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Naval Chief calls on Governor

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NNPS Desk
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KARACHI, Jan 24 (APP):Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Mohammed Amjad Khan Niazi called on Sindh Governor Mohammed Kamran Khan Tessori at Governor House here on Tuesday.

The professional capabilities of the Pakistan Navy, its importance in the national defence, role of Pakistan Navy in the protection of country’s coastal areas and other issues of mutual interests were discussed.

The governor said that Pakistan Navy had importance among the navies of the world.

While lauding the capabilities of Pakistan Navy, he said that our navy had professional approach.

He said that Pakistan Navy besides with the protection of coastal areas was also playing its role in controlling smuggling.

One- Way Glass film screening on January 26

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NNPS Desk
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ISLAMABAD, Jan 24 (APP): Khaas contemporary art gallery will screen One-Way Glass, a film directed by Nauman Khalid, here on January 26. The film screening will be followed by a conversation with Nauman Khalid and Irfan Ahmed Urfi.

‘One-way Glass’ is a passion project for filmmaker that has been a long time in the making from the inception of the idea to the time that it’s taken to bring it to the screen. The film is based on writer Irfan Ahmed Urfi’s book of short stories in Urdu, ‘Paon’ (Feet), which was published in 2015.

‘One-way Glass’ is the story of a hapless migrant Pakistani woman, who is trapped in a violent situation. She is caught in the harsh realities of modern-day London, trying to make a living whilst also struggling through the trials and tribulations of her failing marriage.

The story revolves around the strong woman’s vulnerabilities as she struggles with her work, marriage, faith and attempts to find happiness. Most importantly, it is a story that represents the human condition – it is a tale of human needs and foibles; the hand that fate deals; how life is circumscribed by the given; the choices available in the face of adversity and the decision to make a firm, empowering choice by a woman pushed to the wall, said the organizers.

Such stories need to be shared through literature, art, and through cinema to bring about a greater understanding of the struggles of people inhabiting the margins and especially of disenfranchised women within these communities who defy the odds to realize a better future for themselves, the organizers said.

‘One-way Glass’ is an international project with filmmakers and creatives coming together from Germany, Turkey, Italy, Brazil, Colombia, Russia, Australia, UK, India and Pakistan.

Govt committed to end poliovirus transmission soon: Patel

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NNPS Desk
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ISLAMABAD, Jan 24 (APP):Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Abdul Qadir Patel on Tuesday renewed the government’s commitment to completely eradicate the crippling disease of polio from the country.

In a statement, he said that Pakistan and Afghanistan were working together in their fight against polio.
He said that while the isolation of the virus was a cause of concern, it was excellent to note that it was detected promptly. This timely detection of the virus in the environment was crucial to protecting children from being paralyzed by the poliovirus, he added.

Patel said, “The only way to stop the virus is to vaccinate all children under the age of five. It is critically important that parents and caregivers, particularly in Lahore, ensure that their child is vaccinated in the February round.”

Dr Shahzad Baig, Coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), said this is not unexpected since Pakistan and Afghanistan are considered as one epidemiological block in which polio viruses move across borders as there is widespread population movement.

“In the past year, we have worked very closely with the Afghanistan programme and treat the virus in either country as our own. Neither Pakistan nor Afghanistan can be free of polio until both countries can interrupt transmission,” Dr Baig said.
Pakistan’s first detection of wild polio virus in 2023 has been detected in an environmental sample in Lahore.

The virus found in Gulshan Ravi has links to a poliovirus found in Nangahar, Afghanistan last November, the Pakistan Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health (NIH) said.

The nationwide immunization campaign that concluded on January 20th vaccinated children in the Lahore division, while additional campaigns will also be conducted in February and March to address the outbreak.

The last polio case from Lahore was reported in July 2020, but the virus has been periodically detected in its sewage water. Last year, four environmental samples were found positive for wild poliovirus in Lahore district.
Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus mainly affecting children under the age of five years. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death.

While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease. Each time a child under the age of five is vaccinated, their protection against the virus is increased.

Repeated immunizations have protected millions of children from polio, allowing almost all countries in the world to become polio-free, besides the two endemic countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Bilawal sees education as guarantee of sustainable development, peace

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NNPS Desk
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KARACHI, Jan 24 (APP): Chairman, Pakistan People’s Party and foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Tuesday that promoting education gives a guarantee for sustainable development and peace in the country.

In a message on the occasion of International Day of Education issued from the Media Cell Bilawal House here, Bilawal saluted all the teachers and educationists, who were playing their role in the promotion of education in the country.

The foreign minister said that more than 22 million out-of-school children were a matter of great concern and a challenge for the entire nation.

He emphasized for providing quality education while removing obstacles on a war-footing basis, adding that focus should be given to science and technology education.

PPP has always included education and training in its top priorities, he said adding that the founding Chairman of the Party, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto established more schools and educational institutions during his tenure as compared to the past.

Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto also paid special attention to women’s education and training and the establishment of educational institutions in the country as the Prime Minister.

The previous PPP government led by President Asif Ali Zardari also established the largest number of universities in the country.

Bilawal said that the Constitution of 1973 provides access to equal educational facilities to all children as their basic right while the provision of quality education to all children and youth without discrimination is the manifesto of PPP.

He further said that Pakistan could only place among the ranks of developed nations through the education system equipped with standard and modern technology.

Yumna Zaidi starrer ‘Bakhtawar’ trends at No.2 on YouTube

By
Abdul Hanan
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Yumna Zaidi starrer ‘Bakhtawar’ trends at No.2 on YouTube

20-K Cup 2023: Nasrullah stars as Model Town Club breeze into semifinals

By
Zaka Ullah Ch
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0

Sohail Ali

LAHORE, Jan 24 (APP):Nasrullah Zia’s sensational 77 runs steered Model Town Club to a thrashing 9-wicket win over Shahkamal Cricket Club in the third quarterfinal of the 20-K Cup 2023 T20 Cricket Tournament here at the Model Town Greens ground on Tuesday.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, the fourth and last quarterfinal will be played between Golden Star Cricket Club and Model Town Greens Cricket Academy at Pindi Gymkhana Cricket Ground at 11:00 am.

Shahkamal Club, batted first, were all out for 131 runs in 19.3 overs. Imran Nazir Jr emerged as top scorer with 42 runs off 45 balls, hitting 3 boundaries and 1 sixes while the other key contributors were Muhammad Abdullah and Sheraz Ali, who slammed 37 and 27 runs respectively.

No other Shahkamal Club batter could cross the doubles figures and fell cheaply. Afaq Afridi bowled well for Model Town Club and grabbed 3 wickets for 16 runs while Mohsin Irshad and Hassan Rizwan bagged 2 wickets each.

Model Town Club started their run-chase in great style and comfortably achieved the required target, losing just one wicket in 16 overs.

Opener Haider fell cheaply for 13 runs while player of the match Nasrullah Zia hammered superb unbeaten 77 runs off 48 runs that included 6 fours and 4 sixes. Muhammad Saleem also remained unbeaten for 31 runs off 34 balls. From Shahkamal, the only wicket was claimed by Usman Ali.

CPJ censures India for blocking BBC’s anti-Modi documentary, but US spokesperson sidesteps questions

By
Zaka Ullah Ch
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WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (APP):The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent watchdog body, has slammed India for banning a BBC documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in deadly riots more than 20 years ago from being shown in the country, saying the move contradicts New Delhi’s commitment to democracy.

“The Indian government’s order to social media platforms to block a BBC documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an attack on the free press that flagrantly contradicts the country’s stated commitment to democratic ideals,” Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator, said in a statement released on Monday.

“Authorities must immediately restore full and unrestricted access to the documentary and withdraw regulations under the Information Technology Act that imperil press freedom and freedom of expression online,” she added.

But at the State Department, Spokesperson Ned Price parried all questions about the blocking of the BBC documentary, saying he is not familiar with it, but familiar with the shared “democratic values” that connects Washington and New Delhi.

Pressed by a correspondent about the documentary, Price again avoided his question, saying instead that there are several elements that bolster Washington’s global strategic partnership with New Delhi, which include political, economic and through people-to-people ties.

“What I will say broadly is that there are a number of elements that undergird the global strategic partnership that we have with our Indian partners. There are close political ties. There are economic ties. There are exceptionally deep people-to-people ties between the US and India,” he added.

Below is the transcript of the intense exchange between the correspondent and the State Department spokesperson:

QUESTION: Last week I had asked you about Narendra Modi and how the U.S. has compromised on some of its values. And the BBC just released a documentary on Modi on how he had butchered, and the report was just released. It was a government report. BBC just released it.

It was made by a former secretary in which he has even mentioned higher number of deaths, higher numbers of women raped, and it was just done right under the nose of Narendra Modi.

I have never challenged the strategic interest of the U.S. with India, but I regret the fact that since last eight years that I have been covering the State Department, I have not seen once an senior official standing here at your seat condemning Narendra Modi himself individually – not just as a prime minister but individually his acts. And I’m sure the U.S. officials were aware of it as well.

PRICE: I am not aware of this documentary that you point to, but I – what I will say broadly is that there are a number of elements that undergird the global strategic partnership that we have with our Indian partners.

There are close political ties, there are economic ties, there are exceptionally deep people-to-people ties between the United States and India. But one of those additional elements are the values that we share, the values that are common to American democracy and to Indian democracy.

India, of course, is the world’s largest democracy. It’s a vibrant democracy. And again, we look to everything that ties us together, and we look to reinforce all of those elements that tie us together.

QUESTION: So my godfather is an Indian as well, by the way, so I have all the respect for India. Don’t get me wrong or anything.

But I just regret the fact that how is it possible that State Department officials who were posted there at that time did not know that this individual, who was a former chief minister (of Gujarat) , it happened right under his nose. Two thousand people were burned alive.

PRICE: Again, I’m not familiar with the documentary you’re referring to. I am very familiar with the shared values that connect the United States and India as two thriving, vibrant democracies. When we have concerns about actions that are taken in India, we’ve voiced those. We’ve had an occasion to do that.

But we want first and foremost to reinforce those values that are at the heart of our relationship.

QUESTION: One follow-up. But do you think that such foreign policy has affected President (Joe) Biden’s Indian voters here in the U.S., though?

PRICE: We don’t think about it through those terms. I don’t think about domestic politics, and neither does anyone in this building.

No shortage of petrol in Peshawar: Chairman Tankers’ Association

By
NNPS Desk
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0

PESHAWAR, Jan 24 (APP): Chairman PSO Tankers Association, Muhammad Irshad on Tuesday categorically said that there was no shortage of petrol in Peshawar and news circulated in this regard were totally baseless.

Talking to the media here, Muhammad Irshad said people have nothing to worry about petrol availability in Peshawar adding there was no need to pay heed towards such rumors.

He said the district has sufficient stock of the petrol that was being provided on a regular basis to the vehicles. Even though the petrol pumps were witnessing a rush, however, all the consumers were being provided the commodity, he added.

“We have sufficient stock of petrol and more tankers are on way to supply petrol to the gas stations in Peshawar,” Irshad said.

He informed that some of the oil tankers were facing delays in reaching Peshawar however the situation with regard to the availability of petrol was totally under control.

President for integrated efforts on mental health initiatives

By
Shumaila Andleeb
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0

ISLAMABAD, Jan 24 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday stressed the need for integrating the initiatives taken by various public departments to address the challenges pertaining to mental health.

Chairing a follow-up meeting on mental health, he said the initiatives on mental health taken by the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Planning and Development and Special Initiatives, and the President’s House could be integrated by optimizing processes and combining them to develop an effective Artificial Intelligence based helpline.

The meeting that was held at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Tuesday was attended by the members of the National Commission for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the Pakistan Psychological Association, the Pakistan Psychiatric Society, officials of the Taskeen Health Initiative, and members of the academia.

The president said the helpline could reach out to the maximum population around the country to provide them counselling and advice on mental health issues faced by them.

He said that some excellent work had been done led by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Planning and Development as well as the President’s House, which showed the focus and importance being accorded to providing mental health services to the target population to reduce stress levels in society. 

This, he said, was paramount for a healthy society and for the progress and development of the country. 

He said the financial needs may be determined by the relevant stakeholders keeping in view the technical requirement, hiring of expertise and setting up of required essential physical infrastructure.

The president said that available psychiatrists and psychologists of the Pakistani diaspora in the United Kingdom and in other countries should be integrated into the system to provide quality, authentic and professional advice. 

He noted that there were around 2,000 psychiatrists of Pakistani origin in the UK, who could be integrated into the system. 

He said that mental health service provider systems should be integrated with the existing resources available in health institutes, both public and private, and should have a futuristic outlook to allow for expansion, modification, alteration and improvements in the system to fully exploit opportunities which come to light during its operation in future. 

The president said the artificial intelligence-based system should have the capabilities to cater to the entire target population and the ability to filter out the number of patients, which need expert advice according to the available psychiatrists and psychological resources. 

Dr Alvi said that suicide was now distinguished from crimes in Pakistan and considered a mental health issue, which has opened up new avenues to provide mental health advice to prevent suicide. 

He said that a comprehensive media campaign would be needed after testing and making the mental health providing system fully functional to ensure its credibility and advocacy.

He said that the system should have an integrated mechanism to record the calls to ensure consistency, accuracy and effectiveness of the advice rendered by the experts with the permission of the help seekers regarding respect for the patient privacy.

President appoints four senate members of Federal Urdu University

By
Shumaila Andleeb
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0
Read in Urdu

ISLAMABAD, Jan 24 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday approved the appointment of four members for the Senate of Federal Urdu University for Arts, Science and Technology.

As per details shared by the Presidency, Shahid Shafiq has been appointed as Senate member from the Society of Federal Urdu University.

Prof. Dr. Sarosh Hashmat Lodhi, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Khalid Anees and Prof. Dr. Tanveer Khalid have been appointed as Senate members from the teaching department.

The president made the appointments under Article 48(1) of the Constitution, Rules of Business and the University Ordinance.

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