easy,” a senior health official told The Express Tribune, requesting anonymity since he was not authorised to talk to the media. He added several complaints were filed by different people that their files could not be traced. More often than not, files would go missing.
“A number of files went missing,” he said. “[Such a situation] would create problems for the officials.”
The official maintained that by switching to a ‘paperless system’, the risk of losing files will be reduced and all documents will be available on a single click.
E-Office Initiative
Health officials told The Express Tribune the system – called E-Office Initiative – has initially been inaugurated at the health secretariat so that all the data is saved in computers.
The new system will be gradually expanded to the K-P health directorate as well, the officials said.
Once scanned, they said, the data will be added to an office file. New files, including personal ones, will also be scanned and added to the office file. This will be easily accessible by every health official – from the minister to a clerk.
Tracking files
Another official of the department, who has been dealing with plans to switch to a paperless system, told The Express Tribune the government has initially decided to introduce the system at around five departments.
He added health, education, establishment and administration departments and the chief secretary’s office will have a computerised system.
“This is [a positive sign] since anyone could trace their file and its status as well,” Muhammad Bilal Khattak, project manager of E-Office, told The Express Tribune.
He added people will easily access and know where the files were in case of delay – they can also find out the reason behind the delay.
Khattak said the system will not only improve productivity but will also ensure transparency.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1098564/shift-of-focus-health-secretariat-goes-paperless/
[h=1]All guns blazing : Assembly turns into battleground as BoK report delayed
[/h]
PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly floor turned into a battleground on Friday as the treasury benches could no longer take the criticism coming from the opposition, resulting in verbal confrontations. On the other hand, the scientifically accepted average lifespan of a rat was brought into question by the statement from a minister.
The government succeeded in keeping the Cabinet committee report on the Bank of Khyber issue under wraps as K-P Deputy Speaker Dr Mehar Taj Roghani prorogued the session. The government is now to present the report for discussion on Monday as promised by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on the floor of the house.
During the debates and speeches, temperatures rose in the question and answer session when Awami National Party Parliamentary Leader Sardar Hussain Babak criticised the treasury benches for settling net hydel profits (NHP) with the federal government without consulting the opposition.
He slammed the government for settling the long-running dispute which the PTI-led administration decided would be settled at Rs70 billion.
Babak said Khattak also bowed before the federal government for delaying a census in the meeting of the Council of Common Interests.
“I don’t understand how the provincial government can settle NHP at Rs70 billion,” he said. “The solo flight of the government has affected the struggle for our rights against the federal government.”
He also lashed out at Khattak for promising that the Cabinet committee report on the Bank of Khyber issue would be presented in the house on Monday.
“According to my knowledge, you are ending the session today,” he said. “This is a joke with the assembly and its members who come to the house to speak about their issues, but the government is not taking them seriously.”
He said parties in the government should distribute developmental funds among one other, but that does not mean the opposition members get a lesser share. “We should not be forced to start press conferences outside the assembly hall during the sessions,” Babak warned.
“The government’s boat is sinking because it has a hole in it,” he said. Minister for Public Health Engineering Shah Farman interrupted Babak during his speech. The latter’s microphone was closed and this gave Farman the chance to take a swipe at the ANP leader.
Farman asked Babak to explain how Syed Masoom Shah reached a plea bargain agreement. “You have accepted your corruption in the court,” he said.
The minister accused Babak of recruiting 1,000 teachers in the education department and the incumbent minister removed them for not coming to school and staying in Dubai. They continued yelling at each other. The deputy speaker had to call for a break to end up the spat.
The second verbal tussle was between Minister for Health Shahram Khan Tarakai and PPP lawmaker Fakhr Azam Wazir. The latter wanted Tarakai to fix matters related to the rural health clinic in Domel. Tarakai said problems, such as the need for a bigger generator, would be fixed in the next budget. However, Wazir wanted immediate relief for the public and this angered Tarakai who asked Wazir to “correct” his attitude.
Rat bites
Babak raised the issue of rat bites in the city and asked the government to take the matter seriously. Shah Farman said the vermin were “eight to nine years old which means they were present in the previous government”. He said if the last regime had done its job, there would be no need to kill them today. It is worth mentioning here that the average lifespan of rats is about two years.
Chitral’s woes
PML-N lawmaker Rashad Khan diverted the house’s attention towards the rain-affected areas of Shangla district. He said relief authorities had not even started a single drinking water scheme in the area.
The government also presented the K-P Ehtesab Commission (Amendment) Bill 2016 in the house.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016
PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly floor turned into a battleground on Friday as the treasury benches could no longer take the criticism coming from the opposition, resulting in verbal confrontations. On the other hand, the scientifically accepted average lifespan of a rat was brought into question by the statement from a minister.
The government succeeded in keeping the Cabinet committee report on the Bank of Khyber issue under wraps as K-P Deputy Speaker Dr Mehar Taj Roghani prorogued the session. The government is now to present the report for discussion on Monday as promised by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on the floor of the house.
During the debates and speeches, temperatures rose in the question and answer session when Awami National Party Parliamentary Leader Sardar Hussain Babak criticised the treasury benches for settling net hydel profits (NHP) with the federal government without consulting the opposition.
He slammed the government for settling the long-running dispute which the PTI-led administration decided would be settled at Rs70 billion.
Babak said Khattak also bowed before the federal government for delaying a census in the meeting of the Council of Common Interests.
“I don’t understand how the provincial government can settle NHP at Rs70 billion,” he said. “The solo flight of the government has affected the struggle for our rights against the federal government.”
He also lashed out at Khattak for promising that the Cabinet committee report on the Bank of Khyber issue would be presented in the house on Monday.
“According to my knowledge, you are ending the session today,” he said. “This is a joke with the assembly and its members who come to the house to speak about their issues, but the government is not taking them seriously.”
He said parties in the government should distribute developmental funds among one other, but that does not mean the opposition members get a lesser share. “We should not be forced to start press conferences outside the assembly hall during the sessions,” Babak warned.
“The government’s boat is sinking because it has a hole in it,” he said. Minister for Public Health Engineering Shah Farman interrupted Babak during his speech. The latter’s microphone was closed and this gave Farman the chance to take a swipe at the ANP leader.
Farman asked Babak to explain how Syed Masoom Shah reached a plea bargain agreement. “You have accepted your corruption in the court,” he said.
The minister accused Babak of recruiting 1,000 teachers in the education department and the incumbent minister removed them for not coming to school and staying in Dubai. They continued yelling at each other. The deputy speaker had to call for a break to end up the spat.
The second verbal tussle was between Minister for Health Shahram Khan Tarakai and PPP lawmaker Fakhr Azam Wazir. The latter wanted Tarakai to fix matters related to the rural health clinic in Domel. Tarakai said problems, such as the need for a bigger generator, would be fixed in the next budget. However, Wazir wanted immediate relief for the public and this angered Tarakai who asked Wazir to “correct” his attitude.
Rat bites
Babak raised the issue of rat bites in the city and asked the government to take the matter seriously. Shah Farman said the vermin were “eight to nine years old which means they were present in the previous government”. He said if the last regime had done its job, there would be no need to kill them today. It is worth mentioning here that the average lifespan of rats is about two years.
Chitral’s woes
PML-N lawmaker Rashad Khan diverted the house’s attention towards the rain-affected areas of Shangla district. He said relief authorities had not even started a single drinking water scheme in the area.
The government also presented the K-P Ehtesab Commission (Amendment) Bill 2016 in the house.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7[SUP]th[/SUP], 2016
[h=1]Two suspects confess to killing PTI minority lawmaker: K-P police
[/h]PESHAWAR: Two of the six suspects held in connection with the murder of PTI minority MPA Sardar Soran Singh have confessed to his murder, police said on Thursday.
All six accused were presented before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Swabi after the lapse of a 10-day judicial remand in connection with Singh’s murder.
“Two of the six accused, including Behroz and Alam Khan, have confessed to the murder of Sardar Soran Singh,” DPO Buner Khalid Hamdani said while talking to media outside the court.
Not a separate entity : Son, LG councillors demand justice for Soran Singh
“This is a very healthy development from the point of view of our investigation. It connects all the dots regarding the role of all the people involved in the attack,” the DPO claimed, adding the police successfully managed to collect forensic evidence and with the help of a public prosecutor the perpetrators of the attack will soon be brought to justice.
Behroz, a resident of Pacha Kalley (Singh’s native town) was traced by his call record and he along with another accused Mukhtar were the hit men who carried out the attack for financial benefits, according to DIG Malakand Azad Khan.
Alam Khan on the other hand is a local leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the deputy Nazim of Shangla district.
Other suspects arrested in the case include PTI minority leader Baldev Kumar held from Swat, who arranged for the murder of Singh over political rivalry, said DIG Malakand. “Kumar wanted to contest elections but he could not secure a party ticket which created a dispute between Singh and himself and led him to hire paid assassins for the MPA’s murder.”
The tangled web: Third political figure implicated in Sardar Soran Singh’s murder
Further, former Awami National Party (ANP) senator Amarjeet Malhotra has also been implicated in the murder investigation of the late MPA.
Singh was shot dead near his house on Friday, April 22 in Pacha Kalay area of Peer Baba, a historical town in the mountainous Buner region. Soon after Singh’s murder, K-P Police had sprung into action and held the suspects within 48 hours.
Born in Peer Baba area of Buner district, Singh studied initially at local schools and ultimately graduated from Degree College Swarhi. He married an Indian national and had a son and a daughter from her. However, the couple went their separate ways later on. He married a Swat resident ten years ago and left behind a son and a daughter with her. Singh was a popular figure in the area and elected as district nazim on a Jamaat-e-Islami ticket. He ultimately joined the PTI and was a member of the party till his untimely death[h=1]
[/h]
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
May 09 , 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
May 10 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
May 11 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
May 12 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
May 13 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
May 14 2016
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
[h=1]Next KP budget likely to see Rs79.23bn cut
[/h] PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is likely to slash its budgetary allocations by Rs79.23 billion for the next financial year due to the financial crunch resulting from the revenue overestimation in the current budget.
This has been suggested in the draft Budget Strategy Paper-II (BSP-II), a copy of which is available with Dawn.
The estimates contained in the draft BSP-II have been further slashed compared to BSP-I prepared in April. The BSP-I predicted a 10 percent decrease in budgetary allocations for the next year but BSP-II has increased the cut up to 16 percent.
It says the province’s revenue proceeds for ongoing year is likely to be around Rs404.021 billion against budgetary target of Rs487.88 billion.
The BSP-I had put revenue proceeds at Rs437 billion.
[h=4]Official says budget to get definite shape after province’s share in federal divisible pool is clear[/h]
The estimated total revenue for next year has been set at Rs408.646 billion.
It says the province is likely to get Rs309.424 billion from the federal government, while province’s own tax and non-tax revenue will contribute another Rs32.338 billion.
The paper said the stagnant economic condition of the province will continue to impinge upon efforts provincial government to enhance its revenue. “A decrease of about 40 percent is expected in provincial revenues,” it notes.
It said two major sources which have caused significant increase in budget estimates for non-tax revenue from housing and forest sectors for the current year could not be realised and therefore, significant downward revisions were inevitable putting the projections at substantially low compared to the current year.
The province is also likely to get Rs18.7 billion as net hydel profit and Rs15 billion as NHP arrears.
The total expenditure are estimated to be around Rs316.558 billion and of this salary budget amounts to Rs79.632 billion, pension Rs42.326 billion and transfers to local government make for Rs112.242 billion.
The paper says that total current budget for the year 2016-17 is likely to increase by 6 percent compared to the ongoing year and then a progressive increase of 10 percent for subsequent two years.
The paper said that the downward projections provincial tax and non-tax revenue and exclusion of NHP arrears, the fiscal space for development activities is expected to remain under stress.
It said that despite this, development partners of the province will continue to maintain their commitments for socio-economic development in the province.
The province’s Annual Development Programme (ADP) is likely to worst hit with the province’s revenue problems and the document puts next year development allocation at Rs75.578 billion.
The projection is a massive cut of Rs100.297 billion compared to ongoing year budget. Volume of ongoing ADP stands at Rs174.884 billion and BSP-II says that actual volume of ongoing would stand by Rs149.267 billion.
Planning and Development (P&D) department has earlier last month decided to cut the ongoing ADP by Rs29 billion.
The documents estimates that ADP provincial component will be around Rs29.892 billion, district ADP at Rs12.811 and foreign project assistance at Rs32.884 billion.
Volume of provincial ADP stood at Rs111.776 billion and district ADP Rs30.274 billion.
Officials at the both the P&D and finance department said the APD was not yet not decided so far. A P&D department official said the department was waiting for the receipt of the budgetary ceilings from the finance department to formulate the ADP.
However, a finance department official said a word on the volume of receipts was awaited from federal government, which was the determining factor in the provincial budget making.
“The budget will get a definite shape once we have an idea of the province’s share in the federal divisible pool,” he said.
Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1258307/next-kp-budget-likely-to-see-rs7923bn-cut
[h=1]PDWP approves Rs12.4bn projects
[/h] PESHAWAR: The Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) in its meeting on Thursday approved 24 development projects with an estimated cost of Rs12.42 billion.
The forum, chaired by additional chief secretary Mohammad Azam Khan, discussed a total of 28 projects from the higher education, elementary and secondary education, communication and works, health, social welfare and transport departments and the Peshawar High Court.
In higher education sector, the approved projects included upgradation of Haripur sub-campus of the University of Haripur, provision of funds for security measures in government colleges and Pak-Austria Institute of Science and Technology at the University of Haripur.
In elementary and secondary education sector, the approved projects included standardisation of 200 higher secondary schools across the province. In road sector, the forum approved reconstruction of Muzhgol suspension bridge and restoration of flood-affected roads and bridges and Reshun power house in Chitral district; establishment of project implementation unit for the Asian Development Bank-funded provincial roads rehabilitation project under the Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority, construction of road connecting upper/lower Galiyat via PirSohawa to Islamabad, PC-II for engineering design of Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit Project Corridor-2, Jamrud Road, etc.
In health sector, the approved projects included improvement of emergency services in all the teaching and other hospitals of Peshawar and DHQ hospitals across the province, treatment of poor cancer patients (Phase-II) and some other projects.
Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1258104/pdwp-approves-rs124bn-projects
[h=1]Appointment of VCs to nine varsities in final stage[/h]
PESHAWAR: The process for appointment of vice-chancellors to nine public sector universities has entered its final stage as the academic search committee has recommended a panel of three candidates for each university, according to sources.
They said that the academic search committee recommended a total of 27 candidates three each for a single university.
Former federal minister for science and technology Dr Attaur Rehman is chairman of the academic search committee while its members include former governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr Ishrat Hussain, Rector of Ripha University Dr GM Miana, Lahore University of Management Sciences Vice-chancellor Dr Sohail Naqvi and the secretary of higher education department.
The higher education department, which assists the committee in the appointment of vice-chancellors, would forward a summary of the proposed panel of candidates for each university to the chief minister.
The governor, who is chancellor of public sector universities in the province, would appoint one of three candidates as vice-chancellor on the advice of chief minister.
[h=4]Search committee recommends 27 candidates, three each for a university[/h]
The process for appointment of vice-chancellors of nine public sector universities was carried out under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012 in which drastic changes were made through an ordinance in different provisions.
The ordinance was promulgated on February 9 and its constitutional life was 90 day, however, the assembly extended it for further period of 90 days. The bill is still pending in the assembly.
The provincial government couldn’t pass the bill as the opposition parties had reservation over the amendments introduced through the ordinance.
The posts of vice-chancellors are lying vacant at five old and four new universities. The old universities include Islamia College University Peshawar, Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Hazara University Mansehra and University of Science and Technology Peshawar.
The newly established universities by the provincial government are Women University Swabi, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, Women University Mardan and Shuhada-i-Army Public School University of Technology Nowshera.
The process for appointment of vice-chancellors was commenced in March. Sources said that 230 academicians had submitted over 800 applications for the vacant posts of vice-chancellors. Majority of the candidates had applied for several universities.
Many candidates had shown more interest in the vice-chancellorship of the old universities as the HED had received over a hundred of applications for each university, sources said.
They said that 109 candidates were considered for onward process in the initial screening conducted in March while the remaining were not fulfilling the prescribed criteria.
Of them 64 were called for interview by the search committee and 27 were recommended in the final list three each for a single university, sources said,
Regarding the criteria for the appointment of vice-chancellors, the law states that a vice-chancellor for the general universities shall be a PhD in any discipline with good academic record. For an engineering university, PhD in the field of engineering and for technology university PhD in a field of technology was must.
“He (vice-chancellor) must have experience in the field of higher education of at least 15 years in teaching or research in a university/well-established institution of repute at the postgraduate level,” the law states.
Similarly, the vice-chancellor shall also have excellent research publication record. Under the criteria, the vice-chancellor is required to have at least five years of administrative/postdoctoral research experience in the field of higher education.
The existing criteria for the appointment of vice-chancellors was relaxed by introducing major amendments in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012 through an ordinance promulgated on February 9, 2016 as the previous criteria established by the PTI-led provincial government under its reform agenda were hardly fulfilled by any candidate.
Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257879/appointment-of-vcs-to-nine-varsities-in-final-stage
[h=1]Solar power units to be installed at hospitals for safety of vaccine, labs
[/h] PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has planned to install solar power units for maintenance of cold chain for safety of vaccine and functioning of laboratories, X-ray plants and ultrasound machines at the public sector hospitals, which face 10-hour power outages every day.
A survey conducted by the independent monitoring unit (IMU) of the health department last month shows that 210 health facilities in the province face severe shortage of power supply which affects cold chain for vaccine for childhood ailments. Sources said that the rapid assessment survey was carried out to seek permanent solution to the issue of power outages which brought healthcare activities to a standstill as despite existence of staff and equipment the patients couldn’t get any assistance.
The health department has asked Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation for solarisation of the facilities hit by more than 10 hours power outages every day.
At the receiving end were the people of Battagram where electricity was not available or non-functional in 36 health facilities followed by Abbottabad, Mansehra and Kohistan. In 13 per cent health facilities, electricity wasn’t available and in 67 per cent it was found non-functional, said the survey. The X-ray plants, ultrasound machines, pathological and other work couldn’t be done for want of electricity.
[h=4]Survey shows 210 health facilities in KP face severe power outages[/h]
The survey, which covered all 781 basic health units (BHUs), 410 civil dispensaries and 128 hospitals of the province, also recommends alternate sources of energy to ensure continuous supply of power. It has recommended that PEDO along with district administration should conduct rapid assessment in the facilities with minor problems to resolve the issue by using the available sources.
According to it, the facilities with no electricity connections require urgent assistance through solar power. Arrangements should be put in place to operate the system in these facilities, the survey says.
It said that most of the patients were sent to private clinics or referred to secondary health care facilities for ailments, which could be treated at primary health facilities.
Dr Akhtar Said, who heads the IMU, said that the outlets should be energised with back-up electricity generators, installation of solar panels, UPS and stabilisers. “Maps and situation analysis also pinpoint that power-deficient hospitals stay without water, sanitation and sterilisation,” he said.
Dr Akhtar said that on the request of health secretary, all the 1,518 health facilities were surveyed during the three week exercise. “The health department has also released Rs40 million to Rs50 million to 19 districts besides regular budget to be spent at the district level on prompt repairs, civil work and supply of medicines and power,” he added.
Dr Akhtar said that the department also planned to constitute committees at community level to run the local health facilities and provide better care to people in rural areas. “Rest of the districts will also get the amount,” he added. He said that decentralisation of power through district governments was another positive development owing to which most issues could be resolved effectively. The health department was waiting for response of PEDO regarding the plan, he added.
Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257652/solar-power-units-to-be-installed-at-hospitals-for-safety-of-vaccine-labs
[h=1]KP govt asked to focus on police reforms
[/h] PESHAWAR: Speakers at a ceremony here on Tuesday urged the government to focus on reforms in police to make the force more people-friendly and remove the trust deficit between people and law enforcers in the province.
They were addressing the opening ceremony of ‘Ulasi’ police project, an awareness and advocacy campaign undertaken by Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). The event was held at Malik Saad Police Lines, said a statement.
The project is aimed at strengthening rule of law in the province by promoting and disseminating significant police reforms. The project would tackle the issue of trust deficit between police and people and help police to become an accountable and community-focused force, the statement said.
“Institutionalising of police reforms is must to tackle the trust deficit between the public and the police in the province,” said Tariq Javed, the additional inspector general of police, on the occasion.
[h=4]Project launched to strengthen rule of law in KP[/h]
He stressed the need for greater advocacy for the image building of police. He said that police needed operational autonomy to function impartially and effectively.
ANP general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, who attended the event as a guest speaker, said that police in the province had been playing a front line role in the war against terrorism. “Due to prolonged insurgency in the region, there is a dire need to bring social reforms in police system to make the force more people-friendly,” he added.
The ANP leader extended full support to the authorities in bringing reforms in police system and improving image of the force. He said that during the previous provincial government, number of police was increased from 40,000 to 80,000 and Shuhada package was approved for them.
PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai said on the occasion that initiatives like ‘Ulasi’ police were need of the hour to restore trust of people in police. “Police face multi-pronged challenges and de-politicisation of the force can help it to stand up to these challenges,” he added.
Mr Yousafzai said that the dispute resolution councils (DRCs) were also a good step-ahead as part of the efforts to serve the people. Earlier, CRRS chief executive Imtiaz Gul said that the project would be run in three districts including Peshawar, Charsadda and Mardan to remove trust deficit between police and people.
Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257647/kp-govt-asked-to-focus-on-police-reforms
[h=1]View from the courtroom: Amendment bill to clip powers of Ehtesab Commission
[/h] A bill tabled by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in the provincial assembly on May 6 for making amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act (KPECA), 2016, has raised many eyebrows as apparently the proposed amendments would reduce the powers of the commission and it would not be empowered to question any irregularity in ongoing schemes of the government, including the Annual Development Programme (ADP).
Ever since the KPECA was enacted in Jan 2014 the provincial government remained in a state of confusion, which is evident from the amendments made in the law from time to time. While the government continued to tinker with the law, it faced a lot of embarrassment when a controversial ordinance – KPEC (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 – was promulgated on Feb 9.
The then commission’s director general retired Lt-Gen Hamid Khan had resigned as a protest as several of his powers were curtailed and assigned to the five-member Ehtesab Commission, headed by the chief Ehtesab commissioner. Perturbed with the criticism drawn by the ordinance the Pakistan Tehreek-i- Insaf chief, Imran Khan, assigned the task of preparing a bill to a committee, headed by prominent lawyer Hamid Khan.
In the light of recommendations of the committee the instant bill was prepared and tabled in the provincial assembly. When the KPECA was enacted in 2014 it initially provided for the abolishing of the Anti- Corruption Establishment, a provincial anti-graft body, and in Section 57 of the Act it was provided that all the cases pending before ACE, its employees and assets should stand transferred to the Ehtesab Commission.
The framer of the Act believed that two parallel bodies having same functions would create confusion. However, the first amendment in the law was made through the KPEC (Amendment) Act, 2014, which was passed by the assembly on June 24, 2014. Through that amendment the provincial government reversed its decision of abolishing ACE in the province. It was provided that ACE would have no jurisdiction in matters where the commission assumed jurisdiction.
Now through the present bill the provincial government has decided to curtail the powers of Ehtesab Commission so that it should not deal with cases involving financial loss to the provincial exchequer of less than Rs50 million. The bill proposes to amend Section 35 of the Act so that matters relating to losses of less than Rs50 million should be inquired into and investigated by ACE.
Advocate Shumail Ahmad Butt believes that this provision would create confusion and would go in favour of a suspect. “Suspects would move the court with the plea that the alleged loss to the exchequer in their respective case is of less than Rs50 million, therefore, the Ehtesab Commission is not empowered to deal with their case,” he said.
Experts questioned how the total amount of loss to the exchequer would be determined prior to an inquiry or investigation as both the KPEC and ACE would try to use this law for their own benefit.
The most controversial proposed amendment is addition of a new sub-section (1A) in Section 35 of the Act. The proposed sub-section states: “The Commission shall not take action in matters involving pure procedural lapses and in ongoing schemes of government.”
Mr Butt said that if this sub-section was included in the Act then the Ehtesab Commission’s hands would be tied and it would not be empowered to question any of the ADP schemes of the present government. “This provision means that the commission should inquire about schemes executed by the previous governments and not the ongoing schemes.”
Critics believe that there were certain good things in the controversial ordinance, which should have been included by the government in the present bill. The Chief Ehtesab Commissioner, retired Justice Hamid Farooq Durrani, is a former judge of the Peshawar High Court and it would have been appropriate to consult him and other commissioners while drafting this bill. However, they had been ignored.
The ordinance, which had to expire on May 9 after completion of its three months constitutional life, is already withdrawn by the KP governor on May 2, thus restoring KPECA in its previous form. By assigning certain powers to Ehtesab Commission in the ordinance the government had tried to introduce transparency in the affairs of the commission as previously most of the powers were assigned to an individual holding the post of DG.
Section 9 of the Act provides that the commission should oversee the overall performance of the commission, its officers and employees without interfering in day-to-day operational matters. However, through the ordinance the words “day-to-day operational matters” were deleted.
Furthermore, through the ordinance the Ehtesab Commission was empowered to grant approval to the director general or an officer of the directorate general for arrest of an accused person. After the withdrawal of the ordinance those powers are no longer with the commission and have now been reverted back to the director general.
Presently, Section 37 of the Act provides that a prosecution conference should be held upon completion of the inquiry or investigation and the investigation officers and special prosecutors should prepare a joint report for the DG with the recommendation for filing of a reference before the court or opposing it. Through the ordinance, it was provided that the prosecution conference should be chaired by the Chief Ehtesab Commissioner and to be attended by two commissioners, the DG, the prosecutor general for deciding whether to send a reference to the court for trial or not.
Those powers are no longer assigned to the Ehtesab commissioners. “Under the existing law and even in the proposed amendments the Ehtesab commissioners have been and will be acting like silent spectators,” said an expert on the subject.
Looking at the present bill, the experts believe that the controversy surrounding the KP Ehtesab law is far from over.
Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257252/vi...ent-bill-to-clip-powers-of-ehtesab-commission
[/h] PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is likely to slash its budgetary allocations by Rs79.23 billion for the next financial year due to the financial crunch resulting from the revenue overestimation in the current budget.
This has been suggested in the draft Budget Strategy Paper-II (BSP-II), a copy of which is available with Dawn.
The estimates contained in the draft BSP-II have been further slashed compared to BSP-I prepared in April. The BSP-I predicted a 10 percent decrease in budgetary allocations for the next year but BSP-II has increased the cut up to 16 percent.
It says the province’s revenue proceeds for ongoing year is likely to be around Rs404.021 billion against budgetary target of Rs487.88 billion.
The BSP-I had put revenue proceeds at Rs437 billion.
[h=4]Official says budget to get definite shape after province’s share in federal divisible pool is clear[/h]
The estimated total revenue for next year has been set at Rs408.646 billion.
It says the province is likely to get Rs309.424 billion from the federal government, while province’s own tax and non-tax revenue will contribute another Rs32.338 billion.
The paper said the stagnant economic condition of the province will continue to impinge upon efforts provincial government to enhance its revenue. “A decrease of about 40 percent is expected in provincial revenues,” it notes.
It said two major sources which have caused significant increase in budget estimates for non-tax revenue from housing and forest sectors for the current year could not be realised and therefore, significant downward revisions were inevitable putting the projections at substantially low compared to the current year.
The province is also likely to get Rs18.7 billion as net hydel profit and Rs15 billion as NHP arrears.
The total expenditure are estimated to be around Rs316.558 billion and of this salary budget amounts to Rs79.632 billion, pension Rs42.326 billion and transfers to local government make for Rs112.242 billion.
The paper says that total current budget for the year 2016-17 is likely to increase by 6 percent compared to the ongoing year and then a progressive increase of 10 percent for subsequent two years.
The paper said that the downward projections provincial tax and non-tax revenue and exclusion of NHP arrears, the fiscal space for development activities is expected to remain under stress.
It said that despite this, development partners of the province will continue to maintain their commitments for socio-economic development in the province.
The province’s Annual Development Programme (ADP) is likely to worst hit with the province’s revenue problems and the document puts next year development allocation at Rs75.578 billion.
The projection is a massive cut of Rs100.297 billion compared to ongoing year budget. Volume of ongoing ADP stands at Rs174.884 billion and BSP-II says that actual volume of ongoing would stand by Rs149.267 billion.
Planning and Development (P&D) department has earlier last month decided to cut the ongoing ADP by Rs29 billion.
The documents estimates that ADP provincial component will be around Rs29.892 billion, district ADP at Rs12.811 and foreign project assistance at Rs32.884 billion.
Volume of provincial ADP stood at Rs111.776 billion and district ADP Rs30.274 billion.
Officials at the both the P&D and finance department said the APD was not yet not decided so far. A P&D department official said the department was waiting for the receipt of the budgetary ceilings from the finance department to formulate the ADP.
However, a finance department official said a word on the volume of receipts was awaited from federal government, which was the determining factor in the provincial budget making.
“The budget will get a definite shape once we have an idea of the province’s share in the federal divisible pool,” he said.
Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1258307/next-kp-budget-likely-to-see-rs7923bn-cut
[h=1]PDWP approves Rs12.4bn projects
[/h] PESHAWAR: The Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) in its meeting on Thursday approved 24 development projects with an estimated cost of Rs12.42 billion.
The forum, chaired by additional chief secretary Mohammad Azam Khan, discussed a total of 28 projects from the higher education, elementary and secondary education, communication and works, health, social welfare and transport departments and the Peshawar High Court.
In higher education sector, the approved projects included upgradation of Haripur sub-campus of the University of Haripur, provision of funds for security measures in government colleges and Pak-Austria Institute of Science and Technology at the University of Haripur.
In elementary and secondary education sector, the approved projects included standardisation of 200 higher secondary schools across the province. In road sector, the forum approved reconstruction of Muzhgol suspension bridge and restoration of flood-affected roads and bridges and Reshun power house in Chitral district; establishment of project implementation unit for the Asian Development Bank-funded provincial roads rehabilitation project under the Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority, construction of road connecting upper/lower Galiyat via PirSohawa to Islamabad, PC-II for engineering design of Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit Project Corridor-2, Jamrud Road, etc.
In health sector, the approved projects included improvement of emergency services in all the teaching and other hospitals of Peshawar and DHQ hospitals across the province, treatment of poor cancer patients (Phase-II) and some other projects.
Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1258104/pdwp-approves-rs124bn-projects
[h=1]Appointment of VCs to nine varsities in final stage[/h]
PESHAWAR: The process for appointment of vice-chancellors to nine public sector universities has entered its final stage as the academic search committee has recommended a panel of three candidates for each university, according to sources.
They said that the academic search committee recommended a total of 27 candidates three each for a single university.
Former federal minister for science and technology Dr Attaur Rehman is chairman of the academic search committee while its members include former governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr Ishrat Hussain, Rector of Ripha University Dr GM Miana, Lahore University of Management Sciences Vice-chancellor Dr Sohail Naqvi and the secretary of higher education department.
The higher education department, which assists the committee in the appointment of vice-chancellors, would forward a summary of the proposed panel of candidates for each university to the chief minister.
The governor, who is chancellor of public sector universities in the province, would appoint one of three candidates as vice-chancellor on the advice of chief minister.
[h=4]Search committee recommends 27 candidates, three each for a university[/h]
The process for appointment of vice-chancellors of nine public sector universities was carried out under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012 in which drastic changes were made through an ordinance in different provisions.
The ordinance was promulgated on February 9 and its constitutional life was 90 day, however, the assembly extended it for further period of 90 days. The bill is still pending in the assembly.
The provincial government couldn’t pass the bill as the opposition parties had reservation over the amendments introduced through the ordinance.
The posts of vice-chancellors are lying vacant at five old and four new universities. The old universities include Islamia College University Peshawar, Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Hazara University Mansehra and University of Science and Technology Peshawar.
The newly established universities by the provincial government are Women University Swabi, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, Women University Mardan and Shuhada-i-Army Public School University of Technology Nowshera.
The process for appointment of vice-chancellors was commenced in March. Sources said that 230 academicians had submitted over 800 applications for the vacant posts of vice-chancellors. Majority of the candidates had applied for several universities.
Many candidates had shown more interest in the vice-chancellorship of the old universities as the HED had received over a hundred of applications for each university, sources said.
They said that 109 candidates were considered for onward process in the initial screening conducted in March while the remaining were not fulfilling the prescribed criteria.
Of them 64 were called for interview by the search committee and 27 were recommended in the final list three each for a single university, sources said,
Regarding the criteria for the appointment of vice-chancellors, the law states that a vice-chancellor for the general universities shall be a PhD in any discipline with good academic record. For an engineering university, PhD in the field of engineering and for technology university PhD in a field of technology was must.
“He (vice-chancellor) must have experience in the field of higher education of at least 15 years in teaching or research in a university/well-established institution of repute at the postgraduate level,” the law states.
Similarly, the vice-chancellor shall also have excellent research publication record. Under the criteria, the vice-chancellor is required to have at least five years of administrative/postdoctoral research experience in the field of higher education.
The existing criteria for the appointment of vice-chancellors was relaxed by introducing major amendments in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012 through an ordinance promulgated on February 9, 2016 as the previous criteria established by the PTI-led provincial government under its reform agenda were hardly fulfilled by any candidate.
Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257879/appointment-of-vcs-to-nine-varsities-in-final-stage
[h=1]Solar power units to be installed at hospitals for safety of vaccine, labs
[/h] PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has planned to install solar power units for maintenance of cold chain for safety of vaccine and functioning of laboratories, X-ray plants and ultrasound machines at the public sector hospitals, which face 10-hour power outages every day.
A survey conducted by the independent monitoring unit (IMU) of the health department last month shows that 210 health facilities in the province face severe shortage of power supply which affects cold chain for vaccine for childhood ailments. Sources said that the rapid assessment survey was carried out to seek permanent solution to the issue of power outages which brought healthcare activities to a standstill as despite existence of staff and equipment the patients couldn’t get any assistance.
The health department has asked Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation for solarisation of the facilities hit by more than 10 hours power outages every day.
At the receiving end were the people of Battagram where electricity was not available or non-functional in 36 health facilities followed by Abbottabad, Mansehra and Kohistan. In 13 per cent health facilities, electricity wasn’t available and in 67 per cent it was found non-functional, said the survey. The X-ray plants, ultrasound machines, pathological and other work couldn’t be done for want of electricity.
[h=4]Survey shows 210 health facilities in KP face severe power outages[/h]
The survey, which covered all 781 basic health units (BHUs), 410 civil dispensaries and 128 hospitals of the province, also recommends alternate sources of energy to ensure continuous supply of power. It has recommended that PEDO along with district administration should conduct rapid assessment in the facilities with minor problems to resolve the issue by using the available sources.
According to it, the facilities with no electricity connections require urgent assistance through solar power. Arrangements should be put in place to operate the system in these facilities, the survey says.
It said that most of the patients were sent to private clinics or referred to secondary health care facilities for ailments, which could be treated at primary health facilities.
Dr Akhtar Said, who heads the IMU, said that the outlets should be energised with back-up electricity generators, installation of solar panels, UPS and stabilisers. “Maps and situation analysis also pinpoint that power-deficient hospitals stay without water, sanitation and sterilisation,” he said.
Dr Akhtar said that on the request of health secretary, all the 1,518 health facilities were surveyed during the three week exercise. “The health department has also released Rs40 million to Rs50 million to 19 districts besides regular budget to be spent at the district level on prompt repairs, civil work and supply of medicines and power,” he added.
Dr Akhtar said that the department also planned to constitute committees at community level to run the local health facilities and provide better care to people in rural areas. “Rest of the districts will also get the amount,” he added. He said that decentralisation of power through district governments was another positive development owing to which most issues could be resolved effectively. The health department was waiting for response of PEDO regarding the plan, he added.
Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257652/solar-power-units-to-be-installed-at-hospitals-for-safety-of-vaccine-labs
[h=1]KP govt asked to focus on police reforms
[/h] PESHAWAR: Speakers at a ceremony here on Tuesday urged the government to focus on reforms in police to make the force more people-friendly and remove the trust deficit between people and law enforcers in the province.
They were addressing the opening ceremony of ‘Ulasi’ police project, an awareness and advocacy campaign undertaken by Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). The event was held at Malik Saad Police Lines, said a statement.
The project is aimed at strengthening rule of law in the province by promoting and disseminating significant police reforms. The project would tackle the issue of trust deficit between police and people and help police to become an accountable and community-focused force, the statement said.
“Institutionalising of police reforms is must to tackle the trust deficit between the public and the police in the province,” said Tariq Javed, the additional inspector general of police, on the occasion.
[h=4]Project launched to strengthen rule of law in KP[/h]
He stressed the need for greater advocacy for the image building of police. He said that police needed operational autonomy to function impartially and effectively.
ANP general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, who attended the event as a guest speaker, said that police in the province had been playing a front line role in the war against terrorism. “Due to prolonged insurgency in the region, there is a dire need to bring social reforms in police system to make the force more people-friendly,” he added.
The ANP leader extended full support to the authorities in bringing reforms in police system and improving image of the force. He said that during the previous provincial government, number of police was increased from 40,000 to 80,000 and Shuhada package was approved for them.
PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai said on the occasion that initiatives like ‘Ulasi’ police were need of the hour to restore trust of people in police. “Police face multi-pronged challenges and de-politicisation of the force can help it to stand up to these challenges,” he added.
Mr Yousafzai said that the dispute resolution councils (DRCs) were also a good step-ahead as part of the efforts to serve the people. Earlier, CRRS chief executive Imtiaz Gul said that the project would be run in three districts including Peshawar, Charsadda and Mardan to remove trust deficit between police and people.
Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257647/kp-govt-asked-to-focus-on-police-reforms
[h=1]View from the courtroom: Amendment bill to clip powers of Ehtesab Commission
[/h] A bill tabled by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in the provincial assembly on May 6 for making amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act (KPECA), 2016, has raised many eyebrows as apparently the proposed amendments would reduce the powers of the commission and it would not be empowered to question any irregularity in ongoing schemes of the government, including the Annual Development Programme (ADP).
Ever since the KPECA was enacted in Jan 2014 the provincial government remained in a state of confusion, which is evident from the amendments made in the law from time to time. While the government continued to tinker with the law, it faced a lot of embarrassment when a controversial ordinance – KPEC (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 – was promulgated on Feb 9.
The then commission’s director general retired Lt-Gen Hamid Khan had resigned as a protest as several of his powers were curtailed and assigned to the five-member Ehtesab Commission, headed by the chief Ehtesab commissioner. Perturbed with the criticism drawn by the ordinance the Pakistan Tehreek-i- Insaf chief, Imran Khan, assigned the task of preparing a bill to a committee, headed by prominent lawyer Hamid Khan.
In the light of recommendations of the committee the instant bill was prepared and tabled in the provincial assembly. When the KPECA was enacted in 2014 it initially provided for the abolishing of the Anti- Corruption Establishment, a provincial anti-graft body, and in Section 57 of the Act it was provided that all the cases pending before ACE, its employees and assets should stand transferred to the Ehtesab Commission.
The framer of the Act believed that two parallel bodies having same functions would create confusion. However, the first amendment in the law was made through the KPEC (Amendment) Act, 2014, which was passed by the assembly on June 24, 2014. Through that amendment the provincial government reversed its decision of abolishing ACE in the province. It was provided that ACE would have no jurisdiction in matters where the commission assumed jurisdiction.
Now through the present bill the provincial government has decided to curtail the powers of Ehtesab Commission so that it should not deal with cases involving financial loss to the provincial exchequer of less than Rs50 million. The bill proposes to amend Section 35 of the Act so that matters relating to losses of less than Rs50 million should be inquired into and investigated by ACE.
Advocate Shumail Ahmad Butt believes that this provision would create confusion and would go in favour of a suspect. “Suspects would move the court with the plea that the alleged loss to the exchequer in their respective case is of less than Rs50 million, therefore, the Ehtesab Commission is not empowered to deal with their case,” he said.
Experts questioned how the total amount of loss to the exchequer would be determined prior to an inquiry or investigation as both the KPEC and ACE would try to use this law for their own benefit.
The most controversial proposed amendment is addition of a new sub-section (1A) in Section 35 of the Act. The proposed sub-section states: “The Commission shall not take action in matters involving pure procedural lapses and in ongoing schemes of government.”
Mr Butt said that if this sub-section was included in the Act then the Ehtesab Commission’s hands would be tied and it would not be empowered to question any of the ADP schemes of the present government. “This provision means that the commission should inquire about schemes executed by the previous governments and not the ongoing schemes.”
Critics believe that there were certain good things in the controversial ordinance, which should have been included by the government in the present bill. The Chief Ehtesab Commissioner, retired Justice Hamid Farooq Durrani, is a former judge of the Peshawar High Court and it would have been appropriate to consult him and other commissioners while drafting this bill. However, they had been ignored.
The ordinance, which had to expire on May 9 after completion of its three months constitutional life, is already withdrawn by the KP governor on May 2, thus restoring KPECA in its previous form. By assigning certain powers to Ehtesab Commission in the ordinance the government had tried to introduce transparency in the affairs of the commission as previously most of the powers were assigned to an individual holding the post of DG.
Section 9 of the Act provides that the commission should oversee the overall performance of the commission, its officers and employees without interfering in day-to-day operational matters. However, through the ordinance the words “day-to-day operational matters” were deleted.
Furthermore, through the ordinance the Ehtesab Commission was empowered to grant approval to the director general or an officer of the directorate general for arrest of an accused person. After the withdrawal of the ordinance those powers are no longer with the commission and have now been reverted back to the director general.
Presently, Section 37 of the Act provides that a prosecution conference should be held upon completion of the inquiry or investigation and the investigation officers and special prosecutors should prepare a joint report for the DG with the recommendation for filing of a reference before the court or opposing it. Through the ordinance, it was provided that the prosecution conference should be chaired by the Chief Ehtesab Commissioner and to be attended by two commissioners, the DG, the prosecutor general for deciding whether to send a reference to the court for trial or not.
Those powers are no longer assigned to the Ehtesab commissioners. “Under the existing law and even in the proposed amendments the Ehtesab commissioners have been and will be acting like silent spectators,” said an expert on the subject.
Looking at the present bill, the experts believe that the controversy surrounding the KP Ehtesab law is far from over.
Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2016
http://www.dawn.com/news/1257252/vi...ent-bill-to-clip-powers-of-ehtesab-commission
Syed Haider Imam
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
May 15 2016
