MANSEHRA: The frontrunner in Pakistan’s election race, opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, attracted thousands of people yesterday to a rally at which he promised development and economic success. He travelled to the northwestern town of Mansehra, a stronghold of his Pakistan Muslim League-N party, where supporters packed a stadium. Police estimated the crowds at up to 30,000, in contrast to the hundreds who greeted former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on his return home on Sunday after four years in exile to contest the polls. The stadium was decorated with large portraits of Sharif and banners reading “Tiger of Pakistan, we love you” and “Welcome prime minister of Pakistan, pride of Pakistan”. The PML-N’s election symbol is a tiger and the rally featured a live tiger in a cage. Pakistan became a nuclear power in May 1998 during Sharif’s second term as prime minister. He was ousted by Musharraf the following year. “Last time we carried out nuclear explosions. Now we will carry out economic explosions,” he said.
Police refuse to secure ex-PMs
RAWALPINDI: Police officers selected to head the special squads for the security of former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf have reportedly refused to join the duty terming the move unlawful. Just one day before the end of the term of the PPP government, the then prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf ordered a security protocol for himself and his predecessor Yousuf Raza Gilani. “The former prime ministers have also asked for two police mobile squads and one mobile squad of Rangers for the security of their wives,” an official said. “Such a large number of police personnel cannot be reserved for private persons and their wives.” Each squad comprises 75 policemen and is led by a superintendent of police, two deputy superintendents and four inspectors.
European school helps street kids
KARACHI: In February, a top-rated European business school provided 400 of its International MBA (IMBA) students to Pakistan. They worked for five days on the LettuceBee Kids project, an Islamabad-based social enterprise to provide a self-sufficient mechanism of survival to street children. Students brainstormed ideas on its sustainability, solving operational challenges and finding creative ways to raising funds. The opportunity was provided by the IE Business School in Madrid, Spain. The programme exposed the entire IMBA class, made up of students from 75 nationalities, to projects from developing and poverty-stricken countries.
Homes scheme eludes poor
ISLAMABAD: Initiated by former prime minister Shaukat Aziz in 2005, a housing project for the poor in Sector I-15 is in limbo after eight years, plagued with financial problems and alleged corruption in contracts. An official from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) said land had been purchased in the late 1960s from its owners. The problem, officials maintain, has been finances. “How could the CDA kick-start a project like this when it has no money?” an officer from the Ministry of Finance asked. He said the government also doesn’t have resources to subsidise such projects.
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