By Shabbir Mir GILGIT: A lawmaker in the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Assembly on Monday questioned the utilisation of development funds, asking the government to give details of where the money had been spent. “Where are the tenders of schemes and projects approved during the past three years?” asked parliamentary secretary Rahmat Khaliq of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl(JUI-F) during the third day of the assembly proceedings. “There has been no work in any constituency since 2012 and we are…
Posts published in May 2014
LAHORE – The fate of multi-billion dollar 4,500megawatt Diamer-Bhasha Dam has become uncertain due to non-availability of funds for the project, being considered vital for the energy starved country, it has been learnt. Despite claims by the government that funds for this project would be coming from various sources, none of the friendly countries and international lending agencies have expressed their willingness to fund the multi-purpose dam. Since the energy crisis is intensifying with the…
By Shabbir Mir in The Express Tribune, May 4, 2014 GILGIT: Journalists in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) marked World Press Freedom Day amid hopes of legislation upholding their rights and ensuring security. Speaking at a media workshop on Saturday, Information Minister Sadia Danish hinted at initiating the process of forming a Right to Information law in the G-B legislative assembly. “I will definitely work on it and will table the bill in the assembly, provided the house…
LAHORE – The fate of multi-billion dollar 4,500megawatt Diamer-Bhasha Dam has become uncertain due to non-availability of funds for the project, being considered vital for the energy starved country, it has been learnt. Despite claims by the government that funds for this project would be coming from various sources, none of the friendly countries and international lending agencies have expressed their willingness to fund the multi-purpose dam. Since the energy crisis is intensifying with the…
By Shabbir Mir in The Express Tribune, May 4, 2014 GILGIT: Journalists in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) marked World Press Freedom Day amid hopes of legislation upholding their rights and ensuring security. Speaking at a media workshop on Saturday, Information Minister Sadia Danish hinted at initiating the process of forming a Right to Information law in the G-B legislative assembly. “I will definitely work on it and will table the bill in the assembly, provided the house…
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has faced a serious setback as the World Bank refused to finance much-needed 4,500 MW Diamer Bhasha Dam, at least in next five years, 2015-2019, which might put the project on the back burner. The World Bank’s Board of Directors on Thursday approved two different packages of assistance for Pakistan, including US$ one billion for support economic reforms and five-year Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) worth US$ 11 billion for next five years…
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank (WB) Group has now approved a package of assistance worth $1 billion to support Pakistan’s economic reforms, besides giving it $11 billion under a five-year Country Partnership Strategy. However, it has declined to finance the much-needed 4,500MW Diamer-Bhasha Dam during the next fiver years (2015-2019). The assistance package, which was approved by the WB Board of Directors on Thursday, consists of two Development Policy Credits (DPCs) to support the Pakistani government’s…
ABBOTABAD: The clerical and janitorial staff of Havelian campus of Hazara University (HU) continued their strike for the second day on Wednesday over the transfer order of their colleagues. Meanwhile, according to official sources, former Havelian MPA Khurshid Azam Khan met HU acting vice chancellor Dr Sohail Shehzad at his office and requested to cancel the order. The acting VC agreed to reverse the order till Friday and reinstate the employees at the campus while…