A woman vendor waiting for customer to sell guava at her roadside setup
Farmers women busy in their routine work in field at Tando Jam
England team players celebrates after won the 2nd test match played between Pakistan and England teams at Multan Cricket Stadium. England won the match by 26 runs
President for extensive facilitation of disabled at NADRA centres
ISLAMABAD, Dec 12 (APP):President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday emphasized the need for uniform, comprehensive and all-inclusive facilitation of Differently-Abled Persons (DAPs) for their registration with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
Talking to NADRA Chairman Muhammad Tariq Malik, the president stressed on resolving the issues pertaining to issuance of identity cards, provision of healthcare facilities, and assessment of their disability level and its nature in a hassle-free manner.
He said the DAPs’ inclusiveness was essential for developing a strong and healthy society.
During the meeting, the president urged the need for a comprehensive and inclusive awareness campaign at the national and provincial levels to eliminate discrimination against the DAPs in society and to remove stigmas and stereotypes.
He also called for granting complete access to the disabled in mainstream educational institutions without any discrimination or non-professional treatment. He said training institutions should take steps for the inclusion of DAPs, and devise special curricula and techniques for their skill development.
He said employers should factor in their disabilities and create special jobs for the disabled, besides providing them with Assistive Technology so that their full potential could be realized.
The president said the medical boards to assess the disability of the DAPs across Pakistan should have the same terms of reference, procedures, and forms.
He appreciated NADRA for giving free-of-cost services to the DAPs, establishing exclusive counters, and creating barrier-free access in most of its centres across the country.
President Alvi also emphasized the need for creating awareness of different incentives and schemes offered for the DAPs at various levels, including stipends under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), discounted entry at Metro Bus Service, BRT Peshawar, railways and Pakistan International Airlines so that they could avail the services and enhance their productivity.
The president also appreciated the issuance of juvenile cards by NADRA and also urged the need to create plastic-based cards for the DAPs from ages five to nine years, which would be useful for them and also be easy to keep.
He said the best practices developed by NADRA to facilitate the PWDs (People with disabilities), and the best practices of other federal institutions in providing services to the DAPs should be shared with all the provinces at all levels for their duplication to provide better facilities to them.
He also appreciated NADRA for maintaining a record of around 0.6 million registered disabled persons, stressing that the0 ratio needed to be increased.
The president said that unfortunately the DAPs continued to face a wide array of issues, including the lack of wheelchair-friendly ramps, screen readers, braille, signage, and employment opportunities, and stressed the need for all relevant stakeholders to take measures for extending the benefits of the modern and Assistive Technology to support them.
Book “Living Under Hybrid War” launched
ISLAMABAD, Dec 12 (APP): The NUST Institute of Policy Studies (NIPS) organized a book launching ceremony titled “Living Under Hybrid War” edited by Dr. Ashfaque Hasan Khan and Dr. Farah Naz here on Monday.
Among those in attendance were the Russian Ambassador to Pakistan, Defense Attaches, veteran statesmen, think tank experts, seasoned analysts, researchers, and students.
The welcome remarks were delivered by the Director NUST Institute of Policy Studies Dr. Ashfaque Hasan Khan.
He paid compliments to the editors and contributors of the book for such fine and holistic work and mentioned the utmost importance and relevance of the book.
Dr. Ashfaque Hasan Khan, Principal NUST School of Social Sciences and Humanities (S3H) and Director General NUST Institute of Policy Studies, and the editor of the book ‘Living Under Hybrid War’ while introducing the book stated that it is an outcome of a thorough study of numerous instruments being used as a tool of Hybrid warfare.
He commended all the experts of different domains who have authored chapters covering the nature of hybrid war, economic coercion, and domestic politics as an instrument of hybrid war, narrative warfare and lawfare to make it a comprehensive product in the realm of hybrid warfare.
Dr. Farah Naz, Assistant Professor at the Department of Government and Public Policy, NUST, Pakistan, is the co-editor of the Book “Living Under Hybrid War”.
Dr. Naz appreciated all contributors to the book for their insightful chapters. On hybrid war, Dr. Naz stressed that in the digital age, narratives play an important role in shaping the focus of the world towards the issue.
To effectively fight the hybrid war, Pakistan needs to build a strong central narrative and create channels through which those narratives are propagated.
In a pre-recorded speech by Dr. Leonid Savin, Editor-in-chief of Geopolitica.ru, congratulated the team, including editors and contributors, who have prepared this valuable compilation. Dr. Savin, who is also a contributor to the book, mentioned that the chapters of all the authors in this book are very thought-provoking.
The different articles in this book elaborate on hybrid war through the different lenses like psychological influence, cyberspace, and activities of international financial organizations against nation-states.
Dr. Savin remarked that this is also a moment of appreciation that bilateral relations between Russia and Pakistan are improving, and we hope for further collaboration in the future.
General (Retd) Zubair Mahmood Hayat NI(M), the Guest of Honor for the Book Launch Ceremony, congratulated the editors and contributors of the book for such exceptional work.
He mentioned that owing to Pakistan’s geostrategic location, it remains engulfed in the hybrid war through political narratives, security risks, and economic dependency.
He further added that in the past debt traps, exploitation of societal fault lines, terrorism, and extremism have been deployed against Pakistan.
However, he concluded that Pakistan is a country with immense potential and resilience and with strong narratives and awareness of the existing challenges, Pakistan will be able to emerge successfully from the Hybrid War.
All of the guests present extended their congratulations to the editors and contributors to the book, and appreciated their fine and comprehensive work.
A view of long queue of trolleys loaded with sugarcane in front of sugar mills at Jhang Road
A painter busy in paint solar panel stand at Sargodha Road
Farmers busy in collecting and packing cauliflower in their field
A beautiful view of mustard field
KP, Punjab CMs rejected Imran Khan’s announcement of dissolving assemblies: Muqam
PESHAWAR, Dec 12 (APP): Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Engineer Amir Muqam on Monday said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab’s chief ministers rejected Imran Khan’s announcement to dissolve the two provincial assemblies.
In his reaction to the press conference of KP CM in Islamabad about the budget, Muqam claimed Mahmood Khan’s press conference was a slap on the face of Imran Khan’s announcement to dissolve the two assemblies, adding that it proved that the two CMs had not only rejected Imran Khan’s announcement but also declared him a liar.
Muqam said that it was better for Mahmood Khan to go to Peshawar and sign the paper on the dissolution of provincial assembly than to make false claims in Islamabad.
“Those who made Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province economically bankrupt in 9-year are trying to make a plot today,” Amir Muqam said and added that Imran Khan’s KP government was Nawaz Sharif’s political charity.
Muqam said that Mahmood Khan should not forget that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had arranged to pay billions of rupees to KP under the head of electricity dues.