ISLAMABAD
A motorcyclist on Saddar Road covers his luggage with plastic sheet to stay dry in the rain
PESHAWAR
PESHAWAR
Options International deposits Rs 6 mln penalty into national treasury
ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP):Following the Supreme Court of Pakistan dismissed its appeal, M/s Options International deposited Rs 6 million penalty under Section 40(8) of the Competition Act 2010 into national treasury.
This Supreme Court decision marks the end of a comprehensive legal battle that began with a formal complaint from STARBUCKS leading to an investigation and enforcement action by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), said a press.
In June 2024, the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) dismissed Options International’s appeal, increasing the primary penalty from Rs 5 million to Rs 6 million and prohibiting the company from illegally using the Starbucks brand name and logo.
M/s Options International has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the CAT’s order, which the court dismissed.
The Supreme Court ruled that “Options International,” put itself forward by selling its products under the international brand name Starbucks and by using its logo, which amounts to deceptive marketing.
Since the new management has taken over, CCP has effectively recovered fines of Rs 38 million, demonstrating substantial progress in its fight against cartel conduct.
UNESCO says 1.4 million girls banned from school since Taliban retook power
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 15 (APP): The Taliban “have almost wiped out two decades of steady progress for education” in Afghanistan, putting the future of an entire generation in jeopardy, the UN educational, scientific and cultural agency (UNESCO) reported on Wednesday.
Afghanistan is currently the only country in the world where secondary and higher education is strictly forbidden to women and girls over age 12, the Paris-based UN agency said.
The Taliban swept back into power on 15 August 2021 and swiftly began curtailing women’s rights, it was pointed out.
Three years to the day after the fall of Kabul, the nation’s capital, at least 1.4 million girls have been deliberately denied access to secondary education because of the bans.
Apart from the girls who were already out of school before the Taliban’s reimposition of strict religious legal codes, there are now almost 2.5 million girls in the country deprived of their right to education, representing 80 per cent of Afghan school age girls.
There has also been a decrease by over half of the number of students enrolled in universities since 2021, UNESCO said.
As a result, the country will face a shortage of graduates trained for highly skilled jobs, which will only exacerbate development problems, according to the report.
While girls’ education is technically still permitted under the age of 12, the number of those enrolled in primary education has fallen drastically since 2021.
New UNESCO data shows that Afghanistan had only 5.7 million girls and boys in primary school in 2022, compared with 6.8 million in 2019.
This drop in primary school enrollment is the result of the Taliban’s decision to prohibit female teachers from teaching boys, worsening a teacher shortage. It can also be explained by parents’ lack of incentive to send their children to school in an increasingly difficult socioeconomic environment.
It is feared that the increasing drop-out rate could lead to a rise in child labour and early marriage.
Since 2021, UNESCO has set up programmes with the support of local communities in 20 of the country’s 34 provinces.
Over 1,000 facilitators, including 780 women, have been trained to deliver literacy courses, benefiting over 55,000 young people, the vast majority of them girls.
UNESCO also invests in distance learning via radio and television, providing financial support and training to Afghan media wishing to develop and broadcast educational programmes.
The UN agency continues to call on the international community to fully commit to restoring the right to education for girls and women in Afghanistan, stating that face-to-face education in a classroom is the best possible way for people to learn.
“The right to education cannot be negotiated or compromised. The international community must remain fully mobilized to obtain the unconditional reopening of schools and universities to Afghan girls and women,” emphasized Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO.
Meanwhile, 36 UN experts are also calling on the international community not to normalize the Taliban in Afghanistan in a joint statement released Wednesday.
The rights experts, who report to the Human Rights Council and who are not UN staff, include the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett.
“Over the past three years, the people of Afghanistan, especially women and girls, have been subjected to an appalling and intensifying attack on their rights and freedoms by a regime that lacks legitimacy and inclusivity, quashes all forms of dissent, represses civil society and the media and has shown a flagrant disregard for the principles of justice, non-discrimination, equality and the rule of law,” the rights experts stated.
The experts emphasized that the deliberate subjugation of women and girls is so widespread and systematic that it has come to amount to crimes against humanity, including the crime of gender persecution.
The situation is so extreme that many Afghans say it is best described as “gender apartheid”.
“The people of Afghanistan deserve to live in a country where the rights, dignity and humanity of all are respected and protected. Now more than ever is the time for robust international action to meet their demands with increased protection, support and solidarity,” they concluded.
CEO IESCO for prompt complaints redressal
ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP):Chief Executive Officer of IESCO, Muhammad Naeem Jan, made an unannounced visit to various SDO offices in the Islamabad Circle where open kacharies were being held.
During these visits, the IESCO Chief met with customers attending the forums, inquired about their electricity-related issues, and issued instructions to the relevant officers for their immediate resolution, said a press release.
On this occasion, IESCO Chief, Muhammad Naeem Jan, stated that IESCO is committed to addressing customer complaints as quickly as possible. Customers appreciated the initiative of holding daily open kacharies in all SDO offices from 11:00 AM to 01:00 PM, as per the instructions of the Government of Pakistan and the Ministry of Energy (Power Division).
He noted that these forums have enabled the quick resolution of their billing issues, power outages, installation of new transformers/meters, replacement of old and faulty transformers/meters, non-receipt of electricity bills, and other electricity-related complaints.
Naeem Jan praised the field officers for ensuring the resolution of customer complaints and emphasized the importance of maintaining friendly and professional relations with customers.
According to the details, since the start of the open kacharies from July 15, 2024, a total of 10,481 complaints of various kinds have been registered in 126 SDO offices, out of which 10,449 complaints have been promptly resolved, and necessary instructions have been issued for the resolution of the remaining complaints.
Customers are encouraged to participate in these open forums to ensure timely resolution of their electricity-related issues.
NA body constitutes sub-committee to revive PSM
ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP):The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Industries and Production on Thursday constituted a sub-committee to address the financial and administrative challenges faced by Pakistan Steel Mill (PSM), prioritizing the concerns of its employees.
The committee was met under the chairmanship of Member National Assembly (MNA) Syed Hafeez ud Din, said a news release.
The Terms of Reference (ToRs) and composition of the Sub-Committee are as follows:
“To address the financial and administrative issues, particularly those related to employees and the operations of Pakistan Steel Mills.”
The sub-committee’s membership includes Convener Ms. Naz Baloch, along with Abdul Hakeem Baloch, Muhammad Arshad Sahi, and Dr. Mahesh Kumar Malani as its members.
Earlier, the Minister for Industries and Production provided an extensive briefing on the status of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).
He said that PSM has a total landholding of 19,000 acres, of which 4,008 acres remain unutilized, while 305 acres have unfortunately been illegally encroached.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of PSM also informed the committee that over the years, the federal government invested a substantial Rs. 170 billion into PSM to keep it operational.
The committee, after reviewing the detailed briefing from both the Ministry and PSM representatives, expressed its determination to ensure that PSM continues to function and contributes to the national economy.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director (MD) of Utility Stores Corporation (USC) briefed the committee that USC remains committed providing the public with quality commodities purchased exclusively from reputable, branded companies.
These items are then offered to the public at subsidized rates, ensuring affordability for all citizens.
The MD highlighted that these branded companies are contractually obligated not to sell the same items at a price lower than that printed on the packaging anywhere else in the country.
Utility Stores Corporation has also received approximately Rs 1 billion as rebate during last one year.
The MD also raised a significant concern regarding taxation policies.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) currently imposes taxes based on the buying price of commodities, but the MD USC argued that taxation should instead be based on the subsidized price at which these goods are sold to the public, he added.
The committee acknowledged this issue and decided to call the Chairman, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to its next meeting in order to resolve the taxation matter and support USC’s mission to provide essential goods at lower prices.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Industries and Production, MNAs Sajid Mehdi, Ms. Kiran Imran Dar, Syed Murtaza Mahmud, Dr. Mahesh Kumar Malani, Abdul Hakeem Baloch, Ms. Naz Baloch, Muhammad Mubeen Arif, Muhammad Saad Ullah, Rana Atif, Muhammad Ali Sarfraz, Muhammad Arshad/Sahi, Muhammad Iqbal Khan and the officials of the Ministry and PSM.
Rivers Chenab, Indus flow in medium flood: FFC
ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP):The Federal Flood Commission (FFC) has said that due to heavy rainfall in the catchment areas, River Chenab at Marala Barrage is experiencing Medium Flood (Rising Trend), discharging 158,266 cusecs while River Indus is also in Medium Flood at Guddu Barrage and in Low Flood in Tarbela-Taunsa reach and at Sukkur Barrage.
According to daily FFC report on Thursday, River Kabul (a right tributary of Indus River) is in Low Flood at Warsak. Rest of major rivers of Indus River System i.e. rivers Jhelum, Ravi and Sutlej are discharging normal flows.
According to latest hydro-meteorological conditions, High Level flood ranging between 200,000 Cusecs to 250,000 Cusecs is anticipated in River Chenab at Marala, Khanki & Qadirabad Barrages including nullahs in rivers Chenab and Ravi catchments during the next 24 hours.
The Combined live storage of the country’s major reservoirs (Tarbela, Mangla, and Chashma) stands at 10.649 MAF, which is 79.74% of the total live storage capacity of 13.354 MAF.
According to the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD), Lahore, yesterday” Upper Air Cyclonic Circulation over Northeastern Rajasthan (India) remained stationary there. Trough of Strong Westerly Wave previously over Northern Iran is now positioned over Northeastern Iran and adjoining Afghanistan.
This system is expected to impact the upper catchments of all major rivers starting today. Meanwhile, Seasonal Low lies over Northern Balochistan. At present, moderate moist currents from the Arabian Sea are penetrating into most parts of Pakistan up to 5000 feet.
For the next 24 hours, FFD, Lahore has predicted scattered thunderstorm rain of Moderate Intensity with isolated Heavy Falls over Punjab (Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Multan & Bahawalpur Divisions), Sindh and Balochistan (Zhob, Nasirabad, Sibbi & Kalat Divisions).
During the same period, widespread thunderstorm rain of Moderate to Heavy Intensity with Isolated Very Heavy Falls may occur over Islamabad, Punjab (Rawalpindi & Gujranwala Divisions) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including upper catchments of rivers Indus, Kabul & Jhelum besides, scattered to widespread thunderstorm rain of Moderate Intensity with isolated Heavy to Very Heavy Falls over Punjab (Sargodha, Lahore and D.G.Khan Divisions) including upper catchments of rivers Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej.