Two drug trafficers get life terms

Two people were awarded imprisonment by an anti-narcotics court in Rawalpind on Wednesday in separate cases of carrying a huge quantity of narcotics.
Musharraf Khan was handed down life term by Judge Arshad Mehmood Tabassum. He was was convicted of carrying 6,724 kg charas in a truck. He was also fined Rs1 million by the court and in case he failed to pay the fine amount he would undergo another four years imprisonment.
Mr Musharraf had been taken into custody by the Anti-Narcotics Force from the Grand Trunk Road near Attock on Oct 12, 2006, after a huge quantity of narcotics had been recovered from his truck.
In the second case, Pervaiz Akhtar was awarded life imprisonment for carrying 181 kilograms of charas in a car. He was also fined Rs500,000 by the court and in case of defaul he would have to undergo another three years imprisonment.
Mr Pervaiz had been arrested with the narcotics by the Anti-Narcotics Force from the Grand Trunk Road on April 17, 2005, while on the way to Lahore from Peshawar.

OGDCL head summoned in gas royalty case

The Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court has issued a notice to the managing director of the Oil and Gas Development Company to appear in court in a petition filed by Talal Bugti, who is seeking dues outstanding in the head of royalty for gas got from his land in the province of Balochistan.
Justice Asad Munir of the LHC summoned the managing director on March 17, asking him to explain why the outstanding dues were not being released to Talal Bugti for seven years.
Through his counsel Rafiqur Rehman Sanjrani, Talal Bugti sought recovery of the dues outstanding against company since the year 2003.
The respondents in the case are the managing director of the OGDCL, secretary for the Establishment Division and the chief secretary of Balochistan.
Talal Bugti prayed the court to order the federal government and the Oil and Gas Development Company against issuing payment cheques to the provincial government of Balochistan and, instead, make the payment to the legal heirs of Nawab Akbar Bugti.

Field day for robbers in Rawalpindi

Six vehicles were lifted and cash and other valuable items were taken away by robbers and burglars as they struck at 12 places in the Rawalpindi city, according to police.
The Westridge police received a complaint from Mohammad Zahoor Ahmed that gunmen looted Rs22,000 in cash and a cellphone from his house after holding the family members hostage at gunpoint.
The RA Bazar police said one Mohammad Bashir had lodged a complaint that three persons, including a woman, barged into his house and decamped with Rs209,000 in cash and two mobile phone sets at gunpoint.
Another victim, Mohammad Shahid, was robbed of Rs135,000 and a cellphone by three armed men while he was going home in the Westridge area.
In the Airport police area, an amount of Rs700,000 was looted from Rashid Hussain by two car occupants who had offered him lift.
Some thieves took away an amount of Rs86,000, 200 Sterling pounds and gold ornaments from Shafqat Ali's house in the Sadar Barooni area.
Mohammad Jamshaid reported to the Civil Lines police that robbers had taken away Rs150,000 in cash and five tola gold ornaments. He said that at the time of the incident the family members were not home.
Another victim was Shafqat Mehmood, who was robbed at gunpoint of his motorcycle
and a cellphone at Civil Lines area. The car of Nasim Qasir was taken away from Westridge.
Another car belonging to Zameen Shah was lifted from the Pirwadhai area, Chaudhary Rizwan-ul-Haq was deprived of his car in New Town and Shafiq Ahmed Khan of his motorcycle in the Sadiqabad area. The car of Younas Gul was taken away from New Town.

Plantation campaign in Rawalpindi

A tree plantation campaign was launched by the Rawal Town Municipal Administration on Friday.
More than 6,000 saplings would be planted under the TMA plan in various parks and on green belts.
The Rawal town officer, Qasim Niazi, according to a statement issued here, has issued directives to the horticulture branch to make arrangements for planting the saplings in order to make the campaign a success.
The TMA, the statement said, had also instructed officials concerned to initiate work to improve the condition of 21 public parks. It also directed for establishing four new parks, one each in Satellite Town Bblock, Dhoke Paracha, Asghar Mall Scheme and National Market.
Arshad Warriach, the administrator of the TMA, has directed the municipal officials to better the condition of the Murree Road, Saidpur Road, Khyaban-i-Sir Syed, and the Fourth Road in Satellite Town.
To mark the advent of spring, the TMA, according to the statement, would also organize flower exhibitions at the DSP Park and the Sirajia Park.

Women, orphans to get better facilities

Projects worth Rs84.518 million are being carried out in the Rawalpindi city by the social welfare department in order to ensure better facilities to orphans, prisoners, women and senior citizens.
The schemes may be completed by the end of the current financial year, said Aslam Maitla, senior district officer of the social welfare department.
An amount of Rs11.84 had been released by the social welfare department to the authorities of the Adiala Jail to build new barracks for women inmates, he said, adding the work might be completed by May end.
The condition of the existing barracks of the Adiala Jail, where 130 women inmates, eight foreigners among them, are imprisoned, is dilapidated.
The social welfare department official informed that construction of a building for Gehwara, an institute established for abandoned babies, would cost Rs33.033 million. The institute, he maintained, could then accommodate more than 50 babies, against the present 19 babies.
A new building to accommodate orphans, he added, was also being constructed at a cost of Rs15.656 million. It would accommodate more than 50 orphan boys, the official said.

Sacked OGDCL trainees seek reinstatement

The All Pakistan OGDCL Management Trainee Officers Action Committee will launch a protest movement against the delay in their reinstatement in following of the 2009 Presidential Ordinance.
The committee announced the protest plan in a statement issued here on Tuesday.
The represents the trainee officers who were fired in the year 1997. They regretted that they were only issued training letters after 13 years of their sacking, instead of appointing them on permanent basis.
The affected officers said that under the protest plan, they would stage a demonstration and observe a hunger strike on Tuesday outside the OGDCL head office in the federal capital .
They pledged to continue the protest movement till their reinstatement. They claimed that employees sacked in other ministries and departments had already been reinstated.
They said non-issuance of appointment letters to them even eight months after the ordinance's promulgation exposed the lack of interest on the part of the government in resolving the issue.
According to them, management trainees in the SNGPL and SSGPL had already been issued appointment letters as per the presidential ordinance.
They urged President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to look in the matter and ensure issuance of appointment letters to them in accordance with the ordinance.

Court declares four cops proclaimed offenders

A local court declared four policemen proclaimed offenders on Monday when they failed to attend the court -- despite repeated summons -- to answer a criminal complaint lodged against them.
The Waris Khan police were directed by Judge Yasir Hussain Gahdi to start the process against an inspector, identified as Abdul Sattar, and police constables named Mohammad Jamil, Sajid Mehood and Sohaib Gulzar.
Mohammad Imran had filed the complaint, alleging that his brother and his injured son were going to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi on March 21, 2008, when constable Sohaib Gulzar stopped them and after an exchange of harsh words with his brother started beating him.
He claimed that the matter was resolved, but police asked them to visit the Waris Khan police station. According to him, when his brother visited the police station on April 2, the inspector and the constables again allegedly beat him.
He said he later lodged an FIR against the policemen but no action was taken against them.

Five vehicles stolen in Pindi

Five vehicles were lifted on Sunday from various areas of the Rawalpindi city, according to police.
Police said a woman, Riffat Abid, reported to the Saddar Barooni Police Station that some people took away her car last night from the porch of her house situated on Adiala Road.
The woman said that when she got up in the morning she found that her car was missing. Police have started investigation after registering a case against unidentified people.
Another person named Maqbool Ahmed lodged a report with the Banni Police Station that his pickup van was stolen by unidentified people from outside his house.
The car of one Nasir Mehmood was also taken away from outside his home. He lodged a report with the City Police Station.
Police quoted another person, Asad Abbas, that his motorcycle was taken away from the Westridge area. The motorcycle of Saeed Ahmed was stolen from Saddar, according to police.

Eleven accused arrested in Islamabad

Eleven persons have been arrested on the charge of involvement in different crimes as the Islamabad police launched a crackdown on anti-social elements.
According to a spokesman for police, the Margalla police held three accused identified as Imranul Haq, Mohammad Saood and Rashid Younas.
One Adnan was also arrested by police and liquor was seized from him. Similarly, two persons, identified as Shah Jahan and Zahid Ali Khan, were arrested by the Tarnol police. A 44-bore rifle, a 30-bore pistol, and two magazines with 53 cartridges were recovered from their possession.
The Sabzimandi police also arrested two people, Mohammad Yousuf and Liaquat Ali. Two pistols were seized from them.
One person, Mohammad Imran, was arrested by the Koral police with 200 grams of charas.
The Sihala police arrested two persons and recovered from them four bottles of liquor. Police registered separate cases against the arrested persons.

Two traffic policemen suspended

Two traffic police officials of Islamabad were on Sunday suspended on the charge of intercepting on a traffic violation an SP, who is at present deployed at Prime Minister’s House.
The superintendent of police had reportedly refused to pay the ticket and left while threatening the traffic police with dire consequences. He had even allegedly pressurized police high-ups to suspend the "accused policemen".
The SSP (traffic), Dr Moeen Masood, has directed for an investigation into the incident to ascertain what had happened, said sources in police.
According to Dr Masood, suspension of the traffic police officials had not been ordered for issuing a ticket to the police officer but due to their alleged misbehaviour with him.

Illegal money transfer firm busted

A firm allegedly involved in illegal transfer of money was busted and its assistant manager was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency on Tuesday.
The Federal Investigation Agency, on directives of the Ministry of Interior, conducted a raid on the company, Maki Madni Enterprises, situated at the Mall Plaza in Rawalpindi and arrested its assistant manager Omar Hayat.
A case has also been registered against the company owner.
The company claimed to be in money exchange business, but its officials could not provide a licence to the raiding FIA team.
Company manager Attiqur Rehman Marwat was not at the office when the raid was conducted.

4pc job quota demanded for disabled

A four per cent job quota has been demanded for disabled people in local and provincial governments as promised two years ago by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Speaking at a press conference here on Monday, office-bearers of the Pakistan Association of the Blind maintained that a disabled person only could understand their problems and, therefore, it was necessary to give them representation in the government.
They called for constitutional protection to the rights of the disabled people, adding that in this regard a section should be included in the proposed constitutional package.
The association office-bearers stressed the need for for establishing a rehabilitation centre in Islamabad. The prime minister, they maintained, had issued clear directives to the Capital Development Authority, but a plot for such a facility had not be allotted. They said the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education had also not released a Rs10 million grant approved by Mr Gilani.
They warned to lodge protest if their demands were not accepted by March 31.
According to statistics of the National Database and Registration Authority, 3.7 per cent of the total population in Pakistan are disabled people. But a WHO census puts it at 10 per cent of the population.

Policeman among two found dead

A police constable and another person were found dead in different areas on Monday, according to police.
A 65-year-old man, identified as Zahoor Ahmad, was found dead in the Dhoke Chahni located area in Pholgira, a rural area of the federal capital.
Police said it apparently seemed to be a committed case, but the wife of the man said he had been killed.
According to the woman, she found her husband hanged with the ceiling of a room when she returned home. She called police immediately and informed them about the incident.
A police party visited the house and took the body to hospital so that the cause of the death could be ascertained.
In another incident, police head constable Atiqur Rehman was found dead in a fuel station near the Police Line Headquarters.
An employee of the petrol pump called the Sabzi Mandi police to informed them that a police official was in a washroom in the fuel station, but was not opening the door.
When police reached the site they found the constable lying lying on the washroom floor. The constable was taken to hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. Mr Atiq, 35, was currently posted in the Kohsar police station.

New centre to issue domiciles, licences

A one-window facility has been established by the administration of the Islamabad Capital Territory to process applications for domiciles, arms licences,international driving permits and no-objection certificates.
The facility established in the new block at DC's office began functioning on Monday.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Amer Ali Ahmed said the Islamabad Capital Territory administration was working to facilitate the people and make better the services being provided to them.
A facilitation centre functioning at the office was expanded with construction of the new block, he said.
Before launching the new facility, he said, people had to visit different officers and sections of the DC's F-8 Markaz office to get basic services. However, they could now avail the services under one one roof, he said.
Mr Ahmed told the gathering that the administration had filed an application to get ISO certification in order to improve the standard of services further.

Attempted murder case against FC men

Police registered a case of attempted murder against two constables of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) and took them into custody on Sunday for allegedly injuring two people over a petty matter.
The two Frontier Constabulary personnel deployed at the water filtration plant near Bari Imam with their platoon fired at the inmates of a house after their objection to the security men's presence there, injuring one Zahir Ahmad, according to police.
Police said the constables, while on a patrol in the Mandyala village, stopped to rest in front of the house. This made the house residents felt uncomfortable. One of the residents named Mohammad Waseem came out and objected to the presence of the security personnel, politely asking them to leave the place. This brought the wrath of the security men and an altercation took place between them.
After hearing the voices, Mr Ahmad, an uncle of Mohammad Wasim, also came out and tried to settle the matter. However, the FC constables started beating them both.
According to police, the FC men indiscriminately fired at villagers who came there to sort out the issue, injuring Mr Ahmad.
The FC constables held Mr Waseem, taking him to the barracks near the water filtration plant. Mr Waseem was detained there although he had suffered multiple injuries.
Mr Ahmad was later taken to hospital. His condition is said to be critical.
On receiving information about the incident, the Secretariat police visited the barracks and tried to get the release of Mr Waseem, but could not succeed.

Protest against transport fare rise

Activists of the Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) held a demonstration on Saturday in protest against unprecedented increase in the fare of public transport in the Punjab province.
Led by chairman the Northern Punjab Region chapter of PWF, Zafarullah Khan Niazi, the protesters took out a procession from the Iesco Rawalpindi city circle and marched towards the Murree Road near the Liaquat Bagh.
The protesters criticized the Punjab provincial government for exorbitantly increasing transport fares on demands of the transporters group.
They also criticized the provincial governments of Sindh and Punjab for suspending labour inspection system. They regretted that the elected government had failed to take notice of the plight of the working class.
The workers blocked the Murree Road for one hour, demanding abolition of what they called anti-labour laws and implementation of the Industrial Relation Act formulated by the Pakistan People’s Party.
The protest demonstration was participated by labour representatives in hotels, banks, industries, textile mills, workers unions, Pakistan Television and other sectors. They criticized the government for failing to resolve basic issues of workers.

Illegal legal occupants to be expelled from lodges

A five-member special committee of the Senate, which is headed by the deputy chairman of upper house, Jan Mohammad Jamali, has formulated a list of illegal residents of suites at Parliament Lodges so that they could be vacated.
This was stated by Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, Leader of the House, while replying to a question by the Chairman of Senate, Farooq H. Naek.
Mr Naek told the special committee to keep liaison with the chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in order to ensure that houses illegally occupied by ministers or legislators were got vacated.
The minister for ports and shipping, Babar Khan Ghauri, called the chairman's attention towards occupation of lobbies in the Parliament Lodges by different legislators and ministers without permission from quarters concerned.

Death of burn victim leads to protest

The death of an 80-year-old woman, who received critical burn injuries a few weeks ago, in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Tuesday night sparked protests by her relatives.
Members of the family put the body in front of the Parliament House, raising slogans against the Rawalpindi police for failing to arrest the people responsible for burning the woman in her house.
An inquiry was ordered into the incident by the City Police Officer of Rawalpindi, Rao Mohammad Iqbal, on Wednesday to know the circumstances in which the old woman was burnt critically. The inquiry team would also need fixing responsibility for any wrongdoing by police.
The woman's son, Mohammad Iqbal, had lodged an FIR at the Sadiqabad police station, nominating Zaheer, Nazeer Ahmed, and Chaudhry Basharat for causing burn injuries to his mother.
He said he was involved in a court case with the accused, who allegedly came to his house on the Kuri Road on January 24 and pushed his 80-year-old mother onto a gas heater, critically burning her.
He said he was informed about how it happened by his sister, who was at home at the time of the incident.
When his sister called for help, according to the complainant, Chaudhry Basharat allegedly pulled out a pistol, holding her hostage.
People living nearby later rushed to their house and took the woman to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, from where she was referred to Pims in Islamabad.
Staging the protest, the family members and relatives accused police reluctance in arresting the people nominated in the FIR.
The protesters, however, dispersed after DSP Zariat Kiani and other police officials visited them, assuring them that an investigation had been launched into the incident.

Heroin smuggling bid foiled

Attempts to smuggle 10 kilograms heroin abroad were foiled by the Anti-Narcotic Force (ANF), which arrested a South African among four people at the Benazir Bhutto airport.
Officials said during check-in for a flight of the Qatar Airways on Tuesday the ANF personnel noticed that a foreigner was acting suspiciously. The ANF staff searched his luggage in which more than 5kg heroin was found. The foreigner identified as Jacob Hermanus was going to Nairobi.
Adnan, another passenger travelling to Kuala Lumpur, was arrested by the ANF staff after recovering 5kg heroin from his luggage. Two people allegedly facilitating the man were also arrested.

Two die in accidents

A naib qasid (messenger) of the Naval Complex and another person were killed here on Wednesday in separate road accidents, according to police.
The 50-year-old naib qasid identified as Mohammad Ramzan was injured when his motorcycle was hit by a vehicle on the Islamabad Expressway near Shakrial.
The vehicle's driver escaped after the incident, leaving behind the injured Ramzan on road. The injured was later taken to hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.
In the second incident, a 42-year-old pedestrian named Khalid Pervez died died on the spot after being hit by a tractor at Sangjani while crossing the road.
The driver escaped, leaving behind his vehicle.

Passenger offload from UK flight

A British national, who is of Pakistani origin, was offloaded from a flight to Birmingham at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport. The man was given in the custody of police after two knives were recovered from his shoes, according to police.
The Airport Security Force (ASF) spotted the man aged 24, who possessed the knives, while scanning PK-791 flight passengers. One of the knives recovered by the Airport Security Force was 15cm and the other 17cm in size, which had been concealed skillfully in the man's shoes.
During investigation, however, the man claimed that he was carrying the knives with him for cutting fruits.

Extra security for Pindi by-election sought

The Election Commission of Pakistan has sought from the Punjab provincial government extra security for the by-election in NA -55 constituency, scheduled for February 24.
The EC sent a letter to the Punjab chief secretary said that preferably Rangers or the army should be deployed on the polling day.
The Election Commission said keeping in mind the law and order situation, the candidates had demanded additional security arrangements for the polling day.
The letter was sent by the EC to the provincial government on Monday on a request of the candidates for the by-election, including Awami Muslim League leader Sheikh Rashid Ahmed who recently defied a death squad near his election office in Rawalpindi.
The Punjab government, however, has not responded to the request for extra security by the Election Commission.
The EC letter maintained that the need for extra security for the election acquired importance following the attack on Mr Rashid in which his three supporters were killed and many including Mr Rashid himself injured.
Mr Rashid, meanwhile, has filed a petition in the Lahore High Court praying to order the government to deploy Rangers or army personnel for the by-polls.
The court has admitted the petition with directives to to an assistant advocate general who represents the Punjab provincial government and a standing counsel representing the federal government for seeking instructions and responding to the plea on Feb 18.
The respondents in the case are secretary for defence, chief secretary of Punjab, chief election commissioner and the returning officer for the NA-55 constituency.
Mr Rashid filed the petition through his counsel Sardar Abdul Razzaq, stating that the prevailing law and situation necessitated conducting the election under the army.

Twin cities lashed by heavy rain

The twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad received heavy rain on Monday, leading to inundation of low-lying areas and creating problems for people.
Throughout the day the sky was heavily overcast. The evening brought with it the heavy rain for about one hour. Some areas were also hit by hailstorm. The temperature decreased to seven degrees Celsius.
Traffic in Rawalpindi came to a halt for many hours in different parts of the city, including Raja Bazaar, Murree Road, Jamia Masjid Road, The Mall, Bank Road, Haider Road, Adamjee Road, Rawal Road, Airport Road and the Tipu Road.
Motorcyclists were the main sufferers due to the rain as their bikes broke down in knee-deep rainwater on different city roads and in the Raja Bazaar.
Power supply to many areas of the city and cantonment was cut for two hours.
Officials of the Islamabad Electric Supply Company said power supply was suspended to some parts of the city because of gusty winds.
According to the Met office, 11mm rain was recorded in Islamabad and in Rawalpindi 4.5mm rain was recorded.

UN's Benazir probe team leaves

Investigators of the UN commission probing the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, have left in two separate groups and their security team members are likely to depart on Tuesday.
This was the forth visit of the UN probe commission to Pakistan in connection with the murder investigation of Ms Bhutto. The commission members had had reached Islamabad in first week of February.
The UN investigators interviewed officials of the district administration and police, also visited Lahore for interviewing the then governor of Punjab, Khalid Maqbool.

Sharp increase in divorce cases

A total of 400 cases relating to divorce were received by Rawalpindi Cantonment Board's arbitration court -- compared to 271 the year before.
The court reconciled 41 of the cases requesting the couples wanting separation to get united again. Statistics show young couples file for separation on various grounds and resist efforts for reconciliation.
Giving his viewpoint on the sharp rise in divorce rate, the vice-president of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB)Shaikh Zahid Amin, who is also an arbitrator, described the major reason for differences among couples unmatched marriages that were arranged by their parents.
According to him first three years of a marriage were very important because it had been notice the new couples file for divorce for not being able to adjust with partners due to the different circumstances and asking of married life.
Monetary issues, he maintained, also contributed to separations, observing that promises made before the marriage were often not fulfilled.
Referring to middle class, he cited the joint family system as the reason leading to divorce because the woman did not receive proper attention of her husband.
The couples from upper class , according to Mr Amin, filed for divorce just because that did not have mutual understanding and they also resisted reconciliation efforts.
In majority of the case, he added, mothers' behaviour led to divorces because they interfered and influenced on their children after the marriage.

Suspension of CNG reduced to one day

The scheduled two-day suspension of CNG weekly is being curtailed to one day. CNG stations in the Rawalpindi division and Islamabad will this week face gas shutdown on Tuesday only.
The scheduled gas shutdown was from 6am, Feb 16, to 6am on Feb 18, but it would now only be on Feb 16 this week. This region would face the last shutdown on Feb 23.
The directive for reducing the CNG shutdown to one day from Feb 15 came in a letter sent by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited.
The association representing CNG dealers welcomed the decision, but showed concern over the decision of the SNGPL decision to implement the load management plan, saying it had failed to achieve the desired results.

Request for putting murder accused on ECL

The Islamabad police have requested that the names of seven persons nominated in the murder case of a PPP worker, including two ministers and a legislator of Azad Kashmir, be included in the Exit Control List.
The reason behind making the request was to stop the accused from escapign abroad and bring them to justice.
Affiliated with the Muslim Conference, the were booked in the case registered in the Aabpara police station of Islamabad in the murder case of a worker of the Pakistan People’s Party, Tariq Mehmood, during the by-polls for an AJK assembly seat. The incident occured at Federal Government Girls School, G-6/3, Islambad on Feb 7.

Poor planning creates traffic chaos in Pindi

Poor planning by police led to a huge traffic jam in the cantonment area of Rawalpindi on Saturday, leaving thousands of commuters stranded for eight hours.
As the martrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain was being observed at an imambargah at Churr Chowk, the Rawalpindi city police forced people haphazardly on Peshawar Road to shut down their business places and removed vehicles parked on road side so that to avoid any untoward incident.
Police though successfuly cleared and sealed the area, in the process it deprived the people of their right civil liberties as they could not continue their business activities. The action showed that though police were vigilant, the planning was poor and the situation was not smoothly managed.

Suspicious woman creates panic

Refusal by a woman to get her luggage checked by law-enforcers led to panic in the area outside the Naval Complex in Islamabad on Saturday, according to police.
The driver of a taxi came to the law-enforcers stationed near Barrack-9 on the Margalla Road, telling them that a woman in his cab was acting suspiciously.
The driver said his taxi was hired by the woman at Golra for the Naval Complex. He said the woman kept on reciting verses from the Holy Quran and at times talked suspiciously.
The law-enforcers there later called woman commandos, who searched the suspicious woman but find nothing. The woman was then allowed to go.

Numl closed to spoil protest plan

Administration of the National University of Modern Languages (Numl)on Monday decided closing the institute for a week as students and faculty of the university announced to initiate protests and boycott classes over the beating of a teacher by the institute's registrar.
Director general of Numl Kamran Jehangir confirmed that the university had been closed and said investigation had begun into the incident, which might take a week to complete, and the authority would take action accordingly.

Teachers hold strike in Pindi

Teachers of technical and vocational training institutes, Rawalpindi division, observed a strike on Monday in protest against a Punjab government plan to privatize the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta).
This led to suspension of educational activities in technical institutes in Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jhelum, and Attock.
The provincial government plans introducing the Tevta Bill, 2010, in the Punjab Assembly to privatize the organisation.

CDA faces huge losses

The Capital Development Authority is facing a loss of about Rs1 billion in its investment of Rs2.3 billion the city managers had made in the stock exchange two years ago.
The Cabinet Division has initiated collecting information in the matter to determine the circumstances under which the CDA authorities invested such a huge amount in the Karachi Stock Exchange.

New national forest policy formulated

A national forest policy has been prepared by the government in order to enhance productivity of forests so that requirements of firewood, timber, fodder and non-wood products could be met.
The policy is also aimed to promote livelihoods based on sustainable natural resources. It envisages lifting the ban on cutting trees, which was imposed in 1993. But, it recommends, timber cutting should be restarted only in well-stocked forests.
Under the new policy, the four provincial governments will need to make arrangements for training local people in operations relating to timber cutting.

Rain continues in twin cities

Rain continued intermittently in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Sunday.
According to the Met Office, 6mm of rain was recorded in Islamabad and 7mm in Rawalpindi. The Met Office forecast more rain in the next 24-36 hours.
It also predicted more snowfall and heavy rain in scattered places of upper Punjab, the NWFP and AJK.

Man killed in election violence

Violence that broke out on Sunday in a polling station established for the by-election in Valley-V (LA-40) of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly left one person dead.
The incident took place in the polling station in the FG Girls School, Sector G-6/2.
The man killed was identified as Tariq Mehmood, a supporter of the AJK People’s Party.
The seat on which the by-election was held had been fallen vacant after the death of Sanaullah Qadir.