An old man selling corn at road side
UK largest bilateral development partner of Pakistan: Ayaz Sadiq
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP):Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Monday said the United Kingdom was one of the largest and important bilateral development partners of Pakistan.
Ms. Annabel Gerry, Development Director of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to Pakistan called on Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in his office to discuss matters of mutual interest.
The Minister expressed satisfaction at the current status of bilateral relations and underlined the importance of exploring ways and means to further enhance the existing multifaceted partnership. He also highlighted the current flood situation of the country and expressed the need for collaboration in areas of strengthening flood resilience.
The Development Director, FCDO, Ms. Annabel Gerry also highlighted that the development cooperation between the two countries started in 1950s. The UK, she said, through the erstwhile DFID (now Foreign Commonwealth Development Office-FCDO), had provided significant support for socio-economic development in Pakistan.
She further apprised the Minister about the various development programs and areas in which the Government of the UK was working for enhancing collaboration.
The areas for potential collaboration include various programs on infrastructure development financing, special focus on women empowerment and development projects related to them, provision of technical assistance in modernizing education sector of Pakistan and programs related to energy security and climate conservation.
The Minister expressed gratitude and appreciation on the assistance in diverse areas. He reiterated the need for assistance and grant in flood relief measures.
The Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Mr. Muhammad Humair Karim, stated that Pakistan and the United Kingdom enjoyed a cordial relationship, and that Pakistan was looking forward to further enhance the bilateral relations.
He stressed on the revival of Development Partnership Agreement and Bilateral Assistance Talks to collaborate in different areas, and to align the areas of focus of the FCDO with the development priorities of Government of Pakistan.
In her concluding remarks, Ms. Gerry appreciated the officers of Economic Affairs Division for their support.
An old man selling corn at road side
Labourers are busy in construction work of Blue Line Metro bus station at Expressway
Govt decides to hold donors’ conference for rehabilitation of flood-hit areas
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): The government on Monday decided to hold a donors’ conference for the rehabilitation of flood affected areas of the country.
The decision was taken in a meeting of relevant officials held here with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in chair to review the progress of relief and rehabilitation measures in the flood affected areas.
Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman, Advisor to PM Ahad Cheema, Member Provincial Assembly Punjab Awais Leghari, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt. Gen. Akhtar Nawaz and relevant senior officials attended the meeting.
The Prime Minister said that the international institutions should be briefed about the devastation caused by floods in the country as well as the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts by the federal and provincial governments.
He also appealed the philanthropists to generously contribute in the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund.
The Prime Minister directed to immediately dispatch 40,000 tents and 100,000 ration packets to the flood affected areas and take measures for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of flood-hit areas.
The Prime Minister also directed all the institutions concerned to speed up the process of relief and rehabilitation in the flood affected areas on emergency basis.
PILDAT releases analysis of National Assembly’s performance
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): As the 15th National Assembly concluded its 4th parliamentary year, the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency (PILDAT) on Monday released analysis of its performance based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
The 15th National Assembly during its fourth year passed 55 laws as compared to 60 bills in the third year. Some 32 government bills were introduced in the fourth year against 31 bills in the last year.
However, the 15th National Assembly has passed 155 bills in its first four years as compared to 125 by the 14th National Assembly during the same period. The 15th National Assembly has, therefore, approved 24% more laws than the previous assembly in four years.
A slight decrease is seen in the number of ordinances laid by the government in the National Assembly during its fourth year compared to the third year. Sixteen (16) ordinances were laid in the assembly in the fourth year against twenty (20) during the third year which is a decrease of about 20%.
The 15th National Assembly met for 87 days in the fourth parliamentary year. The assembly has, thus, met for 10% more days than it was convened during its third year, which were 79 sittings.
During the fourth year, Member of the National Assembly, Imran Khan, attended only one NA sitting (1.14%) while he held the office of prime minister. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, MNA, who took oath as prime minister on April 11, 2022, attended eight sittings as PM.
Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif remained Leader of the Opposition till April 10, 2022, and in that capacity, attended 19 out of 43 sittings of the assembly in its fourth year. This was an improvement from his 13% attendance during the third year.
Raja Riaz Ahmad, MNA, who was declared as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly on May 20, 2022, has attended 13 out of 37 sittings during the fourth year.
During the tenure of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government (3 years and 8 months) in the 15th National Assembly, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian was the most vocal MNA with a recorded talk time of 1 hour and 59 minutes. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz, then Leader of the Opposition, spoke for 1 hour and 57 minutes, followed by Khawaja Muhammad Asif of the PML-N, who spoke for 1 hour and 27 minutes. Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary of the PML-N spoke for 1 hour and 11 minutes while Shazia Marri of the PPPP spoke for 51 minutes.
The fourth year of the 15th National Assembly has seen 14 days for the annual budget session and the passage of the Finance bill 2022-2023, two days less than what was spent during the third year.
Pakistani envoy briefs UN rights chief on India’s demographic engineering in Kashmir
GENEVA, Aug 22 (APP): Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN offices in Geneva, Ambassador Khalil Hashmi, Monday met the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and briefed her about the unfolding human rights crisis in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK).
A press release issued by the Pakistani mission here said that Ambassador Hashmi reiterated Pakistan’s grave concerns about India’s illegal demographic engineering of the occupied territory and its widely documented grave human rights impacts during the last three years.
Terming the IIOJK as a human rights flashpoint, the Pakistani envoy drew the High Commissioner’s attention towards India’s unabated, gross violations of Kashmiri people’s basic political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights, especially their inalienable right to self-determination.
He pointed out that there was a clear pattern of Indian impunity for human rights abuses, aided by conspicuous silence of powerful States, implementation of oppressive laws (such as Armed Forces Special Power, Public Safety and Unlawful Activities Prevention Acts),
a pliant judiciary, local hand-picked administration, and shuttering of local human rights institutions.
Furthermore, India continued to defy universally agreed norms and principles, Hashmi said, adding this was evident from continued denial of access to OHCHR (Office of UN Human Rights High Commissioner for Human Rights), OIC, independent civil society and international media to assess the ground situation.
Appreciating High Commissioner and her Office’s regular monitoring, public expression of concerns and reporting about the IIOJK situation, including at the UN Human Rights Council, Ambassador Hashmi reiterated Pakistan’s request for publication of a third Kashmir Report by the UN Human Rights Office.
The OHCHR has published two Kashmir Reports, 2018 and 2019, documenting in detail India’s grave, systematic violations of Kashmiri people’s rights.
The surge in India’s systematic, gross violations of Kashmiris’ basic human rights continue to be extensively documented by independent civil society, global media and UN Special Procedures, it was pointed out.
Civil society organizations have publicly characterized the post-05th August situation in
the occupied territory to be a ‘dire human rights crisis’ while UN Special Procedures have termed it to be in ‘free fall’.
Ambassador Hashmi also met the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Ms. Nada Al-Nashif, on 05 August 2022 in context of Youm-e-Istehsaal and handed over Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s letter, outlining Pakistan’s concerns to and key asks from UN human rights machinery, inter alia.
APP/ift