– Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has digitally inaugurated five road projects under the Punjab Public-Private Partnership Authority, with the management and operation of the five roads handed over to the private sector.

The transfer of the projects under the Punjab Public-Private Partnership Authority is expected to generate Rs22 billion in revenue for the Punjab government. Modern electronic toll plazas will also be established on roads shifted to the PPP model.

The projects include the 80-kilometre Muridke-Narowal Road, 33-kilometre Shakargarh-Narowal Road and 97-kilometre Faisalabad Ring Road. The 52-kilometre Faisalabad-Sahianwala Road and 56-kilometre Faisalabad-Samundri-Rajana Road are also part of the PPP projects.

Under the arrangement, private contractors will collect tolls linked with the National Highway Authority for seven years, while the private companies will also be responsible for maintenance, construction and repair of the respective roads.

Vice Chairperson of the Punjab Public-Private Partnership Authority and Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb briefed the meeting on the projects. She said projects involving hostels, hospitals, parks, sports grounds, waste-to-energy facilities, parking plazas, tourism, water supply and recycling were also in the pipeline under the PPP authority.

Effluent treatment plants for filtering toxic industrial wastewater, as well as Zarrar Cafe, tourism and food street projects, will also be completed under the PPP model.

The processing time for projects under the Punjab Public-Private Partnership Authority has been reduced from less than two years to six months.

Four more roads in Punjab will be shifted to the PPP model, including the 42-kilometre Bahawalpur-Yazman Road, 43-kilometre Yazman-Ahmadpur East Road, 28-kilometre Raiwind-Changa Manga Road and 26-kilometre Gajjumata-Kasur Road.

Water and sanitation services projects in Chakwal and Kasur will also be completed under public-private partnerships. In Lahore, the Tourism Department will develop a Time Travel Park under the PPP model.

For the first time, an FMD vaccine protection plant will be established to combat foot-and-mouth disease among livestock. A parking plaza and multimodal commercial facility will also be developed at Badami Bagh bus terminal, while a bridge will be constructed at Sahuka Pattan over the River Sutlej under the PPP model.

Black soldier fly larvae facilities will be established for solid waste management at vegetable and fruit markets across Punjab. The management of 100 sports grounds and other facilities will also be carried out under the PPP framework.

A modern truck terminal will be developed in Faisalabad under the PPP model. Girls’ and boys’ hostels will be constructed at Punjab University and 28 other public-sector universities, while hostels at three medical colleges will also be developed through public-private partnerships.

Fourteen hostels will be established across the province for working women under the PPP model. The operation and development of the Nursing Hostel at Sahiwal Teaching Hospital and Faridia Park Sahiwal will also be undertaken through public-private partnerships.

Projects worth up to Rs500 million can be approved and implemented through the divisional PPP working party headed by the commissioner.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif appreciated Finance Secretary Mujahid Sher Dil, Communications Secretary Raja Jahangir Anwar, PPP Authority CEO Dr Zeeshan Hanif and their team for their efforts. Provincial Communications Minister Sohaib Ahmed Bharth, Finance Secretary Mujahid Sher Dil and Communications Secretary Raja Jahangir Anwar also addressed the ceremony.

Section 144 has been implemented in several locations of southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in view of security concerns.

The district administration has imposed ban on the transportation and movement of different kinds of vehicles in South Waziristan Lower, South Waziristan Upper, Dera Ismail Khan and Tank District.

The prohibition will be effective from 9pm on October 1 to 9pm on October 10. Movement of loader rickshaws, single and double cabin cargo vehicles, Shehzore, Mazda, Suzuki loaders and dumpers in Wana and Azam Warsak of Lower South Waziristan has been banned.

The movement of loader rickshaws, cargo vehicles, Shehzore, Mazda, Suzuki loaders, tractor trolleys and dumpers has been restricted in Upper which will be in force from October 3 to 5.

Traffic has been prohibited on Tank Road, Kalachi, Hathala, Kot Atal, Garh Abdullah and many connection roads in Dera Ismail Khan.

The restriction will stay in force from 6 am to 6 pm from October 4 to 6. Potta Hathala Bazaar will also remain closed.

The movement of persons, passenger and cargo vehicles and motorcyclists has been banned on several routes in Tank district from 9pm on October 3 till 12 noon on October 5.

Law enforcement, emergency services and security forces are exempted from the ban for emergency movements. Section 144 is a ban on assembly of four or more persons. Violators will be tried under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The federal government in a major decision amid political tensions has extended the deployment of Rangers in Islamabad till October 15.

A notice to that effect was issued on Saturday. Up to 3,000 soldiers would be deployed in the capital until October 15, the announcement said. The federal government has earlier approved the deployment of Rangers through October 5.

KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi stated in a statement that the first phase of the long march would start on Sunday (today) from Gundi Chowk, Lakki Marwat.

The opposition and government talks close with no positive outcome, meaning the standoff continues as the PTI has called for a protracted march on Islamabad from Sunday (today).

The standoff between the government and the PTI had moved to administrative issues relating to counter-terrorism.

Sources say the PTI was not willing to implement several administrative measures in terrorism-affected areas and also had reservations on the government’s counter-terrorism plan.

Sources said the administration had made plain that if there was no action on the counterterrorism problem, then progress on other subjects would also be blocked.

“There is still a deadlock in talks with the government and nothing will be finalised until the meeting with the PTI founder,” opposition leader Allama Nasir Abbas remarked.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also held talks with President Asif Zardari. He consulted major political figures and legal experts.
Authorities in the federal capital sought to extend the deployment of 3,000 paramilitary Rangers in Islamabad until Oct. 15, official documents showed on Saturday, as the government and opposition held talks to defuse tensions ahead of a planned march by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party.

The plea comes as officials continue to beef up security in and around the capital ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) march, which is scheduled to leave Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday.

Transporters are complaining that their transportation of goods has been hindered, with shipping containers placed to block crucial routes.