A flood affected lady on the way fetching drinking water at Mirpurkhas road
A youngster walking on a damaged railway track in flood area at TM Khan Road
NA speaker, deputy congratulates Saudi Arabia on 92nd National Day
ISLAMABAD, Sep 23 (APP): The National Assembly Speaker and Deputy Speaker Friday extended their felicitations to the citizens and leadership of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on its 92nd national day.
The NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in his message congratulated the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince Deputy Prime Minister/Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Chairman of the Shura Council Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammad bin Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, Royal Family and the Saudi people.
“Saudi Arabia is moving ahead of time when it comes to progress, prosperity and welfare of its people under the visionary and farsighted leadership of the Kingdom”, the Speaker remarked.
He asserted that Pakistan always cherished its brotherly ties with the Kingdom. Both the countries always supported and stood side by side through thick and thin.
The NA Speaker said humanitarian assistance extended by the Kingdom and the people to flood-ravaged Pakistanis in the wake of devastating floods was highly appreciable and reflected the love and affection of the brotherly people of the country.
He also emphasized regular high-level exchanges between the parliaments of the two countries as it would further cement the bond of friendship and open new avenues of cooperation in all fields of mutual interest.
On the occasion, Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani while extending his felicitations to Saudi leadership and its people remarked that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are tied in deep-rooted bonds of faith, culture, and history.
He said that the Parliaments of both countries can play a vital role in strengthening bilateral ties and bringing both countries closer.
He thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for expressing solidarity with the people of Pakistan in these difficult times and for assistance to flood-affected people.
An old man repairing watch at his roadside setup
Pakistan’s earns $199 million from IT services’ export during July 2022
ISLAMABAD, Sep 23 (APP): Pakistan earned US $199.100 million by providing different Information Technology (IT) services in various countries during the first month of current fiscal year 2022-23.
This shows growth of 1.58 percent as compared with US $ 195.996 million earned through provision of services during the corresponding period of last fiscal year 2021-22, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.
During the month under review, the computer services grew by 5.77 percent as it surged from US $150.456 million last year to US $159.140 million during July 2022.
Among the computer services, the exports of software consultancy services witnessed a decrease of 27.40 percent, from US $0.219 million to US $0.159 million this year while the export of hardware consultancy services however increased by 8.77 percent, from US $53.830 million to US $58.551 million.
The export of repair and maintenance services declined by 95.68 percent from US $0.162 million to US $0.007 million whereas the export and imports of computer software services witnessed an increase of 31.41 percent, from $35.039 million to $46.044 million.
In addition, the exports of other computer services dipped by 11.15 percent from US $61.206 million to US $54.379 million.
Meanwhile, the export of information services during the month under review also decreased by 6.45 percent by going down from US $0.310 million to US $0.290 million.
Among the information services, the exports of information related services decreased by 2.39 percent, from US $0.209 million to US $0.204 million whereas the exports of other information services dipped by 14.85 percent, from US $0.101 million to US $0.86 million.
The export of telecommunication services also decreased by 12.29 percent as these went down from US $45.230 million to US $39.670 million, the data revealed.
Among the telecommunication services, the export of call centres services increased by 23.90 percent during the month as its exports increased from US $11.954 million to US $14.811 million whereas the export of other telecommunication services decreased by 25.29 percent, from US $33.276 million to US $24.859 million during this year, the PBS data revealed.
Time for world to translate solidarity for flood survivors into concrete actions: PM
NEW YORK, Sep 23 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that as the world leaders continued to show massive sympathy for the flood-stricken people of Pakistan, it was the time for the world to translate their solidarity into concrete actions.
The prime minister, who is currently on a US visit to attend the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, referred to his interaction with the world leaders on the sidelines.
“As I continued my interaction with world leaders on day 3 of UNGA Session, there has been a massive outpouring of sympathy & solidarity with Pakistan on flood disaster. Time has come for world to translate this solidarity into concrete action to help Pakistan overcome this crisis,” the prime minister wrote on Twitter.
The prime minister, who is about to address the UNGA session today, has been urging the world for debt relief to Pakistan to enable the country overcome the challenging situation caused by the climate change-induced floods.
NUST, Cranfield University ink multi-pronged MoU
ISLAMABAD, Sep 23 (APP):National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the prestigious Cranfield University (CU), United Kingdom to enhance bilateral cooperation.
The MoU signing ceremony was held at Cranfield, United Kingdom, said a message received here.
The MoU envisions strong bilateral cooperation that would pave the way for a myriad of collaborative activities in several academic and research domains.
Rector NUST Engr Javed Mahmood Bukhari, himself a graduate of Cranfield University, led the NUST delegation to CU for signing of the agreement that would have far-reaching positive dividends for both sides.
Other members of the NUST delegation included Pro-Rector RIC Dr Rizwan Riaz and Dir Coordination Mr Imran Malik. Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor of CU Professor Karen Holford FREng CBE, accompanied by Pro-Vice-Chancellors Professor Simon Pollard and Professor Dame Helen Atkinson and senior executives from CU, warmly received the delegates.
Rector NUST condoled with the hosts on passing of the Queen, and thanked them for their hospitality.
Both the chairs pinned high hopes on the success and fruitfulness of the budding cooperation.
CU specialises in postgraduate studies and research and boasts very strong industrial partnerships and world-class expertise.
NUST holds a high pedestal among universities of Pakistan with a regular inflow of brightest students from across the country.
The cooperation will go a long way in providing opportunities to NUST students to benefit from CU’s expertise and facilities, while CU will gain access to a large pool of motivated and capable researchers of NUST.
Under this multi-pronged partnership, CU and NUST will collaborate in multiple thematic areas through different initiatives.
These joint ventures will initially focus on as diverse fields as Manufacturing, Aerospace, Materials, Energy, Sustainability, Rail and Automotive Engineering.
The partnership will also cover joint research and publications, student exchanges, faculty mobility, capacity building, etc.
Offering 145 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across seven disciplines, NUST’s partnership with CU will further reinforce the academic strengths of NUST in producing graduates fully poised to take on current and impending challenges in the technologically advanced world, thereby aligning with CU’s mission to create leaders in technology and management.
Two more Saudi airlifts of relief goods arrive in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Sep 23 (APP): The government of Saudi Arabia through its aid agency, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) have sent two more special planes loaded with the relief goods.
Both of the special planes carrying 60 tons of relief goods including tents, food packages, blankets, dates and non-food items kits reached Karachi for the flood victims, said a statement on Friday.
The relief goods was received by the KSrelief Director Pakistan and handed over to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) representative in the metropolitan city.
The relief goods would be distributed among the affected people according to the needs of each region of the country in collaboration with the NDMA.
It is pertinent to mention here that this series of the arrival of relief cargo planes would continue till September 27, this month.
PM appeals to rich nations for ‘substantial’ debt relief as Pakistan floods losses exceed $30 billion
NEW YORK, Sep 23 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday made an urgent appeal for a “substantial” debt relief from rich nations as catastrophic floods exacerbated by climate change displaced millions of people in the country.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York, he said Pakistan had high debt obligations in the next two months.
PM Sharif said his government had just signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund with “very tough conditionalities” that include taxes on petroleum and electricity.
The floods have submerged a third of the country and killed more than 1,500 people. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on the international community to help Pakistan financially as damages caused by the floods exceed $30 billion.
“We have spoken to European leaders and other leaders to help us in the Paris Club to get us moratorium,” Sharif said, referring to the group of rich creditor nations.
“Unless we get substantial relief how can the world expect from us to stand on our own feet? It is simply impossible,” he added.
He noted a “yawning gap” between what Pakistan was asking for and what was available, warning that the nation was facing the imminent threat of epidemics and other dangers.
“God forbid this happens, all hell will break,” Sharif said.
In August, Pakistan secured a $1.1 billion loan from the IMF to avert default as political turmoil and the deadly flooding threatened the country’s economy.
The IMF also increased the nation’s bailout package to $6.5 billion.
Sharif said he had spoken to the IMF and World Bank about immediate debt relief and would begin talks with China after the Paris Club.
He mentioned that the disaster in Pakistan, already reeling from depleted currency reserves and the highest inflation in decades, had affected 33 million people.
The prime minister urged the international community to help out Pakistan considering its damages due to climate-induced disaster, with 1,500 deaths including 400 children.
He pointed out that Pakistan fell victim to the climate change despite its less than one percent contribution to carbon emissions.
“Today it is Pakistan [suffering] and tomorrow it could be any other country that could be hit by the climate change,” he said.
Asked about talks with Russia, he said Pakistan was in touch with the energy-rich nation regarding discussions over gas supplies as well as wheat imports after expected production losses due to the floods.
“Things will not come back to normal,” Sharif said, stressing the need for assistance by other countries to help Pakistan rebuild its infrastructure as floods inundated one-third of the land.
“I need to put our economy back on trail. I need to put our millions of people back in the rooms, busy again with the ordinary life in agriculture, in industry and getting jobs back,” he said.
“Time is running, and we’re racing against time,” he added. “Please help us avoiding this disaster.”
Sharif urged his countrymen back home to rise above their political differences and join hands in extending assistance to the flood-hit people.
“This is the real spirit of service to help our brothers and sisters in need by burying our differences,” he said, mentioning that the floods wreaked havoc with the livelihood of the people.
About prospects of improvement in relations with India, he said Pakistan believed that only peace could guarantee the sustainable prosperity in the South Asian region.
Peace, he said, could help the countries divert their resources towards the development of their people.
The prime minister, however, linked the improvement of ties with India with negotiations regarding the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in aspirations of its people.