Tag: KP

  • KP launches AI-based attendance system for schools

    KP launches AI-based attendance system for schools

    Due to an upsurge in complaints about teachers’ absences, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has deployed artificial intelligence (AI)-based video systems in schools to monitor students’ and teachers’ live attendance.

    According to Zarif-ul-Mani, MD of the Elementary Schools Education Foundation (ESEF), the AI-based attendance system in the foundation schools would uphold the standard of instruction and improve student performance.

    He also described how the School Management Information System (SMIS) works to guarantee quality, accountability, and a simple transfer of scholarship cash to partners.

    He also commended the ESEF’s e-governance division for reviving this project, which had been mismanaged in the past.

    Additionally, the project would reduce dropout rates while guaranteeing that professors are present and that classes start on schedule.

    Prior to that, the government of Sindh made the decision to take strong action against teachers who were getting their wages while staying at home and neglecting their jobs.

    The provincial education agency reportedly stopped more than 2,000 “ghost teachers” being paid across the province.

    According to Express Tribune, Akbar Laghari, the education secretary for Sindh, said in a statement on the choice that they have filed a letter to the AG for Sindh asking him to cease paying the wages of 2,019 ghost teachers.

    He added that the department would fire the “ghost teachers” and would do everything it took to ensure that teachers showed up for work.

  • Govt to spend Rs40 billion to uplift 20 backward districts

    Govt to spend Rs40 billion to uplift 20 backward districts

    In order to initiate rehabilitation projects across 20 backward and underprivileged districts over the course of 60 months in four provinces, the Ministry of Planning has announced a special development project worth Rs40 billion.

    The federal and provincial governments are expected to split the project’s estimated cost 50:50. The project has received approval from the Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal-led Central Development Working Party (CDWP).

    According to DAWN, the project has already been given a budget of Rs18 billion for PSDP 2022–23. Eleven districts from Balochistan, five from Sindh, three from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one from Punjab are among the 20 districts that were chosen based on Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) ratings. The recent flood calamity, notably in Balochistan and Sindh, has severely damaged many of these districts.

    Sherani, Kohlu, Jhal Magsi, Barkhan, Killa Abdullah, Zhob, Musakhel, Dera Bugti, Jaffarabad, Ziarat, and Killa Saifullah are among the 11 districts in Balochistan. Sujawal, Thatta, Tharparkar, Kashmore, and Badin are five in Sindh; Torghar, Shangla, and North Waziristan are three in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and Rajanpur is one district in Punjab.

    The tentative interventions in these districts will be in the areas of connectivity via roads, access to broadband services and the internet, solarization of off-grid areas, establishment of LPG terminals, development of the agri-livestock and mineral value-chain, tunnel framing, dairy farming, fish farming, etc., establishment of common border markets, investments in skill development, and student scholarships.

    Additionally, the provincial and federal governments will choose sub-projects based on a thorough analysis of the requirements of the marginalised population in their respective regions. These initiatives will be approved by the relevant federal and provincial forums. Steering committees at the federal and provincial levels will oversee the sub-projects.

    “This is the first of its kind project in the economic history of Pakistan where the federal government is undertaking a national intervention to uplift the poorest districts and address the disparity in economic development,” said the planning minister in a statement released on Saturday.

    With the assistance of the UNDP, the MPI survey was finished in 2017–18, allowing for the first time ever to map poverty at the district level nationwide.

    Through targeted investments in infrastructure and the development of human capital in the nation’s poorest regions, the project’s principal goal is to promote inclusive growth and equitable development. One of the main cornerstones of the proposal is investments in human capital development, especially for young people and women.

    According to Pakistan’s MPI estimation for 2017–18, 38.3 percent of Pakistan’s population (87,089,000 people in 2020) will be multidimensionally poor, and a further 12.9 percent will be vulnerable to multidimensional poverty (29,353,000 people in 2020).

    The initiative seeks to significantly contribute to eliminating regional inequality and enhancing national integration and peace in the nation in line with Pakistan Vision 2025 and the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Youth Development Program, which the project is a part of, was introduced last month.

  • 41 men appointed on seats reserved for lady health workers in Mardan

    41 men appointed on seats reserved for lady health workers in Mardan

    41 male candidates were appointed to seats reserved for women at the District Health Office (DHO) in Mardan, 24 News has reported.

    The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance department found that salaries of 41 people were being withdrawn by male staff of the DHO under the code of lady health workers (LHWs).

    The finance department stopped paying the bogus appointees’ salaries after realising the deception.

    200 new employees were hired by the health department in 2022, according to papers, filling all open positions. However, oddly, the DHO appointed 41 men in positions reserved for women.

    These male appointees received pay for nine months in accordance with the code for female health employees.

  • Rana Sanaullah shares alleged audio of PTI’s Gandapur talking about bringing guns during long march

    Rana Sanaullah shares alleged audio of PTI’s Gandapur talking about bringing guns during long march

    During a press conference on Saturday, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah played an audio purportedly of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Amin Gandapur in which the PTI leader can be heard talking about bringing guns and men to the long march.

    In the audio clip, a man believed to be Gandapur is heard asking an unidentified person named “Asad Ali” about the number of available guns and individuals.

    Citing the audio, Sanaullah alleged that the PTI intends to spread “violence” and “chaos” during its long march to Islamabad.

    He further claimed that as per initial investigations, details of this conversation have been secured by the ministry, however, he refused to reveal the identity of the unknown person allegedly speaking to the PTI leader.

    Sanaullah said that the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) should immediately arrest Gandapur and the unknown person.

    The script of the audio goes as follows:

    Asad Khan: Yes, Ali Khan?

    Ali Amin Gandapur: Mr president, what’s the position?

    Asad Khan: Sir, the position is A-one, what about you?

    Ali Amin Gandapur: How many guns are there?

    Asad Khan: There are several.

    Ali Amin Gandapur: License?

    Asad Khan: There are several licenses also.

    Ali Amin Gandapur: Men?

    Asad Khan: There will be as many men as required, sir.

    Ali Amin Gandapur: Okay. We are camping here in a nearby colony.

    Asad Khan: Yes.

    Ali Amin Gandapur: What is the nearest place here at the end here? Which colony is adjacent to it?

    Asad Khan: At ours?

    Ali Amin Gandapur: At the border… at the border… at the Islamabad-Pindi border.

    Asad Khan: Top [City] is also there, Capital is also there. There are several.

    Ali Amin Gandapur: Top is at the airport.

    Asad Khan: Top is on the airport’s side, right… I sent you the entire map.

    Ali Amin Gandapur: I received it, I have it. You just keep the men and equipment ready there.

    Asad Khan: Sir, no problem, Insha’Allah.

    Ali Amin Gandapur: Just stay in contact then, Insha’Allah.

    Asad Khan: Okay sir, Insha’Allah.

  • ‘Murder of school van driver in Swat was honour killing’: police

    Inspector General (IG) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police, Moazam Jah Ansari, has said that the case of an attack on a school van in Swat on October 10 was actually an “honour killing incident”.

    Addressing a press conference, the IG said that the murder killed his sister’s husband [the van’s driver] for honour. “We have collared one of the three suspects, while the other two will soon land in the hands of police”, he added.

    Earlier, the police had also claimed that the van driver was in fact the target of the shooting incident which happened while there were 10 to 11 children in the van.

    Moreover, Ansari said, another incident of firing in which children were apparently targeted in Lower Dir was also an armed clash between two rival groups.

    It is pertinent to mention that following the incident of October 10, protestors in Swat valley took to the streets to condemn the attack, believing it was an act of terrorism.

    Many journalists and politicians also expressed concern after the horrifying attack on a school van which left one child injured.

  • CNG stations in Punjab, KP to remain shut till March 2023

    CNG stations in Punjab, KP to remain shut till March 2023

    CNG stations in Punjab and KP will stop operating from November 2022 to March 2023 as the gas crisis increases as a result of the lack of required LNG during the winter.

    While the government is obligated to purchase 12 LNG cargoes each month, Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) has been unable to do so; as a result, the country will only have 10 LNG cargoes available in December and nine LNG cargoes each month in the following months. Due to the decreased LNG import cargoes, gas utilities will be forced to limit the supply of gas to captive power plants by 50 per cent.

    According to Express, in Punjab and KP, there won’t be any LNG available for CNG stations during the winter. Due to insufficient local gas output, Punjab has also been experiencing a gas crisis.

    According to government officials, the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) system’s gas supply to the fertiliser sectors won’t be reduced. Due to the probable political reaction this would cause, the government does not intend to reduce supplies of gas for the household sectors, therefore there will always be a supply available.

    As instructed by the federal government, SNGPL has been providing Re-Gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) to a number of subsidised industries, including domestic consumers, export-oriented businesses, and fertiliser producers.

    Government payments to SNGPL for RLNG subsidies are Rs199 billion as of this writing. SNGPL’s capacity to pay RLNG suppliers PSO and PLL has been severely hampered by the reduced pricing. The amounts owed to PSO and PLL are now Rs284 billion and Rs135 billion, respectively.

    The power industry pays in full, but because its receivables have grown to over Rs115 billion, payments to suppliers have been significantly delayed.

  • ‘Fitna’: Maryam Nawaz slams Imran for ‘using religion’ for personal benefits

    ‘Fitna’: Maryam Nawaz slams Imran for ‘using religion’ for personal benefits

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz has said that religion should not be used for political benefits and blasted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for allegedly using faith for political gain.

    “Using religion for personal motives is very bad. I have suffered this and I am a victim”, she said while talking to members of the media.

    “I think religion is a personal matter but it does not remain a personal matter when you say in rallies that ‘voting for PML-N is a sin and voting for me [Imran] is righteous and if my party members switch loyalties then it’s shirk’,” she stated, referring to a recent controversy speech given by Imran Khan at a rally.

    “Shirk’s definition is associating partners with God. Are you changing the entire dictionary and the meaning of religion for your disgusting politics,” she asked the former Prime Minister.

    Shirk is considered to be one of the most heinous sins in Islam.

    At a rally, Khan had said that “people who vote for PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif will be siding with a convict and are on the wrong side. This also means that you will go against Allah’s orders.”

    At one point, he also said that those who defected from his party [PTI] committed shirk.

    “I think all institutions, whether the judiciary or army or politicians or government, should acknowledge he [Khan] is a fitna (chaotic miscreant) who was launched for destruction and from whom no one is safe.”

    Maryam said that she is not in favour of fuel or electricity price increases.

    “I will request the government to focus on it. I don’t support this decision and it should be corrected. However, it will take time to stabilise the economy after what Imran Khan did,” she said, adding that PM Shehbaz Sharif has saved the country from default and slowly the economy will begin to revive.

    Moreover, the PML-N vice president asked Khan to dissolve the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) if he wants fresh general elections.

  • ‘Matter of justice’: UN chief appeals to the world to support Pakistan

    ‘Matter of justice’: UN chief appeals to the world to support Pakistan

    United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday, September 10, urged the international community to support disaster-hit Pakistan as the country needed massive financial help to overcome post-flood crises.

    “It is not a matter of generosity, but a matter of justice,” he said reiterating the United Nation’s commitment, strong support, and solidarity with the flood-affected populace of Pakistan.

    Guterres said that huge damages and losses were caused to human lives and properties. The Secretary General further said that the UN absolutely supported Pakistan and requested richer nations to generously help the country so that it could face the future challenges of climatic changes and save its people.

    He stressed that the international community must realize the serious impacts of greenhouse emissions as nature was striking back in the form of natural calamities.

    He continued that greenhouse gases had accelerated climatic changes and that nations with larger greenhouse emission footprints must understand these issues. Citing scientific estimates, the UN secretary-general emphasized that now was the right time to reduce greenhouse emissions.

    He said it was also a fact that they were living in a climatic changing era and have to make efforts to rebuild communities and to enable countries to resist and face future disasters that could be wrought by the natural calamities.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, provincial ministers, and the relevant authorities were present on the occasion.

    Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah gave a detailed briefing on the damages and loss of lives in the province.

    He said during the current monsoon season, different districts of the province had received unusual rainfall never witnessed in the past.

    He said that 30 districts of the province were affected, displacing about 12 million, adding that a total of 578 people lost their lives. A total of 3 million houses were destroyed and crops grown on an area of about 3.3 million acres were damaged while 500,000 livestock had been swept away.

    Earlier, the prime minister along with the UN secretary general and the federal ministers took an aerial review of the flood-affected areas of the Sindh province.

  • ‘It is water everywhere, just like a sea’: PM Shehbaz visits flood-affected areas

    ‘It is water everywhere, just like a sea’: PM Shehbaz visits flood-affected areas

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif visited Dera Ismail Khan, KP to review ongoing restoration and rehabilitation work in flood-affected areas today (Wednesday).

    During the visit, while talking to the media, PM Shehbaz said, “You wouldn’t believe the scale of destruction there. There is water everywhere as far as you can see. It is just like a sea.”

    The premier emphasised the need for a “sustainable system” to cope with the challenges of climate change.

    He said trillions are needed for relief and rehabilitation activities post floods. “We will need trillions of rupees to cope with this calamity”, he observed.

    “The country is grappling with an unprecedented situation, witnessing floods that have resulted in the loss of lives, infrastructure and crops,” he said, adding that it was time to “rise above politics and demonstrate the spirit of service and welfare.”

    The Premier announced that a sum provided by a philanthropist for flood relief would be used for installing 100 prefabricated houses in DI Khan.

    Moreover, the premier announced that under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), every flood-hit household would be given Rs25,000 and Rs1 million would be given in compensation to the relatives of the deceased.

    According to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA),18 more people died from the flood in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 1,343. Eight children were among the dead in the last 24 hours.

    The government has said 33 million people have been affected. The floods were brought by record monsoon rains and glacier melt in Pakistan’s northern mountains. A total of 116 districts have been adversely affected.

    World Health Organisation (WHO) said more than 6.4 million people need humanitarian support in the flooded areas.

  • KP govt launches ‘Flood Reporting’ app to aid flood victims

    KP govt launches ‘Flood Reporting’ app to aid flood victims

    To promptly aid those impacted by severe flooding, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government launched the “Flood Reporting” application on Monday.

    Atif Khan, the Minister of Science and Information Technology for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), gave specific directions for the introduction of the smartphone application.

    The minister stated in a message that flood victims will be able to use the Flood Reporting App to notify when they need food or medicine.

    He promised that the impacted agencies and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) would see to it that the victims of the disaster received immediate aid.

    The latest application has a thorough system for seeking assistance for victims and keeping track of feedback. The smartphone application will allow users to instantly report the type of incidents that occurred and the assistance that is needed.

    Although 1,061 deaths have been reported by authorities since the start of the seasonal rains in June, the eventual death toll may be higher since hundreds of villages in the hilly north have been shut off after roads and bridges were wiped away by floodwaters.