By Shabbir Mir in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2014. GILGIT: Renowned bureaucrat and former managing director of government-sponsored Northern Areas Transport Corporation (Natco), Zafar Iqbal, announced his ambition to step into active politics on Monday. Iqbal made the announcement to a gathering of select political figures from various parties of Gilgit. They included Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) regional chief Hafizur Rahman, former Gilgit-Baltistan legislative assembly speaker Wazir Baig, former senior minister Muhammad Jafar,…
Posts published in “Day: December 16, 2014”
MIRPUR (AJK): Life in Mirpur city was shuddered to a halt by shutdown observed by all segments of civil society in protest against “intolerable” electricity overbilling. The call for the strike was given by Mirpur Protection Forum comprising a number of organizations representing people of all walks of life to register strong protest against inflated electricity bills served on consumers by the AJK State Electricity Department, Leaders of the Mirpur Protection Forum including its Chairman…
By Shahbaz Rana in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2014. ISLAMABAD: Despite the government’s promise to complete the 969-megawatt plant in the next two years as part of its strategy to end load-shedding ahead of next general elections, the Neelum Jhelum hydropower project still faces a $475-million financing gap, threatening its timely execution. “It is very unfortunate that there is no financial close and the project is still facing a financing gap,” said Water…
BEIJING: A Chinese teenager executed after being convicted of murder and rape 18 years ago was declared innocent by a court Monday, in a rare overturning of a wrongful conviction. The 18-year-old, named Hugjiltu and also known as Qoysiletu, was found guilty and put to death in Inner Mongolia in 1996, but doubt was cast on the verdict when another man confessed to the crime in 2005. “The Inner Mongolia Higher People’s Court…
BEIJING – Authorities in China have demoted about 1,000 government officials with relatives abroad who refused to return home, state media said on Monday, in the latest clamp down in a sweeping anti-corruption campaign. The Communist Party leadership under President Xi Jinping has presided over the anti-graft campaign to shore up a ruling mandate shaken by suspicion that officials waste taxpayers’ money or use their positions for personal gain. Since his appointment last year,…