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Tag: Rawalpindi

  • A maximum of 8,000 vehicles will be permitted to enter Murree on Eid-ul-Azha

    A maximum of 8,000 vehicles will be permitted to enter Murree on Eid-ul-Azha

    On Eid-ul-Azha, the City Traffic Police (CTP) of Rawalpindi will send out 360 Wardens and Traffic officers as part of a special traffic plan devised for Murree.

    Naveed Irshad, the Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) for Rawalpindi, stated that the CTP had completed all preparatory work in addition to establishing a control room to assist tourists and keep an eye on the traffic situation in Murree.

    He claimed that the Rawalpindi Traffic Police were making every effort to assist the tourists, adding that special traffic arrangements had been made with regard to their security.

    He added that traffic wardens had been instructed to work diligently and resolutely to maintain traffic flow so that traffic jams, particularly on congested roads, could be avoided and the citizens could receive relief, and that CTP would make use of all available resources to guarantee smooth traffic flow in Murree.

    According to the CTO, Murree has a 3,500 vehicle parking capacity, and according to district administration guidelines, a maximum of 8,000 vehicles are permitted entry.

    At Murree’s entry and exit points, specialised counting and checking pickets would also be placed, he added.

    He added that traffic wardens had been instructed to impound motorcycles and one-wheelers in relevant police stations. He said one-wheelers and drifters would be handled  strictly, and those who violate the law would be sent to prison.

  • Pakistan Railway offers 30 per cent fare discount for Eid-ul-Azha

    Pakistan Railway offers 30 per cent fare discount for Eid-ul-Azha

    To assist travellers on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, Pakistan Railways has offered a 30 per cent discount on train tickets.

    A notice posted states that all customers travelling by train during the three days of Eid-ul-Azha would be eligible for the reduced tickets. The notification stated that the PR had begun accepting reservations for Eid at discounted rates.

    In a separate announcement, Pakistan Railways stated that three special trains would run on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.

    Before Eid-ul-Azha, three special trains would run on various routes, according to the PR department. A spokeswoman for the Railway stated that on July 8, the first special train would leave at 10 am. It would pass via Multan, Sahiwal, and Lahore from Quetta to Peshawar.

    He added that the second special train would depart Karachi for Lahore at 6:45 pm on July 8 and take a route through Multan and Faisalabad.

    On July 13 at 11:30 am, the third special train for Eid would depart from Lahore and travel via Faisalabad and Multan to arrive in Karachi.

  • Islamabad residents paying up to Rs5,000 for private water tankers

    Islamabad residents paying up to Rs5,000 for private water tankers

    Residents of Islamabad’s sectors G-13 and G-14 are paying private tankers up to Rs5,000 to fetch water for their homes to meet their needs during the current summer season.

    Buildings and houses are being constructed in these sectors, but the availability of water continues to be a severe issue that has to be handled by the concerned authorities.

    When water is only occasionally—once a week or never—given, the locals are left at the tanker mafia’s mercy. The G13 sector has been one of the most severely impacted communities.

    According to The News, there was a plan to use Khanpur Dam to deliver water to these areas, but there were several obstacles, such as encroachment and the failure to acquire property for the supply lines.

    The civic agency began supplying water to certain sectors via tankers at discounted prices. At its G-10 facility, there were no fees for filling private water tankers, allowing the inhabitants of these two sectors to obtain water at subsidised prices.

    Since water at reduced rates was only provided once a week, eventually residents are compelled to buy water from tankers at outrageous prices.

    The locals reported that they are also having issues with their schools, crumbling roads, electrical shortages, a lack of parks, filthy conditions, and a lack of health care services.

  • Who is responsible for getting Pakistan off the ‘terror watch list’?

    Who is responsible for getting Pakistan off the ‘terror watch list’?

    After years of relentless hard work, Pakistan finally received a positive response from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The country is finally close to its removal from the global money-laundering and terrorist financing watchdog’s ‘grey list’. This for sure is a huge win for the country. This was made possible after countless days and nights our officials worked to bring Pakistan one step closer to being removed from the grey list. But here’s the twist. Who should be crowned for the FATF success? Many people are declaring it as their own victory.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan credited his government for this achievement. Khan congratulated former Energy Minister Hammad Azhar who was the main man working on FATF. On the other hand, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also congratulated the nation and appreciated the performance of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar and the members of her team. According to Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, the premier made a telephone call to the army chief and “lauded his decision to set up the core cell at the GHQ”. Director-General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-General Babar Iftikhar termed the development “a great achievement” and gave credit to the “civil-military team” and mainly to the core cell set up at the army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi for it.

    Though there is no doubt that the road to success in terms of FATF has been a long one for Pakistan, let us not forget that many have done a lot of hard work to bring the country to this point. But this recent episode of many claiming credit for our success at FATF has raised one question: Can we as a nation stand united and be able to celebrate the major wins together, keeping aside our political and personal differences? The answer, for now, seems, ‘no’. The recent political scenario has divided the nation so much that even conversing on a simple topic that involves politics ends up in a heated argument. Does one wonder where have the days of critical thinking and constructive debate gone? We can only hope that Pakistanis — be it politicians, think-tankers, policymakers or the common citizen — be able to celebrate Pakistan for its glory and wins.

  • Clash in Muzaffarabad jail due to unavailability of facilities

    A protest by the prisoners of Rara Central Jail in Muzaffarabad turned into a clash between the police and the prisoners on Saturday, reports Samaa News.

    The clash started when some prisoners turned violent and started a fight with the security personnel.

    The prisoners were protesting against the unavailability of facilities for the past few days. However, no casualty has been reported so far.

    The police summoned additional forces to keep the situation under control and started searching for the prisoners who initially started the fight.

    Last year, a clash was also reported in Adiala jail, Rawalpindi. The clash was between two groups that led to the transfer of 23 convicted and under-trial prisoners to other jails and the suspension of 11 jail officials, including two superintendents.

  • Punjab cabinet approves annual budget 2022-23

    Punjab cabinet approves annual budget 2022-23

    On Monday, the provincial cabinet adopted the annual budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, as well as yearly development funds.

    The cabinet passed a Rs 3.226 trillion budget bill for 2022-23 with approval of amended estimates for 2021-22 at a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz.

    In addition to raising pensions, the meeting approved an increase in salary for provincial employees. Employees were also approved for a 15 per cent special allowance.

    A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for delivering free drugs to cancer patients across the province was approved at the session.

    The meeting also ratified the decisions made at the Punjab cabinet’s previous meeting.

    The chief minister praised the work of provincial ministers, the chairman of the planning and development committee, the secretary of finance, and other authorities in creating the best budget documents.

    He stated that the budget included concrete steps to provide true relief to the public.

    The cabinet has approved a Rs164.26 billion budget for infrastructure development projects. A total of 177 billion rupees has been set allocated for the development of roads.

    In the meantime, the cabinet authorised a planned allocation of Rs164.26 billion for infrastructure development projects. One hundred and seventy-seven billion rupees has been set aside for road construction.

    According to the records, Rs27.63 billion has been put aside for irrigation, Rs5 billion has been set aside for energy, and Rs41.4 billion has been set away for production.

    The provincial finance ministry has proposed allocating Rs29.5 billion for public buildings, as well as more than Rs21 billion for urban development.

    The government of Punjab has set aside Rs14.77 billion for agriculture, Rs4.5 billion for forests, approximately Rs1 billion each for wildlife and fisheries, and nearly Rs4 billion for the livestock and dairy sectors. While Rs6.2 billion has been set aside for governance and information technology (IT).

  • Govt announces Rs3 billion subsidy to provide ghee at discounted rate

    Govt announces Rs3 billion subsidy to provide ghee at discounted rate

    The Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb announced on Monday that the government would provide a Rs3 billion subsidy to lower the price of ghee to assist the masses.

    She told a press conference that the market price of ghee is currently Rs550 per kg, but it is being sold at Rs300 per kg in utility stores across the country, according to AAJ News

    “The government is bearing a cost of Rs250 per kg,” she added, adding that the price of ghee was Rs150 per kg when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) handed over the office to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 2018.

    On the other hand, the government has increased the price of ghee and cooking oil at other retailers.

    She further stated that a 10 kg wheat bag could be purchased for Rs400 at any utility store in Pakistan.

    The minister said that on June 6, about one hundred mobile vans were added to the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) network, citing residents of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) having difficulty obtaining discounted items due to limited distribution of utility stores.

    9,500 new utility stores

    “In addition, on June 9, 500 new USC stationary stations were set up to deliver wheat, and 100 more items are being added today,” she stated. “Since June 6, the USC network has grown by 700 units”.

    Price control committees have also been established, according to her, to keep hoarding and reselling of USC materials under check. The availability of items at utility retailers, she said, was also being watched.

    The minister stated that Rs17 billion had been set aside to give the public with low-cost sugar, ghee, and wheat.

  • Orange line metro surpasses 11,000 daily ridership

    Orange line metro surpasses 11,000 daily ridership

    The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is satisfied with the average daily ridership on the Orange Line Metro Bus route.

    The data on average ridership on the Orange Line Metro Bus route was reviewed during a session at the headquarters of CDA. The average daily passenger load for 15 buses was 11,464 passengers per day, resulting in 30 passengers every bus journey.

    It was also shown that the Faiz Ahmed Faiz junction for the Orange and Red lines was the busiest, with 1,746 passengers per day, while the Police Foundation-Mauve Area Stop was the least used.

    Additionally, May 23, with over 16,000 passengers, was the busiest day of the year. It has been observed that as time passes, the ridership on this route improves.

    The CDA administration expressed their delight that a big number of people are taking advantage of this service, and expressed their optimism that with the upcoming inauguration of the green and blue lines, the connection between various districts of the city will improve, as well as the number of ridership.

    The administration expressed the hope that not only would this reduce traffic congestion, but that it would also assist to reduce air pollution in the city.

    It is important to note that buses are expected to arrive in Islamabad from Karachi by the end of this week; in the first phase, buses for the orange, blue, and green lines are also arriving in the federal capital.

  • Khan angry with PTI leaders over failure to mobilise supporters

    Khan angry with PTI leaders over failure to mobilise supporters

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan is unhappy with his party’s top leaders for failing to mobilise supporters to participate in his long march to Islamabad, revealed Geo News anchorperson Shahzeb Khanzada in his programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’.

    According to him, Khan thought that more people would turn up but people did not show up in Rawalpindi. Even his party leaders appeared to have gone missing in action.

    On the contrary, sources say, PTI leaders argued that they were not given enough time to prepare by their leader. They even asked him to extend the date but Khan wanted to maintain an element of surprise for the government.

    According to PTI leaders, except for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) supporters, PTI does not have many supporters elsewhere who would brave the police or tear gas or the heat in an effort to try and reach Islamabad, the anchor revealed.

    Moreover, the leaders thought that the long march would not be a good idea, and the announcement of a dharna (sit-up) would end up more of a problem for PTI. According to Khanzada, they are even unhappy with Khan’s six-day ultimatum to the government.

    According to PTI sources, Imran Khan seems to be only listening to some people who are close to him, instead of politicians better adept at traditional constituency politics.

  • 914 road accidents reported in Punjab during last 24 hours

    914 road accidents reported in Punjab during last 24 hours

    During the last 24 hours, at least eight people were killed and 962 were injured in 914 road accidents across all 37 districts of Punjab.

    577 people were seriously injured and taken to various hospitals, while 385 people with minor injuries were treated on the spot by rescue medical teams. Once again, Lahore remained at the top in reporting highest number of accidents.

    According to the findings, 450 drivers, 27 underage drivers, 104 pedestrians, and 388 passengers were killed in traffic accidents. The road accidents involved a considerable number of two-wheelers as it involved 807 motorcycles, 82 auto-rickshaws, 74 motorcars, 22 vans, 11 buses, 17 trucks, and 100 other types of auto vehicles and slow-moving carts.

    Considering the statistics, 239 road accidents were reported in Lahore, affecting 238 people, putting the provincial capital at the top of the list, followed by 80 in Faisalabad with 85 victims and 53 in Multan with 50 victims.