Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has asked police authorities to stop appointing corrupt officers as station house officers (SHOs) and to take stern action against the officials implicated in corruption.

During a meeting on law and order, chaired by the chief minister, the Punjab inspector general of police briefed him on the overall crime scenario in the province. The briefing said numerous big crimes have seen a significant drop.

Maryam told the I.G. one week to root out and cleanse the police force of its corrupt elements. She also said that a zero-tolerance attitude should be used against perpetrators and urged for a comprehensive plan to curb crimes against women and children.

It was resolved at the meeting that operational authority of Dolphin Police be linked to the relevant Police Stations. By September 30 Punjab Police personnel are also to be provided with body cameras and prisoner vans will be equipped with GPS tracking and cameras.

The chief minister has directed for strong action in cases of escapes of prisoners and directed the authorities to tighten action against burglary. She also called for a targeted operation to clear up criminality in Sheikhupura.

The briefing said robbery in Punjab was reduced by 54 percent, homicide by 35 percent, auto robbery by 46 percent and motorcycle theft by 53 percent.

In Lahore, killings dropped 43 percent, robberies 32 percent, auto theft 43 percent and motorcycle theft 54 percent.

CM Maryam added that the district police chiefs will be held accountable where the crime rates are high and safety of women and children was the primary concern.

QUETTA: The Jaffar Express service between Quetta and Peshawar has been suspended for two days due to repair work on the railway track, officials said on Tuesday.

Railway authorities said the train would not leave Quetta on 25 and 26 August as maintenance work is being carried out on the route.

Officials said passengers affected by the suspension would be repaid the cost of their tickets.

The authorities said Jaffar Express from Peshawar to Quetta has also been restricted to Jacobabad for two days.

Railway authorities said temporary adjustments were being made to allow for track repair and maintenance work.

In a new letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, twenty-one former Test and international captains from all around the world have urged him to make sure that former Pakistani captain and former prime minister Imran Khan has a proper medical assessment and treatment.

The former captains said in their letter that the Supreme Court had ordered Imran Khan to be taken to a hospital for a medical checkup by a medical board that would include his sister, Dr. Uzma Khan, and his personal doctors, according to cricket website Cricinfo. Additionally, the court had mandated that weekly family sessions be resumed.

The former captains voiced concerns about Imran Khan’s brief hospital stay and the fact that an officially appointed team examined him rather than the Supreme Court-directed medical board, declaring him medically fit and returning him to Adiala Jail.

The former captains submitted three demands, one of which was to permit the medical board to examine Imran Khan thoroughly and impartially in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive, namely with regard to the alleged loss of vision in his right eye.

They also demanded that any treatment suggested based on the medical assessment be given right away and that weekly family meetings be held without interruption.

Michael Atherton, Alex Blackwell, Allan Border, Michael Brearley, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Alastair Cook, Adam Gilchrist, David Gower, Kim Hughes, Nasser Hussain, Clive Lloyd, Kapil Dev, Arjuna Ranatunga, Andrew Strauss, Dilip Vengsarkar, Steve Waugh, and John Wright are among those who signed the letter.

The former captains underlined that they did not aim to meddle in Pakistan’s domestic legal affairs and that they were making the request not as politicians but rather as former cricket teammates and opponents of Imran Khan.

In six months, the prime minister has received two letters from former international captains. Concerns regarding Imran Khan’s health and reports of a purported visual impairment in one eye were also voiced by 14 former captains in February of this year.

In a press conference about the former captain’s health, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Atta Tarar stated that a transparent medical examination had been carried out and that the Supreme Court’s order had been duly fulfilled.

Imran Khan’s sister and a physician from Shifa Hospital were present for the checkup, according to Atta Tarar. He said that every condition of the Supreme Court’s directive had been met.

The information minister added that all security and other preparations had been finished, and the examination was carried out in a transparent manner. He claimed that all legal requirements had been met and that the administration had made sure the Supreme Court’s order was implemented in compliance with the Constitution and the law.