‘QMC principal must be questioned about criminals at hostel’
LHC CJ sent a judicial inquiry report regarding the baton charge on medical students to the provincial government.
Chief Justice (CJ) of the Lahore High Court (LHC) sent a judicial inquiry report regarding the baton charge on medical students to the provincial government for action on the recommendation that criminals are residing in the Quaid-i-Azam Medical College (QMC) Bahawalpur hostels.
The Bahawalpur district and sessions judge, in his report, said that the QMC principal should be asked why people with criminal record are residing in the hostel and why he has not taken any action against them.
The report said that the raise in college fees was not in line with the fees of other medical colleges and recommended that the fees should be determined keeping the fee structure of other colleges in mind. The report also said that the increase in load shedding as examinations approached had contributed to the students’ problems.
The CJ disposed of the suo moto action on the issue and sent the report to the Punjab government.
The police had raided the QMC hostel and arrested a number of students. After the arrests, students and young doctors protested outside the QMC principal’s office. The Bahawalpur police, led by several senior officials, allegedly beat up both male and female students using sticks. The police were alleged to have removed the scarves of the female protestors, pulled them by their hair and used abusive language against them. Students said that hospital patients were witness to these events.
After the Bahawalpur district police officer (DPO) submitted a report saying that no such events had taken place, the CJ directed the district and sessions judge to hold an inquiry into the matter.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2010.
“Ts, rcP1 PU2 aying verses over the water serves no purpose. The water has to be cleaned to prevent illness and local mosque leaders should be recruited to create awareness about this,” Mufti Muneebur Rehman, a religious scholar based in Karachi and head of the national moon-sighting committee, told IRIN.
Health officials say that animal waste and sewage has mingled with standing flood water, adding that pipes supplying the water have also been damaged in the floods and most of the water in the district is thereby contaminated. “Getting clean water is our biggest problem,” said Riaz Uddin, 40, a shopkeeper.
Various solutions have been suggested. Khurshid Bhatti, head of the Association of Human Development, a NGO based in Sindh, said, “We have developed a cheap, indigenous water filter using two clay pots which can clean up to 15 liters of water a day. No better solution exists under the circumstances.” He said the device had been in use for three years.
Atiqur Rahman, head of the Pakistan offices of the Japan-based NGO Urban Development and Environmental Research Centre has suggested using “sand or cloth to filter the water and then boiling it.”
Mumtaz Ali Memon, in charge of relief operations for the charitable al Khidmat Foundation, said that their foundation was installing hand pumps able to access groundwater in flood-affected areas, “though this does not solve the problem entirely”.
Ideal solutions are hard to come by, which explains why some are resorting to superstition. “Awareness is needed. Saying a prayer over water will not clean it. Local clerics can help educate people about this, especially in rural areas where they have a lot of influence,” Khalid Zaheer, a Lahore-based religious scholar, told IRIN.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2010.
The Bahawalpur district and sessions judge, in his report, said that the QMC principal should be asked why people with criminal record are residing in the hostel and why he has not taken any action against them.
The report said that the raise in college fees was not in line with the fees of other medical colleges and recommended that the fees should be determined keeping the fee structure of other colleges in mind. The report also said that the increase in load shedding as examinations approached had contributed to the students’ problems.
The CJ disposed of the suo moto action on the issue and sent the report to the Punjab government.
The police had raided the QMC hostel and arrested a number of students. After the arrests, students and young doctors protested outside the QMC principal’s office. The Bahawalpur police, led by several senior officials, allegedly beat up both male and female students using sticks. The police were alleged to have removed the scarves of the female protestors, pulled them by their hair and used abusive language against them. Students said that hospital patients were witness to these events.
After the Bahawalpur district police officer (DPO) submitted a report saying that no such events had taken place, the CJ directed the district and sessions judge to hold an inquiry into the matter.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2010.
“Ts, rcP1 PU2 aying verses over the water serves no purpose. The water has to be cleaned to prevent illness and local mosque leaders should be recruited to create awareness about this,” Mufti Muneebur Rehman, a religious scholar based in Karachi and head of the national moon-sighting committee, told IRIN.
Health officials say that animal waste and sewage has mingled with standing flood water, adding that pipes supplying the water have also been damaged in the floods and most of the water in the district is thereby contaminated. “Getting clean water is our biggest problem,” said Riaz Uddin, 40, a shopkeeper.
Various solutions have been suggested. Khurshid Bhatti, head of the Association of Human Development, a NGO based in Sindh, said, “We have developed a cheap, indigenous water filter using two clay pots which can clean up to 15 liters of water a day. No better solution exists under the circumstances.” He said the device had been in use for three years.
Atiqur Rahman, head of the Pakistan offices of the Japan-based NGO Urban Development and Environmental Research Centre has suggested using “sand or cloth to filter the water and then boiling it.”
Mumtaz Ali Memon, in charge of relief operations for the charitable al Khidmat Foundation, said that their foundation was installing hand pumps able to access groundwater in flood-affected areas, “though this does not solve the problem entirely”.
Ideal solutions are hard to come by, which explains why some are resorting to superstition. “Awareness is needed. Saying a prayer over water will not clean it. Local clerics can help educate people about this, especially in rural areas where they have a lot of influence,” Khalid Zaheer, a Lahore-based religious scholar, told IRIN.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2010.