Category Archives: Gilgit

Gilgit, LATEST

GB doctors protest lack of PPEs, facilities in hospitals

GILGIT: The health professionals staged a protest sit-in here on Monday to demand provision of PPEs and availability of facilities for treatment of Covid-19 patients in hospitals.

The Protesters announced to continue their protest till acceptance of their demands.

Gilgit-Baltistan Grand Health Alliance had called the protest.

About 400 nurses, paramedical staff and doctors from all the districts of GB gathered outside the district headquarters hospital, Gilgit, and marched towards the Chief Minister’s House in Chinar Bagh, where they staged a sit-in blocking the River Road.

The protesters were wearing masks and holding banners inscribed with their demands.

Ejaz Ayub, former president Young Doctors Association, told Dawn that health professionals from across the region had been protesting for last one week for acceptance of their demands, but the government was unmoved.

He said it was injustice that the health professionals were not being provided incentives like other parts of the country. He said hospitals lacked capacity to treat coronavirus patients.

Another protester said doctors and the paramedics treating the Covid-19 patients in remote areas had no protection gear.

The doctors demanded construction of 100-bed hospitals in every district, payment of salaries to health professionals similar to other parts of the country, payment of incentives announced by Chief minister Hafeezur Rehman, regularisation of all contractual doctors, nurses and paramedics, promotion of health professionals under service structure and security of doctors in hospitals.

Meanwhile, the representatives of Grand Health Alliance met the chief minister to apprise him of their demands.

The chief minister assured them of resolving their issues within two days.

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Gilgit, KPK, PAKISTAN

CPEC to bring economic prosperity in GB: Ahsan

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GILGIT: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor would bring economic prosperity in Gilgit-Baltistan.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day seminar on CPEC here. The federal minister was chief guest at the seminar.

Mr Iqbal said the perception that GB people would have no share in the mega project was baseless and wrong, adding the region would become a model of ecological economy. He maintained that GB was gateway of the project.

“GB is face of Pakistan. We will make the region as Switzerland of Pakistan under CPEC.”

The federal minister said that the nation had to fail the designs of the enemies of the project. He also rejected the allegation that CPEC was China-Punjab Corridor.

He said under the CPEC, 15 power projects would be set up in Sindh and 13 in Balochistan. He announced that through optical fiber Khunjirab and Islamabad would be connected by next year, saying GB people would get 3G and 4G internet facility.

The minister said the modern internet system would help create job opportunities for youth in GB. He said economic zones of CPEC would be established in GB, AJK and four provinces of Pakistan.

“Under the project, engineering and medical colleges, a university in Baltistan, and various roads would be constructed in GB,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman said GB was entry point of CPEC project.

Mushahid Hussain Syed, Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on CPEC in Senate, said GB was pillar for CPEC. “GB is key area for the project and we cannot ignore the region in distribution of economic benefits,” he added.

He said the Chinese government had made special task force for development of GB. He said GB people would get representation in National Assembly and Senate.

Abdul Ghafur Haideri, Deputy Chairman Senate, said the CPEC was national project, and that all people should unite for completion of the project. He demanded establishment of three economic zones of CPEC in GB.

PTI central leader Asad Umer also spoke on occasion.

However, former speaker GBLA Wazir Baig said that there was no single project for GB people in the CPEC.

GB governor, ministers, members of GBLA, lawyers, civil society activists, students from private and government institutions were in attendance.

The event was jointly organised by Karakoram International University and GB government.

Gilgit, ISLAMABAD, KPK, LATEST, PAKISTAN, PAKISTN

Noose tightened around terrorists, says army chief

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579ed525ef74c.jpgCHITRAL: Youth can play a key role in the fight against terrorism and in efforts to bring prosperity to the country, Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif said in a speech at the closing ceremony of the Shandur festival on Sunday.

“The noose has been tightened around terrorists and their facilitators and the day is not far off when the country will become a haven of peace, prosperity and progress,” he said.

Gen Raheel gave away trophies, awards and prizes to the wining and runner-up teams and players.

“The Shandur festival not only attracts domestic and foreign tourists but also gives a loud message to terrorists that we cannot be intimidated into shunning our traditions,” the army chief said.

He reaffirmed the military’s determination to eliminate terrorism and expressed confidence that the country would soon become an icon of peace and progress.

He assured the people of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan that the army would spare no effort in relief and rehabilitation work in the event of natural disasters.

Gen Raheel said since programmes like Shandur festival attracted tourists, they were a boon to the region’s economy.

CHITRAL LIFT TROPHY: In the final played between teams from Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Chitral won 11 goals to five.

By the first half, GB were leading 5-3. But in the second half Chitral turned the tables by scoring eight goals and defending stoutly to thwart all attempts at their goal.

Shahzada Sikandar, the Chitral captain, was the leading scorer with three goals. Nasrullah, from the same side, was adjudged man of the match.

During the interval, supporters of the two teams danced to a tune featuring a flute and trumpets.

A contingent of the Army’s Special Services Group exhibited a free fall jump from a height of 18,000 feet.

Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafizur Rahman presented a cloak to the army chief. Colonel Nizamuddin, Commandant of the Chitral Scouts, presented him a souvenir.

Among others present on the occasion were Chitral Nazim Maghfirat Shah, Shahzada Iftikharuddin, a member of the National Assembly, and several members of local bodies.

A large number of polo fans from Chitral and GB thronged the venue and the vast spaces around the ground were packed to capacity.

Hashim Khan, a retired polo player, said although he had been visiting the Shandur festival since its inception in 1982, he could not recall a better turnout than at Sunday’s event.

He attributed the overwhelming response to an improvement in the road network during the Musharraf era and a lapse of four years since the last event.

Our Gilgit correspondent adds: Besides polo matches, contests were held in paragliding, jumping, horse dance and tug of war.

Programmes featuring local music and folk dance were the hallmark of the three-day festival.

The Shandur festival is held every year from July 7 to 9 on the world’s highest polo ground — 12,000 feet above sea level.

This year the festival was not held on the usual dates because of Eidul Fitr.

Gilgit, KPK, LATEST, PAKISTN

Italian man hunts blue sheep in Hunza

GILGIT: An Italian man has hunted a blue sheep with 32-inch-long horns in the wildlife conservatory at Gojal valley of Hunza-Nagar district near the Pak-China border.

54ff6e817fb4bBoieti Gian Carlo hunted the sheep in Khunjrab Village Organisation’s (KVO’s) wildlife conservatory at Sukhterabad Nullah, some 20 kilometers from Pak-China border on Sunday, the organisation’s secretary information Rahimullah Baig told NNP on Tuesday.

He said that the blue sheep was the Pakistan’s longest and the world’s second longest animal.

He said the Italian hunter had secured hunting permit paying 8,000 US dollars to the Gilgit-Baltistan wildlife department.

Blue sheep is a rare species, found only in Nepal and Pakistan.

He said that the foreign hunter spent three days in KVO’s wildlife conservatory looking for the blue sheep.

Mr Baig said that hunter was accompanied by his local guide, Mahboob Ali, local community members and officials of GB wildlife department to ensure that the hunt was carried out according to the rules. “The hunter fired a single gunshot at the blue sheep from a distance of 275 meters as was allowed under the law.”

According to rules, only one shot at the animal is allowed, and the second attempt would render the permit invalid.

The KVO official said 80 per cent of the income from the sale of hunting permits went to the local community to be spent on development of wildlife in their respective areas. Twenty per cent of the amount would go to the government exchequer, he explained.

In the KVO wildlife reserve live 30 snow leopards and other wildlife species.

Ghulam Mohammad, conservator at GB parks and wildlife department, said that Gilgit-Baltistan was home to rare species, including the Marco-Polo sheep, ibex, markhor, urial, blue sheep, lynx, snow leopard, brown and black bears, wolf, fox, marmote, chakor and Ram chakor.

The official said that Gilgit-Baltistan wildlife management board had auctioned in December last year 70 hunting permits for trophy hunting programme for 2014-15, which included 12 permits for markhors, 50 for ibex and eight for blue sheep, respectively.

The hunting season begins in November and ends in April.

Ghulam Mohammad said the trophy hunting quota was created on the basis of annual surveys conducted by the wildlife experts.

He said that the wildlife department issued hunting permits for only the aged animals.