KCCI 6th International My-Karachi Exhibition 2009 will portray true picture of Karachi

KCCI My-Karachi, Oasis of Harmony Exhibition 2009 will portray the true picture of Karachi as peaceful city & economic hub of Pakistan, expressed by Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, Acting President, Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry in a press note. He informed that KCCI was organizing its 6th flagship International ?My-Karachi, Oasis of Harmony Exhibition 2009? from 5th to 7th June, 2009 at Expo Centre Karachi which was another sequel to KCCI annual international event. He articulated that every year beside corporate & public sector of Pakistan, hundreds of international exhibitors and companies participate from friendly countries. This year, International Participants from Turkey, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam & Sri Lanka were exhibiting their brands in the exhibition.

He enlightened that KCCI started this mega exhibition in 2004 with the initiative of Siraj Kassam Teli, the then President of KCCI, which received acclamation on both National & International forums. In view of its significance & magnitude, Government of Sindh & City Government Karachi co-host this momentous exhibition every year. Core objective of this mega event was to project and promote the true and real picture of Karachi & Pakistan with an emphasis on Karachi as centre of commercial activities as well as hub for financial & service centre of Pakistan, he added.

He expressed his heartfelt compliments to the Sindh Govt, CDGK, Excellencies of Diplomatic Corps, international & national participants & supporters of the KCCI flagship expo. Over 600,000 visitors were expected this year in ?My-Karachi-2009 Exhibition?. Jang Group, The News & GEO TV network had joined as the Media Partners, he added.

He contended that this year KCCI had taken extra measures to organize the event in more vivid & stylish fashion, with dedicated halls for the international participants, significant brands ?Made in Pakistan? and for Women Entrepreneurs. It would be a complete exhibition in all aspects encompassing the interests of corporate sector as well as the consumers while truly representing Pakistan in terms of cultural cross section in a unique urban scenario.

He focused that Karachi was recognized and valued as diversified fastest growing city and a gateway for Central Asia. However, continuously its image was tarnished by way of adverse propaganda made by the Western media, and the state of affairs demand that Karachiities specially the business and industrial community to come forward to combat and rebuild the image of metropolis in particular & Pakistan in general and make this event successful with flying colours.

On the behalf of KCCI, he conveyed his heartfelt compliments to Dr. Ishrat Ul Ebah Khan, Governor of Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Chief Minister Sindh, M.A. Rauf Siddiqui, Minister for Industries & Commerce & Syed Mustafa Kamal, Nazim Karachi City for extending their support in organizing this exhibition.

Poster competition organised by Foundation for a Drug Free World in Karachi

Foundation for a Drug Free World organized citation ceremony for the first international poster competition in a local hotel. More than 400 institutions from all over Pakistan participated in it. Prizes and certificates were distributed among the winners by Pakistan Coordinator, Munir Moosa Sewani. Name of the winners are Deedar Karim from Aga khan social welfare board for frontier, Sunita, Fouzia Khan from Educare Academy, Hameed Dadali from City School, Kanwar Karim from Qamar-r-Bani Hashim School.

The team members include Sabeen Akhtar Hussain, Saleema Moosa Sewani and Hamida Ashiq Ali. Pakistan Coordinator Munir Moosa and Media cum Marketing Manager Sabeen Akhtar Hussain expresses views that Media is the most powerful tool to eradicate drug from Pakistan. (PR)

Man arrested for beguiling young girls

KARACHI: A man was arrested for beguiling young girls into eloping with him to his hometown in Punjab. The culprit, named Zia Mohammad, son of M Ramzan, was arrested during snap checking and later, during interrogation, he confessed to the crime. Station Investigation Officer (SIO) Iqbal Hashmi said that the man got married to his cousin, S, with whom he had a six-year-old son, however, he divorced her and came to the city from his hometown and started work in a towel factory located within the limits of New Karachi Industrial Area (NKIA) police station. Four years ago, he beguiled the lady helper, M, when she was fourteen-years-old and eloped with her to his hometown. Now, M is eight-months pregnant and has a one-year-old child too.

The culprit divorced M while she was pregnant, came back to Karachi and started working in the same factory where he beguiled a 15-year-old girl, N, and eloped with her to his hometown. The officer further said that the mother of N registered an FIR no 193/08 in NKIA police station against the culprit, saying that he kidnapped her daughter. The officer revealed that the culprit has been residing with two of the said women in Sector 11-F, New Karachi for the past five months. He was taken into custody during checking on suspicion and later during the course of interrogation, he confessed to his crime, upon which, the police conducted a raid at his house and recovered the women and handed them over to the NKIA police.

KESC partners with Engro Polymer and International Industries under Captive Power Policy

As part of the continued efforts to provide maximum relief to its consumers, KESC is moving ahead with introducing short term and long term solution that could benefit Karachi. Apart from adding permanent power and rental power to its grid, KESC also launched a Captive Power Policy lately to utilize the excessive available power capacity of industrial units. This program has created interest among Captive Power Producers & quite a few are advancing to finalization. The first company to join this programme was Engro Polymer & Chemical Ltd (EPCL), which signed an agreement with KESC recently to supply 18 MW to KESC by mid-year 2009. This was yet another break through that was carried forward by a second agreement signing between International Industries Limited (IIL) and KESC.

According to this contract, IIL will supply 4 MW to KESC within the next two weeks. Naveed Ismail CEO KESC says, “Industrial partnership is a critical short and medium-term solution to Karachi’s energy challenges and a key part of how KESC now works. We are very committed to a strategy that balances our supply requirements to KESC’s cost of delivery. We will be announcing a series of arrangements like these and partnering with Engro and IIL is a powerful place to start”.For Further Details, please contact: KESC Corporate Communication Syed Faraz Ahmed, Media Manager at 0301 828 6193 Email: cc@kesc.com.pk

Youthful offenders at Central Prison get beds

KARACHI: It was for the first time in the 62 years of the national history that inmates below 18 years were provided with beds at the Youthful Offenders’ Industrial School, Karachi Central Prison.
A local philanthropist had donated these through Legal Aid Office and Deputy Speaker of the Sindh Assembly, Shehla Raza was invited to hand these 300 beds to the young inmates.
The SA Deputy Speaker addressing the ceremony jointly organized by LAO and office of the Inspector General Prisons of Sindh said President Asif Ali Zardari is also keen to improve the general conditions at the prisons. “As per his directives special funds are being available to improve conditions at the jails,” she said.

President assures Rs 22b funds soon Green signal for green city

KARACHI: Important decisions were taken to make Karachi “Green City” with special focus on improved environmental conditions at a high level meeting held under the chairmanship of President Asif Ali Zardari at Governor House yesterday.
Among others Sindh Governor Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan and Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Federal Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira attended the meeting.
The President had a comprehensive review of a dozen projects of parks and beautification in city at a total cost of Rs22, 151mln.
Of these, five projects will be undertaken by the Federal Government at a total cost of Rs 18,416mln and seven projects costing Rs 3735mln by Provincial Government.
The five federal government-funded projects will include Central Park, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Memorial River Valley Park, Malir River Bed Park, Night Safari, Thado Boat Basin Dam, Gadap Town and Animal Park Karachi Zoological Garden.
The provincially-funded parks will include Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park Boat Basin, Beautification of Lyari River, National Park Gattar Baghicha Lyari, National Hill Park, Tree Plantation on major roads, Jehangir Park Saddar, and Jinnah Polo Ground.
Later briefing the press, Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri said the President emphasized on making preparations to cope with deteriorating environmental conditions called for carrying out maximum plantation in this respect.

City District Govt. Karachi restrained from auctioning 9 amenity plots

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday restrained the CDGK from auctioning nine amenity plots in North Karachi Township till June 9, 2009.

Advocate Khalid Imran approached the SHC over the alleged illegal auction of amenity plots, naming the Sindh local government department secretary, Karachi city nazim and CDGK land management district officer as respondents. Advocate Imran submitted that the CDGK recently announced through newspapers that 70 commercial, petrol pumps and amenity plots in Korangi, North Karachi and Sarjani Town will be disposed off through an open public auction on May 28, 2009.

These include nine amenity plots in North Karachi Township. Two amenity plots, St-1 (measuring 1352 square yards) and St-64 (measuring 960 square yards) in Sector 11-A, are used by the area residents for community purposes and gardens have been developed on these plots.

He stated that the amenity plots specifically meant for parks and gardens could not be converted for any other purpose, as prohibited vide Regulations 19-2.2.8 Karachi Buildings and Town Planning Regulations 2002. Such regulations having statutory force, as such auction of said amenity plots would be against public policy. He prayed the court to restrain the CDGK from auctioning amenity plots, particularly St-1 and St-64 and urged to stay the auction scheduled for May 28.

The SHC division bench, comprising Justice Maqbool Baqir and Justice Abdur Rahman Farooq Pirzada, issued notices to the respondents, as well as the Sindh Advocate General for June 9, 2009, adding that till then parties are directed to maintain status quo.

Caller to prayer gunned down in Karachi

KARACHI: Unknown armed militants have shot dead a caller to prayer of a local mosque while his son sustained critical injuries here in the locality of Gulshan-e-Iqbal on Tuesday, Geo news reported.

According to police officials, the Amanullah Awan, a Mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) of a local Jama Siddique Akbar mosque located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal block 19, was on his way home with his three sons when unidentified armed militants opened fire at them near Bait-ul-Mukarram mosque, killing Amanullah on the spot and injuring his son while two other sons were luckily had a narrow escape.

Police termed the assassination as target killing incident. Later, the dead body and injured child were shifted to local hospital where their kits and kin stormed and staged protest against the brutality.

On contacting police, SSP Gulshan-e-Iqbal told Geo news that the ambush seemed a target killing endeavor but police is probing into incident.

Govt should nationalise KESC’

KARACHI: MQM’s Rabita Committee has urged the government to review the privatisation of the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) and nationalise the utility immediately.

In a statement, the committee criticised the KESC for the prolonged power outages in Karachi and demanded that the government take concrete steps to relieve the citizens. “Unannounced load shedding by the KESC authorities has disturbed the citizens’ routine life. Industrial and commercial activities in the city have also been badly affected due to the 10-12 hours of non-supply of electricity,” the statement read. staff report

Four killed, five injured in Karachi violence

Four people including a woman were shot dead and five people were injured in various incidents of violence in Karachi late on Friday, a private TV channel reported.

A girl, 19 and a boy, 7, were among the injured. They were hit by stray bullets in two different incidents on Friday.

According to the channel, unidentified people also set ablaze three vehicles and injured the owner of a hotel in Liaqatabad area of the city.

The armed men also torched buses on MA Jinnah Road and in Garden, North Nazimabad, Gulistan-e-Jauhar areas of the provincial capital.