Category: Islamabad

Islamabad:: Pakistan Railways has earned an amount of Rs46 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal year 2024-25 due to the organization's effective policies which reflects the institution's positive trajectory.

'The department has achieved a revenue of Rs46 billion in the first half of the fiscal year, marking an increase of Rs5 billion as compared to the same period last year,' an official in the Ministry of Railways told reporter.

As per the figure, he said Pakistan Railways has generated Rs24 billion from passenger trains and Rs16 billion from freight services while Rs6 billion was earned through land leases, coaching, and other sources.

To a question, the official said around 41.91 million passengers traveled by train during 2023-24 compared to 35.40 million in 2022-23 - an increase of 6.51 million in the annual count.

He said a total passenger earning in the fiscal year 2023-24 was Rs. 47.712 billion, exceeding the budgetary target by a margin of Rs. 8.712 billion. Besides, there is an increase in earnings by Rs. 13.799 billion as compared to the earnings of the previous financial year 2022-23.

The official said Pakistan Railways has made special arrangements to facilitate passengers at stations and in trains en-route including provision of state-of-the-art dining cars, mobile charging sockets in coaches, and provision of water dispensers in coaches to provide clean drinking water to passengers.

Besides this, the department has installed Ticket Vending Machines (TVM) for purchasing tickets, information counters to guide and facilitate passengers, digital display boards for the arrival and departure of trains, and provision of wheelchairs and ramps for disabled people.

To improve the punctuality of trains, he said Pakistan Railways is removing speed restrictions through special maintenance of track, the signaling system is being improved through computerized interlocking and installation of solar system, locomotive failures are being removed through timely maintenance, and new passenger coaches are being inducted.

Redressal of passenger complaints, he said the department has established a state-of-the-art call center under Railway Automated Booking and Travelling Assistance (RABTA), passengers can also lodge their complaints on Pakistan Railways' website, and complaint registers are also provided at stations and in trains so that the passengers can lodge their complaints.

'If a contractor is found selling substandard products, they are fined and issued a warning. Upon receiving three fines, the contractor's agreement with Pakistan Railways is terminated,' he added.

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Islamabad:: The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration have stepped up efforts to curb the activities of illegal petrol agencies and LPG filling stations in 2024, resulting in significant arrests, fines, and seizures across the Federal Capital.

According to a report issued by the ICT administration here, in the last year, a total of 156 illegal petrol agencies were dismantled, leading to 110 arrests.

Additionally, 97 LPG outlets were seized and 95 accused were arrested for charging higher-than-notified rates.

Meanwhile, the district administration also sealed 13 petrol pumps during the year.

However, the district administration took prompted action against citizen complaints about irregularities and imposed fines of Rs 0.5 million on several petrol pumps this year.

Firthermore, in the anti-encroachment drive also saw strong action, with 56 arrests and 17 cases registered.

On the occasion, Deputy Commissiimer (DC) Islamabad, Irfan Nawaz Memon praised the authorities efforts and emphasized continued vigilance to address such violations.

Islamabad:: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) conducted an independent Quality of Service (QoS) survey in 18 cities across Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the third quarter of 2024 to assess the performance and quality of Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) across the country.

According to a news release the survey covered approximately 2,400 km per CMO over 63 days, focusing on main roads, service roads, and residential sectors.

Using state-of-the-art automated QoS monitoring tools, over 290,000 tests for mobile broadband performance and 41,700 voice and SMS samples were conducted. These tests evaluated key performance indicators (KPIs) as per Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) licenses and QoS Regulations 2021.

Results ranked CMOs on mobile network coverage, voice services, and broadband speed, with advanced technologies like LTE Carrier Aggregation and Voice over LTE performing best. While compliance was largely satisfactory, some voice KPIs fell below standards in specific areas. PTA has directed operators to take corrective actions.

Islamabad:: During an overseas deployment to the Arabian Gulf, Pakistan Navy ships Rasadgar and Azmat, along with Pakistan Maritime Security Agency ship Dasht, visited Port Bandar Abbas, Iran.

The flotilla was led by Commander 14th Destroyer Squadron, Commodore Muhammad Umair, said a news release issued by Directorate General Public Relations (Pak Navy) here Thursday.

Upon arrival at the port, Pakistan Navy ships were warmly received by representatives of Pakistan Embassy and officials from the host Navy.

The Mission Commander, along with the Commanding Officers, held meetings with naval leadership of Iran. During these interactions, matters of mutual interest, Navy-to-Navy engagements, and cooperation in maritime security were discussed.

The Mission Commander also conveyed well-wishes from Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Naveed Ashraf, for the people of Iran.

Following the port call, both PN and PMSA ships conducted a Passage Exercise with an Iranian Navy ship. The exercise at sea aimed to enhance interoperability between the two navies and promote shared learning through coordinated activities.

The visit of the PN flotilla to Iran is expected to further strengthen existing diplomatic ties and cordial relations between the two nations.

Islamabad:: The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration have stepped up efforts to curb the activities of illegal petrol agencies and LPG filling stations in 2024, resulting in significant arrests, fines, and seizures across the Federal Capital.

According to a report issued by the ICT administration here, in the last year, a total of 156 illegal petrol agencies were dismantled, leading to 110 arrests.

Additionally, 97 LPG outlets were seized and 95 accused were arrested for charging higher-than-notified rates.

Meanwhile, the district administration also sealed 13 petrol pumps during the year.

However, the district administration took prompted action against citizen complaints about irregularities and imposed fines of Rs 0.5 million on several petrol pumps this year.

Firthermore, in the anti-encroachment drive also saw strong action, with 56 arrests and 17 cases registered.

On the occasion, Deputy Commissiimer (DC) Islamabad, Irfan Nawaz Memon praised the authorities efforts and emphasized continued vigilance to address such violations.

Islamabad:: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Thursday granted pre-arrest bail to PTI leader Taimoor Jhagra in a case registered by Secretariat Police Station.

The court stopped the police from arresting the petitioner till January 22, and also sought case record from it.

ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain heard the interim bail petition of PTI leader in a terrorism case. The court after hearing arguments granted pre-arrest bail to the petitioner against surety bonds worth Rs5,000.

It may be mentioned here that the secretariat police station of the capital had registered FIR against Taimoor Jhagra under anti-terrorism law.