President Dr. Arif Alvi in a group photo with a delegation of venerated monks, who are attending the International Gandhara Symposium 2023
With unearthing of anti-state conspiracies, ‘power hungry’ PTI chief stands fully exposed: Marriyum
PESHAWAR, Jul 11 (APP):Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Tuesday said with the unearthing of conspiracies for vandalism, arson and violence,the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman stood fully exposed for indulging in anti-state activities for his personal gains and “lust for power”.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony of rehabilitation and renovation work of the Radio Pakistan Peshawar building burnt by the PTI worker, the minister said May 9, 2023 would always be remembered in the country’s history as a black day when the “miscreants” had set the building of Radio Pakistan ablaze.
Taking a jibe on the PTI regime, she said the party leadership instead of building 3500 dams as promised in its manifesto, befooled the people.
Contrary to tall claims of accountability, the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa locked the accountability bureau, she added.
The minister said the people would be provided access to affordable cinema houses. Under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan was now moving on the path of development and prosperity, she maintained.
She said the “foreign agent” tried to create political instability in the country and tried to stop the CPEC project by obstructing the visit of the President of China to Pakistan.
She said “the incompetent, inefficient and corrupt” former prime minister was thrown out of power through a no-confidence motion for the first time in Pakistan’s history in April last year.
Terming the PTI chief a “political orphan”, she said he first waved the cypher to divert the public attention from his “lust for power, corruption and theft.” When the cypher conspiracy failed, he announced the long march of May 25 last year and created anarchy.
And when the police reached Zaman Park with a warrant, the PTI arsonists attacked the law enforcers with petrol bombs and burnt their vehicles, she added.
The minister said when summoned by courts for accountability in the Toshakhana theft case, theft of 190 million pounds, Al-Qadir Trust and prohibited foreign funding, he was seen in their premises with a bucket or dustbin on his head.
He considered himself above the law and believed that he was above the accountability process, she opined.
She maintained the “dark day of May 9, 2023” would always be associated with “this incompetent and inefficient foreign agent” in the country’s history.
On that day, the four-storey building of Radio Pakistan was set on fire by throwing petrol and for two days the miscreants kept trying to attack it, she added.
All the archives of Radio Pakistan and the model of Chagai Hill were burnt, while the APP offices on the fourth floor were also set on fire, she added.
Paying tributes to the engineers of Radio Pakistan, she said they restored the transmission immediately after the May 9 attack.
Those who attacked the Radio Pakistan were the same people who had attacked the PTV and they would never be forgiven by the nation for burning the precious archives of Radio Pakistan, she added.
Marriyum said the renovation of the studio of Radio Pakistan had also started on emergency basis as per the directives of the prime minister.
The minister said the foundation-stone of a cinema had also been laid within the premises Radio Pakistan in Lahore with the objective to provide affordable big screen entertainment to the people.
There were very famous cinema houses in Peshawar where the youth used to enjoy their culture, she added.
Marriyum said cinemas would be built in the buildings of Radio Pakistan all over the country. Apart from it, the musical treasure of Pakistan’s history was being stored within the Digital National Archives so that the people could benefit from it.
She said the prime minister had allocated funds in the budget for the renovation of the building of Radio Pakistan Peshawar and the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had also contributed to it.
She said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was the party which was building Pakistan brick by brick, which always gave the message of unity, tolerance and connecting the federating units.
Under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, she said, the country was now moving towards development.
She further said the PTI arsonists first created chaos at D Chowk, destroyed buildings, which were rebuilt by the PML-N under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif and the buildings burnt on May 9 would also be rehabilitated.
She said she was grateful to Secretary Information Sohail Ali Khan, DG Radio Tahir Hasan and Engineer Amir Muqam for the restoration of Radio Pakistan Peshawar.
She said Engineer Amir Muqam encouraged her. The whole PML-N KP under the leadership of Amir Muqam stood firm against the bullying of conspirators during the PTI rule.
She said the PTI regime had no development plan for the province though it had promised to build universities, hospitals and schools. Regrettably, they did not build even a room in any hospital.
She said the PTI “miscreants” burnt the memorials of martyrs, mosques, ambulances, schools and hospitals on May 9.
She expressed the hope that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would never vote for “the conspirator” again as they had always contributed to the country’s development.
The minister said she had asked the Secretary Information Sohail Ali Khan and DG Radio Tahir Hussain for digitalisation of the regional culture and heritage here as soon as possible so that in the future, no body could harm the archives of Radio Pakistan.
Earlier, the Information Minister inaugurated the restoration works of Radio Pakistan Peshawar. Secretary Information Sohail Ali Khan, DG Radio Tahir Hassan and other officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting were also present on the occasion.
UN rights chief calls for respect as Human Rights Council debates Quran burnings
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 11 (APP): The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk on Tuesday, called for dialogue and respect for religious tolerance as member states met in Geneva in response to the recent burning of the Holy Quran in the Swedish capital.
Addressing the Human Rights Council, he noted that the holy book was the “core of faith” for well over one billion Muslims, according to a UN press release issued at UN Headquarters in New York.
The 47-member body is debating a motion, brought by Pakistan in response to last month’s incident, seeking a report from the UN rights chief on the topic and calls on states to review their laws and plug gaps that may “impede the prevention and prosecution of acts and advocacy of religious hatred.
In his remarks, Turk said that those who had burned the Holy Quran most likely did so “to express contempt and inflame anger”, but warned that these acts also aimed “to drive wedges between people”, to provoke and transform differences into hatred.
Dialogue to repair differences of opinion and faiths is key, the UN rights chief continued, as he condemned hate speech against and by people of all mainstream and minority faiths, highlighting instead the benefits of diversity to all societies.
The right to believe – or not to believe – “is fundamental to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, the High Commissioner told the Human Rights Council, which met on Tuesday for the urgent debate at the request of Pakistan.
He said leading politicians and senior religious figures have a “particularly crucial role to play” in speaking out clearly against disrespect and intolerance.
“They should also make it clear that violence cannot be justified by prior provocation, whether real or perceived”, he added.
The High Commissioner stressed that limiting free speech or expression to any degree must remain “as a matter of fundamental principle” an exception, especially given that laws limiting speech are “often misused” by authoritarian governments.
But some acts of speech constitute an incitement to violence and discriminatory action, he added.
Numerous acts of violence, terror and mass atrocity, have targeted people based on their religious beliefs, including inside places of worship.
Although international law is clear on the issue, national courts must determine each case in a manner “that is consistent with the guardrails that international humanitarian law provides”, he said.
“My second point is this: advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to violence, discrimination and hostility should be prohibited in every State”, Turk told delegates to the Council in Geneva.
He gave examples of abusing Muslim women who wear a headscarf, sneering at people with disabilities, or making false claims against migrants and minorities, noting that “all such hate speech is similar” stemming from the idea that some are less deserving than others.
The tide of hate speech is being powered by social media, and increasing discord and polarization, he warned.
Next, he called for rising hate speech to be addressed through dialogue, education, greater awareness, and interfaith or community engagement.
He highlighted the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, as a key support tool for governments to counter it.
He urged countries to redouble their efforts to implement the Plan.
Faced with the increasing weaponization of religious differences for political advantage, he said societies must not take the bait.
“We must not allow ourselves to be reeled in and become instrumentalized by these merchants of chaos for political gain – these provocateurs who deliberately seek out ways to divide us.”
His overriding goal in addressing the debate was to stress the “profound enrichment” provided by diversity, existential views “and our thoughts and beliefs”.
The UN rights chief said all societies need to become “magnets of respect, dialogue and cooperation among different peoples, as has been achieved by multiple civilizations in the past.”
UNHCR provides cash assistance to over 1 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Jul 11 (APP): UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has completed the disbursement of cash assistance to over 1 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan who were impacted by the prolonged difficult economic situation in the aftermath of the devastating floods of 2022.
The cash assistance programme, which was launched in January 2023 in collaboration with the Government of Pakistan, officially concluded at the end of June.
UNHCR’s one-off cash grant of up to PKR 25,000 or approximately USD100, depending on family size, supported a total of 250,000 Afghan refugee households in Pakistan. The total spending on cash assistance for Afghan refugees since January was USD17.8 million, said a press release.
UNHCR’s Representative in Pakistan, Ms. Noriko Yoshida, said that the current economic situation coupled with the floods last year had badly affected people in Pakistan, including refugees.
“It was imperative to provide cash assistance to refugees in line with the support that was provided by the government to the people in Pakistan,” she said.
Pakistan hosts over 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees and 427,000 people in refugee-like situations from Afghanistan.
The assistance has helped those hardest hit by the economic downturn by enabling them to meet their basic needs.
Yoshida reaffirmed UNHCR’s commitment to continue supporting refugees and their hosts and recognized the support of the international community for making their assistance possible. She also acknowledged and appreciated the support in its implementation by the Government of Pakistan, financial service provider Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and other national implementing partners such as INSPIRE Pakistan and Society for Human Rights and Prisoners’ Aid (SHARP).
The partnership is UNHCR’s first private sector engagement with the country’s banking system and is an excellent example of the commitment of the Government and private sector in the country to find innovative approaches to support vulnerable Afghans.
UNHCR is on the ground to support Pakistan as it recovers from the aftermath of last year’s devastating floods, with a particular focus on areas hosting refugees. Some 800,000 refugees live in areas that were impacted by the devastating floods.
Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Interior and Legal Affairs, Attaullah Tarar addressing a press conference
Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Interior and Legal Affairs, Attaullah Tarar addressing a press conference
Participants viewing photo Art exhibition titled “The Forgotten Flood” organized by Loc Sujag at Sindh Museum
Governor Gilgit-Baltistan, Syed Mehdi Shah in a meeting with Advisor to the PM on Kashmir Affiars and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira at Governor Secretariat
Ms. Marriyum Aurangzeb, Federal Information Minister launching 24/7 broadcast on PTV National Channel at Pakistan Television Center
