22 March 2004 Monday 30 Muharram 1425 KARACHI: UC vacancies must be filled within a year - SC KARACHI, March 21: By election to fill up a vacancy in a union council must be held within a year of its occurrence, the Supreme Court held on a federal government appeal recently. ... KARACHI: Al Khidmat accuses rivals of foul play KARACHI, March 21: Elected representatives of Malir Town, belonging to the Al Khidmat group, alleged on Sunday that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had threatened Malir Town Council members ... KARACHI: 3,500 practitioners turn up at PIMA moot KARACHI, March 21: At least 3,500 doctors, including 500 lady doctors, flocked to the two-day 18th biennial convention of the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association that began here on Sunday morning. ... KARACHI: Doctors urged to avoid drug firms' sponsorship KARACHI, March 21: Medical practitioners, on Sunday, were urged not to allow pharmaceutical companies to finance their functions and other ventures. ... KARACHI: Close coordination in health sector stressed KARACHI, March 21: Sindh Assembly Speaker Syed Muzzafar Hussain Shah has underscored the need for close coordination between private and public sectors to meet the fast-growing health requirements of masses. ... KARACHI: Manuscripts in poor condition KARACHI, March 21: The National Museum of Pakistan has not only kept its collection of manuscripts, the largest in the country, in poor condition but has also not acquired a new manuscript for the past 10 years. ... KARACHI: Directory of TB centres to be issued on 24th KARACHI, March 21: In order to increase awareness among general public regarding the diagnostic and treatment facilities available in the metropolis ... KARACHI: Elderly couple dies in fire KARACHI, March 21: An elderly man and his wife died after their apartment near cantonment railway station caught fire in the wee hours on Sunday. ... KARACHI: EPA verifies high level of impurity in tap water - World Water Day today KARACHI, March 21: While the World Water Day is being observed on Monday (today) across the globe, no major event - seminar, conference, discussion, etc. - has been organized at government level in this mega city. ... KARACHI: Councillors seek govt help in Malir polls KARACHI, March 21: A group of union council Naib Nazims and town councillors of Malir Town has called for intervention by the provincial government to ensure transparency in the by-elections for Malir Town Nazim. ... KARACHI: 'Province interfering in district affairs' KARACHI, March 21: The provincial government has been accused of interfering in the affairs of the district governments by exercising their financial powers and making appointments of lower grade staff ... CHAMAN: 57kg charas seized, four arrested CHAMAN, March 21: The Frontier Corps in different operations recovered 157kg of charas and arrested four smugglers on Sunday. They also impounded 12 oxen and 14 donkeys used for smuggling. ... ISLAMABAD: Islamabad water safe for drinking - Report ISLAMABAD, March 21: The National Institute of Health (NIH) has declared that the water being supplied to the residents is fit for human consumption. ... HYDERABAD: Protest rally against Wana operation HYDERABAD, March 21: Activists of the Jamaat-i-Islami, local chapter, held a protest demonstration outside the press club here on Sunday against the Wana operation. ... SUKKUR: Robbers kill woman, minor girl SUKKUR, March 21: Hundreds of people staged a sit-in on the National Highway near Mureed Shakh on Saturday following the murder of a woman and her daughter in a Ghotki village. ... LAHORE: Partly cloudy weather forecast LAHORE, March 21: It was dry and bearably hot in the Punjab capital on Sunday with speckles of clouds which did nothing to provide any relief to the people braving an early summer. ... PESHAWAR: Probe ordered into abuses in school PESHAWAR, March 21: The provincial government has appointed additional district and sessions judge Muhammad Jamal Khan, to conduct a judicial inquiry into allegations of sexual abuse of students in the City Government Higher Secondary School No 3 by some staff members ... PESHAWAR: Blasphemy: date set for appeal hearing PESHAWAR, March 21: The Peshawar High Court has fixed March 31 for hearing the appeal of a newsman convicted under the Blasphemy law last year. Munawar Mohsin, who was a sub-editor at the English Daily, The Frontier Post, was convicted by an additional district and sessions judge on May 8 ... PESHAWAR: NWFP collects Rs1.8bn in seven months PESHAWAR, March 21: The NWFP government collected a total of Rs 1.8 billion under various heads of provincial own receipts (PORs) during the first seven months of the current financial year, according to sources. ... KARACHI: Lyari areas continue to face water shortage KARACHI, March 21: An acute water shortage has been persisting in Shah Beg Lane Union Council areas, Lyari Town, despite repeated assurances of authorities that the problem would be solved on emergency basis. ... KARACHI: Shifting of truck stands from Lyari discussed KARACHI, March 21: City Nazim Niamatullah Khan has said that consultants would be appointed, for the first time, for cleaning, repair and construction of drains in the city. ... HYDERABAD: Councillors hand over resignations to Nazim HYDERABAD, March 21: City Taluka Council members here on Saturday handed over their resignations to the taluka Nazim in protest against the prime minister's denial that he had announced a development package for the district. ... HYDERABAD: Joint struggle for fund release urged - Hyderabad Development Package HYDERABAD, March 21: Six Nazims of the City taluka union councils have urged the district Nazim to constitute an effective coalition to ensure the release of Hyderabad Development Package funds. ... RAWALPINDI: Woman, daughter assaulted RAWALPINDI, March 21: Two men raped a woman and her daughter at gunpoint in Westridge and also looted cash and valuables. After the police refused to register an FIR, the victims approached the area magistratefor registration of the case. ... JACOBABAD: Karo-kari claims four more lives JACOBABAD, March 21: Four people, three of them women, were shot dead on the pretext of Karo-kari in three separate incidents in Jacobabad and Khairpur districts on Sunday. ... HARIPUR: Policemen suspended over prisoner's death HARIPUR, March 21: Four police personnel, including the SHO of Khanpur police station, were suspended by the NWFP IGP over the mysterious death of an accused in the lockup here on Saturday, official sources told Dawn. ... GUJRANWALA: Teachers to launch protest drive GUJRANWALA, March 21: The Punjab teachers union has announced that it would launch a movement against the government if it failed to restore verses of Quran regarding Jehad in the intermediate syllabus. ... FAISALABAD: Four drug pushers arrested FAISALABAD, March 21: Police arrested four drug traffickers and recovered a huge quantity of liquor from their possession here on Saturday night. A police party, on a tip off, raided a house in Islamnagar and caught red-handed Pervaiz selling liquor. ... FAISALABAD: More foundries face closure FAISALABAD, March 21: All foundry, engineering, auto-parts, surgical and agricultural implement manufacturers in the country will have to close down their units if the government failed to resolve the iron crisis within a week. ... GUJRANWALA: Cop's killer held after 'encounter' GUJRANWALA, March 21: Qila Dedar Singh police on Sunday claimed to have arrested after a brief encounter a proclaimed offender who had killed a constable some seven years ago. ... DADU: Hepatitis-B spreads in remote villages - Two die, 50 hospitalized DADU, March 21: A boy and a man died of hepatitis-B and 50 children suffering from the disease were hospitalized on Saturday as the killer disease has spread to different parts of the district. ... LARKANA: Timely payment to growers promised LARKANA, March 21: Growers will be immediately paid for wheat through banks nearest to them, for which the State Bank has issued instructions to all bank branches in Sindh. ... KHAIRPUR: Police accused of torturing PPP worker KHAIRPUR, March 21: The Hingorja police have arrested Sobhodero taluka PPP general-secretary Sarwar Tunio and are torturing him to force him to withdraw support for a candidate of the Awam Dost Panel in the by- elections. ... DADU: Registration of FIR against Hesco officials criticized DADU, March 21: The employees of Hesco took out a procession for the second consecutive day here on Sunday to protest against registration of a murder case against their three colleagues. ...

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