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Wednesday 11 January 2017

GILGIT: With one eye on the rising number of tourists flocking to the area and the other on preserving a fast disappearing tradition, the Gilgit-Baltistan police on Tuesday formally inducted a traditional piece of headgear into their uniform.

The cap, locally known as “Khoi”, will be donned by the traffic police in the region.

Security guards for KKH trained by G-B police

The addition to the uniform was formally made by Inspector General of G-B Police Zafar Iqbal Awan, who put the caps on the heads of traffic officials in Gilgit on Tuesday.

“This new arrangement has been made to give the police a friendly look,” said Mubarak Jan, the official spokesman of G-B police.

“It will serve two objectives,” Jan told The Express Tribune. “It will help promote culture as well help promote tourism for which the region is famous.”

He added that the region was fast becoming a tourist-destination, especially in the summer, and wearing traditional clothing would help give them a softer image among foreign and domestic tourists.

The decision stems from the G-B government’s move to preserve and promote local culture. Last year, the G-B government had stipulated September 1 as ‘cap day’ with all government employees in G-B required to don the traditional caps. Eventually, the day was celebrated on October 1, though the government now plans to hold the event annually on September 1.

Khoi is still an integral part of G-B’s formal dress in this mountain-locked region and is worn by many as a symbol of pride. The soft, round and flat-topped cap is usually white in colour and is made from the finest wool. They are usually decorated with either a tuft of feathers or a flower – shanti. Together, the cap and the feather are called Shanti-Khoi.

A year of highs and some lows for Gilgit-Baltistan

However, for the police, the cap has been slightly modified with an emblem of the G-B police added to the spot where the feather is inserted into the cap.

“It will certainly be different look when one finds a policeman wearing a local cap,” said Kamran Khan, a resident.

Manzar Shigri, a local journalist, was apprehensive about the feathers being used. Referring to the age-old practice when Shanti would be made from feathers of birds, he said that the government must ensure that artificial feathers are used.

This is not the first time the cap has become part of a uniform. Previously, Major William Brown’s pre-partition Gilgit Scouts used the cap as part of their uniform. Today, the modern version of the scouts – the Northern Light Infantry Regiment (NLI) – includes the cap in their uniform.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2017.

ISLAMABAD (News World Report) - Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday attended a ceremony in Islamabad to hand over 200 buses to the educational institutions.

He was accompanied by Maryam Nawaz and state minster for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Tariq Fazal Chaudhry.

The students gave a warm welcome to the guests and expressed gratitude over the provision of buses.

Along with the children, the premier cut a special cake designed like the bus.

While addressing the ceremony, PM Nawaz said that the government is determined to raise the standard of education.

Heexpressed confidence that a congenial educational environment would help produce best citizens.

He said it is our duty to serve the country through hardwork and dedication.

PM Nawaz asserted that at least 70 buses have been obtained by the government whereas directives have been issued to purchase the remaining 130 on priority bases.

He announced that preference in the matter will be provided to the female institutions and those located in rural areas in order to solve the transportation problems of the women.

“I have also directed the Mayor of the Federal Capital to concentrate on improvement of sanitation, roads, streets and overall environment of Islamabad,” he said.

He hoped that Islamabad will be among the best cities of the world in future through the multi-dimensional approach of government.

Speaking on the occasion, Maryam Nawaz said that people will witness refurbished schools in 2017.

She pronounced that government is keen to provide IT and science labs to all schools while efforts are being made in this regard.

Maryam said steps are also being taken to improve quality of education in the educational institutions of the capital as montessori classes have been introduced in 22 schools of Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD (AP TV / AFP) – Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday has ordered to send ten-year-old maid Tayyaba to Sweet Homes until the confirmation of real parents.

Torture on minor maid has spotlighted rampant child labour in the country. After social media images allegedly showing injuries to the girl’s face and hands went viral, the top court intervened and ordered a full investigation.

During the hearing of suo moto case, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar asked Tayyaba‘s father Azam: “Did you forgive the judge and his family?” over which he said that he had signed a paper with thumb impression on the instructions of lawyer without knowing that it was a pardon affidavit.

He told the court that Nadra bibi took the girl to Faisalabad for work.

CJP has ordered the investigation officers to submit record of case along with suspect Maheen Zafar’s pre-arrest bail copy today and directed the police to present the final report in ten days.

Meanwhile, DIG sought time for investigation which was abruptly rejected by the court.

Earlier, Tayyaba was found onSunday in the suburbs of the capital Islamabad and taken for a medical examination.

"She shows signs of torture," Javed Akram, head of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital said.

"Our medical board has observed multiple injuries, burns, blunt injuries and bruises on the child’s face," he said.

"She has burn marks on her back and on the left hand. She also has a blunt wound on her face. All her wounds are healing."

Another doctor said on condition of anonymity that the child, employed by a district judge in Islamabad, had changed her statement several times.

Media reports said she initially claimed she fell down the stairs and burnt her hands by accident, later telling police she was beaten and had her hands burned on a stove by the judge’s wife.

LAHORE (News92World) – Cold wave intensifies in the country with temperature dropping to freezing point in various cities on Wednesday.

Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad are undergoing chilly weather conditions while freezing water sources were witnessed in Balochistan province.

Cool breeze has made the weather unpleasantly frosty. The minimum temperature in Karachi at night was 10°C whereas in Lahore it reached to 5°C. However; Islamabad and Rawalpindi underwent 0°C.
Snow continue to fall on the mountains attracting a huge number of tourists.

In the next 48 hours, mainly very cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country. Foggy conditions are likely to continue over plain areas of Punjab and upper Sindh during night and morning hours.

Today’s Lowest Minimum Temperatures:
Kalam -16°C, Astore -12°C, Skardu -11°C, Kalat -09°C, Dir, Gilgit, Gupis -08°C, Quetta, Rawalakot, Bagrote -07°C, Hunza, Malamjabba -06°C, Parachinar, Drosh -05°C, Kakul -04°C, Murree, Chitral -03°C.

Tuesday 10 January 2017

Indian national flag-carrier Air India was named world’s third-worst airline by aviation insights company FlightStats which puts together a list of the international airlines with the best on-time performance records.

And yes, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was not included in the list despite facing severe criticism in Pakistan

Here is the complete list along with the likelihood of getting delayed:

10. Hainan Airlines – 30.3 percent

9. Korean Air – 31.74 percent

8. Air China – 32.73 percent

7. Hong Kong Airlines – 33.42 percent

6. China Eastern Airlines – 35.8 percent

5. Asiana Airlines – 37.46 percent

4. Philippine Airlines – 38.33 percent

3. Air India – 38.71 percent

2. Icelandair – 41.05 percent

1. El Al – 56 percent

The company also listed world’s best airlines as well.

10. Qantas – 15.7 percent

9. TAM Linhas Aéreas – 14.93 percent

8. Delta Air Lines – 14.83 percent

7. Singapore Airlines – 14.55 percent

6. ANA – 14.46 percent

5. Austrian – 14.26 percent

4. Qatar Airways – 13.66 percent

3. JAL – 12.2 percent

2. Iberia – 11.82 percent

1. KLM – 11.47 percent

According to Jim Hetzel, vice president of aviation and distribution at FlightStats, compiling the list is no small feat. The only comparable resource is the monthly report (PDF) that the U.S. Department of Transportation puts out on major domestic carriers, relying uniquely on self-reported data from the biggest carriers in the United States; it doesn’t factor in any of those airlines’ international flights.

“We stitch data together from 500 different sources,” Hetzel told Bloomberg.

Among those sources are flight-tracking and positional services, airport runway times, radar services, airline records, airport data, and such governing bodies as Eurocontrol and the Federal Aviation Administration. “All of these pieces come in in different formats, all with different elements of value, and a lot of times the sources don’t agree,” said Hetzel.

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said Tuesday that he was in contact with intelligence agencies and was hopeful that missing human rights activist Dr Salman Haider would soon be recovered safe and sound.

Lawmakers had invited the interior minister to brief the House on details regarding the disappearance of and Fatima Jinnah University professor Salman Haider and at least three other social activists – Waqas Goraya, Asim Saeed, Saleem Haider and Ahmad Raza Naseer – who have also gone missing in the past week.

Briefing the upper house of parliament, the interior minister said the safe recovery of the missing social activists was the government's priority.

Nisar said the federal government neither pursues the policy of enforced disappearance of its own citizens nor will it tolerate this. He claimed that a number of people have been recovered in the last three and a half years due to the government's sincere efforts.

The interior minister said CCTV footage showed a Toyota double-cabin vehicle following Haider's car on the evening of his disappearance from Islamabad Capital Territory. Nisar said that footage showed the double-cabin vehicle disappeared for some time, only to reappear in the footage and was last seen driving towards Rawalpindi.

Nisar said the government was committed to bring the perpetrators behind Salman Haider's kidnapping to justice.

There are some clues and information which I cannot disclose to the House at the moment, he said.

He said Haider was abducted from Islamabad Capital Territory while the other three activists went missing from Punjab. He said the Punjab government was also pursuing the matter on a priority basis.

The government's agencies are monitoring this issue and it will take the investigations to its logical conclusion, he said.

Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan urged lawmakers to "avoid political point scoring in the nation's resolve against terrorism".

Nisar's briefing comes as the Human Rights Watch urged Pakistan to urgently investigate the apparent abductions of the four bloggers who campaigned for human rights and religious freedom, saying their near simultaneous disappearances raised concerns of government involvement.

Haider, Goraya, Saeed, and Naseer went missing from Islamabad and various cities of Punjab between January 4 and January 7.

The HRW statement came as leftwing and liberal activists prepared to hold protests throughout the country demanding the bloggers' release.

"The Pakistani government has an immediate obligation to locate the four missing human rights activists and act to ensure their safety," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"The nature of these apparent abductions puts the ... government on notice that it can either be part of the solution or it will be held responsible for its role in the problem."

Pakistan is routinely ranked among the world's most dangerous countries for journalists.

Liberal activists are to hold protests in major cities on Tuesday afternoon, using the hashtag #RecoverAllActivists to generate support on social media.

In April 2015, prominent activist Sabeen Mahmud was killed by militants who said they carried out the attack because she promoted liberal, secular views.

In April 2014, unidentified gunmen attacked but failed to kill Hamid Mir, one of the country´s most recognised TV anchors.

MULTAN (Dunya News) – Two labourers have died while four rescued out of around 25 trapped under rubble after an under-construction plaza collapsed on Bosan Road near Chungi Number Six.

Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif has ordered to ramp up rescue efforts however, reportedly, heavy machines that were called for workers’ aid reached with delay for reasons yet to be disclosed.

According to the rescue authorities, lack of proper road infrastructure led to issues in the process. Emergency has been imposed in a nearby hospital.

Sources privy to the rescue department have reported that the accident took place whilst labourers were busy crushing walls between four shops on the ground floor.