Tag: Punjab

  • Punjab Governor House to open doors for weddings, commercial events

    Punjab Governor House to open doors for weddings, commercial events

    After allowing the general public to visit his official residence on recreational tours earlier, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar has announced that the Governor House in Lahore will soon open its doors for weddings and commercial events.

    Addressing a news conference at the Governor’s House on Wednesday, Sarwar announced that the lawn of the building was available for corporate events at Rs1 million per function while any kind of function could be hosted for Rs500,000 in Darbar Hall. Wedding shoots can be arranged for Rs50,000 and commercial photo-shoots against Rs1 million, while guided tours of the Governor’s House will be organised for groups of 10 persons on Saturdays and Sundays.

    “We believe the business plan will help the Governor’s House to reduce its burden on the public kitty. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has made this business plan as its promise and all earnings of these functions will be directly deposited in the government of Pakistan’s account,” The Express Tribune quoted Sarwar as saying.

    “The estate will be rented out for commercial events only and no political party will be allowed to host its function at the Governor’s House,” he said and indicated that all events would be booked on the official website of the Governor’s House.

    “When someone will send his request to book an event at the website, the Governor’s House staff will contact the person to finalise arrangements. All the payments will be made through bank account and no Governor’s House employee will be authorised to receive payments in cash from the person or company holding the event,” he elaborated while highlighting the procedure for booking.

    The Governor’s House website shows that name, CNIC, passport number, nationality, mobile phone number and address is required for booking of events. Events can be booked for two slots from 10 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm for seven days a week. Event booking will be granted subject to approval. Prior approval is required for payment and confirmation will be made accordingly while two functions can be booked for the same date and time.

    As per booking terms mentioned on the website, the applicant has to provide a complete list of participants, staff and workers. Administration of Governor’s House will not be responsible for arrangements or installation of any temporary facility.

    A glimpse of Governor House:

  • World Bank okays $300 million to improve Pakistan’s health and social services

    World Bank okays $300 million to improve Pakistan’s health and social services

    To improve social and health indicators in Pakistan, World Bank has approved $300-million financial package, including a loan of $200-million, reported Express Tribune.

    The loan has been approved under the Punjab Human Capital Investment Project that will strengthen services regarding health and social protection for poor and vulnerable households in various districts in Punjab.

    READ MORE: ‘IMF putting Pakistan on path of stability’ says Dr. Reza Baqir

    World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Illango Patchamuthu said that “investing at the start of life, especially for girls and women, is essential to empower citizens to thrive.”

    He further added, “the project would help the Punjab province to invest in early years now to create a productive workforce for the future. The project is also aimed at increasing the quality and uptake of health services, including maternal care, immunisation and childbirths attended to be qualified professionals, reaching up to 18 million people.

    READ MORE: Pakistan ranks 76th on ‘Inclusive Internet Index 2020’

    It will provide early childhood education and skills training for young parents and will improve systems to more efficiently manage economic and social inclusion programmes.”

    The recent Human Capital Index (HCI) has highlighted that an average girl born in Pakistan will have realized only 40% of her overall human capital potential by the time she turns 18.

    Pakistan’s high stunting rate among children under five and poor educational and learning outcomes also highlights the challenging human capital outcomes.

  • Man files petition to remove conditions on second marriage

    Man files petition to remove conditions on second marriage

    A man has registered a case in the Lahore High Court asking for the elimination of the condition in which he is required to get his first wife’s permission for a second marriage.

    Dr Muhammad Mudassir, who was sentenced for marrying another woman without his wife’s (now ex-wife’s) permission, has named the Punjab Law Ministry and provincial law secretary as respondents.

    He has appealed the Punjab government to make changes to the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961.

    A man doesn’t need the permission of his first wife to get married again in other provinces, the petitioner said, adding that such complaints could only be registered at union councils in Balochistan, Sindh, and KP. He claimed that Punjab has a higher fine too.

    On May 17, 2019, Dr Mudassir was sentenced to jail for one month and fined Rs500,000 for his second marriage by a special judicial magistrate in Sialkot.

    He was found guilty of violating the laws of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961. As per law a man must submit written permission from his first wife if he wants to marry another woman. If a man is found guilty of violating the law, he may be imprisoned for a year.

    The petitioner has asked for more time to submit additional documents. The case has been postponed till February 10.

  • ‘Saaf Bath’ initiative to set up portable public toilets with focus on facilitating women

    ‘Saaf Bath’ initiative to set up portable public toilets with focus on facilitating women

    The Salman Sufi Foundation (SSF) has launched a new project ‘Saaf Bath’ to benefit pedestrians, especially women, who do not have access to clean public toilets in Pakistan.

    According to a press release, the foundation will set up portable public toilets in Lahore and Karachi during the first stage of the project expected to complete by February 2020. The project aims to facilitate women, who are vulnerable to major diseases due to the lack of availability of clean and hygienic bathrooms.

    The SSF is partnering with numerous corporate companies to install portable toilets in all major cities of the country, especially those areas with a large number of female pedestrians. These toilets will set a standard for a public toilet and there will be a proper model that everybody would be asked to follow.

    The restrooms will also be made accessible for the aged and the differently-abled and will be maintained by the foundation’s coordinating officers daily. The foundation will also ensure that sufficient hand sanitizer and water is available for the public. In addition, there will also be a diaper station as well as the availability of sanitary pads.

    “Many women in Pakistan face severe issues in their menstrual cycle because of the lack of sanitized products and clean places,” said Sufi.

    Shedding light on the project, Salman Sufi told The Current: “Initially, we will be launching two to three toilets in Lahore and Karachi. After that, the foundation plans to expand this to the female schools and colleges in Sindh and Punjab. We are working with LDA in Lahore and the commissioner officer in Karachi regarding these.

    “We have requested the Sindh government to give us access to female colleges where we can install portable washrooms”, he added.

    Sharing further details, Sufi said, “We will be setting a standard for a public toilet and there will be a proper model that everybody would be asked to follow. The toilets will be equipped properly, there will be a diaper station as well as sanitary pads available. Many women in Pakistan face severe issues in their menstrual cycle because of the lack of sanitized products and clean places”.

    The project is in line with the foundation’s plan of starting an overall health and sanitation campaign exclusively for women. According to a 2015 report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pakistan was the third-largest country where over 43 million people defecate openly.

  • Policeman forces himself in woman’s house, strips her and makes her dance

    Policeman forces himself in woman’s house, strips her and makes her dance

    In the city of Khanewal, Punjab, a bus hostess refused to accept a police officer’s ‘friendship’ request. The policeman was persistent, sending her indecent messages and asking her to be his friend, she says.

    After she refused, the police officer broke into her home, forcibly stripped her clothes off and made him dance for him. He allegedly took her phone because he was worried that she would reveal the messages he had sent her.

    The police officer is the Station House Officer (SHO) of the local station (which is a high position at the station). He has now been suspended pending an investigation. Khanewal’s District Police Officer, Faisal Shahzad has sad taht a forensic report and an inquiry would take place soon.

  • On Human Rights Day and In Data: Rape Cases in Punjab

    On Human Rights Day and In Data: Rape Cases in Punjab

    In a report, done by the University College of Lahore, ‘Accountability for Rape: A case study of Lodhran’, the numbers show that rape cases in Punjab were staggeringly high in 2016-2017. The study is thorough and looks at court judgements to show how alleged rapists were acquitted. And a whole lot of them were set free.

    Police submitted reports on more than 7,000 new rape cases during 2016-17, cases that had a verdict were more than 5,800. Out of the ones that were given a verdict, only 216 cases had a conviction.

    The police did its job and submitted reports in more than 7,000 cases but only 216 were convicted.

    The study revealed that major cities had more rape cases, as expected, but what was not expected was the amount of convictions in relation to the cities.

    Lahore tops the list with the most amount of cases and the least amount of convictions

    Lahore, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur had the highest number of rape incidents and a very low conviction rate. But

    The highest number of contest acquittals was in Lodhran, which means that when the case went to trial, an acquittal took place when the judge decided that the prosecution had not proved that the defendant was guilty.

    These areas were highlighted because the cases going to court were fewer than larger cities

    The report also showed the cities with the lowest amount of cases with Mianwali and Jhelum topping the list as ‘safer’ cities.

    Cities with the lowest amount of rape cases reported

    Interestingly the study also shows judgments that listed the ‘character’ of the women who were raped.

    How many cases were individual or gang rapes, with individual rapes being the most common type of rape in Punjab.

    79 percent were individual rapes and 16 percent were gang rapes

    The marital status of the women was also documented and most of the women who were raped were married when the incident took place.

    41 percent of the rape victims were married women

    More than half of the incidents that took place involved a man who knew the victim.

  • CM Buzdar calls on PM Imran twice within 24 hours amid reports of his removal

    Amid reports of massive changes in the administration in the provincial cabinet, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar has called on Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, the second time within 24 hours, The News International reported.

    According to the details, a one-line statement was issued by the PM Office that Punjab CM Usman Buzdar met Imran Khan here at the Prime Minister Office on Monday.

    Meanwhile, Chairman of PM Inspection Team Ahmad Yar Hiraj has called on the premier and the two had deliberations on the performance of various government departments.

    The premier has said that in the light of the PMIT report, the government departments should make every possible effort to strictly follow the report.

    It is important to note here that the party’s core committee and members of the provincial assembly of Punjab had expressed serious concerns regarding the bureaucracy.

    In the last 15 days, CM Buzdar has held a series of meetings with the Punjab Assembly members who repeatedly have complained that the bureaucracy is not cooperating to resolve the public’s issues in the province.

  • Illegal wedding in a hospital in Punjab

    Illegal wedding in a hospital in Punjab

    A district Hospital in Chishtian, which is a city in Bhawalnagar district in Punjab, became a wedding hall when the lab-in-charge of the facility arranged the wedding reception of his son at the hospital, ARY News reported on Sunday.

    There were dhol walas present at the wedding

    There were firecrackers and celebrations which continued until the morning, which made life difficult for many patients.

    Dancing outside the hospital

    The ceremony was illegally arranged and the government hospital has yet to take action against the person responsible. The Chief Minister of Punjab has taken notice of the event.

    CM Punjab has taken notice of the event

    The incident is not new to our region. Two years ago a couple got married in UP India, creating the same chaos it did here.

  • Amid frog meat rumours, Punjab to set up frog farms

    Amid frog meat rumours, Punjab to set up frog farms

    Days after rumours regarding frog meat being used by restaurants across its provincial capital, Punjab has decided to set up frog farms, but for an entirely different purpose.

    Reports quoted Punjab Fisheries Assistant Director Mian Ghulam Qadir as saying that the department has forwarded to the government a summary in this regard. “There are no turtle or frog farms in Pakistan and medical colleges that need any [for dissection], have to go hunting for them in the wild.”

    He added that if the provincial cabinet approves the plan, besides saving time wasted in hunting, it would generate employment opportunities.

    “On top of this, breeding turtles and frogs domestically will not only preserve the species, but they can also be exported to countries like Thailand and China where they eat them,” Qadir said, adding that they are also quite expensive in the international market.

    LAHORIS BEING SERVED FROG MEAT?

    Last month, reports claimed that frog meat was being served across Lahore in shawarma and burgers. The news took social media by storm soon after pictures showing two suspects arrested with sacks full of dead frogs, started doing rounds over the internet.

    The reports were debunked by authorities upon clarification that the two arrestees were only delivering the frogs to a laboratory that supplies them to medical universities. Medical students dissect the frogs and practice suturing on them.

  • CM Buzdar sends mangoes as gifts to TV anchors and party workers

    Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Usman Buzdar has been alleged of using public money to send mangoes as gifts to T.V anchors, ministers and party workers.

    A Daily Times writer, Zeeshan Khan Niazi from his Twitter account had yesterday posted pictures of the list including names of Pakistan Tehreeke Insaf (PTI) party workers, ministers, T.V anchors from ARY News channel, among else, to whom mangoes were being sent as a gift.

    Further proving those pictures to be authentic, Arshad Sharif, who is a programme host on ARY news channel has posted pictures of courier boxes and wrote that he has returned the gift and urged Usman Buzdar to give them to “deserving people”, instead.

    Furthermore, in another tweet, he wrote that he has received multiple calls from the chief minister’s staff from different numbers and told them that he “does not accept gifts from government officials”.

    However, chief minister’s spokesperson Dr. Shahbaz Gill has rejected claims of using public money and clarified that CM Buzdar has used his own money to buy these gifts, that are worth a few hundred only.