Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to field senior leader Dr Yasmin Rashid for Senate seat in Punjab for the upcoming polls set to take place on April 2, The News reported on Thursday.
PTI’s senior leader Mian Aslam Iqbal disclosed on his X (previously Twitter) account that Yasmin Rashid will be the party’s candidate for the senate seat in Punjab.
Mian Aslam Iqbal also said that Zulfi Bukhari and Hamid Khan are the party’s candidates for general seats. However, Brigadier (retd) Musadiq will be the PTI’s candidate for the technocrat seat.
The development comes as the senior politician’s earlier bid to secure a place in the National Assembly failed after she lost to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Lahore’s NA-130 seat in the February 8 polls.
Dr Yasmin Rashid is currently in Adiala jail in cases pertaining to the violent incidents of the May 9 riots last year.
52 seats are vacant in the Senate after the expiration of the six-year term of senators. However, senate election will be held on 48 seats, as the four reserved seats for Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) had been abolished after the 25th Constitutional Amendment.
As Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz launched Saaf Suthra Punjab Campaign in Lahore, netizens all over the internet have started posting photos and information about the overflowing drains, sewage spillage, huge piles of garbage, and poor hygiene conditions in their cities.
Newly elected Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif is on a mission to transform Punjab. The latest in the series is the ‘Saaf Suthra Punjab drive’. Netizens are quick to remind her of the poor condition of drains and garbage in Lahore and other cities of Punjab.
In Lahore, citizens are struggling with the issues of overflowing drains, sewage water, and the stink emitting from them.
Blogger and activist Riaz Ali Turi posted about the uncovered drains in Lahore causing health risks and nauseating smells in NA-127 of Lahore which include the prominent areas of the city like Township and Green Town.
Urgent call to action: Uncovered drains in Lahore, particularly in NA-127, are posing serious health risks, with nauseating smells affecting residents, especially children. The situation on the ground was dire, as we witnessed. @MaryamNSharifhttps://t.co/uppeHGCyFVpic.twitter.com/II5KjUPwje
Another user with a pseudo name of I M Imran Khan shared the pictures of Shadman area in Lahore where overflowing drains are disturbing life. Adil posted about how the area around Urdu Bazaar is facing sewage issues to which Maryam Nawaz assured him of holistic action. Noman Waseem tagged CM Maryam that even though the initiative is great, nothing has been done in his city of Multan.
The whole shadman area in Lahore is worst than this, with a big sewage/ dirty drain in Shadman, jail rd, n chungi, which have become hallmarks of Lahore city. The moment u enter in Shadman, the unbearable sewer gas smell welcomes u. pic.twitter.com/LQvrbacUbM
In response to Zeeshan Malik’s tweet about the Punjab government’s work in Bahawalpur, a netizen commented that Pindi needs the same attention, and, not just on the roads but in the walled city as well.
Pindi mai kb ho ga zeeshan.just main roads per kaam na ho.asal maza tub hai androon yay saaf sutra punjab hona chew
A resident of Sheikhupura posted a series of littered streets that are disturbing the lives of citizens yet the commissioner was claiming to have started the project.
Dawn’s Khalid Hasnain interviewed a resident of a locality of Pine Avenue near Valencia Town named Aziz who complained, “You see the Sattukatla drain full of waste, which is choking its sewage flow. The water level in the drain is also rising due to the choking caused by the waste piling in it.”
“It is also surprising that though the WASA’s machine meant for desilting or cleaning the drain is parked here but no one has visited the site since long to operate it,” Aziz adds the Sattukatla drain overflows in the monsoon or the unexpected heavy rain while its choking is also spreading a very foul and unbearable smell everywhere.
The Current went to ask the residents near drains at Upper Mall which are especially disturbed by the foul smell which gets unbearable during rains.
Around Walton drains, a resident named Zahid Abbas complained that occasional breaking of the walls of the drain and overflowing of its contents causes many hindrances on daily basis. “When there is rain we become restricted to our homes and transportation via cars become increasingly difficult especially crossing the road,” says Zahid.
Traditionally, the epicentre of PML-N’s politics, Lahore has always been flaunted as the most developed part of the province the drains and heaps of garbage are depicting an opposite story. The situation is no better in other cities where grave problems require immediate action across the Punjab.
The Lahore High Court has approved the opening of restaurants in Punjab from iftar till sehr.
The court has also ordered schools to introduce one period a week on the environment, including practical activities, as the goal for the court is to inculcate environmental awareness in the population from a young age.
The court has asked for a detailed report on the revised curriculum to be tendered in the next hearing.
It has also sought a plan from Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) for a cleanliness campaign which must include students so that they contribute in countering pollution and uncleanliness in the city.
Moreover, the Court has also instructed Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) officials to put an end to tree-cutting and to brief the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) beforehand.
A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz in Lahore, in which it was decided that a free WiFi project will be launched in 10 different places in the provincial capital in two weeks while free WiFi points will be set up at 516 places in the city.
Also finalised today: 100000 houses Free Wifi for Lhr First IT city Waste Management companies for all districts. https://t.co/DaGYdIQz4e
21-storey Arfa Karim Tower-2 will be built in Lahore: Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif
Lahore, 12 March 2024: “IT, Education and Film City projects to start in Lahore at the earliest,” said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif while presiding over a meeting on IT City and Lahore… pic.twitter.com/ynvN0yy03r
While briefing the meeting, it was said that the IT, Education and Film City project will start soon; while Microsoft, Oracle and other big companies have expressed their willingness for IT City.
Maryam Nawaz has also directed authorities to invite Chinese IT companies to build offices, adding that the best IT companies of the world will be provided business opportunities in the IT City.
The Chief Minister of Punjab has set a deadline for the plan of the establishment of Lahore Knowledge Park and IT City.
During a recent interview, Indian actress Sonam Bajwa shared her thoughts on Pakistan’s former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, the man she shared a surname with.
While attending a Pakistani fashion brand’s launch in London, Sonam referred to a popular Pakistani internet joke comparing the two Bajwas.
“I saw on Twitter from Pakistan, ‘The Bajwa we love,’ and then they wrote my name. I like it, I think it’s my surname. They also speak Punjabi, and we also speak Punjabi, so I am one of them.”
The jokes center around Sonam being the better Bajwa after the Army Chief faced growing unpopularity. The Punjabi film actress was often tagged by Pakistani fans who simply call her ‘The Better Bajwa’ or ‘The Respected Bajwa’.
After Maryam Nawaz became the first female chief minister of Punjab and the first female chief executive of a province in the country, history was made yet again with the inclusion of the first Sikh minister in the provincial cabinet.
Ramesh Singh Arora, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), took oath to become a minister in the provincial cabinet. The Sikh politician has returned to the provincial assembly for the third term, this time with the portfolio of a minister.
Arora, who hails from Narowal, has been allotted the minorities portfolio. He was also the first-ever Sikh lawmaker of Punjab, taking oath as a member of the provincial assembly in 2013. Meanwhile, the provincial cabinet has appointed Khalil Tahir Sindhu, a member of the christian community from Punjab, to serve alongside Arora. Sindhu will handle the human rights portfolio. Since 1970, various political parties or alliances, such as the PML-N, Pakistan Peoples Party, Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, Pakistan Muslim League Quaid, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, have formed governments. However, the PML-N stands out as the only party to bring the first Sikh MPA to the house and include him in the cabinet.
The latest data regarding Sehat Sahulat Programme facility reveals that nearly 80 per cent of Caesarean section (C-section) procedures covered by the Programme in private hospitals across Punjab were conducted by obstetricians, potentially resulting in significant financial gains at the expense of taxpayers.
Figures from 2016 to January 2024 reveal that private hospitals claimed approximately Rs16.36 billion for C-section and normal delivery procedures, with a substantial portion going to private healthcare facility owners.
State Life Insurance Corporation subsidies were offered for various medical procedures under the program. Punjab Health Initiative Management Company (PHIMC) oversaw healthcare coverage, with 668,238 C-sections performed, predominantly in private facilities.
This discrepancy between private and government hospital procedures has raised concerns among medical observers, prompting calls for an independent investigation.
Similarly, payments to private hospitals for C-sections and normal deliveries totaled Rs16.36 billion from 2016 to January 2024, with a significant portion claimed in 2022 and 2023, leading to a ban on C-sections at private hospitals by the caretaker Punjab government in mid-2023 due to excessive claims.
The major claim of Rs7.19 billion was recorded in 2023, Rs8.16 billion in 2022, Rs610 million in 2021, Rs168 million in 2020 while another amount was calculated for the rest of the years.
Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, has announced plans to build the first government cancer hospital in Punjab. The hospital will be built near Valencia town in Lahore, as per SAMMA.
The newly-elected chief minister visited the potential site for the hospital and received a briefing about the project. The CM also approved the construction of a hotel building for the attendants of cancer patients.
Maryam Nawaz said that cancer patients will get free treatment in the hospital.
The Punjab chief minister also announced that the government will provide the best medical professionals and state-of-the art equipment to treat cancer patients.
She declared that screening for diseases will start in the province, adding that when she vacates her office after five years, she wants a state-of-the-art hospital in every city. She also announced free medicines in all emergency departments of government hospitals starting today. The Rescue 1122 service has been asked to launch a motorway ambulance service.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has nominated stalwart loyalist Qamar Zaman Kaira and two other party leaders for the post of governor of Punjab as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has agreed to form a coalition government with the PPP, The News has reported on Monday.
Sources have told The News that the names of Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood and Chaudhry Riaz are also in consideration for the post of Governor.
However, the PPP is currently holding consultations for the post of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governor, as the party will announce the names of their candidates for both positions after the presidential elections, which are going to be held on March 9.
The development comes after both parties reached an agreement to form a coalition government in the centre, wherein the PPP, with its 54 National Assembly seats, agreed to support the PML-N in government formation after none of the parties managed to secure a simple majority in the lower house in the February 8 general elections.
The local government has announced a public holiday in Lahore on March 2 (Saturday) to mark the annual urs of Hazrat Shah Hussain, popularly known as Madhu Lal Hussain.
The 436th annual three-day urs celebrations of Madhu Lal Hussain will begin in Lahore on Saturday, reports The News.
Secretary Auqaf Dr Tahir Raza will inaugurate the urs by performing traditional chador laying on the grave of the saint. Members of the Religious Committee and a large number of devotees will participate on the occasion as well.
The Auqaf Department has allocated Rs459,000 for the Urs grant. Local police have made foolproof security arrangements for the visitors.
