Karachi law and order case: Chief Secretary Sindh submits report

MONITORING DESK KARACHI: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) on
Thursday resumed hearing Karachi unrest case where the Chief Secretary
Sindh has submitted a report pertaining to the steps taken to restore
peace in the business hub, Local TV reported.

A five-bench larger bench of the SC headed by the Chief Justice of
Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is hearing the case today.

Inspector General Sindh, Additional Inspector General Sindh, Director
General of Sindh Rangers and Chief Secretary Sindh are also present in
the hearing.

According to the report submitted by the Chief Secretary on behalf of
the provincial government, Rangers are conducting the targeted
operation in Karachi, however, the Sindh government is monitoring the
action. Moreover, Rangers have been given control of one police
station in five districts of the city.

The report further revealed that 1,357 accused involved in target
killings, extortion and other crimes were arrested from September 5 to
16. While addressing the issue of weapon smuggling, the report stated
that the Customs and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) lack coordination
to control the situation, however, instructions to improve the
coordination among the departments have been issued during a high
level meeting.

In the last hearing, the apex court had appointed former Customs
member Ramzan Bhatti to constitute a one-man fact-finding commission
to look into the report with regard to smuggling of illegal arms into
the country in shipping containers. The SC had ordered him to submit
his report in seven days.

Sources told that Ramzan Bhatti has also submitted his report in this regard.

The SC, on Tuesday, had issued notices to the concerned parties
including Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Senator Babar Khan Ghauri.

The concerned parties include Chief Secretary Sindh, Inspector General
Sindh, Director General Sindh Rangers and Additional Chief Secretary.
Also, MQM leader Babar Ghauri was notified on his request to become
party in the case.

Babar Ghauri was of the view that DG Sindh Rangers should either prove
his allegations or withdraw his statement by appearing in person in
the court.

The authorities of Customs, Coast Guard and Maritime Security Agency
had also been served with a notice to appear in today's hearing.

The SC was scheduled to hear the Karachi law and order case on
September 18 at the Karachi Registry, however, the proceedings were
then set on September 19 due to change in the court's schedule.

3 persons killed in Charsadda

 CHARSADDA: Three persons were killed in firing and road accident in the Charsadda district on Monday, sources said.In the first incident, unknown gunmen shot dead a contractor identified as Sakhi Jan near Qilla Koroona in the limits of Sardheri Police Station. In the second incident, Hayat Khan and Azad Khan allegedly shot dead one Shah Saud, a resident of Amirabad in Rajjar. Meanwhile, a speeding bike crushed to death a woman in Utmanzai town. The police arrested rider Muhammad Tariq.

LRH and its treatment

On12th of September, a poor student, Zahidullah, of a local Madrassah in Charsadda, while riding his bicycle was hit by a heavy truck, breaking his leg down the knee at three different places. He was rushed to the Distt. Headquarters Hospital Charsadda, which, as it does in most cases, referred him to Peshawar public hospitals for medical services.
He could not be provided the required medical services not only in the Charsadda hospital, but also to my surprise, and anger at the most important famous public hospital, Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. For approximately 18-24 hours, he was provided the required blood at the LRH, and that too by the relatives of the patients, as blood was continuously oozing out his wounded broken leg but nothing else was done to his broken leg for its x-ray, surgery, bandage, and other required treatment.
The poor relatives, indeed very poor financially, out of fear that in case of further delay in proper treatment, the poor patient might end with a severed leg, the patient was taken to the North-West private medical center, where treatment is affordable by the elite class and by the financially-affordable well-off.
This story of the poor student of a Madrassah has grieved me personally to a great extent. My optimism that the current PTI KP government may bring to track the strayed public institutions is gradually dwindling. The CM KP, the Health Minister, Mr. Shaukat Yousafzai, and the higher authorities of the health department should be taken action on all these heart-saddening health problems of the poor residents of KP.
Mohammad Fayyaz
Charsadda

Pak crickets under fire after Zimbabwe loss

KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan's captain Misbah-ul-Haq and his players came under fire after losing the second test to Zimbabwe on Saturday and dropping to sixth in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings.

"Misbah has given all he could to Pakistan cricket as captain. There is now a predictability and staleness in his captaincy and our brand of cricket," former captain Ramiz Raja said after the unexpected, 24-run defeat in Harare.

"This is the right time now to have a new captain and introduce some new players. The defeat is embarrassing, frustrating and shameful.

"No one likes to back a losing side," Ramiz added. "We need to rethink our priorities and set a new direction or else people will stop following cricket."

"We have hit rock bottom as a cricket nation," former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said, while Mushtaq Ahmed said he feared for the team in the test and one-day series against number one test nation South Africa starting next month in Abu Dhabi.

"If we can't beat Zimbabwe then we are going to face a torrid time against South Africa," former test leg-spinner Mushtaq said. The win allowed cash-strapped Zimbabwe, who had not beaten a top test-playing nation in more than a decade, to square the two-match series.

"We played our worst cricket against a nation that is struggling with internal problems and whose players were not even in the right frame of mind for this series because of their pay dispute with their board," former wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif said.

Pakistan's batting woes returned to haunt them as Zimbabwe pulled off a dramatic 24-run win to level the series on the fifth day of the second Test at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday.

Inexperienced Zimbabwe fast bowler Tendai Chatara took five for 61 as Pakistan were bowled out for 239 despite an unbeaten 79 by Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq.

"The batting is a bit of a worry," said Misbah, looking ahead to Pakistan's next Test series, against world champions South Africa in the United Arab Emirates next month.

"All the batsmen have to learn from their mistakes. You can't win Test matches with twenties and thirties. You have to score big runs like Younis Khan did in the first Test."

Younis scored the only century of the series, an unbeaten 200 in the first Test, which Pakistan won by 221 runs at the same venue.

Misbah and opening batsman Khurram Manzoor both scored two half-centuries in the second Test, while Younis contributed 77 in the first innings. But the rest of the batting failed against the spirited Zimbabwean attack.

Stepping towards transparency: Right to Information will transfer power back to the people: Farman

Says public information officers will be provided protection, support by the govt. PHOTO: FILE

PESHAWAR: 

The Right to Information (RTI) Ordinance is a start in transferring authority back to the people and making government officials aware of their responsibilities, said Minister for Information Shah Farman on Saturday.

Farman was addressing a training session at Nishtar Hall organised for public information officers (PIO) by Chief Secretary Arbab Shahzad. More seminars will be arranged at the division level to guide PIOs in performing their new responsibilities. These officers are meant to act as the point person at government departments for information requests.

Provincial Parliamentary Secretary for Culture Arif Yusuf, Secretary Information Azmat Hanif Khan Orakzai, Director Information Bahramand Khan and a large number of public information officers attended the seminar.

The RTI will bring change which will be known as the change of "transferring authority to the poor and helpless of the province," stated Farman. Any deficiency in the RTI will be fixed accordingly, promised the minister.

The government is working on laws on accountability and local bodies, the benefits of which will be felt by every individual of the society, emphasised Farman. Referring to the local government system during General (retd) Pervez Musharraf's rule, he said those bodies were devised by a dictator; the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will bring about representative governance and is working faithfully towards positive reforms.

He assured PIOs they would be provided protection and support by the government so they can perform their duties properly.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2013.