Here’s what’s happening across the border: The govt is hiding luxury cars but the chief justice won’t allow it and Diamer-Bhasha dam gets green signal after 17 years
Tayyaba’s torturers brought to book and given bail
Additional district and sessions judge Raja Khurram Ali Khan and his wife Maheen Zafar were sentenced to one year in prison by the Islamabad High Court Tuesday in the Tayyaba torture case.
However, they were given bail by the same court shortly after being convicted.
The judge and his wife were accused of keeping Tayyaba, their 10-year-old domestic worker, in wrongful confinement and assaulting her over minor infractions. For instance, once they burned her hand over a missing broom, the Dawn had reported.
The two were also given a fine of Rs 50,000 each in the case that had sparked outrage across the nation in December 2016, after photos of the victim emerged on social media.
Despite being acquitted of most of the charges, the two were finally convicted under Section 328-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) that deals with cruelty to children.
The accused judge, while filing his bail plea, had pleaded that he will challenge today’s sentencing in the Supreme Court and thus deserves bail, which in any case is liable when the punishment is only a year’s, Geo Tv reported.
“Little Tayyaba’s story illustrates some of the worst aspects of Pakistani society. In fact, the grim tale ticks all the boxes: the grinding poverty among swathes of the population, the smug sense of entitlement among the elite, and a system that perpetuates the status quo through incompetence or complicity,” the Dawn had written in an editorial.
The government is hiding luxury SUVs
Pakistan’s Chief Justice, Mian Saqib Nisar, took suo motu notice Tuesday of luxury vehicles owned and used by government officers, high court chief justices and ministers beyond their entitlement.
Further, the CJP also took notice of 27 such vehicles belonging to the Punjab government that were allegedly hidden in the basement of a building after the CJP sought their record, Samaa.tv reported.
The judge has directed the additional attorney general to find out who gave the orders to hide the vehicles worth billions of rupees and adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period.
Swat valley wants to revive education in the face of extremism
Swat valley, which has been at the receiving end of terrorism-related violence and extremism that resulted in decreasing opportunities for education, is on its path to recovery, Geo TV reported.
The valley kicked off its largest two-day science festival for school children Tuesday “in order to ignite a spark for science and discovery among students in the region”.
The first day of the festival saw a ‘massive turnout’ of 1,500 girls and 5,000 boys from more than 130 government and private schools in the district.
Proud of students especially girls from my hometown Swat showing their talent in science. Well done! @udhyaana #SwatScienceFestival pic.twitter.com/eU0Mp2KLdG
— Malala (@Malala) April 17, 2018
There were also entrepreneurs, science specialists, government officials and teachers in attendance.
Under the supervision of the National Academy of Young Scientists, 1,036 students also made a national record by extracting DNA from strawberries, and 955 students made a human chain to represent the structure of the DNA. These two displays will be published in the Pakistan Book of Records.
Diamer-Bhasha dam finally gets green signal after 17 years
Aimed at increasing the country’s water storage capacity, the government Tuesday finally gave a green light to the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam after a wait of 17 years.
According to the Express Tribune, the construction of the dam will cost an estimated Rs 474 billion.
While giving its stamp of approval, the PMO claimed that the project will increase water storage capacity from 38 days to 45 days, and enhance the lifespan of downstream reservoirs.
Work on the dam had not begun due to a lack of financial resources.
In 2017, the Chinese government had attempted to claim ownership of the project following which the Pakistani government had withdrawn its request to include the project in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework.
This is terrible news!