Month: July 2026

Lahore: Quran Khawani and Qul were held here on Monday for the departed soul of renowned educationist Prof Sheikh Imtiaz Ali, who passed away at the age of 103 on Sunday.

Prof Sheikh Imtiaz Ali was the teacher as well as the maternal grandfather-in-law (his wife’s grandfather) of Punjab Home Secretary Dr Ahmad Javed Qazi.

According to a press release, the late professor rendered distinguished services as vice chancellor of the University of the Punjab and Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He also served as chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Prof Sheikh Imtiaz Ali trained countless civil servants from 1962 to 2014, and many of Pakistan’s senior bureaucrats were among his students.

His funeral prayers were offered at the University of the Punjab before he was laid to rest at a local graveyard.

The Qul was held at his residence in Garden Town, where prayers were offered for the elevation of his ranks in the hereafter.

Punjab Muttahida Ulema Board, Chairman Mufti Dr Intikhab Ahmad Noori, led the special prayers.

A large number of senior bureaucrats, educationists, members of civil society and prominent personalities from different schools of thought attended the ceremony and paid tribute to the late scholar’s lifelong services to education and public administration.

Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday launched the Apna Khet, Apna Rozgar scheme by conducting digital balloting under which around 30,000 landless families were allotted cultivable state land on a symbolic annual lease of Rs100 for 20 years.

The scheme covers more than 121,000 acres of cultivable government land, enabling beneficiary families to secure long-term cultivation rights. Each family would also receive financial assistance of Rs50,000 per acre for land preparation, while the Agriculture Extension Department would provide technical support to help ensure successful cultivation.

During the ceremony, the chief minister personally telephoned successful applicants to congratulate them. Speaking to Abdul Sattar of Faisalabad, she informed him that he had been allotted four acres of land for the next 20 years at an annual lease of only Rs100 per acre. She said he would also receive Rs200,000, at the rate of Rs50,000 per acre, to prepare the land for cultivation.

Earlier, Senior Member Board of Revenue Nabeel Javed briefed the chief minister that the programme, launched on April 22, had been completed in less than three months. He said around 60,000 applications had been received, including nearly 11,000 from women. Balloting for approximately 29,000 allotments had been completed after scrutiny, during which applicants were provided opportunities for personal hearings and appeals.

According to the briefing, allotment letters would be issued within a week, while possession of the allotted land was expected to be handed over by July 31. District-level committees had been constituted to oversee implementation, and lease certificates would be issued to all successful applicants.

Addressing the ceremony, the chief minister congratulated the successful families and appreciated Provincial Agriculture Minister Ashiq Kirmani, Secretary Agriculture Iftikhar Sahoo, Senior Member Board of Revenue Nabeel Javed and their teams for completing the programme within a short period.

She said the initiative was designed to empower the poorest landless families by providing them with cultivable land, financial assistance and technical support, enabling them to earn a sustainable livelihood with dignity. She added that only genuinely deserving families without agricultural land ownership had been selected strictly on merit and that no recommendations were entertained during the allotment process.

Maryam Nawaz said the Punjab government would continue identifying cultivable state land across the province for distribution among deserving landless families and that more beneficiaries would be included in future phases of the programme.

She said the initiative would strengthen the rural economy, increase agricultural production and promote financial independence among low-income households. Highlighting women’s participation, she said female applicants constituted about 20 per cent of the total applications and 29 per cent of applicants under the Cholistan component of the programme.

The CM said Punjab had become the first province to make ordinary citizens stakeholders in state-owned agricultural land through such an initiative, adding that successful beneficiaries would receive both land and financial assistance to make cultivation economically sustainable.

Lahore: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) during the ongoing operations across Punjab,arrested three suspects allegedly involved in cyber crimes targeting women and children.

According to a spokesperson, the Lahore NCCIA team arrested a suspect, Ali Akram, for allegedly possessing objectionable material and sexually exploiting minor children.

In a separate operation, the Multan NCCIA team arrested two suspects, Muhammad Asim and Mohsin Ali, on the charges of blackmailing and harassing women through cyber platforms.

The spokesperson said the suspects had allegedly used fake TikTok accounts to circulate objectionable content involving women.

During the raids,the teams seized mobile phones, SIM cards and other digital evidence from them for forensic examination.

Punjab NCCIA Director Operations Muhammad Ali Wasim said indiscriminate action against individuals involved in cyber crimes targeting women and children would continue, adding that no offender would be allowed to evade the law.

Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday said the government was committed to ensuring quality education, healthcare, clean drinking water, modern agriculture and basic infrastructure across rural Punjab.

She added the government was implementing a comprehensive development agenda to improve the lives of people living in villages.

In her message on World Rural Development Day, the chief minister paid tribute to the people of rural areas for their invaluable contribution to agriculture and national development, and pledged to empower villages through education, skills development, healthcare and sustainable livelihood opportunities.

She said rural communities possessed immense potential to strengthen food security, create economic opportunities and support long-term national stability, adding that a strong rural economy was indispensable for building a developed Pakistan. ‘Investing in rural people means investing in the foundations of more resilient societies. Villages play a pivotal role in the progress and prosperity of any country,’ she said.

CM Maryam Nawaz said villages represented the soul of society, not only because of agriculture’s vital contribution to national production but also due to their role in preserving centuries-old traditions and cultural heritage.

Highlighting the Punjab government’s initiatives, she said the Suthra Punjab Programme was now fully operational in rural areas for the first time, similar to urban centres, while electric bus services were also being extended to villages for the first time in the province’s history.

The CM said the Apna Khet, Apna Rozgar Scheme had been launched specifically to support unemployed people living in rural areas by providing them with sustainable livelihood opportunities. She further said work was in progress on the Model Village Project to equip more than 2,400 villages with essential civic facilities, including water filtration plants for the provision of clean drinking water, parks and children’s play areas.

Maryam Nawaz said that under the Local Roads Programme, more than 3,300 kilometres of rural roads were being constructed and rehabilitated through over 1,500 development schemes.

She added that under the Sohna Pind Punjab Programme, paved streets were being built in villages alongside road rehabilitation, the development of children’s parks and extensive plantation drives aimed at improving the rural environment and quality of life.

Lahore: The Punjab government has prepared a plan to expand the electric bus network across the province. It has been decided to make the new electric buses operational in phases even before the installation of the complete charging infrastructure.

The electric buses will initially be charged using electricity provided by WAPDA.

According to Transport Minister Bilal Akbar Khan, the government has allocated Rs40 billion for the charging infrastructure of electric buses in the current fiscal year, while the electric infrastructure is being upgraded in phases. The government has decided to start electric bus service in small districts after big cities. In the first phase, electric buses will be operated on 13 routes in Khanewal, Khushab, Bhakkar, Attock, Mandi Bahauddin and Hafizabad. 15 buses will be operational in Khushab, while 9 buses each in Khanewal, Bhakkar, Attock, Mandi Bahauddin and Hafizabad will be operational on various urban routes.

Under the plan, the scope of electric bus service will be expanded to 14 more districts by the end of July 2026. 10 buses each in Chiniot, Layyah, Okara and Sialkot, while 12 buses each in Gujranwala and Multan. 11 buses each in Murree, Gujrat, Sheikhupura, Vehari, Kasur, Lodhran, Nankana Sahib and Narowal will also be provided by the end of July.

According to sources, another 488 electric buses will reach Pakistan by the end of August 2026, which will be operationalised in different districts. Currently, 400 electric buses are already providing service in 18 districts of Punjab, while the government’s target is to operate a total of 1900 electric buses during 2026.

On the other hand, according to available data, the Punjab government currently has the facility to charge only 41 buses compared to 1900 electric buses, due to which the timely completion of charging infrastructure is being considered a major challenge for the success of the project.

Lahore: Punjab Minister for Communication and Works (CandW) Malik Sohaib Ahmad Bharth on Monday chaired a meeting to review the progress of the Faisalabad-Chiniot road development project and directed the authorities to ensure its timely completion in accordance with the prescribed standards.

The meeting was informed that work on the dualisation of the Faisalabad-Chiniot-Sargodha road was progressing rapidly and was being carried out in line with the project targets.

Officials briefed the meeting that the 24-kilometre section from Kamalpur Interchange to Tehsil Chowk, Chiniot, had entered its final stage. Asphalt work on the entire stretch had been completed, while lane marking and median construction were continuing at a fast pace.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said the project was being executed at a cost of Rs7.575 billion and, upon completion, would provide safer, faster and smoother travel between Faisalabad, Chiniot and Sargodha.

He said the upgraded road infrastructure would not only improve transportation facilities but also promote trade and commercial activities, thereby strengthening the local economy.

Malik Sohaib Ahmad Bharth said the Punjab Communications and Works Department remained fully committed to the timely completion of quality infrastructure projects for the benefit of the public. He added that, in line with the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the construction of modern and safe road infrastructure across the province was continuing without interruption.