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Posts published in May 2013

World Bank trying to make Bhasha Dam controversial

by  Ansar Abbasi  in The News, May 31 ISLAMABAD: After Kalabagh, the smooth and early construction of the promised Diamer-Bhasha Dam (DBD), which would produce 4,500MW electricity and store 8,000,000 acres feet of water, is being endangered both by the World Bank and the present chairman of Wapda. An official note recently circulated by former chairman Wapda and presently adviser to the Ministry of Water and Power on DBD, Shakil Durrani, to all concerned reveals…

Why they killed Arif Shahid; by Pervez Hoodbhoy in The Express Tribune, May 31

The writer retired as professor of physics from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad On the evening of May 13, an assassin stepped out of a car that had just driven to the doorstep of Sardar Arif Shahid’s residence in Rawalpindi. He waited for the 62-year-old Kashmiri leader to arrive. After pumping four bullets into him, the killer calmly got back into the car and was whisked away. A major Kashmiri nationalist leader, chairman of the All Parties…

Endless deaths: Inquiry ordered into infant, maternal mortality at G-B hospitals

By Shabbir Mir  in The Express Tribune, May 31 GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) government has ordered an inquiry into incidents of back-to-back fatalities of mothers and newborns in G-B’s public hospitals. The first incident was reported on May 23 when a mother and her newborn died during labour at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH), Gilgit’s largest government hospital. The deceased belonged to Nagar, a valley in Hunza Nagar district. In another similar incident, a young…

GB governor removal may raise constitutional issues

By Peer Muhammad  in The Express Tribune, May 31 ISLAMABAD: A constitutional issue seems to have emerged regarding the procedure for the removal of the governor of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), as the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order-2009 is totally silent in this regard. The question is: should President Asif Zardari follow the recommendation of the upcoming prime minister and replace the PPP-affiliated governor of the GB territory with a PML-N nominee? The Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz…

Neelum Jhelum project: China to provide $448m for stepping up work

LAHORE: Exim Bank of China will provide Pakistan $448 million for the strategically important 969-megawatt Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project and an agreement in this connection has been signed between the two sides. “This agreement is a significant development in efforts to secure financial resources for (completing) the remaining work on under-construction Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project,” said a press release issued by the Water and Power Development Authority here on Tuesday. The Neelum Jhelum project, being…

Nawaz shouldn’t meddle in G-B govt affairs, says Shah

By Shabbir Mir  in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2013. GILGIT: Mehdi Shah, the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, warned Nawaz Sharif against ‘meddling’ with the PPP-led government in the region. “Attempts to dislodge our government will lead to a contest closely observed by the media and the public,” he told reporters on Tuesday. However, Shah admitted this was a defensive stance, with no visible provocation as yet from the PML-N camp. “We are sure he…

Governor GB to be replaced

By Peer Muhammad in The Express Tribune, May 28 ISLAMABAD: The race for the prized governorship of the country’s alpine region of Gilgit Baltistan is in full swing, with aspirants jockeying for position as the incumbent Governor, Pir Karam Ali Shah is likely to be replaced soon after the new setup is installed in Islamabad. Shah, who was selected to be governor by the former Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government, assumed office in 2012 after…

Protesters run amok in Mirpur : report in The Express Tribune, May 28

MIRPUR / MUZAFFARABAD: Frequent and prolonged power outages in the sultry summer sparked rampant protests in several towns and cities of the country on Monday. While elsewhere the protests were mostly peaceful, in Mirpur protesters ran amok berserk, setting fire to public and private properties. Hundreds of people took to the streets against unscheduled load shedding in Mirpur which is home to the second largest hydel power plant: Mangla Dam. However, they turned violent when…

G-B lawmaker raises concern over leakages in Satpara Dam

By Shabbir Mir  in The Express Tribune, May 24 GILGIT: A lawmaker in the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Assembly, Amina Ansari on Thursday voiced concern over water leakages at seven points of the Satpara Dam, saying substandard construction is putting the lives of people living downstream at risk. The 560-feet long and 128-feet high dam is located on Satpara Lake, five kilometers from Skardu. Its construction started in 2003 and is almost complete. The dam is expected…

China to pace work on Attabad Lake, KKH upgrading

ISLAMABAD – The  joint statement on comprehensive strategic cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan issued on Thursday said the two sides will make concerted efforts to continuously improve connectivity between China and Pakistan, accelerate work on the Attabad Lake blocking the Karakorum Highway (KKH), carry forward the project of the upgrading of the KKH and the national highway network post-flood rehabilitation project, and promote cooperation in building transport…

Repeated Summons: Ad warns of court action against assembly speaker

GILGIT: A civil court has issued an advertisement, expected to appear in Tuesday’s (today) newspapers, requesting Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Assembly Speaker Wazir Baig to appear before the court and respond to a case filed against him. The ad, issued by civil court judge Justice Luqman Hakeen, claims Baig did not appear before the court despite being repeatedly summoned for a hearing into a petition filed by Balawaristan National Front (BNF) Chairman Mohammad Rafiq against him. Baig…