Motorcycle lifter gang busted, stolen goods recovered

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Sun, 31 Dec 2023, 2:38 PM

BATTAGRAM, Dec 31 (APP):At least one person on Sunday died and 21 others injured when a passenger jeep deviated off the road and fell into a gorge.

After the incident Rescue 1122 Battagram sent two medical ambulances to the scene.

According to the local police sources, the driver of the passenger jeep lost his control over the vehicle and fell into the deep gorge, the accident resulted in the loss of the driver and 20 injuries including 11 women.

Following the initial aid, the injured were promptly shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Battagram for further medical attention.

Industry be prioritized in power, gas supply in winter: PFC

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Sun, 31 Dec 2023, 2:11 PM

LAHORE, Dec 31 (APP):The Pakistan Furniture Council (FC) has demanded the government to accord top priority to the industrial sector regarding uninterrupted power and gas supplies during the winter season.

PFC Chief Executive Officer Mian Kashif Ashfaq made this demand while talking to a delegation of industrialists led by Chaudhary Araib Arain here on Sunday.

He argued that the industrial sector plays a pivotal role in the economic growth and uninterrupted gas and power supplies are essential for its smooth functioning. It will not only sustain production but also safeguard jobs and contribute to overall economic stability besides help achieve export targets.

Kashif Ashfaq said that timely availability of power is also crucial for agricultural activities, especially during winter, to support processes such as crop drying and irrigation. Ensuring a reliable power supply to this sector will directly impact food production and the livelihood of farmers, he added.

The PFC chief hoped that government would take necessary measures to coordinate with relevant authorities and stakeholders to implement this prioritization effectively. He was of the view that government attention to this matter will undoubtedly contribute to the economic prosperity and well-being of the people.

163 traffic wardens to regulate traffic in Murree

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Sun, 31 Dec 2023, 1:57 PM

RAWALPINDI, Dec 31 (APP): 163 traffic wardens and officers of traffic police have been deployed at all important points of Murree to regulate traffic and facilitate the tourists, said a City Traffic Police spokesman.
Traffic police had devised a comprehensive plan for Murree for the snowfall season according to which entry of heavy vehicles in the city would be banned, he added.
He said an emergency Help Line 051-9269200, had also been introduced for facilitating the tourists.
The citizens, having complaints, could contact police round the clock, he added.
He informed that Help Line center was also serving as control room from where all possible facilities were being provided to the tourists and all out efforts were being made to cope with any untoward situation.
He said that several points had also been reserved for car parking.
Different main roads including Kashmir Point, Mall Road, Guldana Road and other roads had been closed for two-way traffic, he said adding the tourists should cooperate with traffic police so that traffic mess particularly during snowfall season could be avoided.
He said, though the snow falling makes the ‘Queen of Mountains’ even more beautiful which attracts the citizens but due to massive influx of the tourists, problems are also faced at some points. Traffic remains slow as the wet roads got slippery.
He informed that on the directives of Regional Police Officer, Rawalpindi, Syed Khurram Ali and City Police Officer, Rawalpindi, Syed Khalid Hamdani, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Rawalpindi Taimoor Khan had directed the Traffic Wardens to make best possible arrangements for the snowfall season.
Two traffic control rooms at Jinnah Hall Murree and Suni Bank Traffic picket, had been established to facilitate the tourists while 12 facilitation centers had also been set up, he informed.

Seven held with drugs, weapons

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Sun, 31 Dec 2023, 1:47 PM

SARGODHA, Dec 31 (APP):Police arrested seven accused including two proclaimed offenders on Sunday and recovered narcotics and weapons from them.

Police said that during an ongoing drive against drug peddlers and criminals, teams of different police stations conducted raids in their jurisdiction and arrested alleged criminals and recovered 520-gram hashish, 50 liters of liquor, two pistols and a gun.

The accused were identified as Ahsan, Imran, Irfan, Ashraf, Nasir, Bilal and Badar. Cases have been registered against them.

Call for enhancing women’s access to finance

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Sun, 31 Dec 2023, 1:45 PM

LAHORE, Dec 31 (APP):Coordinator to Minister of State and Federal Tax Ombudsman Meher Kashif Younis Sunday stressed the need of enhancing women’s access to finance and providing credit to women-led small and medium-sized enterprises for strengthening the economy besides creating ample job opportunities in Pakistan.

Speaking as a keynote speaker at a seminar on “ Better Access of Women to Micro Credit” organised under the aegis of Gold Ring Economic Forum, a strategic think-tank, he added that inclusive, resilient and sustainable development cannot be achieved if women do not have equal economic opportunities and benefits.

Meher Kashif said it’s the need of the hour that Pakistan’s current financing ecosystem must improve women’s access to much-needed finance and empower them to boost their livelihoods while contributing significantly to the economy. There are many women entrepreneurs in Pakistan, but they remain unrecognized, being small and informal in nature and lacking the incentives to register their businesses formally or to grow, he observed.

“Our policies must recognise the importance of women entrepreneurship and create an enabling environment that increases women’s participation in the formal economy and gives them more opportunities to grow their businesses, he remarked.

Meher Kashif Younis, who is also Chairman Kyrgyzstan Trade House in Pakistan and Vice President Gold Ring Economic Forum, said policy-based loans should support reforms that incorporate women’s needs into national policies, such as the State Bank of Pakistan’s Banking on Equality Policy that, among a range of measures, requires banks to establish departments dedicated to providing services to women.

The coordinator said the financial intermediation loan, meanwhile, is expected to benefit around two million women entrepreneurs, including about 510,000 who previously had no access to finance, through lending via participating financial institutions. He said the expected grant from the Asian Development Fund (ADF) will finance activities such as the development of financial literacy programmes and a digital platform that links women to financial services. The ADF provides grants to ADB’s poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries, he concluded.

Tariq Rafi beat Hamadan Noman in 1st Ocean Tennis championship

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Sun, 31 Dec 2023, 1:41 PM

KARACHI, Dec 31 (APP):Tariq Rafi beat Hamadan Noman in a three set long match in under 13 Singles match of 1st Ocean – Siddiqsons Tennis Championships being played at DA Creek Club Karachi with 5-4, 2-4, 5-4 score.

According to a communique here, as per the second day results of the championship.

Men’s Singles 1st Round

Uzair Katchi beat M. Imran Abid 8-0

Muhammad Asif beat Humza Jawed 8-0

Rayan Ahmed beat M. Salman Ajmal 8-1

Men’s Singles 2nd Round

Saqib Zia beat Bilal Khalid 8-0

Uzair Katchi beat Bilal Khalid 8-5

Vinod Das beat Basit Hussain 8-0

Ladies Singles 1st Round

Mariym Zeeshan beat Zunaira Zahid 8-3

Versha Das beat Zeenia Jaffrani 8-0

Juniors Under 17 Singles 2nd Round

Rayan Ahmed beat Asif K. 6-1, 6-1

Under 15 Singles 1st Round

Yahya Haleem beat Hamza Essa Jee 4-0, 4-0

Under 13 Singles 1st Round

Arman Ali beat Hassan Farhan 4-0, 4-0

Yahya Haleem beat Eschelle Asif 4-2, 5-3

Under 13 Singles 2nd Round

Tariq Rafi beat Hamadan Noman 5-4, 2-4, 5-4

Meer Abbas Bhagat beat Syed Abdullah 4-2, 4-1

Arham Shehzad beat Aman Sheikh 4-1, 4-1

Rohan Das beat Raahim Faisal 4-0, 4-1

Aidh Imran beat Syed Sufyan 4-1, 4-1

Under 11 Singles 1st Round

Mir Abbas Bhagat beat Ariz Ayaz 4-0, 4-0

Under 11 Singles 2nd Round

Nayyal Sohaib beat Mariym Zeeshan 4-1, 4-0.

61,000 heart patients including 9,000 children treated at Peshawar Institute of Cardiology in 2023

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Sun, 31 Dec 2023, 1:37 PM

PESHAWAR, Dec 31 (APP): Over 61,000 heart patients, including 9,000 children, have been examined in the Out-Patient Department (OPD) of the Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC) during the year 2023.

PIC Spokesman Rifat Anjum told the media on Sunday that more than 1,400 patients underwent cardiac surgeries, besides 11,000 angiography and angioplasty procedures, including 450 children, during the year.

Similarly, she said, around 13,000 heart patients were brought to the emergency hospital, while over 15,600 patients underwent angiography, angioplasty, heart operations and other treatment on health cards.

She disclosed that 21 TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation) surgeries of international standards were performed without chest surgery.

Rifat Anjum said not only the patients of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other provinces but also of the neighbouring country of Afghanistan were given the best medical facilities in the PIC.

About 4,000 Afghan patients were treated at the OPD during the year, while over 600 underwent angiography, angioplasty and heart surgeries, she added.

Rifat Anjum said around 28,400 patients benefited from the PIC’s state-of-the-art CT scan, MRI, ultrasound and X-ray.

She said the PIC achieved various international and national level achievements during 2023. Being the first category government hospital of the province, it got re-certification of ISO.

For the first time in Pakistan, Rota Pro Plus and LA appendage technology were introduced for heart disease at PIC, Rifat Anjum added.

Economic zone of 5000 acres to be set up in Rawalpindi: Commissioner

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Sun, 31 Dec 2023, 1:30 PM

RAWALPINDI, Dec 31 (APP): The administration would set up an economic zone of 5000 acres in Rawalpindi to facilitate the business community, said Commissioner Rawalpindi Division, Liaquat Ali Chatta.
He informed that the master planning of Rawalpindi includes an economic zone of 5000 acres where the traders would set up the factories and provide economic opportunities to the local people.
The Commissioner said that Rawalpindi is a division of six districts covering 22.993 square kilometers.
Rawalpindi division has 22 tehsils and a total population of the division is 11.406 million.
Rawalpindi Division has a literacy rate of 72.25% and there are 12 universities and five specialized institutions in the division, Liaquat Ali Chatta added.
The division has a total of 544 schemes worth Rs 179,576 million under the Annual Development Program (2023-24) and 33 percent funds had been utilized so far on the development schemes, the Commissioner added.
At present, work on various mega projects is underway in Rawalpindi.
Phase-I of the Rawalpindi Ring Road, a mega project to reshape Rawalpindi, was swiftly being completed, he said.
Economic Corridors would be created along the Rawalpindi Ring Road to provide maximum economic opportunities by promoting local industry in Rawalpindi.
An economic zone of 5000 acres would be created under the master planning of Rawalpindi on the proposal of the business community, he said.
The construction work of Dadocha Dam was also swiftly being completed to provide Rawalpindi with 35 million gallons of clean drinking water per day.
Several other projects including Leh Expressway, Katchehari Chowk, Safe City Project, Water Supply Schemes and revamping of Holy Family hospital project would be completed.
Construction of 150-bed Rehab Center at Wah General Hospital, up-gradation of Pirwadhai Bus Stand, Slaughter house, VICS Centre, Freelance IT center and Gymkhana in all the districts of the division were also included in the development schemes of the current year.
Divisional Public Schools had also been started in other districts of the division.
Liaquat Bagh Library would also be developed.
The divisional administration’s current focus is on action against hoarders, environmental issues, tourist facilities in Murree, provision of better travel facilities for the public and upcoming elections, he said.
Due to lack of feeder bus service, full utilization of metro bus could not be achieved, he said adding, a feeder bus service would be started across the city to cover 80% of the city.
These feeder buses would transport passengers from across the city to metro stations, he added.
All arrangements were being completed for the upcoming general elections, he said adding, there are 13 constituencies of the National Assembly and 26 constituencies of the Provincial Assembly in Rawalpindi Division.
5494 polling stations and 52,837 polling staff were being appointed for the general elections, he said.
There were 58 small dams in the Rawalpindi division and a proper water supply system had been developed, the Commissioner informed.
The irrigated area had been increased from 17,000 acres to 42,000 and the target is to take it up to 80,000 acres by fully activating the water supply system of the small dams, he added.

Admin sets up 13 centers in Murree to facilitate tourists

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Sun, 31 Dec 2023, 1:12 PM