BEIJING, April 26 (APP):The military band from Pakistan enthralled the audience with its exquisite and stunning performance by playing tunes of different national and traditional folk songs at Pakistan Embassy here on Thursday morning.
Pakistan Ambassador to China, Masood Khalid was the chief guest on the occasion. Defence Attaché Brig Ahmed Bilal, senior diplomats, military officials, teachers, students and a large number of Chinese and Pakistani communities witnessed the performance.
The military band started its performance with playing national anthem of Pakistan and then presented some melodious tunes including ‘Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan’, Aiy Puttar Hattan Tey Nahin Vikday.’
The audience also appreciated famous tunes of traditional folk songs of Punjabi, Pushto, Sindhi and Kashmiri languages.
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Masood Khalid highly lauded the band led by Honorary Captain Ghulam Ali for its performance which was a rare and unique opportunity for the gathering.
He informed that this band has represented Pakistan at a very important international event of the meeting of the Defence Ministers of the SCO wherein eight member-states of SCO participated including host country China. They gave their performances at such iconic places like Great Wall and Olympic Stadium.
“They not only won the hearts of the Chinese people by rendering beautiful Chinese tunes, Pakistan national and folk songs but also they have dominated the media headlines,’ he added.
He said all the tunes were excellent and outstanding but one which rounded of this programme was beautiful as it revived our patriotic spirit.
Master Ghulam Ali said it was his third visit to China and added last year his band participated in 4th SCO Military Bank Festival in Shanghai last year.
He said the performance of Pakistan band was applauded by Chinese brethren everywhere in China.
The 50-member tri-service military band is on a -seven-day visit of China to participate in the 5th “Horn of Peace” Military Band Festival of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the Chinese capital.
Military bands from eight countries, namely, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Belarus are participating in the festival.
The opening ceremony of the festival was held at a square of the Juyongguan Pass of the Great Wall in Beijing on April 24, which was followed by the first official performance of the festival.
The eight participating military bands gave a parade performance at the Beijing Olympic Park on morning of April 25 and staged the second official performance at the Juyongguan Pass of the Great Wall in evening on same day.
The 1st SCO Military Band Festival was held in 2014, and it has become a cultural gala of SCO and a bridge linking the friendship between servicepersons of the armed forces of the SCO member states.
It is worth mentioning that, this year’s SCO Military Band Festival has been joined by three newcomers, and they are the military bands from Uzbekistan, India and Belarus.

UNITED NATIONS, April 26 (APP):International donors at a United Nations-European Union humanitarian conference have pledged nearly $4.4 billion to fund critical aid programmes in war-torn Syria throughout 2018.
Gathered in Brussels on Wednesday, alongside top officials from over 85 countries and organizations, UN and EU leaders also stressed that the stalled UN-led Syrian political negotiations, known as the intra-Syrian talks, must be revived.
In a video message to the conference, which aimed to boost support for the future of Syria as well as the wider region, which is hosting millions of refugees, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that negotiations are the only way forward.
“We see confrontations and proxy wars involving several national armies, a number of armed opposition groups, many national and international militia, terrorist groups, foreign fighters from everywhere in the world – all these creating a bleak panorama of Syria today where there is no military solution to the crisis,” he said
“The solution must be political.”
The UN chief also stressed the importance of Security Council resolution 2254 (2015), which endorsed a road map for a peace process in Syria, and the 2012 Geneva Communique, which set out the principles for a political transition in the country.
Guterres said he will continue to engage with Member States to move towards a genuine and credible political solution that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people to dignity and freedom.
Relentless fighting across Syria, a conflict that has now lasted longer than World War II, has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and left over 13 million in dire need of humanitarian assistance, the UN said.
It has also forced 5.6 million Syrians to seek refuge in neighbouring countries where vulnerable host communities are reeling under the pressure.
Against this backdrop, the funds committed for 2018, and the additional $3.4 billion for 2019 and beyond, will ensure continuity of critical aid efforts, both for Syrians and refugee hosting communities.
“Every single cent we pledged today needs to be swiftly translated into action, spent in an effective and transparent way, this is our common responsibility,” Christos Stylianides, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, said while announcing the figures.
Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, welcomed the commitments and said that the resources will make a “real difference” for those suffering in the crisis.
“The pledges announced today are a good start,”Lowcock said.
He echoed Secretary-General Guterres’ call for a political solution.
“We are appealing on [the Syrian peoples’] behalf for an end to the violence: for a political solution, for a safe future with hope “of education, healthcare, work, and a return home. In other words: for a normal life.”
Meanwhile in New York, Ursula Mueller, the UN deputy aid chief, briefed the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria where called for the full implementation for Council resolution 2401.
In that resolution, the 15-member body demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities to enable aid to flow into the areas in need.
“We need to see firm steps taken to ensure that all parties respect the rules of war,” she said, stressing the need to protect civilians and stop attacks on health facilitates.
Ms. Mueller also called for safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access to all in need and underscored that medical items must stop being removed from convoys.
“There is no reason why items previously agreed with the authorities are removed at the last minute. These are critical life-saving items and they must be allowed on our trucks.”

UNITED NATIONS, April 26 (APP):Pakistan has underscored the need for addressing the underlying causes of longstanding conflicts at a big gathering of world leaders convened to help strengthen a new approach to sustaining peace, which aims to put prevention at the heart of the UN’s work.
“The path towards durable peace begins with a clear understanding of the root causes and nature of conflict,” Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said during the high-level debate in the General Assembly on sustaining and building peace.
She said while UN member states agreed on the importance of achieving and sustaining peace, they had not translated that broad agreement into real progress on the ground.
Sustained political processes must be at the core of all peace endeavours, covering all phases of conflict, the Pakistani envoy told the distinguished gathering.
It was the largest gathering of heads of state and government and ministers at UN Headquarters since the general debate in September 2017, and a “key legacy” event for the General Assembly President Miroslav Lajcak’s presidency, as his spokesman put it.
The two-day meeting was convened by the Assembly President in line with General Assembly resolution 70/262 and Security Council resolution 2282 (2016), renewing the United Nations’ commitment to conflict prevention, as embodied in its Charter.
In her remarks, Ambassador Lodhi emphasized that sustainable peace cannot be achieved until the underlying causes of conflict are adequately addressed. They include poverty; foreign occupation, external interference and interventions, political and economic injustice; ethnic, tribal and religious tensions; and also environmental degradation.
After outlining factors that were vital to the success of sustaining peace efforts, she said greater coherence and synergy across the United Nations system was needed, as were regional strategies that included the full participation of national actors. She also highlighted the importance of supporting the role of women and youth, as well as restructuring and prioritizing funds for peace-building activities.
“Building peace is hard work; sustaining it is, often, harder still,” the Pakistani envoy said.
“What we need are capacities to provide early warning, address the root causes, and include all stakeholders in trying to find comprehensive solutions,” she added.
In opening remarks, Assembly President Lajcak said that, while there had not been another world war since the founding of the United Nations, the Organization had not been there when people needed it. “We could have done more to respond to conflicts and more to prevent them from happening at
all,” he said. With people facing unending conflict in parts of the world, a new approach was needed. The signs were already there: rising intolerance, hate speech and disregard for the systems that we had spent 70 years building.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that, two years after the General Assembly and the Security Council had adopted twin resolutions on sustaining peace, it was time to look at progress and forge a common path ahead. Remarking that more countries were experiencing violent conflict than at any time in nearly three decades, he highlighted the record numbers of civilians being killed or displaced by violence, war and persecution.
Emphasizing the central message of his report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, he said the coherence of international efforts to support Governments and their people must be enhanced. But, without progress on financing, efforts could be futile. Noting that $233 billion had been spent on humanitarian interventions, peacekeeping and hosting refugees, he said more must be invested in prevention ” above all because it saved lives.