Interim government fixes Diyat amount at Rs 67,57,902 for FY24
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP):On the recommendation of the finance ministry, the Interim Federal Cabinet on Tuesday fixed the amount of Diyat, which is equal to 30,630 grams of silver, at Rs 67,57,902 for the year 2023-24.
The meeting of the cabinet was held here under the chairmanship of Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq.
During the meeting, the prime minister informed the meeting about his previous day’s visit to Jaranwala.
He said extremism and religious agitation will never be allowed in the country and protection of minorities in Pakistan was the foremost duty of the state.
He expressed his resolve to punish all those involved in the incident of Jaranwala.
The meeting recommended to organize a national level inter-faith harmony conference next week.
Scholars of different religions and schools of thought would be invited to the conference.
The conference will prove to be an important milestone for the promotion of inter-faith harmony in Pakistan.
Earlier addressing the cabinet, the prime minister said the caretaker government’s prime mandate was to assist, and monitor the electoral process which was the constitutional requirement.
He said keeping in mind the prime mandate, the caretaker government would monitor its day-to-day activities to the best of its abilities.
“We are here as a constitutional continuation for a limited period of time and we are not here to design the government model or structure,” the prime minister said while addressing the cabinet meeting here.
He maintained that as a continuation of the previous government, the caretaker setup was generally supposed to carry on with the general policy until and unless there were any violations of rules or business.
“The National Assembly has retired and we are waiting for the new elections,” he said adding the second arm of the parliament-the Upper House was still there but it could not do legislation alone till there was the Lower House.
He asked the cabinet members to come up with a work plan by taking briefings from their respective ministries and the next cabinet meeting agenda would be based on that work plan.
PM Kakar assures all-out efforts for addressing Balochistan issues
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Tuesday assured of making all- out efforts, on part of the government, for the resolution of issues of Balochistan province.
The prime minister was talking to a six-member delegation from Balochistan province led by Sardar Kamal Khan Bangulzai, a former MNA, that called on him, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.
The delegation felicitated the caretaker prime minister on assuming his office and apprised him of the issues faced by the province.
Federal Minister announces to organize National level literary conference
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): Caretaker Federal Minister for National Heritage and Culture Jamal Shah has said that National level literary conference on linguistics and folk literature would be organized soon, aiming to promote literature and folk literary heritage.
Talking to APP, Federal Minister Syed Jamal Shah said that the conference would offer a platform for regional literary academies from across the country and academicians to present and discuss the languages, cultures, and literature.
The minister said that he has issued directions to the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) and the National Language Promotion Department (NLPD) to initiate work on organizing national-level literary conferences.
Syed Jamal Shah emphasized the need of educating children with local literature and storytelling to arise their interest in reading to enhance their intellectual caliber as juvenile literature played a crucial part in education providing both knowledge and entertainment.
Talking about cultural narrative, he said that the cultural narrative should be based on our rich cultural heritage, adding that the country’s valuable heritage should be our identity.
Jamal Shah stressed for educating youth about folk heritage, culture, and art, adding that Pakistan’s culture, art, and society are heavily influenced by its diverse historical background, starting from the ancient Mohenj-o-Daro to the more recent Mughal era.
Rawalpindi’s dengue tally reaches 101 cases
RAWALPINDI, Aug 22 (APP): Rawalpindi’s dengue total tally had touched 101 cases with the arrival of two more patients during the last 24 hours.
District Coordinator Epidemics Prevention and Control (DCEPC), Dr Sajjad Mehmood Tuesday said that both patients were reported from the Union Council-79 Dhoke Munshi ,Potohar town area.
Presently 26 patients were admitted to the district’s health facilities, out of which 16 were confirmed cases.
During the last 24 hours, Dr Sajjad informed that the district administration had registered 56 FIRs, issued tickets to 13, sealed eight premises, and a fine of Rs 62,000 was imposed against the violations of dengue SOPs.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Hasan Waqar Cheema called upon the residents to keep an eye on junkyards, schools and under-construction buildings and to remove water after rain to prevent the spread of dengue larvae breeding.
He said that staff deployed for the anti-dengue drive had been told that no negligence would be tolerated, adding, 100 percent attendance must be ensured.
Cheema directed the concerned to expedite the anti-dengue surveillance activities to control the growth of dengue larvae by checking the graveyard and other places daily.
In addition, he directed the officials to monitor the dengue teams regularly and update data on dashboards regularly.
NA Speaker urges swift safety measures for individuals stranded on chairlift
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): In response to the alarming situation involving individuals stranded on a chairlift in Paashto, Battatgram, Speaker of the National Assembly, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, has issued urgent directives for the immediate implementation of safety measures.
Emphasizing the critical need to prioritize the safety of the children and teachers caught in the chairlift, he called for immediate rescue operations to commence without delay.
اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی راجہ پرویز اشرف کی بٹگرام میں پاشتو کے مقام پر چیئر لفٹ میں پھنسے 8 افراد کے فوری ریسکیو پر زور
تمام تر وسائل بروئے کار لا کر طالب علموں اور اساتذہ کی محفوظ واپسی کو یقینی بنانے کے لیے ہر ممکن اقدامات کیے جائیں
پوری قوم طالب علموں اور اساتذہ کی محفوظ واپسی…
— National Assembly 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) August 22, 2023
He stressed the utmost urgency of this operation, highlighting the potential risks to lives.
Furthermore, the speaker instructed the immediate deployment of a helicopter and the utilization of all available resources to ensure the safe rescue of the children and teachers stranded on the chairlift.
He extended his heartfelt prayers to Allah Almighty, seeking the protection and well-being of all those affected by this incident.
Caretaker govt to fulfill constitutional requirement of assisting electoral process: Kakar
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP):Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Tuesday said the caretaker government’s prime mandate was to assist, and monitor the electoral process which was the constitutional requirement.
He said keeping in mind the prime mandate, the caretaker government would monitor its day-to-day activities to the best of its abilities.
“We are here as a constitutional continuation for a limited period of time and we are not here to design the government model or structure,” the prime minister said while addressing the cabinet meeting here.
He maintained that as a continuation of the previous government, the caretaker setup was generally supposed to carry on with the general policy until and unless there were any violations of rules or business.
“The National Assembly has retired and we are waiting for the new elections,” he said adding the second arm of the parliament-the Upper House was still there but it could not do legislation alone till there was the Lower House.
He asked the cabinet members to come up with a work plan by taking briefings from their respective ministries and the next cabinet meeting agenda would be based on that work plan.
Rescue operation in Battagram in full swing: Solangi
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): Caretaker Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi said on Tuesday that rescue operation in Battagram was in full swing.
بٹگرام میں امدادی کارروائیاں، وزیراعظم کے حکم پر شروع ہوئیں اور یہ عمل جاری ہے۔ وزارت اطلاعات اور متعلقہ ادارے عوام کو باخبر رکھیں گے۔
— Murtaza Solangi (@murtazasolangi) August 22, 2023
In a tweet, the minister said that said that the relevant authorities including Ministry of Information and Broadcasting would continue updating the people on what was happening on ground.
The rescue operation in Battagram is in full swing. The relevant authorities including ministry of information will continue updating what is happening on the ground.
— Murtaza Solangi (@murtazasolangi) August 22, 2023
India using brute force to suppress Kashmiris’ voice for freedom
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders and parties have denounced the persistent use of military and police force to suppress the people’s genuine voice for their inalienable right to self-determination.
APHC leader Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Noor Muhammad Fayaz, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu Kashmir, Jammu Kashmir National Front, Jammu and Kashmir Political Resistance Movement Chairman Jameel Ahmad, Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement Chairman Altaf Ahmed Butt and Jammu and Kashmir Pirpanchal Movement in their separate statements deplored that nearly one million Indian occupation forces were patrolling the roads and streets of IIOJK had utterly failed to block the legitimate right to self-determination demand a peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute as guaranteed by the United Nations resolutions.
The statements, while expressing deep concern over the military and police siege in Kashmir, said that the overwhelming public support for the genuine demand for plebiscite and freedom despite the deprivation of their fundamental rights had frustrated one million Indian forces, their agencies, and the puppet regime on the ground level.
They urged the United Nations to take serious cognizance of the deteriorating human rights situation and widespread gross human rights violations at the hands of Indian forces and the puppet regime in the length and breadth of the occupied territory and help resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Pharmaceutical goods export increases 8.87% during July 2023
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): The export of Pharmaceutical goods witnessed an increase of 8.87 percent during the first month of the current financial year (2023-24), against the exports of the corresponding period of last year.
The country exported pharmaceutical goods worth US $26.205 million during July 2023 against the exports of US $24.069 million during July 2022, showing growth of 8.87 percent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
In terms of quantity, the pharmaceutical goods export also rose by 144.27 percent from 2,098 metric tons to 5,125 metric tons, the data revealed.
Meanwhile, on a month-on-month basis, pharmaceutical exports went up by 19.58 percent during July 2023 as compared to the exports of US $21.914 million in June 2023, the PBS data revealed.
It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s overall merchandise export declined by 8.09 percent in July 2023 as compared to the export of July 2022.
The exports during the month were recorded at US$2,068 million against the exports of US$2,250 million in last July.
The imports also declined by 25.62 percent to US$3,705 million in July 2023 compared to the exports of US$4,981 million in July 2022.
Based on the figures, the merchandize trade deficit declined by 40.06 percent by going down from a deficit of US$2.371 million last July to US$ 1.637 million in July 2023, according to PBS data.