MOSCOW, Jan 29 (APP): Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Sunday arrived here on a two-day official visit.
The minister was received by senior officials of Russian Foreign Ministry, Pakistan’s ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khan and officials of the embassy.
According to the Foreign Office, the foreign minister is visiting the Russian Federation at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
The two foreign ministers are scheduled to meet on Monday for official talks.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 29 (APP):The Kingdome of Saudi Arabia has condemned the abhorrent act of desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden, Netherlands, and Denmark in the strongest terms.
Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al Malki quoting a verse of the Holy Quran said, “Rather, it was the Glorious Quran which is recorded in the Loh-e-Mahfooz.”
Taking to his Twitter handle, he also shared a statement from Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, given to Al Ekhbariya television channel saying that “the Holy Quran is our constitution, it has always been and will remain so forever.”
According to the Saudi Gazette, Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned and denounced the extremist act of burning copies of the Holy Quran in the Danish capital, Copenhagen besides Sweden and Netherlands.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, said this new provocative step was affecting the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world. The ministry renewed Saudi Arabia’s position, which has strongly rejected all these blatant acts, repeated in many European capitals recently, under the pretext of freedom of expression, without a clear reaction towards stopping these practices.
It stressed the Kingdom’s demand of all European governments, in which these extremist violations took place, to urgently combat all these practices fueling hatred and conflict among the followers of religions.
SWAT, Jan 29 (APP): Adviser to Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs, National Heritage and Culture, Engineer Amir Muqam here on Sunday said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) workers were ready for elections every time and hinted that Nawaz Sharif would soon return to Pakistan.
Muqam was addressing the party workers at Sangota in Swat.
He said the objective of PML-N politics is to provide uniform services to the masses.
Work on gas projects worth billions of rupees were launched, and he was pleased to see work on Alam Ganj and Dakork bridges after four years.
Muqam said he was well aware of the price hike, adding PML-N has joined a coalition government to uplift the country.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 29 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi Sunday expressed grief and sorrow over the tragic death of children of a religious school after capsizing of a boat in Kohat.
In a condolence message, the President conveyed his heartfelt condolences on the death of the innocent children.
He sympathized with the parents and relatives of the children.
He prayed to Allah Almighty for the departed souls and for early recovery of the children who survived the sinking of the boat.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 29 (APP):Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Sunday said that strict financial discipline was needed to achieve economic stability in Pakistan, without which the economy would not grow.
While addressing the two-day “Bacha Khan, Wali Khan and 21st Century” Conference in Islamabad, he said the recent economic challenges and inflation were due to the poor financial discipline of the former government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Ishaq Dar said the solution to the current challenges of the country lies in the promotion of the constitution, democracy, education, non-violence, and dialogue, which was the philosophy of legendary leader, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known as Bacha Khan.
He said that Bacha Khan fought for non-violence and democracy all his life and his struggle continues even today.
He said that big decisions are needed to get the country out of the crises and to bring economic stability to the country.
The minister said: “We fought the war of terrorism with our own resources and provided our abundant resources for it and will continue to do so in the future. The principle and ideology of our politics are to serve the people and our government is committed to it.”
Ishaq Dar said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government had left the gross domestic production (GDP) growth at above 6 percent in 2018. “We left the GDP at $356.8 billion with an increase of $122 billion. During our previous government, international rating agencies were predicting Pakistan to join the G20 by 2030,” he added.
The minister said, “We had a choice to save the country or our politics, but we sacrificed politics for the sake of the country.”
He said the per capita income was $1,798 during the PML-N previous government, which went to $1,768 in the PTI government.
He said the inflation rate was 8.6 percent in the former PML-N government, which came to “double digits during the PTI era. Along with this, he added, food inflation was just two percent during the last PML-N regime, which reached 12 percent during the PTI’s tenure.
Shakargarh, Jan 29 (APP):Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has said that the recent price increase of the petroleum products is result of the agreement made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Addressing a gathering of PML-N workers at Changowali village, Shakargarh on Sunday, he said the nation was facing inflation and economic crisis due to imprudent policies of the previous government.
He said that an illegible and incompetent former premier Imran Niazi signed an agreement with the IMF on difficult terms and conditions and the current government was bound to fulfill these conditions.
He said that the present government tried its best to stop depreciation of the Pakistani rupee as well as the price hike of the petroleum products, gas and electricity, but the agreement with the IMF was hurdle in it.
He said that the PML-N had corrected the country and put it on the right progressive path under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, but in 2018, an inexperienced and amateurish person Imran Khan was given the key of the nation who had destroyed the country.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 29 (APP):President Dr Arif Alvi has upheld the orders of the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) to issue tax exemption certificate for the tax year 2021 to a British era library in Multan, in addition to returning the deducted tax of Rs. 198,000 to meet its essential expenses. While rejecting FBR’s representation against the decision of FTO, the President noted that it was manifestly a hardship case, that Public Library and City Reading Room, Multan (the complainant) was registered as a Non-Profit Organization, and the late filing of returns withholding statement had not caused any loss to the national exchequer, therefore, FBR should take a sympathetic and considerate view of the matter. FBR had filed a representation with the President against the decision of FTO directing it to provide relief to the public library.
In his decision, the President observed that the complainant was providing readership facility to the citizens of the area at nominal cost of Rs. 20 as membership fee per month. The library had approximately 400 members at present, and that a small number of staff was running the library and none of them drew taxable salary. He further noted that the running cost of the library was met through donations and the profit on fixed deposit of its endowment.
The President noted that the tax Exemption Certificate could not be issued to the complainant due to non-filing of return for the Tax Year 2020-21 and the delay in issuance was attributed to non-filing of the return. He further observed that consequent to non-availability of the exemption certificate, tax amounting to Rs. 0.198 million was deducted on the deposits being maintained with the bank which was a primary source of its survival, and due to non-issuance of exemption certificate, even its four employees had been deprived of their small salaries i.e., less than Rs.20,000 for each.
The President observed that since the FBR had already issued an exemption certificate for the later six months of the tax year in question, thus, the Department was required to issue exemption certificate for the earlier six months of the financial and also in future take a sympathetic and considerate view of the matter. In such circumstances of the case, the FBR may issue exemption certificate to the Library for the remaining period and refund its deducted amount enabling it to meet its most essential expenses, held the President.
PESHAWAR, Jan 29 (APP):Federal Minister for Energy and Power Khurram Dastgir on Sunday said, on the directives and special interest of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the electricity supply to Upper Chitral would be started from February 1st.
Addressing a press conference here at the Governor House, he said that on the directives of Prime Minister, he especially came to Peshawar to meet a delegation of Upper Chitral and to hear their problems.
He said that like Lower Chitral, the electricity to Upper Chitral would be ensured on a priority basis, adding that an agreement to the elders of Upper Chitral has been signed at the Governor House in which the Governor has been included as guarantor.
He said the elders of Upper Chitral informed the Prime Minister about their issues and problems related to the inadequate supply of electricity.
The minister said that a report for payment of outstanding dues would be prepared within a month and an increase in electricity bills for the people of Upper Chitral would be decided after the supply of electricity to the area.
He further said that the federal government would fulfill its promise of electricity supply to Upper Chitral and assured that if the bills are paid regularly the power supply would further be improved.
Governor Ghulam Ali expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for paying attention to the deprivations of Chitral and said that Chitral is a large area of the province where the people of Upper Chitral were living a life in the dark for the last 5 years.
He also thanked the Federal Ministry of Energy, the Provincial Energy Department, and senior officials for resolving the issue of power supply to Upper Chitral.
On the occasion, Khurram Dastgir thanked Governor Ghulam Ali for hosting the event and said that Ghulam Ali was playing an active role in solving the problems of the people of KP.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 29 (APP):Pakistan has taken a range of legislative, policy and institutional steps to advance the human rights agenda with a focus on protection and promotion of rights of women, children, journalists, refugees and vulnerable sections of society, in line with the standards of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations.
According to official data available with APP, the federal government had enacted legislation to safeguard rights of women and children including Women’s Property Rights Act, 2020, Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act 2020 and, Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021.
The legislative and institutional steps had gone a long way in safeguarding rights of the Pakistani citizens especially women, children and transgender persons.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018 guaranteed rights for transgender citizens and prohibited any discrimination against them in their enjoyment of fundamental rights of voting, inheritance, education, work, property, access to public areas. The enactment of ICT Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2020 went further to safeguard and prevent any discriminatory acts against persons with disability. Senior citizens were also protected from discrimination under ICT Senior Citizen Act, 2022.
The Human Rights Council through the Universal Periodic Review mechanism periodically reviews the human rights record of every UN member state. The ultimate goal of UPR is to strengthen the realization and enjoyment of human rights in a country.
Established in 2007, this peer-driven review mechanism provided a platform for dialogue and constructive engagement among states.
In line with the goals of the United Nations, Pakistan had also paid significant attention to strengthening rule of law, accountability and access to justice in the country. Among these were the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018, which laid down a comprehensive system to deal with juvenile cases with enhanced focus on social rehabilitation and reintegration. Under the Legal Aid & Justice Authority Act, 2020, a legal aid and justice authority had been established for providing affordable and quick access to justice to the poor and vulnerable segments.
The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2022 criminalised torture, death and rape in custody and protected due process and fair trial rights of under trial persons.
The government had also taken credible steps to provide a safe and enabling environment to journalist community. The Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021 (Journalist Act) was its concrete example. The act stipulated establishment of a Commission as a grievance redressal mechanism for journalists and media professionals in any case of intimidation and harassment.
Despite the serious social and economic impacts of the COVID pandemic, global economic downturn and devastating floods of 2022, the Government had taken wide ranging measures to alleviate poverty, provide adequate standard of living, strengthen social safety net, and reduce inequalities.
The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) was a flagship initiative under which unconditional cash transfers had been disbursed to the poor and the marginalized. During the pandemic, the program was launched to help poor families affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and an amount of approximately Rs 180 billion to around 14.9 million beneficiaries (Rs 12,000 per beneficiary) was disbursed.
Moreover, the government was also implementing the National Population Action Plan with the target to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health by taking multi-pronged measures including involvement of all public and private sector health facilities. A national campaign to fight malnutrition and stunting among children was also underway.
The bill to criminalize enforced disappearances was undergoing parliamentary process. In line with the State’s zero tolerance policy, the alleged cases of missing persons are being expeditiously and efficiently dealt by Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances. The overall decrease in number of alleged cases received from the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances attest to this positive trend.
The economic constraints notwithstanding, Pakistan had also continued to safeguard and advance basic rights of over 3 million Afghan refugees, who were enjoying access to basic amenities and opportunities like employment, health care, education, water and other public services at par with Pakistani citizens.
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