PITB: An unheard story in Pakistan!

PITB: An unheard story in Pakistan!

LAHORE

When the metro buses, offering scheduled rides, ply on roads in Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad in a controlled environment and one looks at real-time maps on screens and listens to the automated voice messages on-board, the feeling of being in a developed foreign country is undeniable.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when one looks at reforms the Punjab government, powered by Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), has been introducing in the realm of good governance and public service delivery. The growing e-culture in public departments of Punjab government, from interactive dashboards to smartphone applications, is fast changing the government. Ask anyone in government of Punjab and people can’t seem to run out of superlatives for PITB’s work.

Name any department in Punjab, the PITB’s mark is pretty obvious, be it education, health, agriculture, livestock, law & order and revenue and many more. The Board is spearheading almost all the key initiatives of the Punjab government to provide quality services to the public, data-driven monitoring and automation of operations.

From real-time information on attendance of teachers and students in public schools across the province to repository of free digitised textbooks and disease surveillance, flood monitoring and crime investigation reporting and integrated command, control and communication systems and digitising land records, the PITB is helping drive the reform agenda of the government by implementing a robust monitoring system.

This monitoring system has been effectively used in curtailing dengue, tracking vaccinators, assessing flood damages, and of course subsequent efforts by the Punjab government to introduce reforms and achieve desired improvements. The PITB’s role in education sector, which is something very close to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s heart, is quite significant and the same has been resulting in different policy interventions from the government.

Today when we appreciate improvement in attendance of teachers and students (above 90 percent) in over 50,000 public schools across Punjab the fact should not be neglected that all this is possible through the monitoring staff, equipped with SIM-enabled tablet PCs developed by the PITB, which allow them to digitally submit monitoring forms during their visits. The system is really helping reducing absenteeism. Similarly it was the PITB designed smartphone-based early epidemic warning system which played a key role in fighting dengue epidemic in 2012. Nonetheless, the PITB is somehow an unheard story in Pakistan!

“What India Can Learn About E-Governance From Pakistan” goes the headline of a prestigious media outlet of neighbouring India in recognition of services being rendered by the PITB, which is being headed by Dr Umar Saif, a LUMS graduate, who holds a PhD from University of Cambridge and Post-Doc from MIT. Last year, the PITB work was mentioned as one of the three global examples of innovation in governance by the World Bank President.

Recently the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has approached the PITB seeking its technical assistance in developing an android-based monitoring of Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) workers. It is pertinent to mention here that Punjab has successfully developed and implemented monitoring of vaccinators using android phone through its e-vaccination programme “eVaccs”.

According to Aizaz Akhtar, Head of Special Monitoring Unit at Chief Minister’s Office, the Health Department has been benefitting from PITB vis-à-vis the use of technology for better and effective service delivery. “PITB is our key partner in building technology to bring delivery culture in the government of Punjab”, he added. The PITB is also behind one of the significant developments taking place in Punjab Police vis-à-vis reforms in traditional “thana culture”. Through initiatives like Command, Control and Communication, commonly known as IC3, the PITB is engaged in improving operational efficiency of police and to put the force on modern lines. Through the IC3, the PITB is bringing together various elements of Punjab Police operation so that the same work as a unified team.

This team work seems to be at the heart of PITB when one visits its offices at Arfa Software Technology Park, named after Arfa Karim, the child prodigy who died at the age of 16. “The lights are never switched off at the PITB offices”, remarks one PITB employee about the grueling work hours at this organisation.

According to Waqas Hassan, AIG (Crime Analysis & Monitoring), who is focal person for these reforms at IG office, from automation of manual records to online FIR registration the PITB was helping Punjab Police to develop Police Computer System having features such as computerised registration of FIR, handheld biometric verification devices, digitised biometric criminal record database, and human resource management system etc. “An automated system of FIR system has been introduced in 201 police stations in Punjab”, said Waqas. The system along with other components will be replicated in all the districts across the province, he added.

Out of many other public-friendly initiatives the PITB has launched e-Stamping system in order to replace the arcane stamp paper system, fraught with fraudulent practices, and leakage of government revenues. The new system will enable a citizen to acquire a stamp paper within 30 minutes and will cut out fraud and forged transactions. Citizens can get an e-stamp paper through any designated branch of a schedule bank, saving both time and money.

Similarly the ATM-powered water filtration plants initiative to be launched as a pilot project in selective districts of Punjab is aimed at empowering people to reduce wastage of clean drinking water and its proper utilisation. “PITB is benefitting the common man by bringing down the barriers for accessing government services. For instance, with citizen facilitation centres (e-Khidmat Centres), citizens can access 16 government services under one roof without having to wait in long queues, track their applications through an automated process and expect a response within a stipulated time”, said Dr Umar Saif.

It is pertinent to mention here that Dr Saif is also the founding Vice-Chancellor of Information Technology University (ITU) and the first Pakistani to be named as one of the top 35 young innovators in the world (TR35) in 2011 by MIT Technology Review. He is also first Pakistani to receive a PhD in Computer Science from Cambridge and that too at the age of 23. He has a long list of international accolades to his name. He also received Siatra-e-Imtiaz (SI) for his services in the field of Information Technology.

The PITB’s success story is certainly a result of putting the right man for the right job, and in this case, the chief minister seems to have found just the right man for his reform agenda in the government.

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Model Town Incident | JIT finds no role of PM and Cm

 JIT finds no role of PM, Punjab CM, others

by  Usman Manzoor

ISLAMABAD: The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on Model Town killings, represented by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) besides others, has not found any conspiracy orchestrated by Prime Minister, Punjab Chief Minister, any federal or provincial minister or any of the civil servants.

Well-placed sources told The News that the JIT, comprising ISI, MI, special branch, Police, CIA, IB, after interrogation and investigation has concluded that the unfortunate event on June 17 which resulted in killing of 14 people was a product of spur of the moment and not because of any pre-planned conspiracy as accused by Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Tahirul Qadri.

The sources said that as per JIT report the SP Model Town ordered policemen to open fire (aerial as per SP’s statement) after PAT’s workers opened fire on police.Moreover, the sources maintained that the JIT had concluded that all the policemen visible in the videos of the event told the JIT that they were ordered by their Superintendent of Police (SP) Model Town. They did not name anyone else. While the SP Model Town told the JIT that he only ordered for aerial firing and not the direct firing, the sources added. The sources said that none of the persons interviewed by the JIT named any other officers but the SP Model Town who ordered them to open fire. No one even named CCPO Lahore or Inspector General of Police or the Home Secretary i.e. the officers not present on the scene, let alone Rana Sanaullah, Punjab former law minister or Dr Tauqir Shah, former Secretary to CM, or Punjab chief minister or the prime minister.

The JIT has also not indicted any of the 21 persons against whom Dr Tahirul Qadri had submitted application for registration of FIR. Because the JIT could not interrogate the other party, it would therefore submit its challan of whatever it had gathered and concluded so far to the Punjab government which would likewise be presented before the court.

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Shahbaz Sharif factor makes strides

Shahbaz Sharif factor makes strides

As the intelligentsia and literati of Pakistan are churning out different theories and definitions based on their in-depth and keen observation of events and personalities, they have come up with two new terms that are quite amazing. One is Shahbaz Sharif factor and the other is human machine or human engine of growth.

Moving among these circles and trying to ascertain the actual meanings of these newly coined terms vis-à-vis the dynamic and energetic personality of Punjab Chief Minister, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, I was left with no option but to concede to these new epithets for the never-fading spirit behind Punjab’s immense progress. I am talking about the two terms ‘Shahbaz Sharif factor’ and ‘human engine’. No doubt they factually sit well with Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s personality who is not at all an average politician. Such leaders are a priceless asset of a country like Pakistan which is going through some very difficult times obviously over the clash of institutions, politics of power, media proactivity and a tense security situation. Amidst such a complex situation it is easy to overlook that Punjab government is making progress at a rate that is unprecedented in developing countries. It may also be easy to overlook the man behind this: Shahbaz Sharif.

But I agree in toto with some analysts that the CM Punjab is not an average politician. He is not average anything. Anyone who has worked with him will testify that he is a compulsive workaholic, restless, perpetually discontent and fasitidious i.e impossible to please. He is unforgiving, his sense of purpose relentless and his appetite for progress insatiable. Ask any bureaucrat who has worked with him and they will all tell you the same thing. This man is on a mission and he will not let anything stop him, or slow him down. Working for Shahbaz Sharif is not for the faint-hearted. And if one were to go for proper evaluation of the work that has been done in Punjab under Shahbaz Sharif’s nose, it won’t be out of place to opine that what he has achieved is phenomenal. He famously built the Lahore Metro Bus in just 11 months. At the time, Metro was being built, it was hard to find anyone - citizens, bureaucrats, his political opponents or even members of his own political party - who believed he could complete this project in time. Many members of his own political party thought this project would cost them the elections. But he soldiered on. The Lahore Metro Bus now transports over 170,000 passengers every day, it played a central role in the national election campaign and every government in Pakistan wants to replicate it.

In a country where successful projects in government are few and far between, “we can build the Metro bus in eleven months” has become the new mantra in government of Punjab. Recently, a High Court judge admonished a government servant by saying that “if you can build the Metro bus in 11 months, why can’t you upgrade the jails.”

Bridges, fly-overs, roads, schools, hospitals - everything is built in record time when Shahbaz Sharif is supervising it. Even his worst political opponents cannot deny his effectiveness as an administrator. In a country where most state institutions have deteriorated, Shahbaz Sharif somehow manages to drive the government machinery at an unbelievable pace. A businessman who worked briefly in his team explained him as follows: “he seems like a captain of a hoary ship, with half-hearted crew, steering it at hell’s speed purely through his will”. If you sit through government meetings run by him, some of which I also got the chance to attend, given Shahbaz Sharif’s ‘open to media’ approach, this explanation is not far from truth. Some call it his waging finger, others, his impatience, but his indomitable will is surely steering the ship at hell’s speed. One of the meetings that I happened to attend was related to the dengue epidemic that would have been very deadly had Shahbaz Sharif not worked day and night to combat this rapidly emerging crisis.

The fact is that the real mettle of a leader is tested in times of crisis. Shahbaz Shaif was tested twice in his last term: 2010 floods and 2011 dengue epidemic. He performed so well that his handling of these two disasters became campaign slogans. Most experts had prviously predicted thousands of deaths in Lahore when it was hit by one of the world’s worst dengue epidemics in 2011. There were over 21,000 confirmed patients reported in Punjab. But the CM Punjab managed all that with unyielding spirits that can be termed no less than legendary. According to an analyst, he rather marshaled the entire government in a way that was unprecedented in Pakistan. He chaired 76 meetings on the trot at 6 am early morning, in which the entire government machinery presented their daily progress. Experts too were invited from Sri Lanka; SOPs were learnt and implemented overnight; blood infusion machines were imported and hospitals converted into specialized wards; thousands of kits distributed to citizens in a few weeks. The results were also extraordinary. Not a single death occurred due to dengue in 2012 in Punjab! Though experts may disagree about what may have contributed to such a drastic improvement within a year, no one can deny the herculean effort made by Shahbaz Sharif and his team. I am told that many other countries, which once shared their best practices with Pakistan, have started citing Punjab as a role model in using technology and government coordination to successfully manage the dengue. And my own experiecne while I was on a visit to China, also proved this fact as to how much the CM Punjab is liked in foreign capitals for his hard, intelligent work.

Where Shahbaz Sharif’s roads and bridges, and the Metro bus, are often quoted as examples to emulate, Punjab government’s work on education reform has gone almost unreported. Punjab’s school education roadmap, funded by DFID and the Worldbank, has been producing very impressive results. Sir Michael Barbar, a well-known education expert who has spearheaded the program in the past few years, published a report stating: “As of January 2013, as per a conservative estimate, there are 1.5 Million extra children enrolled in school. In addition, student attendance daily is now over 90 per cent, 81,000 new teachers have been hired on merit and more than 35,000 more teachers are present at school every day than two years ago. Over 90 per cent of schools now have basic facilities in place as opposed to less than 70 per cent two years ago. Importantly, across all the indicators there has been a narrowing of the gender gap, although more is required to be done, especially in the south of Punjab.”

In this time, Sir Michael Barbar has traveled to Pakistan every eight weeks and Shahbaz Sharif has religiously followed a well thought out plan. The same program is now being replicated in other provinces, notably KPK.

It is not a surprise that Shahbaz Sharif outperformed everyone else in Pakistan in the recent Gallup survey. Punjab Chief Minister was rated as very good by 21% people. As a comparison, the Sindh CM obtained only 6% while the KPK CM and Balochistan CM each got a mere 4% rating as very good. Going by this survey, Shahbaz Sharif is 4-5 times better than any other Chief Minister in Pakistan! But in the inner circles of the government, his performance is benchmarked against a much stiffer competition: Shahbaz Sharif of 1997. Such is the “Shahbaz Sharif factor”.

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PML-N government fulfils longstanding demand of residents

PML-N government fulfills longstanding demand of residents

 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, with the laying of foundation-stone of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Service Project on Sunday, have fulfilled a longstanding demand of the residents of the twin cities with regard to provision of a modern transport system to them.

After the closure of Varan Tours Bus Service in the PML-Q government, the residents of Rawalpindi, facing problems, had been demanding a modern transport service. In the previous governments, high officials and concerned transport authorities had been making promises to the people in this regard, however, they failed to materialise them.

However, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who promised the residents a mass transit project for their twin cities during the PML-N election campaign last year, soon after coming into power, directed the concerned officials to prepare a plan for the Metro Bus Service Project.

In January 2014, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave approval to the Metro Bus Project and directed the concerned authorities to 0initiate work on the scheme. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, on February 1, 2014 in the light of the directions of the prime minister, gave approval to this project in a meeting of the Punjab Cabinet and work was immediately started for fulfilling the requirements and tender process for the project.

The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Project is being implemented as per vision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif with the objective of providing an international standard mass transit system to the residents of the twin cities. The total cost of the Metro Bus Project is about Rs44.21 billion.

Federal and provincial governments would contribute 50% each of the total cost. The route of the Metro Bus Service would start from Flashman’s Hotel Chowk, Rawalpindi, and end at Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad, after covering a distance of 23.2 kilometres.

Similarly, the portion of Metro Bus Service in Rawalpindi from Flashman’s Hotel to Faizabad, having a distance of 8.6 kilometres, would be on elevated track, while from Faizabad to Pakistan Secretariat via IJP Road and 9th Avenue up to the destination having a distance of 14.6 kilometres, will be ground road.

A total of 24 modern stations for passengers would be built on route out of which 10 will be on Benazir Road and the remaining 14 will be in Islamabad. Initially, 60 buses would be plied on the route and more than 150,000 passengers would benefit from the project.

About 29 kanals of land would be acquired for the project out of which about 20 kanals would be acquired on Benazir Bhutto Road, Rawalpindi. According to high-ups in the city district government, including the Rawalpindi commissioner, there would be no environmental effects of the project as no greenbelt would be affected during the construction of the project and this project would also have no effect on the overall master plan of the capital.

The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Service Project is being undertaken keeping in view the long-run mass transit requirements of the twin cities and if in future the load of passengers is increased, the Metro Train, after laying its track, might also be run on this track.

According to higher authorities in the city district government, the PEPRA and other related laws have been strictly followed to ensure transparency in the project and there would be no compromise on construction standards of the project. Keeping in view the experiences of Lahore Metro Bus Service Project, the prime minister and the chief minister have directed the concerned authorities to ensure completion of the project on better level and standards so it may cater to the long-term requirements of mass transit system.

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Ishaq Dar a performer, not used to making hollow promises

ISLAMABAD: Finance minister Senator Ishaq Dar has amazed a vast majority of disbelievers, who took his public pledge to bring the roaring greenback (dollar) to below Rs100 as an empty slogan of the government to create feel-good sentiments.

A thorough professional like Dar hardly knows political antics and gimmickry. Since joining politics, he has not been known for making shallow political promises to attract attention and garner political support. He is always focused on the specialized job he is assigned. He takes it as a challenge. He did the same when he previously served as commerce minister and finance minister during earlier Nawaz Sharif government. It was because of Dar’s suave nature, competence and dedication that Asif Ali Zardari had preferred him as the finance minister of his government when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had joined hands with the Pakistan Peoples Party for a while in 2008. He did not serve for too long as the alliance fell apart due to political compulsions. Dar is one of less than half a dozen federal ministers, who are the real assets of Nawaz Sharif’s team. They are working overtime to make a difference in the portfolios they have been allotted. The prime minister is happy with this lot and is displeased with others, who are taking their assignments lightly. Dar’s test would be to stabilise the exchange rate. In December last, he declared to reduce the greenback to less than Rs100. He then asked those who have amassed dollars to cash them hurriedly otherwise they would suffer huge losses. Such investors who did not heed his advice are now at a loss. Sheikh Rashid stood out among the leading disbelievers and had announced that he would resign his National Assembly seat if the finance minister fulfilled his promise of bringing dollar to Rs98. The good news is that the greenback touched this figure on Wednesday with its constant depreciation. However, as this was about to happen, Sheikh Rashid made it known that he would not quit and instead alluded to a conspiracy theory in the appreciation of the rupee. He hasn’t elaborated the plot, but asked the government during a TV interview to explain how it got $1.5 billion. “It should tell how rupee rose and dollar slid otherwise I will spill the beans,” he threatened. But Dar did not want Sheikh Rashid to go home and said in a TV interview that he was thankful to those who threw the challenge to him that kept him on his toes to meet his commitment. Sheikh Rashid is the lone warrior, who is not willing to accept the magic done by the finance minister. Many others compliment the achievement.The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) said on Wednesday that dollar’s continued retreat would help stabilise economy, tame inflation and restore investors’ confidence. “The rising rupee will further push the US dollar down to set new records but stabilising the exchange rate which has remained volatile since long will be a test for the economic managers,” PEW president Dr. Murtaza Mughal said. He believed that fulfillment of the commitment by the finance minister will bring down prices of imported commodities and will have a positive impact on every person in Pakistan. He attributed the strength of rupee to excess supply of dollar, ban on gold import since January, encouraging International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports, Chinese decision to invest billions in Pakistan, award of GSP plus, expected sale of next generation telecom licences, positive interference by State Bank of Pakistan and 11% hike in remittances. Mughal said that exports have not increased to the satisfactory level which was must to maintain the trend. Terming the dramatic fall of dollar and its reducing demand a good omen for the economy, he said that dollar should remain under pressure despite hue and cry by exporters. The government should keep a hawk’s eye on speculators, currency dealers and on some banks who have been playing havoc with the economy for personal gains, and must encourage the deprecation of dollar below Rs98 in the national interest. A report said that Pakistan is expected to receive some $1.1 billion through auctions of 3G and 4G telecom licences, about $1 billion and $500 million from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and $550 million from the IMF along with $500 million raised through the issuance of Eurobonds. 

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-238153-Ishaq-Dar-a-performer,-not-used-to-making-hollow-promises

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Is the economy turning around?

Column by Dr. Farrukh Saleem 

Is the economy turning around? The good news is that the economy is growing at its fastest pace since 2008. The bad news is that inflation remains a potent threat. Is the economy turning around? Well, there are economic indicators that turn around before the economy as a whole turns around. These indicators have a certain degree of predictability value and are thus known as leading economic indicators.

Is the economy turning around? Has the private sector started borrowing? To be certain, the economy will only turn around if and when the private sector becomes confident. When the private sector becomes confident it starts borrowing and when it starts borrowing it starts investing and once it invests the economy turns around.

In July 2013, within a month of the new government taking over, the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) reported that “there is remarkable buoyancy in business circles coinciding with the change of government…. Business sentiments have gone up dramatically from minus 34 percent to positive 2 percent.” Lo and behold, in the first six months of 2013-14 credit to the private sector has gone up from Rs53 billion last year to Rs231 billion – an increase of 4.35 times.

Is the economy turning around? Are investors incorporating new companies? To be certain, the economy will only turn around if and when the private sector becomes confident. When the private sector becomes confident the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) experiences an increased number of entrepreneurs approaching the SECP for the registration of new companies. Lo and behold, the incorporation of new companies has gone up by a wholesome 17 percent from the 1st of July, 2013 to the 30th of November, 2013 as compared to the same period in 2012.

Is the economy turning around? Is the private sector importing machinery? To be certain, the economy will only turn around if and when the private sector becomes confident. When the private sector becomes confident it begins to import machinery. Lo and behold, machinery import is up 26 percent. When the private sector becomes confident it begins to construct. Lo and behold, as of February 2014, local cement dispatches have gone up by a healthy nine percent.

The theory behind leading economic indicators is that they turn positive prior to the economy turning positive. Question: Is the economy finally turning around? Answer: Leading economic indicators are painting an optimistic scenario.

The biggest threat remains terrorism for which the government has ad-hocism in place of strategy. In the monetary domain, the State Bank of Pakistan’s independence has been compromised and that cannot be good for anything financial. The other threat is from the stream of external payments that are bound to keep the economy under pressure.

Yes, there are other threats as well. Among them: the budgetary deficit, bank lending to the government, a sharp decline in net foreign assets, an anaemic revenue base and expenditures running way ahead of revenues.

On the ground there are three growth prerequisites: political certainty, economic certainty and policy predictability. According to the World Bank, “A range of governance and business environment indicators suggest that deep improvements in governance are needed to unleash Pakistan’s growth potential.”

“Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists” – Galbraith

The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com 

Twitter: @saleemfarrukh
 

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Nawaz rejects $33m US deal over Shakil Afridi

 Nawaz rejects $33m US deal over Shakil Afridi

 Ansar AbbasiWednesday, January 22, 2014 
From Print Edition

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the cabinet meeting held on Monday rejected the US bill linking US$33 million aid to the release of Dr Shakil Afridi and resolved that Pakistan would not compromise on such matters of national security and sovereignty.

A cabinet minister confided to The News that the prime minister was upset over Washington’s move and made it clear that no such conditions would be acceptable to Pakistan. The minister said the prime minister ruled out the possibility of releasing Dr Shakil Afridi and handing him over to Washington.

Nawaz Sharif, it is said, during the same cabinet meeting directed the foreign ministry to issue Islamabad’s strong disappointment over Washington’s move. The FO issued the statement the same evening.

The prime minister assured his cabinet members that Dr Afridi’s fate would be decided by the independent judiciary of the country and there was no question of entertaining Washington’s request to send him to America in return for US$33 million.

Aid or no aid, the prime minister is said to have told the cabinet, Afridi would not be handed over to any country.

Dr Shakil Afridi is accused of assisting the CIA to track Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad by exploiting the polio vaccination campaign. Afridi, who was charged with high treason for his shameful act, has become the darling of the US for his work for the CIA that led to the May 2 Abbottabad operation.

Using the polio vaccination campaign for spying purposes by the CIA had furthered the problems for Pakistan as in retaliation to this, the TTP started targeting polio workers in different parts of the country.

Before the recent adoption of bill by US Congress linking US$33 million to the release of Dr Shakil Afridi, Washington had repeatedly taken up the issue of Afridi’s release and his departure to the US but Islamabad did not agree.

During Nawaz Sharif’s official visit to the US a few months back, President Obama also discussed the issue of Afridi and his release but there too Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the issue was with the judiciary, which had to decide the fate of the accused.

The recent adoption of bill is said to be a frustrated move by Washington to pressure Islamabad to free the alleged CIA agent, who is a Pakistani citizen and is charged with committing a serious crime against the country.

The Foreign Office on Monday expressed its disappointment. “We are disappointed that the bill proposes to withhold US$33 million from assistance on account of Dr Shakil Afridi’s detention,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that Dr Afridi, a citizen of Pakistan, is accused of having violated the country’s laws. The FO added that Afridi’s action also caused immense damage to the polio campaign in the country. “His case is sub judice and he remains entitled to due process under the law. Consequently, any linkage of US assistance to this case is not in keeping with the spirit of cooperation between the two countries,” the FO spokesperson said.

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Progress in Pakistan Railways

Senators all smiles as Saad Rafique compared with Lalu Prasad

 

ISLAMABAD: The Senate was all smiles Friday when a lady senator, in a bid to praise Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique for his good job, compared him with India’s corruption-tainted ex-railway minister Lalu Prasad.

The House, which saw angry senators expressing anguish over plight of Fata people during an on-going debate, also witnessed light moments during the question hour.

Senator Kulsoom Parveen of the BNP-Awami, apparently oblivious of the recent conviction of Lalu in a 17 years old fodder corruption case, said that Saad Rafique was performing as good as the Indian minister. This prompted several senators to rise on their seats to inform her about the bitter fact about Lalu.

“By this, I mean Lalu had done a very good service to the Indian railways as its minister. I did not refer to his other issues,” the lady senator explained.

Replying questions, Saad Rafique complained that despite clear orders of the Supreme Court, the provinces were not ready to give back land to the railways and that was why they had decided to take the matter to the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

The minister noted that the Railways Ministry wanted to earn revenue from the commercial use of its land, as was successfully being done in India. He said this process had been started from Karachi, wherein cold storages and hotels could be built.

Regarding the Royal Palm issue, Saad Rafique said initially the lease was for 33 years that was increased to 49 years and the leased land was 120 acres that was also enhanced to 141 acres. He added the ministry had filed a petition in the Supreme Court and urged for early hearing of the same.

He said an amount of Rs25 million payable by the party to which the land was leased out was not paid, forcing the government to write a termination letter on this count.The minister noted that no new passenger train would be launched until the freight trains were equal in number to the passenger trains.

Presently, 25 goods trains are in operation and two of these are for transportation of PSO’s oil products. There are 96 passenger trains on tracks presently.About accidents on unmanned railway crossings, he said security on the crossings was the provincial governments’ responsibility and there were a total of 2,442 railway crossings across Pakistan. He added that the ministry had banned opening of new such crossings.

The minister said he had meetings with provincial secretaries and even chief ministers regarding railway crossings. He maintained that the issue of crossings could be solved in next five years if provinces provide funds for this purpose.Saad Rafique made it clear that in future the ministry would allow only underpasses or flyovers at railway tracks and no more new railway crossings will be allowed. 

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