QUETTA, Aug 30: Federal Science and Technology Minister and Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Attaur Rehman has said that Rs10 billion has been allocated to improve the education standard and provision of research facilities in universities.
The minister met Balochistan Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani here on Friday and discussed promotion of information technology and the resolution of problems being faced by the universities in the province.
They were also joined by the vice-chancellors of Balochistan University, Balochistan University of Information technology and Management Sciences, and Balochistan University of Engineering, Khuzdar.
The commission had prepared a plan to improve the education standard, the minister said and added that instead of establishing new universities or constructing buildings priority would be given to the performance of existing institutions.
Elaborating the plan, he said Rs3.5 billion would be utilized to get services of qualified teachers from abroad and within the country for the universities.
He said Rs6.5 billion would be spent for PhD research facilities to facilitate 5,000 students and teachers.
The vice-chancellors apprised the governor and the minister of the problems being faced by their respective universities.
B FIRING: The Iranian border security force on Wednesday opened indiscriminate fire on a patrolling contingent of the Frontier Corps (FC) near Taftan, a border town at the Pakistan-Iran border, official sources said on Thursday.
However, nobody was killed or injured in the firing.
Sources said the patrolling FC men were fired upon when they reached near a Jangle post close to the border of Iran while chasing drug smugglers, who crossed over into Iran. The FC personnel had also taken positions, but did not return the fire.
The Pakistani border authorities strongly protested over the incident and warned that if such incidents occurred in future, the Pakistani border force would retaliate them.
DEATH SENTENCE: The special anti-terrorism court of Quetta has awarded death sentence on four counts to Ayub Hazara in absentia and fined him Rs200,000 for killing four persons.
The court here on Friday announced the judgement and convicted the absconding accused when the prosecution proved that Ayub Hazara killed his wife Zareen Reza, father-in-law Hasan Reza, mother-in-law Jehana and rickshaw driver Imdad Ali on April 20, 2002, at Alamdar road.
He killed his wife and in-laws after Zareen Reza had won the case of divorce against Ayub.
MORPHINE SEIZED: Chaghai Militia, a wing of the Frontier Corps, have seized 635kg morphine from two areas of Chaghai district, FC sources said on Thursday.
The sources said the personnel of the militia on a tip-off had raided an area in Shyban, close to the Pakistan-Afghan border, and seized 385kg morphine hidden in the hilly area.
In another raid in Bracha area of Chaghai district, the militia seized 250kg fine quality morphine. However, no arrest was reported in both the raids.
NEW PROVINCES: Balochistan PML-Q’s general-secretary senator Malik Sarwar Khan Kakar has supported formation of new provinces in the country “as this step would remove the deprivation and misunderstanding amongst the people.”
Talking to a group of reporters here on Wednesday, he said President Pervaiz Musharraf’s reference to this proposition was a positive idea.
“It would cause prosperity, solidarity, unity and harmony amongst the ethnic groups,” he remarked.
The PML-Q leader expressed the view that during the last 55 years people had been nursing grievances for not being properly represented on different forums.
The basic hurdle was the existence of four provinces, he said, adding that carving out new provinces on linguistic and cultural basis would resolve this matter.
Mr Kakar said that formation of new provinces would benefit Balochistan. Besides, the step would take care of the differences between the local governments and the provinces, as some politicians “have been attempting to create rift between the provinces and the federation.”