US asks Taliban to ensure Afghan soil not used as terrorists’ safe haven
WASHINGTON, Jul 18 (APP): The United States has reinforced Pakistan’s call on the Taliban to prevent Afghanistan’s soil from being used as a “safe haven” for terrorist attacks, amid a spike in such strikes across the country.
“I will say we have made very clear that we believe the Taliban has the responsibility to prevent – Afghanistan from being used as a safe haven for launching terrorist attacks,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in response to a question at his daily press briefing on Monday.
The spokesperson was responding to a question from a Pakistani journalist about the Corps Commanders’ conference warning to the Taliban against providing safe havens to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a UN-designated terrorist group.
An ISPR statement issued after the meeting in Rawalpindi said, “The sanctuaries and liberty of action available to the terrorists of proscribed TTP and other groups of that ilk in a neighboring country and availability of latest weapons to the terrorists were noted as major reasons impacting the security of Pakistan.”
Balochistan govt call for Rs 7.7 bn for implementation of CLLG policy in province
ISLAMABAD, Jul 18 (APP): The Government of Balochistan on Tuesday asked donors for Rs.7.7 billion for the implementation of Community Led Local Governance (CLLG) Policy.
The Government of Balochistan in the current year’s PSDP has already allocated Rs 1.5 billion for the implementation of the CLLG Policy.
In this regard, a Development Partners Forum was organized by Government of Balochistan in the federal capital Islamabad with the support of the European Union funded BRACE Technical Assistance Project implemented by DAI.
In his opening remarks, Additional Chief Secretary apprised that providing legal cover to community organization in Local Government Act, 2010, approval of the Government of Balochistan’s Community Led Local Governance (CLLG) Policy, and then developing an outlay of PKR.9.2 Billion in PSDP 2023-24 where GOB has allocated PKR.1.5 Billion from its own share are historical steps and demonstration of the GOB’s strong commitment and belief in the community led reforms which will transform the development landscape in Balochistan.
He added that the development partners and international donors need to come forward and play their role by joining hand with Government of Balochistan.
Speaking at the event, Chief Secretary Balochistan Abdul Aziz Uqaili said that the CLLG policy is an important step towards the development and prosperity in Balochistan, but to make it a success, all relevant institutions and donors have to play their role. Balochistan being the largest province demands attention.
With the support of the European Union, the CLLLG Policy has been formulated and in the future, EU support will be essential for the implementation of this policy. We also expect other donors to play their role.
Secretary Local Government & Rural Development, Balochistan Mr. Dostian Jamaldini also addressed the event. He said that through CLLG Policy, poverty will be dented in Balochistan, while health, education livelihoods, community infrastructure and other sectors will gradually improve. The Secretary Local Government & Rural development also gave a detailed briefing to the participants regarding the CLLG policy.
He said that the launch of the policy is a remarkable achievement of BRACE Technical Assistance Team.
Establishing and implementing this policy is very important particularly for the development of rural areas of Balochistan. He said that the House appreciated the cooperation and role of the Local Government & Rural Development of Balochistan and its representatives and also concluded that the European Union will support the Local Government & Rural development of Balochistan and the CLLG Policy for further consolidating the their efforts.
Talking during the panel discussion at the development partners’ forum, Member Balochistan Assembly and Chairman Standing Committee Local Government Qadir Ali Nayel said that the local government system in Balochistan has been in existence for many decades and it has undergone various changes over the years.
There are many issues and challenges that need to be addressed to improve the functioning of the local government system. The Balochistan Local Government Act 2010 was an important step towards improving local governance in the province. However, with the passage of time, further reforms were needed to improve the functioning of the system.
Mahjabeen Sheran, also spoke during the panel discussion and apricated the CLLG policy reforms which provides equal opportunities to women to participate in the development process from planning, designing, implementing and evaluating from their own perspective supported by the Government and development partners under the CLLG Policy implementation.
Dr. Inaam Ul Haq from International Islamic University during the panel discussion stated that academia’s role in CLLG Policy is very important. He emphasized the importance of the academia based research which enables proper planning and implementation of the community based interventions and its evaluation for lesson learning and continuous improvements.
A community worker from Pishin district shared success stories of community based interventions where community institutions play the key role in sustaining the development investments and a continued development process at grassroot level.
Gul Muhammad Mengal, Director LG and Focal Person BRACE Programme insisted on continued technical assistance to the government in CLLG Policy implementation referring to the policy development process where EU funded Technical assistance to the Government of Balochistan has played the pivotal role to support the Government of Balochistan in realizing the development of CLLG policy and now its empirically evident support is required to ensure that the policy is implemented in to its real sense to achieve the desired goals.
The World bank representative appreciated the CLLG Policy and referred it to the Bank’s approach which has been adopted by the government f Balochistan and insisted on policy’s implementation to achieve the ultimate goal of development in the Balochistan Province.
Samra Ehsan, Additional Secretary Economic Affairs Division in her address at the development partners’ forum commended the efforts of Balochistan Government.
She encouraged development partners to come forward and support the policy implementation through allocation of resource and appreciated the continued support of European Union and urged to continue the technical assistance for sustainable implementation of reforms.
She ensured that EAD will play its pivotal role in channeling the funds from development partners to the GoB for implementation of CLLG Policy and its long lasting impacts on grassroot communities.
Representatives of various international organizations including European Union, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, USAID, UNDP, ILO, GIZ, IFAD, UNNHCR, UN-IOM, Academia, and federal government including EAD, MOFA and Climate Change and others also participated in the event and appreciated the landmark policy reforms and pledge their support for the resource mobilization to supplement the efforts of Government of Balochistan for implementation of CLLG Policy.
Asif Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto meet PM Shehbaz Sharif
ISLAMABAD, July 18 (APP): Former President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here at the PM House.
The prime minister received both the leaders on their arrival, a PM Office statement said.
In the meeting, they discussed the overall political situation in the country.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Economic Affairs Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq were also present.
NAB Balochistan seminar empowers police to tackle corruption
ISLAMABAD, Jul 18 (APP): The National Accountability Bureau (Balochistan) organised a seminar at the Police Training College aiming to promote anti-corruption awareness and encourage a shared commitment towards building a corruption-free and prosperous nation.
The seminar titled “Eradication of Corruption for a Prosperous Pakistan” was held at the Police Training College on Sariab Road, Quetta.
The event focused on highlighting the harmful effects of corruption on society and showcased practical measures being taken to combat it. Prominent speakers emphasized the vital role of the police in promoting transparency and accountability.
As part of the seminar, a symbolic walk involving trainees from the Police Training College was conducted. Deputy Commandant Aurangzeb represented the college, while Director Dr. Muhammad Rashad and Deputy Director Mr. Khurram Shahzad represented NAB Balochistan.
Joint Protocol signed to connect Pak, Uzbek via afghan-trans railway
ISLAMABAD, Jul 18 (APP): The dream of connecting Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) intra-train project has come to a reality as the officials from the three countries on Tuesday signed a joint protocol at the Ministry of Railway.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Federal Minister of Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Federal Minister of Finance, Senator Ishaq Dar, the ambassadors of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan and other high-level officials.
The Joint Protocol was signed by the Secretary of Pakistan Railways, Syed Mazhar Ali Shah, Director General and CEO of Afghanistan Railway Authority, Alhaj Bakhtur Rehman Sharaf and Head of Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade and Department of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Dekhkanov.
Speaking on the occasion, the Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said that it was a historical day as the project would help to connect three countries business-to-business and people-to-people.
He said that UAP would churn out great economic benefits for the region.
Sana, Italian envoy pledge to strengthen bilateral relations, security cooperation
ISLAMABAD, Jul 18 (APP): Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan and Italian Ambassador in Pakistan Andreas Ferrarese have agreed to strengthen cooperation between their countries’ interior ministries, implementing better strategies and measures to prevent cross-border crimes.
In a meeting, they both expressed a shared commitment to enhancing bilateral relations and fostering stronger ties.
Italian Ambassador expresses sorrow and regret over the tragic Greek ship incident during the meeting.
The Interior Minister describes the loss of valuable lives of Pakistanis as an extremely mournful event.
The Interior Minister emphasized that there will be no tolerance for the perpetrators involved and strict actions are being taken against them.
He urged European countries not to provide any shelter to those who have illegally entered, but instead, to repatriate them to their respective countries. This measure aims to prevent them from becoming a potential source of empowerment for others.
The Interior Minister stated that they are actively raising this issue with countries that issue visas to these individuals.
Italian Ambassador assures Interior Minister of swift resolution of visa issues faced by Pakistanis.
The Ambassador acknowledges the commendable role of the Pakistani community in Italy.
There is a high demand for Pakistani workforce in Italy, according to the Ambassador.
The Italian Ambassador also commends the Pakistani police and security forces.
