Bank seeks recovery from PTI senator

A recovery suit was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Deputy Chairman Senate Mirza Muhammad Afridi seeking recovery of over Rs520 million loans which he along with others had obtained for business. Petitioner Bank Alfalah filed the suit and made respondents to PTI’s deputy senator Mirza Afridi and his brothers including their company Reshamatex Limited owned by them. The petitioner contended in its petition that the said respondents obtained a loan over Rs520 million, for business purposes, in the name of Reshamatex Limited on personal guarantee as well as adopting all due process. The respondents did not obey the contractual obligations following which the bank first issued notices, to them and then declared them the defaulters. After that, the petitioner bank approached the LHC and filed the suit against aforesaid respondents seeking recovery of over Rs520 million which they had obtained in the name of the business. The petitioner, in its petition, requested the court to pass directions to concerned quarters to obey the contractual obligations and return the amount as per the agreement. The petitioner also requested the court that the properties mortgaged in favour of the bank also be sold to recover the amount. It was further prayed that the personal properties of PTI’s Senate Deputy Chairman Afreedi his brothers Haroon Afreedi, Shahnawaz, Sajid Afreedi and Haji Koch Muhammad (father of aforesaid respondents). Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2021.

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Motorcyclist injured by kite string

A young man riding a motorcycle was injured by kite string in the Mansoorabad area. According to the police, Saif Ali, son of Aslam, was riding a motorcycle near Shamsabad in the precinct of Mansoorabad police station when his throat was slashed by kite string. He was going somewhere from Nishatabad when the incident took place near Fajr Palace. He was rushed to a hospital, but discharged immediately after medical aid. Accidents caused by kite flying have reportedly left a youth dead and at least seven other people injured during the ongoing year in Faisalabad but the police have not registered any case. A day earlier, a young man was severely injured in Millat Town after kite string slit his nose. A motorcyclist died earlier in the year after he lost control over his vehicle due to an injury caused by kite string and it hit a road divider near Sayin Darbar in Ghulam Muhammadabad. Other victims suffered neck injuries near Tariqabad Bridge, Pahari Ground, Gulberg and Madina Town. However, despite launching massive crackdowns on kite flyers, Faisalabad police have failed to stop the manufacturing of metal string. Cases of injuries and deaths caused by kite string take place across Punjab despite government efforst to curb them. On May 12, two other motorbike riders were injured due to kite string in the provincial capital. One of the victims identified as Tariq was riding a motorcycle near Muslim Town Flyover when a kite string came in his way. It left a deep cut on his shoulder and the victim fell down on the ground. He suffered serious injuries and was shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. The other case was reported in Factory Area on Walton Road. The victim Naeem, 22, was also riding a motorcycle. When he reached Walton Road, a kite string ran over his neck. The victim suffered injuries and was shifted to a nearby hospital. Lahore police chief Ghulam Mehmood Dogar took notice of the incidents. On May 12, a young man riding a motorcycle was killed after a kite string slit his throat in in Faisalabad. Reportedly, the victim was coming to Faisalabad for shopping when the incident took place. According to the police report, a resident of suburb village Chak No 647GB, 25-year-old Muhammad Asif alias Atif, the son of Mushtaq, was on his way to Faisalabad from his village Landianwala on his motorcycle when a kite string cut his neck, injuring him near Tezab Mill Chowk, Allahwali Mosque, Guddiwala area. The victim fell on the road from his motorcycle and was tormented on the road for a prolonged period. The youth eventually died on the spot. Rescue 15 was informed by passersby on the spot after which Madina Town SP Rizwan Tariq, People’s Colony DSP Tauseef Khan and People’s Colony SHO Sub Inspector Taswar Ramzan and Madina Town SHO Mian Wajid Hussain reached the spot. They took the body of the deceased motorcyclist to the mortuary unit of Allied Hospital Faisalabad for postmortem. Police also launched an operation against kite flying. People’s Colony SHO said a kite string cut the throat of the motorcyclist in the jurisdiction of Saddar police station. As a result of the incident, the youth fell off the two-wheeler near the mosque in People’s Colony and suffered injuries until he eventually breathed his last. The People’s Colony SHO further said, “We are taking action against the menace of kite flying in the city.” Reportedly, police crackdowns against the deadly sport had taken place in the city several times. However, despite the police actions, kite flying could not be stopped in Faisalabad. In the same city, as many as four teenagers fell from the roofs and eventually died while flying kites in the jurisdictions of People’s Colony police station, Batala Colony police station, Dijkot police station and Jaranwala City police station. Police, however, remained unsuccessful in curbing the rising incidents of death and injury caused by kite flying practices in the city. Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2021.

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Balloting held for laser land levellers

Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister on Agriculture Abdul Hay Dasti said on Saturday that the provincial government was taking practical steps on a priority basis for the welfare of growers and development of the sector. He expressed these views while addressing a balloting ceremony to distribute laser land levellers organised by the water management department. He said that provision of subsidy on fertilizers, seeds, agro-medicines and agricultural machinery is a revolutionary initiative of the Punjab government in the field of agriculture. The provincial adviser further said that farmers should use modern technology for cultivation of crops so as to increase per acre yield, which would not only make the farmers prosperous but also strengthen the national economy. Water Management Deputy Director Rasheed Ahmad Khan said that 90 farmers in Muzaffargarh district would be provided a subsidy of Rs250,000. Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2021.

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‘46k healthcare workers hired on merit’

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has said that that government has so far hired 46,000 healthcare workers on merit to boost Covid-19 vaccination drives across the province. She expressed these views after inaugurating a new coronavirus vaccination centre at Patiala House on Saturday. The health minister reviewed vaccination arrangements at the centre and expressed satisfaction. The Lahore deputy commissioner apprised the minister of anti-dengue and coronavirus prevention activities in the province. "We are trying to vaccinate maximum people through Reach Every Door (RED) drive. We will try to make RED coronavirus vaccination campaign a big success as per vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan. By December the Universal Health Coverage shall be extended to all 29.3 million families of Punjab,” she said. “We want to do away with lockdowns through vaccination of majority of population. Coronavirus pandemic has caused big losses to economy. specialised healthcare and medical education department shall visit hospitals to monitor dengue treatment facilities and officers of Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department shall monitor dengue prevention activities.” The minister said mass vaccination shall help us control the Pandemic and we are personally monitoring Reach Every Door campaign. The vaccination target set for RED campaign shall be achieved." Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2021.

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Boy crushed to death under park gate

A 10-year-old boy died when the iron gate of a park fell on him in Ghousia Colony. Subhan, son of Muhammad Kashif, had come from Sahiwal to attend a ceremony at the house of Muhammad Pervez in Mamoun Kanjan. He went to play with other children at Zikrullah Park in Ghousia Colony. As soon as the gate of the park was opened, it fell onto the boy and he succumbed to injuries on the spot. According to the residents of the area, the iron gate had been installed recently. The gate had also unhinged earlier, severely injuring a five-year-old child, the residents said. In another similar incident, Haider, a 10-year-old student, lost his life when the main gate of a government primary school collapsed last month in Sahiyanwala’s 136RB Bakhariwali area. A local resident called for an investigation into alleged use of substandard material in the construction of schools and parks. Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2021.

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Denial of bail only if suspect ‘deliberately’ delaying trial

The Supreme Court has ruled that to convince it to deny bail, the prosecution must show that there was a concerted effort by the accused or their counsel to delay the conclusion of the trial by “seeking adjournments without sufficient cause on crucial hearings” or by “making frivolous miscellaneous applications”. The court also observed that there has to be material to show that the accused would pose a serious threat to the society if set free on bail. "In the absence of any such material, bail cannot be denied to an accused on the statutory ground of delay in conclusion of the trial," read a seven-page judgment authored by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah. A division bench of the court, led by Justice Shah, was examining the extent and scope of the right of an accused to bail on the statutory ground of delay in conclusion of the trial under the third proviso to Section 497(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The bench observed that mere mathematical counting of all the dates of adjournments sought for on behalf of the accused was not sufficient to deprive the accused of his right to bail under the third proviso. It added that the statutory right to be released on bail flowed from the constitutional right to liberty and fair trial under Articles 9 and 10A of the Constitution. "The act or omission on the part of the accused to delay the timely conclusion of the trial must be the result of a visible concerted effort orchestrated by the accused,” the verdict read. Also read: SC widens scope of ‘sufficient cause’ in bail matters “Merely some adjournments sought by the counsel for the accused cannot be counted as an act or omission on behalf of the accused to delay the conclusion of the trial, unless the adjournments are sought without any sufficient cause on crucial hearings, i.e., the hearings fixed for examination or cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses, or the adjournments are repetitive, reflecting a design or pattern to consciously delay the conclusion of the trial." Justice Shah said the provisions of the third and fourth provisos to Section 497(1) of the CrPC must be examined through the constitutional lens and fashioned in a manner that is progressive and expansive of the rights of an accused, who were still under trial and had the presumption of innocence in their favour. The court observed that the purpose and objective of the provision was to ensure that the trial of an accused was conducted expeditiously and the pre-conviction detention of an accused did not extend beyond the period of one year, in cases involving offences not punishable with death. "In such cases, if the trial of an accused is not concluded within a year of his detention, the statutory right to be released on bail ripens in their favour.” The judgment noted that the second exception to the right of the accused to be released on bail on the ground of delay in conclusion of the trial was provided in the fourth proviso. "According to [the fourth proviso], the provisions of the third proviso do not apply to the accused who is a convicted offender for an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life; or a hardened, desperate or dangerous criminal in the opinion of the Court; or an accused of an act of terrorism punishable with death or imprisonment for life.”

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Punjab to suffer Rs85b losses in case of shutdown

The Punjab government on Saturday said that the province could suffer losses worth more than Rs85 billion in case of a shutdown. “On aggregate, if the province shuts down then business activities to the tune of over Rs85 billion suffer directly… people suffer due to blocked farm to market access,” a spokesperson for the provincial government was quoted as saying in a statement. “Farmers’ income suffer while public spend more due to shortage of food,” it added. Read more: Major cities to go under stringent lockdown Elaborating on the province’s contribution to the national economy, the spokesperson said that on average, the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) collects taxes worth Rs24 billion per day and out of that approximately Rs10 billion are collected from Punjab alone. Services are 60 per cent of the GDP and Punjab’s contribution within the sector is 50%, the spokesperson said, adding that services worth over Rs42 billion are produced in Punjab per day. Also read: Smart lockdown proving fruitless “Exports and imports are more than $100 billion per year. Punjab, being the production and consumption hub of Pakistan, has more than 60% share in external trade. If Punjab shuts down for a day more than Rs28 billion worth of trades would suffer,” it read. “Only exports to Europe are approximately $9 billion, which is 38% of the total exports,” it read, “Punjab is known for manufacturing, it has more than 50% shares in total manufacturing. On average, Punjab factories produce more than Rs13 billion worth of goods.”

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