Source(Daily Times) Karakoram International University (KIU) Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Najma Najam, said on Saturday that there was a vast potential for research, business and investment in Gilgit-Baltistan in the field of gemstones, marble, fruits and dry fruits.

Dr Najma said this while addressing a seminar, titled “Higher Education and Research Opportunities in Gilgit Baltistan Province”, organised by the Council of Pakistan Affairs (CPA). A large number of teachers, journalists and people from all walks of life attended the seminar.

Dr Najma said that a research culture was being promoted in KIU, and in a short span of one year, the number of PhD professors in the university had increased from eight to thirty. She said that the KIU was collaborating with well-reputed Italian and German academic institutions on various projects and it had foreign faculty members as well. She said there was a huge scope for gemstone industry as nine precious gemstones, including ruby and saffaire are founding GB. “But because of lack of resources, 80 percent of the gemstones are being wasted due to illegal and inefficient methods of mine blasting and cutting,” she added.

Dr Najma said a huge quantity of various kinds of local fruits was being exported from GB. But because of lack of awareness, a huge quantity of apricot, almost 80 percent, and other fruit items were being wasted, she said. She invited the investors to invest in the agriculture sector, which would bring prosperity to the lives of locals and contribute billions of rupees to the economy.

She said that the exceptional breed of snow leopards, Markhor and eagle needed to be preserved. She also stressed the need to conduct research on the herbs of the area for medical purposes.

CPA President, Prof Dr Shafiq Jullandhry, briefed the visitors about the history and functioning of the council which, he said, invited distinguished scholars to hear their views and experiences.

Source (Pamir Times) Toppers of the Karakuram International University (KIU)’s Biological Sciences and Education Department, Kavita Parveen and Asif Hussain, have lost around 520,000 rupees today in an astonishing act of highly organized thuggery. The Deputy Commissioner of Gilgit, vice-chancellor of Karakuram International University (KIU), and the students, all, have been cheated in one of the region’s most fascinating act of theft.

According to details, Kavita Parveen – topper of the KIU Education Department, received a phone call from the vice chancellor’s office (# 05811 – 960040) at around 11:18 in the morning. According to Kavita, Dr. Najma Najam, the vice-chancellor of Karakuram International University, asked her to attend a prize distribution ceremony being held in Islamabad. Kavita told her that she may not be able to attend the ceremony because of short notice period .

Later, two more calls were made to Kavita from the vice-chancellor’s office, at 11:28 and 11:36, and Dr. Najma Najam gave her a number (0321-7591250), asking Kavita to get in touch with Makhdoom Amin Faheem, Federal Trade Minister, for more details about the award ceremony.

Kavita contacted “Makhdoom Amin Fahim” on the number provided by Dr. Najma Najam and was told that President Zardari would be distributing the prizes. The man personifying Makhdoom Amin Fahim asked Kavita to connect him (the personifier) to someone elder in the family.

Kavita’s uncle, Saeedullah Baig, contacted the man personifying Makhdoom Amin Fahim and was told that Kavita is getting a car as prize for topping in her department. He was asked to deposit a sum of rupees 260,000 in a specific bank account, as tax money. He was told to deposit the amount quickly to avail the car.

Kavita’s uncle developed some doubts and visited the Karakuram International University (KIU)’s Gilgit campus to confirm the news. He met the Deputy Registrar, Dr. Shahid Ali, and inquired about the award ceremony. Dr. Shahid Ali, reportedly, told Kavita’s uncle that the toppers’ names had been sent for awards. Dr. Shahid also, reportedly, said that there was a possibility of cars being the prize for the toppers.

Getting the “affirmative” response from the deputy registrar, Saeedullah Baig contacted one of his relatives in Rawalpindi to deposit the said amount in an account provided by the man personifying Makhdoom Amin Faheem.

Details of the account

Account Title: Neelum Imtiaz
Account Number: 032 PKR 01335953001,

Bank: Standard Chartered Bank, Chandni Chowk Branch, Rawalpindi, Deposit Slip Receipt # 274

The relative of Kavita in Rawalpindi contacted the man personifying Makhdoom Amin Fahim and told him that the amount had been deposited in the given account. In response, he was asked to visit the Ministry Secretariat.

On arriving at the secretariat, the relative of Kavita came to know that the Federal Minister had been busy with some official work and there was no award ceremony of that sort taking place.

Sensing true nature of the case, the Ministry staff reportedly contacted the above mentioned Bank’s branch and inquired about the amount deposited. They were told that a woman named Neelum Imtiaz had withdrawn the deposited amount through cheque number 309974.

The relatives of Kavita immediately tried to contact Dr. Najma Najam but she could not be reached.

Later, the VC’s camp office in Islamabad called Kavita and told her that Dr. Najma had been busy with some official work and she had arrived in Islamabad from Gilgit on a flight. Kavita talked to Dr. Najma and told her about the entire story.

Kavita, later, also talked to Registrar of the University, Dr. Ahsan, and repeated the story. The registrar, reportedly, told Kavita to withdraw the amount quickly. However, it was too later.

At around 0730 in the evening, the vice-chancellor talked to Kavita again and asked her to lodge an FIR for the incident. She also said that the university will take appropriate legal actions to nab the culprits.

Pamir Times contacted Dr. Najma to get her opinion on the matter, however, she said that the KIU registrar will share the official statement.

KIU official responds, the plot thickens

On being contacted by Pamir Times, Dr. Ahsan, Registrar of the KIU, said that the vice-chancellor had been approached by Deputy Commissioner of Gilgit, Asad Zamin, informing her about the award ceremony. Dr. Ahsan also said that the details regarding students were provided by KIU to the Deputy Commissioner and the VC then left for Islamabad.

Dr. Ahsan said that KIU and the district administration would investigate the case and the culprits will be nabbed.

He also said that the students and their relatives should have been more cautious. He further said that when Kavita’s uncle approached Dr. Shahid, the deputy registrar, he was discouraged from depositing the amount in the account given by the man personifying Makhdoom Amin Faheem.

The way forward

The above story seems to be taken from a Hollywood thriller. It has all hallmarks of being a perfect case of organized thuggery, in which the deputy commissioner of Gilgit, the vice-chancellor of Karakuram International University, three toppers and their relatives were systematically dodged and robbed.

A proper investigation of the case needs to be carried out by the KIU administration, the DC’s office, the police officials and other relevant agencies, to bring the cheaters to justice, while also recovering the robbed amount to the students.