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Category: Politics

  • 200 kgs of dead frogs recovered, were to be used by Lahore eateries?

    200 kgs of dead frogs recovered, were to be used by Lahore eateries?

    After the entire donkey meat episode, Lahore police have recovered 200 kgs of dead frogs, which reports claim were to be used in burgers and shawarmas across the provincial capital of Punjab.

    According to a newspaper clipping doing rounds on social media, police caught a rickshaw loaded with 200 kgs of dead frogs being transported to an unknown location.

    Patrolling in the New Ravi Bridge area, police noticed a shady rickshaw carrying a heavy sack, the report said and added that when the cops attempted to stop the vehicle, the suspects tried to flee.

    https://twitter.com/AliAsad_Abbas/status/1176034925788762112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1176034925788762112&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.natcour.com%2Fnews%2F2019%2F09%2Flahore-frog%2F

    Managing to stop the rickshaw, the police took two people, namely Shahid and Manzoor, into custody for allegedly delivering dead frogs to restaurants across the city.

    An investigation is underway to determine what the frogs were to be used for, while suspects claim they were “only delivering the frogs to a medical college”. Medical students dissect the frogs and practice suturing on them.

    Other reports claim the police only stopped the men because they thought the frogs were of some rare species. Having the frogs is not a crime and neither the police nor the Punjab Wildlife Department has any issue with the case. “The men were released and were free to go with their frogs.”

  • Irregularities worth Rs97b detected in Pakistan Railways

    Irregularities worth Rs97b detected in Pakistan Railways

    The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has detected billions of rupees worth of irregularities in Pakistan Railways (PR), exposing gross mismanagement within the state-run transport service that continues to incur losses, The Express Tribune reported Monday.

    In his report for 2018-19, the top auditor pointed out irregularities that amount to a whopping Rs97 billion and later directed PR authorities to take action against those responsible for the massive loss to the national exchequer.

    “Pakistan Railways generated Rs49.6 billion in the last fiscal year against operational costs worth Rs85.5 billion. As a result, the state-run service had to bear a loss of Rs36.6 billion,” the report said.

    Of the audit objections noted in the report, 56 per cent pertain to PR lands, 20 per cent pertain to recoveries and 12 per cent pertain to the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). The remainder concern losses from theft, fiscal irregularities and embezzlement.

    The report also revealed that Pakistan Railways suffered a loss of nearly Rs15 billion due to the failure of its management to recover dues from other federal government wings, like the Port Qasim Authority, Pakistan Post, Water and Power Development Authority and the departments of irrigation, food and education, and provincial and district authorities.

    It pointed out that maladministration in the Railways Ministry cost a PSDP project Rs10.5 billion. It also noted that the PR administration had granted a contract worth Rs3.2 billion in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) rules.

    “Railways authorities also unable to recover Rs2.6 billion from provincial governments to repair level crossings and wasted Rs2 billion worth of scrap as well,” the report added.

    Delays in the repair of damaged railway coaches also cost the state-run service nearly Rs2 billion, the report pointed out. It also made note of Rs380 million worth of ‘fake expenditure’ in the repair process. The AGP also criticised PR authorities for losing Rs3.8 billion due to inaction while auctioning off railways roads and steel.

    A staggering Rs52 billion worth of irregularities in the state-run transport service occurred at the administrative level, the AGP’s report mentioned. Another Rs50 billion in losses were a result of embezzlement, fraud and theft. Around Rs6.5 billion were lost due to PPRA rule violations.

  • As dengue cases cross 10,000 mark, Punjab govt has a ‘dua’ for people

    As dengue cases cross 10,000 mark, Punjab govt has a ‘dua’ for people

    With the number of dengue cases in the country reaching five-digits and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza warning of a further increase within the next 10 days, Punjab government has come up with a spiritual cure.

    Sharing an Arabic phrase in a “public service message” — posters of which have been pasted across Toba Tek Singh — the city’s deputy commissioner has advised people to read the dua every day and paste the pamphlet outside their houses and workplace to ward off evil dengue.

    The dengue virus is spreading in different parts of the country due to the negligence of provincial governments. Despite many warnings issued by health experts before the season, no adequate arrangements were made by the departments concerned to tackle the issue.

    In Pakistan, there is no specific vaccine available to treat dengue and with scanty arrangments made by the government, it is likely that in the days to come, the situation will only get worse.

  • PM Imran flew to US on MBS’ private jet

    PM Imran flew to US on MBS’ private jet

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is currently in the United States for the 74th session United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), flew from Saudi Arabia to New York in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) private jet.

    According to reports, when MBS inquired from PM Khan how he will be travelling to the US, the premier told him that he will be taking a commercial flight. MBS is reported to have responded, “How can you take a commercial flight, you are our special guest,” adding that he cannot let his guest travel via a commercial flight.

    The Crown Prince then arranged for his private jet to fly PM Khan from Madinah to New York. Meanwhile, some media outlets reported that PM Khan flew in a Saudi Airlines chartered plane.

    The PM was accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfikar Abbas Bokhari.

    PM Khan arrives in New York

    PM Khan reached New York on September 21. He is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump on September 23 and will address the UNGA on September 27, where he will raise the matter of Kashmir.

  • Zartaj Gul under fire for seeking credit for global ‘Climate March’

    Zartaj Gul under fire for seeking credit for global ‘Climate March’

    Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul has drawn ire of hundreds of activists for “taking credit for Friday’s Climate March” in various cities of Pakistan and around the world.

    The minister, from her Twitter account, posted pictures of the march and wrote, “Held an engaged public awareness in Islamabad to trigger a more committed behaviour from civil society, and to affirm focus on sustainability initiatives.”

    But since the march was actually a citizens-led global event organised by Climate Action Now to help stop global warming in a call answered by Pakistanis as well, Twitterati didn’t let go of Gul’s claim easy.

    The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) minister faced severe criticism for her claims from participants of the march, including environmentalists, journalists and lawyers, as she didn’t really have much to do with the demonstrations.

    Gul’s tweet has since been deleted.

  • Lahore’s Orange Train the new Peshawar BRT? Delays cost taxpayers Rs11 billion

    Lahore’s Orange Train the new Peshawar BRT? Delays cost taxpayers Rs11 billion

    Delays in construction of Lahore’s Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) has escalated its premium cost by 50 per cent as suspension of development work on the mega project has served a Rs11 billion blow to the national exchequer, The News reported.

    The estimated premium cost of the project was Rs22 billion, but it has increased to Rs30 billion, reports quoted a Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMTA) official as saying and added that an additional Rs3 billion has been allocated for the construction of footpaths for the project, escalating the total premium cost to Rs33 billion.

    The OLMT has two components. The first component of the project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) whereas the second one is to be funded by the Punjab government.

    The estimated cost of the first component, which includes the civil as well as electrical and mechanical (E&M) works, is unchanged and stands at $1.458 billion. All funding for the CPEC component has been done by the Chinese government; however, the estimated premium cost of the local component, which is to be funded by the Punjab government, has escalated from Rs22 billion to Rs33 billion.

    In order to cut the project’s expenditures, the government has slashed some components of the project, such as the 0.4 kilometers long moving walkway from Lahore Railway Station to Metro Bus Station and the Anarkali-MAO passenger transfer section, reports said.

    PMTA officials were quoted as claiming that the local component price escalation was not because of any delays in civil or E&M works, but because of court cases, some issues on part of the provincial Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Special Protection Unit (SPU) and some other reasons.

    They added that 96.5 per cent work on OLMT had been completed and it was on the punch list stage, but they couldn’t give an exact deadline for the inauguration as it “depends on the present government when it decides to complete the remaining part”.

  • NAB seizes luxury cars, gold, weapons in raid on ex DG’s house

    NAB seizes luxury cars, gold, weapons in raid on ex DG’s house

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested the former parks and horticulture director-general, Liaquat Ali Qaimkhani of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) in Bagh Ibne Qasim scam, Dawn reported.

    According to the details, the anti-graft body has seized eight luxury vehicles, weapons, property files, jewellery and official records of the KMC from ex DG’s custody.

    Moreover, ‘original files’ of the KMC were also seized from the held suspect’s home including two lockers, six and four feet high.

    Reports also reveal that the held suspect had granted a “fake contract” of Bagh Ibne Qasim when he was parks DG of the KMC.

    A day prior, ex-DG parks Qaimkhani was arrested but a three-day transit remand was approved for him.

    When asked by a journalist how someone earning Rs1.5 million a year could afford such luxuries and a big house, the former DG parks said that he belonged to a landlord family and that was his ancestral home.

  • Toyota Indus shuts down plant due to low demand

    Toyota Indus shuts down plant due to low demand

    Due to a continuing fall in demand, Indus Motors Company (IMC), the maker of Toyota vehicles, has decided to shut down all production for the remaining days of September, Dawn reported.

    As a result, reports said, the total number of Non-Production Days (NPDs) this month will reach 15 and quoted an IMC official as saying that the company had already observed eight NPDs in July and 11-12 NPDs in August.

    Claiming that “half of the month was off”, the official said that the federal excise duty (FED) leveled on various engine capacity cars, the skyrocketing prices of the cars owing to the rupee-dollar parity and high-interest rates had made their cars too costly.

    A Toyota vendor was also quoted as saying that IMC’s production would remain shut from September 20-30.

    Toyota Corolla production and sales dropped to 5,308 units and 3,708 units respectively in July-August from 8,804 and 8,770 units in the same period during last fiscal year, representing a fall of 40 per cent and 57 per cent, respectively.

    “Toyota Hilux production and sales have also plunged while that of Toyota Fortuner have come down to 232 units and 162 units from 484 units and 424 units, a drop of 52 per cent and 62 per cent, respectively,” the report said.

  • PML-N leaders mistake own ‘corruption’ for PTI’s

    In a rather embarrassing development, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders have shared audit reports highlighting financial irregularities from their own tenure, while mistaking them as “shortcomings of the now ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)”.

    As per the details, Dawn on Friday shared contents of an audit report pointing out irregularities worth over Rs15.67 trillion money in affairs of federal ministries and divisions during the audit year 2018-19.

    PML-N central spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb besides other leaders, including Maiza Hameed and Khurram Dastgir, tweeted the report while criticising the PTI government for its “corruption”.

    They, however, failed to realise that the funds audited were of the fiscal year 2017-18 — a time when the PML-N was in power — which is described as the audit year 2018-19.

    With screenshots of the said tweets starting doing rounds over the internet, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry and Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar also took a dig at the PML-N leaders for “exposing their own corruption”.

    The tweets have since been deleted.

  • Govt not responsible for kid’s death by rabies: Bilawal

    Govt not responsible for kid’s death by rabies: Bilawal

    Reacting to the death of the 10-year-old who was bitten by a stray dog in Larkana, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that his party-led Sindh government cannot be blamed for it.

    Minor Mir Hasan died of rabies on Tuesday. He was first taken to a hospital in Shikarpur, however, he was not given the treatment because there was no vaccine available there, reports said.

    Hasan’s parents were quoted as saying that they later rushed him to Larkana’s Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Hospital, but it had also run out of the required vaccine.

    A video of the boy, breathing his last in his mother’s arms outside the hospital, was widely shared over the internet as people blamed the PPP-led Sindh government for his death.

    However, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said it wasn’t because of a shortage of anti-rabies vaccines. “He was bitten by a dog in his village two days before Eidul Azha, which was 40 days before his death.”

    The child was not brought to the hospital immediately after the dog bite and there is no record of him at any hospital in Shikarpur, said an initial investigation report submitted by the district commissioner.

    According to the report, the anti-rabies vaccine was available in stock at the hospitals Hasan was brought to, however, it needs to be administered immediately after a dog bite.

    Once hydrophobia has been developed, the vaccine does not work and is not administered, it said.

    Rubbishing reports regarding the shortage of vaccine, Bilawal, while speaking to reporters on Thursday night said, “The child was brought to the hospital beyond the time. He was bitten on Eid and brought to the hospital now.”

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    When questioned about the alleged negligence of the doctors involved, the PPP chief said that investigations were underway and the government had nothing to do with it.

    “The [Sindh] government isn’t responsible for it, but both the selected government and media keep fixating on that,” he said.