Category: Karachi

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah presiding over a meeting on BRTs, Yellow Line and Red Line decided to construct an alternate bridge at Jam Sadique bridge and acquire 32 acres of land at Cattle Colony for the installation of biogas plant at Bhains Colony. The meeting was attended by Minister Transport Sharjeel Memon, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, PSCM Fayaz Jatoi, Secretary Finance Sajid Jamal Abro, Secretary LG Najam Shah, Secretary Transport Haleem Shaikh, and others.

Minister Transport Sharjeel Memon briefing the chief minister said that the overarching objective of the project was to improve mobility, accessibility, and, safety along the Yellow BRT corridor alignment. Mr Memon told the CM that the BRT Yellow Line project was being launched with the assistance of the World Bank for Rs61 billion. He added that it was a 2km main corridor right from Dawood Chowrangi to Numaish and would have two depots, one at Dawood Chowrangi and other at Christian Colony.

According to Mr. Sharjeel, BRT will have 28 stations, including six underpass stations, nine underpasses, two U-Turns and two-bridges. He disclosed that the BRT Yellow Line will have 268 diesel hybrid buses with regular ridership of 300,000 per day. It was pointed out that BRT Yellow Line will have 80-100 km off-corridor road facilities which needed to be improved.

Mr Shah directed the P and D and Transport dept to finalize the alignment of Jam Sadiq Bridge alternate as a right of way of the Yellow Line so that work on the proposed bridge could be started. He added that he had assured the World Bank team that the remaining formalities of the bridge and the overall project would be finalized at the earliest to launch the project.

Transport Minister Sharjeel Memnon told the CM that the Consultancy Contract for procurement of consulting services for the preparation of the detailed design has been awarded. He added that the consultants have submitted technical reports which were being reviewed. The chief minister was told that the Yellow Line need 10 acres of land for BRT Yellow Line Depot for which the Cm directed the chief secretary to arrange the land in the Gulshan Iqbal area.

Red Line: The chief minister was told that the work on BRT Red Line was in progress on a war footing. Sharjeel Memon told the CM that the work on the development of the infrastructure of Red Line would be completed by mid of 2024. He raised the issue of the installation of a Biogas plant for Redline at Cattle Colony. The CM directed the local govt dept to arrange 32-acre land at Colony so that plant could be installed.

KARACHI:: Residents of Burns Garden at Muhammad Bin Qasim Road has asked Administrator Karachi, Deputy Commissioner South, and Sindh Rangers against what they said illegal parking charge by Peoples Square management in the residential area.

In a letter written to Administrator Karachi, Deputy Commissioner South, Sindh Rangers, Municipal Commissioner KMC, Assistant Commissioner Arambagh and Administrator South, the residents stated that they had been living in the vicinity for the past many years and parking their vehicles in their jurisdiction.

“From 1st November 2022, the people belonging to Peoples Square started charging Rs 80 and Rs 30 for car and bike, respectively, for parking,” they added. The area people requested the authorities to look into the issue and get them rid of this problem.

Karachi: KE said Tuesday that it has taken another pioneering step within Pakistan’s power sector to address climate change by introducing its new “Hara bill,” an effective, smarter, and environmentally friendlier way of communicating vital billing information with its customers from the month of November.

Climate change is impacting our environment in unimaginable ways, and the need of the hour is to move from ambition to action. KE is tackling today’s challenges in Pakistan’s power sector by revisiting its core processes and identifying opportunities for improvement.

We are committed to add cleaner, greener, and efficient energy into our generation mix as we look to the next decade. Innovation and digitization of services is shifting the company towards an increasingly paperless environment. The next opportunity was to integrate this sustainable mindset towards our customer base of over 3.4 million, many of whom are receiving paper bills.

The breakthrough is in the introduction of a new, environmentally friendly bill which immediately inducts KE’s entire customer base as protectors of the environment. A simple move with a big impact preventing over 92 tonnes of paper-based waste entering Karachi’s landfills, preserving over 4200 trees, and over 265 million liters of water on an annual basis.

At a time when the world prepares for COP27 and reevaluates its alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this new bill provides an opportunity for responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), takes urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (SDG 13), and protects terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15).

Speaking on this initiative, CEO Moonis Alvi remarked, “Our new green bill perfectly embodies KE’s ethos and philosophy on sustainability and represents an extensive design and process evaluation effort. This bill is a concrete and immediate step to conserve existing resources and lower our carbon footprint. In parallel, our future plans are geared towards achieving 30 by 30 – 30% renewable generation by the year 2030.”

Paper production is one of the world’s top industrial processes and globally consumes precious natural resources. This qadam reduces KE’s footprint and sets the precedent for industry players to follow. Today’s actions are securing our tomorrow, and KE is committed to leading this change from the front.

Karachi: Leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Shiekh here Tuesday said some ‘political dwarfs’ are criticising Imran Khan, who is a great leader of Islamic world. These jokers are using unparliamentary language against Khan to please their paymasters.

Addressing a crowded press conference at the Sindh Assembly, he said Imran Khan lives in the hearts of whole nation. He said we can’t reply these critics in same currency as our moral values and family training do not allow us for it.

He said Khan is recovering fastly, by grace of Allah, the Almighty. He said under a dark conspiracy, Imran Khan was attacked in the same manner Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto was attacked. He the beneficiaries of the martyrdom of Muhtarma are in rule. Had she were alive, the people like minister for system would never be in government.

Haleem Adil said our long march is resuming from Thursday. When it would reach Rawalpindi, a sea of people would join it. He said insha’Allah the PTI would form next government with two-third majority. He said present system is corrupt. He said hidden hands run the government. He said the FIR of attack on a former Prime Minister could not be lodged due to this system.

He demanded to include IGP Punjab in the probe. He said the arrested accused is just a puppet. He said we don’t accept the present FIR. He said three names given by Imran Khan should be included in FIR.

He said the Local Government Act was against the constitution and we protested against it. He said Sindh Assembly have formed a select committee, but only one meeting of it was held and they did not seek our suggestions. He said all other parties are running away from the local government polls. He said we are rejecting the local government ordinance that these people want to introduce.

Haleem Adil said six thousand cops of Sindh police are sent to Islamabad while the bandits rule the Kacha area and police officers are being martyred there.

He condemned police torture on protesting employees of health department. He said Imran Khan would visit Sindh after the announcement of local government elections. He said we will eradicate Zardari mafia from Sindh. He said we respect courts. He said PTI leader Subhan Sahil was arrested in a fake case and the court ordered to quash that case. He said Makhdoom Fazal Hussain Shah was arrested from Matiari and 25 police mobiles came to arrest him.

Karachi: A high-level meeting was held between the Governor, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Director General, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on November 8, 2022. The meeting took stock of illicit foreign exchange activities and chalked out a comprehensive plan of action against illegal foreign exchange businesses being carried out in the country. It was agreed during the meeting that concerted joint effort is required to apprehend and implicate the illegal foreign exchange operators and speculators across the country.

Accordingly, SBP and FIA have jointly initiated action against illegal foreign exchange operators in Pakistan. To this effect, joint teams from SBP and FIA shall identify and take penal/legal action against the perpetrators so as to curb speculation and the grey market. The teams, while remaining within the legal mandate allowed to them by the relevant laws, would crack down on all illegal foreign exchange operators and businesses across Pakistan.

Banks and Exchange Companies are authorized by the SBP to carry out Foreign Exchange business in Pakistan. Involvement of any person or entity, other than banks and Exchange Companies, in foreign exchange business is illegal under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947. The illegal foreign exchange business also adversely affects the open market exchange rate and increases the gap between the interbank and open market exchange rate.

Karachi: Shan Foods joined hands with Indus Hospital and Health Network (IHHN) as one of the key sponsors and participating team at the 2nd IHNN annual Corporate Cricket Championship to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer treatment.

The two-day Corporate Cricket Championship is an annual initiative by IHHN as a means to gather corporate community to support their mission to provide free-of-cost quality healthcare to the people of Pakistan.

Pakistan has a vulnerable position in terms of cancer treatment. About 8,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year, 50% of which have no access to treatment owing to a lack of specialized oncology centres while 70% do not complete treatment.

Shan Foods, in addition to sponsoring 2nd IHNN annual Corporate Championship event, also participated as a playing team at the tournament where its employees played against teams from other participating organizations in an exciting cricket match for the cause of ensuring pediatric cancer patients, regardless of their socioeconomic status, a chance at healthy life. All proceeds from the tournament will be donated to ensure provision of complete treatment of pediatric cancer patients.

Maria Rashdi, Head of Corporate Communications and PR Shan Foods, said, “Shan Foods is pleased and honored to support Indus Hospital in its fight against pediatric cancer. Easy access to affordable and quality healthcare is a right of every individual.

This is very encouraging to see the entire corporate sector come together for the cause. We appreciate IHHN efforts for it. Shan Foods will always stand by the cause and is committed to contribute towards the health and wellbeing of our children.”

Expressing his appreciation for Shan Foods’ contribution to making the tournament and its mission successful, Haider Rizvi, Senior Corporate Relationship Manager Indus Hospital and Health Network, said “Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children and adolescents.

With our vision to provide excellence-driven healthcare services free for all, IHHN is committed to ensuring access to complete treatment to pediatric cancer patients with the global goal of reducing childhood cancer mortality.

The idea behind our annual corporate championships is to bring public-private sectors to join the cause while also promoting a healthy sport. I would like to thank Shan Foods for supporting our efforts to offer the people of Pakistan free, high-quality healthcare.” As part of its prior partnership with IHHN, Shan Foods also sponsors chemotherapy sessions for pediatric cancer patients every three months for over a year.

KARACHI: The Humanities Department of NED University of Engineering and Technology in collaboration with the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network hosted a five-day creative writing for ‘Peace, Human Rights, Social Cohesion, Democracy, and Freedom of Expression’ Master Class.

The class provided participants with mentoring and essential training to expand their ideas and initiatives to promote peace, prosperity, social cohesion, democratic practices, and freedom of expression.

PUAN alumni working as senior professionals, writers, and social activists in public and private sector organizations attended the five-day event. Some highlights included workshops and panel discussions by academics, intellectuals, and politicians like Mehtab Akbar Rashidi, Syed Maaz Shah, Dr. Erum Hafeez, Dr. Shehla Najib Sidiki, Lubna Jerar Naqvi, Bina Shah, IOWA alumna and author and Dr. Fatima Dar. Guests shared their perceptions, experiences, and thoughts on issues related to the event’s themes, emphasizing an urgent need to create awareness through the constructive processes of reading and writing.

Prof. Dr. Sajida Zaki, Chairperson, Humanities Department of NED University, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tufail, Pro Vice-Chancellor of NED University of Engineering and Technology, Nicole Theriot, the Consul General of the U.S. Consulate General Karachi, presided over the closing ceremony. Prof. Dr. Sajida Zaki highlighted the outcomes of the PUAN initiative as being advantageous for both participants and the nation in their pursuit of peace and prosperity.

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tufail, Pro Vice Chancellor of NED University, complimented the PUAN initiative aimed at building social institutions by fostering the development of fundamental communication abilities among the participants. Nicole Theriot, the guest of honor at the ceremony, praised organizers and attendees for their efforts in promoting professional development and inclusivity in Pakistan by preparing individuals ready to work for democracy, human rights, and peace in the region. The ceremony concluded with the distribution of certificates and mementos to the attendees and organizers.

The Master Class provided a wonderful opportunity for participants to acknowledge creative writing as an important tool to build peace and promote freedom of expression across communities and regions. PUAN is excited to spark a wave of sustained participation for future collaborations. Established and emerging writers from across Pakistan participated in the event. Earlier this year, PUAN partnered with other universities for similar masterclasses on air quality and countering fake news.