Shazia Marri vows to uphold Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s mission

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Wed, 21 Jun 2023, 6:36 PM

ISLAMABAD, Jun 21 (APP): Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Shazia Marri Wednesday said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will always stand with the people of the country and fight against poverty, inflation and unemployment, following the mission of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

Paying tribute to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto on her 70th birth anniversary, Shazia Marri said, “Her contributions to the restoration of democracy in the country will be remembered forever”.

Addressing a news conference along with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Faisal Karim Kundi, the federal minister said that the PPP leadership and its workers have rendered great sacrifices for upholding democratic values in the country.

Benazir Bhutto was not only the first women Prime Minister of the country but of the entire Muslim Ummah giving a new perspective to the country’s politics.

She took a number of unprecedented initiatives for empowering women including establishing Women Police Stations, and First Women Bank as well as launching the Lady Health Workers project.

The Ghazi Barotha and Neelum Power Projects were also launched in her tenure of electricity generation.

The federal minister said that oil and gas production increased during the tenure of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto while Pakistan’s relations with foreign countries were also significantly improved.

Referring to the Thar Coal project which Shaheed Benazir Bhutto once termed as ‘black gold’, Shazia Marri said that the Thar coal project is now the biggest cheap source of generating electricity for the country.

Being a woman, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto never considered herself weak but changed the dynamics of politics by empowering women in the country. “Shaheed Benazir Bhutto always fought for the rights of people of the country especially downtrodden segments at every forum and became the voice of the voiceless,” she said.

She advocated the policy of reconciliation in front of the country’s political forces through the Charter of Democracy and was of the view that “Instead of fighting with each other, we have to fight with those who are against progress and democracy in Pakistan”.

The essence of the Charter of Democracy reflected that two opposing political parties can sit together for the sake of the country’s stability and ensure democracy. “We must show the same political maturity even today”, Shazia Marri added.

Pursuing a positive approach, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto always fought the case of strengthening democracy in the country even when she was not in power, she said.

She said that Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had endured many hardships during her imprisonment but never compromised on her principles. “Now people cannot go to jail for half an hour even”, she said.

The federal minister said that the Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is carrying forward the vision and legacy of her mother showing political wisdom and patience.

Shazia Marri said the PPP had fulfilled its promise of establishing peace in Swat, following Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s mission.

She said the PPP is not only a party but an ideology as Shaheed Benazir Bhutto rightly said “You can imprison a man, but not an idea. You can exile a man, but not an idea. You can kill a man, but not an idea.

The federal minister said that “You can kill Shaheed Benazir Bhutto but not her idea, her idea lived all in the heart of those who believe in democracy”.

Speaking on the occasion, Faisal Karim Kundi said that his party was celebrating the birth anniversary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto with simplicity due to the recent Greece boat incident.

About the BISP Kafaalat ongoing payments, Faisal Kundi said that the process of issuing quarterly payments of Benazir Kafaalat beneficiaries with a 25 per cent increase has been started a few days ago.

About the recent incident of mistreatment of BISP women beneficiaries in Charsadda, the SAPM said that those constables involved in the incident have been suspended and an inquiry was being conducted against them.

He said action is also being taken against delays in payments of BISP beneficiaries by a partner bank.

About those around 8,00,000 beneficiaries expelled from BISP during the previous government tenure, Faisal Kundi said that the cards of 2,62,291 beneficiaries have been unblocked and their quarterly payment is also being issued.

During the ongoing dynamic registry, the SAPM said that over 21,00,000 people have been registered and were in the process of scrutinizing the poverty score.

The role of timely reporting in combating unlawful Online Content :PTA

By

Raiq Qureshi

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Wed, 21 Jun 2023, 6:34 PM

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Mr. Muhammad Farooq

ISLAMABAD, Jun 21 (APP): In the past, broadcasters held complete control over the content to be broadcasted or telecasted, ensuring the avoidance of inappropriate or unlawful programs. However, with the emergence of the internet, this control has shifted to internet users, who can now easily upload and share their content online with just a few clicks. Consequently, the uploaded content becomes instantly accessible to millions of users worldwide.

The advent of this new era has presented formidable challenges, particularly in relation to the uploading and sharing of violent, harmful, and indecent content. Such content has the potential to significantly impact society at large without undergoing the essential scrutiny by the concerned regulators.

Timely identification and removal of unlawful content is crucial in minimizing its impact. While social media companies employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms, these AI systems are still in the learning phase and require time to reach maturity. Consequently, companies are currently dependent on a complaint-based mechanism, where the public reports unlawful content and content moderators at the company’s end analyze the reported content.

Effective results cannot be achieved through the existing complaint registering mechanism without the support of the public. Raising public awareness about the complaint registering mechanism provided by social media platforms, as well as the mechanism provided by PTA, will facilitate the lodging of complaints concerning unlawful online content.

PTA has developed user friendly Complaint Management System (CMS) accessible at (https://complaint.pta.gov.pk/RegisterComplaint.aspx) as well as its mobile app available for download at Playstore and Appstore. Any aggrieved person can lodge the complaint to PTA by selecting relevant category such as Anti-State, Sectarian content etc. Incomplete or wrong information may cause rejection of complaint or delay in processing complaint. For public guidance, a video “How to Report Unlawful Online Content” has been uploaded on PTA’s official Youtube channel (@ptaofficialpk).

Social media companies strive to ensure a safe platform for users through self-regulation, which involves the issuance of community guidelines and standards. It is essential for the public to familiarize themselves with these community standards/guidelines of these platforms. These guidelines provide a framework of rules aimed at creating a safe environment for users to interact and share information. They also include advice on illegal and prohibited actions that may result in the permanent suspension of user accounts.

Timely reporting of unlawful content that goes against the community guidelines/standards is crucial for its early removal and the permanent banning of repeat offenders. SM platforms actively encourage users to approach them directly to seek missing or additional information needed for the timely resolution of issues.

PTA has provided a list of URLs for major SM platforms where complaints can be lodged. This list is accessible at (https://www.pta.gov.pk/assets/media/sm_platforms_09032020.pdf). Additionally, WhatsApp, known for its end-to-end encryption, encourages its users to report unlawful content within the app itself. Users can do so by long-pressing the unlawful message and selecting the ‘report’ option.

PTA will ensure safe, responsible and secure use of cyberspace through awareness of unlawful online content and its reporting to SM platforms.

Pakistan Navy marks World Hydrography Day

By

NNPS Desk

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Wed, 21 Jun 2023, 6:33 PM

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KARACHI, Jun 21 (APP): Pakistan Navy has observed World Hydrography Day (WHD) with enthusiasm and with an aim to create awareness on the importance of hydrography and its role towards blue economy and ultimately national growth.

The WHD is celebrated worldwide on June 21 every year to appreciate the work done in the field of hydrography to support safe navigation at open seas, ports and other protected marine areas. Every year a specific theme related to contribution of hydrography in world maritime affairs is orchestrated by International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO), said a news release on Wednesday.

This year, the theme of WHD is “Hydrography – underpinning the digital twin of the ocean”.

Digital twin is a high resolution, near real time virtual representation of the ocean which will help in informed decision making by policy makers/ scientists based on trustable predictions of the ocean’s future behaviour.

Pakistan Navy being the sole proprietor of the national hydrographic domain celebrates this day every year to underscore the significance of hydrography towards all marine and maritime related activities. Pakistan Navy is ever ready to continuously contribute towards oceanic research with ultimate goal to support blue economy.