Minister fails to attend Fateha

ISLAMABAD, April 4: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday failed to turn up at Faisal Mosque to attend Fateha for former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The police and administration had received directives from the interior minister to make security arrangements, and bring students of religious seminary for Quran Khawani and offer Fateha for Mr Bhutto.

An SP, a DSP, an inspector, an assistant commissioner and three magistrates along with over two dozen policemen reached Faisal Mosque at around 2pm to make arrangements for the occasion.

Shortly after, three coasters of students from different religious seminaries, including Jamia Faridia, reached the mosque. They all waited for Interior Minister Rehman Malik for six hours but he did not show up. —Staff Reporter

MNA’s suite burgled

ISLAMABAD, April 4: Burglars stole valuables of legislator Kashmala Tariq from her suite in Parliament Lodge, police said on Wednesday.

The incident came to light when the lawmaker returned to her lodge after a week and found her a laptop, a sound system and heaters missing from there.

Later she lodged a complaint with the Secretariat police.

When contacted, Ms Tariq told Dawn that the burglars also stole valuables from her neighbouring suite of Senator Surya Amiruddin.

It is a security lapse, she said adding the police told her that they had devised a security plan two years ago and sent it to the CDA and the speaker but without result. She said those who entered the suites could also kill them.

Responding to a question, she said those who were using her suite had her permission.  —Staff Reporter

Auction of commercial plots

ISLAMABAD, April 4: The city managers on Wednesday auctioned four commercial plots located in Blue Area and Diplomatic Enclave and generated a total of Rs3.65 billion.

Interestingly, the authority auctioned plots of Blue Area extension (opposite to Pims) for the first time. The CDA Member Planning Aziz Qureshi termed the auction “satisfactory” and said the plots fetched good bids.

Some of the bidders raised objections over reserve price of plots set by the authority and called it “low” to favour the blue eyed bidders. According to CDA rules the last highest bid of plots in same area is declared as reserve price of plots in the next auction.

However, the authority’s member planning said the reserve price was set keeping in view the market condition. “You can’t compare price of plots in 2005 and 2006 with the present real estate rates because at that time the market had reached record high,” he said.

According to details one plot in Diplomatic Enclave measuring 7708.32 sq yard was auctioned at Rs1.04 billion. Another plot in Blue Area measuring 4,888 sq yard was sold at Rs1.275 billion and two more plots in Blue Area extension measuring 2666.67 sq yard each were auctioned at Rs669 million each. — Staff Reporter

PML-N AJK chapter president

MUZAFFARABAD, April 4: Former AJK prime minister Raja Farooq Haider was elected unopposed for president’s slot of the AJK chapter of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for a term of four years.

Deputy leader of the opposition in AJK Assembly Chaudhry Tariq Farooq and former speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir were also elected unopposed as senior vice president and secretary general, respectively, party’s election commissioner Justice (retired) Syed Manzoor Hussain Gilani told Dawn on Wednesday. The nomination papers of Zahina Shaiq, lone contestant for the slot of vice president, were rejected on technical grounds. — Staff Correspondent

Woman killed

Rawalpindi, April 4: A woman was killed in an accident near Benazir Bhutto International Airport.

Naseem Akhtar and her son Mohammad Nadeem were on way to the airport to receive her elder son who was returning from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah when she was hit by a vehicle. She was shifted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital where she died.—Staff Reporter