ISLAMABAD – Chief of the Pakistani Democratic Movement, Maulana Fazlur Rehman will lead a political rally in Bahawalpur on Sunday.

According to sources, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz and former prime minister and PPP leader Yousuf Raza Gilani will also attend the rally.

The rally will pass through Bandra Bridge, Model Town C Chowk, Fateh Chowk, Model Town B, and reach Toll Plaza Sutlej Bridge.

It is expected that all three — Fazlur Rehman, Maryam Nawaz and Yousuf Raza Gilani — will address the rally at Chowk Seraiki.

A spokesman for the district police said the administration had not yet given permission for the rally.

Warning notices have been issued to the organisers to cancel the rally and the Panaflexes and billboards in the city advertising the rally have been removed, he said.

The police spokesman added that cases have been registered against local PDM officials and workers for violating coronavirus safety protocols.

PML-N leader Baligh-ur-Rehman has said that the government is panicking in the face of the Opposition movement. He said crude tactics are being used to stop the rally.

“PDM is the voice of the people, the rally will be held tomorrow at all costs,” he vowed.

ISLAMABAD – The gas crisis in Pakistan has  intensified and added to the hardships of citizens amid the cold winter season. The gas shortage in Karachi has domestic and industrial consumers, as well as tandoors, teahouses, and hotels worried.

The severe cold weather has further aggravated the citizens’ plight as it has led to a reduction in pressure and the suspension of gas supply in residential areas.

In Gujranwala, residents cannot light their stoves due to gas shortage and are forced to buy expensive cylinders.

CNG stations in Multan have been shut down due to gas shortage, which has further added to the citizens’ woes.

Low gas pressure persists in different areas of Quetta — in Nawan Kali, Sariab Road, Brewery, Bypass, and other areas — due to which domestic and business consumers are facing difficulties.

Apart from this, a reduction in gas pressure in Ziarat and Kalat has also increased the hardships of the citizens who are forced to burn expensive wood.

Alvi meets industrialists

Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi, in a meeting with industrialists at the Governor House in Karachi, said he would take up the matter of gas crisis with concerned ministers.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce (KCC) President Sharq Vohra said that the emergence of the gas crisis during an increase in exports is a matter of concern and should be probed.

President Alvi assured the business community that they would receive an update on the root causes of the gas crisis and the government’s strategy being devised to deal with the situation.

Islamabad – The Federal Board of Revenue has launched electronic filing of appeals by taxpayers with effect from January 1.

The system will enable taxpayers to file appeals on the FBR’s Iris web portal. Both the revenue authority and taxpayers would reap the benefits of the automated system, according to the FBR.

The appeals commissioner is the first tier of appellate hierarchy provided in the Inland Revenue laws. Taxpayers having objections to decisions of the tax authorities file their first appeal before the appeals commissioner.

An FBR spokesperson called the e-filing facility a step towards automaton of revenue authority.

“In compliance with the vision of the prime minister, the FBR has collaborated with Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited for the development of software for e-filing of appeals,” the spokesperson said.

The FBR also took the input from major stakeholders such as the ICAP, ICMAP and the PTBA, the spokesperson added.

Dr Omar Atiq, a Pakistani oncologist who lives in the US, has made headlines for wiping away $650,000 in debt for patients at his cancer treatment centre in Arkansas.

Dr Atiq told his 200 patients of the news in a Christmas greeting card.

“I hope this note finds you well. The Arkansas Cancer Clinic was proud to serve you as a patient. Although various health insurers pay most of the bills for majority of patients, even the deductibles and co-pays can be burdensome,” the card read.

“The clinic has decided to forego all balances owed to the clinic by its patients. Happy Holidays.”

The clinic shut down in late February after 29 years of service. The card also announced its closure.

According to Newsweek, outstanding patient bills at the centre totaled nearly $650,000. The clinic worked with a billing company to cancel the debt.

The clinic provided cancer treatment such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and diagnostics.

Dr Atiq is also a professor at the UAMS College of Medicine and oncologist at the UAMS William P Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

He told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that there was no better time to do this than during a pandemic. “We just thought we could do it and we wanted to, so we went ahead and did it.”

Dr Atiq is originally from Pakistan and moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1991 after completing a fellowship at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York City.

In 2013, he was named the first non-white president of the Arkansas Medical Society and in 2018 he was named chairperson-elect of the board of governors of the American College of Physicians.

Dr Atiq said the Arkansas Cancer Clinic has the amount of outstanding debt it did partly because it has never refused to see a patient.

“Not for lack of health insurance or funds nor for any other reason,” he said. “I’ve always considered it a high honor and privilege to be someone’s physician—more important than anything else.”