Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in a delegation-level talks with Turkish President H.E Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif holds a joint press conference along with Turkish President H.E Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif being received by Turkish President H.E Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Presidential Place
PM visit to Turkiye to strengthen cooperation in exchange of defense products, technology transfer: Rana Ihsaan Afzal
ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 (APP): Coordinator to Prime Minster of Pakistan on Commerce and Industry, Member ECC Pakistan Rana Ihsaan Afzal Khan on Friday said that there was a lot of potential for trade between Pakistan and Turkiye as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Ankara was to strengthen cooperation, especially in exchange of defense products and technology transfer, adding it would bear fruitful results.
Talking to Pakistan Television (PTV), he said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Turkiye was very important owing to the fact that Ankara had always proved to be the best friend of Pakistan in the past as well.
He cited examples where Pakistan and Turkiye had collaborated in the past to deliver important public-related projects such as Solid Waste Management Project or Metro Project in Lahore city.
Rana Ihsaan Afzal Khan likened the third of four MILGEM Corvette Ships for the Pakistan Navy’s PNS Khaibar project with the second major project of the CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder Project, saying it was jointly inaugurated by the PM Shehbaz Sharif and President Erdogan.
Talking about Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan’s long march, he said that the Ministry of Interior had offered PTI to resolve the issues through parleys. He added the current approach by PTI chief Imran Khan to exert pressure on the government in a bid to make his demand fulfilled was “unconstitutional”.
He further suggested the PTI to come back to the Parliament (National Assembly) and try to resolve the issues legally by playing the role of the opposition.
Replying to a question, he said that a threat alert was issued to PTI chief by the Ministry of Interior, meanwhile advising the latter to call off the long march as terrorists could take advantage of it to spread chaos in the country.
On the contrary, if they take a long march, the federation would provide all possible security support with full responsibility, he added.
Quipping Imran Khan for purportedly changing narratives and taking U-turns, he said that the people had realized that his (Imran) narratives were “false”, adding this had ended his popularity.
Dar congratulates Anwar Ibrahim on becoming Malaysian PM
ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 (APP):Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar here on Friday congratulated Anwar Ibrahim on taking oath of office as the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
In a tweet, the minister said, Pakistan would be happy to work closely with his government to further deepen the longstanding fraternal ties between our two brotherly countries.
“Heartiest congratulations to H.E. Mr Anwar Ibrahim @anwaribrahim on taking oath of office as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Pakistan will be happy to work closely with his government to further deepen the longstanding fraternal ties between our two brotherly countries,” he tweeted.
PM suggests Turkiye to join CPEC for regional progress, poverty alleviation
ISTANBUL, Nov 25 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday while vowing to boost Pak-Turkiye trade and defence cooperation, suggested that Turkiye should join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to bring about regional prosperity, alleviate poverty and empower the people through better education and health facilities.
The prime minister, addressing a joint press stakeout along with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan here, said Pakistan had been “experiencing and enjoying” the benefits of the CPEC under the Belt and Road Initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“I would suggest that let this be a cooperation between China, Pakistan and Turkiye. This would be a wonderful joint cooperation. This will bring prosperity and progress to this entire region. This will help alleviate poverty and unemployment. This will certainly empower our poor people. This will promote education and health. This is how we can meet the challenges of today,” the prime minister remarked.
He said that he would be “happy” to discuss the matter with the Chinese leadership if Turkiye moved ahead on the idea of joining the CPEC.
Lauding President Erdogan’s warm hospitality, the prime minister started his remarks by conveying condolences over the loss of life in a recent terror incident in Istanbul and prayed for peace of the departed souls.
He said having sacrificed thousands of lives to terrorism, Pakistan could understand the feeling of the Turkish people and called for joint efforts to wipe out terrorism in all forms and manifestations, not only from Pakistan and Turkiye but the whole world.
Referring to the launching ceremony of the third of the four MILGEM Corvette Ships for the Pakistan Navy, PNS Khaybar, the prime minister said the project was the manifestation of sincerity, purpose and commitment to enhance mutual cooperation.
The prime minister said at a time when the tensions were escalating in the world and the international prices of commodities were skyrocketing and going beyond the reach of developing countries, so it was important to take the defence cooperation to a higher level for defence of the two brotherly countries.
He said Pakistan and Turkiye’s defence cooperation should now meet new challenges and have a much bigger scale in terms of skills, expertise and cooperation.
Shehbaz Sharif said in their meeting the two leaders underscored the effective implementation of the trade and goods agreement the two countries had signed in August this year.
He said the trade volume of $1 billion between Pakistan and Turkiye did not reflect the brotherly relations and called for all-out efforts to achieve the target of $5 billion dollar trade.
In his remarks, Turkish president Erdogan said that both countries were hopeful of further increasing their relations in trade, defence and other sectors.
He said Turkiye fully supported Pakistan’s fight against terrorism and thanked Pakistan for supporting Turkiye against the terrorist act of the Fatih organisation.
He said 2022 marked the celebration of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
Expressing grief over the deaths and destruction caused by floods, the Turkish president said, “Our solidarity has been shown to each other during challenging times… Pakistan’s joy is our joy and their grief is our grief.”
Bloomberg pitches Pakistan’s default probability at low of 10%: Dar
ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 (APP): Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar said here Friday that Bloomberg has pitched Pakistan’s one year probability of default at a low of 10 percent.
In a tweet, the minister said the default probability was quite opposed to a highly dubious number of 93 percent circulated by an unscrupulous local political leader a few days ago.
The minister also shared on his twitter account the graph of Bloomberg’s Estimated Default Probability in Emerging Markets (One-year probability of default).
He said, Pakistan would continue to honor its all financial commitments on time.
“#Bloomberg pitches Pakistan’s one year probability of default at a low of 10% as opposed to a highly dubious number of 93% circulated by an unscrupulous local political leader a few days ago. Pakistan will inshaAllah continue to honor its all financial commitments on time!” he tweeted.
Mushaal urges Int’l community to take notice of Indian brutalities in IIOJK
ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 (APP): Mushaal Hussein Malick, wife of jailed Kashmiri Hurriyat leader Yasin Mullick has appealed the International community to take notice of worst Indian brutalities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K).
Addressing a seminar organised here on Friday by Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) on International day for the elimination of violence against women, she said that Indian occupying forces were using rape as a weapon of war
to punish the entire Kashmiri community.
Chairperson Peace and Culture Organization Mushaal Malick said that India has been violating the clauses regulating sexual violence under international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL), said a press release.
She said that rape and violence used as a weapon of terror constitute a crime against humanity and those responsible should face criminal sanctions.
Mushaal said that the Indian army, police and paramilitary forces involved in sexual violence since 1989 and more than 11,000 women have been raped or gang-raped by Indian occupying forces in IIOJK.
She further said that most vulnerable people in war zones areas are women and children.
Mushaal explained that women in IIOJ&K have horrified titles of half-widow or half mothers and according to Kashmir human right organisation, around 2,500 women have been forced to live as half-widows.
She also cited the report of Kashmiri human rights organisations that revealed that 22,944 women have become widows as a result of the ongoing state terrorism by India since January 1989, as their husbands were killed by Indian forces or police.
Narrating her own story, Mushaal said that she and her two-year-old daughter also faced a worst kind of mistreatment in IIOJ&K when she went there to meet her husband.
She asked the International community and global rights bodies to come forward as women in IIOJK have been enduring egregious human rights abuse, including sexual violence, rape, and molestation for over seven decades.
Concerted efforts required to resolve problems of political, ethnic friction: Kamran Tessori
HYDERABAD, Nov 25 (APP): Governor Sindh Kamran Khan Tessori on Friday said all the political stakeholders will have to work in a concerted way to find solutions to the problems of political and ethnic friction which is affecting the harmony of the province.
Talking to the media after meeting President of Qaumi Awami Tehreek Ayaz Latif Palijo, at his residence in Qasimabad, here, Tessori emphasized that the time had come when the stakeholders must focus their energies on finding solutions rather than relying on the blame games.
“We have plunged ourselves in the fruitless exercise of proving each other wrong, and while doing so, we have left the people’s issues behind,” he contended.
“We are obliged to change the system and this will only happen when we all are on the same page,” he underscored.
The governor appreciated the efforts of the Sindh government for relief and rehabilitation of the flood and rain-affected people, expressing hope that the results of those efforts would soon become evident.
He said the federal government and the well-off persons besides the non government organizations and the friendly countries also played their parts to help the affected people.
He, however, reiterated that the government could not wait for foreign aid to help the people rehabilitate rather the nation’s own resources would have to be utilized towards that end.
He said both the federal and provincial governments want to ensure that the bureaucrats and other people who were involved in the mega corruption in M6 Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway project to be held accountable.
Palijo, meanwhile, also agreed with the governor about bringing all the stakeholders on the same page for mutually acceptable solutions.
“We want to make Sindh a hub of peace, prosperity and justice,” he said.
He maintained that most parts of Sindh were still under water, asking the governor to play his role to ensure early drainage of the water so that the people could restart farming.
He said not only the Sindh government but the center should also pay attention towards improving the quality of education in the province.
“The center should announce a special package for jobs and education for people of Sindh,” he demanded.
The local leaders of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) MPA Rashid Khilji and others were present on the occasion.
The governor later visited Akbari Sports Ground in Latifabad Unit 8 where he was invited as the chief guest in Abdul Munaf Nizamani Football Tournament.
First Lady Begum Samina Arif Alvi addressing an advocacy seminar on ending Tuberculosis in Pakistan
