Karachi

As a result of slackness and irresponsibility of Sindh School Education Department’s officials, the newly built building of Ebrahim Ali Bhai Boys Secondary School in Karachi remained under the illegal occupation of the contractor for six years, and was vacated only after the Provincial Ombudsman took suo moto action taking notice of a news item.

Ajaz Ali Khan, Provincial Ombudsman Sindh had ordered action on a news item that appeared in a local English newspaper on January 12, 2023 with a heading ‘School building rented out to tenants’, an official handout said on Wednesday.

During proceedings, it was found that Ebrahim Ali Bhai Boys Secondary School was completed in the year 2016, but the School Education Department failed to  take over the school building despite a lapse of six years resultantly children were deprived of such a huge school facility.

It also transpired that the contractor had illegally occupied the building and doing his private business in the school premises and allowed his private watchmen to live with their families in the halls of the school meant for labs. Besides, the said contractor also illegally occupied three rooms of Boys Secondary School functioning in the said premises.

Due to such illegal occupation Primary School within the boundary of Ebrahim Ali Bhai Boys Secondary School was not functioning to its full capacity as there was no enrollment in class IV and V.  During hearing the Director School Education (ES&HS) Karachi as well as Superintending Engineer Education Works were directed to clarify the reasons of not taking over the building though completed six years back, as a result of which, the department awoke from deep slumber and got vacated the school building from the contractor and started regular classes.

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Universities of Sindh are not meeting the target of awarding scholarships as per the prescribed number.

Karachi

Provincial Education and Culture Minister Syed Sardar Shah while presiding over the meeting of Sindh College Education Department, decided to remove the illegal occupation of government college buildings and plots in the province.

The meeting was attended by Secretary Colleges Ahmad Bakhsh Narejo, Director General Colleges Muhammad Ali Manjhi and others.

Minister directed that all types of illegal occupation of buildings and plots of government colleges should be removed. “Steps should also be taken to eliminate encroachments around colleges”, he added.

He directed the Secretary to write letters to the Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners in this regard.

It was also decided that the budget of the upcoming colleges will be decided according to the enrollment ratio. The budget of those colleges will be enhanced where the admission ratio will be improved.

Sardar Shah directed that a strategy should be devised to protect the buildings of future colleges from weather effects. “Proposals should be invited to protect the buildings of the colleges from weather effects and to create safe buildings for the students.”

He said that principals of government colleges should be removed from their responsibilities if their performance does not improve.

It was also decided in principle that subject-based lecturers will be appointed in future colleges. The minister directed that unnecessary posts/positions in the service structure of colleges should be eliminated. “Unnecessary posts sanctioned in old times should be eliminated and proposals should be made on the basis of need.”

The education minister directed further that the universities be contacted regarding the scholarships of the Sindh Education Endowment Fund Trust. “Universities are not meeting the target of awarding scholarships as per the prescribed number. In case the number of scholarships is not fulfilled by the universities, the scholarship quota should be given to other universities.”

Scholarships of Sindh Education Endowment Fund Trust established by the Government of Sindh are the right of meritorious and deserving students. Minister directed that letters should also be written to the universities to conduct an effective awareness campaign regarding the scholarship. (PR)

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Geneva

Israel’s occupation is illegal and indistinguishable from a “settler-colonial” situation, which must end, as a pre-condition for Palestinians to exercise their right to self-determination, the UN’s independent expert on the occupied Palestinian territory said on Thursday.

“For over 55 years, the Israeli military occupation has prevented the realization of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, violating each component of that right and wilfully pursuing the ‘de-Palestinianisation’ of the occupied territory,” said Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, in her report to the UN General Assembly.

The report asserts the Israeli occupation violates Palestinian territorial sovereignty by seizing, annexing, fragmenting, and transferring its civilian population to the occupied territory.

The occupation furthermore “endangers the cultural existence of the Palestinian people”, said the UN rights office press release summarizing the report, by erasing or appropriating symbols expressing Palestinian identity and violates Palestinians’ ability to organize themselves, free from alien domination and control, by repressing Palestinian political activity, advocacy and activism.

‘Strategic fragmentation’

“This is, in essence, proof of the intent to colonize the occupied territory, and manifests Israel’s policies of domination through the “strategic fragmentation” of the occupied territory,” the expert said.

The international community’s political, humanitarian, and economic approach towards resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict, have failed without exception, the report notes.

“These approaches conflate root causes with symptoms and serve to normalize Israel’s illegal occupation instead of challenging it. This is immoral and renders the regulatory and remedial function of international law futile,” Albanese said.

Paradigm shift

The report calls for “a paradigm shift”, which entails moving away from the narrative of “conflict” between Israelis and Palestinians, and recognition of Israel’s “intentionally acquisitive, segregationist and repressive settler-colonial occupation.”

Ms. Albanese urged the international community to formally acknowledge and condemn the settler-colonial nature of the Israeli occupation.

No negotiation over withdrawal

She also demanded an immediate end to the illegal occupation, and call on Israel to withdraw its military personnel and support for Israeli civilians in the colonies.

She cautioned all States against making Israeli withdrawal subject to negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

“Meaningful discussions on a political solution for Palestine can only begin when the illegal occupation is dismantled once and for all,” the expert said.

Special Rapporteurs like Ms. Albanese, are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary, and experts are not paid for their work.

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Courtesy: UN News (Posted on October 27, 2022)

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Sindh Forest Department could retrieve only 160 acres during 6-day operation   

In Hyderabad district 836 acre and in Tando Muhammad Khan 104 acre forest land is illegally occupied by the influential people

Hyderabad: The Forest Department of Sindh has utterly failed to retrieve the forest land from the illegal possession of the influential people in Miani Forest of Hyderabad district where a six-day operation was carried out recently.

Only 160 acres were retrieved during the operation, which started on January 18, was headed by Divisional Forest Officer Sannaullah Buledi, sources in forest department confided.

The total forest area of Hyderabad Afforestation Division is 25910 acre. The forest area of the division falls in three civil districts namely Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan and Tando Allahyar. The Hyderabad district has a vast area under forest, as according to official figures some 23666.38 acres are the forest land there while Tando Muhammad Khan has 1926.62 acres and Tando Allahyar has only 317 acres.

The area under encroachment in these districts is: Hyderabad 836 acres and Tando Muhammad Khan 104 acres while Tando Allahyar is free of any encroachment, as the officials claimed.

The Forest Department had launched the operation to get the illegally occupied forest lands vacated in compliance of the orders of Supreme Court of Pakistan in Constitutional Petition no. 52/2018 and Sindh High Court, Sukkur bench in connection with Constitutional Petition no. 1115/2009.

The District Administration and Police of Hyderabad had extended full cooperation to the Forest Department for retrieval operation in Miani Riverine forest.

The operation continued for 6-days and during which an area of 160 acres had been retrieved from illegal possession of people besides destroying 32 houses and dismantling 13 irrigation bores.

The tractors and heavy machinery was used during the encroachment vacation operation in Miani Riverine Forest where wheat and sugarcane crops were illegally raised by encroachers.

When Sindh Courier contacted DFO Sannaullah Buledi on phone for updates about the operation and the hindrances faced during the operation, he avoided to divulge any detail. However, it was learnt that he appeared in Sindh High Court during the hearing of petition and submitted the report about the recent operation.

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Sindh Courier

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