ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (APP): Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan Dr. Reza Amiri Moghaddam called on Caretaker Minister for Human Rights George Khalil here on Tuesday.
During the meeting, both sides discussed in detail diverse areas of cooperation in the field of human rights between the two brotherly countries.
Pakistan and Iran share long-standing and time-tested close fraternal relations, said the Minister underlining the need to expand cooperation between the two neighboring countries.
ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (APP): The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the authorities concerned to immediate implement laws pertaining to the release of prisoners on probation.
The Supreme Court, in a five-page written decision authored by Justice Athar Minallah, also ordered the federal and provincial governments to ensure the release of prisoners eligible for release on probation.
It observed that serious violations of human rights were taking place in prisons across the country.
The provision of constitutional rights to the prisoners in jail had become impossible due to overcrowding in prisons, it added, observing that the majority of the people who suffered from lack of facilities in prisons were poor, while the state was also not playing a role in providing cheap and quick justice to them.
It further said that the criminal system allowed the exploitation of the weaker sections of society by the powerful.
The court said that such a condition of prisons was intolerable in a constitutional society. It was the responsibility of the state to protect the fundamental rights of every prisoner. The prisoners were entitled to enjoy all constitutional rights except freedom of movement, it added.
A division bench of the apex court led by former Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial had heard the matter.
RAWALPINDI, Sep 19 (APP): Additional Deputy Commissioner Revenue (ADCR) Rawalpindi region, Nabil Sindhu on Tuesday directed to intensify a crackdown against electricity theft in commercial plazas and industrial zones across the district.
He gave these directives in a meeting held to review the measures taken against electricity theft in the district here, a news release said.
Focal Person AC Headquarters, Chaudhry Waheed Sadiq, Deputy Director Technical Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) Syed Ghazanfar, DSP Headquarters Shahida Yasmin including the management and officials of IESCO and Tehsil Enforcement Committees participated in the meeting.
The ADCR was briefed about the action taken against commercial, industrial and domestic consumers who were involved in electricity theft. In light of the orders of the Punjab Government, the electricity theft campaign was actively in progress.
On the other hand, applications have been filed by IESCO authorities against six more people on the charge of electricity theft in the concerned police stations.
The police have registered the first information reports (FIR) against 35 electricity thieves this month.
Out of which 30 domestic consumers and 5 commercial consumers are included, the FIRs registered against the consumers belong to Waris Khan, Rawalpindi Cantt, Saddar, Airport, Morgah, Kalar Syedan, Kahuta, Rawat and Mandra.
This month, IESCO officials have given applications to the police against 85 people on the charge of electricity theft while two people have been arrested on the charge of electricity theft.
MIRPUR (AJK):, Sep 19 (APP):: Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister (PM) Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq has announced to execute indiscriminate accountability all across the state soon.
Addressing the members of the District Bar Association Mirpur and Mirpur Protection Forum at the Jammu and Kashmir House in the federal metropolis late Monday the PM said that across-the-board accountability would be ensured and no one would be exempted from accountability.
Referring to the ongoing AJK-wide heated issue of the inflated electricity bills, the PM said, “Since the government has decided to suspend all additional charges on electricity, the billing will be made on the old tariff rates”.
The PM said that no penalty or additional surcharges would be slapped on consumers.
Referring to his government’s efforts to improve governance in the state, he said that people of good repute and brilliant track records were being inducted into the bureaucracy.
Referring to the challenges faced by the public, the PM said, “I do realize and understand the problems, but the fact is that the wrongs of the past several decades cannot be rectified in moments.” He said that many promises were made in the past but never fulfilled.
He said that he held the judiciary with the highest esteem. “The decisions of the judiciary will be fully implemented”, he said.
The prime minister said that there was a written agreement on Mangla Dam and it was made in 2003, and approved by the cabinet. “We should not live in isolation. If our demands are legitimate, they will be fulfilled,” the AJK PM asserted.
He said that before the passage of the 13th amendment, the Kashmir Council had the authority to levy tariffs on electricity.
The PM said the authority to levy tariffs was then transferred to the AJK government. ” In 2022, the notification, which authorized the DG commercials to increase tariffs, was suspended”, he added. He said that the tariff issue has been taken up with the Government of Pakistan. “The issue was discussed threadbare and the federal government endorsed our stance on the issue.”
He said that an increase in petrol levies also has a direct effect on Azad Kashmir. According to the Mangla Dam up-raising Amended Agreement, the PM said that the AJK government would receive one rupee and ten paisa water usage charges per unit. The PM said that after hectic file work, he realized that the things that could have been fixed earlier can no longer be fixed now.
He said that Rathoa Haryam, Mirpur Water Supply Scheme, sewage, and other outstanding issues should have been settled under the 2003 agreement. He said that in the 2003 agreement, there was a mention of dam-affected families but there was no mention of sub-families in the agreement.
“When the MDHA was created, the committee was responsible for solving all these issues”, he said. There will be important work on Rathoa Hariyam which will be completed soon, progress will be made soon, and work will also be done to solve the problem of sub-families.
Appreciating the civil society, lawyers, and the trader’s community for highlighting the issues of public concern, the PM said, “You have fought a peaceful struggle, which has given me the opportunity to discuss all those issues at the highest level”.
“The awareness wave that has taken place in Azad Kashmir regarding rights is good but the real task is to utilize it to the best interests of the state and its people”, the PM said, adding that he had also apprised the national security agencies about these issues.
AJK Finance Minister Colonel (Rtd) Waqar Noor besides ministers without portfolios including Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, Chaudhry Arshad Hussain, Mian Abdul Waheed, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Chaudhry Yasir Sultan, Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim, Chaudhry Akhlaq, Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq, Chaudhry Nisar Ansar Abdali, Taqdees Geelani, and others were also present on the occasion.
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