ISLAMABAD, JUNE 13 / DNA / = – Brilliant bureaucrats are the backbone of our public service and their contribution makes us proud besides making the public services meaningful in real terms for the people of Pakistan, said Senator Lt. General (Retired) Abdul Qayyum here on Saturday.

He was speaking to an online condolence reference organized by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) and DTN for the late environmentalist and bureaucrat Khalid Sherdil who was died in the PIA plane crash on May 22.

He said several are the bureaucrats that work beyond the call of duty. AK Sherdil, the father of Khalid Sherdil, was one of them. So, we can say the son got loyalty in his blood and prove to be a son of the soil till he breathed the last in the plane crash. As a founding CEO of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), he set steadfast and upright policies and practices to mitigate the emergencies in the provinces which turned to be example for others.

Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, former CEO Lead Pakistan and Director Asia for the Climate Knowledge and Development Network (CKDN), said only a few bureaucrats have deep understanding of environment, climate change and sustainable development. Khalid Sherdil was one of them who not only understood the sustainable development but also practiced and mainstreamed in the public policies. He was very focused and master of multi-tasking.

Dr Tauqeer Hussain Shah, a senior bureaucarat and former Principal Secretary to the Punjab Chief Minister, said Khalid Sherdil played the most crucial role in organizing PDMA as the coordinating authority that provides a platform for all departments to come together and strategize the preparedness and response to a disaster. As the founder and the first Director General of PDMA, Khalid Sherdil has worked on Pakistan’s largest ever calamity, the massive Floods of 2010. Mr. Sherdil has also rendered services to provide relief and rehabilitation in the difficult times followed by the Turkish Earthquake, Sindh Floods 2011, and Sialkot Tornado 2011. Besides Dengue, Khalid has also written a technical report for Ontario Government on West Nile virus, a mosquito vector epidemic.

WWF-Pakistan Director General Hammad Naqi Khan termed the death of Khalid Sherdil as a n­ational loss. He was gem in the public service where most of the people habitually waste time and resources. He was full of energy, innovative potential and doable ideas that he reflected the public policy documents. He left a vigorous legacy in the public service that should continue.

Devcom-Pakistan Director Munir Ahmed said Khalid Sherdil was a man of sheer commitment to the environment;, and a fine leader in the realm of sustainable development and a humanist with all dedicated to reach out to the communities. His services and practices could be example for other bureaucrats and public servants to serve the people of Pakistan.

Among others who spoke on the occasion included Majid Sherdil, Memoona Arsalan, Iqbal qureshi, Qaiser Jamali, Saba Sarfaraz, Rina Saeed Khan, Suleman Otho, Dr Amena Hasan, Nilofar Jamil, Hina Lotia, Bilal Mutafa Syed, Huma Beg, Masroor Ahmad, Azhar Qureshi, Razeshta Sethna, and Prof Imdad Hussain.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Saturday that his government would now take strict measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Pakistan.

The prime minister was briefing the media in Lahore on the coronavirus situation. He once again ruled out the possibility of a complete lockdown in the country.

“Imposing a lockdown is not an issue for rich countries,” he said. “The circumstances in our country are different.”

PM Khan noted that 25% of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line. “A complete lockdown means to shut down the economy.”

He said in countries like Pakistan only smart lockdowns were the solution to the issue.

The premier said his government had repeatedly urged the masses not to take the pandemic lightly, but now it would take strict measures to keep the virus from spreading.

“We have reached a conclusion that we will have to take strict measures now,” he said. “We will impose selective lockdowns at virus hotspots.”

PM Khan said no one would be allowed to go to a public place without a face mask.

He said his government would mobilise the Tiger Force for the implementation of SOPs. The premier said he had already issued directives to party leaders in this regard.

Pakistan saw a spike in coronavirus cases since PM Khan’s government lifted the lockdown in the country late last month.

The number of coronavirus cases has since multiplied. They jumped to 134,667 Saturday. The virus has so far killed 2,574 people in Pakistan.

Approves Funding policy for FY 2020-21, Revises Tenure Track Statutes, Appoints Chairperson ETC, Introduces New Policy against Sexual Harassment, and Regulations for Installation and Use of Security Cameras in Universities

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 13 (DNA) – The two-day 36th Meeting of the Commission, the governing body of Higher Education Commission, concluded on Saturday. Chairman HEC Tariq Banuri chaired the meeting, which was conducted online.

The Commission unanimously deplored the sudden cut in the higher education budget by another Rs.5.90 billion from the committed Indicative Budget Ceiling of Rs.70.00 billion for FY 2020-21, and emphasized that the move will dismantle the country’s higher education systems by forcing the shutdown of universities, which are already suffering from historically unprecedented budgetary shortfalls and the impact of the Covid crisis.

The Members stressed upon the Government to reconsider its decision, and take immediate steps to appropriately fund the universities in order to protect access to and quality of higher education.

The Commission stressed that without adequate investment on higher education, the youth of Pakistan will never acquire the competencies needed to develop and compete internationally.

Meanwhile, the Commission thoroughly reviewed HEC funding formula for universities, took into account various proposals, and decided that for FY 2020-21, the actual total allocation of FY 2019-20 will be treated as base plus need grants, accounting for 85 percent of the total allocation, while the remaining 15 percent will be treated as a performance grant, allocated on the basis of the number of publications, the number and amount of research grants received,  as well as number of PhD faculty and students. It was also agreed that for FY 2021-22 and beyond, a new funding methodology will be developed on the principles of equity, needs, and credit for performance.

The Commission amended the Tenure Track Statutes by indexing TTS salaries to the comparable BPS scale plus a 35% TTS Premium, thus introducing automatic adjustments of future TTS salaries in line with increases in BPS salary scales.

Consistent with the international practice, the Commission increased the maximum time limit for the tenure decision from the current 6 years to 9 years, and endorsed collection of granular data of TTS faculty separately in HEMIS (Higher education Management Information System) to help universities and HEC maintain proper oversight over the progress of TTS faculty, and improve transparency and fairness of recruitment, promotion and tenure.

The Commission appreciated the comprehensive work done by the HEC in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, to minimize academic disruption, develop and guide universities to acquire online readiness, provide supplementary resources of Rs.1.20 billion, deploy live dashboard to monitor quality of online delivery, build free online academic content and resources, and motivate students to continue learning. The Commission impressed upon the Government to support HEC initiatives viz.

Taleem Bundle, University Support Package, etc., and advised HEC to resolve connectivity issues faced by students, and use platforms such as virtual think tanks to carve out imaginative solutions.

The Commission also approved revised HEC Policy on Protection against Sexual Harassment in Higher Education Institutions 2020, which reflects significant improvement from its 2011 anti-sexual harassment guidelines in terms of enforcement, simplicity, scope, definition of prohibited conduct, consistency with national act for Protection of Women against harassment as work place, and appellate process.

The Commission also adopted the “Safe Campus Acceptable Usage Policy 2020” to protect the privacy of students and avoid possibilities of harassment because of the installation, placement or use of security cameras within the universities and campuses.

The Commission appointed Mr. Kamran Rasool, former Interior Secretary and former Chief Secretary Punjab in an honorary capacity as the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Education Testing Council (ETC) considering his professional eminence and implacable integrity.

Some items could not be taken up because of the shortage of time, and will be considered at the next meeting in July. DNA

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ISLAMABAD: The authorities have sealed G-9/2, G-9/3 and Karachi Company areas of Islamabad after a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases reported in the capital city.

The Islamabad administration on Thursday decided to impose full-scale lockdown at the coronavirus hot-spots of the city.

According to Deputy Commissioner Islamabad, Hamza Shafqat, the Islamabad Capital Territory administration has sealed various areas including G-9/2, G-9/3, Karachi Company commercial area and adjoining localities last night after 250 to 300 people were diagnosed with COVID-19.

The deputy commissioner has said that the shops of food items and essential commodities will remain open for a fixed time as the area being strictly monitored to ensure complete lockdown.

Earlier, the city administration had advised the local residents to stock essential commodities and food items for at least three days as no one will be allowed to come out of their homes during the period.

Talking to journalist, Islamabad deputy commissioner had said that personnel of armed forces, Rangers and police will be deployed at the coronavirus hotspots to ensure complete lockdown.

He maintained that they were also considering to seal Sector-I/8, Sector-I/10, G-8 and G-7.

He said that over 200 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the areas adjacent to the Karachi Company.

Earlier on June 4, after a sharp increase in the local transmission of coronavirus cases in Islamabad, the district administration had sealed nine localities and streets in the federal capital.

According to a notification, the district administration, as part of precautionary measures to curb the spread of the virus, had called Army, Rangers and police to ensure complete lockdown at the COVID-19 hotspots in Islamabad.

Chatha Bakhtawar, PWD Housing Society’s block-6, Saudi-Pak Towers, Pakistan Sports Board, National Police Foundation and their surrounding areas had been sealed after confirmed COVID-19 cases had been reported from the localities.