Fuel price surcharge

PESHAWAR, Feb 10: Pakistan Water and Power Action Committee, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has rejected the fuel price surcharge and described it sheer injustice with the poor consumers on part of the government.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Friday the action committee provincial convener Amir Nawab Khan said the nation was already hit hard by price hike, poverty, joblessness and the fuel price surcharge had further added to their agonies.

He said three power houses were functional in Malakand Agency which were generating 121 megawatt electricity but despite that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had to suffer prolonged power outages.

Similarly, he said enough gas was produced in Karak district but the people had to face gas loadshedding. He said the oil and gas was not used for power generation in the province and thus the adjustment of fuel price surcharge in the power bills was totally unjustified. —Bureau Report

Internees seek payment of dues

UPPER DIR, Feb 10: Dozens of internees who worked in government departments under National Internship Programme have threatened to launch protest and move court if the government did not pay their dues by February 15.

The internees said they had worked for a year in 2010-11 but were not paid for six months. Hayat Khan, Sadaqat Hakeem and Burhanuddin said they performed duty in different government schools, colleges and other institutions.

Mr Burhanuddin said they had held meetings with the outgoing DCO for payment of dues and he had assured them of giving them their arrears. “But we did not get the arrears,” he said. “Now officials of the DCO office say the government had not allocated funds for the internship in the budget which means they are not going to pay us the dues,” he added. —Correspondent

PTI organisation in Hazara

MANSEHRA, Feb 10: Sajid Mumtaz Khan, who had recently joined Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf, would be given key role to organise PTI in Hazara Division.

Mr Mumtaz, who is son of late Maj-Gen (retd) Sajid Mumtaz Khan, had quit PPP last month. He is reported to have met with Imran Khan and discussed matters related to organising PTI in Hazara.

Talking to Dawn he said he had left PPP as leadership of the party had forgotten the political philosophy of late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir Bhutto.“PPP is no more the party of poor and oppressed segments of society. Imran Khan is a hope for poor and oppressed segments of society,” observed Mr Mumtaz. —Correspondent

Meeting approves appointments

TIMERGARA, Feb 10:  The Syndicate of Malakand University approved appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff.

The 14th syndicate meeting of the UoM was held at Chakdara the other day with vice-chancellor Mohammad Rasool Jan in the chair.

The meeting gave approval of appointing two deputy controllers of examination, one deputy registrar, one director finance, one assistant registrar, nine lecturers and four assistant professors in various departments of the Malakand University. —Correspondent

Demand for upgrading posts

PESHAWAR, Feb 10: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa civil secretariat workers’ association has demanded of the provincial government to implement the federal government’s decision of upgrading junior cadre posts.

The demand was made at a meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Secretariat Private Secretaries, Personal Assistants and Stenographers Association with its president Mohammad Anwar Khan Banvi in the chair, according to a press release issued here on Friday.

The meeting criticised the provincial government for not implementing the finance division’s notification dated December 23, 2011.

The meeting asked the provincial government to upgrade the posts of private secretaries, personal assistants, and stenographers, putting an end to frustration among the affected civil servants.

The meeting, through a unanimously passed resolution, asked the chief minister and the chief secretary to intervene in the matter. —Bureau Report

Admission policy

PESHAWAR, Feb 10: Academic activities in Cadet College Razmak, North Waziristan Agency, have been curtailed by one year as new admissions would in future start from grade-8, its board of governors decided on Friday.

A meeting of the Board of Governors, held under the chairmanship of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar at the Governor House, brought about changes to the college’s admission policy.

“It (the board of governors) decided to make first entry in the enrolment of the college from 8th class instead of the prevailing practice of 7th class,” a press release issued on Friday said, quoting the board’s decision said. —Bureau Report

Four outlaws held

LAKKI MARWAT, Feb 10: Police claimed on Friday to have arrested four dreaded outlaws after an exchange of fire with them in Tap Takhtikhel village, bordering the frontier tribal region.

The police raided the area on information that outlaws were present there and ordered them to surrender but the criminals opened fire on the police.

The personnel of elite force and anti-terror squad backed by armoured personnel carriers took part in the operation, which lasted for over two hours.

An official said after exchange of fire the law enforcers captured four notorious proclaimed offenders and seized two Kalashnikovs, two pistols, a rifle, a shotgun and 334 bullets from them. The arrested outlaws were identified as Gul Rauf, Ghani Rehman, Ali Abbas and Jaber. —Correspondent

Abbottabad Expressway

PESHAWAR, Feb 10: Governor Barrister Masood Kausar has asked for early start of work on the Hassanabdal-Havelian-Abbottabad-Mansehra Expressway.

He also asked for an early meeting of representatives of all the departments concerned of the federal and provincial governments to resolve the issues delaying its execution. He said the meeting should put in place a comprehensive work plan for a speedy execution of the road project.

Mr Kausar took strong exception to the delay in launching the project while chairing a project review meeting on Friday, according to a press release.

He said the delay was beyond comprehension since the design of the project had already been completed and the government had also released the amount required for acquiring land. —Bureau Report