LAHORE: The provincial caretaker government on Tuesday waived off the tuition fees of Kashmiri students studying in Punjab and announced that 200 laptops would also be distributed among them.

It was announced during a meeting of a delegation of Kashmiri students with caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi at his office.

Provincial Minister for Information and Culture Aamir Mir, Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Dr Javed Akram, secretaries of specialised healthcare and information, vice chancellors of the King Edward Medical University and the Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Punjab Medical Association vice president and others were also present during the meeting.

The CM directed the traffic police to issue driving licences to all Kashmiri students on priority so that they could travel by their own motorcycles, cars etc and continue their studies.

Traffic challan ‘quota’ prohibited

He also announced that 200 laptops would be distributed among the Kashmiri students studying in Punjab.

He said the Bank of Punjab would be asked to open accounts of Kashmiri students and steps would be taken to fix the post-graduation quota for those enrolled in medical colleges.

He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would also be approached to resolve the visa issues of Kashmiri students.

The students thanked the chief minister and appreciated holding of different events in the province on Kashmir Solidarity Day.

The meeting participants also offered prayers for those who died in the massive earthquake hitting Turkiye and Syria.

TRAFFIC CHALLANS: The caretaker chief minister has ordered doing away with the practice of “daily quota” of traffic challans across Punjab.

“The performance of wardens will not be subject to the number of daily challans,” he said on Tuesday.

He said licencing centres in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi would work in two shifts, seven days a week, while the centre at the Liberty Market in Lahore would work round the clock.

The CM said Gulberg, The Mall, Jail Road and Ferozepur Road would be made model roads. An effective management system would be introduced for the smooth flow of traffic in the city.

He said traffic police teams would go to colleges for conducting driving tests and issuance of licences to the qualifying students.

He also ordered that the issues related to the promotion of wardens should be resolved without delay. He also ordered indiscriminate action against the beggar mafia on city roads.

“Beggar children should be shifted to the Child Welfare and Protection Bureau for their rehabilitation,” he added.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2023