GILGIT, Sept 12 (APP): Governor Gilgit Baltistan Syed Mehdi Shah on Tuesday called on Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar.
During the meeting, the governor apprised the prime minister of the administrative affairs and law and order situation in Gilgit Baltistan, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.
The governor also thanked the prime minister for visiting Gilgit Baltistan and his special interest in the development of the region.
Governor Mehdi Shah calls on Caretaker PM
President for enhanced cooperation with China, Venezuela, Colombia
ISLAMABAD, Sep 12 (APP): President Dr. Arif Alvi on Tuesday called for more robust cooperation with the People’s Republic of China in the areas of trade, economy, culture and defence.
He said that China was a reliable and tested friend, and Pakistan wanted to further strengthen the strategic relations for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
The president made these remarks during his meetings with the ambassadors-designate of the People’s Republic of China and Venezuela (Non-resident), as well as the Republic of Colombia (Non-resident), who presented their diplomatic credentials and separately called on him at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release.
Welcoming Ambassador-designate of China to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong, the president said that Pakistan highly valued its ties with China as it had always stood by it at difficult times.
He said that Pakistan would continue to support China on all core issues.
Highlighting the importance of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the president said that CPEC would greatly contribute to the socio-economic development of Pakistan.
He said that the project had helped in modernizing “our infrastructure, building our capacity and ensuring a sustainable energy supply”. Pakistan was fully committed to timely completion of all projects under CPEC, he reiterated.
The president expressed his gratitude for China’s unflinching support to Pakistan’s socio-economic development as well as its principled stance on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.
In his meeting with Ambassador-designate of Venezuela Jose Rafael Silva Aponte, the president said that Pakistan placed special emphasis on improving trade and economic relations with Venezuela.
He highlighted that the Venezuelan investors could benefit from investment-friendly policies of Pakistan.
While talking to Ambassador-designate of the Republic of Colombia, Julio Anibal Riano Velandia, President Alvi underlined the need for further enhancing economic, culture and trade relations with Columbia.
The president congratulated the envoys on their appointments and expressed the hope that they would play their role to further enhance bilateral cooperation between their respective countries and Pakistan.
Civil society, media urged to safeguard prestige of martyrs, national heroes
ISLAMABAD, Sep 12 (APP): The Speakers at a seminar to commemorate Defence Day and the Death Anniversary of the father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah urged civil society and media to safeguard the prestige and honour of the martyrs and national heroes for transferring the true guiding examples to the coming generations.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ-Dastoor) organised a special roundtable seminar to highlight the importance of national heroes, founding leaders and martyrs in national building. The welcome remarks were delivered by the former President of National Press Club Islamabad and President PFUJ Dastoor Haji Nawaz Raza.
On the occasion, he said the purpose of observing the two separate days together was to create unanimity among broader concepts for advocating the true essence of national cohesion and honour of their founding leaders and heroes among the youth.
He said every year he used to pay visits to the Mausoleum of Nishan-i-Haider Lance Naik Muhammad Mehfooz Shaheed but this time he invited his nephew to share his thoughts and interact with the journalist’s fraternity to apprise them of the Martyr’s life.
While opening the roundtable discussion, Journalist, Ali Jabir Malik said the country was at the crossroads of history where it was facing an onslaught of intruding ideologies creating despair and confusion among the masses to give up its true ideology of Pakistan.
He said the martyrdom of the valiant martyrs of the armed forces, law enforcement agencies, and other security agencies was a guarantee of a peaceful and stable Pakistan.
The nation should not only esteem its martyrs but rather learn from their lives to seek passion for national service, he added.
“Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah gave the motto of Faith, Unity and Discipline with a deeper vision in its roots as he knew the nation in times to come would have to stand firm against mightier challenges posed by its adversaries. It demands from us to renew our pledge with the motherland and wholeheartedly embrace the advice and principles of Mr Jinnah to resurrect as a resilient nation from the ashes of the crises,” he added.
Senior Journalist, author, and historian from the Independent Urdu, Sajjad Azhar who has written Rawal Raj expressed his candid views during the roundtable. Azhar said, “We have failed to adopt and implement the ideology and teachings of Quaid-e-Azam among our nation which needs to be done on a war footing.”
He regretted that the youth was unable to associate with the history it was taught which should be improved and reinforced with major historical events with clear backgrounds.
Quaid’s first speech to the first legislative assembly of Pakistan on August 11th, 1947 devised the foundations of the true Muslim state, he added.
The government, he said needed to promote that speech and like the Objectives Resolution it should be made an unalterable part of the Constitution, he said.
Nephew of Lance Naik Mehfooz, Asad Maroof while sharing his thoughts said his martyred uncle had a soul full of inspiration and movement to do something unique and different.
“He had a different and unique personality. My father used to tell me that Shaheed Lance Naik Mehfooz used to stand out among all the siblings as a man of unmatched quality and traits. He was highly motivated and ambitious to do something big and exalted,” he said.
During the exhumation of the martyr’s grave, his coffin to another place for creating a separate mausoleum for the Nishan-i-Haider as per its decorum, the body and blood were found fresh like the day one of his martyrdom.
“I am proud to share that I belong to the family of a martyr. As it is said in Holy Quran, Shaheed, are alive and all the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country are the benefactors of the nation,” he added.
Senior Journalist, Dr Abdul Wadood Qureshi said the martyrs of this nation are our heroes and every nation has its heroes and they are proud of them. “Those nations remain alive who respect their martyrs,” he added.
Dr Qureshi said “We need to reset our course and keep our house in order and break the vicious circle of economic decline,” he added.
Secretary General of the Parliamentary Reporters Association (PRA), Naveed Akbar said there was a need to review our history and learn lessons from events like the 1965 War.
“The Security Forces are rendering huge sacrifices for the motherland. The love of the nation for the Armed Forces of Pakistan is unmatched as the martyrs’ loss had created a huge impact on their families and nation,” he said.
“There is no country in the world where so many soldiers are lost on a daily basis. We have faced a prolonged conflict due to the war on terror,” he added.
He emphasised that it was high time to focus on solutions to our problems as a nation. “Nation should recall the vision of the Quaid and revitalize the passion to further strengthen the country,” he added.
Senior Journalist, Khawar Nawaz Raja said, “We pray for our martyrs and esteem them as our pride. We should defend the honour of our country and our martyrs come what may.”
Senior Journalist Rashid Malik from APP said every sacrifice of a martyr has a purpose either meant for achieving a country or to ensure its protection. The nation should remember, respect and follow suit their heroes to achieve success, he added.
President PRA, Usman Khan said the martyrs of the nation rendered great sacrifices for the defence of the country.
“We have forgotten the message of Quaid and need to instil that in our next generation. The propaganda against our martyrs and Quaid should be snubbed and should adopt a way forward to protect their prestige,” he added.
Lesco detects 205 power pilferers
LAHORE, Sep 12 (APP): The Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) detected 205 power pilferers in all its circles and charged them a total of 443,875 units as detection bill amounting to Rs 18.522 million after disconnecting their supply during its sixth day of anti-power theft operation on Tuesday.
A Lesco spokesman confirmed to media here that 205 connections in all circles were found
involved in electricity theft and applications for registration of FIRs against all electricity thieves have been filed in the respective police stations, out of which 105 FIRs have been registered while an accused has also been arrested.
Among the seized connections were one agricultural, six commercial and 198 domestic of categories,and: “We have charged them an accumulative detection units of 443,875 worth Rs 18,522,713,” he added.
The company’s spokesman said that during the sixth day of operation against electricity thieves, large agricultural and commercial consumers were also found pilfering electricity.
Sharing break-up of the seized connections details, he said that 25,000 units of Rs 600,000 were charged to an agricultural connection in Qala Sada Singh Hujra (North); 12,788 units worth Rs 575,500 to commercial connections in Chuhang area on Multan Road; 6132 detection units of Rs 238,535 to customers pilfering electricity directly from main transmission lines in Raja Jang area; and 5936 units of Rs 200,000 to customers stealing electricity on Raiwind Road.
During six days of operation, the Lesco found a total of 1,498 connections pilfering electricity through various means in the region. FIR applications were submitted against 1,497 electricity thieves, out of which 947 FIRs have been registered and a total of 86 accused have been arrested. All the electricity thieves have charged a total of 4,775,973 units as detection bill amounting to Rs 201.751 million.
Meanwhile, Lesco Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Engineer Shahid Haider said, “On the instructions of the prime minister and the Ministry of Energy (Power Division), we have started operation against electricity thieves since Thursday last and we will continue with anti-power theft operation till the time all the electricity thieves are brought to justice.”
Dr. Ramesh terms establishment of Gandhara Corridor as indispensable for country’s prosperity
SKARDU, Sep 12 (APP): Minister of State, Chairman Prime Minister’s Task Force for Gandhara Tourism, Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani Tuesday termed the establishment of Gandhara Corridor as indispensable for the development and prosperity of the country.
He was talking to the media during his visit to the ancient Manthal Buddha Rock, Gilgit Baltistan along with a delegation of Japanese experts, and local citizens.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ramesh Vankwani said that the mesmerizing natural beauty of Gilgit-Baltistan is a great source of attraction for tourists from across the world.
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Regarding his proposed Gandhara Corridor project, Dr. Ramesh Vankwani said that the air corridor being established between the federal capital Islamabad and the capitals of Buddhist-majority countries will facilitate a large number of international Buddhist tourists to land at the Islamabad International Airport will later facilitate their visits to the Gandhara spots in coordination with the provincial authorities.
He said that hundreds of years ago, the followers of Gautama Buddha used to cross the high rocky cliffs of Gilgit-Baltistan to go to China, Japan Korea etc.
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The site of the Buddha Manthal Rock has also been a place of worship for the Tibetans. Historically Skardu has been an important part of Buddhist Tibet in the past and even today Skardu is called Little Tibet (Tibet Khurd), he added.
The image and carvings of the enshrining Buddha from ancient times on the rocky cliffs of Gilgit-Baltistan are evidence of religious devotion to Gautama Buddha.
On this occasion, the Japanese delegation and the followers of Buddha supported the stance of Dr Ramesh and said that it is a heartfelt desire of the citizens of Buddhist-majority countries to visit Gandhara spots located in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Later during an informal meeting with the Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani, Dr. Ramesh Vankwani discussed the way forward to promote Gandhara tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan and promotion of Gandhara art across the country.
Caretaker FM underlines need to invest in youth’s potential for a prosperous Commonwealth
LONDON, Sept 12 (APP): Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Tuesday stressed upon creation of an enabling environment for the young people to succeed and said that a path for a more sustainable, peaceful, prosperous and fairer Commonwealth could be achieved by 2030.
In his opening remarks at the 10th Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Meeting Plenary Session as chairperson, the foreign minister said that the meeting was significant as youth ministers have not met since 2017 and so much had happened in the world since that time.
He appreciated the vision of the Commonwealth members leaders in making this the year, a year dedicated to youth-led development.
The foreign minister said that they had recommended the theme ‘Aiming Higher, Delivering More for young people in the Commonwealth’ for the current meeting.
https://x.com/ForeignOfficePk/status/1701537834702914001?s=20
The theme expressed the combined aspiration and commitment of the Commonwealth family to invest in and promote young people’s development, particularly through the creation of opportunities for youth employment and entrepreneurship, recognising that the future success of the Commonwealth rested with the continued commitment and contributions of young people in promoting and sustaining the Commonwealth, and its values and principles as enshrined in Article 13 of the Commonwealth Charter, Foreign Office Spokesperson, in a press release, quoted the foreign minister as saying.
The foreign minister said “We live in a ‘Young Commonwealth’. (In my own country, Pakistan, almost 70 percent of our citizens are under 30 years of age. I believe we have one of the youngest populations in the Commonwealth). Our work here, in the next few days, would have made a difference in the world.”
Foreign Minister Jilani highlighted that that all Commonwealth member states had taken significant steps to educate and train youth, empower girls and raise awareness about the climate change.
From Pakistan’s perspective, he said the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PYMP) was a flagship program of the government prioritizing youth empowerment.
It strove to mainstreaming and inclusion of marginalized youth; particularly girls, religious and ethnic minorities; persons with disabilities and transgender community, he said and shared the key steps taken in this regard.
These included trained free of cost some 400,000 youth in both high-tech skills and conventional trades, with a special emphasis on catering to foreign markets, instituted a National Innovation Award to encourage young people to come up with innovative and out-of-box solutions to the most pressing challenges of the day, launched the Green Youth Movement for environmental conservation, through some 137 University based Green clubs, engaged youth in meaningful policy making through initiatives such as the National Youth Council and development of a Digital Youth Hub, providing an online portal for securing job opportunities.
The foreign minister said that as Commonwealth member states, they would discuss and implement a robust set of polices and programmes which would help them achieve the targets and goals set out in the SDGs.
For this meeting, he said four sub-themes for were identified for consideration including engagement, education, employment and environment.
The minister said that education was the cornerstone of personal growth and national development. Investing in quality education (formal and non-formal) equipped young individuals with the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities required to tackle the challenges of the modern world.
Creating the conditions for economic empowerment of young people through diverse and inclusive opportunities that aligned with the changing global economy, would assist young people fulfil their talents and abilities, he added.
He further stressed that engagement was the catalyst for building active and responsible citizens. Encouraging youth participation in decision-making processes and civic activities enhanced their sense of belonging and ownership within society.
“The environment is the legacy we leave for current and future generations. As custodians of the planet, it is our responsibility to address climate change and promote sustainable practices. Young people are at the forefront of climate activism, demonstrating a profound commitment to environmental preservation,” he added.
Sarah Mooney calls on Caretaker Sindh Minister
KARACHI, Sep 12 (APP): British Deputy High Commissioner Ms. Sarah Mooney called on the Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (Retd.) Maqbool Baqar at Chief Minister House here on Tuesday.
They discussed bilateral relations and restoration of agriculture after floods in the Sindh province.
The Caretaker CM said that the provincial government was working on the restoration of agriculture.
They also discussed the restoration of old buildings and the restoration of educational activities after the floods.
The Caretaker Chief Minister said that there was a plan to rebuild the school buildings affected by the rains. He said that the Sindh government had done its best work in Public Private Partnership (PPP).
Electricity theft reporting cell established
KOHAT, Sep 12 (APP):In response to the directives issued by the provincial government, the district administration in Kohat has established a District Electricity Theft Reporting Cell within the Office of Deputy Commissioner Kohat.
According to the district administration Kohat on Tuesday, this proactive initiative aimed at curbing electricity theft and extending full support to the District and Tehsil Enforcement Committee in their mission to ensure fair and equitable access to electricity resources for all residents.
Citizens can contact the District Electricity Theft Reporting Cell by calling 0922-920032, where they can register information and complaints regarding electricity theft. This user-friendly approach ensures that reporting is hassle-free and efficient.