ISLAMABAD : Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood said on Tuesday that the federal authorities will assist the educational institutions for conducting COVID-19 tests wherever it is required.

Schools, colleges and universities across Pakistan have been reopened today, ending a nearly six-month-long closure due to coronavirus pandemic.

Shafqat Mahmood, while talking to journalists during a visit to a government school in the federal capital, urged the administration of educational centres for strict implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs).

“Strict implementation on SOPs should be made and every child must wear face mask. We are monitoring every school while transport services for students will also be monitored. There are around 215 universities in the country and almost every university has a hostel.”
“Such education centres will be closed after a warning over violation of SOPs as it is very important to maintain safety guidelines to stop the spread of the virus. Educational institutes should increase the number of students in phases.”

“We will assist the educational institutions for conducting COVID-19 tests wherever it is required,” said the education minister.

According to the decision taken by the federal government, educational institutions from grade nine to onwards have reopened today and if the pandemic situation remains under control, then students in grade six to eight will return to school on September 23, while students in the nursery to grade five will return to classes on September 30.

According to the SOPs issued by the government, masks will be mandatory for all teachers and students, while schools, colleges, and university administrations will ensure availability of sensitizers at the entry gates.

The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) urged the parents and teachers to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued for the safety of students.

ISLAMABAD : Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that India’s capital city, New Delhi, has now become the rape capital of the world due to the obscenity and indecent content shown in Bollywood films.

During an interview with a private news channel on Monday, the premier touched upon a range of issues – including the recent barbaric motorway gang-rape incident that has dragged attention to the mushrooming sexual assault cases in the country.

“World history tells when you increase fahashi(vulgarity) in the society, two things happen: sex crimes increase and the family system breaks down,” the prime minister maintained, underscoring that it is not only the responsibility of law enforcement agencies to battle out the prevalent sexual crimes in the country in fact it is the responsibility of the entire society to fight against such heinous offences.

Comparing Pakistan’s family system with the West, the premier said that “our family system is intact and we can fix our justice system and the institutions but if our family system breaks down, we will not be able to rebuild it”.

Speaking about how mass media influences the public, PM Imran mentioned neighbouring country, India, noting that the indecent content and “obscenity” shown in Bollywood films has multiplied the sexual crimes in the capital city of the country.

He then mentioned why he had recommended for Turkish blockbuster Ertuğrul to be aired on Pakistani television as he wanted to prove that Islamic and historical family shows could be popular in the country too.

Calls for chemical castration of rapists

Reacting to the motorway gang-rape case, PM Imran called for rapists to be castrated chemically so that they cannot carry out the crime again in the future.

“It [rape] should be graded like murder, first degree and second degree,” he said, speaking to anchor Moeed Pirzada for a private news channel. “Chemical castration should take place. I have been reading up on it, it happens in many countries,” added PM Imran.

Speaking about the motorway rape incident, the prime minister said that it has shaken the entire nation as everyone felt that it could happen to their wives and daughters.

PM Imran said that when he first became prime minister, he was shocked to receive a briefing from the Islamabad IG who told him that sex crimes were on the rise against women and children.

The premier said that there were three ways to deal with cases of rape and sexual abuse, starting first with registering sex offenders and paedophiles.

He stated the example of foreign countries where pedophiles — after a proven history of sexually abusing children again after being released from jail — were properly registered and tracked by governments.

PM Imran said that the second step through which the government could deal with rapists and child sexual abusers was to hand them exemplary punishments.

“They should be hanged on chowks,” he said. “Because they ruin children’s lives and their parents [lives]. You don’t even know how often these cases occur as they are under-reported,” he added. “They should be hanged publicly”.

However, PM Imran said that the government later came to the conclusion that the action of publicly hanging rapists would not be “internationally acceptable” as Pakistan was accorded the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) status by the EU which could be revoked.

ISLAMABAD : The federal cabinet session to meet today (Tuesday) with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair to discuss a 16-point agenda.

The federal cabinet will decide over the recommendation of hiking electricity tariff up to Rs2.89 per unit for K-Electric approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). The approval of ECC’s decisions taken in its session held on September 2 was also included in the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the federal cabinet.

The cabinet members will also mull over the issues of suspension of pilots’ licences. Moreover, a draft of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2020 will also be presented in the session for its approval.The summaries for the appointments of chief executive officers (CEOs) of National Disaster Risk Management (NDRM) and National Fertilizers Corporation (NFC); as well as a summary for deputing a member in Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) will be presented.

The matters related to Civil Service Academy and amendment in Islamabad’s master plan for the construction of a modern jail will also come under consideration.

The summaries regarding the appointments of judges in special courts of Peshawar, Lahore and Rawalpindi will be presented before the federal cabinet members for final approval.

ISLAMABAD 15 SEPTEMBER, 2020:A PAF aircraft crashed near Pindigheb, during a routine training mission. The Pilot ejected safely. No loss of life or property has been reported on ground. A board of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident.

ISLAMABAD: Schools and colleges across Pakistan have reopened today (Tuesday) ending a nearly six-month-long closure due to coronavirus pandemic.

According to the decision taken by the federal government, educational institutions from grade nine to onwards have reopened today and if the pandemic situation remain controlled, then students in grade six to eight will return to school on September 23, while students in nursery to grade five will return to classes on September 30.

According to the SOPs issued by the government, masks will be mandatory for all teachers and students, while schools, colleges, and university administrations will ensure availability of sensitizers at the entry gates.

The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) urged the parents and teachers to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued for the safety of students.
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan in his twitter post said they will welcome millions of children back to school on Tuesday (today).

On Sept 7, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood had announced that educational institutions will reopen in phases from September 15 with universities and colleges setting the course for schools to reopen later.

Classes six, seven and eight, will follow suit a week into the reopening from September 23. He said if all things operate swiftly for 15 days, then all the educational institutions will be reopened.