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PM breaks ground on $3.48 bn Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-5

By
Najam ul Hassan
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PM breaks ground on $3.48 bn Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-5

MIANWALI, Jul 14 (APP):Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday broke ground on the 1200 MW Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 (C-5) here which is likely to be completed in seven to eight years at a cost of around US$3.48 billion.

On June 30, 2023 the prime minister witnessed the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the C-5 project between China National Nuclear Corporation Overseas Ltd (CNOS) and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) .

Addressing the ground breaking ceremony here at Chashma, the prime minister said keeping in mind the country’s requirements of clean and cheap energy sources, the project should be completed before the given schedule.

Terming it a huge milestone and a symbol of cooperation between the two great friends China and Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif said the project would help the country promoting clean, efficient and comparatively cheaper energy.

He said after a pause of many years, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was going again in full swing. He gave the credit of concluding the agreement of C-5 to the coalition government and the SPD for their hard efforts.

“Our detractors had been fabricating rumours all around that Pakistan was going to default on its sovereign commitments but we crossed all turbulent waters in just 15 months,” he added.

However, he said the risk of potential default had been completely averted through team effort of the government.

The prime minister said a couple of days ago, there was an approval of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and within 48 hours around $4.5 billion were transferred by the Pakistan’s brotherly countries Saudi Arabia and UAE besides another $1.2 billion from the IMF.

About 4 months ago, he said the Chinese government and commercial banks rolled over amounts back to Pakistan to the tune of $5 billion.

He paid his tributes to the the Chinese President XI Jinping, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for their support in need of hour.

He informed that as a result of serious efforts by the coalition government and himself, the Chinese company kept the cost of the project at the level agreed upon in 2017-18 by then PML-N government and not include the average inflation of around 10% in the project cost. Further, he said on his request, a discount of Rs 30 billion was also given to Pakistan which reflected a sense of sincerity between the two countries.

Charge D’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Pakistan, Pang Chunxue said C5 would help Pakistan building low carbon, clean and cheap energy which would also produce local jobs and would engage the local industries to contribute in the project.

Chairman of China National Nuclear Cooperation Yu Jianfeng said cooperation between Pakistan and China in nuclear energy had become an integral part of the all weather strategic cooperative partnership.

He said the C5 project was a signigicant milestone in the HPR 1000 development global journey. Hualong One (HPR 1000) is the 3rd-generation nuclear power brand to which China has exclusive intellectual property rights.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan, and Chairman PAEC Dr Raja Ali Raza were also present on the occasion.

Pakistan urges boosting rescue mechanisms for distressed people at sea, citing recent boat tragedy

By
NNPS Desk
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Pakistan urges boosting rescue mechanisms for distressed people at sea, citing recent boat tragedy

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 14 (APP): Pakistan has raised at the U.N. last month’s tragic sinking of an overloaded boat off the Greek coast where 700 people, including Pakistanis, were killed while calling for scaling up rescue operations to save lives.

“Mediterranean Sea crossings have become increasingly treacherous,” Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told UN Security Council’s “Arria-Formula” meeting on ‘Refugees and Asylum Seekers crossing borders on Land and At Sea: New Wave of Crisis’

Russia convened the 15-member Council meeting under the format of Arria formula, which is named after a former Venezuelan UN ambassador, Diego Arriva. It is a very informal consultation process which affords the Council the opportunity to hear persons in a confidential, informal setting.

In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy highlighted the deadly migrant shipwreck that occurred on June 22, 2023, as he underscored the need for developing mechanisms for people in distress at sea.

“As responsible members of the international community, it is incumbent on us all to ensure the safety and security of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, uphold international law including maritime law, and enforce the prompt rescue of individuals in distress at sea, regardless of their nationality or circumstances,” he said. There were news reports at the time that Greek coastguards were slow in reacting to the distress call from people aboard the sinking ship.

“One life lost is one too many,” Ambassador Aamir Khan said, adding, “As civilized nations, it is our responsibility to ensure that no life is lost at anytime, anywhere and under all circumstances.

“We must undertake all efforts including by developing a transparent, safe and predictable disembarkation mechanisms for people in distress at sea, while complying with international obligations and without obstructing humanitarian efforts.”

Referring to the deepening humanitarian crisis, the Pakistani envoy said that the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) provided a good framework by outlining key objectives to ease pressure on hosting countries, enhance refugee self-reliance, expand third-country solutions, and support safe and dignified returns.

At the same time, he said the recent GCR Indicator Report called for burden-sharing and strengthen efforts, as ten countries bear the weight of hosting over three-quarters of the world’s refugees, with developing nations accommodating 80% of displaced individuals.

“This is unfair and unequal and cannot be rectified by a business-as-usual approach,” Aamir Khan said.

“We will have to do more … if we want to prevent already desperate situations from becoming catastrophic.”

On its part, he said Pakistan is hosting 3.5 million registered and unregistered Afghan refugees for four decades, despite not being a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

“The humanitarian and economic crisis in Afghanistan necessitates swift international assistance to prevent the prospect of the influx of millions of desperate Afghans seeking refuge from hunger and starvation,” Aamir Khan said, pointing out that Pakistan cannot shoulder any new influx.

“We must help Afghan people. We must not neglect Afghanistan and divert attention away to other emergencies,”he added.

European Parliament adopts joint resolution on India’s human rights breaches

By
Shumaila Andleeb
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ISLAMABAD, July 14 (APP): The European Parliament has strongly urged India to take necessary measures to promptly halt the ongoing ethnic and religious violence, protect all religious minorities such as Manipur’s Christian community, and pre-empt any further escalation.

The joint resolution was adopted on Thursday following recent violent clashes in the state of Manipur, India since May 2023 that left at least 120 people dead, 50 000 displaced, and over 1 700 houses and 250 churches destroyed.

The resolution noted that intolerance towards minority communities had contributed to the current violence and there were concerns about the politically motivated, divisive policies that promote Hindu majoritarianism in the area.

The Manipur state government has shut down internet connections and severely hindered reporting by the media, while security forces have been implicated in the recent killings, something that has further increased distrust in the authorities.

The Members of the European Parliament called on the Indian authorities to allow independent investigations to look into the violence, tackle impunity and o lift the internet ban.

They also urged all conflicting sides to cease making inflammatory statements, re-establish trust and play an impartial role to mediate the tensions.

The Parliament reiterated its call for human rights to be integrated into all areas of the EU-India partnership, including trade.

The MEPs also advocated the EU-India Human Rights Dialogue to be reinforced and encouraged the EU and its member states to systematically and publicly raise human rights concerns, notably on freedom of expression, religion, and the shrinking space for civil society, with the Indian side at the highest level.

On behalf of the European People’s Party Group (EPP), the MEPs who adopted the resolution include Željana Zovko, Sven Simon, Tomáš Zdechovský, Ivan Štefanec, Janina Ochojska, Michaela Šojdrová, Vladimír Bilčík, David Lega, Jiří Pospíšil, Andrey Kovatchev, Antonio López‑Istúriz White, Inese Vaidere and Seán Kelly.

Pedro Marques and Pierre Larrouturou adopted the resolution on behalf of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group.

On behalf of Renew Group, the MEPs who endorsed the resolution are Urmas Paet, Petras Auštrevičius, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Olivier Chastel, Klemen Grošelj, Svenja Hahn, Moritz Körner, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Karen Melchior, Dragoş Pîslaru, Frédérique Ries, María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos, Ramona Strugariu, Dragoş Tudorache and Hilde Vautmans.

Alviina Alametsä adopted the resolution on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group , while on behalf of the ECR Group  European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the members who endorsed are Karol Karski, Bert‑Jan Ruissen, Witold Jan Waszczykowski, Joachim Stanisław Brudziński, Zbigniew Kuźmiuk, Adam Bielan, Waldemar Tomaszewski, Eugen Jurzyca, Dominik Tarczyński, Assita Kanko, Anna Zalewska and Carlo Fidanza.

PM for promoting skilled-based vocational training to improve balance of payment

By
Najam ul Hassan
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PM for promoting skilled-based vocational training to improve balance of payment

ISLAMABAD, Jul 14 (APP):Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that the government was promoting the skilled-based vocational training to expand foreign remittances that would ultimately help improving the current account deficit of the country.

In his address after laying the foundation stone of the central campus of National University of Technology (NUTECH) here, the prime minister said the new campus would help producing thousands of skilled-based human resource every year who would play their key role in the country’s development.

PM for promoting skilled-based vocational training to improve balance of payment

The prime minister, pledging to make the vocational education as the government’s number one priority, said skilled human resource earn more than the raw labour, hence increasing the country’s foreign remittances.

He said vocational training was key to prosperity and development in today’s era as nations get prosperous only at the back of these skilled-based people.

He hoped that after completion, the campus would play key role in promoting technical and industrial education in the country.
He recalled that he for the first time in 1997, put his full force to promote vocational training in the country when there was no comprehensive institution to look after this important area of the education sector.

Similarly, he said the Punjab government led by him established Punjab Education Endowment Fund (PEEF) for which Rs 2 billion annual funding was allocated to provide scholarships to the talented and deserving students on merit base. He said this great project under Dr Amjad Saqib brought educational revolution in the province.

Likewise, he said Danish Schools’ project was also his brainchild which helped bridging the gap between rich and poor. “Until there is no discrimination of rich and poor especially in the education sector, the Quid-e-Azam’s vision of educational right for all can not be fulfilled.”

He said only one month had left for this government and he was still making efforts to provide maximum relief to the people
PM Shehbaz also distributed certificates among the high achiever youth in various fields.

Minister for Education and Professional Training Rana Tanvir Hussain said that the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with its untiring struggle brought the country out of deep crisis and set it on the right path. Therefore, he hoped that the people would vote for PML-N in the next general election.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima said vocational education was as important as it was the formal education. She said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his previous tenures as Chief Minister Punjab worked really hard to promote technical and vocational education in the province.

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb were also present on the occasion.

PM for promoting skilled-based vocational training to improve balance of payment

Saud Shakeel gears up for his first away Test

By
NNPS Desk
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0

ISLAMABAD, Jul 14 (APP):A year after witnessing the two Tests between Pakistan and Sri Lanka from the sidelines in Galle, Saud Shakeel enters the upcoming series on Sunday as one of the mainstays of Pakistan batting after an impressive Test home season.

He was one of the four players to make a debut in the first Test against England in Rawalpindi on 1 December and the left-hander was quick to make an impression with a fourth-innings 76.

He scored a gallantry 214-ball 94 in Multan to take Pakistan in the touching distance of the 355-run target before being declared caught behind down the leg by the third umpire.

He scored another second innings half-century in the next Test in Karachi with a 53 and when New Zealand arrived in Karachi for the two Tests, he registered his maiden Test century with a 341-ball 125 not out in the second Test at the same venue where he had brought up his maiden first-class ton.

Saud has scored, at least, 50 or more in the six of his 10 innings. The next few weeks, however, will present Saud, who has made 4,844 runs at an average of 52.08 in 65 first-class matches, a different set of challenges, as he will play his first away Tests. The 27-year-old has made the most of the preparatory camps in Lahore and Karachi to make sure he has all the necessary tools to counter them.

“We have had good preparations leading into this series with camps in Lahore and Karachi,” Saud told PCB Digital.
“I’ve focused on enhancing my skills and adding a few more shots in the repertoire. There was a specific focus on spin during the camp in Lahore, which gave me good practice to counter spin on the turning tracks here.

“I’ve also focused on how I can score runs in Sri Lanka conditions, because at the end it is the runs that matter. I play sweep shot well, so I further improved it. Playing the sweep helps me derail the line and length of a bowler. I have also worked to improve my reverse sweep and footwork to tackle spin here.”

Saud has a variety of sweeps – paddle sweep, a full-fledge sweep behind or in front of squad and a slog sweep – in his arsenal and has deployed them with great effect over his career.
Does he premeditate when it comes to working the ball square by getting on his left knee?
“I do,” he said. “Sweep shot is my strength. Some players improvise it, but I premediate it, as I want it to be perfect by reaching the pitch of the ball and having my head in the right position.”

Pakistan famously squared the two-match series last year by recording the highest-ever pursuit in Galle by chasing down 342 at the back of Abdullah Shafique’s 160 not out. Another youngster, Salman Ali Agha, made his Test debut in that series and Saud, ahead of his maiden away Test, is gathering as much knowledge as he can by speaking to those who played in those Tests.

“We [the players] do talk about the game and share knowledge,” he said. “I talk to Abdullah [Shafique] a lot because we are together mostly. When I was here with the team last year, I saw that the spinners do get help from the surfaces, but if you keep on countering them by playing attacking shots regularly and keep ticking the scoreboard, you shift the pressure on the opposition.

“We chased 350 [342] in Galle last year, which looked an impossible task, but our plan was to go for runs and it put the opposition under pressure.”
Though, this might be his first Test away from home soil, Saud comes with plenty of domestic experience that he believes helped him graduate smoothly to Test cricket. He captained Shaheens when they toured Dambulla to play Sri Lanka ‘A’ in two unofficial Tests and three List-A games in 2021. Pakistan batted only twice in the unofficial Test series and Saud made 118 in one of them.

“The experience of playing domestic cricket and for country’s ‘A’ side helps a cricketer a lot. It has helped me a great deal too. I’ve played a lot of domestic cricket in my career. I toured here with Pakistan Shaheens in 2021, though we played in a different city, it gave me an idea of how conditions are here.”

Having a cool and calm head has also helped. “International cricket is all about handling pressure, so if you stay calm on the wicket you can make better decisions. Off the field, as well, I am calm, and it helps me in making better decisions.”
Saud made the most of the off-season by turning out for Yorkshire this County Championship. The stint helped him understand how to further develop his game and ready himself for the challenges ahead.

“It has been a healthy break for me,” he reflected. “There was not much four-day cricket in Pakistan in the last six months so I went to the United Kingdom to play county cricket, which gave me a different experience. This off period also helped me to re-evaluate my game and understand how I can further enhance my skills and fitness, which will help me perform in this series.”

Saud has had a strong start to his Test career, putting 580 runs at a scintillating average of 72.50. With five half-centuries and a century in 10 innings, which does he rate the best?
“My first century in international cricket in Karachi is quite dear to me and it is almost my favourite,” he said. “I regret not being able to finish the match in Multan [against England] when I got out on 96 [94]. Had I finished it for my team, it would have been my favourite.”

First ever Pashto-Chinese mix song on Pak-China friendship attracts applause from KP dwellers

By
NNPS Desk
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0
First ever Pashto-Chinese mix song on Pak-China friendship attracts applause from KP dwellers

PESHAWAR, Jul 14 (APP):The first ever Pashto-Chinese song on seventy years old phenomenal friendship between Pakistan and China is attracting applause from dwellers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, terming the melody as true reflector of inner emotions of peoples of both the countries.

The song is prepared by `China Window’ around an year earlier and re-launched it on the occasion when both the countries are celebrating the completion of ten years of gigantic China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreement.

Headed by prominent journalist, Amjad Aziz Malik, China Window is a Chinese cultural center established in Peshawar for providing opportunity to the people to explore the culture of their brotherly neighbor.

Within few years after its establishment, China Window has provided opportunity to more than 100,000 people for exposure visit to the Chinese culture, literature, art and history through exhibitions, movie screenings and training.

Pakistan embassy in Beijing, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA), Archeology Department, Youth Directorate KP and Islamia College Peshawar extended cooperation in preparation of the song.

The five minutes and fifty two seconds long song titled as `Two bodies one soul’ is sung by famous Pashto music duo of Sitara Younas and Sajjad Khan from Pakistan. While from China the singers who performed are Lan Yueliang and Shao Feng.

The unique song starts with the wording that `We China and Pakistan are two bodies and one soul, the friendship is selfless and whole world knows it”.

The same lyric is sung in both Pashto and Chinese languages by different performers amid display of very beautiful and historic pictures depicting leadership, culture, development, landscape and historical sites of the both the countries.

“Lyrics are simple and meaningful while composition and voices are awesome. So well represented the deep cordial relationship between the two brotherly countries, Pakistan and China. Well done China Window,” commented a viewer on social media.

“For the first time in the history, we heard Chinese and Pashto mix song, very awesome,” wrote another viewer.
Some of the netizens while terming the song as very good initiative, suggested people to must watch and listen.

“This is a very unique initiative taken by China Window by involving culture in promotion of sentiments of friendship between Pakistan and China,” observed Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, Chairman Abaseen Column Writers Association.

Talking to APP, Zia Sarhadi said the Pashto-Chinse song has been liked by people and has renewed the strong and deep friendship bond being felt by people of both the countries from the core of their hearts.

Zia appreciated the efforts made by Amjad Aziz Malik for measure he took for introduction and promotion of Chinese culture in Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan.

The China Window is playing the role of a bridge between people of both the countries and will further strengthen the strong friendship between Pakistan and China, Zia hoped.

Talking to APP, founder of China Window, Amjad Aziz Malik said the idea behind composing of Pashto-Chinese song was to reflect the love people of Pakistan and especially of Pakhtunkhwa have for their all times tested Chinese friends.

The song has received tremendous applause from people, especially Pashto speaking, who are sending their appreciation through different channels over the initiative aimed at further strengthening of already cemented friendly ties between Pakistan and China, Malik added.

ANF recovers over 24 kg drugs in four operations

By
NNPS Desk
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ANF - drugs

RAWALPINDI, Jul 14 (APP):Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) while conducting four operations across the country managed to recover over 24 kg drugs and arrested five accused, said an ANF Headquarters spokesman here on Friday.

He informed that in an operation on M-1 Motorway Toll Plaza Islamabad, five kg hashish was recovered from the possession of two accused, residents of Bhakkar and Mianwali, traveling in public transport.

In another operation near Kamalpur Interchage Faisalabad, 3.6 kg hashish was recovered from the possession of an accused resident of Mardan, traveling in public transport.

In third operation near Faisal Garden Faisalabad, 12 kg hashish and 300 grams Ice drug were recovered from a motorcycle. An accused resident of Faisalabad was also arrested during the operation.

The spokesman said that in fourth operation, 3.3 kg hashish was recovered from the possession of a motorcyclist, resident of Mianwali arrested near Jhambra Bridge Mianwali.

Separate cases have been registered against the accused while further investigations are under process.

Promoting culture of run-of-the river dams imperative for arresting load shedding, bolstering agriculture development

By
Abdul Hanan
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0
Promoting culture of run-of-the river dams imperative for arresting load shedding, bolstering agriculture development

By Fakhar Alam

PESHAWAR, Jul 14 (APP):The population bulge and technological advancement have exerted pressure on energy resources where its shortfall has touched a record 7,000 megawatts (MW) that negatively impacted the national economy, agriculture and industrial growth.

As the country’s population has crossed the psychological barrier of 240.954 million mark in May this year which means that new water dams and promotion of run-of the river (ROR) hydroelectricity would be required to bridge the widening demand-supply gap of electricity. It would help fulfil the pressing demands of affordable energy of the consumers that was increasing with each passing day in the wake of mushroom growth of IT and agriculture sectors.

The PESCO officials told APP that harsh weather conditions have recently amplified the demand to produce 28,200 megawatts whereas the power supply is 21,200MW showing a shortfall of 7000MW.

Despite 60,000 MW hydropower potential, Pakistan is currently generating 4,635 megawatts of electricity from hydel, 1060 MW from theremal, 5280MW from coal, 1985MW from wind and 9,677MW manufactured through IPPs.

“Currently, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) was receiving about 1,873MW electricity from the national grid while its demand was about 3,220 MW, facing a shortfall of 1,347,” PESCO’s Power Distribution Company spokesman said.

He said the load management was being carried out in high-line loss feeders in Peshawar and Nowshera districts besides peripheries of Peshawar and Nowshera, the residents of Bannu, DI Khan, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Khyber, Bajaur, Waziristan and others tribal districts to bridge the supply-demand gap.

Tribal Electricity Supply Company (TESCO) official said about 180 MW was being drawn from the express transmission line for merged tribal areas against 1,000 MW demand, adding the 820MW shortfall mainly occurred due to power stealing through direct hocks.

“Energy crisis is one of the major reasons for the country’s poor economic and industrial growth besides posing serious food security challenges in Pakistan,” said Professor Dr. Muhammad Naeem of the Economics Department, University of Swabi while talking to APP.

He said that the energy consumption share of industries has increased by 28 percent during July-April 2022 from 26.3 percent recorded in July-April 2021 while the share of the agriculture sector jacked up to nine percent from 8.9 percent during the same period. He said the change of government in center last year has made a positive impact on energy projects that resulted in an increase of electricity generation to a record 41,557MW during July-April 2022 by 11.5 percent against 37,261MW recorded during the same period last year.

Dr Naeem said the last year’s devastating floods have adversely affected the country’s agriculture, economy, livestock, and energy sectors as scores of mini micro hydel stations were swept away by the gushing water that inflicted over USD 40 billion economic losses to the government kitty.

“We need to adopt the culture of construction of small water reservoirs and ROR projects being cost and time efficient and is very popular in developed countries,” said Dr Muhammad Naeem, adding China has constructed about 98,000 dams, India 5,324 dams and only 150 dams by Pakistan.

He said despite the huge 30,000 MW hydel potential of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, not a single dam was constructed in Pakistan after the Tarbela dam was built on River Indus in 1984 with an estimated cost of USD1.49 billion.

While citing examples of ROR dams in world, Dr Naeem said that Canada is generating more than USD 140 million annual revenue from Niagara ROR dam that were attracting over one million tourists every year. Similarly, Hoover RoR dam on the Colorado River generates about USD 250 annual revenue for USA and Three Gorges ROR Dam on Yangtze River has contributed USD 1.5 billion tourism revenue in 2019 to the economy of China.

“ROR hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided for electricity generation,’ Engineer Zahoor Hussain, Director of Projects told the news agency.

He said ROR hydroelectricity was considered ideal for rivers and streams that could sustain a minimum flow or those regulated by a lake or reservoir upstream. He said a small dam was usually built to create a headpond ensuring that there is enough water entering the penstock pipes that lead to the turbines which are at lower elevations.

Engr Zahoor said ROR was a prime source of renewable energy that does not produce greenhouse gases and can easily be located in remote areas where other forms of energy generation were not feasible besides these could be built quickly and required less investment than conventional dams.

He said the Grand Coulee dam at Washington USA and the Itaipu dam on River Parana between Brazil and Paraguay were the world’s largest ROR projects that generate electricity from the natural flow of the rivers.

He said Chitral, Kohistan, Upper Mansehra, Dir, and Swat in KP, Northern Punjab, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) rivers were most suited for ROR dams.

Engr Zahoor said that the construction of ROR hydroelectricity projects in these areas would help provide clean, renewable, and affordable energy to the local population that could be a valuable addition to the national grid. However, ROR dams can have a negative impact on the environment and ecology such as disrupting fish migration and altering water quality.

Engineer Muhammad Luqman Khan, Chief Planning Officer, of KP Energy Department told APP that under the power generation policy 2015, an inclusive strategy has been adopted for promoting the culture of ROR dams in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Under the strategy, he said the focus was being made on awareness campaigns for the education of people about the significance of ROR dams and their role in clean energy generation, water resource management, and economic development.

He said ROR could be achieved by offering financial incentives, tax breaks, and a speedy approval process under public partnership mode.

Engr Luqman said, “Faster collaboration with international organizations and countries that have experience in ROR projects was a key area of the government strategy to promote such culture in the country and especially in the KP province for socio-economic development of people.

Ahsan Iqbal hopes to start ML-1 railway line project this year

By
Abdul Hanan
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0
Pakistan seeks Chinese investment to upgrade agriculture, IT, mining, housing sectors: Ahsan Iqbal

BEIJING, July 14 (APP):Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Prof. Ahsan Iqbal said that with China’s support, work on the multi-billion ML-1, the main railway line project between Karachi and Peshawar, would be started as early as possible during this year.

The ML-1 project was to be done in the first phase, but somehow, it got delayed in the last four years.

“There was little follow-up from the previous government, but now, we are actively following it up,” the minister said.

“We are hopeful that this project will start this year,” he said in an interview with APP after a special meeting of the 12th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of CPEC in Beijing.

He said, “The railway track has been badly damaged during the floods last year. This is the main railway track line linking north and south Pakistan. We want to repair it and we want to upgrade it as early as possible. It will be a US$10 billion project. We will do it in phases, and we hope to start this project as soon as possible during this year.”

Ahsan Iqbal said, “The 150 years old railway line now requires major modernization and up-gradation. We are hoping that with China’s help, we will be able to modernize this railway track from Karachi to Peshawar and it will be a very big support to our logistics.”

About Karachi circular railway, he said, “It is a mass transit project for Karachi which is the biggest city in Pakistan. So, we also agreed to fast-track that project.”

Ahsan Iqbal said the JCC meeting was very historic because it marked a decade of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

“About 10 years ago, both China and Pakistan started a new journey of bilateral relationship through CPEC which is a pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative.”

“As a result, today, we have more than $25 billion worth of investments in Pakistan under CPEC and the flagship project has helped Pakistan overcome its energy crisis.”

Under CPEC, we installed more than 8,000 megawatts of power projects. It has helped us to construct modern highways, and motorways, which has improved connectivity in the country, linked different parts of the country, and provided efficient logistic support to the economy.

He said, “Through CPEC, we have also developed infrastructure in Gwadar.”

“We have also improved the digital infrastructure with fiber optic cable that has been laid between China and Pakistan.”

“With CPEC, we have also carried out a number of socio-economic projects for uplifting the social conditions of people.”

“So, this is a very historic journey in which we are able to transform the nature of the relationship between two countries and make it much stronger in the economic cooperation field,” the minister added.

He said, “We had a discussion about how to take forward CPEC in the next phase, which will promote business-to-business cooperation, industrial cooperation, and also Chinese private investment in Pakistan’s energy, agriculture, information technology, and mining sectors, where there are many opportunities for investors to have good business opportunities for Pakistan, to take benefit of investment and technology from China.”

“It will be a win-win investment for both countries and we look forward now to taking CPEC into the next phase, based on greater cooperation in industrial and agricultural fields, and also in the technology areas.”

Sharing more details in terms of how did the CPEC benefit the livelihood of Pakistani people, he said, “The CPEC projects have created almost 200,000 job opportunities and helped Pakistan overcome the energy crises.”

He said, with 12 hours and 14 hours of electricity shortage, the factories were closed, and the workers were laid off. The small businesses were out of business, in hospitals, the patients were suffering, in educational institutions, the students were suffering.

“So, by solving the energy crisis, everyone in Pakistan has benefited from the great contribution that has been made by CPEC.”

Similarly, in some remote areas, where projects had been made, for example, in Thar, which is Pakistan very remote area, and we had huge untapped coal deposit there. With CPEC, we were able to do the mining project and now it has become the energy capital of Pakistan, he said.

“The companies that are working there, are setting up schools and setting up hospitals. They are empowering local people including women by providing them job opportunities. It has helped the economy.”

“So, in many ways, these projects have connected people of very remote areas. They are now very close to each other with very short distance where it used to take people eight hours to travel, now they do the same travel in two and a half hours. So, that is quite a revolution in every aspect, the minister informed.

Ahsan Iqbal said, in the first phase, our main focus was on infrastructure development. We had energy shortage and our transport infrastructure was not very strong. So, we have addressed the infrastructure in the first phase.

“Now in the second phase, our focus is to move away from government to government to business to business linkage, and also to invest in industrial cooperation.”

“We will try to build on that infrastructure through more investments and industrialization of Pakistan’s economy. There are many opportunities for investment for example, in the agriculture sector, for agro-based industries, for bringing value addition in the agriculture industry, for livestock, meat industry.”

“There are huge opportunities in the industrial sector to expand the industrial base or production for more exports. There is a huge potential of mining and there is new huge potential of mining in Pakistan, ” he added.

“So, through investment in mining, we can generate billions of dollars of exports in the mining sector, then there is opportunity in the energy sector where we are actively pursuing solar energy for future so we are also hoping and inviting the Chinese companies to set up solar power production plants in Pakistan.”

So, I think the main difference is moving from infrastructure to industrial cooperation, and moving from the government to government linkage to business to business linkage, he added.

Responding to a query about new vigor and commitment to pursue a new project, he said, in the last year, we have brought a lot of vigor. Many projects were in the pipeline which were delayed during the previous four years, we completed them last year.

“So, there is a lot more dynamism, there is lot more vigor to move forward on CPEC like it was before during the year 2013 and 2018 period. We are all excited and we are looking forward to taking the project into the next phase with actually greater vigor because the need for cooperation in this area is greater than ever.”

The minister said, “Both countries have to work together to share the fruits of CPEC not just between us but also with the old region. And this can only happen if our connectivity projects are completed very early. It can happen with more investments from China we can then serve the markets.”

“We can route the global supply chains on this infrastructure we have been. So, I hope that this next phase will actually bring many dividends for the bigger region than Pakistan and China. We hope one day the whole of South Asia, Central Asia, Middle East will benefit from CPEC,” he added.

Attack on police station in Peshawar’s suburb repulsed

By
NNPS Desk
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0

PESHAWAR, Jul 14 (APP):Police force on late Thursday night repulsed an attack on Mattani Police station, a suburban area of Peshawar, by armed militants.

The militants, in a bid to take advantage of pitched darkness, attacked Police station during wee hours of last night.
However, police force retaliated the attack with professional competence and gallantry, forcing the attackers to retreat and finally escape.

On receiving report, Chief Capital City Police, Syed Ashfaq Anwar reached the site and highly appreciated the police force for bravely repulsing the attack.

Our force is fully vigilant and will give prompt reply to any such subversive activity aimed at disturbing law and order situation in the city, CCPO remarked.

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