Task force formed to make Islamabad education city
Islamabad, Nov 7: The National Assembly (NA) was apprised on Friday that the government had constituted special task force and committees to make the federal capital education city.

Replying to a question, Minister of State for Education Ghulam Farid Kathia informed the House that the project of Education City would comprise the up-gradation of primary and the higher educational institutions.

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Many schools in every province remain closed – not so much because of an extant threat but because of their inability to comply with the security requirements placed on them by police and government agencies. A circular sent out by DCOs to schools which have been categorized as ‘A-1’ security risks details the arrangements that are required for schools to take – and some of them are clearly going to present a significant current and future burden and one which is going to impact on fees. The schools that are affected are primarily in the private sector, and although they are fee-paying many of them barely cover their operating costs and some are required to operate on a strictly non-profit basis, particularly those schools operated by Christian religious orders.

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PESHAWAR: At least four persons were wounded as miscreants exploded government girls’ high school building with explosives located in Khyber Agency on early Sunday, Geo news reported.

According to FC sources, unknown miscreants blew up a building of government girls’ high school here, causing injuries to four pedestrians passing nearby at the time of incident, meanwhile, the school watchman has also reportedly gone missing.

The injured people have been admitted to hospital for medical attainment where they have been said to be out of danger, sources privy to hospital told Geo news.

Meanwhile, a planted bomb went off outside Agency Councilor home located in Jamrod tehsil, causing partial damages to the boundary wall, but no casualty or injuries were reported during the incident, sources said.

PESHAWAR: NWFP government has announced that all the educational institutions of the province will be reopened from November 2 (Monday).

The educational institutions have been kept closed in the province for the past two weeks on security concerns.

Lahore: The Punjab University’s (PU) Examination Department has announced new schedule for the practical examinations of BA and BSc supplementary examinations.

The examinations, which were to begin on October 21, have been rescheduled to November 5, according to a spokesperson for the PU.

The spokesperson said roll number slips had been dispatched to the candidates. He also said the examination schedule was also posted on the university’s official website, www.pu.edu.pk.

ISLAMABAD: Twin suicide blasts tore through a university campus in Pakistan’s capital Tuesday killing flour people and injuring 29 others, as the military pursued a major anti-Taliban offensive in the lawless northwest.

The bombing of Islamabad’s International Islamic University was the seventh major militant attack in just over a fortnight and the first since the military launched what officials vowed would be a knockout blow against the Taliban.

At around 3:00 pm (0900 GMT), two explosions seconds apart rocked a male teaching faculty and women’s cafeteria of what is one of the largest Islamic universities in the world, attracting Muslim students from home and abroad.

“We are in a state of war. They will make every effort to destabilise the country. These so-called Islamists are enemies of Islam and enemies of Pakistan,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik said at Islamabad’s main hospital.

The US embassy in Pakistan said the “vicious attack on a respected Islamic educational institution reveals yet again the cruel and inhuman nature of the terrorists operating against Pakistan and its people”.

Broken glass and pieces of charred flesh littered the faculty building’s first floor, where blood dripped down the stairwell and students stepped through the debris, choking under thick smoke, a French news agency reporter said.

“Seven people including two suicide bombers are dead, and 29 injured in the two attacks. Among the dead is one female,” senior city administration official Rana Akbar Hayat said at the scene of the attack.

Doctor Minjahul Siraj, at Islamabad’s main hospital, confirmed there were five dead bodies in the morgue, with 22 people wounded including 16 women.

The first blast ripped through the faculty of Islamic jurisprudence used by male students and the second hit the women’s cafeteria, law student Qudrat Ullah said at the scene.

“There is panic. Students are rushing to donate blood. There are a lot of police arrived inside the building,” he said.

“Casualties were taken away first in private vehicles. Then ambulances arrived. I saw several people wounded.”

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked extremists have carried out a two-year campaign of suicide bombings and commando raids that have killed 2,280 people.

“Whether they claim or don’t claim, all roads lead to South Waziristan,” the interior minister said, referring to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda stronghold on the Afghan border where the military launched its offensive at the weekend.

A barrage of attacks since October 5 has left more than 170 people dead, underlining the scale of the insurgency that authorities are trying to halt.

Officials said at least 98 militants and 13 soldiers had been killed since the fighting erupted Saturday in the semi-autonomous tribal region, and more than 120,000 civilians have now fled to areas outside the war zone.

Troops backed by artillery, attack helicopters and fighter jets Tuesday pounded Taliban bastions around Kotkai, the home town of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, the military said.

ISLAMABAD: Two female students have been killed and several others injured in twin suicide blasts in new campus of Islamic University Islamabad.

The first suicide explosion happened in a cafeteria near girls hostel whereas another occurred in Sharia block few minutes later. According to SSP Tahir Alam, both were suicide blasts.

Talking to Geo News, a student of Islamic University said it was an intense explosion that damaged the building severely. Thirteen injured including 11 female students and two men have been shifted to PIMS hospital where four have bee reported in a critical condition.

According to Executive Director of PIMS Hospital, the injured students identified as Samra, Najma Idrees, Nadia, Ayesha Ambreen and Asma whereas the male student identified as Muhammad Idrees.

One suspect has been arrested near the campus. Police and law enforcement agencies have cordoned off the blast site.The News

Karachi-The NED University of Engineering and Technology on Sunday conducted the entry test to select the eligible candidates for admissions for the academic year of 2009-10.

Any mishap was not reported during the test, despite the fact that as many as 6,154 candidates were appeared in the test that was started on the given time at 10am and ended at 12noon.

Registrar NED University Engineer Javed Aziz Khan said that NED, which considered as one of oldest institutions in Pakistan of engineering, offered undergraduate programmes in 19 engineering disciplines along with one each in Architecture and in Information Technology. For this purpose there are 1,833 seats available in the varsity, out of which 1,600 were specific for merit-based admissions, while 233 admissions will be given on self-finance basis, he said.

“The university used carbon copy in the test to enable candidates to have a copy of their performance.” He said the results would be issued after eight hours from the completion of test and can be viewed at the official website of the university.

Khan said that to face any health-related situation during the test, the administration had formed a medical team comprising on four doctors and 8 paramedical staff while two ambulances were also on alert.

“Juices have also been distributed among the candidates and invigilators to keep them calm and fresh. About two per cent marks will be given to those candidates who are Hafiz-e-Quran.

To facilitate the candidates, around 12 blocks had been constituted while each block was divided into 16 cells. About 30 candidates were seated in each cell,” he added.

PESHAWAR: The Urdu translation of ‘The Plain Tales of the Afghan Border’ — a book consisting rare and interesting tales related to Pakhtuns’ life has hit the stalls.

As evident from its title, the book, authored by John Charles Edward Bawn, is a collection of 10 tales that have been translated into Urdu by Haroon Shinwari and revised by Rashid Khattak, who has also written the preface.

The author, Edward Bawn, brought into black and white the folk stories told by Muhammad Zareef Khan back in 1943 and published them in the shape of a book after 35 years. By the time of storytelling, Edward was assistant commissioner of Mansehra in the British India while Zareef Khan was serving as political tehsildar at Oghi.

In the introduction, the author writes that he and his subordinate used to exchange pleasantries and discuss social and traditional issues while sitting in Oghi Fort after winding up official work.

Zareef Khan, whom he had given the title ‘prince of storytellers’, would often tell him Pakhtun plain tales.The traditional interesting folk stories impressed Edward to the extent that one day when he visited Oghi and finished his official work, he put pen to paper, sat down before Zareef, asking him to tell him stories, which he wanted to preserve in writing instead of just passing time on listening to.

He also told Zareef about his plan to publish the tales in a book for future generations. However, by the time it was difficult rather impossible to publish the tales, some of which related to government functionaries, as being government servant both of them could not reveal official secrets.

Though Edward and Zareef’s ways got parted after the former’s transfer from Mansehra followed by the end of British rule and division of Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan, the author preserved the stuff and at last published it in the shape of a book after 35 years.

The author also praises Zareef Khan, a tribesman born in the remote Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in 1903 and educated up to graduation at Islamia College Peshawar before joining Indian Civil Service in 1932.

In some of the stories, Zareef himself had a major role like ‘The Death Of A Criminal’ and ‘The Politics Of High Mountains’. The first story is about killing of a proclaimed offender, Jamori of Waziristan, while the second one about expulsion of one Faqir Ameerah, who had launched a jihad in Indus Kohistan against British regime.

Zareef did the job that couldn’t be done by his British assistant commissioner, thus earning praise from the government. Though Zareef died in 1985 and did not see even the English version of the book comprising his stories, one of his sons, Engineer Muzaffar Ali Afridi, succeeded in realising his dream of translating it into Urdu.

Engineer Muzaffar, who is presently serving as secretary for Population Welfare Department in NWFP government, through a common friend Dr Masood Zahid, contacted Haroon Shinwari asking him to translate the book into Urdu, which was done successfully.

It would be no exaggeration to say that by providing the readers with such an interesting stuff, both Muzaffar and Haroon have done a wonderful service, especially to those wanting to know about rare tales related to Pakhtuns’ life.

Moreover after taking the book, one is compelled to go through all its 138 pages in one reading because of its taste and suspense. Edward has also authored another book, titled ‘The Golden Pomegranate’ besides translating two poems, one each of Khushal Khan Khattak and Said Rasool Rasa, from Pashto into English.

Rawalpindi-Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif Wednesday laid the foundation stone of the Rs2.6 billion Institute of Cardiology at Rawalpindi Medical College Staff Colony along Rawal Road.

While laying the foundation stone, he directed the concerned authorities to complete the mega health project within one year. The cardiology institute, comprising 220 beds, would have all modern health facilities.

The institute will be completed under the supervision of Punjab Health Department. The provincial government has initially allocated Rs100 million for work on the institute. The remaining money for the project will be released in phases.

Talking to journalists after laying the foundation stone of the cardiology institute, Mian Shahbaz Sharif said that his government was trying to provide better health and education facilities to people all over Punjab.

“Projects like cardiology institute, Danish School in Takht Pari and different traffic projects are gifts for the people of Rawalpindi from the Punjab government.”

Responding to a query, the chief minister said that the issue of award of NA-55 ticket would be resolved on the return of PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif from abroad.

To another query, he said that the Punjab government will construct underpasses at all intersections of Murree Road instead of the elevated expressway.

He said that the plan has been changed because of the increase in cost of the elevated expressway. According to him, the project was initially estimated to cost around Rs16 billion, but now the project cost has risen to Rs30 billion. Keeping in view the situation, the Punjab government has decided to construct underpasses instead of the elevated expressway.

He said that the government of Punjab has constituted a committee comprising members of the NLC, C&W and Nespak besides multinational companies. The committee has been directed to submit a report in this regard by October 18. After evaluation by consultants, the cost of underpasses would be estimated and allocated after approval.

Later, the Punjab chief minister paid a visit to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital where he laid the foundation stone of the new block of ICU Ward. It would be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

He also inaugurated the new block of the Psychiatric Department at BBH and visited different sections of the hospital and listened to the problems of patients. He directed the medical superintendent and deputy medical superintendent to resolve grievances of patients and report to him.

After inaugurating mega health projects, the chief minister went to Mauza Takht Pari near Rawat where he laid the foundation of the Danish School, which would be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs200 million on 2,400-kanal land.

Mian Shahbaz Sharif said that 90 per cent quota of admissions would be allocated for poor children, while the remaining 10 per cent will be left for people who could afford to educate their children in the school.

He constituted a committee of board of governors for looking into the affairs of the institution. The chief minister directed the concerned authorities to complete construction work in the shortest possible time. Strict security measures were adopted during the visit of the chief minister.

LAHORE : Punjab University Examinations Department has declared the results of MSc Geography, Part-I, Annual Examination 2009, MA Fine Arts, Part-I, Annual Examination 2009, MA French, Part-II, Annual Examination 2009, Diploma in Arabic, Session 2008-2009, MPhil Urdu, Session 2002-2004, MPhil Urdu, Session 2003-2005 and BSc Applied Geology, Final Professional, First Annual 2009. Detailed results are also available at PU website www.pu.ed.pk.