ISLAMABAD, June 15 (APP): Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal Wednesday said that Gwadar-Quetta cargo service would be functional from December this year.

The Minister said this while speaking about the 2nd interim report on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) placed before the Senate by the Convener of the Committee Senator Taj Haider.

He said that the 660 km long Gwadar-Quetta section had already been completed in three years.

The Minister also paid tributes to seventeen personnals of the Frontier Workers Organization (FWO) who sacrificed their lives during the construction of the road.

Most of the figures and observations mentioned in the report submitted by the Sepecial Committee of the Upper House are contrary to the facts, the Minister said.

Referring to recent meetings with Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
representatives, Ahsan Iqbal said that representatives of both the provincial governments expressed their satisfaction over the China Pakistan Economic Cooridor project and assured them for taking care of their points in future.

The government has allocated Rs 35 billion for Western Route of the
CPEC during the next financial year.

He said a sum of $ 35 billion has been allocated for energy sector
projects including $ 11 billion for Sindh and $ 9 billion for Punjab.

A sum of Rs 22 billion has been allocated for Dera Ismael Khan-Burhan section of CPEC, Rs 17 billion for Havelian-Thakot section, Rs 19 billion for Multan-Sukkur section in the PSDP of 2016-17.

The government has also allocated Rs 5.4 billion for connecting Indus Highway with the CPEC. Whereas Rs 3.3 billion would be spent on connecting Zhob and Mughal kot.

ISLAMABAD, June 15 (APP): Federal Minister for Parliamentary  Affairs, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed on Wednesday said Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) were  jointly working on a water supply project for the twin cities.

Responding a calling attention notice in Senate, he affirmed  that the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi were facing  water shortage.

He said a project was underway to supply water from Sindh  River to twin cities to overcome the current shortage.

He said water supply to various areas including residents  of Morgah More to Noor Mehal Hotel was the responsibility of  WASA.

He said he would talk to the department concerned to address  the issue.

QUETTA, June 15 (APP): Federal Minister for SAFRON, Lt. Gen (Retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch has said that it was responsibility of the political leadership of Pakistan and Afghanistan to deal with the current border situation emerged after Afghan forces’ unprovoked firing at Pakistani side.

The Minister warned that the situation would be worsened if the Afghan government did not take a wise step in this regard. He said this while talking to media persons at Nichari Imambargah Quetta where  he conveyed the condolence of Prime Minister, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to the family of Major Jawad who embraced “Shahadat” at Torkham border.

He condoled with the family of the martyr on behalf of the Primer Minister and the federal government. He arrived in Quetta from Islamabad, especially to attend the funeral of Major. Changezi and condole with his family.

On the occasion, he said that Pakistan could not forget life loss of its officials caused by Afghan border forces’ firing.

He, however, said that the entire nation was proud of Major Ali Jawad Changezi who sacrificed his life in the line of duty and making the defense of his country.

He said that enemies of Pakistan wanted to see tension on the Pak-Afghan border for halting work of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He said that Pakistan never took Afghanistan as enemy and added that India was behind the conspiracies to deteriorate friendly relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan by triggering firing directly to Pakistani sides from Afghanistan.

He, however, urged the political leadership of Pakistan and Afghanistan
to play their due role for making Pak-Afghan border peaceful and to promote friendly ties between the two countries.

He reiterated that Pakistan Army and the security forces would continue their efforts to curb terrorism from the society.

ISLAMABAD, June 15 (APP): Federal Minister for Finance, Mohammad
Ishaq Dar Wednesday termed the inclusion of US based index provider
Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCU) in the list of emerging markets as historical and reflective of the right direction of  Pakistan’s economy.

After achieving economic stability by the government, now  the focus would be on economic growth for the prosperity  of the country.

“It has been a good partnership with International  Monetary Fund (IMF) and by end of this month, the last review with  the fund would be held after which there will be no need  of another programme with the fund,” he said while  addressing participants at an event of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) held to mark the inclusion of Pakistan in the list of emerging markets here.

Chairman Privatization Commission (PC), Muhammad  Zubair, Chairman, SECP, Zafar ul Haq Hijazi, Chairman,  Pakistan Stock Exchange, Munir Kamal and Chairman, Federal Board  of Revenues (FBR), Nisar Mohammad Khan were also present.

Ishaq Dar said, the partner with IMF was excellent and  he thanked the fund and its team for helping Pakistan in  stabilizing its economy.

He said, Pakistan was excluded from the prestigious list  of emerging markets in year 2008 and after three years of hectic  efforts and prudent policies of the present government, the country  has been able to enter the list which is a historic achievement.

He said, after three years of efforts, the government  merged three stock exchanges of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad into  one stock exchange called Pakistan Stock Exchange.

The Minister attributed this success to the hard work of  the present government through its prudent policies and  good governance which resulted into the marked improvements  in various economic indicators including the best performance  of stock exchanges.

He expressed the hope that inclusion of Pakistan  into emerging markets would help attract huge foreign investment  in the country and its fruits would trickle down to the masses.

Ishaq Dar said, it would also help achieve the set  economic targets of the government and also congratulated the nation  on this achievement.

He said, the entire world has been recognizing  Pakistan’s economic improvement and its indicators.

He said, the foreign exchange would be enhanced to US $ 22 billion
in a few weeks by setting a new record.

He said, under the vision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,  a roadmap has already been formulated and efforts are being made  to fully implement it for the benefit of the country and its masses.

Ishaq Dar said, the agriculture sector has been given top priority
in the budget 2016-17 and added, economy should be separated from politics asking the political parties to get united for a charter of economy.

He said, to achieve the tax collection target set for FBR was
a difficult task, but during thelast three years the collection had been
increased to 60 per cent.

Speaking on the occasion, Muhammad Zubair said, it was  historic day for Pakistan and he also congratulated the nation on that achievement.

He said, the government made very difficult and bold decisions in
the past three years as a result, the economy has recovered remarkably.

Chairman, Pakistan Stock Exchange, Munir Kamal also appreciated the
government for this achievement and attributed it to the
prudent policies of the government.

He said, Pakistan would be able to become one of the biggest stock
markets in Asia.

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 15 (APP): The National Assembly was informed Wednesday that new cargo scanners have been installed at Port Qasim under the Container Security Initiative (CSI) for scanning US-bound export cargo containers.

Replying to a question raised by MNA Shireen Mazari during a point of order, Parliamentary Secretary Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan said that new equipment had come from America to replace the old one for scanning the containers.

He said that there was no question of selling out port Qasim Security to United States adding that after 9/11 it had been common practice that the American-bound cargo was scanned outside US.

Currently, there are 58 destinations from where the American-bound cargo was scanned he said and maintained that the same practice was done at Port Qasim.

He said that the $154.3 million were spent by US and $154.3 by Pakistan to install the new facilities, adding the old equipment would be donated to Model Customs for clearance of cargo.

The Parliamentary Secretary clarified that the equipment was managed and maintained by the Pakistan Customs.

ISLAMABAD, June 15 (APP): Spokesman to the Prime Minister
Dr Musadik Malik on Wednesday said the government’s prudent
policies were going in right directions and yielding desired results in strengthening national economy and elimination of terrorism from the country.

“The government has successfully launched Zarb e Azb and Karachi
operations and these operations helped in controlling terrorism in the country,” he said in a private news channel programme.

Dr Musadik said the operation Zarb e Azb has successfully
destroyed the terrorists’ network from the country. Pakistan forces have rendered supreme sacrifices in war against terrorism.

He lauded the implementation of National Action of Plan
(NAP) and National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) in elimination of terrorism from the country and said, several accused were arrested in hate speeches, wrong use of loudspeaker and others involved in terrorism incidents through NAP.

The PM spokesman said the government has allocated hefty
amount for NACTA.

Commenting on recent drone attack in Balochistan, he said the government through foreign office lodged a strong protest on drone
strike in Pakistan territory.

Replying to a question, he said some 16,000 Afghan refugees have been registered and 60,000 were deported from Pakistan.

Defence analyst Brig (Retd) Nadir Mir said the operation
Zarb e Azb has achieved immense success in eradication of
terrorism from the country.

Commenting on recent firing on Torkham border, Nadir Mir
and analyst Iftikhar Ahmed said that three million Afghan refugees were present in Pakistan.

Iftikhar said that no one patriot Pakistani would compromise
on the border.

He said Taliban leader Mulla Fazal Ullah, who is residing
in Afghanistan was involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan and questioned that why Afghanistan government was not taking action against him.

ISLAMABAD, June 15 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif always gave importance to the Youth Wing and considered it  the frontline force of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Special Assistant to the PM on Political Affairs Dr Asif Kirmani said Wednesday.

Addressing the AJK-chapter Youth Wing of PML-N, he said youngsters of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) had to play a key role in  the upcoming general elections of the valley.

He said the PML-N government had a plan to lay railway track from
Islamabad to Havelian enroute Murree and Muzaffarabad. The youth would  hoist the party-flag and propagate its agenda of progress and
prosperity in AJK, he added.

Kirmani said the AJK people had great expectations from the youth.

The Prime Minister, he said, had brought $ 46 billion Chinese invement in the country, which would help further strengthen national economy and improve energy situation.

Kirmani said the PML-N wanted to see all districts of AJK developed  and prosperous, besides providing modern education and health facilities there.

He asked the Kashmiri youth to hoist the party flags at their homes,
shops, motorcycles and vehicles, adding that the PML-N had to defeat the corrupt and power hungry elements during the AJK elections.

The Prime Minister, he said, wanted that children of common men
should have equal right to get education so that they could become doctors, advocates and secure high-level jobs.

The PML-N was struggling to change the existing system so that every
citizen should have equal rights in all fields, he added.

In Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), he said, the Neelum-Jhelum project
had been abandoned and it was the PML-N government which restarted it.

Kirmani said the PML-N would take along those, who could not get
the party tickets, in the election campaign and development of the valley.

He said the PML-N would continue public contact campaign during the
holy month of Ramzan and after Eid.

He said, “We feel proud that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N) Youth Wing held successful workers conventions and formed
election monitoring cell to enure victory of the PML-N with majority
in AJK and to stop rigging in upcoming elections.”

He said Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had great love and
affection for every nook and cranny of Kashmir.

After Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, he said, it was Muhammad
Nawaz Sharif who made the Muslim League a public party. He said the
PML-N always faced dictators bravely.

He said the Quaid-e-Azam was the man of principle who
used to sit with youth on ground and talked with them friendly.

Kirmani said making comparision between state and non-state parties would be harmful for the freedom struggle of Kashmir. “Pakistan means Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Azad Jammu Kashmir means Pakistan,” he said.

He said decision to award tickets in AJK had been made in consultation with the AJK leadership and parliamentary board.

“With the strength of Kashmiri youth, we will make the PML-N more strong,” he said.

He said it was responsibility of the youth to make efforts for the success of the PML-N in Azad Jammu & Kashmir in the upcoming elections.

He said the era of progress, prosperity and development in Kashmir would come. “Both sides of the Kashmiris will have an opportunity to sit together, and every body wants that Kashmris should meet with each other,” he said.

He urged the youth to play their role in forming the PML-N  government in the AJK as result of the upcoming elections.

President AJK-chapter Youth Wing of PML-N Muhammad Hanif Malik apprised about objectives of the PML-N Election Monitoring Cell.

Central president PML-N Youth Wing Capt. (Retd.) Muhammad Safdar had given formal approval for setting up the youth monitoring cell for the elections to be held on July 21, 2016.

ISLAMABAD, Jun 15 (APP): Minister for Commerce, Engr. Khurram Dastgir  Khan on Wednesday directed the State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) to  extend the facilities of Prime Minister’s National Health Program (PMNHP)  to the far flung and less developed areas of the country so as to provide the poorest of the poor with quality health services.

The Minister made these remarks while receiving a presentation to
review the performance of the Program by the Chairperson SLIC Ms. Nargis Gilloo.

The Minister directed the chairperson SLIC to start preparation for
launching of the Health Program in Skardu, Kech and Loralai and ensure maximum registration of deserving people in these areas.

He also directed that the remote areas where there are no quality
hospitals, SLIC should negotiate with military hospitals to seek their services for the Health Program on standard terms of the program.

The program is operational in Islamabad, Muzaffarabad and Quetta where  3,724 have been treated for minor and major diseases and surgeries have been conducted while claims of 64,175,908 have been incurred.

There are seven hospitals on the panel of the Health Program in
Islamabad, seven in Muzaffarabad and five in Quetta while efforts are in process to empanel more hospitals.

Khurram Dastgir also directed the SLIC authorities to remove any the
administrative bottlenecks to extend the program to the tribal areas of the country by coordinating with the civil and military authorities of the areas.

The Health Program will be launched in Punjab and the first district
selected to launch the program is Raheem Yar Khan in Southern Punjab where the registration of deserving persons has started.

The meeting was informed that NADRA conducted a customer satisfaction  survey of the persons availing the Health Program facilities and reported a customer satisfaction level of 80% with the facilities provided while 12.6% expressed non-satisfaction and 6.9% did not comment.

A total of 1,393,078 verified persons have been registered with the
Health Program all across the country who will all be receiving the health facilities under the Program soon.

The Minister directed the SLIC administration to streamline the registration process to make it speedy and free of any bogus registrations.

He said that the success of the program depends on ensuring that
deserving persons have been registered and the transparency of processes.

ISLAMABAD, June 15 (APP): Minister for Commerce Khurram
Dastgir Khan on Wednesday said Pakistan desired to put in
place port infrastructure along Pak Afghan border to manage goods and human traffic.

“Pak Afghan border cannot be left unmanaged. We are putting in place
port infrastructure to manage traffic and legalize trade between the two countries,” he said in a private news channel programme.

The minister said tension of Pak Afghan border is
affecting bilateral relations as well as trade. “If this border
is properly managed, it will boost trade and help keep record of trans boundary movement of goods and human beings.”

He said tens of thousands people cross Pak Afghan border and
there is need for keeping the record as to who comes into Pakistan and goes back to Afghanistan.

Answering a question about Pakistan’s policy on
Afghanistan, Khurram Dastgir said, Pakistan is pursuing the
policy of non interference in Afghanistan. “Since, the PML N came into power, our government had decided not to interfere in Afghanistan affairs and it was manifested during Afghan general election.”

He further stated that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Advisor
on Foreign Affairs and Chief of Army Staff visited Afghanistan
several times and made them believe that Pakistan will
prefer that Afghanistan owns the initiatives like dialogue with
Taliban and other measures for restoring peace.

He also mentioned initiation of security dialogue
and cooperation between intelligence agencies but stated
that perhaps Afghanistan had thought that Taliban were fully under Pakistan’s control and it will bring them to dialogue table.

“This was a misconceived notion of Afghanistan and when Taliban did not come to dialogue table, Afghanistan thought Pakistan was responsible for this.”

Talking about relations with other neighbors, he said relations with
Iran were normal and both the countries signed a five year economic management plan during visit of Iranian President to Pakistan.

Speaking on the issue of Panama Papers, he said, if the opposition
parties will only focus on the Prime Minister’s House, the matter would become complicated. “The opposition will have to decide that do they want witch hunting of the Prime Minister or evolve a strategy to root out corruption.”

He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif presented himself for accountability and even today the government is ready to resolve the ToR issue and “I am hopeful the matter will be resolved.”

ISLAMABAD, Jun 15 (APP): Minister of State and Chairperson
Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Marvi Memon chaired 26th
meeting of BISP Board on Wednesday and discussed various projects.
Dr. Zeba A Sathar, Yawar Irfan Khan, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Dr.
Ali Cheema, representatives of Finance Division, Cabinet Division,
Foreign Office and Secretary BISP Muhammad Saleem Ahmed Ranjha attended the meeting.

The agenda items of the board meeting included recommendations
of the 2nd meeting of the Governance and Integrity Committee,
payment model to recredit beneficiaries and BISP employees
Efficiency and Discipline Rules.

During her welcome note, Chairperson BISP briefly discussed
the agenda items and also shared the various initiatives being undertaken by the organization.

She informed the board that the pilot phase of new poverty
survey of BISP is getting launched soon.

She further said that two survey approaches i.e. Door to Door
Approach and Desk Approach (self registration) are being employed in
the 16 pilot phase districts to establish value for money of both the approaches, which will facilitate in the decision regarding the approach to be adopted in national roll out for 2017 18.

After thorough deliberations, the board approved the payment
model to re credit beneficiaries.

As per approved model, BISP can request its partner banks to
use available de credited funds for disbursement of payments to 32,217 re credited beneficiaries, after bio metric verification of beneficiaries.

The board was apprised that Part VIII of BISP Employees
Service Regulations dealing with code of conduct is under review.
The board decided to replace the Part VIII (Code of Conduct) of BISP Employees Service Regulations with Government Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1973 till the institutionalization of BISP’s own Regulations.

This measure has been taken to ensure that BISP can take
tighter action against corruption and against its own employees.

The BISP board appreciated the strategic vision and able
guidance of MNA Marvi Memon in steering BISP towards being one of the best social safety net programmes of the world.

It was the fifth BISP Board meeting since she assumed office
of the chairperson in February 2015.

ISLAMABAD, June 15 (APP): President Mamnoon Hussain Wednesday
expressed his deep grief and sorrow over the death of renowned Urdu author, poet and scholar Dr Aslam Farrukhi.

In his condolence message, the President prayed for the
departed should and expressed sympathy with the bereaved family.

He said late Dr Aslam Farrukhi had rendered memorable services
in the field of literary research and mysticism which would be remembered forever.