Chairman Pakistan People’s Party and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif
Chairman Pakistan People’s Party and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif
Federal Minister for Interior Rana Sana Ullah Khan inaugurating Machine Readable Passport System at Pakistan Embassy
British High Commissioner calls on Dar
ISLAMABAD, Aug 3 (APP): British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Jane Marriott CMG OBE called on Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar at Finance Division.
The finance minister extended a warm welcome to the newly appointed High Commissioner Jane Marriott, said a press release issued here on Friday.
Dar underscored the significance of long historic ties between Pakistan and the United Kingdom and discussed the avenues available for both countries to expand these relations further for mutual gains of the two sides.
The finance minister also apprised her of the overall economic outlook of the country and the challenges faced by the outgoing government during its tenure.
He also shared the measures and policy decisions taken by the government to overcome those challenges that resulted in putting the economy of the country on stability leading to a positive trajectory.
The two sides further discussed the current macroeconomic situation of the world as well as Pakistan.
The British High Commissioner reciprocated the sentiments about long-standing relations between the two countries and expressed the desire of the British authorities to further foster the bilateral relations between the two countries in various fields.
Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar extended his support and cooperation to the British High Commissioner.
President urges focus on poverty alleviation, education, preventive health
ISLAMABAD, Aug 3 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi Thursday here underscored the need for focus on poverty alleviation, education, and preventive health to bring real change in Pakistan and ensure the protection of rights of deprived communities.
Speaking at a ceremony of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICC), he urged that the foundation of the country needed to be strengthened and basic issues like education and health should be resolved to put Pakistan on the path of further progress and prosperity.
He underlined the need for better decision-making and implementation of policies in the economic and social sectors to transform society for the better.
He cited the example of Korea which adopted the policies of Pakistan’s economist Dr Mehboob ul Haq in the 1960s and grew speedily, saying in the past in Pakistan only lip service was paid and the country could not make its economy flourish.
He said investments in the real estate sector were important but the money should stay in circulation instead of getting stuck in buying of properties, adding wealth should be shared and invested for gainful employment of the people.
He said the concept of nation-state pursued by European countries failed in many aspects, exploited humans and could not stop bloodshed even in the present century, for example in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
He said Pakistan was an Islamic democratic state and its people should be guided by the Quran, Sunnah and opinions of its religious scholars and communities. Reciting the verses of Quran, he said Quran offered solutions for living a moral life leading to the righteous path.
The President was of the view that Islam was not only about rituals but had some basic concepts which should be adopted to keep traveling on the righteous path.
Muslims in Pakistan should inculcate fear of Allah, adopt values of honesty and piety and cultivate the spirit of sharing one’s earnings with the needy and vulnerable people in society, he emphasised.
“We should have strong faith in the revelations of Quran and the hereafter and we should take care of the needs of the poor to seek blessings of Allah.”
Dr Alvi said Pakistan should not rely on foreign aid but people should focus on improving their character, developing a sense of community, giving charity and pursuing values that create a better and God-fearing society.
Society as a whole should take steps to empower women because Quaid-e-Azam categorically stated that without progress of women Pakistan could not move forward, he said adding Islam was the first religion that gave women the right to inheritance.
He lamented the fact that 27 million children in Pakistan were out of school and were deprived of education which should be a matter of grave concern for the policymakers, adding the rights of persons with disabilities should be protected.
President ICCI Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari also spoke on the occasion and highlighted issues faced by the business community.
Earlier, he gave away recognition shields among the former vice presidents of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).
Dar chairs CCoIGCT meeting
ISLAMABAD, Aug 3 (APP): Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions (CCoIGCT) on Thursday.
The CCoIGCT considered a summary of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs regarding the Commercial Agreement between AD Ports UAE and KPT for Out-sourcing of Bulk and General Cargo East Wharf Karachi Port operations, said a press release issued here.
The CCoIGCT discussion approved the Price Discovery Mechanism in the light of the discussion and constituted a committee to negotiate and frame a commercial agreement to be signed between the nominated agencies of the UAE
and Pakistan for the development of Bulk and General Cargo Terminal at West Wharf, Karachi Port.
Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Faisal Ali Subzwari, Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan, SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa, SAPM Revenue Tariq Mehmood Pasha, Secretary Maritime Affairs, Secretary Law & Justice, Special Secretary Finance, Chairman KPT and his team and other senior government officers attended the meeting.
Information Ministry, SLIC sign MoUs to provide health cards to journalists, media workers & artists
ISLAMABAD, Aug 03 (APP): The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) on Thursday signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to provide health cards to journalists, media workers, artists, and technicians associated with the film industry.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb graced the MoU ceremony as special guests.
Principal Information Officer (PIO) Mobashir Hassan and SLIC Executive Director Shahid Iqbal signed the MoU for health insurance of journalists and media workers, while the agreement for the provision of health insurance to artists and technical experts was signed by Directorate of Electronic Media Publications Director General Samina Farzin and SLIC Divisional Head Muhammad Ashar.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Economy and Energy Bilal Azhar Kiyani, Secretary of Information and Broadcasting Sohail Ali Khan, and SLIC Chairman Shoaib Javed were also present on the occasion.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and SLIC also attended the MoU signing ceremony.
PM’s opponents donning canisters in public to avoid their wrath: Marriyum
ISLAMABAD, Aug 03 (APP): Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Thursday that the opponents of Prime Minister Shehbaz Shairf had been donning canisters, buckets and boxes during their appearance in the courts to evade wrath of the public who bore the brunt of their corrupt, incompetent and inefficient four-year rule.
Addressing the opening ceremony of Bara Kahu Bypass Project, the minister said the country plunged into economic quagmire and the economy was on the verge of default by the end of four- year tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
She said the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had not only saved the country from default, but also charted it on the path of progress and development.
Marriyum said the completion of mega Bhara Kahu bypass project in a short span of time under the leadership of PM Shehbaz Sharif was a miracle.
On the contrary, the previous government indulged in excessive advertising, even if it installed a hand pump in any area of the country, she added.
“Completion of mega development projects like the Bara Kahu bypass in a few months is nothing short of a miracle,” she said, adding she had never seen such projects in the history of Islamabad.
The minister said the people of Galiyat, Kashmir, Murree and Hazara would always be grateful to the prime minister who had ensured completion of the project in a short period of only ten months.
Thousands of people including patients and youth traveled through the road everyday and they would benefit from the bypass, she added.
She said her native town was Bhurban, and she had traveled on this road which used to face traffic jams for hours.
Marriyum said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had linked all routes within Islamabad and Rawalpindi through metro buses.
“Every citizen today travels in the Metro Bus in a dignified way,” she said highlighting the vision of the prime minister who took the initiative to connect every route of the service with every sector of Islamabad, besides providing access to the airport.
The minister said many development projects had been launched in the rural areas of Islamabad during the last 15 months, and no such example could be traced in the past.
She criticized the last PTI regime which ruined the country by reversing the progress made during the previous tenure of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.
She said the incumbent government steered the country out of multiple crises in a short period of 15 months.
Patel inaugurates G-13 community health centre
ISLAMABAD, Aug 03 (APP): Minister for National Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel on Thursday inaugurated the state-of-the-art 70-bed community health centre in G-13 sector.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the minister said that a large number of population will get benefit from this centre.
He said that mother and child healthcare services will also be provided at the centre besides availability of child specialist and children vaccination facility.
He said that basic blood tests, ultrasound and X-ray facility will also be provided to the patients.
He said that the centre will provide treatment of all primary level diseases to local population.
The minister also launched the 300-bed Federal Government Polyclinic extension project.
Under the project, a hospital will be established in the federal capital which will be completed in three years.
The project Federal Government Polyclinic-II will be started at G-11/3 to meet the increasing health needs of citizens.
The minister said that this hospital will ensure medical services to not only people of federal capital but Gilgit- Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir also.
Religious leaders call for ‘day of mourning’ on Friday to condemn Bajaur terror act
ISLAMABAD, Aug 03 (APP): Religious leaders from different schools of thought have declared Friday a day of mourning and prayers to honour the victims of the Bajaur terror incident and denounce terrorism that has plagued the nation.
Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, Council of Islamic Ideology Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz, Pir Naqib-ur-Rehman, Sahibzada Hassan Haseeb-ur-Rehman, Allama Arif Hussain Wahidi, Maulana Hamid-ul-Haq Haqqani, Maulana Ziaullah Shah Bukhari, Maulana Muhammad Islam Qadri, Maulana Muhammad Ayub Safdar and others gave a joint call for observance of “day of mourning, condemnation and prayers” on Friday.
They said that sermons should be delivered during Friday congregations at mosques across the country to condemn the menace of terrorism and call for bringing the perpetrators of the heinous act to justice.
They said a joint declaration would be circulated in all the mosques, urging Imams and Khutaba to condemn terrorism in their Friday sermons, besides demanding early arrest of those responsible for the Bajaur incident, and praying for the salvation of the martyrs and the speedy recovery of the injured.
They said the public would be sensitized about the “Pagham-e-Pakistan” that suicide and militant attacks were “Haram” and against the Shariah.
The leaders belonging to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Pakistan Ulema Council, Shia Ulema Council, Wifaq-ul-Madaris Al-Arabia Pakistan, Muttahida Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith, International Khatm-e-Nabuwat Movement and Muttahida Ulema Council also called for national unity and solidarity as it was the only way to defeat the mindset that justifies terrorism and the shedding of blood of innocent people.