KP railway staff placed under labour dept

The Pakistan Railways employees working on railway lines and stations and in factories of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will now fall under the legal jurisdiction of the provincial labour department.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly had repealed on Tuesday the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, a federal law, and enacted the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Payment of Wages Act, 2012, bringing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-based railway workers under the provincial labour department’s domain.
The new Act will cover ‘the payment of wages to persons employed (otherwise than in a factory) by the railway administration,’ and ‘persons employed in the factories, industrial establishments or commercial establishments under the control of the Federal government or the Provincial government, as the case may be, situated in the territorial jurisdiction of the province.’The provincial assembly repealed the old federal act (to the extent of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) by using the powers vested in it under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. It was a legal obligation, which the provincial government has fulfilled, according to legal circles.
The new law enacted on Tuesday last was provided passage after the provincial assembly’s Standing Committee No 2 on Law Reforms and Control on Subordinate Legislation tabled its findings in the House and informed it that the provincial legislature
was competent to repeal the federal law in accordance with the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
Israrullah Khan Gandapur, member of the provincial assembly, who is also a member of the committee, told Dawn on Wednesday that the new law would help remove parallel legislations in the province as according to the 18th Amendment, the law relating to the payment of wages had been devolved to the provinces.
The staff of Pakistan Railways, according to the standing committee’s report, falls under two categories.
Those working in the administration or offices their wages will continue to be covered under the Civil Servants Act, 1973, while the ones working on ‘the lines’ and in factories previously covered under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, will be covered under the newly enacted provincial law.

Ghag the Band ready with new track

Ghag the Band can be counted amongst those of Peshawar’s bands that have mastered the skill of blending western and eastern sounds; like other underground and mainstream bands, they have spun the wheel to this new magical genre for inspiration.
The band’s flair is defined by the fusion it brings between traditional and contemporary sounds along with the incorporation of classic Pashto poetry. It has now launched its third track titled Khaist.
“We are back with our second music video. The song Khaist, which means beauty, happens to be a soul searching journey that questions the existence [and maintenance] of beauty as it is bound to vanish one day,” says lead guitarist and backing vocalist Khalid Afridi about the thought behind the song. The band also features Zohaib Yousafzai as the lead vocalist.
The band made its debut in 2011 with Mehfil, which was followed by a second track titled Lewantob. They came together at the Institute of Management Sciences in Peshawar (IMSciences) and have been performing together ever since — at local events primarily in colleges and universities.
“We met during our academic interactions at IMS and started playing music in our spare time,” adds Afridi. “Our chemistry evolved over time and we then decided to make an impression on a wider scale with our shared passion for Pashto music, culture and traditions.”
Khaist — beauty and splendour
The song begins with a rabab solo which highlights the essence of Pashto culture and follows with more contemporary acoustic guitar riffs. The lyrics of Khaist are from a poem of the same name by legendary Pashto poet Ghani Khan and the band’s rendition is “a tribute to Khan’s passion and purpose for the land and people.”
“We derive inspiration from the poetic works of one of the greatest architects of Pashto language and literature — Ghani Khan baba,” says Zohaib, who is from Swabi; Khalid, on the other hand, belongs to the volatile tribal region of Khyber Agency.
The musicians are well aware of the fact that the profound lyrics would be difficult to comprehend and grasp for the young audience the band is essentially catering to. But they assert it is the fusion and perfect blend of modern music with traditional poetry which will turn out to be a treat for avid listeners.
“It has truly been an honour for us to have attempted such a task — the remaking of the prodigious man’s poetry with a modern twist,” adds Khalid with high spirit. He admits that they had to work relentlessly to do justice to the yesteryear’s masterpiece and it was undoubtedly, a challenging undertaking.

Pakhtun music industry flourishes under YouTube ban

 

The ban on the video-sharing site, YouTube, is working well for music producers and singers in Peshawar, who say they are finally getting their business back.
“Memory cards, USBs and YouTube are the three biggest threats to our business,” says Fayyaz Ahmad, a Pashto music producer and owner of Khyber Music House, one of the oldest music centres in Peshawar. “Unfortunately, there is no possibility for protecting copyrights so we are compelled to give up producing music,” he added.
Ahmad said the last two albums he released, Darmaan by Haroon Bacha and Tapos by Bakhtyar Khattak, were very successful and people purchased the audio cassettes. He credits this to the ban on YouTube.

“Scores of shops around the city download music from the internet and at times upload several albums into mobile phone memory cards and USBs,” he complained.
There are fewer production houses left which distribute music in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. “They are destined to shut down as these businesses do not adapt themselves to new music production trends,” says Ashfaq Khan, the owner of Mehran Video Centre, while talking to The Express Tribune.
“The authorities should not unblock the site until some mechanism is devised for the protection of Pakistani musicians’ copyrights on such websites,” he added.
According to music producers, the music they create is sent to other parts of the country heavily populated by Pakhtuns, including Balochistan, Karachi, Swat and even  neighbouring Kabul. Iram Khan, a Pashto singer said: “The sale of audio cassettes has already dwindled, and when someone uploads music to YouTube then the whole effort of the artist goes to waste. It usually takes a few thousand rupees to make just one song.”

A day in the life of a family in Peshawar

In a dark corner somewhere in Peshawar, I sit in front of my laptop and check my mails.
 My father busily searches for any news he can find on the’so called ‘issues’ seizing the country, 
A renowned scholar, unusually popular in his late years, has started a “long march.” Stomping from Lahore all the way to the capital of Pakistan, he is able to leave the masses in awe and wonder.
To me, it is just a regular day in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
I step outside, to purchase some fresh vegetables that my mother has asked for to cook the evening meal. Racing to the market on my worn out bicycle, I am able to reach within a few minutes. Lucky for me, the shop keepers have just started their discussion about the same ‘long march.’
This does not surprise me at all.
In Pakistan, politics is a vital part of each citizen’s life. Even the people of my place – a rural area that is populated with uneducated people – are aware of what is going on in the country.
This makes me proud; we are not an ignorant, submissive lot!
Despite our never ending problems, we are happy. Yes. We are proud of who we are and, we continue our struggle to help our country progress.
It’s dark inside my house now; all I have is a tiny pen-like torch to help me find my way in. Soon after, my abu calls me down for dinner.
Now, I sit on my cosy cushion-like mattress and my phone beeps. The text message reads:

“The highest court of the country has ordered to arrest Prime Minister on the basis of corruption.”

By pure reflex, I rush to my father and deliver the absurd news. He is indeed shocked by this but his expressions say otherwise.
My younger brother, wanting to be a part of our conversation, innocently asks:

“Has something gone wrong?”

‘To move forward, Pakistan and India must tie up all loose ends’

With the recent escalation of tension at the borders of India and Pakistan, the launch of the book, Back from the Brink: India-Pakistan Ties Revisited, could not have been timed more aptly.
The book, with contributions by intellectuals from both countries, attempts to answer why relationships between the two nations fail to remain smooth and fall prey to perpetual tension.
The book was launched at the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology on Wednesday where Dr Riaz Ahmed Shaikh, who chairs the department of social sciences at the university, was credited for compiling and editing the book.
A wide number of experts spoke at the event and came to a consensus – India and Pakistan need to readdress their long-lasting conflicts so that they can move forward towards development and progress.
Speaking on the recent tension between armed forces across the Line of Control, former foreign secretary Najmuddin A Shaikh said that it was unfortunate that certain elements in the Indian media indulged in malicious propaganda, which was neither backed by the Indian army nor by civil officials. In contrast, Shaikh said that the Pakistani press, sensing the fragility of relations between both countries, showed much restraint than that of their counterparts across the border.
According to Karachi University’s Pakistan Study Centre chairperson, Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed, the book discusses the legacy of partition and how to overcome those problems. In his opinion, the nature of the state determines its future direction and that is why, the issues on ideology of Pakistan need to be debated.
A professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Savita Pande, said that the emerging conflicts in the region have the potential to disrupt the peace process between India and Pakistan. “We need to realize that together, Pakistan and India can do so much more – they can bring a vital change in the fate of the people of South Asia.”
Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy pointed out that more than 40,000 innocent Pakistanis have been killed by militants and more than 4,000 soldiers have been killed by Talibans. “These figures are more than the number of soldiers killed in all Indo-Pak wars. We need to stop looking for enemies outside and deal with the ones on our land.”

Court directs govt: Declare littering of canals a crime

A two-member bench of Peshawar High Court here on Tuesday directed the provincial government to replace all the rusted water supply pipes within a month and declare dumping of filth and sewage in canals as a penal offence by enacting a law in that regard.
The bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Irshad Qaiser ordered the government to erect fences and safety walls along the canals passing through the provincial capital and arrest all those, who were dumping sewage in canals through their residential drainage systems.
The court directed the provincial irrigation secretary to prepare a draft bill and refer it to the law department for onward legislation so as to declare the practice of littering of canals a non-bailable criminal offence.
The court had taken suo moto notice of the environmental degradation in the provincial capital and issued detailed order on June 16, 2011.
The court had directed the provincial government to replace all the rotten potable water supply pipes within six months and install incinerators at proper places across the province for proper waste disposal. However, the said order could not be implemented properly.
The provincial secretary of local government department, Aurangzeb Khan, informed the court that with the support of USAID they had launched a three-year project of replacing water supplying pipes in several localities.
He said that they had categorised the said project and initially they had focused those areas where the supplied potable water was considered unfit for consumption.
Similarly, the secretary of public health engineering department, Sohail Altaf, informed the court that during the last two years 209 water supply projects had been completed in the province.
The director general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr Mohammad Bashir, said that the court had issued 12 guidelines to the government prominent among which were to constitute a task force of high-ups of government departments; constitute a cabinet committee for checking environmental issues; install incinerators for proper waste disposal; check vehicle involved in environmental pollution through smoke emission; introduce latest equipment for waste removal; and shift carpet weaving units from city area.He said that so far cases were registered by the EPA against 605 industries and other institutions on charges of environmental pollution. He stated that a cabinet committee was constituted under the chairmanship of the then senior minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour, but after his death so far nobody else was designated as its chairman.
Dr Bashir added that negotiations were in progress for acquiring land for the setting up a carpet village to shift the carpet weaving units outside the city.

Authorities asked to devise policy on women health

Speakers at a consultative dialogue here on Tuesday stressed the need for formulating a specific policy in consultation with all stakeholders to address the health issues of adolescent girls and young mothers.
The dialogue titled ‘Improved maternal and neonatal health (MNH) and sexual reproductive health (SRH) policy and practice for adolescent girls and young mothers’ was organised by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter of Rahnuma Family Planning Association of Pakistan (RFPAP).
The women members of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Zarka Bibi, Uzma Khan and Mehr Sultana, RFPAP vice president Haji Sattar Gul, regional programme manager Gohar Zaman, Sohail Iqbal and Yasrab Nazir spoke on the occasion.
They stressed the need for enhancing capacity building on maternal and neonatal and sexual reproductive health issues to decrease the growing mortality rate of mothers.
The representatives of non-governmental organisations, members of civil society and officials of relevant government departments attended the dialogue.
The participants indicated that most of issues related to MNH and SRH among adolescent girls and young mothers were caused owing to untrained female medical staffs that led to increase in morality and morbidity ratio in the province.
Most of them said that they were unsatisfied with the performance of parliamentarians for enacting laws regarding child marriage and health related issues of adolescent girls and mothers.
They demanded proper execution of relevant laws to protect basic right of children, especially girls, in the society.

Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti on Monday handed over keys of buses to heads of different girls colleges in the province.

Speaking at a function here, the chief minister said the government had spent considerable resources on promotion of higher education particularly girls education, according to a handout.
He said spreading the light of education was the only way forward to battle specific circumstances confronting the region.
Provincial Minister for Higher Education Qazi Mohammad Asad, ANP officer-bearers from Haripur, Chitral and Kohat districts and other concerned officials were also present on the occasion.
Keys of buses were handed over to principal government girls college Sarai Saleh Haripur, government girls degree college Boni Chitral, government girls postgraduate college Kohat, government girls degree college Khwazakhela Swat, government girls degree college Lund Khwar Mardan and government girls degree college No 2 Haripur.
Meanwhile, the chief minister, while talking to a delegation of ANP Chitral, said the government had undertaken practical measures to provide healthy activities to youth.
The delegation was led by Chitral ANP president Syed Muzafar Asli Shah.
Matters pertaining to progress on development schemes in Chitral and people’s problems came under discussion.
The delegation thanked the chief minister for initiating development activities in education, communication and health sectors in Chitral. The chief minister offered a cheque of Rs1 million to the president and vice president of Hindukush association for paragliding Chitral for promotion of the sport in the district.

Govt orders protection of archaeological sites

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has issued order to protect 44 out of 91 archaeological sites that were handed over to the province under the 18th Amendment.
Archaeology and Museums Director Prof Shah Nazar Khan said that the protection order was issued under the Protection Order and Antiquity Act 1997 about the sites that were handed over to the province after devolution of the department.
He said that the sites about which the protection order was issued included Butkara-1, Parn, Saidu Stupa, Najigram, Nimogram, Amlukdara Stupa, Dangram Stupa, Shingardara Stupa, Shnasha Stupa, Gogdara rock carving, Udegram Castle, Butkara-III and Cumbatuna in Barikot, Swat district.
Mr Khan said that World Heritage Site Takht Bhai and Jamal Garhi, Sehri Behlol, Tareli, Chanaka Dheri, Asoka rock edicts, Kashmir Smast cave and Charguli Dheri in Mardan and Hisar Dheri in Charsadda would also be protected.
In Peshawar, he said, Gorkhattree, Kotala Mohsin Khan, Mohallah Sethian, Dilazak Tomb and the tomb and mosque of Sheikh Imamuddin would be protected under the order.
The official said that Shithial rock carvings in Kohistan, Ranighat site in Buner, tomb of Syed Ahmad Shaheed, tomb of Ismail Shaheed, Ashoka rock edicts and Zaro Dheri in Mansehra while Tofikian Mound, Jandial, Sirsukh, Piplan, Badalpur, Garian (Lal Chack Stupa), Bhamala Buddhist site in Haripur and Asota Megaliths and Hund Fort in Swabi district would be protected under the newly-issued order.
Mr Khan said that those sites were transferred in the revenue record to the province and the record was being checked for the rest of 47 archaeological sites, which would also be handed over to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Protection order for the remaining sites would also be issued once they were handed over to the province through legal documents, the official said. Along with the preservation and protection of the archaeological sites, the Archaeology and Museums Directorate started research work on the 1900-year-old Aziz Dheri in Swabi district, he said.
The archaeologists and students of University of Peshawar and Hazara University under the supervision of Prof Mohammad Naeem Qazi and Arshad Mughal would undertake the research project.

Over 90,000 fresh votes registered in Dir

A total of 97,000 fresh votes have been registered in the Lower Dir district, raising the number of total registered voters to 490,042.
Of these, 290,968 are male and 199,074 are female, said district election officer Inayatur Rahman while talking to Dawn on Tuesday. He said number of polling stations in the district had also been increased to 308 from 259.
He maintained that 27,241 fresh votes had been registered in PK-94 Timergara, 20,621 in PK-95 Jandol, 29,949 in PK-96 Maidan and 40,328 in PK-97 Adenzai, respectively. He said six separate polling stations would be set up for women to ensure their voting in the district while another six joint stations would also be set up.
The election commission, he said would take adequate steps for women participation in electoral process during next elections.
Meanwhile, the provincial general secretary of the treasuries and accounts staff association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sirajul Islam while talking to Dawn on Tuesday demanded of the accountant general to abolish the 50 per cent quota in district and agency accounts’ offices.
He said the treasury staff had been waiting for promotion since long while 50 per cent quota had been specified for AG staff which was not acceptable to them.