Here’s what’s happening across the border: Pakistan’s only state-owned opium factory ready for re-launch, and Wana to get cell-phone service again after 10 years
Coal mines collapse in Balochistan, 23 miners killed
A gas explosion and a landslide at two coal mines near Quetta, the capital of fossil fuel-rich Balochistan, killed 23 miners Saturday.
At the first site, in Marwaarh, a build-up of methane led to an explosion, killing 16 miners. Hours later, a landslide at a mine in Sooranj killed seven others.
Mines in Balochistan are notorious for poor safety standards and bad ventilation. According to Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation, around 100 to 200 miners die on average every year in the mines here.
The only state-owned opium factory in Pakistan to reopen
The oldest and only government-owned opium alkaloid factory, based in Punjab, is set to reopen. It was established in 1979 by the state for the provision of medicinal opium to licensed pharmaceutical companies and herbal centres all over the country to manufacture medicines. It was shut down in 2012 by the excise and taxation department “without giving any solid reason”.
The factory is being reopened to cater to the needs of patients in need of the drug. According to Punjab Narcotics Force director general (DG) Raja Zahid, steps to reopen the factory have been initiated. The interior ministry’s narcotics control division has reportedly already sent reminders to the Punjab government in this regard.
After the factory shut down, the premises were rented out to a private firm that manufactured vehicle registration plates.
Punjab Food Authority cracks down on hoarding before Ramzan
The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) is raiding cold storage units and warehouses in the province to check the hoarding of fruits, for sale at inflated prices later, ahead of the Muslim month of fasting, Ramzan, which begins this month.
Given the spike in demand for fruits during Ramzan, in the weeks before, hoarders store unripe fruits and coat them with calcium carbide to increase their shelf life, so that they can be sold later. The PFA’s raids have so far led to sealing orders for 13 cold stores and 41 warehouses across Punjab.
The PFA is also sealing cafeterias using expired products, and ice factories being run in unhygienic conditions. Thirty-seven such ice factories in the province have been sealed already.
Wana to get mobile phone services again after 10 years
Wana, the largest town of South Waziristan Agency, is likely to have mobile connectivity again after 10 years.
Mobile services were suspended in South Waziristan Agency over security concerns as the Pakistan army kicked off an anti-militant operation. Tribal elders of Wana subsequently complained to the government about not being able to contact kin living in other parts of the country, or outside Pakistan. They have demanded that cellular services be restored in other areas of the agency as well.
“Within the next 10 to 12 days, cellular services will be restored in the area,” Geo News quoted sources in the political administration of Wana as saying Saturday.