Traders demand rent law in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Traders of the federal capital have called for the promulgation of a new rent law in Islamabad as soon as possible.

Talking to the media on Wednesday, traders appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice for early hearings of cases related to the vacating of shops.

“Most of the problems are due to the absence of rent laws in Islamabad,” said Ajmal Baloch, president of the Markazi Anjuman-i-Tijaran Pakistan.

He explained that the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration was the major hurdle in the approval of a rent law in Islamabad as the ICT had not completed necessary paperwork and had not submitted reports at the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior.

The traders said that PML-N MNA Mian Abdul Manan and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNA Asad Umar had presented a draft rent law in the National Assembly, which was prepared in consultation with all stakeholders and that the draft bill had been laying at the relevant standing committee for more than a year.

“A year later, now the ICT administration is claiming there is no budget to advertise for a public hearing in this regard so that stakeholders’ views can be obtained,” Mr Baloch told the media.

He said the federal capital is the costliest city for traders as shop owners increase rents at 10pc per year.

“This 10pc increase in rent is a serious issue for traders and also leads to micro-level inflation in the city,” he said.

Mr Baloch added that due to the lack of rent laws, Islamabad had become the costliest city in the world which has adverse financial repercussions.

The Markazi Anjuman-i-Tijaran Pakistan called upon the government for the early promulgation of rent laws to spare traders further trouble.

Mr Baloch also spoke about the other issues traders were facing.

“The time to file an appeal against a decision in terrorism related cases is 15 days while that for appeals against decisions related to the vacating of shops is only three days,” he said.

Published in Dawn 

Four rights activists go missing in a week

ISLAMABAD - At least four activists known on social media for their secular leftist views have gone missing this week, relatives and NGO workers told AFP Sunday, as analysts voiced rights concerns.


Two of the men - Waqas Goraya and Asim Saeed - disappeared on January 4, according to a cybersecurity NGO, while Salman Haider vanished Friday and Ahmed Raza Naseer Saturday, relatives said.

The interior ministry has said it will investigate the disappearance of Haider, known for his outspoken views on enforced disappearances in Balochistan, but made no reference to the others.

All four were active on social media groups promoting leftist, secular views, often against the military or conservative state.

Pakistan is routinely ranked among the world’s most dangerous for journalists, and reporting critical of the military is considered a major red flag, with journalists at times detained, beaten and even killed.

“The state has controlled TV and now they’re focusing on digital spaces,” said Raza Rumi, a writer and analyst who left Pakistan in 2014 after he was attacked by gunmen who shot his driver dead.

A security source denied intelligence services were involved in the disappearances.

Naseer, who suffers from polio, was taken from his familiy’s shop in central Punjab, his brother Tahir told AFP Sunday.

Hours after Haider was due home Friday evening, his wife received a text message from his phone saying he was leaving his car on the Islamabad expressway, his brother Faizan told AFP.

Police later found the car and registered a missing persons report. Faizan said his brother had not received any specific threats.

Waqas Goraya, who is usually a resident of the Netherlands, was picked up on January 4, as was Aasim Saeed, said Shahzad Ahmed, head of cyber security NGO Bytes for All.

“None of these activists have been brought to any court of law or levelled with any charges. Their status disappearance is very worrying not only for the families, but also for netizens and larger social media users in the country,” Ahmad said.


Four social media activists vanish: NGO, relatives


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leaving his car on the Islamabad expressway, his brother Faizan told AFP.

Police later found the car and registered a missing persons report. Faizan said his brother had not received any specific threats.

Waqas Goraya, who is usually a resident of the Netherlands, was picked up on January 4, as was Aasim Saeed, said Shahzad Ahmed, head of cyber security NGO Bytes for All.

“None of these activists have been brought to any court of law or levelled with any charges. Their status disappearance is very worrying not only for the families, but also for netizens and larger social media users in the country,” Ahmad said.

Source: The Nation

PIA ATR - 42 aircraft PK661 crashes en-route to Islamabad, no survivors 2016

On Wednesday a PIA ATR - 42 aircraft PK661 crashed in the mountains of Havelian while enroute from Chitral to Islamabad. The ill fated plane was carrying 42 passengers along with 5 crew members and lost contact with control tower around 4:41pm. PIA confirmed the crash soon after reports about a plane gone missing began surfacing. One of Pakistan's famous personalities Junaid Jamshed was one of the passengers who lost his life in the crash. Moonis Elahi and all leaders of PMLQ expressed grief and sorrow over the tragic incident and a minute of silence was noted at the PMLQ headquarters.

 

Pakistan International Airlines, the flag bearer of Pakistan, has become controversial about its safety standards and battered planes. Owing to politically influenced hiring in the crew it has become over burdened and a hub of corruption. Moonis Elahi agreed to the nation's call to provide an fair inquiry into the cause of the crash which has shook the nation. People expressed grief and shock on social media and the entire nation criticized Govt's failure to make PIA safe after so many promises and claims which all proved to be false. Such incident will make PIA suffer more losses as more people will try to refrain from flying through the national airlines.

 

According to DAWN news the pilot had made a "MAYDAY" call minutes before the crash. Soon after the take off the left engine failed and the pilot informed about it but it the ground crew thought the plane would make its journey only on a single engine. The 7 year old aircraft has had history of being faulty but the engineers kept it flying. Moonis Elahi stated that during the PMLQ regime public safety was their major concern and the Rescue 1122 is a clear proof. PMLN does not bother itself with such issues it just needs an excuse to stay in the limelight and litter the Mall Rd with their posters.

 

The news of the crash became even more widespread with the loss of Junaid Jamshed who was on the flight. The Pakistani icon was on a religious tour in Chitral and was coming back to Islamabad when he boarded the ill fated PK661. Moonis Elahi has expressed grief over the loss of precious lives lost in the crash. We must learn from our mistakes but unfortunately the incumbent government has never learnt from the past. It continues to play with innocent lives and when a tragedy happens, all PMLN ministers vanish like they never existed. Will there ever be a fair inquiry over this crash? Will we ever see justice provided to the people who lost their lives? Only time will tell.

Moonis Elahi Expresses Grief Over Drug Addiction in Islamabad Schools

Schools are institutions where you seek knowledge and stay away from evil. But in Islamabad it is the opposite where students spend time puffing smoke or indulging in drugs. Moonis Elahi points out the real reason behind this addiction is the influence of Hanif Abbasi aka Ephedrine Abbasi a well known drug lord and PMLN's MNA. 

When you choose drug lords to rule a city and ignore the literate and noble people of the society this is what you get. Despite many proofs Ephedrine Abbasi has managed to wiggle out of cases filed against him on Nawaz Sharif's behest. As long as PMLN rules this country the nation is doomed for sure.