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Tag: Punjab government

  • Board to examine Nawaz’s medical conditions, report in five days

    Board to examine Nawaz’s medical conditions, report in five days

    In line with the federal cabinet’s decision, the Punjab government on Friday has formed a medical board to examine Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif’s health reports submitted in Lahore High Court (LHC).

    Punjab government spokesperson Hassan Khawar confirmed that a notification has been issued in this regard, according to which the medical board comprises of Dr Mohammad Arif Nadeem, Dr Ghias-un-Nabi Tayyab, Dr Saqib Saeed, Dr Shahid Hameed, Dr Bilal S Mohi-ud-din, Dr Ambreen Hamid, Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehman, Dr Moona Aziz, and Dr Khadija Irfan.

    The board has been directed to submit its report/expert medical opinion to the specialised healthcare secretary within five days.

    Earlier this week the attorney general’s office asked the Punjab government to consider establishing a medical board or a committee that could determine the current status of Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

    In a two-page letter, addressed to Punjab Home Secretary Zafar Nasrullah Khan, the attorney general’s office wrote: “In order to initiate the process of verification in the light of the Nov 16, 2019, Lahore High Court order, the government of Punjab is requested to constitute a medical board/committee to examine the documents submitted as medical reports on behalf of the petitioner and Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif so that expert medical opinion regarding the physical condition of Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif and his ability to travel back to Pakistan is made available.”

    The letter was written in line with the federal cabinet’s instructions to the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan to initiate proceedings against the Sharif family.

    The letter pointed out that Nawaz Sharif’s “apparent present physical condition was available in the media”.

    “Given the fact that he had left the country claiming to be in extreme critical condition which prima facie improved significantly after his arrival in London and the fact that he has apparently never been hospitalised and his political, social and other recreational activities have continued uninterrupted… indicate that severe ailment, if any, that may have existed in [the] past is no longer evident or [constrains] his activities,” the letter said.

    Nawaz Sharif had left for the United Kingdom (UK) in November 2019 after the Lahore High Court granted him a four-week bail for his treatment.

  • ‘Never been hospitalised, activities uninterrupted’: Attorney General wants committee on Nawaz’s health

    ‘Never been hospitalised, activities uninterrupted’: Attorney General wants committee on Nawaz’s health

    The attorney general’s office on Wednesday asked the Punjab government to consider establishing a medical board or a committee that could determine the current status of Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, reports Dawn.

    In November 2019,  Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s supreme leader was granted one-time permission by a bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC).

    In a two-page letter, addressed to Punjab Home Secretary Zafar Nasrullah Khan, the attorney general’s office wrote: “In order to initiate the process of verification in the light of the Nov 16, 2019, Lahore High Court order, the government of Punjab is requested to constitute a medical board/committee to examine the documents submitted as medical reports on behalf of the petitioner and Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif so that expert medical opinion regarding the physical condition of Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif and his ability to travel back to Pakistan is made available.”

    The letter was written in line with the federal cabinet’s instructions to the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan to initiate proceedings against the Sharif family.

    The letter pointed out that Nawaz Sharif’s “apparent present physical condition was available in the media”.

    “Given the fact that he had left the country claiming to be in extreme critical condition which prima facie improved significantly after his arrival in London and the fact that he has apparently never been hospitalised and his political, social and other recreational activities have continued uninterrupted… indicate that severe ailment, if any, that may have existed in [the] past is no longer evident or [constrains] his activities,” the letter said.

    “This is further reinforced by the public statements made and reported in the media by his close family members including Shehbaz Sharif and other political associates, who recently met Nawaz Sharif in London,” the letter recalled.

    Earlier this week, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, while addressing a press conference after a cabinet meeting, said that Nawaz Sharif was not seeking medical treatment for the past 17 months.

    “Shehbaz Sharif was the guarantor of Nawaz Sharif,” said the minister.

    “The drama of Nawaz Sharif’s health was created here,” said Fawad, adding that Nawaz went out of Pakistan through fraud.

    “[PML-N President] Shehbaz Sharif is involved in this fraud. According to his statement, Shehbaz Sharif should take steps to bring Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan,” said Fawad.

    “The Federal Cabinet has decided to approach the High Court on the false affidavit of Shehbaz Sharif,” said the minister.

  • Punjab Govt to buy 46 new cars for ministers

    Punjab Govt to buy 46 new cars for ministers

    The Punjab government has issued a formal order for the purchase of 46 new cars for provincial ministers and will make an advance payment to a car manufacturer in this regard. The Cabinet Committee has approved payment for purchasing news cars.

    The Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) has issued a final order in this regard. According to reports, the provincial government has released a total of Rs 210 million for the purchase of vehicles. The existing vehicles will be preserved in the transportation pool.

    Punjab Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) Sunday said that the PTI government the provincial government’s spending have been drastically decreased, under the leadership of Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar.

  • Transgenders to get Rs. 3000 per month financial assistance from Punjab government

    Transgenders to get Rs. 3000 per month financial assistance from Punjab government

    A Punjab government has officially launched a monthly financial aid programme called ‘Masawaat Programme’ for the welfare of the transgender community across the province under the support of the Punjab Social Protection Authority.

    In this programme, transgenders who are over 40 years old will receive financial aid of Rs 3,000 per month from the government whereas transgenders who are aged between 18 and 40 with special needs will receive Rs 2,000 monthly.

    The government also asked the transgender community to get themselves registered with NADRA under the category of ‘transgender’ to avail financial assistance. Those with ‘special needs’ are asked to produce the authentic certificate of disability for registration purposes.

    The Punjab Social Protection Authority emphasised to need to immediately register to avail benefits from the programme as the last date of registration is January 31. Financial assistance will be received on registered mobile numbers of the beneficiaries of the Masawaat Programme.

    The authority further added that they would assist transgender persons in finding employment.

  • Indian conjoined twins get a job, two salaries

    Conjoined twins from Amritsar Sohna and Mohna landed a job at the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited in India. The job has allotted them both two salaries, of about 20,000 Pakistani rupees each, a total of around 40,000 Pakistani rupees.

    The twins were born in New Delhi on June 14, 2003 with two hearts, arms, kidneys and spinal cords, but a shared liver, gall bladder and legs.

    After their birth, the twins were abandoned by their parents and raised in an orphanage.

    Sohna, along with Mohna, look after the electrical appliances at PSPCL, an official said. The twins have an ITI diploma (electrical).

    The twins thanked the Punjab government for providing them this opportunity.

    The twins have an affinity toward music and can play harmonium and sing hymns.

  • CM Buzdar cancels overseas convention over differences with Governor Punjab

    Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Usman Buzdar has reportedly ordered to cancel the first ‘Overseas Global Convention’ of nearly 1,000 overseas Pakistanis living around the world, reports Murtaza Ali Shah for Geo News.

    The media outlet report states that CM Punjab has said that affairs related to the event were being used for the projection of a “few groups” and that many who had travelled to Pakistan were considered close to Governor Punjab Muhammad Sarwar.

    “The Punjab Chief Minister gets intelligence reports from various sources. Evidence was shown to him that many people who were invited as main guests of the event defamed Buzdar in WhatsApp groups and social media,” revealed the source.

    “They belong to a particular group which doesn’t align ideologically with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and criticises Usman Buzdar’s policies, who has the full trust of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan. The governor’s remarks in London about the International Monetary Fund (IMF) taking over Pakistan have not gone down well with the power circles.”

    However, according to the organisers, the convention which has cost tens of thousands of dollars was cancelled due to “security reasons”. On the contrary, a source close to Governor Punjab has rejected the allegations that the event is not an initiative of the Governor House and said, “The Governor House is one of the most secure places in the country, we have no idea what the security issue was. A dinner event at the Governor House will be organised for those who have travelled to Pakistan from overseas as the convention has been cancelled.”

    PM Khan’s involvement:

    According to the details in the report, PM Khan had accepted the invitation by the Overseas Pakistani Commission Punjab Vice Chairman Syed Makhdoom Tariq Ul Hassan. The premier was also expected to address the convention.

    Upon asking, whether PM Khan was aware or not that the convention had been cancelled at the last minute, the Punjab government source said that the CM takes decisions on his own and later takes the premier into confidence when needed.

  • Over 2,900 FIRs registered against the smog in Punjab

    Over 2,900 FIRs registered against the smog in Punjab

    According to the Punjab Relief Commissioner Babar Hayat Tarar, the province has registered over 2,970 First Information Report (FIR) in less than three months (October 1 to December 18) to tackle the smog problem, reports Geo News.

    A heavy fine has been imposed on industrial emissions, stubble burning, and traffic violations.

    The commissioner also stated that the smog has been reduced as a result of effective government measures.

    In the past few weeks, travel had been affected due to smog and poor visibility.

    The Motorway-2 (M2) from Bhera, M4 from Shershah to Shamkot, and M5 from the Jalalpur interchange to Shershah and from Rohri to Guddu were also blocked due to fog and smog.

    Recently, several flights from the Lahore and Sialkot airports faced delays and four flights scheduled for Lahore were diverted to Islamabad. The schedule of trains from Karachi and Quetta was also affected.

  • ‘Local government elections can’t be held with EVMs, says Shibli Faraz

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz has said that electronic voting machines (EVMs) are not designed for the type of local government elections we have in Pakistan.

    Shibli said that the EVMs could be used only for direct elections of nazims of tehsils and districts for which there is only one panel of contestants.

    Faraz said that in our local government elections there are multiple panels for different types of seats.

    On the other hand, the Election Commission demanded that it wanted to see the new draft Local Government Amendment Act by the Punjab government to hold the coming LG polls under Electronic Voting Machines. 

    Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah said that if the government tries to hold the upcoming elections using EVMs he will burn them.

  • PTI’s Aleem Khan resigns as minister to maintain neutrality of his ‘news channel’

    PTI’s Aleem Khan resigns as minister to maintain neutrality of his ‘news channel’

    Punjab Minister of Food Abdul Aleem Khan has resigned from the provincial cabinet headed by Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab, Usman Buzdar.

    Aleem took to Twitter to announce his resignation and tweeted, “I am grateful to them [government] for accepting my request. I am sending my resignation to CM Buzdar.”

    He revealed that he has met with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and persuaded him that it is important for him [Aleem] to resign.

    “In today’s meeting with the PM, I have persuaded him that in order to maintain neutrality with regard to my news channel Samaa News, it is necessary for me not to hold any government post. Therefore, accept my resignation as Punjab Minister of Food,” tweeted Aleem.

    After the alleged audiotape of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, Samaa News, a private news channel ran a news story, claiming that CJP Nasir’s clip appeared to be “pieced together” from two of his own speeches.

    In September, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) leader Aleem Khan officially became the owner of Samaa News.

  • Punjab government revokes ban on TLP

    Punjab government revokes ban on TLP

    The government on Sunday revoked the ban on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

    The notification in this regard was issued by the Ministry of Interior on Sunday, a day before a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security is being held in the National Assembly in which the Opposition members are expected to debate on this matter.

     “The provincial cabinet has considered the request of the organisation and in view of the assurance and commitment by the organisation, is of the opinion that the said organisation shall abide by the Constitution and laws of the country and therefore, keeping in view the larger national interest and long term perspective to ensure that such incidents do not recur in future, the government of Punjab has proposed to the federal government to consider revoking of proscription of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan,” read the notification.

    “In exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 11U of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (as amended), the federal government is pleased to remove the name of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan from the First Schedule of the said Act as a proscribed organisation for the purposes of the said Act,” said the notification.

    TLP had been placed in the First Schedule as a proscribed organisation by the federal government on April 15 this year on the recommendation of the Home Department of Punjab.

    The Punjab government initiated the process to unban TLP last week. Punjab Home Department sent a summary for the revocation of the TLP ban to Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Usman Buzdar and his cabinet.