The uncertainty of the parents concerning reopening of the schools in Rawalpindi was put to rest after a discussion between the education minister and the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association (APPSMA).

Public and private schools have been reopened from today onwards. APPMSA President for the Rawalpindi region, Abrar Ahmed Khan said that the schools have been reopened after the government took back the FIRs that were registered for a total of 618 schools in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab which were not able to provide ample security for their pupil and staff.

He also said that given the fear people are experiencing the attendance in the schools in expected to remain quite low.  Even though the law enforcement bodies had reassured providing the schools with the required security.

Punjab Govt Shuts Down Schools Till Jan 31st 2016

The school association had collectively decided this Saturday that the schools will remain closed unless their demands are met by the provincial government.

The  FIRs had been cancelled by the Punjab government filed against the management of the schools, however, Rana Mashood the Provincial Minister for Education has told the school managements clearly that if the security standards are not met with the ones required by the government then it will be left with no choice but to shut them down.

The Metro Bus project in Islamabad Rawalpindi is hailed as one of the most costly projects undertaken by any government in the country, with a set route between Islamabad and Rawalpindi and took PKR 44.8 billion to build. However, it is reported that half of the buses are not even utilized properly!

Islamabad-Rawalpindi Metro Bus Service Begins Today

A total of 68 buses acquired for this predetermined commute but given the luke warm response of the citizens, 33 of them remain unused – parked at the main metro bus stop.

According to an official with the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) responded with the shortfall in the projected average number of passengers who use this service everyday. Out of the government’s proclaimed number of 150,000 only 80,000 actually commute via the metro buses.

Metro Bus Service Suspended After Accident

After 6 months the number of passengers commuting has not increased to reach the 150,000 commuters a day mark.

He also added, “Third party evaluation of the project will start soon, after the project’s two main components – the Peshawar Mor interchange and the command and control building – have been completed. These issues will appear before the government after this.”

The commuters, however, feel differently about the reasons of shortage of metro buses from the particularly optimistic government officials who quoted the daily numbers to be falling somewhere between 130,000 to 135,000.

Metro Bus Stations Flooded By Monsoon Rain

A commuter, Ashar Ahmed ccommented, “I tried to catch the bus at Chandni Chowk to go to Saddar, and after waiting for 20 minutes, I couldn’t find a seat because people were crammed into the buses coming from Islamabad.”

Another commuter went as far as implying that the government was trying to minimize fuel cost by running a selective number of buses.

Pearl Continental Hotel, Rawalpindi caught fire in the early morning hours on 6^th January, 2015. Some 165 guests were staying at the hotel when the fire broke out at about 1:30 am, including five foreigners and members of airline crews.

Guests were forced to fend for themselves, as the hotel staff failed to inform everyone in a timely manner. Soon, the guests were trapped, as the stairway filled up with smoke.

“They did not tell me there was a fire, even when I could see the smoke starting to fill up the floor,” said one guest. “It left me with no option but to wait for the rescue services.”

Another guest was trapped on the fifth floor when he tied together bed sheets to climb down to safety.

After a fire broke out in the basement, where the finance department and some other offices are housed, hotel staff had first tried to tackle it themselves before calling Rescue 1122. It took firefighters an hour and a half to control the fire. Rescue 1122 said the fire was likely caused by a short circuit.

No casualties were reported, although 64 guests were evacuated by 1122 staff via ladders. Among these was a newly married couple.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Potohar Division Attique Tahir told Dawn that forensic experts have been called in to determine the cause of the fire.

“Police will look into all aspects, including arson,” SP Tahir said, adding that the police will be part of a committee to be formed by the DCO to investigate into the cause of the fire.

A spokesperson for PC released a press release saying a fire had broken out in the basement, after which rescue services were called and that the fire had been contained.

The press release said that fire alarms on other floors had been triggered by smoke which had travelled up the air ducts.

The statement read that all guests were taken either to Marriott Hotel or to Hotel One and that the hotel is now operating normally.