21 May 2004 Friday 01 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 KARACHI: MMA team assured of impartial inquiry KARACHI, May 20: Sindh chief secretary Dr Mutawakkil Kazi has said that maintenance of peaceful conditions in Karachi is essential for peace in the whole country. ... KARACHI: Association's election ordered KARACHI, May 20: The Sindh High Court ordered the administrator of the Karachi Electronics Dealers Association on Thursday to hold its elections on May 26 as already scheduled. ... KARACHI: Burns taking more toll in mosque blast KARACHI, May 20: Unlike the bomb blasts in this metropolis over decades, the bomb blast at Hyderi mosque on May 7 resulted in a remarkably high number of burn cases ... KARACHI: Undeclared power cuts make life miserable KARACHI, May 20: The KESC has been continuing with its unannounced load shedding in various localities of the metropolis which has made the citizens' life miserable, particularly amid the simmering weather conditions. ... KARACHI: Mosque blast toll rises to 22 KARACHI, May 20: Yet another victim of the May 7 bomb blast in Hyderi mosque died at the Liaquat National Hospital here on Thursday, raising the death toll in the tragedy to 22. ... KARACHI: SHC calls for action against inefficient prosecutors KARACHI, May 20: The Sindh High Court called on Thursday for action against prosecutors who do not properly pursue their cases in trial courts and leave such lacunae in their briefs which compel the courts to acquit even the real culprits. ... KARACHI: Training in trauma management urged KARACHI, May 20: Considering the frequent terrorist actions, which are already taking place in Karachi, and which are likely to occur quite often in future as well ... KARACHI: Various UCs suffer for non-receipt of octroi KARACHI, May 20: The withholding of Octroi Zila Tax (OZT) funds by the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) has caused serious financial problems and halted development and non-development works in several unions councils (UC) of the city. ... KARACHI: CDGK to build 30 pedestrian bridges KARACHI, May 20: The city government, with involvement of private parties, will construct pedestrian bridges on 30 major thoroughfares in the city on built, operate and transfer basis. ... KARACHI: Asthma is curable disease, say doctors KARACHI, May 20: More than five per cent of Pakistan's population suffers from asthma, a disease about which many misconceptions exist. The disease is curable provided the patients are treated properly. ... KARACHI: Doctors' rudeness due to odd duty hours KARACHI, May 20: Occupational stress, odd duty hours, inadequate rest and recreational activities are resulting in a rude behaviour by doctors and other paramedical staff with patients working at both local public and private hospitals. ... KARACHI: ATC orders release of suspect in blast case KARACHI, May 20: An anti-terrorism court ordered on Thursday release of a worker of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi in a case pertaining to a hand-grenade attack on a rangers patrol. ... KARACHI: Lack of facilities for safari KARACHI, May 20: The Safari Area, that has remained closed for the public for past many years and was scheduled to be opened on Thursday, could not be opened for the lack of necessary arrangements, it is learnt. ... KARACHI: Ghotki tense, warn rights groups KARACHI, May 20: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Aurat Foundation and the Women's Action Forum have asked the authorities to take immediate notice of the recent incidents in Ghotki district. ... KARACHI: Four awarded death in kidnapping case KARACHI, May 20: An anti-terrorism court in Karachi on Thursday awarded death sentence to four accused in a kidnapping for ransom case. ... KARACHI: Water tankers' new colours creating confusion KARACHI, May 20: A sudden change in the prescribed colour- coding of water tankers, from green to light blue, has created doubts among those consuming tanker water. ... ISLAMABAD: Millers for lifting of ban on wheat movement ISLAMABAD, May 20: The Islamabad Flour Mills Association has urged the Punjab government to lift the restriction on supply of wheat which, it said, would reduce atta prices by Rs30 per 20kg bag. ... NOWSHERA: Bridge on Indus at Khairabad opened NOWSHERA, May 20: Federal Minister for Communications Babar Khan Ghauri criticized the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal for what he termed "double standards", saying that certain anti-Pakistan forces were hatching conspiracies to stall the country's march towards economic stability. ... LAHORE: Cabinet okays bill to check child beggary LAHORE, May 20: The Punjab cabinet on Thursday okayed the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau bill that carries a maximum of five years jail for those who maim children for begging or exploit them through other means. ... LAHORE: Unhygienic condition in 38 ice-cream factories LAHORE, May 20: The City District Government food squad has booked 38 ice-cream factories for manufacturing their products under unhygienic conditions and sent samples for analysis. ... LAHORE: Certain legalities 'overlooked': Afridi's sentence LAHORE, May 20: Advocate Syed Ehsan Qadir Shah, the counsel for Rehmat Shah Afridi, submitted in the Lahore High Court on Thursday that the special anti-narcotics court awarded death sentence ... LAHORE: Meeting the need for family planning LAHORE, May 20: Researchers have estimated that the 'unmet need' for family planning is around 37 per cent in Pakistan and less than 20 per cent in India and Bangladesh. ... PESHAWAR: State-run hospitals lack test facilities, say doctors PESHAWAR, May 20: Lack of investigation facilities in state-run hospitals has been forcing the patients to go to private diagnostic centres, doctors say. ... PESHAWAR: CNG kits to be installed in rickshaws PESHAWAR, May 20: The Environment Protection Agency (EPA), NWFP, has planned installation of CNG kits in two-stroke rickshaws on experimental basis with the objective of controlling air and noise pollution. ... PESHAWAR: Carpet training centres face closure PESHAWAR, May 20: Non-availability of funds and mismanagement had led to the closure of 13 carpet weaving training centres in the province during the past three years, while two more would meet the same fate shortly, official sources said. ... PESHAWAR: Tug-of-war over registrar's transfer PESHAWAR, May 20: The transfer of a junior registrar at the Khyber Teaching Hospital's orthopaedic ward has created a discord between the in-charge of the ward and the hospital's administration. ... PESHAWAR: 'Rs60m allocated for free healthcare' PESHAWAR, May 20: The government has allocated Rs60 million for providing free healthcare facilities to poor patients at the teaching hospitals of the province, health minister Inayatullah Khan said here on Thursday. ... PESHAWAR: Medical varsity's charter ready PESHAWAR, May 20: NWFP Health Minister Inayatullah has directed the officials concerned to accelerate the pace of work on implementation of the medical university and women's medical college projects. ... PESHAWAR: Inquiry ordered into dishonouring of girl PESHAWAR, May 20: Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan on Thursday took suo motu notice of parading a girl naked in a village of Nowshera district ... HYDERABAD: Fishermen condemn 'anti-people' water policy - Restoration of Indus delta urged HYDERABAD, May 20: The Pakistan Fisher folk Forum has condemned what it called government's anti-people policy regarding water supply and threatened to launch a movement for protecting interests of affected people of the Indus delta. ... HYDERABAD: 'Students not to attend govt-sponsored youth convention' HYDERABAD, May 20: The Muttahida Tuleba Mahaz, an alliance of student organizations of the country, has announced the boycott of youth convention convened by President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Saturday. ... HYDERABAD: Emergency declared in hospitals HYDERABAD, May 20: Around 210 patients suffering from stomach diseases were admitted to the Civil Hospital's medicine and paediatrics wards on Thursday. ... MIRPURKHAS: Water shortage damages cotton crop MIRPURKHAS, May 20: The cotton crop has been damaged because of the acute shortage of water in the district which will, eventually, lead to decreased harvest in the current year. ... FAISALABAD: Private schools threaten protest drive FAISALABAD, May 20: The All-Pakistan Private Schools Management Association has announced that it will launch a protest campaign against the government's educational policies that are 'unfriendly' to students. ... RAHIM YAR KHAN: 20,000 bank accounts under scrutiny RAHIM YAR KHAN, May 20: A special audit team from Bahawalpur is conducting a scrutiny of about 20,000 accounts of NBP's main branch here after reports of discrepancies. ... SAHIWAL: PML-N man get 90-day detention SAHIWAL, May 20: The Punjab home department on Thursday issued orders for a 90-day detention of the PML-N district president and the divisional coordinator under 3-MPO. ... RAWALPINDI: Clerks observe pen-down strike RAWALPINDI, May 20: Members of All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA) observed a pen-down strike here on Thursday in a bid to press the government to accept their charter of demand and redress their issues in the forthcoming fiscal budget. ... GILGIT: Flour crisis deepens in Northern Areas GILGIT, May 20: The acute flour shortage in all the five districts of the Northern Areas has become more alarming as the prices of the flour and other essential edibles were soaring day by day, traders and consumers have said. ... QUETTA: Nazims, councillors call off strike QUETTA, May 20: The protesting Nazims and councillors of Quetta have called off their token hunger strike following President Musharraf's directives to Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousuf to hand over Wasa to the city district government. ... PESHAWAR: Committee to improve jail conditions demanded PESHAWAR, May 20: Speakers at a workshop have demanded that the government should form a committee to inspect jails and propose and implement reforms for improving their condition. ... PESHAWAR: 'Ministry unaware of cousins' detention' PESHAWAR, May 20: The interior ministry on Thursday expressed ignorance before a Peshawar High Court bench about alleged detention of four cousins by the Pakistan Army for 70 days. ... LANDI KOTAL: Christian leader recovered LANDI KOTAL, May 20: A Christian leader, kidnapped over a month ago, was recovered and one of his kidnappers was arrested after a brief encounter between outlaws and Khasadars on Wednesday night, officials said. ... HARIPUR: High noise pollution blamed for deafness HARIPUR, May 20: Cases of loss of hearing among the working class and children are increasing, a doctor said on Thursday. Industrial and vehicular noise and carelessness with regard to cleanliness of children ... ISLAMABAD: SC adjourns hearing in two IPPs cases ISLAMABAD, May 20: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned identical appeals of two independent power producers, Spencer Powergen and the Rupali Power Limited, against the forfeiture of their performance bonds ... SUKKUR: CM says 33,000 jobs created SUKKUR, May 20: Sindh Chief Minister Ali Mohammad Mahar has said that his government has created 33,000 jobs for which the selection criteria will be merit. ... MIRPURKHAS: Protest against non-supply of water MIRPURKHAS, May 20: Several residents of Ayub Nagar, Bhansinghabad and the Tata Factory held a demonstration outside the taluka municipal administration office to protest against non-supply of water for the last one month. ... HYDERABAD: Samples from lake, canals being tested - Assessing damage to environment HYDERABAD, May 20: Officials of the Environment Protection Agency and Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority collected samples of water of the Manchhar Lake on Thursday and Wednesday ... HYDERABAD: Wapda sustains Rs158m loss in five days HYDERABAD, May 20: A loss of Rs158.5757 million has been incurred due to non-generation of 600 megawatts of electricity in the wake of closure of three units of the Jamshoro thermal power house ... JACOBABAD: Mercury shoots up to 52°C in Jacobabad JACOBABAD, May 20: Mercury shot up to 52 degrees Centigrade in the district on Thursday, due to which life came to a standstill. ... LARKANA: Three new AIDS cases detected in Larkana LARKANA, May 20: The number of AIDS cases in Larkana rose to 85 after three new cases were detected in the district. Official sources told this correspondent here on Thursday that two cases ... JHANG: 20 held for attacking imambargah JHANG, May 20: The Kotwali police have registered a case under Anti-terrorism Act against 40 people of Basti Noorpura for attacking an imambargah and injuring at least five people and causing damage to property on Wednesday night and arrested 20 of them. ... MULTAN: Governor's approval pending for a month - Inquiry against BZU vice-chancellor MULTAN, May 20: The chief minister secretariat has reportedly been waiting for over a month for Punjab governor's approval to initiate an inquiry into the alleged involvement of the vice-chancellor of Bahaudin Zakariya University ...

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