ISLAMABAD, Apr 19 (APP):The 17th National Men and Women’s Netball Championships 2018 will be held here at the Hamidi Hall of the Pakistan Sports Complex from May 4 to 7.
According to Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF) President Mudassar Arain, the tournament is being organised in collaboration with Pakistan Sports Board.
“Teams from Army, WAPDA, PAF, Navy, Police, Pakistan Railways, Higher Education Commission (HEC), Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit, Sindh, Punjab, Islamabad, FATA and AJK will take part in the event,” he said.
He said the top five teams will qualify for the 33rd National Games 2018. The PNF general council meeting will also be held in Islamabad on May 4.
Netball C’ships to start on May 4
China willing to work together with Pakistan to deepen pragmatic cooperation: Wei Fenghe
BEIJING, Apr 19 (APP):Chinese Defense Minister, Wei Fenghe has said that China is willing to work together with Pakistan to focus on building a community of human destiny, consolidate all-weather friendship and deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields between the two armed forces.
He expressed these views while talking to visiting Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi in a meeting here on Thursday.
Wei Fenghe said that China and Pakistan are good neighbours, good friends, good partners.
“Under the correct guidance of the heads of state of the two countries, China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership has developed in a healthy manner,” he added.
He said his country is ready to provide strong security guarantees for the building of the “One Belt and One Road.”
The Chinese Defense Minister introduced the relevant conditions for the successful convening of the “two sessions.”
He said that under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, the people throughout the country are striving hard to realize the Chinese dream.
Under the guidance of Xi Jinping and the idea of strengthening the army, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will work hard to build a world-class army, resolutely safeguard the interests of national sovereignty, security, and development, and make active contributions to maintaining world and regional peace, he added.
During the meeting, Admiral Abbasi expressed his congratulations on the world-renowned achievements in the construction of the Chinese armed forces.
He said that Pakistan highly cherishes the traditional friendship between Pakistan and China and is willing to continuously deepen exchanges and cooperation between the two armed forces in high-level exchanges, practical training, and equipment and technology, and promote the continuous and in-depth development of the relations between the two countries and the two armed forces.
ECP’s task force to assess internet voting system for overseas Pakistani voters
ISLAMABAD, Apr 19 (APP):Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday set up a task force to assess web based automated system of internet voting for eligible Pakistani voters living abroad.
According to ECP, on the direction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the ECP has established Internet Voting Task Force for conduct of third party evaluation and technical audit of the I-Voting solution, proposed by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
It said that the I-Voting Task Force was mandated to technically assess the overall web based automated system of internet voting for eligible Pakistani voters living abroad having National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) and valid machine readable Pakistani passport as per the terms of reference (TOR) and will submit its report along with the recommendations.
CEO M/S IT-Butler, Dubai, UAE, Dr Muhammad Manshad Satti will be the convener of the task force while the members included DG (Law), ECP Muhammad Arshad, Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), Lahore Dr Umer Saif, Information Technology Board, Peshawar KP, Shahbaz Khan, Assistant Professor, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), representative from Lahore University of Management Sconces (LUMS), Lahore and representative from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi., Information Technology Board, Peshawar KP, Shahbaz Khan, Assistant Professor, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), representative from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore and representative from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi.
Commerce Minister Pervaiz Malik meets UK Minister Greg Hands
LONDON, Apr 19 (APP):Federal Commerce Minister Muhammad Pervaiz Malik Wednesday called on British Minister of State for trade policy, Greg Hands and discussed ways for enhancing bilateral trade between Pakistan and the United Kingdom (UK).
Pervaiz Malik is visiting London from April 15 to 19, in order to represent Pakistan in the “Commonwealth Business Forum” which is an integral part of Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2018.
According to a statement issued here by Pakistan High Commission, he held important meetings with Greg Hands and Trade Envoy for Pakistan, Rehman Chishti during his visit.
The Commerce Minister was accompanied by Pakistan’s High Commissioner to UK, Syed Ibne Abbas.
The commerce minister thanked British government for their support in securing GSP plus status with EU and asked for a closer post Brexit trade relations.
Hands assured Pakistan’s Commerce Minister that Pakistan would get more generous market access in UK as compared to the access which it currently enjoys under GSP Plus regime.
He also assured to work with Pakistan to promote it as a safe destination for British Investment.
Pervaiz Malik also invited Hands to visit Pakistan which he accepted.
Apart from this meeting, the commerce minister attended “Asia Leaders Roundtable Conference” and “Fashion and Textile Event” under Commonwealth Business Forum where he effectively projected the success which Pakistan is making on the economic front.
Pervaiz Malik also met with Prince Andrew, Duke of York at St. James Palace.
On the occasion, both the leaders acknowledged close relations between the two countries and agreed to cement them further.
It is important to note that Commonwealth countries represents about one third of global population having a combined GDP of US$ 10 Trillion which offers immense opportunities in Trade and Investment which Pakistan is keen to exploit in order to boost its exports and create employment opportunities.
Pakistan detests terrorism in all its forms: Governorr Rafique Rajwana
LAHORE, Apr 19 (APP):Punjab Governor Malik Muhammad Rafique Rajwana has said that Pakistan detests terrorism in all forms, saying it has made the highest number of sacrifices in the face of terrorism.
Talking to the foreign trainee-officers of the Pakistan Postal College during their visit to Governor’s House here on Thursday, he said the government, armed forces and law-enforcement agencies had eradicated terrorism from the country.
Director Pakistan Postal Service Khalid Awais Ranjha was also present during the meeting.
The governor said that Pakistan is a peace-loving country and wishes good relations with all its neighbours. He said that country’s economy had improved due to good governance of the government, adding that the foreign investors preferred investment in Pakistan today. He said law and order situation had improved in the country due to comprehensive strategy of the government.
Rajwana said the foreign trainee-officers would also have found Pakistan as a peace-loving country during their stay here. He hoped that the trainee-officers would serve as Pakistan’s ambassadors when they return to their respective countries.
He said that Pakistan Post is one of the world’s best postal services, adding that the modern gadgets like laptops, mobile phones and other inventions have adversely affected the postal services.
The Punjab goveror also attended a Q&A session. Responding to a question by one of the visitors, he said the government had introduced various initiatives to empower women, adding that women quota had been fixed in the governmnt services.
Reafique Rajwana said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
was a great gift from China for Pakistan, which will mark a new era of progress and prosperity in
the county as well as in the region.
Uzbek high-level delegations calls on defence production secretary
RAWALPINDI, Apr 19 (APP):A high-level delegation of Uzbekistan headed by Secretary of Security Council under the President of the Republic of
Uzbekistan, Lt Gen Victor Vladimirovich called on Secretary Ministry of Defence Production Lt Gen (Retd) Muhammad Ijaz
Chaudhary here on Thursday, said a statement issued by Ministry of Defence Production.
Secretary Defence Production warmly welcomed the delegation.
He appreciated the existing relations between the two countries and desired to translate these into active cooperation in
the domain of defence production also.
Matters of mutual interest were discussed including visit of Uzbek experts to Defence Production Establishments
of Pakistan.
Secretary Defence Production also thanked Uzbekistan’s leadership for supporting Pakistan’s bid for full
membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Senator Javed Abbasi re elected Chairman of Senate body on law and Justice
ISLAMABAD, Apr 19 (APP):Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi has been re-elected as Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice.
His name was proposed by Senator Muhammad Asad Ali Khan Junejo.
The Chairman thanked the members of the committee for reposing confidence in his abilities and wowed to seek guidance
from the members of the Committee to make it more vibrant and active.
“In the previous tenure, the committee made all out efforts to fulfill its legal and constitutional role and presented 62 reports relating to various issues and legislative matters,” Javed Abbasi said.
Members of the Committee assured their cooperation to make the committee more efficient and play assertive role.
Besides Leader of the House in the Senate Raja Muhammad Zafar ul Haq and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Sherry Rehman, the meeting was also attended by Senators Mian Raza Rabbani, Farooq H. Naek, Mussadiq Malik, Muhammad Asad Ali Khan Junejo, Sana Jamali and senior officers of the Senate.
Senator Raza Rabbani said that the performance of the committee during its past tenure was remarkable and expressed the hope that the committee under the Chairmanship of Senator Javed Abbasi would strive to beat its record.
Farooq H. Naek said that the Committee has touched upon the issues of utmost importance.
He appreciated the Chairmanship of Senator Javed Abbasi and said that he has excellent skills to cope with the difficult situations and create a consensus without being harsh.
While presenting the performance of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice during last three year (2015-2018) Chairman of the Committee Senator Javed Abassi apprised the members that Committee presented 62 Reports during the three years period and 71 meetings of the Committee were held.
Among various Bills and the matters referred by the House during this period the Committee presented its Reports on the important matters and bills including Report on “Affairs of Cooperative Housing Societies in Islamabad particularly the violations committed by them in planning and allocation of land for community services”, Report on “Steps taken/being taken by the Government against illegal Housing Societies in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Implementation of Building Code, with
particular reference to provisions regarding earthquake, for suggesting penal provisions, measures and mechanism regarding violation of said Code, Proposed amendments in the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority Act, 1996,
“Review of the Section 25 which deals with voluntary return and plea bargaining of the NAB Ordinance, 1999”,Matter raised
by Senator Saeed Ghani regarding recalling/ withdrawal of Order by the Chairman NAB wherein acting/ current charges were
given to various officers of NAB in violation of rules and reappointment of same officers, on the same day, in the Own Pay
Scale (OPS),
“The Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Bill, 2016”, “The PANAMA Papers Inquiries Bill, 2016”,
“The Contempt of Court (Amendment) Bill, 2016” (introduced by Senator Farhatullah Babar),
“The Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2016“, The Legal Practitioners and Bar Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016, “The Alternate Dispute Resolution Bill, 2017, “The Cost of Litigation Bill, 2017”, “The Elections Bill, 2017”, “The Public
Interest Disclosures Bill, 2017”, “The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2017” (Amendment of Article 153 to provide a Constitutional provision to ensure equal provincial representation in the Council of Common Interest) moved by Senators Murtaza Wahab and Saleem Mandviwala, Current Report on the issue of Hanging in Public.
He further said that in finalization of its reports the Law Committee also invited all stakeholders including lawyers, Bar Associations, human rights forums, provincial governments departments, institutions like Pakistan Engineering Councils and
experts as well.
During this period, the Committee also took briefings from the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the National Accountability Bureau on the work and performance of these institutions.
High level Kuwaiti delegation visits ANF headquarters
RAWALPINDI, Apr 19 (APP):An eight-member high level Kuwaiti delegation visited Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Headquarters here on Thursday and discussed Anti Narcotics matters and share Kuwaiti experiences on the subject.
The discussions focused on legal framework and other areas of mutual cooperation. Kuwaiti delegation was headed by Maj Gen Khaled Abdullah Al-Daiin, Assistant Undersecretary for Criminal Affairs, State of Kuwait while on Pakistan’s behalf, Director General ANF Major General Musarrat Nawaz Malik headed the dialogue.
Other members of Kuwaiti delegation included Brig Bader Mohammad Al Ghadouri, General Manager, Drug Enforcement General Department, Director of International Control Administration Col. Fahad M. Albadar, Officer in the office of Assistant Undersecretary for Criminal Security Affairs Capt Abdulaziz Al Barjas and four high ranking officers from Embassy of Kuwait, Islamabad. ANF participants included Officers from fields of International Cooperation, Law, Intelligence and Enforcement.
Both delegates emphasized need to further cement the brotherly relations of both the countries, enhance intelligence sharing and elimination of impediments in coordinated and international controlled delivery operations. Due emphasis was also laid for up-gradation of legal aspects compatible to prevalent environments. Need for regular interaction, communication and sharing of best practices was also discussed.
It is pertinent to mention here that in near past cooperation of Narcotics Control Agencies of both the countries had resulted into many successful seizures of drugs and precursor chemicals.
The visit of the delegation is considered as a milestone for bilateral cooperation on drug issues between the two countries. In the past, Narcotics Control Agencies of both the countries had remained in cooperation with each other in the fields of capacity building, Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts, Technical Up-gradation and Drug Law Enforcement Training.
Khursheed Shah urges Parliament to remove loopholes in election laws
ISLAMABAD, Apr 19 (APP):Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah on Thursday urged the Parliament to remove loopholes in the election laws for ensuring timely general election in the country.
In a statement, elaborating the loopholes, he said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had announced to issue final notification of the delimitation of the new constituencies on May 4, whereas, as per sections 22 of election laws 120 day are required for holding elections after the completion of delimitation process.
But on the other hand, Khursheed Shah said that it is necessary to conduct general election within 60 days after the completion of tenure of the incumbent government.
“If the tenure of the present government is completed on June 1, then the elections should be conducted on August 1 which is impossible in presence of section 22, adding that if we can see the section 22, general election is not possible before September 4.”
Meanwhile, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani and senior Leader of Pakistan Muslim League Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi met with the Leader of Opposition in his Chamber.
Leader of Opposition in Senate Sherry Rehman, Senator Farooq H Naek and Tariq Bashir Cheema were also present during the meeting.
Khursheed Shah and Pervaiz Elahi discussed the name for the slot of caretaker prime minister.
Pervaiz Elahi said that suitable and reputed persons should be appointed as a caretaker prime minister.
Khursheed Shah hoped that the name of caretaker prime minister will be final by May 15.
UN official urges Israel to halt plans to relocate Palestinian Bedouin communities in West Bank
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 19 (APP)::A senior United Nations humanitarian official has called on Israeli authorities to halt plans to demolish Palestinian-owned structures and cease plans for the relocation of Palestinian Bedouin communities in the West Bank.
“We are monitoring the situation in Khan al Ahmar closely and are deeply concerned by what we see here, and in the scores of other vulnerable Bedouin communities,” UN Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick said on Wednesday.
McGoldrick visited the Khan al Ahmar-Abu al Helu, located on the outskirts of East Jerusalem in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with Scott Anderson, the UN Relief and Works Agency’s Director of Operations in the West Bank, and Palestinian officials.
“We call on the Israeli authorities to respect their legal obligations, as the occupying power, including through stopping the demolition of Palestinian-owned structures and ceasing plans for the relocation of Palestinian Bedouin communities,” McGoldrick stressed.
Khan al Ahmar-Abu al Helu is home to 181 people, 53 percent of whom are children and 95 percent of whom are Palestine refugees registered with the UN agency.
It is one of 46 Bedouin communities in the central West Bank that the UN considers being at risk of forcible transfer, due to a coercive environment generated by Israeli practices and policies, plans to move the communities from their current locations and other reasons.
Eighteen of these communities, including Khan al Ahmar, are located in or next to an area slated in part for a settlement plan reportedly aimed at creating a continuous built-up area between Ma’ale Adumim and East Jerusalem.
Nearly all of the Khan al Ahmar community’s structures risk demolition by the Israeli authorities, including the school, initially built with donor support that serves some 170 students from the community and four surrounding ones, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“The entire community of Khan el Ahmar-Abu al Helu, the vast majority of whom are Palestine refugees and who are amongst the most vulnerable Bedouin communities in the West Bank, is facing the risk of demolitions of their structures and relocation,” said Anderson.
For years, the residents have insisted on the right to return to their original lands, in what is now southern Israel, and, until this occurs, asks for international support to remain in their current location.
“The humanitarian impact of home demolition is severe and long lasting. It is well documented in previous instances that the transfer of Bedouin communities into urban settings is socially and economically non-viable. The Khan al Ahmar-Abu al Helu community has repeatedly called for the provision of suitable planning solutions and services in its current location,” Anderson added.
The visit came in advance of next week’s Israeli High Court of Justice case, which may determine the fate of the structures and Israeli relocation plan.