Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Engineer Farkhand Iqbal said on Monday that the Authority was committed to the development of Park Enclave within 18 months as the CDA had 100 percent possession of the land on which the Park Enclave Housing Scheme had been envisaged.
He said that each and every penny on account of land acquisition and compensation for the built-up-property had been paid and nothing was pending with the CDA regarding Park Enclave.
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PROFESSOR ALI SUKHANVER
A few days back, Chaudhry Aslam khan, the SSP CID Karachi said in an interview with a private TV channel that unless courts give a legal authenticity to the evidence of the police officials particularly in cases of terrorism, the giant of terrorism cannot be chained. It is a common complaint that in most of the cases people from common public lack courage to appear before the court and record their evidence against any terrorist activity. They are frightened of the threats of grave consequences from the terrorists they have to face as a result of such evidences. Not only against the terrorist activities, for a common man is it next to impossible to stand against even a pick-pocket or street-criminal. Most of the people are of the view that they are at the mercy of the criminals when they come out of the court premises after giving their statement against such criminals. This is the reason that in the last ten or fifteen years we find countless accused criminals who were proved guilty by the police but without sufficient evidence the courts could not send them behind the bars. In such cases the police or other law-enforcing agencies are left with only one option; to pay back the criminals in the same coin though this option gives birth to another type of injustice. The situation is getting worse and worse with the passage of time and would never be controlled unless the law of evidence is modified.
Prime Minister’s Islamabad Task Force Chairman Faisal Sakhi Butt in a recent meeting directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to submit a workable solution and a time frame for the development of Sector I-15 to overcome shortage of housing units in the federal capital.
The development of I-15 sector, which includes five to six Marla plot apartments, was announced in 2005 and also includes construction of 8,000 flats for low-income groups.
The amount of Rs 1.4 million per flat was fixed at the time of the project’s announcement but it was axed when it was later realised the amount was too low.
Around 8,000 allottees of the flats the CDA paid for their flats, only 2,700 have been reimbursed.
Butt said the government is committed to providing affordable housing, especially to those from low-income groups and added that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has given special directions for development of low-income housing schemes.
He said development of the stalled sector must restart without any further delay and the allied road infrastructure consisting of other link roads to these sectors should also be constructed.
The opening of the residential units and new commercial centres will help discourage the trend of non-conforming use of residential buildings in developed sectors.
The CDA chairman, in a board meeting, has directed authorities concerned to form a committee to expedite work on the stalled sector and submit its report to the PM’s taskforce in a fortnight.
The Engineering Wing of CDA working on the project will decide whether the tender should be floated or develop the sector through a public-private partnership. app
PROFESSOR ALI SUKHANVER
What is more important; food or security; health or defence; prosperity or safety; certainly a difficult question to be answered. Today one finds a hurricane of allegations, accusations ultimately forming the shape of suggestions thatPakistanneeds not spend a huge amount on its army and the relevant security set-up. Various so-called western thinkers are doing all their best to create an atmosphere of disbelief and mistrust against the security agencies ofPakistanby painting a picture which depicts these agencies as an unbearable burden on the already stooping financial structure ofPakistan. More painful is the fact that some of our own people are playing in the hands of these enemies ofPakistanjust for their temporary, trivial gains and benefits. It is a day-light fact that without a strong and immaculate defence system it is quite unimaginable to survive in this world where ‘survival is the fate of only the fittest’. If we want to crush terrorism, if we want to up-root extremism we cannot do it without a well-equipped, well-trained and well-supported army. We have ample examples of countries like USA, Israel, UK, India and so many others who are doing all their best to strengthen their armies. Our closest neighbourIndiahas ignored all her past differences with US just to build up its military might.Indiais signing up new pacts and accords withIsraelandJapanas well as withRussiajust to enhance her defence capabilities but unfortunately inPakistansome self-claimed philosophers and thinkers are emphasizing the need of curtailing the defence budget and calling in question the existence of the institution of army. Continue reading »
Writers and poets in the city will be excited, as the favourite haunt of intellectuals, Pak Tea House, is set to revive literary and cultural activities within the next two weeks. The building of the Pak Tea House, which was being used as a garment store, was vacated on Thursday on the orders of the Lahore commissioner and has now come under control of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).
After the closure of the Pak Tea House, a cloth dealer had illegally occupied the building and was using it as a warehouse. Continue reading »
By Tariq Farid
The mushroom growth of ill-planned and sub-standard housing societies has marred the charm of the historical city of Lahore, as around 90 percent of the new housing schemes are built in violation with the set rules and regulations of development and maintenance.
Daily Times has learnt that of the 231 housing societies across the metropolis that have been approved by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), over 75 percent are either undeveloped or partially developed. Hence, only 25 percent societies are developed of which most are poorly maintained. Continue reading »
She has charm and conviction. Our correspondent sat down with the 28 years old Bushra Zulfiqar, the extremely beautiful human development activist whose memoir A Daughter’s Heart has just been released.
Q: – A lot of media attention is coming your way since your book has been released. What is the most absurd thing you have heard about it?
A: – I am very happy about the book being talked about in so many different quarters. People have been writing fairly positive reviews too but the most absurd thing I hear is that I am too young to have written an autobiography. That boils me.
Q: – Isn’t it quite right to say though?
A: – No, it is not. Autobiographies are real life stories and I don’t think that a certain age qualifies you to tell your story. Someone aged sixteen might have gone through a body of really powerful experiences so should that person wait to turn eighty before sharing it all? Life is short and one should not postpone much to the unreliable age arithmetic.
Q: – You have just finished writing a book. What is the most important thing for a writer and what specifically made you interested in writing?
A: – Good reading led me towards writing. I had been an avid reader all my life, ever since the age of eight and good reading always inspired me. Words have a power of their own and the nature of this power is quite transformative. If you have someone guide and direct your reading, it is very likely to become a rewarding habit. That was my case.
As for the most important thing for a writer, I think firstly it is conviction. A writer should have something to say and the courage to say it truthfully. Writing cannot be controlled but you have to somewhere lose yourself in the process. Only then the narrative reveals itself to you.
Q: – What are your hobbies?
A: – The little free time I have is mostly spent reading. I do like to travel and sometimes I cook as well. So not very specific hobbies but I do believe in enjoying life and spending time with my family and friends.
Q: – What keeps you going every single day?
A: – Caffeine
Q: – You are young, beautiful and accomplished. What else do you want from life?
A: – It is kind of you to say so but I feel life has only begun and there is so much more to learn. Living in a world which has such stark inequalities between the rich and poor, between men and women and majority groups violently pre-dominant over others, there is so much around us which needs to change. I do want to use my pen to draw attention towards the problems people of my country are facing and live a purposeful existence. So till there is life, there can be no end to that struggle.
Q: – Any plans for settling abroad?
A: – Never say never but here I say it: Never.
Q:- Your favourite couplet?
A: – It’s a poem by Robert Frost. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.
Q: – We wish you all the success for this book and throughout the miles. It has been a real pleasure and honor to meet you.
A: – Thank you. That’s very kind of you.
National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence was informed on Monday that the second phase of the new Benazir International Airport would be completed by September 2012.
The airport is being constructed by a Chinese company, which is the world’s fourth largest construction company. The total cost of the project is is Rs 63 billion. “The first phase has been completed while the second phase will be completed by September 2012,” said a press release.
The committee meeting, chaired by Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, was apprised that the cargo operation could be started in December 2012 and the main problem being faced in the project was the road network, which was to be completed by the National Highway Authority (NHA). The committee stressed the NHA to take appropriate steps for timely completion of the project. Continue reading »
PROFESSOR ALI SUKHANVER
Throughout the world, Pope Benedict XVI is recognized as a symbol of kind heartedness, affection and love for humanity not only by his followers but also by a great number of Muslims. People rank him as a beacon of compassion and sympathy for the whole of humanity. In his traditional beginning-of-the-year address to diplomats at the Vaticanhe said, ‘In many countries Christians are deprived of fundamental rights and sidelined from public life; they endure violent attacks against their churches and their homes.” He urged greater religious tolerance around the world and said referring to the assassination of a Christian Pakistani minister Shahbaz Bhatti that the killing of Bhatti was ‘not an isolated case’. Shahbaz Bhatti Continue reading »
AS lifestyles get busier and more packed these days, the average person is almost always faced with the temptation of giving up on sleep to get more productivity. After all, the availability of more and more part-time, particularly home-based pursuits makes money-making not only possible but also a very attractive task. Or, other people may choose to forgo sleep for social commitments, particularly after a busy week full of stressful work. While their body craves sleep, their being social beings demand longer periods of night socializing, resulting in a body deprived of sleep one way or another.
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This is my Pakistan
The News report by Shakeel Anjum
She was bitterly crying on phone begging for her life in the captivity, as she had seen her 16-year-old brother on a CD being slaughtered by kidnappers and pieces of his dead body were sent to her father by them some six years back.
Where criminals are so powerful that they manage to make the law enforcement agencies helpless and paralyse the system, the only way left for people like Shamsul Anwar is to obey them. What he did for the nation against terrorists and what he got in return from the nation on saving lives of hundreds of worshippers in a mosque as a Pakistani is a big question.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six … countdown has started on the turn of his daughter to be slaughtered by the captors as the poor father is not in a position to pay them a huge ransom of Rs1.8 million. But he is mentally ready to receive pieces of his daughter. The captors have given him a deadline for payment of ransom and warned that his daughter would be slaughtered if he fails to meet the deadline of January 12, 2012. “Be ready to receive the pieces of your daughter too,” they warned. God forbid, he would face another doomsday on January 12, if he fails to pay the ransom.
When he was asked, the captors linked with some terrorist outfits, would kill his daughter on the publication of this report, he said, “This is my last attempt to save the life of my young daughter. In either way, I am mentally prepared to receive another gunny bag filled with pieces of my daughter’s remains.”
“I beg for the life of my young daughter from judicial, political, military and government bosses. I am a voiceless man,” Shamsul Anwar said. The only question left is whether he should proud to be a Pakistani after he was facing the trauma of life-spoiling attacks by the ‘terrorist outfits’.
The victim narrating his shocking tale told ‘The News’, “I am Shamsul Anwar and has served in the Pakistan Army as a ‘Lance Naik’ in 24-Baloch Regiment for over 17 years and got retired in 1992.
“I hail from Khasar Tang, Balool Khail, Tehsil and District Nowshera, and settled in Dhoke Gujran, Misrial Road, Rawalpindi, after my retirement as my father was running a construction business in Rawalpindi, but I preferred the transport business. I, later, included seven public transport vehicles, including cabs, in my squad and built two houses in the neighbourhood and rented out three portions while kept one portion with me to live with my wife and nine children, including two twin daughters — Madina Anwar and Mubin Anwar, 14 — and seven sons — Mohammad Yaseen Anwar, 16; Faizullah, 14; Sajid Anwar, 12; Wahed Anwar, 11; Abubakr Siddique, 9; Ibadat Anwar, 7, and 4-year-old Mohammad Mustafa.
“It was 1st of January, 2001 when I entered the Jamia Masjid of Dhoke Gujran at Misrial Road, Rawalpindi, at about 2:10 p.m. when the ‘imam’ was reciting ‘khutba’ and I was late. I rushed to the basement of the mosque to perform ablution (‘wazu’) where I saw a man who was planting some explosives packed in a steel box and he was busy in plugging wires into the detonation device. As I was an army personnel and had been serving with bomb disposal unit, I sensed the danger. I clutched the ‘terrorist’ from the back without asking any question or giving him any warning as he had plugged one wire into the device and remaining three were in his hands and he was about to put it into the detonator. I started shouting for help but nobody listened to my cries as the ‘khutba’ was being recited on the loudspeaker. In the meantime, the terrorist, carrying a gun, asked me to leave him otherwise he would shoot me but I refused to free him and entangled my left leg in between his two legs as he could not somersault me. After he observed that I was not going to release him, he started firing aiming at my leg and emptied his revolver. I sustained three bullets in my left leg and remaining three missed.
“Meanwhile, some worshippers gathered there and grabbed him as I told people that his revolver was empty. The terrorist warned me that he would teach me a lesson and make me an example. I was shifted to the CMH and the ‘terrorist’ was taken to an undisclosed place by the agencies. As many as 17 terrorists of the outfit were arrested on information provided by the nabbed ‘terrorist’. I remained under treatment for about a month and sent home with a team of security personnel of the army commanded by a JCO. The security personnel remained with me for about a year and protected my family and me stringently. Finally, the security was withdrawn.
“After about five years of the episode, the ‘terrorist outfit’ decided to take revenge and kidnapped my two sons — Mohammad Yaseen, 16, a student of 10th class, and Faizullah, 14, a 9th class student of Noor School in Dhoke Gujran — on May 15, 2006 from their school in the presence of teachers and students in broad daylight. The captors were three in number.
“I rushed to the Westridge Police Station but the SHO humiliated me and refused to take up the case, terming it a concocted story. Then, I had no option but to seek help from army where I had served for over 17 years. I contacted the Army Centre and went to BRC Centre in Abbottabad but they couldn’t help me out.
“In the meanwhile, the ‘terrorists’ contacted me on my mobile number in November 2006 after about six months of the kidnapping of my sons and demanded Rs1.4 million as ransom for the release of my sons with the threat that they would kill my sons if I informed police. I again decided to contact my ex-department and went to the commander of 4-Corps, Peshawar, who listened to me kindly and referred me to the commander of 11-Corps in Peshawar. The corps commander took immediate action and asked the political agent (PA) to take action against the ‘terrorist outfit’ active in Kurram Agency. When I met with the PA, he suggested to pay them ransom so that they could arrest the captors red-handed after the safe release of my sons but in the case of direct raid, they could kill my sons. The suggestion was good but not feasible for me, as I had not so much amount to pay the ransom to get my sons free from their trap. I remained in Kurram Agency for three days and the ‘terrorists’ kept eye on my activities as I visited the office of PA regularly. However, I came back to Rawalpindi and started collecting the amount from different sources.
“After a long pause, the captors contacted me on my mobile phone at 4 p.m. in the last week of November 2006 and said that I had cheated them and played smart against them, saying that as a reprimand, they are sending me the dead body of my son. They asked me to lift the remains of my son in a gunny bag from Shally Valley at Misrial Road. I took some neighbours with me without informing police, as police was not cooperating with me, and traced the gunny bag at about 9 p.m. lying in the low-lying area with a CD. He was my eldest son, 16-year-old Mohammad Yaseen Anwar who was slaughtered and cut into pieces. They also sent a video in which they captured the scenes of slaughtering and sawing. They put Yaseen alive on the saw-machine (wood-sawing machine) and sawed him into two pieces from middle of his head in front of my younger son 14-year-old Faizullah.
“Another episode started when the captors contacted me a couple of weeks after the burial of my son and repeated their demand of Rs1.4 million ransom with warning that my second son would be killed if I failed to meet the deadline. I had no option but to pay them ransom because I had no nerve to receive another gunny bag containing the pieces of my second son because I had found the law enforcement agencies very weak and the criminals very powerful who threw the remains of my son in my area after killing him. However, I sold out my house and some vehicles to meet the demand of ransom. So, I left for Peshawar on their direction and reached near Haji Camp in Peshawar where they asked me to wait but as I reached there, they asked me to reach Kurram Agency. I hired a taxi and arrived at the said location. In their next call, they asked me to leave the taxi and walk straight in a street where a red car was parked, put the money in the red car and wait for our next call. I followed their directions and started waiting for their call. After a few hours, they asked me to get my son from a low-lying area near mountains (Kala Paharh) in Kurram Agency. I rushed to the tip-off place but found nothing. I kept running here and there for three days but couldn’t trace my son. Finally, they informed me that my son was standing near main entrance of Kurram Agency and I found him there. He was burning with high fever when I got him. I took him to Rawalpindi and contacted the corps commander, Rawalpindi, who directed me to take the boy to the Corp Headquarters, Lahore, and finally admitted to the CMH where the doctors diagnosed blood cancer because the captors have injected intoxicating medicines into his body during one-year detention. I met Imran Khan for providing help in the treatment. He gave me Rs20,000 with a reference chit for Shaukat Khanum Hospital but the administration gave me the estimate of Rs1.2 million for the treatment. However, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan helped me a lot and provided financial assistance for the treatment of my ailing son. I came back to Rawalpindi and again contacted the surgeon general who told me that the only treatment was ‘bone marrow transplant’ which costs Rs3.2 million. I collected the money after selling my whole property for the surgery, which was successful.”
This was not the end of the miserable and painful story of Shamsul Anwar. The ‘terrorists’ again hit him and kidnapped his 14-year-old daughter, Madina Anwar on May 17, 2011 from her school at Misrial Road and shifted her to Kurram Agency. He reported to police and lodged a complaint with the SSP but they did nothing.
After a couple of days, he received a call from the captors who demanded Rs1.8 million for her safe release. “I am sick and tired, having no resources to generate finances.”
But Shamsul Anwar is still looking for a miracle and waiting for help from the heavens amidst cries of his daughter, who is in captivity. The brave man is waiting for the climax of the unending horrific tale. He can be contacted on his mobile phone number 0346-5524259 for any kind of help.
National Investment Trust, Pakistan’s first and largest asset management company has introduced ATM card for its unit holders across the country. ATM card will enable customers to withdraw cash against instant redemption of their NIT units. NIT was formed in 1962, currently holding assets worth approximately Rs 82 billion, with around 60,000 unit holders. NIT’s distribution network comprises of 22 branches, 102 authorized bank branches all over Pakistan. Chairman and MD NIT Wazir Ali Khoja while setting the benchmark in mutual fund industry of Pakistan said NIT has been recognized as the beacon of positive change in the capital markets. NIT has led by example, with an aim to provide the necessary opportunity to all the stakeholders and to contribute towards healthy growth of the industry. The new service will definitely open new doors of convenience for NIT customers by having easy access to their cash 24 /7. Summit Bank President and CEO Hussain Lawai said “Summit Bank believes in customer satisfaction and is committed to provide innovative solutions to fulfil the financial needs not only of its own customers but also of the community at large.” NIT in collaboration with Summit Bank has introduced “Summit Bank-NIT co-branded ATM card.” NIT Unit holders will be able to withdraw cash using the entire Summit Bank ATM Network, or any 1-Link ATM network machines in Pakistan. NIT has five funds including The National Investment Unit Trust (NIUT), which is the Pakistan’s largest and oldest Mutual Fund. NI(U)T-LOC, NIT-State Enterprise Fund (NIT-SEF), NIT, Equity Market Opportunity Fund (NIT-EMOF), NIT Government Bond Fund (NIT GBF) and NIT Income Fund (NIT IF).
TOKYO: Japan has been developing a virus that could track down the source of a cyber-attack and neutralize its program, the daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday.
The weapon is the culmination of a 179 million yen ($2.3 million) three-year project entrusted by the government to technology maker Fujitsu Ltd to develop a virus and equipment to monitor and analyze attacks, the daily said.
The United States and China are reported to have put so-called cyber weapons into practical use, Yomiuri said. Continue reading »
PROFESSOR ALI SUKHANVER
If remained unsolved and unresolved, the memo-gate issue may prove fatally catastrophic and lethally disastrous for the hard-earned and ever-dreamed democratic system inPakistan. Though time will decide whether this issue is a conspiracy against democracy or an evil plot against the military institutions ofPakistanbut one thing is very much clear that some of our own people are playing as a tool in the hands of the conspirators. Thanks to God Almighty, we are blessed with a very honest bold and independent judiciary which is looking into the matter and the whole of nation is very much confident that things shall be alright very soon. But outside the courts, unfortunately some of the short-sighted conspirators and connivers are trying to turn the tables on those who caught the perpetrators and defame them with the help of using social media as well as through some concurring TV anchors.
By Tariq Farid/Daily Times
Hazardous E-waste has become one of the biggest health risks of this century in Pakistan, with rising trend of bulk imports of used and obsolete computers and other electronic equipment from the West, taking full advantage of “yet to be enacted E-waste laws” in the country.
The people, especially the youth, are buying ‘E-Waste of the West’ as branded computers due to lack of awareness about the grave risks it is posing to the environment, human life and animals.
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