SC smells a rat in RPPs contracts;
CJP says things not going right as arbitration being done in London while sellers and buyers are Pakistanis
News Watch deskCJP says things not going right as arbitration being done in London while sellers and buyers are Pakistanis
Voice of Hunza
ISLAMABAD, October 30:
Prima facie things are not going in the right direction as arbitration is being done in London when both he sellers and buyers are Pakistanis, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Thursday. He observed this while heading a three-member Supreme Court bench, which was hearing pleas regarding allegations of corruption in the rental power projects (RPPs) contract and the government’s decision to increase electricity tariff, especially when the supply was irregular. The other members of the bench were Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday. The CJP observed that general consumers were suffering a lot due to the government’s decision to purchase electricity on high rates. He said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) report levelling serious allegations of corruption in awarding the contract of RPPs would not be ignored while deciding the matter. The court directed Khawaja Tariq Rahim, counsel for the Water and Power Ministry and PEPCO, to prepare a complete synopsis of the RPPs and present it before the court on the next date of hearing. He was also directed to provide complete infrastructure of the RPPs in the next hearing. He was further directed to inform the court how much money had been spent on the RPPs. It asked him why the government had purchased electricity on high rates, as its burden would ultimately shift to the general consumers. Justice Ramday asked, “Had the government intimated the general public that they will have to pay heavy costs due to the RPPs?” Rahim said the power rates would not be compared to the rates of independent power producers. The CJP asked him about the place of arbitration on the dispute, to which he replied that it could be held in the courts of London. The court inquired the counsel why 14 percent had been paid in advance to the RPPs instead of the agreed seven percent. The counsel said since Pakistan had a low economic rating, the banks were not ready to openly confirm the standby letter of credits, thus they had to pay 14 percent in advance. Daily TimesAsma Jahangir Wins Cutthroat Contest
Monitoring Report
ma Jahangir was elected the first female president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) following a neck-to-neck competition on Wednesday. Official results would be announced on October 31. According to unofficial results, Asma received 957 of the total 2,026 SCBA votes from countrywide balloting, with the runner up, Ahmed Awais, bagging 929 votes. The candidate in the race, Akram Chaudhry received 127 votes. Lahore, which is a traditional stronghold of the Professional Group, gave a lead of 10 votes to Asma over Awais. Asma’s panel almost completely outshone Awais’ side, as the second most important seat of the SCBA secretary also went to her group. Talking to reporters Asma said it was not her victoralone, but that of enlightenment and moderation that was taking roots in the country. “It is a success of all the forces of enlightenment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Peshawar where I won the elections with a huge margin. Peshawar’s lawyers have cast their votes in favour of moderation and rejected orthodox thinking and narrow mindedness,” she said. She said her group would intensify the prevailing tension between the judiciary and the executive, and do what was permitted by the law and the constitution. Courtesy:Breaking News WeekThree F-16 jets reach Pakistan
Monitoring ReportLAHORE, Oct. 28:(Muhammad Ejaz) Second consignment of 3 United States F-16 fighter jets reached in Pakistan on Saturday, and two are expected to arrive in next week.
Out of 18 jets, that US promised to deliver by the end of this year, 3 fighter planes have been already given to Pakistan while 3 came today and the remaining will be handed over by the end of December. F-16 landed at Shahbaz Airbase in Jacobabad, Aaj tv reported.
Polling starts in SCBA presidential election
News Watch
LAHORE, October 27: Elections for the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) were being held on Wednesday. Strong competition was likely between Asma Jahangir, the legendary human- ights activist, and Ahmad Awais, a candidate of the Hamid Khan-led ‘Professional Group’ which, according to legal circles, often courts right-wing support among the bar.
Tough competition was likely between Asma Jahangir and Ahmad Awais in the election. — Photo by AFP
Polling began around 8:30 am and is expected to end at 5:00 pm.A third candidate contesting in the SCBA presidential election is Ikram Chaudhry. Chaudhry is a veteran of bar politics with significant support in Rawalpindi and also some in Lahore. His presence in the field could funnel away some support from Jahangir.-Dawn Tv
Tough competition was likely between Asma Jahangir and Ahmad Awais in the election. — Photo by AFP
Polling began around 8:30 am and is expected to end at 5:00 pm.A third candidate contesting in the SCBA presidential election is Ikram Chaudhry. Chaudhry is a veteran of bar politics with significant support in Rawalpindi and also some in Lahore. His presence in the field could funnel away some support from Jahangir.-Dawn Tv
UN bodies urge Pakistan to prevent ‘victimization’
Monitoring Desk
ber 26: Three UN human rights bodies on Wednesday called on Pakistan to ensure that women, minorities and the disabled were spared “further victimization” during the recovery from devastating floods. “The floods have disproportionately affected them,” they said in a joint statement. “Members of minority communities, Afghan refugees, women, children and persons with disabilities, particularly those living in rural areas, were already among the most vulnerable in Pakistani society.” The statement called on Pakistanis authorities “to strengthen the human rights-based approach of their efforts, in order to prevent further victimization of the most vulnerable population.” In the flood hit north-western Khyber Pakhtunkwa province, scene of fighting between militants and government forces, women and especially girls have been denied access to basic health and education, according to the UN.-The NationBottled water causing deadly diseases
Monitoring Report
Monitoring Report
ISLAMABAD, October 23: Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) had said that nineteen of the 66 brands of bottled or mineral water being 
sold in the country is unsafe for human consumption which may cause deadly diseases like cancer, cholera, diarrhoea and heart diseases. All samples were scientifically analysed at ISO-17025 accredited National Water Quality Laboratory in Islamabad for microbiological and physcio-chemical parameters according to international standards and permissible limits of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA). Official sources said its findings were based on scientific analysis of samples of bottled water collected in 11 major cities across the country from April to June this year. Sources said that the unsafe brands of bottled water were not only contained bacteriological contamination, but also arsenic, potassium, fluoride and sodium contents much beyond safe and permissible limits. Report said that the bacteriologically contaminated bottled water had the potential of causing cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis and typhoid, while arsenic contamination could result in cancers to lungs, bladder, skin, prostrate, kidney, nose and liver, besides diabetes, kidney diseases, hypertension, heart diseases and birth defects.
According to official sources overall 19 brands were found unsafe for human consumption, including 18 chemically and 1 microbiologically, while 47 brands were found safe. During previous quarter (January-March), 33 brands were found unsafe. He said that presence of potassium, fluoride and sodium beyond a certain limit could cause lung cancer, hyperkalemia, abnormal breakdown of protein, skeletal and dental flourosis and hypertension.
The brands with bacteriological and chemical contamination included Coozy, So Safe and Alfa (in Hyderabad and Karachi), Golden (in Quetta and Lahore), Pak Crystal, Light Water, Nation, Pan Pura, Clear, Fine Soul, Unique Water and Taiba (in Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Multan and Lahore), Fairmont and Omni (in Karachi), Niamat, Aqua National, Pacific and Lock (in Lahore) and Hunza (in Sialkot and Jhelum). The survey revealed that although 47 brands were found safe in April-June period, only 30 were consistent with their presence in the market - 33 brands disappeared from the market after March this year, but 36 new brands made their way into the market, indicating that some of them might have re-emerged with a new label after having been banned by the government. The samples were collected in April from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Bahawalpur, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sahiwal and Sialkot. Laboratory findings were compared with permissible limits of the Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority.- Courtesy: The Post
Malik said, the government had chalked out its strategy during the meeting with all political parties in Karachi, adding that terrorists had no ideology or affiliation with any political party, but used and took shelter of different political parties to disturb the law and order situation in the country. Daily Times
amework” to combat the adverse impacts of climate change.Addressing the concluding session of the “International Conference on Climate Change and Development” at Aiwan-e- Sadr the President said “the issue of climate change is not the concern of any single country, it is a global issue and concerns the whole of mankind.”
Briefing journalists, Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying that the international conference was an important milestone showing joint efforts of the government and people of Pakistan to face the challenges of climate change. The President said that climate change has emerged not only as a major environmental issue, but also a multi-dimensional development issue and has posed challenge to all thinkers, planners, policy-makers and professionals from all countries and all nations. According to the speech text the President said that though Pakistan contributes minimally to world’s total greenhouse gases emissions, yet it was faced with severe climate change. He said these were impacting sea level rise, extreme weather, melting of glaciers, fluctuation in monsoon and droughts and floods besides stress on Pakistan’s agriculture and livestock. The President said the impact of monsoon has come as a hard reality for Pakistan this year, as massive floods, that might have been caused by climate change, brought widespread devastations across the country. President Zardari said Pakistan being one of the early signatory of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has undertaken a number of steps to address the issue of climate change.
These includes setting up of Task Force on Climate Change, establishment of Prime Minister’s committee on climate change and development of national policies on environment, conservation of forests, energy and drinking water. A comprehensive “Climate Change Strategy and Action Framework” was being developed by the government with consensus of all the stake holders, the President said. The President said it was not for the first time that the government was formulating environmental strategies but actually it was the PPP government under the leadership of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto that gave the country environmental laws to safeguard the future generation from harmful effects of environment.“We will take it forward to the coming generations,” he added.
The President said that discussion on climate change sometimes becomes too technical with focus on what goes on in the atmosphere and very little attention is paid to its impact on the poor people. The spokesperson quoted the President as saying “We are here to recognize the human face of climate change. It is the face of dying animals and ecosystems and members of our own species “It is our face.”
The President while commenting on the damages brought by the massive floods in the country said that the recent floods have devastated infrastructure, agriculture and economy. More than 1,700 people died and over a million lost their homes, he said. The President while referring to the measures undertaken for rehabilitation of flood victims said that the task of rehabilitation and reconstruction was too big for the government to tackle on its own. While the government, international humanitarian agencies and local charities continue are doing all they can but we need greater international assistance to meet the challenge confronting us, he said. The spokesperson quoted the President as saying “I have often said that our well to do people have to come forward and help in the task of rehabilitation and reconstruction. That is why I have proposed to the federal and provincial governments to impose a one time flood surcharge on well to do people. The International community will help us but we must first help ourselves,” he said. The President said that the vulnerability to flood damage was largely the consequence of human actions and choices instead of acts of nature. He said that there was a need to focus on decisions that will contribute to climate preservation and added that we need to take decisions on issues of urban planning, on conservation of forests and on development of marginal lands.
The President while referring to the severe impact of climate change on national economy said “climate change was adversely affecting social well being of our people, our economic development, our water availability, our food security and human health.”
He said that agriculture is the mainstay of the economy as Pakistan was basically an agricultural country. The President said, “agricultural productivity in Pakistan is being affected due to changes in land and water regimes.” He said dry land areas are highly vulnerable, as these regions are already facing significant water shortages and temperatures are rising.
sold in the country is unsafe for human consumption which may cause deadly diseases like cancer, cholera, diarrhoea and heart diseases. All samples were scientifically analysed at ISO-17025 accredited National Water Quality Laboratory in Islamabad for microbiological and physcio-chemical parameters according to international standards and permissible limits of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA). Official sources said its findings were based on scientific analysis of samples of bottled water collected in 11 major cities across the country from April to June this year. Sources said that the unsafe brands of bottled water were not only contained bacteriological contamination, but also arsenic, potassium, fluoride and sodium contents much beyond safe and permissible limits. Report said that the bacteriologically contaminated bottled water had the potential of causing cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis and typhoid, while arsenic contamination could result in cancers to lungs, bladder, skin, prostrate, kidney, nose and liver, besides diabetes, kidney diseases, hypertension, heart diseases and birth defects.According to official sources overall 19 brands were found unsafe for human consumption, including 18 chemically and 1 microbiologically, while 47 brands were found safe. During previous quarter (January-March), 33 brands were found unsafe. He said that presence of potassium, fluoride and sodium beyond a certain limit could cause lung cancer, hyperkalemia, abnormal breakdown of protein, skeletal and dental flourosis and hypertension.
The brands with bacteriological and chemical contamination included Coozy, So Safe and Alfa (in Hyderabad and Karachi), Golden (in Quetta and Lahore), Pak Crystal, Light Water, Nation, Pan Pura, Clear, Fine Soul, Unique Water and Taiba (in Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Multan and Lahore), Fairmont and Omni (in Karachi), Niamat, Aqua National, Pacific and Lock (in Lahore) and Hunza (in Sialkot and Jhelum). The survey revealed that although 47 brands were found safe in April-June period, only 30 were consistent with their presence in the market - 33 brands disappeared from the market after March this year, but 36 new brands made their way into the market, indicating that some of them might have re-emerged with a new label after having been banned by the government. The samples were collected in April from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Bahawalpur, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sahiwal and Sialkot. Laboratory findings were compared with permissible limits of the Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority.- Courtesy: The Post
‘Secret operation’ launched in Karachi:Malik
Monitoring Report
KARACHI,Octber 23: Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Friday that a secret operation has been launched in order to counter the target killings in Karachi. Addressing a joint press conference along with Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza, Malik said, “We shall restore peace in Karachi and other parts of the country, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other northern areas. He said strict action will be taken against those challenging the writ of the state, and the government would not talk with them, adding that the government had broken the back of terrorists by launching a successful operation against them in the northwest.Monitoring Report
Malik said, the government had chalked out its strategy during the meeting with all political parties in Karachi, adding that terrorists had no ideology or affiliation with any political party, but used and took shelter of different political parties to disturb the law and order situation in the country. Daily Times
President for early finalisation of climate change strategy
VoH Watch Dog
ISLAMABAD, Oct 23 (APP): President Asif Ali Zardari Friday directed ministry of environment for early finalization of the “Climate Change Strategy and Action FrVoH Watch Dog
amework” to combat the adverse impacts of climate change.Addressing the concluding session of the “International Conference on Climate Change and Development” at Aiwan-e- Sadr the President said “the issue of climate change is not the concern of any single country, it is a global issue and concerns the whole of mankind.”Briefing journalists, Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying that the international conference was an important milestone showing joint efforts of the government and people of Pakistan to face the challenges of climate change. The President said that climate change has emerged not only as a major environmental issue, but also a multi-dimensional development issue and has posed challenge to all thinkers, planners, policy-makers and professionals from all countries and all nations. According to the speech text the President said that though Pakistan contributes minimally to world’s total greenhouse gases emissions, yet it was faced with severe climate change. He said these were impacting sea level rise, extreme weather, melting of glaciers, fluctuation in monsoon and droughts and floods besides stress on Pakistan’s agriculture and livestock. The President said the impact of monsoon has come as a hard reality for Pakistan this year, as massive floods, that might have been caused by climate change, brought widespread devastations across the country. President Zardari said Pakistan being one of the early signatory of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has undertaken a number of steps to address the issue of climate change.
These includes setting up of Task Force on Climate Change, establishment of Prime Minister’s committee on climate change and development of national policies on environment, conservation of forests, energy and drinking water. A comprehensive “Climate Change Strategy and Action Framework” was being developed by the government with consensus of all the stake holders, the President said. The President said it was not for the first time that the government was formulating environmental strategies but actually it was the PPP government under the leadership of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto that gave the country environmental laws to safeguard the future generation from harmful effects of environment.“We will take it forward to the coming generations,” he added.
The President said that discussion on climate change sometimes becomes too technical with focus on what goes on in the atmosphere and very little attention is paid to its impact on the poor people. The spokesperson quoted the President as saying “We are here to recognize the human face of climate change. It is the face of dying animals and ecosystems and members of our own species “It is our face.”
The President while commenting on the damages brought by the massive floods in the country said that the recent floods have devastated infrastructure, agriculture and economy. More than 1,700 people died and over a million lost their homes, he said. The President while referring to the measures undertaken for rehabilitation of flood victims said that the task of rehabilitation and reconstruction was too big for the government to tackle on its own. While the government, international humanitarian agencies and local charities continue are doing all they can but we need greater international assistance to meet the challenge confronting us, he said. The spokesperson quoted the President as saying “I have often said that our well to do people have to come forward and help in the task of rehabilitation and reconstruction. That is why I have proposed to the federal and provincial governments to impose a one time flood surcharge on well to do people. The International community will help us but we must first help ourselves,” he said. The President said that the vulnerability to flood damage was largely the consequence of human actions and choices instead of acts of nature. He said that there was a need to focus on decisions that will contribute to climate preservation and added that we need to take decisions on issues of urban planning, on conservation of forests and on development of marginal lands.
The President while referring to the severe impact of climate change on national economy said “climate change was adversely affecting social well being of our people, our economic development, our water availability, our food security and human health.”
He said that agriculture is the mainstay of the economy as Pakistan was basically an agricultural country. The President said, “agricultural productivity in Pakistan is being affected due to changes in land and water regimes.” He said dry land areas are highly vulnerable, as these regions are already facing significant water shortages and temperatures are rising.
No comments:
Post a Comment