Vice Chancellors Committee adopts an 11-point declaration for promotion of Higher Education

on 18/07/2018

The Vice Chancellors Committee in its 22nd meeting has adopted an 11-point declaration for the promotion of higher education in the country.

The meeting, chaired by Committee Chairman Dr Masoom Yasinzai, resolved to work for the promotion of higher education under the leadership of newly appointed Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri, a Press release said.

The Vice Chancellors noted that students were the primary stakeholders for higher education and they all must protect their right to quality education.  They said that quality faculty was essential for imparting quality education and helping the students compete at global level.

Efforts were needed to ensure availability of quality faculty for public and private sector universities, he added.

The VCs urged the government to allocate four per cent of GDP for education with at least one per cent for higher education to increase the access to university education, enhance its quality, and ensure the wider socio-economic impact on society. They stressed the need for more responsible autonomous universities with a monitorable, reportable and verifiable system of governance.

They demanded that there should be no external interference in university affairs and urged the HEC to conduct training leading to improved governance and financial management in higher educational institutions.

The Committee recommended that to evolve a transparent higher education system, information technology should be utilised for good governance and quality education delivery.

The VCs pledged to ensure gender parity in faculty, student enrollment and appointment of university leaders. They also urged the HEC to support the development of learned societies in all fields, including Humanities, and Basic and Social Sciences, so that country can produce scholars of international eminence.

They also asked the HEC to streamline its operating procedures in order to enhance service delivery.

Rawalpindi: 80 pc water supplied by private tankers unfit for humans

on 18/07/2018

More than 80 per cent of water supplied by private tanker services in Rawalpindi city is unfit for human consumption, a laboratory report from the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) has found.
A laboratory test was conducted by Wasa in light of Supreme Court directions to streamline illegal water hydrants and private tankers.
Wasa’s water quality laboratory testing found that 53 illegal water hydrants were supplying water through private tanker services that is not fit for human consumption.
Reports say the cantonment boards have not conducted tests of water supplied by private tankers and also there are no details on water hydrants in the area even though more than 70pc of cantonment residents rely on private tankers for their water supply.
A senior district administration official was quoted as saying that most of the people around Jhelum Road and Airport Road were acquiring water from private tankers.
He said water quality tests had found that water hydrants were supplying water that was not fit for human consumption.
The district administration has decided to streamline matters by imposing a fee of private tanker services and legalising hydrants, as well as supplying water after it has been chlorinated.
The commissioner has asked civic organisations to ensure that water supplied to citizens is clean, and directed Wasa to monitor the price of water being supplied by tankers and ensure its cleanliness as soon as possible.
Wasa Managing Director Raja Shaukat Mehmood says the water quality report is revealed and water needs to be cleaned before it is supplied

Bhasha Diamer, Mohmand dams!

on 18/07/2018

The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has ordered immediate construction of two dams, BhashaDiamer Dam and Mohmand Dam in the country.
The court has also formed a committee headed by Chairman WAPDA for implementation on the order. The court has attached top priority with these projects.
Chief Justice MianSaqibNisar along with his fellow judges believe that water is essential for the survival of the peoplethusboth the water reservoirs should be constructed on a priority basis.
The apex court has moved after an acute shortage of water that Pakistan is facing at the moment. The crisis will become worse, if not solved now, experts predict.
The Supreme Court has also sought in three weeks a report from the federal government, WAPDA,and other associated institutions as regards construction of dams.
Chief Justice directed to open a bank account in the name of Registrar Supreme Court where people can deposit donations for the construction of dams. He himself donated Rs.1 million for construction of these dams.
Following the decision, an account was opened by the Ministry of Finance under the title of “DIAMER-BHASHA AND MOHMAND DAM FUND –2018”.
The account bears Account No.03-593-299999-001-4 and IBN No.PK06SBPP0035932999990014 for raising funds for the construction of the two dams.
The payments in the fund will be received at all branches of the State Bank of Pakistan, all treasuries,and branches of the National Bank of Pakistan and all other scheduled banks.
The fund may receive donations from both domestic and international donors and contributions from abroad which will be received at all branches of these banks where such branches exist.
In other foreign countries, contributions will be received at the Pakistan Missions and remitted to the State Bank of Pakistan which would prescribe necessary accounting procedure.
The order of the court has made it clear that the funds in this account would not, under any circumstance or for any reason, be diverted or utilised for any other purpose than the construction of the dams.
Also, the court has directed that no questions would be asked by any authority or department, including tax authorities, relating to the source of funds contributed to the account, but the utilisation of the funds would be subject to audit as per directions of the apex court.
Following chief justice’s donations, the armed forces of Pakistan also decided to contribute funds for the construction of the dams.

“The officers of army, navy and air force will contribute their two days’ pay, while soldiers [will be donating] one day’s pay to the announced fund for this national cause,” the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) chief Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor tweeted.
Also, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) management requested its staff to donate to funds for the construction of dams. Pims Executive Director Dr. Raja Amjad issued a circular, stating that the staff should donate funds for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams.
Bhasha Dam
Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a gravity dam on Indus River in GilgitBaltistan, Pakistan. It is in the preliminary stages of construction. Its foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Yusuf RazaGilani of Pakistan on 18 October 2011. Upon completion, Diamer-Bhasha Dam would be the highest roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam in the world.
The dam site is situated near a place called “Bhasha” in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer District.
Diamer-Bhasha Dam would produce 4,500 megawatts of electricity through environmentally clean hydropower generation, store an extra 8,500,000 acre-feet of water to be used for irrigation and drinking and also extend by 35 years the life of Tarbela Dam which is located in the downstream. This dam would control flood damage by the River Indus downstream during high floods.
The cost of the Diamer-Bhasha dam was estimated at $12.6 billion in 2018. An amount of Rs 27.824 billion is required for the acquisition of land & resettlement of the people to be affected in the wake of the construction of the dam. Under the proposed project, Rs 10.76 billion will be spent for the acquisition of agriculture-barren land, tree and nurseries and Rs 1.638 billion to be utilized for properties and infrastructure, Rs 8.8 billion for establishment of nine model villages, Rs 62.119 million for pay and allowances for administrative arrangements, and Rs.17.7 million for contingent administrative expenses.
The project also includes an escalation cost of Rs 2.234 billion at the rate of 6 percent per year for five years and interest of Rs 4.309 billion during the implementation at the rate of 9 percent.
Detailed drawings of the dam were completed by March 2008.
In 2012, the project faced several setbacks due to major sponsors backing out from financing the project, as World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) both refused to finance the project as according to them its location is in disputed territory and asked Pakistan to get a NOC from neighbouring India.
Later on, China also did not commit funds for the project under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). However, many people in the PML – N government hoped to have financial assistance from China.
China placed strict conditions including on the ownership of the project. China had projected the cost of the dam to be $14 billion.
In 2013, Finance Minister of Pakistan, Ishaq Dar claimed that they had convinced the World Bank (WB) and the Aga Khan Development Network to finance the Diamer-Bhasha Project without the requirement of NOC from India.
Mohmand Dam
In April 2018, Executive Committee of National Economic Council headed by ShahidKhaqanAbbasi, the then prime minister approved Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project at a cost of 309.55 billion rupees.
Mohmand Dam will be a multi-purpose project which besides producing 800 MW electricity, will have a storage capacity of 1,594 million cubic meters of water to be used for irrigation, flood mitigation and supply of drinking water to Peshawar and FATA.
The move in the apex court is being appreciated at public level in the country where the shortage of water and future predictions have created huge concerns as regards the future availability of water in the river system.
But still many people doubt if the court orders would see the reality of the day as Kala Bagh Dam lobby is reluctant to go for Bhasha as it kills the possibilities of constructing Kala Bagh Dam in the future.
There are many bureaucrats and Punjab-based experts who are on record saying that Bhasha is a non-starter. This project has never been taken seriously.
Sindh and KP are in favour of BhashaDam as they both oppose Kala Bagh Dam and have passed more than three assembly resolutions against the controversial reservoir.

Mr. Ghazanfar Bilour, President FPCCI is presenting FPCCI Crest to Mr. Shahbaz Sharif.

on 11/07/2018

Mr. Ghazanfar Bilour, President FPCCI is presenting FPCCI Crest to Mr. Shahbaz Sharif, President, Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Former Chief Minister Punjab, Mr. Miftha Ismail, Former Minister of Finance, Syed Mazhar Ali Nasir, Senior Vice President FPCCI, Mr. Iftikhar Ali Malik, Vice President (SAARC CCI) Mr. Zubair Tufail, Former President FPCCI and others also seen in the picture.

Pakistan Cables sponsors gold medals awarded to GIKI graduates

on 11/07/2018

Top position holders recognized at GIKI ’s annual convocation ceremony.

Pakistan Cables Limited sponsored gold medals to top position holders of the GIKI’s Class of 2018. Syed Ashhab Ur Rahman Iqbal Ahmed (BS in Electronic Engineering) and Abdul Hussain (BS in Materials Engineering) were recognized for their outstanding academic achievement at the occasion of the 22nd convocation of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology. The chief guest, Mr. Iqbal Zafar Jhagra – Governor KPK conferred degrees on 337 BS, 53 MS, and 4 Ph.D. graduates.

As a brand of empowerment driven to help stakeholders attain their full potential, Pakistan Cables has a history of lending support to the academic education.