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Express Tribune
30-04-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Accused in airport suicide attack case gets bail
The Sindh High Court has granted bail to the accused in the case of funding and facilitating terrorists in the airport suicide bombing. The court has given a short judgment on the bail plea of the accused Bilal, who was allegedly involved in the case of funding and facilitating terrorists in the airport suicide bombing. The court ordered the accused Bilal to submit a surety bond of Rs0.2 million. According to the prosecution, the CTD had registered a case of funding and facilitating terrorists against the accused. The accused allegedly paid money for the purchase of a vehicle used in the suicide attack. The accused Bilal was an employee of a private bank. The commanders of the banned organisation, Basheer Zaib and Rehman Gul, are absconding in the case. Road cutting by utility companies The Sindh High Court heard a petition filed against the utility companies for cutting roads in Mehmoodabad and sought arguments on the admissibility of the petition. The petitioner's lawyer, Usman Farooq Advocate, submitted that the Town Municipal Corporation issued road cutting permits to the utility companies without consulting the Chairman UC. After the cutting, the condition of the roads has deteriorated. Under the Sindh Local Government Act, consultation with the chairman of the union committee is necessary for development works. The funds for road repair are being used elsewhere.
Express Tribune
11-03-2025
- Express Tribune
HESCO officials convicted over buffaloes' death
In a ground breaking judgment, four power utility officials were sentenced to one year imprisonment and Rs0.2 million fine each for the death of three buffaloes due to electrocution from snapped power cables. The Consumer Court Judge Humaira Shaukat sentenced Hyderabad Electricity Supply Company (HESCO) then executive engineer (XEN) Imran Awan, Sub-Divisional Officer One Juman Jamari and Line Superintendents Imdad Memon and Akhtar Memon to one year imprisonment and a fine of Rs200,000 each. In 2023, three buffaloes were electrocuted after high tension electricity lines broke and fell on College Road within the boundaries of HESCO Sub-Division One. The owner of the buffaloes, Anwar Rind, had registered a case at the city police station against the said officers.
Express Tribune
04-03-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Punjab Auqaf stuck in a raw deal
The monthly rent of commercial shops, houses and offices located in the business centers of Lahore, especially in areas like Anarkali and Neela Gumbad, is at least Rs0.1 to Rs0.2 million for a one to two marla area. Surprisingly, in the same areas, there are the properties of the Punjab Auqaf Department and other state departments, which are given on rent for just a few thousand rupees. Several properties of the Punjab Auqaf Department in the Jallo Mor area of Lahore have been rented by local shopkeepers for many years; however, the tenants of these properties only pay a few thousand rupees to the government per month even though they collect a much larger amount themselves from their own lessees. Such a situation is not only seen in Lahore but in all districts of Punjab, where the properties of the Punjab Auqaf and other government departments, including shops, residential houses and agricultural land worth billions of rupees, are often given on rent at measly rates. Civil society representative and lawyer, Abdullah Malik believed that the rents of government properties should also be according to the market value but unfortunately, this does not happen. 'The rents of the properties of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Auqaf Department and other departments are very low compared to the market rate. In fact, many properties are occupied. For instance, there are many tenants in the Shah Chirag Building adjacent to the Lahore High Court on Mall Road who may not even pay rent. These properties should be auctioned, and their lease period also needs to be reduced,' said Malik. According to the details received by Express Tribune, the notified area of Punjab Auqaf Organization is more than 74,964 acres, of which 29,907 acres five kanals and 11 marlas are cultivable while 45,056 acres, four kanals and three marlas are uncultivable. Similarly, there are 1,426 residential houses, 6,179 shops and 590 other properties, all of which have been given on monthly rent/lease by the department. Although these properties should have an annual rent amounting to Rs568,368,000, during 2024, the department was able to collect only Rs330,231,547 since the rents of these properties are less than the market value. The rent of shops attached to Jamia Masjid Neela Gumbad is Rs100 per square foot, while the rent for shops in Jamia Masjid Hanafia Farooqia Islampura is Rs65 per square foot. Similarly, the rent of shops in Jamia Masjid Peshawari is Rs130 per square foot, and in Jamia Masjid Tajdara Ambia Sabzazar, it is Rs150 per square foot. Likewise, the rent of properties at Jamia Masjid Madina Purani Anarkali is Rs150 per square foot while the rent of shops at Jamia Masjid Aali Nawan Kot is Rs60 per square foot. Punjab Auqaf Secretary Dr Tahir Raza Bukhari claimed that the rents of the Waqf properties were in accordance with the rates fixed by the concerned Deputy Commissioner/District Administration however, they wanted to bring the rents of these properties up to the market value. 'Proposals in this regard have been prepared and sent to the provincial cabinet. Similarly, land in some cities will be leased under public-private partnerships,' informed Dr Bukhari. Reportedly, Punjab Auqaf has now decided to fix the rents of its properties according to the market rate, with 25 per cent imposed every three years and new rents after six years.
Express Tribune
28-02-2025
- Express Tribune
Accused gets bail in child maid murder case
Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Tariq Ayub has granted bail to a third suspect, Rubina Naveed, in the case of a 12-year-old domestic worker who was allegedly tortured to death two weeks ago by her employers. The minor, identified as Iqra, was reportedly beaten to death by her employersRashid Shafiq and Sana Rashidover accusations of stealing a Rs20 chocolate. The couple is currently in Adiala Jail on judicial remand. Rubina Naveed's lawyers argued that she had no role in the abuse and was falsely implicated by the police. They claimed she was merely a neighbour who took the severely injured girl to the hospital out of humanitarian concern. The court, after reviewing the evidence, found this claim credible and ruled that she deserved bail. She was released on a surety bond of Rs0.2 million, which was submitted by her husband, Muhammad Naveed.
