Attock to get major education boost

The Supreme Court has summoned the Inspector General of Sindh Police over delays in registering murder cases. A bench of the Supreme Court heard a case concerning the alleged delay in the registration of murder FIRs. During the hearing, the court expressed serious concern over the police response to complaints and directed the Sindh police chief to appear personally at the next hearing. The court also summoned the Advocate General Sindh and the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sukkur. All three officials have been directed to appear before the court at the next hearing and explain the situation regarding delays in registering criminal cases. Justice Hashim Kakar expressed strong displeasure over the performance of the Sindh police. He observed that the system of accountability and punishment appeared to be ineffective in the province. The judge said the police were allegedly allowing accused persons to escape accountability. He noted that in the case being heard by the court, the murder case was registered two days after the killing. Justice Kakar further observed that police in several cases appeared reluctant to register FIRs. He questioned how victims and their families could receive justice if cases were not registered promptly. The judge used strong remarks to highlight the seriousness of the situation and criticised what he viewed as shortcomings in the handling of murder complaints. Justice Salahuddin also expressed concern over the law-and-order situation in parts of Sindh. He specifically pointed to the conditions in Sukkur and Larkana, describing the situation there as particularly troubling. The court directed the relevant officials to appear personally and provide answers regarding the alleged delays and the overall performance of the police in registering murder cases. The Supreme Court subsequently adjourned further proceedings in the case until September 21. The summoned officials are expected to appear before the court on that date and respond to the concerns raised by the judges.

PESHAWAR: Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Adviser Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif has called for the creation of additional administrative provinces, saying Pakistan needs major structural reforms to improve governance and public service delivery. In a statement issued on Sunday, Saif said the proposal to establish new provinces should be taken seriously, arguing that the existing administrative framework is no longer capable of addressing the growing needs of the population efficiently. He said discussions alone would not bring meaningful change and urged the federal government to move beyond proposals by initiating practical measures for administrative restructuring. According to him, governance can only improve if reforms are implemented instead of remaining limited to public debate. Saif maintained that decision-making authority is concentrated within a small section of the bureaucracy, which limits administrative efficiency and delays the resolution of public issues. He stressed that a more balanced distribution of powers would strengthen governance and improve accountability. He said Pakistan requires comprehensive administrative reforms that would transfer greater authority to lower levels of government. Establishing new provinces, he added, would bring the government closer to the people, improve access to public services and ensure faster responses to local challenges. The former adviser also highlighted the importance of an effective local government system, saying empowered local bodies are essential for addressing citizens’ problems at the grassroots level. He argued that decentralisation and stronger local institutions would enhance transparency, improve service delivery and promote sustainable development across the country.

Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat has raised questions about the performance and accessibility of the Daanish School System. He said education at Daanish schools was expensive. As a result, the system had enrolled only around 40,000 students in 15 years. The minister questioned the effectiveness of earlier education initiatives in the province. He specifically referred to comprehensive and pilot schools established in Punjab. He asked where those schools had gone and why they had failed to deliver the expected results. Rana Sikandar Hayat said the Punjab government was working to reduce the gap between public and private education. For this purpose, the government had moved towards a public-private partnership model. He said the approach could help improve the quality of education and increase access for children. The provincial minister also highlighted the enrolment performance of the Nawaz Sharif School of Eminence programme. He said these schools had recorded an average enrolment of around 112 per cent so far. Rana Sikandar Hayat also spoke about the issue of inaccurate student records in government schools. He claimed that authorities had removed around 1.5 million ghost students from government school records across Punjab. The minister said the province still faced a major education challenge. Around 25 per cent of children in Punjab remain out of school, according to him. He said the dropout problem becomes particularly serious when students reach the high-school level. A significant number of children leave education after reaching secondary-level schools, he said. This affects the overall literacy and education indicators of the province. The minister said the government was now focusing on bringing children who are outside the education system back into schools. He said schools operating under outsourcing arrangements had been given a specific target. They would be required to enrol 5 per cent of children currently deprived of education. The initiative is aimed at increasing school enrolment and reducing the number of children who remain outside the formal education system. Rana Sikandar Hayat said improving access to education required both enrolment and retention. Bringing children into schools would not be enough if they later dropped out. He stressed the need to strengthen the education system and ensure that children continue their studies through higher grades. The minister’s remarks highlight the challenges facing Punjab’s education sector. Despite having a large network of schools, the province continues to deal with out-of-school children, inaccurate enrolment records and high dropout rates. The government is now looking towards partnerships with the private sector and reforms in public schools to address these problems. The minister said the ultimate objective was to provide more children with access to quality education and reduce the divide between public and private schooling.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership has accelerated consultations over the formation of the next government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), with party supremo Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz interviewing candidates for reserved seats. The interviews were held in Murree on Sunday for five women’s reserved seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly. PML-N AJK regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir and Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah also attended the meeting. The party leadership reviewed the profiles of several women seeking PML-N tickets. The interviews reportedly lasted between five and 10 minutes for each candidate. Among those interviewed were Maryam Kashmiri, president of the PML-N AJK Women’s Wing, secretary general Nasira Azeem Khan, former reserved-seat MLA Sehrish Qamar, former Assembly member Nisara Abbasi, Maryam Idrees, Maria Iqbal Tarana and Zareeda Nisar. The widow of late Raja Abid Khan of Dadyal also appeared before the leadership. Her son, Raja Shoaib Abid, had withdrawn from the electoral contest in support of PML-N candidate and MLA-elect Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq. The PML-N leadership praised the participation of women in the recent AJK elections. The party said women had played an active and important role in the electoral process and described their involvement as a positive development for democracy. The PML-N has emerged as the largest party following the recent AJK elections. It secured 25 directly elected seats and has the support of an allied member. Based on its strength in the Assembly, the party is expected to win four of the five reserved seats for women. The party is also expected to secure the remaining three reserved seats allocated to religious scholars or Mashaikh, overseas state subjects, and technocrats and other professionals. The AJK Election Commission has scheduled polling for all eight reserved seats for August 24. The voting will take place at the AJK Legislative Assembly Hall in Muzaffarabad from 10am to 1pm. Candidates will submit nomination papers on August 20. The scrutiny process will be completed the same day, while appeals against decisions regarding nominations can be filed on August 21. The Election Commission will hear the appeals on August 22. Candidates will have until August 23 to withdraw their nominations, after which the final list of contestants will be issued. The AJK Assembly comprises 53 members. Of these, 45 are elected through direct voting, while eight seats are reserved for specific categories. However, elections could not be held in seven constituencies because of the law and order situation in parts of Poonch and Sudhnoti districts. As a result, 38 directly elected members will take part in the process of electing candidates to the reserved seats. Meanwhile, the Election Commission also issued notifications confirming the victories of PPP candidate Sardar Ziaul Qamar and PML-N candidate Sardar Mir Akbar in Bagh district. Qamar was declared successful from LA-15 Central Bagh, while Akbar was declared the returned candidate from LA-16 Eastern Bagh. Their notifications formally completed the electoral process in the two constituencies.