Children enjoying and playing with tires at Latifabad.
Gypsy women carrying pots on her head back after filling clean water at Latifabad.
Fisherman fishing on the boat at Indus River.
A tri-cycle rickshaw holder on the way loaded with iron rods at Latifabad.
Vendor filling dry grass for his customer at his workplace.
Governor Balochistan invites business community to capitalize on province’s investment potential
ISLAMABAD, Apr 11 (APP):Governor Balochistan Malik Abdul Wali Khan Kakar invited the business community of Islamabad to capitalize on the natural resources of the province by utilizing investment opportunities to generate more business activities.
He said this while addressing as the chief guest at an Iftar Dinner hosted by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)in his honor, the preceding day, said the press release.
He said that his province was endowed with great natural resources including the Reko Diq and Saindak projects, adding the development of Reko Diq would make Balochistan a hub of direct foreign investment and create a lot of economic benefits to Pakistan.
Similarly, Saindak copper and gold project had the potential to make Balochistan prosperous and strengthen Pakistan’s economy. He said that due to these untapped natural resources, the people of Balochistan were facing great economic problems and emphasized that the business community should exploit them to bring progress and prosperity to the province.
The governor said that the business community was the backbone of the economy and invited the ICCI delegation to visit Balochistan where he would connect them with their counterparts to explore joint ventures and business partnerships.
He said that he would try to visit Iran and Afghanistan to highlight the investment potential of Balochistan to the investors of these neighboring countries.
President ICCI Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari said that Pakistan was facing a dollar crisis and the development of Reko Diq and Saindak could bring billions of dollars to Pakistan and enable it to get rid of foreign debt.
He urged the government to take all possible measures to establish peace in the province that would enable the investors to tap these natural resources. He said that the development of Gwadar Port and Gwadar Industrial Estate should be expedited to make Balochistan a hub of business activities.
He also called on the authorities to connect Balochistan through road and railways links with Iran and Afghanistan to increase the regional trade. He said that the development of the blue economy in Balochistan could bring great benefits to the country.
Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President ICCI said that Balochistan offers great investment opportunities, and establishing a better law and order situation and improving the security would enable the business community to take benefit of the untapped natural resources of Balochistan.
President approves appointment of 6 additional judges in Sindh High Court
ISLAMABAD, Apr 11 (APP):President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday approved the appointment of six additional judges in the Sindh High Court.
The appointment of Amjad Ali Bohio, Muhammad Abdul Rehman, Khadim Hussain Soomro, Arbab Ali Hakro, Jawad Akbar Sarwana, and Sana Akram Minhas as additional judges in the Sindh High Court was approved for one year.
The president extended approval of the appointments on the advice of the prime minister under Article 175-A of the constitution.
Efforts in full swing to ensure transparency for general elections sans unconstitutional interference: Dastgir
ISLAMABAD, Apr 11 (APP):Minister for Power Division Khurram Dastgir on Tuesday said that all out efforts were being made to ensure that the 2023 general elections were free, fair, and transparent without unconstitutional interference.
Addressing a press conference here, the minister said that this year the general elections “should not be like 2018 which were manipulated”, adding that the current elections should represent the public opinion.
He said the Parliament’s joint sitting had passed the resolution, the other day, stating that elections of Provincial and National assemblies should be held simultaneously across the country.
The minister stated that the Senate’s resolution reflected the reservations held by “smaller provinces” not condoning the plan to hold elections in piecemeal. “Elections for Punjab assembly having 55 percent of the total population[of the country] would influence the general elections result, he added.
He said that elections in only two provinces would “create anarchy and commotion in the country”.
“There is no ambiguity in the Constitution about holding of general elections as it clearly stated that elections should be held after a fresh census and delimitation of constituencies by taking all provinces along,” he added.
He said there were many decisions of courts in this regard. Taking exception to the Supreme Court’s verdict in the suo motu notice ordering the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within 90 days and could take minimum drift to the constitutional schedule by the “barest margin, the minister said that the four other judges in their dissenting notes had declared the arbitrary “use of suo motu notice wrong”.
He stressed the need for simultaneous conduct of elections in all provinces of the country under the caretaker setups, adding that it was important for transparency as well as to take the country towards stability. In the last general elections, the PDM had secured 68 per cent votes which constituted two third of total registered votes, he added.
Khurram appealed to the Supreme Court to bring “transparency in its affairs and constitute a full court to address the constitutional crisis through collective wisdom”. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had himself stated that the decision of the full-court would be acceptable and implemented, he added.
Replying to a question, he said the power supply situation would be far better during the summer as compared to the last year due to the better management. Around 2,000 MW of electricity had been added to the system in last 11 months from local Thar coal, he apprised.
The minister said the use of local coal for power generation would also bring down the prices of electricity. Bidding for the first mega solar project would be opened on May 7, he added.
To another question, he said the “2018 elections were manipulated” and the entire nation was facing its consequences in the form of an economic crisis including a shortage of wheat, sugar and fertilizers.
To a query, the minister said record loans were borrowed during the tenure of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf tenure and the total country’s debt stood at over Rs 51,000 billion. 90 percent increase was witnessed in the debt and liabilities of the country during the PTI’s tenure, he added.
He said despite the financial crisis, the incumbent government repaid $10 billion loan in one year.
Projects underway for provision of quality telecom services
ISLAMABAD, Apr 11 (APP): The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication is working to complete broadband projects for the provision of quality telecom services in the country.
The official of the ministry said that the government is committed to ending the digital divide between rural and urban areas as connectivity projects worth billions of rupees are going on in far-flung areas.
He said that provision of quality network facilities and protection of cellular users’ rights is the topmost priority.
He said that steps are being taken for the promotion of the telecom sector and resolving the issues of mobile companies.
He said that the process of digitalization is rapidly moving on to fulfil the Digital Pakistan Vision.
Vital steps like infrastructure sharing, Spectrum sharing and Spectrum Reframing Framework for the telecom sector are also in the final phase, he added.
He said that the Ministry of IT & Telecom in cohesion with other departments of the government of Pakistan has been working hard to improve digital literacy across the country.
Several initiatives have been taken to improve the digital literacy level of Pakistan by focusing on nurturing a startup culture and promoting freelancing, he said.