ISLAMABAD, Aug 11 (APP): The All Pakistan Chinese Overseas Youth Federation (APCOYF) organised the Jashan-e-Azadi cricket match between journalists and artists of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad to express solidarity with the nation on the 76th Anniversary of the Independence Day.
The match played between the Media-XI and Showbiz-XI was won by the former that managed to meet the target of 90 runs at a loss of four wickets. The Media-XI was led by President Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) Afzal Butt whereas the Showbiz-XI was led by Agha Shiraz.
The captain of Media-XI winning team, was awarded a trophy for his team’s success by special guest former Federal Minister Faisal Karim Kundi and Ex-Chairman National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior Ahmed Hassan Dehar distributed prizes to all the players and congratulated President, APCOYF Aasma Butt for organizing the cricket match.
The 8-over Independence Day Celebration cricket match between Showbiz-XI and Media-XI was held here at Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto cricket ground. After winning the toss, Showbiz Eleven opened the batting first and set a target of 90 runs at the loss of 6 wickets. In the team of Showbiz-XI, Babar Abbasi scored 22 of 7 balls.
The team of Media Eleven achieved the target by scoring 91 runs in 7 overs and 4 balls at the loss of 4 wickets. Samar Abbas scored 24 runs and Fayyaz Ahmed took 1 wicket from the Media Eleven team. Samar Abbas was awarded Man of the Match for his excellent performance.
President Aasma Butt congratulated all the players of Showbiz-XI and Media-XI for successfully participating in the charming Jashan-e-Azadi cricket match. It has always been my endeavor that hardworking and worthy people emerge from the platform of our federation.
Former Federal Minister Faisal Karim Kundi said that CPEC was a priceless gift of the Chinese government and it had turned the tide of the fate of the nation. He congratulated all the players for a convincing cricket match. Ex-Chairman Standing Standing Committee on Interior Ahmed Hassan Dehar said that winning and losing was part of the game. “Congratulations to both the teams for their excellent performance. Such events will help strengthen the relationship between the two countries,” he said.
LAHORE, Aug 11 (APP):Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Bilal Siddique Kamyana has directed the officers concerned to ensure peaceful celebrations of Independence Day in the provincial capital city and ordered for taking strict action against those causing disturbances and rowdyism at the public places.
He was presiding over a meeting on law and order on the Independence Day. He said that on the night of August 13 and 14, the Lahore police officers, personnel, female police personnel, and Anti-Riot Force personnel would be deployed on security duty at various locations.
He emphasised that miscreants, who engage in inappropriate behaviour with citizens, especially women, at recreational spots would be dealt with an iron hand.
Kamyana said that stringent measures would be taken against elements involved in activities contrary to the law. He mentioned that only the display and waving of the national flag would be allowed on the Independence Day.
The CCPO Lahore emphasised that activities such as jubilant firing, one-wheeling, rowdyism, roadblocks, and racing would not be permitted on the day. Special squads would be formed to prevent firing in jubilation, one-wheeling and rowdyism, and also checkpoints would be established at various locations. Legal action would be taken against those violating the rules.
The CCPO Lahore also stated that adequate security would be provided to women and citizens visiting parks, recreational areas, and public places. Dolphin squads and PRU teams would patrol the vicinity of parks and recreational areas. Special directives were given to ensure smooth traffic flow.
The meeting was attended by DIG (Investigations) Imran Kishwar, former CTO Lahore Captain (retd) Mustansar Feroze, SSP (Operations) Sohaib Ashraf, SSP (Admin) Atif Nazir, SSP (Security) Tauqeer Muhammad Naeem, SSP (Headquarters) Muhammad Abdullah Lak, SSP (ARF) Tariq Aziz Sindhu, and divisional SPs.
APP22-110823
KARACHI: August 11 – Youngsters are holding flags displayed by a vendor at the roadside, aiming to attract customers as the nation begins preparations to celebrate Independence Day with fitting celebrations. APP/AMH/ABB/ZID
APP17-110823
MULTAN: August 11 - Students participating in a painting competition in connection with independence day celebrations organized by the Punjab Council of Arts Multan division at the Arts Gallery. APP/TVE/ABB
APP20-110823
BAHAWALPUR: August 11 - Deputy Commissioner Zaheer Anwar Jappa, Manager E-Service Center are planting saplings on the occasion of the ceremony organized in connection with the Independence Day. APP/HBR/ABB/ZID
MULTAN, Aug 11 (APP): Punjab Seed Council (PSC) on Friday approved two new Bt cotton varieties developed by agriculture scientists of Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan making the 45-Maunds plus potential production varieties accessible to farmers for general cultivation once the National Bio-Safety Committee (NBC) gives a go-ahead signal to the new entrants to the cotton seed family of Pakistan.
Cotton Commissioner Dr Zahid Mahmood, who earlier served as director of CCRI Multan, presented the case of two varieties before a big panel of scientists from across Punjab in the 57th PSC meeting chaired by the Punjab agriculture minister in Lahore, a press release issued by CCRI Multan said.
The Bt varieties including CIM-775 and Cyto-511 possess characteristics like good quality fibre, better production potential, and resistance against Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCuV).
CCRI Multan has already sent a letter to National Bio-Safety Committee (NBC) for approval of the two varieties.
The agriculture scientists congratulated Dr Zahid on the development.
Dr Zahid said that the research institutes working under the umbrella of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) would continue to introduce new climate-smart and cost-effective varieties with the best quality traits.
He said that varieties from CCRI Multan’s Plant Breeding and Genetics and Cyto Genetics department scientists would continue to grab the attention of the farming community.
He said that Bt Cyto-511 was heat resistant with the potential of higher production in extremely hot weather conditions while Bt CIM-775 was a marvellous variety having resistance against the sucking pests.
ISLAMABAD, Aug 11 (APP): Ambassador, of the Federal Republic of Germany Alfred Grannas on Friday said Pakistan must take a more proactive approach to build its resilience against climate change and support communities more vulnerable to environmental degradation and adverse global warming impacts. The youth are the leaders of tomorrow and it was necessary to begin the change for their future.
He expressed these views during his keynote address at an event in connection with the International Youth Day organised by the Pakistan-German Climate and Energy Partnership (PGCEP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC).
The event, titled ” Youth 4 Climate Action: Young Voices, Bold Solutions,” was held here to harness the energy and creativity of young individuals towards addressing the pressing challenges posed by climate change under the auspices of GIZ (German Development Agency). The conference was a colorful convening that included panel discussions on pertinent topics and a theatre play by Loksath highlighting gender inequalities during climate crisis was showcased before the participants.
Ambassador Alfred Grannas said the conference was intended to address important youth role in climate action. He congratulated the MoCC and GIZ team for organising the event and said that the German mission would achieve meaningful results through Pakistani youth engagement in climate action. “Climate Change is a global phenomenon and it affects the entire world. This event will provide Pakistani youth to imagine new ideas for addressing climate change,” he said.
He added that Germany has been a reliable partner of Pakistan and had a 60-year-old partnership which was strengthened through the iconic Pakistan-German Climate and Energy Partnership (PGCEP). Through the Pakistan- German Climate and Energy Partnership both the friendly countries were working on just energy transition and mitigation of environmental degradation and global warming impacts.
He added that Germany through the partnership was also assisting Pakistan to meet its national determined contributions (NDCs) pledged under the Paris Agreement.
He mentioned that the devastating floods of 2022 inflicted unprecedented damage to various provinces of the country and it was yet not able to overcome the destruction as more monsoon rainfall started playing havoc in vulnerable areas. “So far some $10 billion global funding has been extended to Pakistan and out of it $220 million alone has been given by Germany for flood disaster management. Around 500 million Euros project has been designed to address climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience of Pakistan,” he informed.
The German envoy told the participants that the first concrete approach on loss and damage fund at the COP-27 Sharm El-Sheikh was the result of a very good cooperation of MoCC and the German delegation led by Sherry Rehman the then Climate Change Minister of Pakistan and the German side represented by its Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development.
“We want to hear the voices of the youth that are neglected and it’s their voice that matters in the process of policymaking,” he said.
A short documentary on projects supported by the German government and implemented by GIZ was also displayed during the conference.
Under the umbrella of Pakistan-Germany Climate and Energy Partnership climate change adaptation, mitigation and resilience and just energy transition were focussed areas.
On the occasion, Additional Secretary MoCC Syed Mujtaba Hussain also delivered a keynote address. He said it was the convening of the future leaders of Pakistan and it was important to apprise the youth on a number of initiatives implemented by the MoCC during the climate journey of the country.
Hussain underlined that climate change was no longer a myth and it was here with full fury knocking everything out in its way. Pakistan had become the ground zero of climate change due to the frequent disasters and had faced 150 climate events in various forms and the recent monsoon 2022 monster floods and cyclone BIPARJOY caused 8% GDP loss to Pakistan and put it in recovery trap.
He added that for three consecutive years Pakistan underwent a continuous temperature rise and heatwaves in its south. Floods 2022 impacted 33 mln our of which 8 mln displaced
He provided a detailed account of various initiatives including the National Adaptation Plan, National Clean Air Policy, National Hazardous Waste Management Policy, Single use plastics prohibition regulations, Living Indus Initiative, Recharge Pakistan, GLOF-II, REDD+, Pakistan Blue Carbon Ecosystems, Upscaling of Green Pakistan, and Snow Leopard protection project.
The Additional Secretary MoCC said the Snow Leopard conservation helped achieve a population increase of more than 200 snow leopards in GB, KP and AJK regions that were on the brink of extinction.
He suggested that actions needed to be taken on a collective basis as the government, private sector and civil society would have to forge strong collaborations to cope with climate change challenges. “Youth have to take the process forward through their out-of-the-box thinking and innovative skills,” he added.
KARACHI, Aug 11 (APP): Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah presiding over his farewell cabinet meeting at CM House said that he, his cabinet members, and all the MPAs of his party were going back to the people with dignity and respect because they stood by them at a difficult time and served them to the best of their abilities.
The meeting was attended by all the ministers, advisors, special assistants, coordinators, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, PSCM Fayaz Jatoi, Secretary Finance Hassan Naqvi, and others.
He said that at the start of his government tenure in 2018, the federal government [PTI] was not ready to cooperate and tried to destabilize the PPP government in Sindh. He further said that under the guidance of former President Asif Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, he kept serving our people steadfastly.
Murad Shah said that conspiracies from the federal government were still in progress when the fatal pandemic – COVId-19 hit hard. “It created a wave of fear and insecurity among the people,” he said and added that his government took concrete steps to face the situation and save the people.
He said that the province was still surviving the COVID losses when the floods of 2022 swept almost across the province. “I had almost lost hope to drain out such a deluge of the water but the cabinet members, party workers, and the leadership supported him and finally the water was disposed of, and wheat crops were sown,” he said.
Murad Shah said that they have harvested the bumper crop and achieved more than their requirement and now a record cotton crop is being reaped. “We all – the party leadership, ministers, advisors, special assistants, coordinators, MPAs, and party workers remained shoulder by shoulder with the flood-affected people,” he said and added that the houses destroyed by the floods were being reconstructed along with giving the title of the land to the affected people.
Mr Shah said we were going back to our people with respect, dignity, and a feeling of] satisfaction that we served the people.
The chief minister thanked his cabinet members, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput and former chief secretary Syed Mumtaz Shah for their support and cooperation. He also thanked the secretaries, heads of provincial government institutions, staff of the CM House, and everyone who worked with him during his tenure.
The provincial cabinet members lauded the chief minister for his performance, his resolute stand to protect the rights of the people of Sindh, and his support to them when they were harassed by the NAB and other institutions at the hands of the federal government of PTI.
Every member of the cabinet paid rich tribute to the chief minister for his services.
The Cabinet decided to impose a ban on recruitment, except for the recruitment process being carried out by the Sindh Public Service Commission and necessary recruitment in the developed project launched with the assistance of donor agencies.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Chief minister posed for a group photo with his cabinet members.
