KARACHI, Feb 22 (APP): Following were the Opening Rates of foreign currencies in kerb market issued by the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, here on Thursday.
F.C. BUYING SELLING
INTER BANK 279.40 279.60
USD 279.50 282.30
EURO 301.35 304.35
GBP 351.55 355.10
JPY 1.84 1.94
AED76.00 76.80
SAR74.30 75.00
CAD 206.00 209.00
AUD 181.50 184.50
SARGODHA, Feb 22 (APP): As many as 709,266 children up to five years of age would administer polio drops in second five days anti-polio campaign of the year that would start from February 26.
This was said in a review meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner Capt (retd) Shoaib Ali here on Thursday.
The meeting was attended by ADC Headquarters Arshad Ahmed Wattoo, CEO Health Authority Dr Asad Aslam and other officers.
The meeting was informed that during the campaign,vitamin A dose to children aged six months to five years would also be administered.
A total of 3,331 teams comprising 7,237 workers have been formed to achieve 100% targets of the drive, which include 3,036 mobile, 207 fixed and 89 transit teams.
The meeting was further informed that all micro plans have been formulated and the police have also prepared a security plan for the polio workers.
Addressing the meeting, the DC Capt (retd) Shoaib Ali said that the health department teams should work hard to make the polio campaign successful in the district, the district officers should also monitor the drive with enthusiasm, and no negligence would be tolerated in this regard.
RAWALPINDI, Feb 22 (APP): Rawalpindi District Police on the directives of City Police Officer, Rawalpindi conducted raids in different areas and rounded up 27 kite flyers and sellers and recovered 1600 kites and 31 kite flying string rolls, said a police spokesman here on Thursday.
He said Waris Khan police held Abdul Rehman for possessing 600 kites and two string rolls while Sadiqabad police netted 12 accused namely Wajid, Zeeshan, Hamza, Wali, Numan, Safeer, Bilal and recovered 600 kites and six-string rolls from their possession.
Rattaamral, Bani, New Town, Pirwadhai, Naseerabad and Taxila police arrested Hamza, Muddasir, Arshad, Suleman, Abdullah, Shahid and others and recovered over 416 kites and 22 string rolls.
Divisional Superintendents of Police directed the police teams to accelerate operations against kite sellers and flyers.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Operations Rawalpindi said that strict action in accordance with the law would be taken against the rules violators and they would be sent behind bars.
ISLAMABAD, Feb 22 (APP): The members of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change on Thursday at the body’s farewell meeting here appreciated the dedication and commitment of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC&EC) and its participants for striving towards resolution of environmental conservation challenges.
The Chairperson, Senator Seemee Ezdi while opening the forum with the recitation of the verses of Holy Quran extended her warm gratitude to the member Senators for successfully completing their tenure at the Committee with landmark interventions intended to address challenges pertaining to environment and nature conservation.
The Committee was convened on a one-point agenda moved by Senator Fawzia Arshad on implementation of the guidelines of the National Climate Change Policy 2021.
Senator Ezdi thanked the committee members for supporting the body and making all its field visits a success.
The Committee organized eight field visits in total starting from its maiden visit to Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) office and its smog control center, then to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB)’s Trail-6 Leopard Preserve Zone, fire control room at erstwhile Marghzar Zoo (Margalla Wildlife Rescue Centre), Pakistan Meteorological Department office, Trail-5 visit followed by visits to Shahdarah, Farash Town, and Mangroves Forest, Karachi.
She mentioned the Committee members gave a tough time to the Met Office officials during their briefing through very pertinent questions.
Senator Ezdi appreciated the capability of MoCC&EC officials and their successful representation of the country at COP-28 (28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, Dubai) and lauded Secretary, Ministry Asif Hyder Shah for his efforts in this regard.
Senior Joint Secretary MoCC&EC, Muhammad Farooq while briefing on the agenda item apprised the Committee and the mover that all provincial climate action plans were aligned with the National Climate Change Policy 2021 which was submitted at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and published at the MoCC&EC website.
He added that all multinationals’ investment was being done after consulting this policy which was formulated by all stakeholders’ consultation and the Ministry strictly abides by this policy guidelines.
Senator Fawzia Arshad said on the occasion that her concerns were related to the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) that was an autonomous entity neglected in the policy endeavours.
She added that this policy should be clarified either it was enacted while considering Punjab or the federal capital as well.
“What has been done for Islamabad alone? We need to highlight policy endeavours for Islamabad specifically as it faced unprecedented urban flooding phenomenon in its history. There 43 slums in its out of which 10 are being regularized that lacked proper amenities of water and sanitation,” she added.
She commended the Ministry officials for their well-written and detailed brief in response to her query.
Secretary MoCC&EC, Asif Hyder Shah told the Committee that the federal capital owing to its small territory was performing better than the provinces in the areas of air pollution index, surface water treatment and others.
He added that the Ministry’s nomenclature and location was changed five times that made its restructuring a challenge for him whereas the Ministry had hired climate experts equal to the number of its civil service staff to ensure better and well-planned tasks.
He mentioned that the flagship Living Indus Initiative was going to be awarded the UN’s Award in March 2024.
Commenting on the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and IWMB rift, he said it was a mater of land ownership between the two entities with the Islamabad Zoo management as the bone of contention.
“Ministry of Interior has moved a summary to the Cabinet for reclaiming the Zoo, whereas the MoCC&EC is supporting the IWMB as the CDA has already had its hands full due to its multiple operations,” he said.
Shah suggested the Committee to give recommendations to maintain the Zoo’s ownership with the IWMB that will endorse the MoCC&EC stance at the Cabinet forum.
Senator Humayun Mohmand said the ICT should be declared as a province directly governed by the Prime Minister to be treated as separately for better policy implementation.
He congratulated the chair and MoCC&EC team for being cooperative and working for solutions to the significant environmental issues of the country.
He added that the political will needed to be strengthened through consensus among the political parties to resolve the environment-related issues.
Senator Taj Haider also appreciated the forum for its successful completion of the term and raised concerned related to 2022 flood-affected areas and urged the Secretary to work out federal government’s role in furthering support in the reconstruction process.
Senator Khalida Ateeb said the Climate Committee should be assigned to the officials and senators who have been running this body for a long time to ensure consistency of action.
Senators Keshoo Bai and Abida Muhammad Azeem also attended the meeting.
ISLAMABAD, Feb 22 (APP): Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, has highlighted opportunities for Pakistani companies in the Middle East (ME), particularly in the UAE, focusing on sectors such as dairy, meat, fruits, vegetables, and non-food products.
He emphasized the country’s trade potential at the Pakistan Middle East Trade Development Conference 2024, held at the Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD) auditorium, according to a news release received here from Dubai.
The conference, organized in collaboration with Pakistan’s Embassy, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and Engro-Pakistan, was attended by Pakistani exhibitors participating in Gulfood-2024 and the Emirati business community.
The event aimed to exchange ideas to explore trade relations between Pakistan and the Middle East, providing networking opportunities for Pakistani traders, particularly with UAE buyers.
Ambassador Faisal Niaz Tirmizi explained that the UAE market was continuously growing, offering ideal opportunities for dedicated Pakistani companies with sound business plans to maximize their potential.
Panel discussions during the conference focused on developing strategies to enhance market penetration and overcome challenges effectively.
Senior Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Dairy Association, Usman Zaheer, underscored the importance of dairy exports to the UAE market from Pakistan, emphasizing the need for value-added dairy products.
Ali Tanveer appreciated the support of the Government of Pakistan, which enabled FrieslandCampina’s penetration into the UAE market.
Moderating the panel discussion, Dr Shehzad Amin proposed the creation of an incubator cell at the Pakistan Association Dubai for new companies and exporters aiming to enter the UAE market.
TDAP Chief Executive Muhammad Zubair Motiwala endorsed the idea and pledged support from TDAP to establish the business incubator center at PAD to promote new export businesses. He also highlighted the Agro Food exhibition to be held in Karachi in August 2024, inviting businessmen from the UAE to participate.
The event was attended by Chairman Al Awar Livestock Trading Est., Abdullah Ali Mohammed Al Awar, Vice Chairman Rashif Abdullah Al Awar, Chief Executive Officer of the Pakistan Dairy Association, Dr Shehzad Amin, Director of Business Development & Optimization Ali Tanveer Khan, MEPA, FrieslandCampina, and other leading Pakistani businessmen and exporters.
TOKYO, Feb 22 (APP): Pakistan and Japan on Thursday signed a Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP) aimed at helping Pakistani workers learn Japanese skills while being at work.
The Programme was signed between Overseas Employment Corporation (OSC), Pakistan and Popular Human Resource Cooperative, Osaka.
Earlier, Ambassador of Pakistan to Tokyo Raza Bashir Tarar met with Itamiya Goro, Chairman of Social Welfare Corporation “Ikeda Satsuki-kai” and Suga Tetsuya, Representative Director of Popular Human Resource Cooperative.
Popular Human Resource Cooperative is a group company of “Ikeda Satsuki-kai”, which owns more than 20 nursing care facilities mainly in Osaka.
PESHAWAR, Feb 22 (APP): A two-member bench of Peshawar High Court (PHC) comprising Justice Shakeel Ahmed and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah on Thursday ordered the removal of the name of former Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser from Exit Control List (ECL).
During the hearing, the lawyer of the petitioner Moazzam Butt Advocate told the court that Asad Qaiser was the former speaker of the National Assembly, he intended to perform a religious obligation of Umrah but he was stopped.
On the query of Justice Sahibzada Asadullah, the petitioner’s lawyer told the court that on June 23, the name of Asad Qaiser was put on ECL.
The court declared the order of putting Asad Qaiser’s name in ECL as illegal and ordered the immediate removal of his name from the list.
PESHAWAR, Feb 22 (APP):Railway Police in Peshawar conducted a successful operation at Peshawar City Station, apprehending two women for smuggling narcotics via train.
The suspects were caught by SHO Jamal Abdul Nasir and other officers based on suspicion at the internal passage of Peshawar City Station.
Upon inspection, more than 2 kilograms of narcotics were recovered from the possession of the women, including 1.6 kilograms of ice drug and 500 grams of heroin. The suspects had concealed the narcotics in plastic wraps hidden within women’s undergarments and clothing.
SSP Peshawar Mahrukh Kausar stated that the female suspects intended to transport the narcotics via Awam Express train from Peshawar to Gujranwala. Cases have been registered against both women at Cantt Railway Police Station Peshawar, and investigations have commenced.
ISLAMABAD, Feb 22 (APP): Caretaker Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi on Thursday called to promote the trend of research among people.
Delivering his speech at the launching ceremony of the Display Center of the Directorate of Electronic Media and Publication at Pak-China Friendship Center, he said the tendency of reading books and writing was decreasing in the digital era.
He said that the Directorate of Electronic Media and Publications ( DEMP) had worked hard to promote the trend of reading and writing among the people.
“This organization has done a great job in a short time with hard work”, Murtaza Solangi said while appreciating the performance of the DEMP.
The minister said that the quality of books and periodicals at the display center was high from both the content and printing point of view.
He congratulated the officers and staff of the DEMP on the inauguration of its first Display Center at Pak- China Center and hoped that as planned it will open more display centers at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Lok Virsa and Islamabad Monument at Shakar Parian. Earlier Executive Director General DEMP Imrana Wazir briefed the minister about the vision behind the creation of DEMP and its mission.
Executive Director General Information Service Academy Arshad Munir was also present on the occasion.
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