ANP demands new province in Balochistan

Addressing the party units of tribal areas in Peshawar, ANP’s provincial president Afrasiab Khattak said that tribal areas should be declared a province to include tribal people in the national stream.

He said that South Pakhtunkhwa Province should be formed for the people of Balochistan and party should initiate consultation over the issue.

He said that imposition of Political Parties Act and representation of the tribal people in the provincial assembly was dire need of time.

Khattak added that Pakhtuns are one nation and they should not be separated due to geographic barriers.

Balochistan’s problems should be disclosed: Shahzain

Jahmoori Watan Party leader Shahzain Bugti has said that hidden problems of Balochistan, which were not resolved by the provincial government should be disclosed, trendpk.com reported on Sunday.Talking to media, Shahzain said that his long march was not stopped by the the provincial government but it was a result of federal government’s pressure and he will move a writ petition in high court.

Shahzain Bugti had announced a long march towards Dera Bugti alongwith thousands of displaced persons to rehabilitate displaced persons who had migrated to other parts of the country owing to military drive in 2006.Provincial government restricted the movement of Shahzain Bugti and his brother Goharam Bugti to Quetta for 90 days on Thursday night and deployed a large number of personnel of law-enforcement agencies outside the residence of Shahzain Bugti.

PA calls for IRSA restructuring

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly unanimously passed a resolution, calling for restructuring of Indus River System Authority (IRSA) to ensure fair distribution of water among provinces.

The resolution demands that the fifth member of the IRSA board should be selected from a neutral territory, either from Islamabad or Azad Kashmir.

In another resolution passed by the provincial assembly, the federal government has been asked to end the continuing gas outages for Punjab’s industries.

Speaking to reporters outside the assembly, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the Punjab government has not been consulted about appointment of new governor.

Responding to a question, he said that PML-N has no objection to appointment of Babar Awan or any other person as Governor of Punjab. TrendPK

Ban on Pillion Riding in Karachi to Continue

Karachi, trendpk: The duration of ban on pillion riding in Karachi has come to an end today but provincial Minister for Interior Affairs has decided to extend this duration till Chehlum. Notification for this extension might be issued today.

In order to avoid any sort of terrorist activities, a ban on pillion riding in most of the major cities including Karachi was imposed during the month of Muharram. A notification was issued by Ministry of Interior, Sindh, for ban of pillion riding under the act 144 from 2nd December 2010 till 19th December 2010. However the provincial Minister for Interior Affairs has announced to extend this ban till Chehlum but no notification in this regard has been so far issued. According to the sources of Ministry of Interior, a notification can be issued in this regard today. Earlier to this, a ban on pillion riding in Karachi was lifted on 23rd November 2010. This ban on pillion riding has also been lifted in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Fed. Cabinet endorses transfer of five ministries to provinces

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet has officially approved the transfer of five ministries from the Federal Government to the provincial governments on Wednesday.

The Federal Cabinet held a meeting today to accord its formal approval for transfer of five ministries from center to provinces.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, the chief ministers of all four provinces, federal ministers and top officials attended this cabinet meeting.

According to sources, ministries of Local Bodies, Zakat & Ushr, Special Measures, Youth Affairs and Population Welfare will be handed over to provinces.

The cabinet also reviewed recommendations of the Constitutional Reforms Committee regarding appointments of judges in the top judiciary.

The official announcement of the transfer is expected soon today and after that all ministries will

Protesters demand opening of closed health centers in N. Waziristan

Staff Report

MIRANSHAH: Hundreds of tribesmen on Saturday staged a protest against the closure of 180 health centers in North Waziristan.

The participants held a rally in Miranshah, a major city of Waziristan, and blocked the Miranshah-Bannu road for more than two hours.

The tribesmen demanded the provincial government to reopen the health centers immediately as they face difficulties in the area. Trend Pk

Sindh govt. has no funds for flood victims

By Arbab Chandio

KARACHI: Sindh government on Saturday said that flood victims would not be given Rs 80,000 through the Watan Cards schemes due to shortage of funds.

During the press conference, Sindh Chief Minister’s Advisor on Information, Sharmila Farooqui, disclosed that the provincial government had informed the federal government through a letter about the financial dearth. Sindh government has demanded the centre to release funds to Sindh government immediately.

Farooqui said that more than 4, 35000 flood victims have been given the Watan Cards. She said that total Rs 10 billion have been given to victim families.

“More than one million families were affected by the recent floods in Sindh,” she added. Trend Pk

Islamabad: federal government withdraws Saturdays holiday

The federal government has withdrawn its decision of Saturday as an off day, News Trends reported on Tuesday. The decision of withdrawal would be applicable from 27th November this year.

According to a statement released from the prime ministers secretariat, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has approved the recommendation of withdrawing the decision of Saturday as an off day. The decision of withdrawal was taken during the meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI). According to the statement the decision has been taken in consultation with all the provincial governments and all the concerned ministries.

Gujrat: 15,000 fake arms licenses cause millions of loss

Atleast 15,000 fake arms licenses have been captured from Gujrat which caused loss worth millions to the Punjab government, News Trends reported on Tuesday.

DPO Gujrat Agha Nawazish Ali said that more or less 15,000 fake arms licenses have been recovered from the arms license branch which are not present in any record. All the licenses were made after 2009 which have now been cancelled while FIRs have been lodged against those who made the fake licenses.

According to the sources, staff of the arms branch maintained an independent register in which arms licenses were listed down after taking fees but the amounts were never deposited in the national exchequer. This serious criminal act incurred loss worth millions of rupees to the provincial government.

KP, Sindh support RGST

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh have supported Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) while the Chief Minister of Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raisani has not decided yet.

While talking to the media after attending Pakistan Development Forum meeting on Sunday in Islamabad, KP Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti said that his province had no objection over the RGST. He said that issue would be resolved with the federal government.

On the other hand, Qaisar Bengali, Sindh Chief Minister’s Advisor, said that Sindh had not objected the RGST, adding that RGST and Flood Tax bills would be presented in Sindh Assembly next week.

Sindh CM Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that peasants of flood-hit areas had been given 50,000 acre cultivated land by the provincial government. Trend Pk

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