ISLAMABAD: A senior member of the Prime Minister’s Office has approached the Federal Ombudsman over the ‘extreme injustice’ of out of turn allotment of second residential plots in the federal capital to a selected few in the bureaucracy in a non-transparent and unjust manner.The...

ISLAMABAD: A senior member of the Prime Minister’s Office has approached the Federal Ombudsman over the ‘extreme injustice’ of out of turn allotment of second residential plots in the federal capital to a selected few in the bureaucracy in a non-transparent and unjust manner. The...

RAWALPINDI: An officer and five other soldiers were martyred, while one was injured in an improvised explosive device blast in the Buleda area of Balochistan on Friday, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a press release.According to ISPR, security forces conducted routine patrolling In...

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Rawalpindi : The Rawalpindi Police with assistance of other security institutions staged a flag march in the city to create awareness among public on prevailing alarming situation due to coronavirus pandemic and preventive measures adopted by the Punjab government.According to the police...

Rawalpindi : Merchants while lauding decision of the government for relaxing coronavirus lockdown took a sigh of relief as Eid season is around the corner. For the last few weeks specifically following the advent of the holy month of Ramazan, there were reports that merchants were treating...

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation is going to introduce a mobile application to ensure punctuality of its employees and facilitate their work.Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar announced this while addressing a meeting at the Frere Hall on Friday. He also announced that applications were sought for...

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Senior IT Officer (Project Management) (3 Vacancies) in the Information Technology Department . The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Procurement and Contracts Officer in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Associate Facilities Planning and Management Officer (Project Management) in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Budget and Management Services Analyst in the Budget, Personnel, and Management Systems Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday directed the Haryana government not to issue any change of land use (CLU) licence to developers to build colonies in Gurgaon and the National Capital Region till the NCR Planning Board approves a sub-regional plan. The high court also restrained authorities from initiating any process for acquisition of land in these regions till further orders. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul passed these orders while hearing petitions alleging unregulated construction and development around Gurgaon and NCR without the mandatory sub-regional plan from the NCRPB. The petitioners had also challenged the proposed Gurgaon master plan of 2025 and […]

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ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Athar Minallah on Friday converted the matter relating to delay in administration of justice into public interest litigation and sought reports from the interior secretary, the chief commissioner of Islamabad and judges of trial courts working within the IHC’s jurisdiction.

Chief Justice Minallah asked the police, district administration and federal government to explain why police reforms could not be enforced in the federal capital even though the law had been promulgated some 18 years ago.

The court framed six questions to be answered by these authorities, including why Police Order 2002 could not be implemented in Islamabad; why proper investigation training was not imparted to investigation officers; whether the code of criminal procedure 1898 and Qanoon-i-Shahadat [Evidence Act] of 1984 were still applicable; whether the state was responsible for delay in administration of justice and whether victims of delayed justice could seek remedy from any forum.

The court appointed criminologist Dr Shoaib Suddle, Kamaluddin Tippu, director general of the National Police Bureau, superintendent of Adiala Jail and vice chairmen of the Pakistan Bar Council and Islamabad Bar Council as amici curiae in the matter.

Further hearing was adjourned to May 14.

During the hearing, the inspector general of Islamabad police submitted a report on the problems arising during investigation of crimes which hindered administration of justice.

In the report, the IG said that the investigation officer (IO) of a case had to pay Rs5,000 parcel fee from his own pocket to send evidence to a forensic laboratory for analysis.

“There should not be any laboratory fee or it should be responsibility of the district administration [to pay the fee],” he said.

The IG noted that it took around two months to send evidence to laboratory for analysis. “An IO should be given the authority to send evidence to a laboratory without waiting for the approval of high officials,” he suggested.

Similarly, he said, an IO paid Rs15,000 for preparation of a sketch of a suspect believed to have committed a crime. “Such a sketch should be prepared within two days.”

The report said that plaintiffs did not cooperate with police after registration of first information reports.

The absence of a forensic laboratory in Islamabad, lawyers’ strikes and deployment of police personnel for special duties also delayed investigation process and subsequently trials, the report said.

Earlier, acquitting a murder suspect Chief Justice Minallah had observed that the existing criminal justice system had failed to deliver and it was on the verge of collapse.

The court had observed that the existing criminal justice system failed to prevent and prosecute crime and it was perpetuating miscarriages of justice.

It had noted that low-paid investigating officers did not have sufficient resources to visit the crime scene when a crime was reported, let alone sending the sealed samples and arranging the payment of the fee to a laboratory for conducting forensic examinations.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

KARACHI: The number of coronavirus-infected policemen has gone up to 115, a police spokesperson said on Friday.

“So far, 115 policemen and officers have been infected with the contagion.” Out of them, five new cases emerged on Friday. The majority of the policemen belonged to Karachi.

As many as 97 police personnel were under treatment at different hospitals while 15 policemen have been discharged after treatment. The condition of one sub-inspector was stated to be critical.

“Covid-19 infected policemen were being looked after properly and steps were being taken to this effect on daily basis,” added the spokesperson.

The police on Friday also issued a video message, highlighting ordeals of the families of the policemen and commitment of the law enforcers to serve humanity in these testing times.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

An estimated 29 million babies will be born in South Asia in the nine months after the Covid-19 outbreak was classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO), while five million births will be reported in Pakistan, according to a report released by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).

The report — released on May 6 — has predicted that an estimated 116 million babies will be born across the world in the 40-week period between March 11 and December 16, with almost a quarter of them in South Asia.

India is expected to report 20 million births, the highest in the region, during this period, the report said, followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh (2.4 million) and Afghanistan (one million).

The report also warned that lockdown measures imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus may cause disruptions in life-saving health services "putting millions of pregnant mothers and their babies at great risk".

"The continuing rapid spread of Covid-19 across South Asia means new mothers and newborns will be greeted by harsh realities, including global containment measures such as lockdowns and curfews, health centres overwhelmed with response efforts, supply and equipment shortages, and a lack of sufficient skilled birth attendants as health workers [...] are redeployed to treat Covid-19 patients.

"Unicef cautions that although evidence suggests that pregnant mothers are not more affected by Covid-19 than others, countries need to ensure they still have access to antenatal, delivery and post-natal services.

"Likewise, sick newborns need emergency services as they are at high risk of death. New families require care to ensure the health and well-being of mothers, support to start breastfeeding, and to get medicines, vaccines and nutrition to keep their babies healthy," the report said.

The UN body urged governments and healthcare providers to take a few steps to save lives in the coming months by:

• Helping women receive regular checkups during their pregnancy, skilled delivery care and post-delivery care
• Ensuring health workers are provided with the necessary personal protective equipment and priority testing and vaccination for Covid-19 when it becomes available
• Ensuring that all infection prevention and control measures are being followed at health facilities
• Allowing healthcare workers to reach pregnant women through home visits, encouraging women living in rural areas to visit maternal waiting homes, and using mobile health strategies for tele-consultations
• Training, protecting and equipping health workers with kits to attend to home births
• Allocating resources to lifesaving services and supplies for maternal and child health

The report also urged pregnant women to take precautionary measures by practicing social distancing, avoiding physical gatherings and using online health services.

Read: Mothers may pass coronavirus to unborn children, say Chinese doctors

It also advised them to continue breastfeeding their children even if they are infected as "the virus has not been found in samples of breast milk".

"Mothers with Covid-19 should wear a mask when feeding their baby, wash hands before and after touching the baby, and routinely clean and disinfect surfaces," it cautioned.

Central Excise Commissioner waives Rs 24.34 crore tax, affected plot owners hail decision Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 6 In a relief to the converted plot holders in Industrial Area, Phase I, and Phase II, the Commissioner, Customs and Central Excise Department, has ruled that there will be not service tax on conversion of plots. This order will imply on those who have converted their plots from industrial to commercial. Besides, the Commissioner has also waived Rs 24.34 crore service tax. A show-cause notice for the service tax was issued to the UT Estate Office in July 2013 for not depositing service tax. The department had issued notice of Rs […]

CHANDIGARH/GURGAON: There is a ray of hope for real estate projects awaiting change of land use (CLU) licences from the state government. The department of town and country planning on Tuesday submitted a revised sub-regional plan to the NCR Planning Board (NCRPB). The builders, however, will have to wait till the board approves the revised plan. Last month, the Punjab and Haryana high court had barred the state government from issuing CLU licences to developers or government agencies in NCR because of the same reason. Earlier, the NCRPB had highlighted loopholes in Haryana’s draft of the sub-regional plan, but the government failed to incorporate the changes. After a rap from […]

NEW DELHI: Is India’s real estate bubble finally bursting? The International Monetary Fund’s recently-launched data series on global housing prices hints at that. Among 52 major markets for which IMF has collated house price data, India has witnessed the steepest fall. IMF’s calculation on the annual percentage change in property prices shows that prices in India fell by 9.1 per cent, the highest among major real estate markets. The fall is even worse than in countries struggling with the ongoing European Union’s financial crisis. Property prices in Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Spain and Portugal have all come down, but at a much slower rate. Ireland, on the other hand, registered a […]

NEW DELHI: The Delhi state consumer panel has asked real estate firm Omaxe Buildhome Pvt Ltd to pay over Rs 11 lakh to a retired Indian Airlines official after holding the realty firm of “deficiency of service” in the allotment of a flat at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC), presided by judicial member S A Siddiqui, asked the firm to pay Rs 11.14 lakh to Secunderabad resident Pradeep Chaudhary. Chaudhary had approached the Commission alleging “unfair trade practice” and “deficiency of service” on the firm’s part and said that despite his strong opposition, the company, on its own, changed the location of […]

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized Tuesday with an infection caused by a gallstone, the Supreme Court said.

The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation.

Mumbai: During 1Q 2014, the Mumbai office markets witnessed a further decline in office space absorption indicating cautious occupier sentiment. This lack of demand can be attributed to a low level of IT/ITeS sector participation in the overall absorption, which is currently the primary demand generating sector across the cities. This quarter only about 0.42 million sq ft of Grade A office space was leased with a few mid-sized deals concluded in Central and Western Suburbs, and Navi Mumbai. Construction activities remained slow. No projects / phases of projects were completed this quarter. Developers also refrained from launching new projects due to low demand. More than 7.5 million sq ft […]

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Intern - Office of the Director General, EARD - 2002 in the East Asia Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 15 September 2019.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Intern - Office of the Head, OAI - 2009 in the Office of Anticorruption and Integrity. The deadline for submitting applications is on 15 September 2019.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Intern - The Secretary's Office - 2014 in the Office of the Secretary. The deadline for submitting applications is on 15 September 2019.

The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) is looking for an experienced (Senior) Administrative Officer. Under the general supervision of the Director, Administration, Management and Coordination, ADBI, he or she will be responsible for designing, managing and monitoring administrative services for ADBI, primarily accounting, controlling and auditing, budget, finances and fund administration, local staffing, liaison with Japanese authorities and institutions, office services and procurement.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Associate Environment Officer in the South Asia Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 12 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Public Management Officer (Governance) in the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 18 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Associate Financial Control Officer in the Controller's Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 19 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Senior IT Officer (Project Management) (3 Vacancies) in the Information Technology Department . The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Procurement and Contracts Officer in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Associate Facilities Planning and Management Officer (Project Management) in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Budget and Management Services Analyst in the Budget, Personnel, and Management Systems Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

Dentons’ Real Estate team advised CPI Property Group (CPI), the largest commercial property owner in the Czech Republic, Berlin and the CEE region, on the acquisition of a 50.3% share in the ownership of Chałubińskiego 8 office building in Warsaw. The divestment was made by First Property Group, an investment company and the manager of real estate funds operating in Great Britain and Central Europe.

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While the the stock markets, the corporate world and a large section of the country’s citizens are celebrating the election verdict, 45-year-old Shailesh Singh, a Delhi-based executive, is a worried man. Singh has been hunting for an apartment in the National Capital Region (NCR) for the past six months but has not been able to zero in on one. Now he is afraid that in the euphoria generated by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) decisive victory, real estate prices may start rising again, making his purchase more expensive. Why prices won’t move up Singh’s worries might be premature. Realty experts are of the view that while there might be some […]

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NEW DELHI: One would imagine that office rents would go down with a strong bounceback in demand for space from corporates. Pure economics, one would think? Not really. Office rentals are likely to climb up in the coming months because of a shortage of quality spaces in key business districts around the country. “In certain key locations, rentals could go up 20-25 per cent in the next 12 months,” says Sanjay Dutt, executive managing director for South Asia at property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield. The situation has been brought on by the fact that most developers and even private equity players have chosen to focus on the residential property market […]

MUMBAI/BANGALORE: Multinational companies are increasingly buying properties to set up their offices instead of leasing offices as they preferred for years, marking a strategic shift that signals the growing importance of the Indian market and the long-term commitment of the global firms. Foreign firms including GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, Sanofi Aventis, Adobe, Honeywell, SanDisk and Amazon have recently bought office space in India. MNCs accounted for 35% of total commercial asset sales in the country in the first three months of 2014, according to a report by real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. In 2012, MNCs contributed as much as 60% to the total commercial asset sales, backed by two deals […]

Meenakshi Sinha,TNN | Jun 3, 2014, 03.41 AM IST NOIDA: The Federation of Noida Residents’ Welfare Associations (FONRWA) on Monday protested the 10.5% hike in residential land prices by the Noida Authority. N P Singh, president of FONRWA, said, “The land in Noida is either sold out or belongs to farmers. So what land does the authority propose to increase the prices of? When they don’t have land to sell or buy, they have no right to increase the rates. It’s just a ploy to make Noida an expensive city for homebuyers and make money at the expense of its residents,” said Singh. According to Singh, the proposed increase will […]

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