NADER BUNERI 

PESHAWAR - The residents of Peshawar and Khyber Agency demanded the Federal Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafiq restart Safari Train Service from Peshawar to Torkham via Khyber Pass.
The train service to Landi Kotal was suspended in 2006 after devastating flood badly damaged the British era railway track.
Talking to The Nation, Gul Saed a local businessman and resident of Khyber Agency said that Safari Train was the best alternate transport facility for the residents of Khyber Agency and Landi Kotal.
He said the train was also carrying trade goods to Afghan border and contributing handsome revenue to national exchequer. "Our elders are recalling those days when they were travelling to their area in Safari train," he wished.
He maintained that they are quite optimistic regarding restoration of this service and reconstruction of the damaged railway track. He said the railway track is already existed but it needs repairing and maintenance in some localities. 
Ahmad Nabi, a local journalist, also expressed the hope that the incumbent government would resume this the Safari Service to Landi Kotal as it is the need of time and long awaited demands of the people of this area.
He said that once there was a time that people were enjoying travelling to Khyber Agency via train but unfortunately the disconnection of railway track due to flood and poor law and order situation hindered the restoration of service. 
He said that now law and order situation is improved in Khyber Agency and the routes are safe for travelling if the government is serious in its restoration. He suggested that this service would also cut burden on Pak-Afghan route, which is frequently damaging due to load of heavy containers.
Wajidullah, resident of Peshawar, said that restoration of train service to Torkham border will not only boost the trade activities but will also reduce the pollution and road traffic on main Pak-Afghan highway.
He said that they were expecting improvement in Railways Department when Haji Ghulam Bilour took the charge but unfortunately he demonstrated zero performance. He instead of restoring this vital route had focused to recruit their well-wishers in the department, which further plunged the railways into deep crisis. He appealed to Federal Minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq to take emergency steps for its restoration, as this service will prove a panacea for Railways Department.
When this scribe contacted Khawaja Saad Raif via telephone, he was not responding despite continues attempts.
It may be recalled here that this railway track was officially opened on November 03, 1925 during the British rule in India. The wife of Victor Bailey, the engineer who was assigned the construction of the line, had previously driven the first train to Landi Kotal. After independence of Pakistan in 1947 a weekly train was started between Peshawar and Landi Kotal, running every Sunday. Train operations were stopped in 1982, as the railway was not commercially viable.
However, in the 1990s, a tourist train, the Khyber train safari, was launched by a private enterprise in collaboration with Pakistan Railways. It was later closed in 2006 after a flood washed away railway track and bridges.

KP MEDICAL FACULTY LACKS STAFF AND FACILITIES

KP Medical Faculty needs more staff

 

July 25, 2014

NADER BUNERI

 

 

PESHAWAR - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Medical Faculty, an institute responsible for holding examinations of paramedical courses, lacks proper staff and arrangements to keep close watch on examination centres of all affiliated institutes running across the province.
The faculty has the responsibility to scrutinise papers of various courses, including laboratory technician diploma, dental diploma, health technicians, anesthesia and emergency. The board is currently working under a secretary and a few clerical staff who sometime are unable to manage the overall responsibility to hold examinations, deputing examiners at various centres and inspecting institutes.
During an interview, Medical Faculty Secretary Jawad Habib told The Nation that the process of certification and roll numbers allotment was made flawless in his era and the records had been made computerised, which greatly facilitated the students as well staff of the medical board. Saying that it was difficult for him to run such important faculty alone, Jawad said that he needed assistant secretaries and subordinate staff to further streamline the affairs of the examination and secrecy.
He mentioned that due to lack of staff they had to hire some retired professors, who could not regularly visit far-flung areas of the province checking the standards of affiliated institutes and examination centres. He said that such important task needed regular inspection teams to keep close watch on examination centres where the students sometime resort to cheating and other unfair means.
"There is a huge demand of paramedical diploma holders in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman and other countries and it provides golden opportunities for youth," he informed.
About students' complaints of frequent failure in the examinations, he termed the complaints baseless, saying that the talented students could easily pass the examinations.
Jawad also demanded regularisation of the staff, saying that the faculty was working on notification of Health Department and their employees were not regular. He said that the faculty needed more staff to further improve the system of examination and marking.
He also appealed to the health minister and health secretary to take personal interest in the matter and increase the staff of medical faculty to further improve the standard of education and checking process.

Overseas Pakistani in Malaysia accuse High Commissioner for ill treatment

PESHAWAR - Overseas Pakistanis in Malaysia have complained against the ill-treatment of the Pakistan high commissioner and demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to appoint honest and dedicated officer in the Pakistani Embassy to serve expatriates.
Pakistanis in Malaysia live in miserable conditions where the embassy staff does not cooperate with them in issuing passports and providing other facilities.
These Pakistan is doing various jobs in plantation, marketing and construction sectors and receiving low salaries ranging from 600 t0 700 Malaysian Ringgit. Some of the Pakistani settlers who have business visas are engaged in their own businesses. A large number of Pakistani citizens have complained against the ill-treatment of the embassy staff and Pakistani high commissioner in Malaysia. They said that instead of providing facilities to overseas Pakistanis, the embassy staff and its high-ups are creating problems for them.
Talking to The Nation, a Pakistan citizen in Malaysia Johar Ali said that whenever their passports got damaged or went missing then the embassy staff adopt delaying tactics and instead of passport they were given out-passes which resulted in their ouster from Malaysia.  He said that passport staff is charging heavy fees from the Pakistani citizens and sometime they are taking bribe from them for completion of their work. He said that mostly duration of their visas get expired due to delaying tactics in the provision of passport.
He alleged that Embassy of Bangladish is better than Pakistan in Malaysia, who are providing all facilities to their citizen. In most cases, Pakistani citizen wait on main road to get appointment for their work while the embassy staff do not allow them to enter the premises. He said that Pakistani citizen wait in long queue outside the boundary wall and there is no facility for them to have a seat.  Another Pakistani citizen informed that treatment of Malaysian with Pakistani citizen is laudable but the treatment of our own embassy staff is not good.
They do not consider themselves as civil servants but consider themselves, as kings.
He said on one hand Pakistani government could not provide them employments in home country and in abroad, the poor Pakistanis are being ignored entirely and no proper respect is given to them by the embassy staff.
They demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to terminate services of the Pakistani high commissioner in Malaysia and appoint honest and dedicated officer to serve the Pakistani citizens. 
They also demanded the prime minister to further strengthen bilateral relation with Malaysia to facilitate million of Pakistani citizens.