Youngsters playing volleyball at a local park in Bhara Kaho
Top seed Waqas, Abid win 1st round clash of Benazir Bhutto Tennis C’ships
ISLAMABAD, Dec 14 (APP):Top seed pair Waqas Malik and Muhammad Abid defeated Muzzamil Murtaza and Muddassir Murtaza in straights sets 6-4, 7-6 (5) in first round men’s doubles clash of the 8th Benazir Bhutto (Shaheed) National Tennis Championships 2022 here at Islamabad Tennis Courts on Wednesday.
The 2nd set saw a seesaw battle as both pairs held their serves but in the tie-break Muzzamil and Mudassir committed unforced errors at crucial stages, losing the grip on the game to suffer a straight-set defeat.
On Wednesday, 1st and 2nd rounds for different categories were played, including men singles, under 18 boys, under 14 boys, under 10, under 12 and men’s doubles.
Results:
Men’s singles results:
2nd round: Asad Ullah bt Waqas Malik 6-2, 6-2; Abdullah Adnan bt Daisuke Unemi 6-1, 6-2; Bial Asim bt Imran Bhatti 6-4,3-6,6-1; Heera Ashiq bt Hamza Asim 7-5,6-2.
U-18 boys’ singles results:
2nd round:Uzair Khan bt Kamran Khan 7-6(7),6-3; Mahtir Muhamad bt Hamza Roman 6-3,6-4; Hamid Israr bt M-Salar 6-2,6-1; M.Talha khan bt Ibrahim Noman 6-1,6-1; Ahmed Nael bt Sameer Kiyani 6-0,6-2; Abdul Hanan bt M.Huzaifa Khan 6-3,1-6,6-4; Bilal Asim bt Haziq Aasim 6-2,6-0;
U-14 boys’ singles results:
2nd round: Abdul Hanan bt Saqib Ali 4-0, 4-0; Nabeel Qayum bt Ahmed Khan 4-0, 4-1;Muzamil Bhand bt Anees Khan 4-1, 4-1; M.Hassan Usman bt Haziq Areejo 4-1, 4-1; Hashir Alam bt Razik Sultan 4-1,-4-1; Haziq Asim bt M. Arsalan 4-1,4-0; Abdul Khan bt Ali Zain 4-5(5),4-0,4-2; Hamza Hussain bt Abdur Rehaman 4-0,4-0;
U-12 Boys’/ Girls’ singles results:
First round: Ahsan ullah Kabir bt Abdul wasay 5-3, 5-3; Ahmed Khan bt Majid Ali Bachani 4-1, 4-2; Ahmed Shaikh bt Ali Bachani 4-1,4-1; Romail Shahid bt M-Saqib (W-O); Shayan Afridi bt Moazzam Baber 4-1,4-0; Essa Fahd bt Anees Khan 1-4,4-1,5-3; Razik Sultan bt Ahmed Ali Bhand 4-1,4-1; Unasha Noor bt M-Maaz Areejo 4-0,4-0.
Ahmed Khan bt Majid Ali Bachani 4-1, 4-2; Junaid Khan bt Behroz Maimaon 4-0, 5-4(5); Saqib Ali bt Mahd Mehmood 4-0, 4-0; Haziq Areejo bt Qasim ul Khair 4-0,4-0; Zayd Zaman bt M. Ehsan Bari 4-0,4-1; Rashid Ali Bachani bt M. Ibrahim Gill 4-0,4-1; M.Hassan Usmani bt Chengiz Leghari 4-0,4-0.
Men’s Doubles results:
First round: Aqeel Khan/Asim Zaib Khan bt Usman Ijaz/Shahzad Khan 6-3, 3-2 Ret; M.Abid/Waqas Malik bt Muzamil Mumtaz/Mudasir Mumtaz 6-3, 7-6(4); Saqib Hayat/Asad Ullah bt Nofil Kaleem/Hasam Khan 67-6(5),4-6,10-8; Imran Bhatti/Abdullah Adnan bt M-Talha Khan/M.Huzaifa Khan 6-0,6-2;Mahatir Muhamad/Bial Asim bt Ahmed Baber/Parbhat Kumar 6-1,6-0; M.Sohaib/Barkat Ullah bt Daisuke/Hamza Asim 6-1,6-1; Faizan Fayaz/Jabir Ali bt Murtaza Husaini/Amin Khan (W-O); Heera Ashiq/Yousuf Khalil bt Nael Qureshi/Hamid Israr 7-6(5),2-6,10-7;
U-10 Boys’/ Girls’ singles results:
First round: M.Faizan bt Amaila Aidrus 4-0, 4-0;
2nd round: Hajra bt Zayd Aidrus 4-0,4-0; Moazzam Baber bt Alistair (w/o); Shayan Aidrus bt Zara Aidrus 4-0,4-0.
Foreign Secy shares with diplomats dossier on Indian terrorism
The foreign secretary briefed diplomatic missions based in Islamabad on state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan – planned, conducted and financed by India.
He asked the international community to hold India accountable for its crimes.
State may take steps to mainstream PWDs: Pirzada
ISLAMABAD, Dec 14 (APP): Federal Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada on Wednesday said the state might take steps to mainstream the Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) by making them the enabling members of society.
“The Persons with Disabilities are facing the challenges of accessibility, empowerment, rehabilitation, and inclusion. It is indeed the duty of the state to bring them into the mainstream of society by making them enabling members,” he said while inaugurating the ‘Orthopedic Workshop’ here at the National Special Education Centre for Physically Handicapped Children organised by the Directorate General of Special Education (DGSE).
Representatives of the Ministry of Human Rights, government officials, social workers, and members from non-governmental organisations and civil society attended the ceremony.
Riaz Pirzada appreciated the Directorate General of Special Education for taking initiatives for the betterment of PWDs. The provision of artificial limbs, prosthetics, and orthosis devices to children and adults with physical impairment and deformity would change their lives.
He emphasised the need of expanding services and providing modern facilities to the PWDs, besides exploring new avenues and projects for their facilitation.
Director General of Special Education Sheikh Azhar Sajjad, in his welcome remarks, said the DGSE and its allied institutions were engaged in the rehabilitation, education, and training of PWDs. They were also enhancing their present capacity to uplift the living standards and functional mobility of individuals with disabilities.
He said the Directorate General of Special Education was contributing to the training and capacity building of the professionals, teachers, and supporting staff in the field of special education.
FM says U.S. religious freedom violator listing ‘biased & politicised’
ISLAMABAD, Dec 14 (APP): Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has rejected the United States’ listing of Pakistan as a state of “particular concern” over religious freedoms and pointed out its bias as to how India has escaped the list.
The US, in November, had grouped Pakistan along with 11 other countries, including China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and North Korea, as being states that were “engaged in or (have) tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom”.
“It does seem that this is a slightly biased and politicised list,” Bilawal Zardari told Channel News Asia in an interview during his official visit to Singapore, posted on its website on Wednesday.
“Otherwise I do wonder why India is not on the list when its human rights, particularly religious freedom for their Muslim minority” had been a source of concern internationally, he said.
“Another ally of the US in the Middle East … which perpetuates curbs against (its) Muslim minority (and) Palestine” also did not make the list, FM Bilawal added, referring to Israel.
Nonetheless, he acknowledged Pakistan’s longstanding issues with religious extremism and violence, and pledged his government’s commitment to tackle them.
“(We) don’t need America to point out the problems that we in Pakistan face with religious extremism, with terrorism. That is a cause that is dear to my heart,” he added.
Bilawal said, “We’re absolutely cognizant of the challenges we face. And we’re serious about facing those challenges. Not because the United States said so or anybody else (said so). It’s because we believe that’s important for the future of our country.”
On India, he said the country had changed for the worse.
“The India I grew up with … it was the largest democracy in the world. It was a secular country, home to all its citizens – Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists. Unfortunately, the India I see today is not the India I recognise growing up.
“This is an increasingly fascist India. It is hostile to Muslims outside its borders and within its borders, it is hostile to the Christians within its borders,” he added.
On the Ukraine issue, Bilawal said although he sympathised with Ukraine, Pakistan had its own issues to deal with and did not want to be involved in other conflicts.
“There is too much misery going around in my own neighbourhood for us to be driven to engage with what is of course a devastating situation being carried out in Ukraine.”
The foreign minister termed Pakistan’s relationship with China “very comprehensive”, with much economic potential.
“We’ve seen a commitment to incredible economic opportunity in our engagement with China. For example, with the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), we have seen our communication and energy infrastructure really come up in the last decade,” he said.
“We call ourselves all-weather strategic partners, and we pride ourselves on the history of our relationship with China. There’s a lot of economic potential for us to unlock,” Bilawal added.
US, Pak partner for $40m activity to build healthy families
ISLAMABAD, Dec 14 (APP): Mission Director for United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Reed Aeschliman and Sindh Minister for Health and Population Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho launched a new family planning, maternal, newborn, and child health programme.
The US government-funded $40 million “Building Health Families Activity (BHFA)” would operate in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to enhance primary healthcare systems, said a press release.
The activity would support voluntary family planning (FP) and improve maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services in Pakistan, it added.
Mission Director Aeshliman said: “The United States has a long history of partnership with the government of Sindh. USAID is committed to strengthening this relationship by building upon the foundation and legacy of our partnership and a shared goal to save and improve lives.”
Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho lauded the continued support from the US government through USAID and emphasized the Sindh government’s commitment towards improving health care for the people.
“Focus on healthcare equity is fundamental to BHFA’s approach, and the activity is committed to addressing the needs of women, girls, and youth as well as people traditionally marginalized from accessing quality healthcare. Making health systems resilient to shocks from climate change is another core focus,” the PR added.
It further said the activity would meaningfully engage men and boys, strengthen human resources for health, deploy new digital health solutions, and ensure commodity and supply chain security for FP/ MNCH services, eventually contributing to more resilient health systems.
