Crumbling baradari

Sher Singh's baradari, an archeological site at Kot Khawaja Saeed is fast turning into a garbage site:

Febraury 22, 2009

By Sajid Bashir:

In the east of China Scheme, at Kot Khawaja Saeed, is a baradari in ruins. The place which has a historical significance is called Sher Singh's baradari.
The Solid Waste Management (SWM) department has constructed a waste enclosure here after demolishing one corner of the Baradari, in violation of the laws. According to the World Heritage rules no one can construct any thing in such premises within 200 yards of that building.
There are twelve arches in its three walls due to which it is called baradari. A wall around the baradari was demolished earlier by the Nawaz Sharif Hospital, Kot Khawja Saeed and SWM department. Maharaja Sher Singh was born in 1805 in Gujranwala into a Sikh family of Sukerchakia misldars. At the time, much of the Punjab was ruled by the Sikhs under a confederate Sarbat Khalsa system and Afghans, who had divided the territory among factions known as misls. Sher Singh's father Ranjit Singh was the first Maharaja of the Punjab. He succeeded his father at the young ageof 12.
After several campaigns, his rivals accepted him as their leader, and he united the Sikh factions into one large country. Sher Singh was known as a persom who did good works for the betterment of his people. He ruled for two and a half years only but is remembered for improving the existing system of governance. Sher Singh and his young son were brutally murdered by the Sardaran-e-Sindha Walia. After his death Rani Randhawi Singh and her family constructed their Samadhi in this baradari. These 'Samadhis' have domes where the cremated ashes of the dead were kept. This baradari was meant to be the new resting place of Sher Singh and his son.
The arches are also in very bad shape and may collapse any time. The Auqaf department which is responsible for its maintenance, has constructed the only two pillars to save the baradari from collapsing.
The roof of the building has been demolished and its debris lies as such. The boundary wall is already gone. It is becoming a garbage dumping ground as the locals of the area throw garbage inside the baradari.
When contacted, District Officer SWM Rafique Jatoi said the SWM has not constructed the waste enclosure against the World Heritage Laws. "The law that does not allow construction within 200 feet is only applicable to those historical buildings which are on the list of World Heritage and the baradari of Sher Singh is not on its list. The department could not construct the waste encloure without the permission of Archeology and Auqaf department," he added. He said the department can construct waste enclosure besides the baradari otherwise the Auqaf department could have stopped the SWM from constructing the waste enclosure.
On the other hand the Auqaf department officials said the department is doing its best for the repair of the baradari but work on it has been delayed due to insufficient funds. They said the department is already working on a number of different sites and soon repair work on the baradari would also start. There is also a shrine of famous Sufi Saint Allama Mirza Syed Shah Bilawal Qadri in the premises of the baradari which used to host a Muslim festival in Lahore. Writers like Kannahiya Lal Hindi and Justice Abdul Latif have mentioned this festival in detail in their researches. This festival used to take place in the month of December.

Essential medicines out of market

Shortage of essential drugs call for immediate initiative from the government

January 18, 2009.

By Sajid Bashir:

As many as 61 different lifesaving and essential drugs have disappeared from the markets of Lahore since last few weeks.
These essential lifesaving drugs are missing from all the wholesale markets, medical stores and pharmacy chain outlets in various parts of the provincial metropolis.
President Pakistan Chemists Retailers Association, Ishaq Mayo said that there are several reasons behind the shortage of these vital medicines.
"A number of dealers who are manufacturing unregistered medicines, have gone underground because of the recent campaign of Punjab Government against the manufacturers of unregistered medicines. With the disappearance of these dealers medicines have become short," Mayo said.
"Besides, a large number of manufacturers are not providing medicines to the markets as required, the reason why shortage has become a regular feature. Such manufacturers should be prosecuted under the law of Provincial Drug Rules for not meeting the medicines' needs in the markets. On the other hand, there is need to check medicines export in such conditions.
"Patients may be dying without medicines so government needs to take immediate initiatives to overcome this problem," the president Pakistan Chemists Retailers Association said.
The list of 37 lifesaving drugs, which are manufactured in Pakistan, but are not available in the country, is as follows: GSK-manufactured eight drugs including Ventolin inhaler, Ventolin solution, Ventide inhaler, Thyroxin tab, Migril tab, Zyloric tab (300 mg), Betnovate cream –Up-John-manufactured five drugs including Solucartif 500 mg, Solu Medrol 500 mg, Solu Medrol 1 gm and Trobicin injection – Squibb-manufactured three drugs including Canacart A injection, Canacart A tincture and Canacart tab – Reckitt & Colmann-manufactured one drug Neo Mercazol tab – Lund Beck-manufactured one drug Denaxit 0.5 gm tab – and Elena Pharma's manufactured medicines including Cerebrolysine injection, Augmentin Tab 375 mg, Flamazin cream, Ritalin tab, Vitalux tab, Longifene tab, Litrison tab, Stemicin tab, Evion tab, Buscopan plus tab, Lantanon tab, Pyodine solution, Hepamerz syp, Hepamerz sachet, Mondecat injection, Kenadiol tab, Betalok Zoke tab, Filmacid Forte syp, Nisoderm lotion, Xaltide inhaler, Aquamin Forte tab and Cyclogest tab.
Besides, the 24 lifesaving drugs, which are smuggled hence remain unregistered, not available in markets across Pakistan are as follow: Anti-Snake injection (snake bite), Anabol tab, Questran powder 4 gm, Florin F tab, Isordil tab for heart attack, Crestor tab 10 mg for heart attack, Prograf 0.5 mg cap, Prograf 1 gm cap, Marevan tab for heart, Premarin tab for women Harmone disturbance, Winstrol injection, ACTH injection for paralysis, Cerebrolysin injection for paralysis, Vasolastin injection for paralysis, Cytotec tab for female delivery disturbance, Deltacortril Enteric tab, Hydrocortisone tab for Harmon regularization, Atrovent 500 mcg,/2ml solution for Asthma, Trental 400 mg tab for hemoreolojik ajan, Daabol DS tab (Methandrostenolone 10 mg), LevoThyroxin tab, Agiolax, Plaquanil tab and Infacol drops for children colic drops.
Shahrukh Iqbal, an asthma patient, said unavailability of Ventolin spoke volumes of the apathy of the agencies responsible and the callousness of the "profit-hungry" drug manufacturers.
Dr Saeed Elahi, Chairman Chief Minister's Task Force on Spurious Drugs, told TNS that the reasons behind the 61 lifesaving missing drugs are identified as lesser profit margin prompting the pharmaceutical manufacturing companies to either stop producing essential drugs or manufacture in limited quantity to earn bigger profit margins through export of essential drugs.
He said that certain drugs which were not produced indigenously and were smuggled from different countries, are also missing from the markets.
He said that the provincial government, as per strict instructions of Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif, would take strict action against the local and multinational manufacturing companies responsible for removal of lifesaving drugs from the markets. "The Chief Minister desires that all these 70 to 80 lifesaving drugs must be manufactured locally to meet the requirements of the patients," he informed.
Sajidthenews@gmail.com

Grave matters

Squeezing space in the existing graveyards has pushed the government to look for land on the edge of the city in Kahna and Thay Panju

Febraury 15, 2009

By Sajid Bashir:

In a city where living is becoming expensive by the day, death has become even more costly.
In a city where about 70 percent people live in rented houses, it is a compulsion to buy land for their eternal resting place. A grave costs between Rs10,000 and Rs15,000 at present which is beyond the reach of the impoverished majority.
With the city graveyards cramped with no further space, it becomes difficult to arrange for a grave once someone dies.
There are over 350 big and small graveyards in the provincial metropolis out of which Miani Sahib is the biggest as well as the oldest. Most of the existing graveyards are suffering from disrepair and are in a state of dilapidation.
The biggest graveyard of the city Miani Sahab, located on Bahawalpur Road, ran out of space sometime back leaving the citizens puzzled over the funeral arrangements of their loved ones.
Miani Sahib has been divided into seven blocks. Each block is named after some famous writer, scholar or sufi. The graveyard stretched over 175 acres in the last century but now only a 100 acre is left. The rest is consumed by different communities and Qabza groups.
The graveyard mafia has encroached upon a large portion of land in the graveyards and has constructed boundary walls around them, covering large portions of the cemeteries.
The land grabbers have also made shops, houses and other edifices on caved-in graves, outside the boundary walls and even inside. Even drug addicts have been found stealing the shrouds and sheet of cloth to make money in the dark. And the local authorities responsible for the maintenance of graveyards have miserably failed to maintain their sanctity.
A case regarding encroachments in the premises of Miani Sahab graveyard is also pending before the Lahore High Court for the last two years.
The issue of shortage of land cropped up some four years back, since then the City District Government is 'searching' for a suitable replacement of Miani Sahib graveyard. The new project was named as Miani II.
The authorities have only made acquisition of land for graveyard an issue of Progress Review Meeting for the past many months.
Grave diggers are also taking full advantage of the situation and extract handsome amount from the relatives of the dead for providing a piece of land. The grave diggers, who virtually rule the graveyards, reportedly go to the extent of making fake graves.
Besides, as per the rules of the CDGL, all the housing societies being constructed in private and public sector are bound to reserve two per cent of the total land for graveyards but this rule has not been followed by most of them.
The City District Government Lahore is going to start a new project of second phase of Miani Sahab graveyard to overcome the problem of space.
The CDGL is working on this project for the last two years but could not find a specific big place for new graveyard. Now two pieces of land have been proposed for Miani Sahab graveyard phase II which is about 1800 kanals, The News on Sunday learnt from DDO Cantt (Revenue) Syeda Kalsoom who said the land would be purchased soon. She said the said lands, situated in two adjacent villages namely Kahna and Thay Panju have been finalised and the department is waiting for release of funds. DDO Cantt said that all the documentation has almost been completed and the construction of new graveyard phase II would start just after the department gets payment of Rs. 250 million from the CDGL.

Breaking silence

A food chain outlet on The Mall has deaf and dumb persons on the staff but that is no handicap. It rather attracts people to it:

December 21, 2008

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: Living in deafening silence forever, oblivious to the natural norm of expression, Bilal Ahmad has fought his way through life, surviving in the competitive world where even the ones whom nature has blessed way more than him, face a torrid life. In the prevailing socio-economic circumstances, in a society which is becoming unforgiving and unrewarding with every passing year, Bilal has refused to live a distorted life.
Bilal, who is deaf and dumb, had not thought that one day he would do a job in a multinational food restaurant KFC.
The multinational food restaurant on The Mall next to Dayal Singh mansion is being run by 23 deaf and dumb persons including 20 boys and 3 girls. It is the only food restaurant in the metropolis that is being operated by deaf and dumb persons.
All the 23 special people are running this KFC restaurant in an excellent manner. They have been working here for the last two years like normal persons, serving in the same capacity in other restaurants. Majority of the customers particularly come to this Mall Road, KFC branch to see these brave hearts who prefer to face the challenges of life instead of choosing a distorted way of living.
One of them, the cashier counter in-charge, Nabila says that it has been the aim of her life to do a respectable job so that nobody feels pity for her. Well, you may question how did she talk to me. We communicated through writing because I do not know their sign language and she cannot speak like us.
Customer Relation Officer KFC Sana Naz said that this KFC branch is under the Cupola, Pakistan Ltd. banner. Cupola recruited candidates from several deaf institutes across Pakistan and provided them with specialised training. She said all these 23 are from the government supported institution for the deaf and dumb, Gung Mahal. All of them have done their F.A.
The work environment of this branch has been created to suit the deaf, with innovations such as using light bulbs in place of bells along with illustrative point and order menu cards.
This KFC branch manager Nida told TNS that there are now 3 KFC outlets in Pakistan run primarily by the Deaf: 1 in Karachi in Gulshan Iqbal, a 2nd in Lahore on the Mall Road, and a 3rd in Rawalpindi. Each restaurant is staffed by the deaf, with one hearing manager on duty for customer assistance.
The manager pointed out that because of their nature of work, IT companies in Pakistan are ideally placed to offer meaningful employment to the disabled.
A customer Sufyan Saleem while appreciating said, "KFC and Cupola and all those involved have done excellent work". He said that he wants to congratulate the KFC management on their noble attempt to give jobs to such special persons. He said if he will ever have his own office he will surely give job opportunities to these brave people. He said a common man should get a lesson from these deaf and dumb persons who live with dignity and strive for excellence. He urged the other organisations and institutions to give job opportunities to such people.
Another customer Faizan Qazi, an electrical engineer, said that if someone wants to see a place like heaven he or she must come to this place where silence and eyes work instead of tongue and ears. He said it is not difficult for any one to deal with these innocent persons. Faizan said he used to come to this place two or three times in a month because whenever he felt disappointment in his work he would come here and after watching these silent persons who are facing this cruel world with patience, he got new hope and courage to overcome his disappointment.
A teacher at the deaf and dumb school and college told TNS that the KFC's policy is very good and other private organisations should follow it. It is better social service for the society. He said he and his colleagues usually try to help their students in their personal capacity but success of these efforts depend upon luck. "Only few students are lucky to find useful jobs with respectable pay, generally such people are given manual labour or domestic work," he said.
While talking to TNS, Secretary Special Education Maqbool Ahmad Khan said that government is making arrangements for better future of deaf and dumb children. He said immediate and effective measures are being taken for their educational and professional training. Government is doing its best to provide better educational and professional opportunities to these deaf and dumb children. On a query about the KFC branch where all the staff is deaf and dumb with the exception of one, he said that KFC's attempt to facilitate these special persons is really appreciable and other people in the private sector as well as the government sector should provide job opportunities to such special persons.

Victims of poverty

Suicide rate and incidence of depression among women are constantly on the rise:

December, 14, 2008

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: Saima Afzal, a 21-year-old graduate, who reached Lahore from Okara with high hopes for the future, faced great disillusionment in this city, not knowing that thousands of youth loiter aimlessly in search of work here. She was full of idealism and had come to seek a job and settle here once and for all but her search for job could not last for more than three-four months. Saima committed suicide on Nov 11.
Saima Afzal is one of the many hapless victims of unemployment. She belonged to a poor family. She was staying at her cousin's house and went from pillar to post to get a reasonable job but failed. On the day of the incident, she went to railway lines and ended her life by jumping in front of a train.
Later, her cousin Naveed said that Saima was depressed at not finding a suitable job. She committed suicide from depression and stress, he added.
Data collected by TNS reveals that most of the women ended their lives due to abject poverty. One of the major causes which led 35 women to commit suicide, is poverty. While poverty and family disputes may sound different to some, the main reason boils down to unhappy family life.
Depression is said to have seeped into our female population and there are many reasons for that. One is managing the household in the little income that she receives from her husband and few venues other than home for women in our society. The people have been facing great financial crunch and it is the edibles which have become out of reach of commonman. Then there are unrealistic expectations from a woman. She is supposed to care not just for her husband and children, the in-laws are quite demanding in some cases. In an instance a man slapped his elder brother's wife at which the woman committed suicide. Women look upto their husband for most of the things that can bring them independence, like a job or an initiative that can bring substantial improvement in their lives.
Its not just home where the environment is restrictive for most women, our society also doesn't give much consideration to her well-being, it seems. For instance, where there are playgrounds in an area, you will never come across women or even little girls there, especially in areas populated with middle and lower middle class. In summers when everybody needs to come out in the open, the grounds are found full of boys and men.
As many as 54 women committed suicide during the year 2007 in the provincial capital. Majority of these women committed suicide by taking poison and most of them took the cheapest poison which is rat poison and that used to prevent wheat from pest.
Of the 54 victims who came from different areas of Lahore, 39 committed suicide by taking poison, five hanged themselves, five took their lives by lying in front of train, two by shooting themselves, two set themselves on fire and one by cutting her wrist vein.
"In our society depression and emotional frustration are the main reasons for committing suicide," a psychiatrist Dr Yasmeen who runs a hospital in Gulberg, said. Majority of the women who commit suicide are between the age group 25 to 40.
Dr Yasmeen said that individuals suffering from depression show high risk suicidal behaviour. When depression is a major factor, successful treatment of depression usually leads to the disappearance of suicidal thoughts, however, medical treatment of depression is not always successful and lifelong depression can contribute to recurring suicide attempts.
There are several reasons for committing suicide and we can overcome this problem by giving women awareness. Dr. Yasmeen said that a person who wants to commit suicide tells a family member or friend atleast once before doing so. "Never take a suicide threat or warning lightly. This is when a person should be rushed to the doctor for treatment otherwise he/she most probably would commit suicide because it is a sure sign of mental depression," the doctor said.
"While anti-depression medicine is recommended for such patients, we have to promote mental resilience thought optimism and rapport with the person. We should improve the health and welfare services so that they respond to people in need. This includes better training for health professionals and employing crisis counseling organisations," Dr Yasmeen said. More importantly, she emphasized the need to hold seminars to create awareness among people, to hold interactive theatre to enlighten masses on the issue.
Particularly, media can dessiminate this message to the masses to reduce access to convenient means of suicide. In this regard government's role is important for it is the government which can check the sale of poisonous chemicals and pills openly, she said.
A word of advice to those contemplating suicide: Do not take acid. If you survive, you will be in real trouble and the doctor warns most likely you will survive.

Commuters await fair fare

The buses running in the city are in bad shape and 900 more are required to meet the transportation needs of the masses:

By Sajid Bashir:

Despite the decrease in fuel prices the private franchised bus companies and wagons are still overcharging the passengers and do not agree to reduce their fares. Not even a single initiative has been taken by the government to bring down the fares and pass on the benefit of decrease in fuel prices, to the passengers.
A survey conducted by The News on Sunday finds that majority of the franchised bus companies are overcharging the commuters after the reduction in fuel prices. The stop by stop fare has gone down by Rs. 2 while there is little difference in the rest of the fares, it has been observed.
According to Punjab Transport Department the number of franchised buses running on city roads is 734 which does not meet the requirement of passengers. The department officials say that as many as 900 more buses are required to fulfill the transportation needs of Lahorites.
On the other hand some franchised buses running on the city roads have serious mechanical problems like malfunctioning of brakes which can cause accidents anytime. The bodies of these buses are mostly in rundown condition which pose discomfort to the passengers traveling in them.
The fittings in the buses are also broken. The commuters complain that hardly any franchised bus has complete body structure and components such as indicators, doors, seats and passenger support bars. Handles and windows are usually broken. Complaints like cracked windscreens, headlights, lights at the back and crack in the seats have been received. Most of the windows are immovable which cause suffocation and in times of emergency, great distress to the passengers who are transported like sheep and cattle in these public buses because buses are less than required and the commuters don't have a choice.
The franchised bus companies are not paying attention towards maintenance of buses. The government provides a handsome subsidy to the transport companies for the sake of safe and efficient public transport system but they do not maintain their buses despite getting subsidy on every bus. Traveling in buses in Lahore is still an unpleasant experience, not that one would choose.
Even a commonman can easily see that many of them have serious mechanical faults like smoky engines, unfit brakes, leaking oil etc. Majority of the buses are without tail lights and indicators while where lights are there, they don't work at all. Some of the buses are even without headlights and can cause serious accidents anytime.
One wonders how and why the transport department issues and renews fitness certificates to such kind of buses against the standing rules and regulations. These fitness certificates have to be renewed after every six months by the transport department officials and traffic police after proper inspection of the public transport vehicles.
Most of the buses have broken doors which cause injuries and pose hazards to the passengers, particularly students, who stand next to doors. According to the rules every passenger bus must have an emergency door to provide exit route to passengers in case of fire or accidents but they simply don't work. Similarly fire extinguishers are also totally missing in the passenger buses.
While talking to TNS, Usman Hameed, a doctor said that the amount of smoke the public buses and wagons are emitting on the city roads is the major cause of increasing environmental pollution in the city causing serious diseases to the citizens such as Asthma, flu, irritation of eyes and some kind of skin throat disease. He said Punjab transport department should take strict measures to resolve these problems.
Many students are seen traveling on the roof of the buses because of shortage of buses. Besides private school students complained that they have no departmental cards due to which they do not get discount. The transport department should provide them passes so that they can also avail the much needed discount that other students enjoy, they said.
When contacted, Additional Secretary Punjab Transport Department Izhar Ahmad said that Punjab government wants to launch new additional buses but the operators do not agree to that. They demand removal of illegal routes from the city, first.
As many as 170,000 motorcycle rickshaws are present in the city on different routes. Bus operators further demand shifting of these motorcycle rickshaws from the city. Izhar Ahmad said that a summary is in process in which the department has asked SSP Traffic to give the transport department 210 traffic wardens to remove the illegal routes in the city.
About fares, he said, "We increased the fare only when the diesel price went up but we did not increase it when the diesel price went up the second time. Therefore, we only reduced our fares by two rupees that is according to the percentage of current diesel price. We are holding meetings with bus operators and soon the new fare would be launched in the city."

About 0.1m criminal cases pending with lower courts

Wednesday, July 16, 2008
By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: DESPITE hectic efforts on part of the Lahore High Courtís administration to expedite disposal of cases at lower courts level, as many as 99,662 criminal cases are pending with 24 magistrate courts of the City at the end of June, revealed a report consolidated by the office of the senior civil judge, here.
Out of 99,662 cases, 2,733 have been pending for more than one year while 1,881 cases have been pending with the court of Haider Ali Khan, magistrate at Cantonment Courts.
As per the report, 6,701 cases have been pending with Asha Tariq in addition to the backlog of 4,800 cases while 100 new cases have been instituted in June.
She received 2368 cases that have been transferred to her court from other courts and she disposed of 96 cases and transferred 471 to other courts.
The report stated that 2837 cases have been pending with Hassan Ahmad in addition to the backlog of 3,162 cases while 89 new cases have been instituted in June.
He received 104 cases that have been transferred to him from other courts while he disposed of 172 cases and transferred 346 cases to other courts. A total 3,872 cases have been pending with Masood Ahmad Warraich in addition to the backlog of 5,462 cases while 131 new cases have been instituted in June.
He received 110 cases that have been transferred to him from other courts while he disposed of 118 cases and transferred 1713 cases to other courts.
The report added 5,081 cases have been pending with Naqeeb Shahzad in addition to the backlog of 7,246 cases while 74 new cases have been instituted in June.
He received 200 cases that have been transferred to him from other courts while he disposed of 33 cases and transferred 2406 cases to other courts.
As many as 13,514 cases have been pending with Muhammad Yasin Mohal, 997 new cases have been instituted in June. He did not receive any case transferred to him from other courts while he disposed of 100 cases and transferred 0 cases to other courts.
As much as 3,721 cases have been pending with Munawar Hussain with the backlog of 3844 while 221 new cases have been instituted in June. He disposed of 344 cases.
As many as 5132 cases have been pending with Ch Muhammad Shahzad Anwar with the backlog of 8285 while 150 new cases have been instituted in June. He disposed of 266 cases and transferred 2937 cases to other courts.
Similarly, 7635 cases are pending with Faisal Jameel with the backlog of 9393 while no new case was instituted in June. He received 2 cases that have been transferred to him from other courts while he disposed of 762 cases and transferred 998 cases to other courts.
At least 4,548 cases have been pending with Javaid Akram Baitu while no new case has been instituted in the month of June. He received 4622 cases from other courts while disposed of 74 cases.
Likewise, 515 cases are pending with Saeed Ahmad Awan while 50 new cases have been instituted in June.
He received 500 cases transferred to him from other courts while he disposed of 35 cases.
Two thousand eight hundred twenty-five cases are pending with Muhammad Farrukh Hameed with the backlog of 2856 while 53 new cases have been instituted in June. He disposed of 84 cases.
Moreover, 3,083 cases are pending with Masood Hussain with a backlog of 3020 cases while 198 new cases have been instituted in June. He disposed of 135 cases.
As many as 2,573 cases are pending with Samia Asad with the backlog of 2,797 cases while 75 new cases have been have been instituted in the said month. She received two cases transferred from other courts while disposed of 299 cases and transferred two cases to other courts.
At least 4,817 cases have been pending with Misbah Nabi Bhatti with the backlog of 4969 while 50 new cases have been instituted in June. He disposed of 202 cases.
As many as 3,136 cases have been pending with Mazhar Abbas with the backlog of 2882 while 400 new cases have been instituted. He disposed of 146 cases.
Likewise, 2,750 cases have been pending with Ahmad Saeed Sheikh with the backlog of 2855.
He disposed of 104 cases. Similarly, 4161 cases have been pending with Muhammad Younas Awan with the backlog of 4,464 while 180 new cases have been filed. He disposed of 483 cases.
In addition, 1587 cases have been pending with Nadeem Hassan Wasir with the backlog of 1434 while 375 new cases have been filed in June. He disposed of 192 cases and transferred 30 cases to other courts.
As well, 1,660 cases have been pending with Tariq Mehmood Shad with the backlog of 1706 while 158 new cases have been instituted. He disposed of 119 cases and transferred 85 cases to other courts.
A total of 3,303 cases have been pending with Haider Ali Khan with the backlog of 3362 while 25 new cases have been instituted. He received five cases from other courts while he disposed of 89 cases.
At least 2,714 cases have been pending with Tariq Masood with the backlog of 2847 while 105 new cases have been filed. He disposed of 238 cases.
In addition, 4,602 cases have been pending with Muhammad Farhan Bhatti with the backlog of 4648 while 163 new cases have been instituted. He disposed of 209 cases.
Meanwhile, 3672 cases have been pending with Muhammad Riaz Khurram with the backlog of 3728 while 150 new cases have been instituted. He received 86 cases from other courts while he disposed of 280 cases and transferred 12 cases to other courts.
Moreover, 2450 cases have been pending with Rana Abdul Ghaffar with the backlog of 2731 while no new case has been filed with his court in June. He disposed of 281 cases, the report said.

Minor rape victim can’t find justice

Friday, October 10, 2008

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE:

An ill-fated family of a seven-year old orphan who was raped is facing grave problems to seek justice and is being forced to leave their home to live far away owing to influence of the family of the accused.
The victim, Tayyaba, and her mother, Nusrat Bibi, used to live at Sidhawala, a village of District Sheikhupura. Besides, the police are not providing any shelter to the victim’s family. This has forced Nusrat and Tayyaba to live with her brother at Bund Road Lahore. Muskrat’s brother is a TB patient and is dead poor and could not even support his own family, as he is a sole bread earner.
Tayyaba’s brother, nine-year old Muhammad Ahmed is not living with his family as he has left the house to stay with Shafiq and is looking after his poultry farm. Jamshed and Shafiq have reportedly allured him to do so. Both of them were prosecution witnesses in the rape case and had recorded their statement with a court in this regard but later recanted.
On March 11, 2008, sixteen-year old Zubair allegedly raped Tayyaba with connivance of Talha, Muzammil and Muzaffar in Sidhawala when she was on way to house from school and left her in critical condition.
The family approached the area police for registration of a case in this regard; however, the name of the main accused was not mentioned in the FIR despite being nominated for the crime.
On a complaint to the then IGP Azhar Hasan Nadeem in this connection, he suspended DSP Khadim Hussan and SHO Sayed Riaz Shah of Narang Mandi police station for defending the main accused, Zubair, and not nominating him in the FIR. An FIR against the DSP and the SHO was also registered under Section 201 of Pakistan Penal Code and Section 155 of the Police Order-2002 on March 16.
During the trial of the accused, Zubair, Ferozewala Additional District and Sessions Judge (AD&SJ) Qamar Ijaz after hearing the statements of police officials and lady doctor Nazia, who conducted medico legal examination of Tayyaba, and Nusrat Bibi, found him guilty and cancelled his bail.
The judge observed that the crime was heinous and so the accused could not be given the relief of bail. Later, Tayyaba in the court pointed out Zubair as the one who raped her. She pointed out her finger towards him when the judge asked her to recognise the accused. All the witnessed have also made it clear that the victim was raped.
It should be noted that Chairman Free Legal Assistance and Settlement Advocate Sh Anis AA Saadi, Advocates Muhammad Irfan Mukhtar and Imran Ali were contesting Tayyaba’s case voluntarily.
It is worth mentioning that Lahore High Court Chief Justice Sayed Zahid Hussain while exercising his suo motu powers has directed the additional district and sessions judge to dispose of Tayyaba’s rape case within the shortest possible time by avoiding unnecessary adjournment.
The chief justice took this notice on a news items published on July 27 in a section of press wherein Nusrat Bibi appealed him for directions to the AD&SJ to hold a speedy trial of the accused.
She said all miseries she had to bear as her husband died some four years back. She said even no one was ready to go with her to the police station but one of her neighbour, Jamshaid, financially helped her and went with her to the police station. Lastly, Nusrat Bibi said that she has no financial support and she is hoping that may be one day she would get justice.
Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif met with the victim at Mayo Hospital when she was admitted there and gave Rs 50,000 to her mother and assured her that she would get justice soon.
Now, Tayyaba’s mother had complained that the two prosecution eyewitnesses, Jamshed and Shafiq, extorted Rs 40,000 from the amount that the had given her. She said they threatened to withdraw their statement sin the support of the rape victim’s case if they were not paid. She said nevertheless, they had withdrawn their statement s and failed to appear before the court even after taking the money.
Nusrat Bibi, mother of Tayyaba, told The News that the family of the accused had been threatening her not to lodge the case since day one. She said twice Zubair and his brothers harassed her daughter and about six months ago, she also lodged a complaint with the police and later reconciled with them on request of the local high-ups.
She said since then she had been dropping and picking her daughter from school as she was the student of class one but unfortunately on the day of the incident she could not go there to take her home and she fall prey to the accused.
She said the accused had been disturbing her on behest of his father, Arshad, who was a leader of a religious group of the area. She said he never stopped the accused from harassing her despite repeated complaints by her.
She said the cause of grudge between her and the accused family was seven sheep, which were forcefully taken by Arshad some two years back. She said the sheep were worth of Rs 50,000. She said these were not yet returned and she had now stopped demanding their return. She said all miseries she had to bear as her husband died some four years back. She said even no one was ready to go with her to the police station However, one of her neighbour Jamshaid economically supported her and went with her to the police station.
Lastly, Nusrat Bibi said that she has no financial support and she is taking her last breaths in a hope that may be one day she would get justice.

Poor cleanliness at sessions court annoys people

Sunday, December 14, 2008

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: LITIGANTS, lawyers and visitors to District and Sessions Courts are facing numerous problems due to extremely poor cleanliness at new and old sessions court buildings.
The News survey of the sessions court showed that the situation inside the courtrooms and adjacent courtyards, stairs and car parks is really bad. Besides, poor sanitation and security arrangements are also causing inconvenience to visitors.
Cleanliness at new court rooms is also poor and litigants and visitors have complained that court authorities are paying no attention on cleanliness.
They say that like the old sessions court building, there are no seats and they have to keep standing.
Court officials have also complained that there are no wash rooms in the new sessions court building for official staff as well as visitors due to which they suffer a lot.
There is no also no cafeteria in the new sessions court building. Similarly, the old sessions court building and its court rooms, Bakhshi Khana, record room and lawyers make-shift chambers are in a very dilapidated condition.
There are heaps of garbage at the old sessions court and none of the building department officials as well as judicial officials had taken initiative to clean-up the court premises. Litigants have complained that there are heaps of garbage near courtrooms and lawyers makeshift chambers.
They say it is very difficult for them to breathe in such a dirty environment as pools of stagnant water and open manholes abound on court premises.
Talking to The News, Chaudhry Aslam, a lawyer, said that shortage of cleaning staff had resulted in garbage accumulating everywhere on court premises.
He said stinking emanating from garbage and stagnant water really annoys people. The record room of the sessions court is also in a miserable condition and thousands of files are found scattered.
These files can be destroyed with the passage of time and authorities are yet to transfer data to computers. Besides, the record room is too small. The Bakhsi Khana where police detain the under-trail prisoners is also in a miserable condition. The Bakhshi Khana, consisting of two small rooms, is without electricity and dirty water overflows from the manholes in front of it. Its size is too small to cope with the growing number of prisoners.
The parking place at the district and sessions court is not spacious and traffic jams inside and outside the court are a routine matter. Due to the lack of vacant places for parking, people have to park their vehicles far away from the court.
Talking to The News, District and Sessions Judge Lahore Syed Nasir Ali Shah said that authorities will soon overcome all the problems faced by litigants and lawyers.
He said that construction of new judicial complex was underway and it will be completed soon. He said that construction of a new record room and a Bakhsi Khana was about to complete.
He said that he had deputed two additional district and sessions judges to supervise the maintenance staff which will help improve conditions at district courts.
He said the Building XEN was responsible for dilapidated condition of courts.

Township UC-139 a total shambles

Monday, August 25, 2008By

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: Stagnant water, dilapidated roads and piles of garbage have put the dwellers of UC-139, Township, in sheer trouble. The graph of water borne diseases in the area owing to the stagnant water is going upwards, while piles of the garbage lying alongside the roads is further playing havoc with the health of locals. Waste of marble material being dumped alongside the road is another problem adding to the environmental pollution in the area.
The authorities concerned are not paying any heed to the problems as measures have yet to be taken to drain out the stagnant water inundated the parks, remove the garbage and repair the roads with dangerous craters.
A survey conducted by The News, revealed that most of the localities of UC-139 were in terrible conditions due to the negligence of the authorities concerned. Stagnant rain water in the parks situated in different blocks of the Township was creating hassles for the residents of the area. Locals told The News, that a number of complained had been filed with the WASA, PHA and UC-139 Nazim but all in vain. They said almost all the sewer drains of Block-C were choked and none of the authorities concerned took any initiative to resolve the issue.
On the other hand, majority of the area roads were in a dilapidated condition and big craters on the roads could easily be seen on every road of the area causing multiple problems for the residents and commuters. One the main road namely Umer Farooq which links Collage Road to Green Town area, became a nightmare for people, particularly for the residents and commuters at the office timings and for the school going children.
Besides, different food items shop holders on Umer Farooq Road were also facing a lot of problems due to the broken road and the dust accumulated on it. Ch Aslam, a shopkeeper said that every year huge of amount of funds were given to district nazims and councillors for the construction of roads but no body knows, where the funds were spent.
Talking to The News, a local resident of area, Faizan Qazi said it seemed as if he were living in ‘Katchi Basti’ and the rain water had turned the area into a lake, adding in such circumstances how anyone could stay there calmly. He said that marble factories owners were using the area as a ‘dustbin’ and they dumped their marble waste material in the playing gourd and alongside the area roads.
Another resident of the area, Anjum Islam said that he had been living there from the last 12 years and he had seen the area in a miserable condition after every rain. He said if the elected district nazim and councilors used the funds in a proper way and did their jobs honestly and with devotion, the problems could be solved.
When asked about the poor sanitation conditions of the area, UC-139 Nazim Khalid Butt said he was not responsible for the poor sanitation conditions of the area, adding that it was not his duty to drain out the water from the roads and parks. When asked to direct the WASA and PHA authorities to clear the stagnant water on roads and parks, he said that it was not his job to direct them in this regard. However he said that he had asked the citizens to request the WASA and PHA authorities on their own and disconnected the phone call.

Soldier acquitted of athlete girl’s rape, murder charges

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: AN Additional Sessions judge acquitted an armed forces personal and his friend accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a female athlete in a local hotel two years ago.
The police recovered the body of victim, Asma Mushtaq, 20, a resident of Faisalabad, hanging from a ceiling fan by her headscarf in room No 311 of Sassta Hotel near the shrine of Data Sahib, while the two persons accompanying her had escaped.
The judge acquitted the accused after prosecution failed to prove charges against them and they filed an acquittal application under section 265-k CrPC. Father of the deceased, Mushtaq Ahmad, registered an FIR with the Lower Mall police station in which he nominated Muhammad Azam, a Naik in Baloch Regiment of Army at Parachinar and his friend Tawakal, for allegedly murdering his daughter after sexually assaulting her.
He stated that the accused brought her to Lahore from Faisalabad on the pretext of getting her a job in the army based on her sporting skills.
Mushtaq Ahmad further stated in FIR that Muhammad Azam who had met her daughter a sports ceremony had offered her help in getting a job in army and later remained pressing her to go to Lahore for meeting higher authorities.
Mushtaq Ahmad said one day before the murder, Muhammad Azam’s friend Tawakal came to his house and took Asma with him for Lahore. According to the FIR, after reaching Lahore, they rented a room in a hotel named Sassta Hotel near the shrine of Data Sahib where they both raped the victim and then killed her by strangling her with her Dopata.
Naik Muhammad Azam and his companion Tawakal escaped from the hotel after issuing life threats to the hotel staff and management. Mushtaq said he came to know about the murder from his neighbour Idris Khan who had come to Lahore to visit Data Sahib Shrine and learnt about the incident.
Idris told him that he had a booking in the same hotel where his daughter was found dead. During the proceedings, accused Azam pleaded that the girl committed suicide. He said he had relations with the victim for a long time and he wanted her to get a job in the army. On the day she died, he had left her in the hotel room with Tawakal to go out to meet some friends.
Upon return, he found Tawakal standing outside the room and the door was locked from inside. He said the police were called to break open the door where they found the girl hanging from the fan. Tawakal said he had gone to washroom and upon return he found the door locked from inside.

1, 84,987 civil, criminal cases pending before Lahore courts

Friday, July 25, 2008

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: As many as 88,098 civil cases remain pending before 50 civil judges of the provincial capital’s courts by the end of June, 2008, according to a monthly report prepared by the office of the Senior Civil Judge, Lahore.
Surprisingly, the same report, available to The News, revealed that the number of pending criminal cases was higher than civil cases despite the fact that criminal cases were supposed to be disposed of speedily.
By the end of June, as many as 96,889 criminal cases were still pending adjudication before 24 magisterial courts of the city. The sum up of civil and criminal cases would show a huge backlog of 1, 84,987 cases in the provincial capital’s courts of law.
According to the said report, the civil cases have been divided into 13 different categories and the break-up discloses 52439 cases are regular civil suits, 7,750 family cases, 1,960 succession certificate cases, 6,774 execution petitions, 2432 rent cases, 2417 guardian cases, 196 insolvency cases, 320 small claims, 79 inquiries, 245 land acquisition cases, 2 Paupar suits, 1213 objection petitions while 11524 pending cases were shown under the head of other cases. A total of 811 cases were pending before Senior Civil Judge Abdul Razzaq in which 102 were regular civil suit, 3 family cases, 267 succession certificate, 30 execution petitions, 4 rent cases, 2 guardian cases, one insolvency suit, 243 land acquisition cases, 115 objection petitions and 44 were other cases.
Similarly, 22,12 cases were pending in Jazeela Aslam court in which 2 were regular civil suit, 141 family cases, 65 execution petitions, 621 guardian cases, 194 insolvency cases, 320 small claims, 4 inquiry cases and 992 were other cases.
As per the report, 3,553 cases were pending in Malik Muhammad Altafís court in which 2,916 regular civil suit, 129 succession certificate, 125 execution petitions, 2 guardian cases, 5 inquiry cases, 5 objection petitions and 371 were other cases. The report stated that 1,909 were pending before Iftikhar Ahmad in which 1,381 were regular civil suit, 42 succession certificate, 116 execution petitions, 7 rent cases, 2 inquiry cases and 424 were other cases.
The report added that 2743 cases were pending in Sadiq Mahmood Sabir court in which 10 were regular civil suit, 20 family cases, 134 execution petitions, 928 guardian cases, 2 inquiry cases and 629 were other cases. As much as 3153 cases were pending before Hina Muzafar court in which 2780 were regular civil suit, 75 succession certificate, 217 execution petitions, 8 inquiry cases and 73 were other cases.
As per the data, 2,119 cases were pending in Sohail Shafiq court in which 1885 were regular civil suit, 90 succession certificate, 116 execution petitions, 28 were other cases.
As per the report, 3,445 cases were pending before Nasir Javed Rana in which 3025 were regular civil suit, 82 succession certificate, 116 execution petitions, 9 inquiry cases and 213 were other cases. The report further revealed that 3,048 cases were pending in Arif MAhmood Khan court in which 2461 were regular civil suit, 88 succession certificate, 130 execution petitions and 369 were other cases. A total of 1,160 cases were pending in Shakeeb Imran Qamar court in which 903 were regular civil suit, 93 execution petitions, 4 inquiry cases and 160 were other cases.
While 3,866 cases were pending in Muhammad Ashraf Bhatti in which 2831 were regular civil suit, 410 succession certificate, 69 execution petitions, 3 inquiry cases and 553 were other cases. A sum of 4,410 cases were pending before Kashif Qayum court in which 3,600 were regular civil suit, 47 succession certificate, 154 execution petitions, 10 inquiry cases and 599 were other cases.
Similarly, 2,594 cases were pending in Sarfraz Ali court in which 1,972 were regular civil suit,106 succession certificate, 169 execution petitions, 2 inquiry cases, 2 land acquisition, 1 pauper suit and 342 were objection petitions.
At least 2,825 cases were pending before Husnain Raza court in which 1,848 were regular civil suit, 115 succession certificate, 192 execution petitions, 1 inquiry cases, 1 pauper suit and 668 were other cases.
A total of 3,404 cases were pending in Shahzad Hussain court in which 2,610 were regular civil suit,1 family case, 49 succession certificate, 63 execution petitions ,4 rent cases, 1 guardian case, 7 objection petitions and 669 were other cases. Likewise, 1,101 cases were pending in Furqan Ahmad court in which 29 were regular civil suit, 330 execution petitions, 571 rent cases and 171 were other cases.
Moreover, as many as 1337 cases were pending in Azhar Ali Jaffari court in which 517 were regular civil suit, 304 execution petitions, 1 rent case ,1 inquiry and 514 were objection petitions.
At least 2,833 cases were pending in Javed Iqbal Sheikh court in which 1,949 were regular civil suit, 177 succession certificate, 250 execution petitions and 457 were other cases. Likewise, 1,229 cases were pending before Malik Shukat Ali Khan court in which 809 were regular civil suit, 5 succession certificate, 192 execution petitions, 2 inquiry cases and 221 other cases. And 1,189 cases were pending in Rai Muhammad Nawaz Marth court in which 974 were regular civil suit, 100 execution petitions and 115 were other cases.
A total of 923 cases were pending in Raheela Umer court in which 319 were regular civil suit, 375 family cases, 19 succession certificate, 85 execution petitions, 4 inquiry cases and 121 were other cases.
Moreover, 1267 cases were pending in Moeen Khokhar in which 559 were regular civil suit, 7 succession certificate, 62 execution petitions, 619 rent cases and 20 were other cases. While 2,309 cases were pending in Muhammad Akhtar Bhangoo court in which 2040 were regular civil suit, 23 succession certificate, 107 execution petitions and 139 were other cases.
At least 1,235 cases were pending in Muhammad Ishaq Hashir court in which 26 were execution petitions, 862 guardian cases and 347 were other cases. As many as, 1,771 cases were pending in Haider Ali Arif court in which 1,500 were regular civil suit, 15 succession certificate, 45 execution petitions and 211 were objection petitions. A sum of 1,870 cases were pending in Muhammad Mansoor Atta in which 4 were regular civil suit, 1,328 family cases, 447 execution petitions and 91 were other cases.
While 1159 cases were pending before M.Hafeez-ur-Rehman court in which 3 were regular civil suit, 833 family cases, 314 execution petitions and 9 were objection petitions. A total of 1,435 cases were pending in Asha Rasheed Awan court in which 1 was regular civil suit, 893 family cases, 414 execution petitions and 127 were other cases.
The data revealed that 877 cases were pending in Rana Muhammad Sohail court in which 22 were regular civil suit, 356 execution petitions, 466 rent cases, 2 inquiry cases, 10 objection petitions and 21 were other cases. Moreover, 1031 cases were pending in Akhtar Hussain Kalyar in which 4 were regular civil suit, 162 execution petitions, 760 rent cases, 4 inquiry cases, 27 objection petitions and 74 were other cases.
While 1,843 cases were pending in Skindar Javed court in which 1,644 were regular civil suit, 49 execution petitions and 150 were other cases.
The report stated that 1,864 cases were pending in Syed Shahzad Muzafar Shah court in which 1,346 were regular civil suit, 25 succession certificate, 62 execution petitions, 6 inquiry cases and 425 were objection petitions.
Similarly 872 cases were pending in Shumaila Yaqoob court in which 650 were regular civil suit, 46 execution petitions and 176 were other cases. Atleast 1219 cases were pending in Rashid Tuafail court in which 1,141 were regular civil suit, 49 execution petitions 29 were other cases. As many as 829 cases are pending in Khalil Ahmad Asim court in which 775 were regular civil suit, 10 succession certificates and 44 were execution petitions. While 795 cases were pending in Muhammad Aslam in which 661 were regular civil suit, 9 succession certificate, 20 execution petitions, 1 insolvency case and 104 were objection petitions.
Total 840 cases were pending in Abbass Rasool Wariach in which 541 were regular civil suit, 46 family cases, 149 execution petitions and 104 were other cases.
As per the report 1,142 cases were pending in Khurram Khan Virk court in which 915 are regular civil suit,44 execution petitions, 1 inquiry case and 182 were other cases. Similarly 692 cases were pending in Ch Zia Ullah court in which 359 were regular civil suit, 192 family cases 1 succession, 27 execution petitions, 1 inquiry cases 112 were other cases.
A sum of 1185 cases were pending in Shabana Hameed Mughal court in which 1,120 were regular civil suit, 37 execution petitions and 28 were objection petitions.
A total of 2,742 cases were pending in Farzana Bashir court in which 1,376 were regular civil suit, 6 succession, 159 execution petitions, 2 inquiry cases and 1,199 were other cases. Atleast 893 cases were pending in Muhammad Irfan Safdar court in which 562 were regular civil suit, 237 family cases, 60 execution petitions, 6 inquiry cases and 28 were other cases.
As per the data, 875 cases were pending in Muhammad Akram Nawab court in which 4 were regular civil suit, 724 family cases, 137 execution petitions and 10 were other cases.
While 1446 cases were pending in Mehr-u-Nisa court in which 1196 were family cases, 100 execution petitions and 150 were other cases. The report stated that 1270 cases were pending in Jamshaid Mubarak Bhatti court in which 2 were regular civil suit, 867 family cases, 319 execution petitions and 82 were objection petitions.
Likewise 3,616 cases were pending in Naeem Ahmad court in which 2,697 were regular civil suit, 10 family cases, 162 succession, 250 execution petitions and 497 were other cases.
The report further revealed that 1298 cases were pending in Gulzar Ahmad Khalid court in which 983 were regular civil suit, 165 family cases, 70 execution petitions, 1 guardian case and 79 were objection petitions. Atleast 743 cases were pending in Muhammad Rashid court in which 625 were regular civil suit, 31 execution petitions and 87 were other cases.
While 635 cases were pending in Riffat Inam Butt court in which 2 were regular civil suit, 497 family cases, 92 execution petitions and 44 were other cases.
Moreover, 481 cases pending in Abhar Gull court in which 45 were regular civil suit, 349 family cases, 1 succession, 46 execution petitions and 40 were other cases.

Court premises turns into waterpool

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: The rain pour on Monday again turned the Lahore district and sessions courtís building into a pool of dirty water, despite the civic authorities assurance to the Lahore High Court several times in the recent past that proper measures would be taken to prevent the rain water from entering the premises of the courts.
The Punjab government through the chief secretary and the secretary C&W, and the civic authorities represented by the MD Wasa had assured the LHC the previous month while appearing in a suo moto notice, giving an undertaking that all necessary steps would be taken to prevent rain water from gathering inside the court premises in future. They pleaded the court to dismiss the suo moto notice in view of that undertaking.
The LHC CJ had taken suo moto notice following a flood-like situation was created inside the courts when rain water prevented the judicial officers and the public from even entering the court’s boundaries.
A survey, conducted by The News after a short spell of rain on Monday, showed that the staff deployed for the cleanliness failed to clear the rain water from the district and sessions court building after the rain. All the major parts of the courts were drowned in the water.
The only road at the court premises was showing the sight of a lake and all the drains were blocked due to the debris deposited there. The rain water was also entered the premises of the court rooms and balconies of the district and sessions court.
People presents at the sessions courts premises said the rain water had turned the court building into a lake, adding in such circumstances how they could manage their jobs. The make-shift chambers of lawyers were also drowned in the water and they had to go back home because the stagnant water of the rain had ruined their work. First, there was no proper sitting place inside the courts building for the visitors. Secondly, the visitors could not even stand due to the stagnant rain water.
A large number of lawyers complained that every time it rained their work routine was badly affected as the stagnant rain water blocked all the paths inside the district courts. They said how they could reach the court rooms in the presence of dirty stagnant water in the area of court building. The rain water also spoilt the furniture present in the make-shift chambers of lawyers.
Majority of the typists who did their job under the open sky or beside the make-shift chambers of the lawyers were also inconvenienced due to the stagnant rain water. Raheem Baba, an old typist, said he had been doing the job for the last 40 years, adding that was the only source of income. But after the rain he has no place to sit in and do his work. He said the problem might be resolved after the completion of the new judicial complex.
Ch Akram, a lawyer, said he had been coming to the sessions court building from the last 20 years and he had seen the court building in miserable condition after every rain. He said if the building department used the funds in a proper way, the problem could be solved.
The visitors who had parked their vehicles inside the courts building before the rain, were really in trouble as they could not approach their vehicles due to the stagnant rain water in the parking area.
When contacted, the building department supervisor said the land of the court building was low-lying. He further said the main sewer drain was a mile away from the courts building and the staff had to use water-pumps to drain the rain water from the court premises. He said building department staff had already made measurements to stop the rain water to enter the court premises. He said after the completion of the new judicial complex, all the problems would be solved.

‘Democracy’ betraying judiciary for NRO: Imran

Lawyers caravan head for Capital amid slogans

Friday, June 13, 2008

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE
LAWYERS’ long march caravans comprising political workers, civil society and members of different organisations left Lahore for Islamabad on Thursday night amidst loud anti-Musharraf and anti-Zardari sloganeering.
They vowed to restore the sacked judges of the Supreme Court by laying a siege to the Parliament House and presidency.
The march, which began from Karachi on Monday gradually swelled in size and strength after passing through different cities including Sukkur, Multan, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal and Lahore.
It will culminate in a huge rally in Rawalpindi and a long sit-in outside the Parliament House Islamabad on Friday to press for restoration of the deposed judges of the superior courts to the pre-November 3, 2007 position, and independence of the judiciary as enshrined in the 1973 Constitution.
A lawyers’ caravan set out from Lahore High Court on Thursday evening and marched towards Islamabad after holding a public meeting at Azadi Chowk under the historic Minar-e-Pakistan.
The original participants in the rally included members of the legal fraternity, activists of Jamaat-e-Islami, PML-N, Khaksar Tehrik, Tehrik-e-Insaf, Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party, members of the civil society and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
They held black flags along with their parties and organisations emblems.
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Hamid Khan, Ali Ahmed Kurd, Munir A Malik and other senior leaders led the caravan.
Senior politicians including Imran Khan of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami Punjab Ameer Liaquat Baloch, representatives of different trade unions and civil society organisations saw the lawyers off at the Lahore High Court.
Participants of the rally on the occasion chanted full-throated slogans such as, “Go Musharraf go”, “America ka ju yaar hai ghadar ha ghadar hai”, “Musharraf Zardari bhai bhai Pakistan ki Shamat Aayi”, “Adlia ki Bahali tuk jang rahay gi jang rahay gi”, in favour of restoration of independent judiciary and reinstatement of the deposed judges including the Chief Justice.
The lawyers’ caravan would pass through GT Road making brief stops at main cities and towns like Gujranwala, Gujrat, Kharian, Jhelum and Rawat before reaching Rawalpindi.
A large number of lawyers and political workers would join their colleagues from these cities in shape of processions on its way to Islamabad.
The rally, to be led by Supreme Court Bar Association President Aitzaz Ahsan would then leave for Islamabad on Friday. The Long March will also be joined by the deposed Chief Justice at zero point, Islamabad where he will address the participants.
Convoys from Muzaffarabad, Abbotabad and Peshawar will join the Long March at twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Friday before marching towards the Parliament House.
Thousands of lawyers, traders, students, activists of political and religious parties will accord a warm welcome to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and the Long March caravan at Islamabad.
Earlier, several political leaders of component parties of APDM including Tehrik Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, JI leader Liaquat Baloch, Khaksar Tehrik leader Hameeduddin Mashriqi and Christian leader J Salik addressed the participants in the Long March before seeing them off at Lahore High Court.
Imran Khan, in his peculiar emphatic style, warned the nation that democracy was betraying the judiciary for the sake of controversial (National Reconciliation Ordinance) NRO.
He warned PPP co-Chairperson Asif Zardari against becoming a shield for Gen Musharraf. He cautioned him that if he did not cease his present acts, then today’s ‘Go Musharraf Go’ slogans might change into ‘Go Zardari Go’ slogans tomorrow.
He expressed sorrow that Asif Zardari was acting as slave to Gen Musharraf the way Gen Musharraf had acted one to George Bush.
Imran Khan said that the lawyers movement was a historic and epic movement, which would turn the country into a new Pakistan, which would be free from injustice and cruelty.
He cautioned the nation that increasing the strength of Supreme Court judges from 16 to 29 was part of a conspiracy and if PCO judges were retained in the Supreme Court, it would destroy the whole institution of Judiciary.
Imran asked PML-N leader Mian Nawaz Sharif that after becoming an MNA, he must move the resolution for restoration of judiciary at the earliest to test the sincerity of the parliament with this cause. “It will expose the very sincerity and intentions of the PPP-led government with this issue,” he said. Imran announced that he would welcome the Long March caravan and Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry at Karachi Company in Islamabad and also address the participants there.

178,442 cases pending with city courts: report

Thursday, February 05, 2009

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: AS many as 178,442 cases of civil and criminal nature were pending in the 74 city courts at the end of November 2008, said a report consolidated by the office of senior civil judge.
The report said that 86,306 cases were pending before 50 civil judges while 92,136 cases of criminal nature were being heard by 24 magisterial courts.
In the report, the civil cases have been divided into 13 different categories and their break-up discloses that 52,043 were regular civil suits, 7,119 family cases, 1,865 succession certificate cases, 6,901 execution petitions, 1,868 rent cases, 2,323 guardian cases, 207 insolvency cases, 287 small claims, 94 inquiries, 257 land acquisition cases, two paupar suits and 1,912 were objection petitions while 11,524 pending cases were shown in the column of other cases.
As far as criminal cases are concerned, they have been categorised in two 1st class criminal cases and section 30 criminal cases. There were 82,610 cases pending before 1st class magistrates while 8,453 cases were being heard by section 30 magistrates.
The break-up of civil cases: total 1,028 cases were pending before Senior Civil Judge Zafar Yab Chuahdry in which 201 were regular civil suits, three family cases, 352 succession certificate, 32 execution petitions, four rent cases, two guardian cases, one insolvency suit, 243 land acquisition cases, 115 objection petitions and 44 other cases.
Similarly, 2,223 cases are pending in Sadiq Masood’s court in which two were regular civil suits, 16 family cases, 65 execution petitions, 673 guardian cases, 206 insolvency cases, 287 small claims and minor offence, four inquiry cases and 970 other cases.
As per the report, 3,691 cases were pending in Malik Muhammad Altaf’s court in which 3,020 were regular civil suit, 82 succession certificate, 138 execution petitions, two guardian cases, six inquiry cases, five objection petitions and 366 other cases.
The report stated that 2,106 are pending before Iftikhar Ahmad’s court in which 1,573 were regular civil suit, 22 succession certificate, 113 execution petitions, seven rent cases, three inquiry cases and 388 other cases.
As many as 2,677 cases were pending in Raheela Umar’s court in which 13 were regular civil suits, 21 family cases, 134 execution petitions, 860 guardian cases, two inquiry cases and 1,647 other cases.
As many as 2,691 cases were pending before Hina Muzafar’s court in which 2,321 were regular civil suit, 74 succession certificate, 217 execution petitions, eight inquiry cases and 71 other cases.
As many as 2,391 cases were pending in Sohail Shafique’s court in which 2,100 were regular civil suits, 90 succession certificate, 121 execution petitions, eight other cases.
The report said 3,880 cases were pending before Nasir Javed Rana’s court in which 3,387 were regular civil suits, 95 succession certificate, 138 execution petitions, nine inquiry cases and 251 other cases.
As per the data 5,065 cases were pending in Furqan Ahmad’s court in which 4,443 were regular civil suits, 76 succession certificate, 138 execution petitions and 408 other cases. As many as 1,090 cases were pending in Shakeeb Imran Qamar’s court in which 852 were regular civil suits, 86 execution petitions, four inquiry cases and 148 other cases.
Similarly, 3,986 cases were pending in Masood Ahmad Warraich’s court in which 3,938 were regular civil suits, 394 succession certificate, 69 execution petitions, three inquiry cases and 552 other cases. As many as 2,926 cases were pending before Kashif Qayum’s court in which 2,427 were regular civil suits, 45 succession certificate, 109 execution petitions, nine inquiry cases and 336 other cases.
As many as 2,571 cases were pending in Muhammad Hussain Kadir’s court in which 1,980 were regular civil suits, 112 succession certificate,170 execution petitions ,two inquiry cases , two land acquisition, one pauper suit and 304 objection petitions.
The data added that 3,304 cases were pending before Husnain Raza’s court in which 2,323 were regular civil suits, 104 succession certificate,195 execution petitions ,four inquiry cases, one pauper suit and 677 other cases. The data showed that 3,200 cases were pending in Shahzad Hussain’s court in which 2,365 were regular civil suits, one family case, 52 succession certificate, 76 execution petitions, four rent cases, seven objection petitions and 695 other cases.
As per the report, 923 cases were pending in Arif Mahmood Khan’s court in which 27 were regular civil suit, 292 execution petitions, 513 rent cases and 91 other cases. As many as 1,167 cases were pending in Azhar Ali Jaffari’s court in which 394 regular civil suits, 273 execution petitions, one rent case, two inquiry and 497 objection petitions.
As many as 2,747 cases were pending in Jamshiad Mubarak Bhatti’s court in which 1,831 were regular civil suits, 214 succession certificate, 258 execution petitions and 444 other cases.
Similarly, 1,094 cases were pending before Abhar Gull Khan’s court in which 662 were regular civil suits, 34 family cases, five succession certificate, 190 execution petitions, four inquiry cases and 199 other cases. According to the report, 1018 cases were pending in Rai Muhammad Nawaz Marth’s court in which 791 were regular civil suits, 96 execution petitions and 131 other cases.
As many as 924 cases were pending in Moeen Khokhar’s court in which 560 were regular civil suits, seven succession certificate, 79 execution petitions, 274 rent cases and four other cases.
As many as 1168 cases were pending in Muhammad Akhtar Bhangoo’s court in which 9,22 were regular civil suits, 23 succession certificate, 110 execution petitions and 113 other cases.
As many as 1,213 cases were pending in Hassan Ahmad’s court in which 27 were execution petitions, 785 guardian cases and 401 other cases.
The report said that 1,959 cases were pending in Haider Ali Arif’s court in which 1,610 were regular civil suits, nine succession certificate, 126 execution petitions and 214 objection petitions. As many as 1,470 cases were pending in
Muhammad Mansoor Atta’s court in which 40 were regular civil suits, 486 family cases, 430 execution petitions and 114 other cases. While 1,194 cases were pending before Shumaila Yakoob Sidhu’s court in which 92 were regular civil suits, 757 family cases, 331 execution petitions and 16 objection petitions.
Similarly, 1639 cases were pending in Asha Rasheed Awan’s court in which 74 were regular civil suits, 1,033 family cases, 405 execution petitions, two inquiry cases and 125 other cases.
As many as 851 cases were pending in Rana Muhammad Sohail’s court in which 22 were regular civil suits, 359 execution petitions, 375 rent cases, two inquiry cases, 10 objection petitions and 83 other cases.
The report stated that 979 cases were pending in Akhtar Hussain Kalyar’s court in which four were regular civil suits, 176 execution petitions, 690 rent cases, four inquiry cases, 27 objection petitions and 78 other cases.
Similarly, 2,036 cases were pending in Skindar Javed’s court in which 1,714 were regular civil suits, 49 execution petitions and 273 other cases.
Likewise, 1,776 cases were pending in Syed Shahzad Muzafar’s court in which 1,252 were regular civil suits, 25 succession certificate, 61 execution petitions and 429 objection petitions.
The data showed that 772 cases were pending in Shumaila Yaqoob’s court in which 526 were regular civil suits, 44 execution petitions and 202 other cases.
Fourteen hundred cases were pending in Rashid Tuafail’s court in which 1,303 were regular civil suits, 56 execution petitions and 41 other cases.
Eight hundred and forty-nine cases were pending in Khalil Ahmad Asim’s court in which 791 were regular civil suits, 39 execution petitions, one inquiry and 18 objection cases.
As many as 952 cases were pending in Muhammad Aslam’s court in which 751 were regular civil suits, nine succession certificate, 28 execution petitions and 154 objection petitions.
As many as 930 cases were pending in Abbass Rasool Wariach’s court in which 428 were regular civil suits, 287 family cases, 152 execution petitions and 63 other cases.
The report added that 1,083 cases were pending in Khurram Khan Virk’s court in which 862 were regular civil suits, 47 execution petitions, two inquiry cases and 172 other cases.
The data stated that 1,925 cases were pending in Ch Zia Ullah’s court in which 1,333 were regular civil suit, 406 family cases, two succession, 38 execution petitions, one inquiry cases 145 other cases.
Similarly, 1,034 cases were pending in Riffat Inam Butt’s court in which 993 were regular civil suits, 31 execution petitions and 10 objection petitions.
As many as 2,785 cases were pending in Farzana Bashir’s court in which 1,416 were regular civil suits, eight succession, 157 execution petitions, two inquiry cases and 1,202 other cases.
As many as 602 cases were pending in Muhammad Irfan Safdar’s court in which 602 were regular civil suits, 338 family cases, 159 execution petitions, six inquiry cases and 41 other cases.
Similarly, 877 cases were pending in Muhammad Yasin Mohal’s court in which 51 were regular civil suit, 325 family cases, 121 execution petitions and 80 other cases.
As per the data, 1116 cases were pending in Samia Asad’s court in which 900 were family cases, 600 execution petitions, one inquiry case and 148 other cases.
The report stated that 1,061 cases were pending in Mehr-un-Nisa’s court in which 31 were regular civil suits, 6,125 family cases, 363 execution petitions and 432 other cases.
As many as 1,827 cases were pending in Naeem Ahmad’s court in which 1,120 were regular civil suits, 29 succession, 246 execution petitions and 432 other cases.
As many as 1,584 cases were pending in Gulzar Ahmad Khalid’s court in which 1,191 were regular civil suits, 197 family cases, 34 succession petitions, 70 execution petitions, one guardian case and 91 other cases.
As many as 686 cases were pending in Muhammad Rashid’s court in which 540 were regular civil suits, 32 execution petitions, four inquiry cases and 110 are other cases.
As many as 760 cases were pending in Shabana Hameed Mughal’s court in which 127 were regular civil suits, 556 family cases, 63 execution petitions and 14 other cases.
Similarly, 676 cases were pending in Syeda Sarwat Mumtaz’s court in which 447 were family cases, 127 execution petitions and 102 objection petitions.

Thanksgiving day today

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

By Wajih Ahmad and Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: Terming President Musharrafís resignation a victory of the lawyersí movement, the legal fraternity has announced to observe Tuesday (today) as a ìThanksgiving Dayî.
On Monday, soon after the president in his address to the nation announced to resign from his office, the City lawyers came out on The Mall road and celebrated the ouster of the dictator. The jubilant lawyers shouted slogans of ‘Go Musharraf Go,’ and hugged one another in joy at the premises of Lahore High Court and Aiwan-e-Adal.
They were of the view lawyerís unyielding movement and sacrifices they rendered for the restoration of democracy and independent judiciary had made the president bow out. However, they said it was a partial victory for the lawyers because as their ultimate goal was the re-instatement of Nov-2 judiciary.
Leaders of the bar associations also distributed sweets among the lawyers and the people who were dancing on the tune of drumbeats. All the barrooms of the LHCBA and the LBA were filled with lawyers as they remained sitting before TVs to watch the last address of Musharraf.
The political activists and representatives of the civil society were also present outside the LHC building. They congratulated lawyers and hoped the judges would be restored soon. As the lawyers were celebrating their success, the commuters also stopped their vehicles and joined the celebrations. The lady lawyers who stood shoulder to shoulder with their male colleagues during the movement also joined the celebrations and distributed sweets.
The dancing lawyers also demanded to bring Musharraf to justice for usurping the Constitution. They urged the parliament to restore the Nov-2 judiciary forthwith as they believed that the main hurdle had been removed.
Hamid Khan, one of the top leaders of lawyers, said after Musharrafís resignation, the parliament should restore all the deposed judges within three days according to ìIslamabad declarationî signed by the coalition partners on August 6. He said Musharraf’s resignation was first step towards their destination. He said lawyers’ slogan ‘Go Musharraf Go’ was practically fulfilled and the government according to its promise with the people should restore all the judges as soon as possible.
Expressing pleasure on Musharrafís resignation, President LHCBA Anwar Kamal said it was a historical day in the country history. ìWe thank the Allah Almighty and salute nation who wholeheartedly supported lawyersí movementî, he added.
Secretary Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) Rana Asadullah Khan said the lawyers would observe ìThanksgiving Dayî on Thursday to celebrate the ouster of the dictator. However, he said Pervez Musharraf should be tried under Article 6 to set an example for military men in future. He said as the usurper of the Constitution has been quitted and there is no more restriction or curb on parliament in restoring the ëdeposedí judges.
Member Pakistan Bar Council Hafiz Abdul Rehman Ansari said the resignation of President Musharraf was not enough compensation for the nation and he (Musharraf) should be tried under article 6 for subverting the constitution and sacking the judges. He said he should be hanged and not be allowed to escape the country in the darkness of the night.
SCBA media advisor Muhammad Azhar Siddique said the new president after resignation of president Musharraf should take oath from Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry because he is the constitutional Chief Justice of Pakistan. He urged the government to restore Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry before the new president takes oath.
Former president LHCBA Firdous Butt said the whole nation had been waiting for the day and the resignation of General Æ Pervez Musharraf was the great success of the lawyerís moment. He said now legal fraternity would bring him to justice where he would have to answer for all of his crimes.
Former finance secretary LHCBA Rabbiya Bajwa said the nation was looking forward to this day and now Musharraf has to face trail for his crimes that he had committed in during his unconstitutional regime. She said the lawyerís moment would succeed and all the deposed judges would be restored.

Lawyers infuse fresh spirit into movement

Friday, August 29, 2008

By Wajih Ahmad Sheikh and Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: Lawyers infused a fresh spirit in the movement for the restoration of independent judiciary here on Thursday by staging two-hour sit-ins across the country.
Demanding the PPP government stop dividing the judiciary by reinstating selected judges, the lawyers’ community called for restoring all the independent judges headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
In the provincial metropolis, the lawyers mainly paid two sit-ins: on The Mall in front of the Punjab Assembly and at PMG Chowk, the Lower Mall. The sit-ins caused severe traffic mess at least for two hours. The lawyers also staged sit-ins outside the Cantt and the Model Town courts.
The sit-ins were organised on the call of the Lawyers National Coordination Council after holding weekly protest rallies.
After attending the general house meetings of the Lahore High Court Bar Association and the Lahore Bar Association, the lawyers of the respective bars came out on roads and staged two-hour sit-in at the Punjab Assembly Chowk and PMG Chowk respectively.
Lawyers of the LHCBA were led by its president Anwar Kamal and president SCBA Aitzaz Ahsan.
Activists of different political parties and civil society organizations also joined the lawyersí rallies and sit-ins. However, thin participation of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz activists disappointed the lawyers who were anticipating that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz would join them with full force after their break up with the PPP.
It was observed that there was not a single MPA or MNA of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in the lawyers rally contrary to the previous routine when more than two member assemblies had been marching with them.
However, activists of Pakhtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party, the Jamat-e-Islami, Tehrik-e-Khaksar, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and the civil society activists joined the lawyers with full strength. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) chairperson Asma Jahangir and Bushra Aitzaz also joined the sit-in. The protestors chanted slogans for the en bloc restoration of the deposed judges. They also chanted slogans against PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and the present government.
Aitzaz tried to stop the charged lawyers from targeting the PPP in their slogans but failed to divert their target. He was of the view that it would not be fair to single out any political party. The lawyers also chanted slogans against the judges who had taken fresh oaths to get estored.
At the Punjab Assembly Chowk, the sit-in venue, LHCBA had installed a tent but Aitzaz asked the lawyers to spend the scheduled time under naked sun to make their protest effective. Some lawyers took shelter from the sun by standing under some trees. The sit-ins started at 12noon and remained till 2pm.
Strict security measures were taken by the City police to protect the protestors from any untoward incident. Traffic wardens were busy in keeping the traffic off The Mall.
Earlier, addressing the general house of LHCBA, Aitzaz Ahsan maintained that the lawyersí movement would continue till the restoration of all the ëdeposedí judges. He warned the government to restore the judges to their pre Nov-03 status or else face the movement. He said the lawyers had carried an important responsibility to save the country that was passing through the most critical phase of its history. He lamented that the ëdeposedí judges of the Sindh High Court had accepted fresh appointment contrary to the movement for the restoration of all the judges sacked under Nov-3 PCO.
He said, due to the lawyersí movement, a 13-member bench had restored ëdeposedí Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, General Musharraf shed his uniform, people rejected the Kingís party through their vote, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari signed the Murree-Accord to restore the judges and the dictator left the presidency finally.
Referring to PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardariís promise to restore the deposed judges after impeachment, Aitzaz said if someone did not honour his promise they could not throw stones at him. He said the lawyers had demonstrated their regard for the peaceful protest and warned the movement would fizzle out the day it turned violent.
President SCBA also claimed that the eight ëdeposedí judges of the SHC resumed their courts not because of efforts of Law Minister Farooq Naek but because of the hard work the lawyersí had done for the independence of judiciary and rule of law. However, he added, the ësackedí judges accepted their ouster on Nov-3 as legitimate by taking a fresh appointment.
He asked the PPP to remember the words of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, who had pledged to hoist national flag atop Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhryís residence.
The jam-packed hall of the bar echoed with slogans against Law Minister Farooq H. Naek and Attorney General Sardar Latif Khosa when Aitzaz said that Dogar was not the chief justice of Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.
He said Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry would accept the international conference, being held in Islamabad from October 9 to 12. He added on November 17, the New York Bar Association would confer its third honorary membership for life to Justice Iftikhar.
Previously, the award had been given to two persons including former South Africa President Nelson Mandela.
Anwar Kamal, Hafiz Abdul Rehman Ansari, Ahmad Awais, Wali Muhammad Khan and Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ahmad also addressed on the occasion.

Family of cop killed by ‘police’ awaits justice

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE
DESPITE Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s directions, the family of a trainee police constable, killed in a ‘police encounter’ in May 2007, is still awaiting justice.
Deceased Hassan Raza’s family, appearing in the CM’s open court, alleged that the two constables of the Mohafiz Force of Ghailb Market police, namely Ziaullah and Kashif, had killed their son in a fake encounter. Besides no case was registered against the accused and they were threatening the family for withdrawal of the judicial inquiry, they stated, adding that the accused had killed their son over a business deal. They said a judicial inquiry into the incident was going on for last one year but of no avail.
Hassan’s family had requested the CM for registration of a case against the accused under Section 302 on which the CM issued immediate orders. But SP Coordination Imran Arshad, present on the occasion, told the CM that no case could be registered against the accused under the said section in case of an ongoing judicial inquiry into the matter. However, the legal experts said that a case under any section could be registered at any time even during the judicial inquiry, the family maintained.
Later, a case under Section 506 was registered with the Gulberg Police Station against the accused while the CM assured the family that they would get justice within five to 10 days, directing PSO Nasim Sadiq to supervise the matter. But despite the passage of 36 days, no action was taken against the accused.
It is pertinent to mention that more than 100,000 judicial inquiries against police officials were initiated in the past but even a single judicial inquiry did not prove any police official guilty.
Talking to The News, Qasim Abbas, the victim’s uncle, said his nephew was running a books business in Urdu Bazaar and he had made a deal of worth Rs 1 million with Prof Haq Nawaz, the father of accused Kashif. He said, according to the business deal, Hassan gave Rs 500,000 to Haq Nawaz for the publishing books who refused to give him books and he demanded his money back.
“Prof Haq Nawaz called Hassan and informed him that his son Kashif would give him the money at Gulberg,” he said, adding that he and Hassan’s father also accompanied the victim when he was going to Gulberg to meet Kashif but both brothers stopped at Liberty to eat and Hassan went alone to meet Kashif, who along with Ziaullah, opened indiscriminate fire on him and presented the whole incident as an encounter.
The victim’s uncle said the police, in its fist statement, claimed that the encounter was genuine and Hassan was killed by the Mohafiz Force as he had offered resistance while snatching a bike.
But after half an hour, the police reverted its statement saying that Hassan and Maqsood were making an escape after snatching a car and the Mohafiz Force chased and killed them.
Talking to The News, Yaseen Mohal, the judicial magistrate concerned, said that the judicial inquiry into the encounter would be completed soon. Answering a question regarding the delay in inquiry, he said at first the judicial inquiry was transferred and later the doctor did not appear before the court to record his statement. Magistrate Yaseen Mohal said the court issued summons for the doctor again and again but could not appear before the court as he was out of the country. Now the court would take up the case on Thursday (tomorrow), he said.
Gulberg Division ASP Nasir Ali Rizvi could not be reached on his cell number 0322-4440512 despite repeated calls made by this correspondent. A text message was also sent to his cell number but he did not respond, which suggested that he did not want to give his version on the issue.

Ombudsman report for 2007

2,135 complaints against Education Department

Sunday, December 28, 2008

By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: WITH the education department on top with 2135 public complaints, the Ombudsman, Punjab, received a total of 13681 complaints during the year 2007.
The police department was second against which the Ombudsman’s office got 2049 complaints. The revenue department stood third with 1329 complaints.
The annual report 2007 of the Punjab Ombudsman also revealed that the district Lahore stood on top of the all districts from where 1682 people came to Ombudsman to get justice.
District Faisalabad was second with 829 complaints and district Rahim-Yar-Khan ranked third with 707 complaints. While the smallest number of complaints were received from District Attock, from where only 61 complaints were filed.
Out of total 13681 complaints, 6286 were maintainable and 7395 were non-maintainable. The nature of maladministration reflected in 52 per cent maintainable complaints was inattention, delay, inefficiency and ineptitude while 37 per cent complaints were related with administrative, excessive, discrimination, favoritism, arbitrary, unjust and biased decisions. And lastly 11 per cent complaints were against corrupt practices.
This was revealed in an annual report compiled by the office of former Punjab Ombudsman Abdul Rashid Khan, who submitted this report to the former Punjab governor.
During the year under report, 452 representations against the findings/recommendations of the ombudsman were decided by the governor, out of which in 409 cases the orders of the ombudsman were upheld and representations were rejected. Some 25 representations were accepted and in 18 cases findings given by the ombudsman were modified.
The details of the complaints department wise listed in the report were as follows:
The Ombudsman office received 13681 complaints against fifty different departments in which 884 complaints were against the Local Govt and the Rural Development, 721 against the Health department, Irrigation & Power 664, Benevolent Fund Board 487, Account and General Punjab 310, Communication and Works 301, Universities 265, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education 238, Agriculture 232, Water and Sanitation Agencies 227, District Governments 165, Development Authorities 153, Forestry and Wild Life and Fisheries 150, Excise and Taxation 149, Zakat and Ushar 134, Baitulmal 127, Housing Urban Development and Public Health and Engineering 124, Home and Jails 116, Anti Corruption Establishment 105, Population Welfare 101, Food, 97, TEVTA 96, Auqaf Religious and Minorities Affairs 86, Live Stock and Dairy Development 56, Cooperatives 54, Neighbor and Human Resource 42, Industries 42, Services and General Administration 40, PESSI 37, Transport 35, Punjab Public Service Commission 18, Law and Parliamentary Affairs 17, Punjab Board of Technical Education 17, Information Culture and Youth Affairs 15, Social Welfare and Woman Development 13, Finance 13, Environment Protection 12, EOBI 11, Printing Press 7, Punjab Small Industries 7, Planning and Development 7, Mines and Minerals 5, Parks and Horticulture Authorities 5, Sports 4, Punjab Text Book Board 3, Prosecution Department 2, and 1 from MPDD. The details of the complaints district wise listed in the report were as follows:
The Ombudsman’s Office received 375 complaints from Multan district, Jhang 603, Bhawalnagar 580, Sargodha 568, Gujranwala 483, Khanewal 434, Bahwalpur 428, Okara 408, Sheikhupura 404, Sialkot 385, Mianwali 382, Kasur 382, Muzafargarh 377, Daira Ghazi Khan 343, Sahiwal 334, Vihari 322, Toba Take Singh 315, Rawalpindi 302, Pakpatan 265, Khushab 265, Nanakana Sahib 258, Mandi Bahuading 234, Hafiz Abad 233, Gujrat 219, Bhakar 209, Rajnapur 195, Narowal 179, Layyah 133, Lodhran 103, Jehlum 96, Chakwal 83 and Attock 61.
Meanwhile, the Ombudsman Punjab received 40 complaints from other provinces and 14 complaints from abroad.
The report stated that the education department should take serious cognizance of unauthorized occupation of school buildings/lands by influential persons and retrieve the land.
About the universities and boards, the ombudsman recommended that the degrees and duplicate certificate result as replica of the original.
About the health department, the report said that drug inspectors often failed to check quackery and they were carrying on their business with impunity.


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