21 August 2004 Saturday 04 Rajab 1425 KARACHI: Foundation of first desalination plant laid KARACHI, Aug 20: President Pervez Musharraf has declared that the year 2005 would be 'the year of great development' in the country. ... HARIPUR: Ayub concerned over worsening law, order HARIPUR, Aug 20: Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Omar Ayub Khan has expressed concern over the law and order situation in the NWFP and claimed that nobody felt secure in the prevailing circumstances. ... KARACHI: President's movement triggers traffic jams KARACHI, Aug 20: A number of roads in the city witnessed traffic jams on Friday triggered by the movement of President Pervez Musharraf who arrived here on Thursday evening. ... KARACHI: Education dept asked to improve working KARACHI, Aug 20: The Sindh government is taking all possible steps to ensure provision of better education and health facilities on priority basis to the masses. ... KARACHI: KESC employees oppose privatization KARACHI, Aug 20: The Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation employees action committee, while condemning the proposed privatization of the KESC, has warned that if the decision was not withdrawn, it would launch a protest movement from September 3. ... KARACHI: New border police force being raised, PA told KARACHI, Aug 20: A police force, having a strength of 1,319 officials, is being raised for manning three police stations and 25 posts at Sindh-Balochistan border in Jacobabad district to check activities of criminals and to maintain law and order. ... KARACHI: SHC dismisses appeal for staying land auction KARACHI, Aug 20: A division bench of Sindh High Court, comprising Chief Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, dismissed in limine an appeal filed by Shahid Umar ... PESHAWAR: Call for consultations with religious scholars: Change in madressahs curriculum PESHAWAR, Aug 20: Speakers at a seminar on functioning of religious institutions have asked the government to reconsider what they called its pro-US policies, and stop its propaganda against the affairs of Madaris. ... ISLAMABAD:61 army, civilian officials given extension in service, NA told ISLAMABAD, Aug 20: As many as 61 officers, including 32 retired military officials, have been given extension in their service tenure after retirement from December 2002 till now. ... HARIPUR: Subscribers complain of inflated phone bills HARIPUR, Aug 20: A number of telephone subscribers have accused the PTCL authorities of issuing inflated bills. Local subscribers who approached newsmen while providing details of wrong calls ... KARACHI: Mismanagement hampers drive against addicts KARACHI, Aug 20: More than 10 days ago some 350 drug addicts had been taken off the streets and sent to the Edhi Centre near Sohrab Goth. By Friday, however, the number of addicts lodged there came down to a hundred. ... KARACHI: An 'awami' poet honoured KARACHI, Aug 20: Arif Shafique was the guest of the evening at a function held by Bazm-i-Nashoor on Thursday to honour him for his poetry collection, titled 'Yaqeen'. ... KARACHI: Officials told to chalk out anti-polio strategy KARACHI, Aug 20: All EDOs of health and town health officers in the province have been directed to ensure 100 per cent coverage of oral polio vaccine (OPV) during the National Immunization Days commencing on Aug 24. ... KARACHI: KUTS slams manhandling of teacher by students KARACHI, Aug 20: The Karachi University Teachers' Society (KUTS) on Friday discussed the reported man handling of a teacher by a group of students a few days back. ... KARACHI: Two youths drown at Sandspit KARACHI, Aug 20: Two youths drowned at Sandspit on Friday evening. Officials of the Hawkesbay Rescue Centre said that Amir and Mansoor had come to the beach on Friday evening. They were swept away by strong currents at around six in the evening. ... KARACHI: ATC reserves judgment in consulate blast case KARACHI, Aug 20: An anti-terrorism court reserved on Friday the judgment in the Macedonian Consulate bomb blast case against nine workers of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi. ... KARACHI: Five acquitted in rape case KARACHI, Aug 20: District and Sessions Judge, East, Zafar Ahmed Khan Sherwani on Thursday acquitted five accused in an alleged rape case registered by the Korangi Industrial Area police for want of evidence and delay in lodging the FIR. ... LAHORE: Rangers kill two 'smugglers' LAHORE, Aug 20: Two alleged smugglers were killed in what Pakistan Rangers claimed to be an encounter in Batapur on Friday. ... LAHORE: Crackdown on motorcycle races, wheelies LAHORE, Aug 20: District Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood on Friday ordered a crackdown on motorcycle races and reckless riding in the provincial metropolis. ... LAHORE: Ex-servicemen & education reforms LAHORE, Aug 20: The Punjab government has appointed 34 ex-servicemen in the province to physically verify implementation of schemes for providing the missing facilities in schools under the Punjab Education Sector Reform Programme. ... LAHORE: Students protest outside chief warden's home - Raid at KEMC hostels LAHORE, Aug 20: The King Edward Medical College students held a demonstration outside the chief warden's residence on Friday to protest against the sealing of the hostels' rooms. ... LAHORE: LHC orders release of 12 kiln workers LAHORE, Aug 20: The Lahore High Court has ordered the release of 12 brick kiln workers, who have been illegally confined to a cell at a kiln in Mandi Bahauddin for about one year. ... LAHORE: Couple held with 374kgs of contraband LAHORE, Aug 20: The Punjab ANF claimed on Friday to have arrested a couple and recovered more than 374 kilograms of contraband from their possession. ... LAHORE: SC accepts 29 calligraphers' petition LAHORE, Aug 20: A division bench of the Supreme Court has accepted the plea of 29 calligraphers of the defunct daily Imroze regarding pensionary benefits to them. ... PESHAWAR: Woman's citizenship plea being reassessed PESHAWAR, Aug 20: The deputy attorney-general has informed the Peshawar High Court that Dr Hafsa Aman, an Indian woman married to a Pakistani national, was denied citizenship by the interior division because the security agencies had not given clearance. ... PESHAWAR: Police told not to dispose of case property PESHAWAR, Aug 20: The Peshawar district and sessions judge, Hayat Ali Shah, has ordered the local police not to dispose of case properties without permission from the concerned court. ... PESHAWAR: Three killed, one kidnapped in different incidents PESHAWAR, Aug 20: Three men were killed in different incidents and one person was kidnapped over a monetary dispute, police officials said on Friday. ... HYDERABAD: US occupation of Iraq condemned HYDERABAD, Aug 20: The general secretary of the Jamaat-i- Islami, Sindh, Rashid Naseem, has said that the people of the world considered the US as the enemy of humanity due to its imperialistic designs. ... HYDERABAD: Concern over new case of polio HYDERABAD, Aug 20: Hyderabad which has remained a polio-free district since Jan 2002 has lost its status due to detection of a polio case in Tando Mohammad Khan taluka. ... HYDERABAD: Rs182m for uplift projects HYDERABAD, Aug 20: An amount of Rs182 million has been earmarked by the district government to undertake new development schemes in the district. ... HYDERABAD: Protests against US attacks on shrines HYDERABAD, Aug 20: Activists of the Anjuman Ghulaman-i- Qalandar Lal Shahbaz, Tando Thoro, staged a demonstration outside the press club after the Juma prayers to protest against the US attack on the shrine of Hazrat Ali (RA) in Iraq. ... LARKANA: Unregistered blood banks in Larkana LARKANA, Aug 20: Of 72 blood banks and laboratories operating in the district, not one is registered, increasing the risk of spread of blood-borne diseases, reveale a survey conducted by district health officials. ... GUJRAT: Stolen passports' mystery solved GUJRAT, Aug 20: The mystery of misuse of stolen Pakistani passport booklets has been resolved with the arrest of three passengers by the immigration authorities at Lahore airport on the charge of travelling on such passports. ... KASUR: Rs15m budget for school approved KASUR, Aug 20: The board of governor has approved annual budget of Rs15 million for Kasur Public School (KPS). The teachers and employees will be awarded 15 per cent increase in their salaries while teachers showing outstanding performance will be given medals. ... SHEIKHUPURA: Protest against 'death in custody' SHEIKHUPURA, Aug 20: A passerby woman was injured when police opened fire on protesters who threw traffic out of gear on Lahore-Sargodha Road for some three hours here on Friday. ... VERHARI: Six faint after power breakdown in Vehari VEHARI, Aug 20: Frequent power failure on Friday left six people unconscious, including two children, at Chak 22/WB amid hot and humid weather conditions. ... SARGODHA: Patwari suspended for graft SARGODHA, Aug 20: An Irrigation department patwari was suspended from service for allegedly misappropriating a huge amount of Bhalwal tehsil cultivators. ... SARGODHA: Foreigner held SARGODHA, Aug 20: The cantonment police arrested an African man from a hotel adjacent to the PAF airbase here on Thursday night. ... GUJRANWALA: PTCL surpasses recovery target GUJRANWALA, Aug 20: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) claimed to have achieved an excess recovery target of Rs4.54 billion than the fixed target of Rs4.12 billion. ... SUKKUR: Judge raids police station to free man held illegally SUKKUR, Aug 20: A civil judge from Thull, Yasin Kolachi, conducted a raid on Karim Bux police station on Friday evening and recovered Mohammad Zaman Khoso, who had been arrested and kept him in illegal confinement without any charge for the last eight days. ... THATTA: Hatchery needs attention THATTA, Aug 20: The Chilya Fish Hatchery, one of the major sites for breeding fish of various species in Thatta, requires special attention of the authorities including widening of its scope and provision of more funds. ... NOWSHERA: Minister accused of supporting smugglers NOWSHERA, Aug 20: The customs intelligence, Peshawar, have accused NWFP Minister for Excise and Taxation Fazal-i-Rabbani of pressurising its personnel to release goods seized after a brief exchange of fire ...

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