2018 was a great year of Pakistan Aviation. PCAA not only opened newly constructed Islamabad & Thar airports but also upgraded Faisalabad, Peshawar & Quetta Airports. Expansion of Lahore Airport Underway
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AJK likely to get Rs12bn annually as net hydel power profit
Currently, AJK gets merely 15 paisa per unit as water usage charges from Mangla dam while KP and Punjab get net hydel profit of Rs1.10 per unit from Tarbela dam and Ghazi Barotha hydel power project respectively
The federal government has decided to treat Azad Jammu and Kashmir on a par with Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in terms of net hydel power profit, and according to rough estimates, AJK is expected to get about Rs12 billion per annum.
The AJK government has prepared a summary and is moving it to the federal cabinet since the federal government has principally agreed to pay net hydel power profit to AJK, said Additional Chief Secretary for Planning and Development Department Dr Syed Asif Hussain while talking to a group of Islamabad-based journalists who visited Muzaffarabad the other day.
Currently, AJK gets merely 15 paisa per unit as water usage charges from Mangla dam; KP and Punjab get net hydel profit of Rs1.10 per unit from Tarbela dam and Ghazi Barotha hydel power project, respectively. The payment of profit from net hydel power to AJK may further increase when the Neelum-Jhelum power project is included.
Since AJK is not part of Pakistan under the Constitution, the state is not entitled to receive share from hydel profit. However, considering it as an issue of justice and equality, the federal government has agreed to give equal share to AJK on a par with KP and Punjab. Since AJK had no representation in the National Finance Commission, Council of Common Interests and Indus River System Authority, no benefit was given to AJK, he said.
Official says Islamabad will treat Azad Jammu and Kashmir at par with Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
According to Dr Hussain, AJK is significantly contributing electricity to the national grid and the entire electricity produced in AJK is transmitted to the national system. After Mangla and Neelum-Jhelum, the Patrind hydel power project is producing electricity. Two more power projects are coming up in AJK in the private sector — 140MW Bong and 84MW downstream of Mangla by Bong. Karot, Gulpur, Kohala and other power sector projects are coming up. In all, 20 hydropower projects are in the pipeline in AJK, he said.
Five Pilots Employed By PIA Have Not Even Passed Matric: CAA
At least five pilots of the national flag carrier PIA turned out to be without matriculation certificates, a report prepared by the Civil Aviation Authority revealed.
A report of CAA regarding the verification of PIA pilots’ degrees revealed that at least five pilots working for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) do not even hold a matriculation certificate.
The report was submitted to the Supreme Court by the Authority during the hearing of a suo motu case regarding fake degrees of PIA pilots.
The case was heard by a two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar at the Lahore registry of the apex court.
The report said that degrees of seven pilots were found to be fake, while five pilots had not even passed matriculation examination.
The judge remarked that people’s lives were put at stake. “A person with a qualification less than matric is not even authorized to drive a bus, here planes are being flown by pilots who are not even matric pass,” Justice Ijaz Ahsan remarked.
The representative of PIA informed the bench that the administration of the national flag carrier has sacked 50 pilots, who failed to provide their academic credentials.
The Supreme Court ordered the concerned authorities to complete the process of degree verification and submit a final report on the matter within two days.
Earlier, during the verification process of the certificates of Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) employees, it was revealed that 20 air hostesses and stewards of the national flag carrier hold fake matriculation certificates.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that the educational credentials of these employees lack credence.
The CAA had earlier sent the certificates to different educational boards of the country for verification. All the boards confirmed that more than 20 crew members have fake degrees. Following the disclosure, the aviation industry’s regulator asked PIA to fire all staff members with fake certificates. The national flag carrier has initiated action against them in this regard.
Earlier this month, PIA informed the Supreme Court that at least 12 pilots and 73 crew members had fake degrees.
Increase in research output
Pakistan is the second country in the world that has shown the largest percentage increase in research output in 2018.
According to estimates put together by publishing-services company Clarivate Analytics for Nature, Pakistan is one of the emerging economies that produced 15,9% more research output. Egypt came first at 21%. The research was measured in numbers of scientific papers published.
It isn’t clear what has led to the rise for Egypt and Pakistan but experts think that increases in funding and international collaborations might have boosted the numbers in Egypt and Pakistan.
“One reason could be that both countries started from a low base — near the bottom of the list of top 40 countries in overall numbers of papers,” the article quoted Robert Tijssen, head of science and innovation studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands, as saying.
Motorway ( M-8) is near completion
About 213 km Khuzdar-Shahdadkot Section of Gwadar-Rattodero Motorway ( M-8) is nearly completed and would likely to become fully functional in April 2019.
An official of National Highway Authority (NHA) told APP on Sunday that 188 Km of the section has been accomplished and already open for traffic and people of Baluchistan and Sindh are benefiting by transportation of vegetables and by generating other business. He said that only 5 km of Khori-Wangu Package is under construction.
In this five kilometer portion, the remaining work would be completed within three months, the official said.
He said that reason of delay was non availability of funds. As soon as the payment is released to the contractor, the 5 km portion will also be completed and opened for traffic, he said.
The Gwadar-Ratodero Motorway is divided into two sections; the first from Gwadar to Khuzdar and the second from Khuzdar to Ratodero.
Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan Speech Punjab Government 100 Days Achievement Ceremony Lahore (22.12.18)
Prime Minister Imran Khan resolved that the government would make no compromise on accountability process as it were the people who bore the brunt of corruption.
Addressing the event ‘Delivering Prime Minister’s 100 Days Agenda’ to highlight the performance of the Punjab government during first 100 days, the prime minister said he said the opposition in the National Assembly was ‘doing the drama’ of political victimization contrary to the fact that not even a single case had been registered by the incumbent government.
The event was attended by Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, provincial ministers, members of the Punjab Assembly, diplomats and party workers in a huge number.
The enthusiastic workers carrying party flags chanted slogans in support of the party, the prime minister and the chief minister.
The prime minister recalled that the fake bank accounts had first surfaced in 2015 but the then government put the matter under the carpet in name of Charter of Democracy.
“We have done nothing. But we have not impeded the action (against corruption),” he added.
He said it was strange that the opposition wanted to make Shehbaz Sharif, who was in the jail of NAB (National Accountability Bureau) for corruption, head of the Public Accounts Committee.
The previous government had passed a law allowing a corrupt man to head a political party, which was nothing but the mockery of the parliament, he added. The prime minister told the gathering that he had asked his party to accept the opposition’s every demand like issuance of the production order of Khawaja Saad Rafiq and making Shehbaz Sharif PAC chairman.
However, “we cannot agree to backtrack from the accountability” as it was inevitable for the secure future of the country and next generations, he added. The country’s future would remain imperiled until “we arrest the corrupt.”
The prime minister said he had launched his political career with the slogan against corruption and he would never make any compromise in the name of protecting democracy.
He censured the previous government for spending Rs 250 billion budget of South Punajb in other cities, what ,he said, had increased the sense of deprivation among the people of area. The disintegration of Pakistan was the consequence of such injustices with the people, he added.
He called for learning from the mistakes done in the past and also mentioned the injustices meted out to the people of Balochistan.
The prime minister appreciated the Punjab government for allocating exclusive budget for the South Punjab.
He said the non-development of remote areas put burden on major cities and cited the problems faced by the Lahore city like pollution and congestion.
The Pakistan International School of Damascus: The unreported and silent success story of diplomacy
Pakistan has played a quiet but important role in providing high quality education to Syrians from all walks of life.
Almost all the stories coming out of Syria over the last few years have been of doom and gloom. There has been much destruction to a land rooted in deep and unparalleled history, possessing two of the world’s oldest cities along with people who can easily be called the world’s most diverse set of communities coexisting peacefully; all before regional and international actors made it a battleground for proxy warfare.
Before the war, Syria had the most robust state education system in the Arab world, and even the BBC did an in-depth documentary on the diversity and progressive nature of the Syrian school system. It is these real stories of the Syrian school system and a healthcare system that once was the envy of the Arab world that need to be highlighted as Syria begins it slow but steady recovery towards normality.
It is here that Pakistan has played a quiet but important role in providing high quality education to Syrians from all walks of life. The Pakistan International School (PIS) of Damascus, which comes under the auspices of the Pakistani Embassy, has become a leading school in the country. Meanwhile, other international schools, such as the French School of Damascus and the American School, shut down as the war peaked in 2014 and 2015.
So what has the PIS done quietly that has made it a humanitarian and diplomatic success?
Graduation Day
Peter Oborne, one of Britain’s leading journalists, recently returned from a two-week trip to Syria and highlighted the resilience of the Syrian education system despite unjust sanctions, and focused on how the government is rebuilding schools and carrying out the national curriculum amongst the ruins. A regular visitor to Syria, Oborne also talks about the sense of normalcy and quiet stability that has returned to the streets, and how Syrians have started looking ahead almost immediately without stopping to think about the opportunities lost.
For the PIS, the story has been a similar one. The will and desire of the Syrian people to get on with education has helped the Pakistani Embassy run its school.
Orientation Day
During the first couple of years of the war, student numbers dropped dramatically and the school was hit with staffing problems and a lack of interest from the Foreign Office in Islamabad. However, under incumbent Ambassador to Syria Air Marshal (Retd) Rashid Kamal and his team of teachers, advisors and administrators, the school is looking to reach new heights.
In 2018, Kamal took over from Athar Bukhari, another very successful diplomat who came in at a very difficult time in 2015 and revived the overall diplomatic relations between Damascus and Islamabad. Kamal has taken these ties further, with a keen interest in capitalising on Syria’s huge human capital.
Career counselling
A cancer awareness campaign
The PIS caters not only to those families that can afford to pay, but gives need-based scholarships on the basis of merit and has also supported schools outside of Damascus hit by the war or the influx of internally-displaced people. The school has supported special needs and disabled children affected by the war.
Raising funds at a bake sale
Teacher training has been a particular focus of the current administration, and for the first time since the war, the Ambassador has made arrangements for an international school trip, while a potential student exchange program is in the pipeline, alongside bringing in coaches from the British Council or the University of Cambridge. The school has also enrolled children of other foreign diplomats serving in Damascus, as more and more embassies reopen while Syria gets ready to return to full diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.
Celebrating Christmas
According to Ambassador Kamal,
“For Pakistan, it has been the most important thing to provide world class education in times of extreme war – education is a fundamental right which should not be indulged with politics and sanctions. We are making sure we carry on the legacy of this school, but diversify in such a manner that it benefits the people of Syria.”
He goes on to say the Syrians are the most remarkable and positive people he has encountered in his career
Who will manage the smart operations of Peshawar BRT?
Countless commuters use Peshawar’s roads every day and a smart transport system is essential to managing the traffic load efficiently.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has finalised a vendor for the operation of an intelligent transport system for the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit. The decision was taken by the Board of Directors of TransPeshawar, the urban mobility company responsible for the operation of the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit, on Thursday.
The vendor will be responsible for the design, supply, installation, operation, and maintenance of the four major project components for the Peshawar BRT, including intelligent transport and management of fares and station systems.
The idea is to align the requirements needed for operation of the BRT as the construction work progresses. “The buses are in the final stages of delivery to Peshawar,” shared TransPeshawar spokesperson Noman Manzoor, confirming that the vehicle operating company has been finalised and the System Control Goods and Services (SCGS) service provider is also in place now.
The company selected for the contract is a joint venture of two Chinese companies and a Pakistani company – Beijing Santel Technology and Trading Corporation, Beijing E-Hualu Information Technology Co Ltd and LMK Resources Pakistan (Private) Limited. With the experience of managing similar global public transport systems, particularly in China, the companies will be on board for 10 years, which is in line with the warranty [time] of the equipment, according to the statement.
An intelligent transportation system (ITS) gives access to passenger information, fleet scheduling, and fleet management in real time. The fare system will comprise electronic fare media, a mobile app, automatic fare collection, electronic fare validation and settlement and clearance processing.
The contractor will also manage the station which covers passenger services at the station and corridor, physical security, CCTV cameras, general cleaning and light maintenance. The bicycle sharing system will also be handled by it.
The company was procured based on a competitive process as per the Asian Development Bank’s procurement rules.
Oppo’s Affordable Realme Branded Smartphones Are Coming to Pakistan
New Chinese smartphone brand Realme, after a successful launch in other Asian markets, is set to enter Pakistan. The company announced this in a statement released on Thursday.
Launched back in May this year, Realme was an offshoot of the Chinese smartphone brand Oppo in an attempt to compete with Huawei’s Honor brand and Xiaomi. The parent company, however, detached itself to become an independent entity in July, a common practice among Chinese smartphone makers.
The company aims to provide smartphones under Rs. 30,000 for the “young people around the world.”
In the statement, the company says it aims to target the young generation through affordable products.
The company launched in India just four months ago and sold a record 1 million units in only four months. This made it the fourth most popular online brand in the country.
Similarly, the brand set another record by selling 40,000 units in just 21 minutes in Indonesia.
Realme claims that it can take control of almost 60% of the youth soon after its launch in Pakistan.
Pakistan is a population of over 200 million people where more than 42 million people use smartphones.
Emerging Chinese Brand Realme to Enter Pakistan Market |
Huawei currently occupies the market – thanks to its strong marketing and offline availability.
Though there is no specific launch date given by the company, no any details about the devices, experts believe that the company might initially launch with its bestselling phone worldwide.
Here’s a list of top Realme smartphones:
Realme U1 SelfiePro
Realme U1 comes with two variants:
3GB+ 32GB
4GB+64GB
The phone comes with a 25MP AI enabled Front Camera with a Sony IMX 576 sensor.
Realme 2
6.2″ (15.75 cm) display
720 x 1520 pixels screen resolution
Android v8.1 (Oreo) operating system
Octa core, 1.8 GHz
Cortex A53 processor
3 GB of RAM
4230 mAh battery
13 MP + 2 MP camera duel rear camera
Realme 2 Pro
2.8GHz octa-core processor
8GB of RAM.
128GB of internal storage expandable to
16-megapixel (f/1.7) primary camera + 2-megapixel (f/2.4) secondary camera
16-megapixel front shooter
a 3500mAh removable battery
Dual-SIM (GSM and GSM)
Punjab Govt to Provide Scooties & Bikes to Female Students on Easy Installments
Punjab Govt. to Give Scooties, Bikes to Female Students on Easy Installments. Punjab government is giving away bikes and scooties on easy installments to female students from the start of 2019.
The announcement has come in a bid to provide transport facilities to females. Chairman Punjab Education Foundation, Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi, said that the scheme will kickstart in the advent of 2019.
He said that the government will provide cycles to the male students while giving traveling vouchers to the female students. Moreover, it will provide scooties to degree and university students.
To provide relief to the students, the government will provide these vehicles on easy installments, said the Chairman.
PIA resumes its night flight operations in KP
Night flying was discontinued four years ago due to aviation safety concerns.
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airline (PIA) will facilitate KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KP) passengers by revising its flight schedule for night operation in Peshawar. The night flying was discontinued four years ago due to aviation safety concerns.
PIA President and CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik thanked the aviation minister for his prompt action and vigorous efforts in resolving the matter with all concerned quarters, especially the security agencies, for lifting the restrictions.
The issue was highlighted to Aviation Minister Muhammad Mian Soomro during his visit to PIA Head Office last Friday.
The PIA spokesman said that after removal of restriction, PIA will revise its flight schedule for Peshawar, adding more flights for the convenience of KP public, as they were facing difficulties in connectivity.
Railways
to upgrade
Karachi-Peshawar track
in next five years,
Rashid told Senate
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Pakistan Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Wednesday said Railways has finalized a plan to upgrade its track from Karachi to Peshawar via Lahore in the next five years under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)project.
Responding a question asked by Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi in Senate, he said the Main Line-1 from Karachi to Peshawar via Lahore except Khanewal-Shor Kot-Faisalabad-Shahdara Section will be upgraded under CPEC project.
The minister said Railways track from Lahore to Peshawar via Rawalpindi will be dualised in the next five years.
730 kilometer track has been rehabilitated/ partially rehabilitated through Complete Track Renewal, Sleeper Renewal and Rail Renewal under different PSDP Projects, he added.
He informed that PC-I for rehabilitation of Track and Bridges in Sukkur Division is in process.
He said average 77.10 percent of track is overage, while 86 percent of Railways bridges are more than 100 years old but all bridges are safe for train operation due to effective maintenance owing to regular maintenance, rehabilitation and strengthening of these bridges.
Responding to another question, the minister said all the bridges are inspected annually as per schedule and minor repair are carried out departmentally in routine to ensure safety.
Recently 230 bridges have been rehabilitated/ reconstructed under various development projects, he added.
Replying a question, he said total number of posts lying vacant in Pakistan Railways in BS-01 to BS-22 are 23,748. To another query, he said an area of 15,025.44 acres has been licensed/leased out for various purpose(premium shops, stacking, agriculture, parking stands & petrol pumps) during last ten years from January, 2008 to December, 2017.
PAF and China starting a new project under
CPEC; developing next generation aircrafts and subsystems
According to the undisclosed proposal drawn up by the Pakistani Air Force and Chinese officials at the start of the year, a special economic zone under CPEC would be created in Pakistan to produce a new generation of fighter jets. For the first time, navigation systems, radar systems and onboard weapons would be built jointly by the countries at factories in Pakistan.
The proposal, confirmed by officials at the Ministry of Planning and Development, would expand China and Pakistan’s current cooperation on the JF-17 fighter jet, which is assembled at Pakistan’s military-run Kamra Aeronautical Complex in Punjab Province. The Chinese-designed jets have given Pakistan an alternative to the American-built F-16 fighters.
Gwadar project: NEPRA sets tariff for 300MW coal-power plant
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has allowed a Chinese company to collect a tariff of Rs6.96 per unit for its 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Gwadar, setting aside concerns of Balochistan’s energy department.
CIHC Pak Power Company Limited (CPPCL) is setting up the coal-fired power plant.
According to the petitioner, keeping in view the strategic importance of Gwadar to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the anticipated rapid growth, the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) had decided in its sixth meeting, held in Beijing in December 2016, that a 300MW imported coal-fired power project must be developed on a fast track in Gwadar.
The JCC nominated China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Group (CCCG), for undertaking the project.
According to the petitioner, in the seventh JCC meeting held on November 21, 2017, it was decided that the project would be undertaken by CCCC Industrial Investment Holding Company Limited (CIHC). The sponsors incorporated CIHC Pak Power Company Limited (CPPCL) as the special purpose company to develop the project.
The project is proposed to have two units of 150MW consisting of two super high-pressure boilers, two steam turbines and two generators. The boilers will be sub-critical and will be ignited with the help of pulverised coal imported from South Africa or other sources through Gwadar Port. From the port, the coal will be sent via trucks to coal yards inside the complex. The project will draw water from the Arabian Sea for cooling and other industrial and domestic uses as the site has no other water resources.
The project sponsors had estimated the project cost at $542.36 million and levelised tariff at 8.91 cents per unit.
For the first time, China sent latest fighter J10C abroad for training. 20-day China Pakistan Shaheen VII Air Exercise executed successfully. Mirage V,JH7, J11b, J10C, JF17A, Mirage III can be seen in background. COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa was in cockpit of J10C during exercise.
Construction work on Mohmand dam to start in January, says Faisal Vawda
The federal government on Wednesday announced that construction work on the much-awaited Mohmand dam project will begin from the first week of January 2019.
Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad along with Chairman Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) retired Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain, said the dam will be constructed through local funding and around Rs17-18 billion would be spent from the annual allotment of the Public Sector Development Programme (PDSP) over the next five years.
Vawda said the 54-year-old project would now be materialised with the collective efforts of the PTI government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar Chief, who will be invited as chief guests to the inauguration ceremony.
He said the chief justice took a personal interest in the project and helped remove obstacles standing in the way of its commencement.
Faisal Vawda said the nation would hear more good news in the future and those politicians "who pushed the nation into darkness would not be spared".
German Ambassador in Pakistan Martin Kobler and representatives of Chinese Embassy also called on Vawda and showed a keen interest in investing in the hydropower project of Mohmand dam, according to a press release.
The Wapda chairman regretted that no mega project could be initiated after the construction of Tarbela dam in 1967, resulting in the energy and water crisis in the country.
He said Mohmand dam would not only store 1.2 million acre-feet water but also generate 800 MW hydel electricity besides irrigating 18,000 acres land. The project would also help protect Mardan, Charsadda, Peshawar and other areas from floods during monsoon season.
The chairman said the Indus Cascade had the potential of generating over 30,000 to 40,000 MW hydel electricity.
Replying to a question, he said Wapda had completed mega projects like Mangla and Tarbela dams, along with 15 small dams including Khanpur and five barrages in the past.
Neelum Jhelum project was completed during the stipulated time while all three units of the Tarbela Fourth Extension project were fully functional, he added.
He said Golan Gol and Kacchi Canal projects, which had been abandoned in the past, were being executed by Wapda.
The chairman said the prime minister and the steering committee had resolved the issue of funding while the chief minister had helped settle the land acquisition issue of the project.
To another question, he said the first phase of the Dasu dam would be completed by 2022 to 2023.
Regarding Kishanganga and other disputed projects by India, Water Resources Secretary Shamail Ahmad Khawaja said the attorney general office was reviewing the report of the World Bank.
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