Punjab Province

Lahore | ReNews Pakistan

The Lahore Tax Bar Association has raised concerns over prolonged delays in appeals before the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue and the Federal Board of Revenue’s failure to implement its rulings, calling for measures to ensure taxpayers receive practical relief.

The association said appeals filed without applications for stay orders were not being listed for hearings for as long as four years. Such delays, it said, were leaving taxpayers facing uncertainty and increasing legal complications.

The tax bar particularly stressed the need to enforce tribunal orders in cases involving blacklisting and suspension. Issuing rulings alone was insufficient unless taxpayers received the relief granted through those decisions, it said.

The association welcomed prompt relief on applications for stay orders but maintained that appeals filed without such applications must also receive due attention.

It called for clear priorities for hearing cases, an end to unnecessary delays and measures requiring the FBR to comply with the tribunal’s orders.

Lahore | ReNews Pakistan

Punjab has prohibited children from attending classes in dangerous, dilapidated or structurally unsafe buildings across government, private and outsourced schools following an incident at a private school in Peshawar.

In a notification, the Directorate of Public Instruction (Secondary Education), Punjab, directed education officials and school heads to immediately vacate unsafe premises and prevent their further use.

The prohibition covers entire school buildings as well as individual classrooms or any other section deemed dangerous or structurally unsafe. School heads have been instructed to cordon off affected areas and relocate pupils to safe classrooms. Where necessary, students must be accommodated at nearby schools to continue their education.

The notification states that no dangerous building or classroom may be brought back into use without clearance from the relevant authorised technical body.

If an incident occurs and negligence or failure to comply with the instructions is established, the school head concerned will be held responsible. In private schools, owners or management will also face action in accordance with the law, while the relevant operators or management will face similar action in outsourced schools.

The directorate has instructed chief executive officers of district education authorities, district education officers, deputy district education officers and assistant education officers to ensure immediate implementation and strict monitoring within their respective jurisdictions.

The notification identifies children’s safety as the foremost priority and states that violations of the instructions will not be tolerated.