ISLAMABAD, March 27 (APP):Youth are our future and we have to prepare them for the challenges. The aim of such celebrations is to educate and equip the young generation for making Pakistan prosper.
These were the views expressed by Director General, PNCA Jamal Shah at the children cultural show arranged by Pakistan National Council of the Arts in connection with Pakistan Day celebrations here on Tuesday.
Shah advised the Youth to work hard and show their strength in achieving the goals. They have the potential to compete at
any international forum.
Students of the OPF Girls College, OPF, Bahria Foundation, I.M.C.G Chak Shahzad, I.M.C.G G-8/2, Islamabad, Sir Syed Public School, Al-Sadiq School System, Punjab College for Women and Government Post Graduate College for Women 6th Road presented tableau, national songs and delivered speeches highlighting the importance of Pakistan Day and responsibilities of the youth.
The Director General distributed trophyies among the winners.
Children Cultural Show at PNCA to celebrate Pakistan Day
PM approves committee to shortlist chairman Pemra candidates
ISLAMABAD, Mar 27 (APP):The Prime Minister has approved a six member Screening Committee to shortlist the candidates for the appointment of Chairman Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).
According to a notification issued here on Tuesday by Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, National History and Literary Heritage (IBNH&LH), the Screening Committee has also been mandated to prepare a pool for the Selection Committee for appointment of the PEMRA head.
The Screening Committee headed by Secretary MOIBNH&LH included Additional Secretary, Establishment Division, Additional Secretary Finance Division and Executive Member PEMRA, Joint Secretary Prime Minister’s Office, while Director General – IP MOBINH&LH will be the secretary of the committee.
China urges dialogue between UK and Russia on spy attack
BEIJING, March 27 (APP):China on Tuesday called upon Russia and the United Kingdom (UK) to properly handle poisoning of former Russian agent through dialogue on basis of clarifying the fact.
The Chinese side believes that the incident should be properly handled through the dialogue between the UK and Russia on the basis of clarifying the facts, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson, Hua Chunying said during her regular press briefing here.
“We are highly concerned about the current state of affairs. China firmly opposes any use of chemical weapons,” she said in a question about the expulsion of about 100 Russian diplomats announced by more than 20 countries including the United State and Europe.
Hua Chunying said the countries concerned should earnestly abide by the basic norms of international law and international relations and avoid taking any measures that intensify contradictions.
“With the current international community facing many challenges, all countries should abandon the Cold War mentality, give up the confrontation, work together to safeguard world peace, stability, and tranquillity, and work together to build new-type of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation,” she added.
Award winning female academic calls on High Commissioner
LONDON, Mar 27 (APP):Award-winning female academic Professor, Khanzadi Fatima Khattak called on Syed Ibne Abbas, Pakistan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK) here and briefed him on the future collaboration with the UK universities.
A statement of the Pakistan High Commission issued Tuesday said that Pakistan-based first female Prof. Khanzadi Fatima Khattak, the Vice Chancellor of Women University Swabi, recently received the prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry Fellowship (FRSC) award at a ceremony held at the Royal Society of Chemistry Headquarters Burlington House in London.
The President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Sir John Holman presented the Award to Prof. Khanzadi Fatima Khattak.
The High Commissioner felicitated Professor Khanzadi on the singular honour of receiving FRSC, which he termed a well-deserved recognition of her work by a prestigious research institution.
He commended her dedication and commitment to academic excellence, particularly her focus on empowering women through education.
The High Commissioner hoped that Professor Khanzadi would be able to develop linkages with the British academic institutions and introduce cutting edge teaching and research methodologies in Pakistani universities.
Professor Khanzadi informed the High Commissioner about her research work and ongoing projects. She also briefed him on the future collaborations with the UK universities.
During her visit, an MoU was signed between Women University Swabi and the University of Cardiff, UK. Under this MoU, the two institutions will collaborate in research projects, study abroad programmes, summer schools, students, faculty and staff academic visits and training programmes.
National Women Cricket team visits Pak’s HC in Sri Lanka
ISLAMABAD, March 27 (APP):Pakistani Women Cricket team led by Captain Bismah Maroof visited the High Commission of Pakistan in Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
Welcoming the team, the Acting High Commissioner Janbaz Khan congratulated the Pakistani team for their splendid performance for winning the ODI series said a press release received here from Sri Lanka.
He expressed the hope that the players will do well in the events ahead and would contribute their best to win laurels for
the country.
Pakistan Women Cricket team members said they were impressed by immense love of the people of Sri Lanka for Pakistan and its cricketing fraternity.
Pakistani Cricket team is currently in Sri Lanka to play qualifier round of ICC Women’s Championship against their Sri Lankan counterparts, comprised of three one day international matches. Both teams will also play a bilateral series of three T20 matches.
The Pakistani team has won all ODIs played at Dambulla while T20 series will be played at Colombo with the first match taking place at the SSC on Wednesday, the second at the NCC on Friday and the final game at the SSC on Saturday.
UAE to facilitate Pakistani business community: envoy
SIALKOT, March 27 (APP)::Ambassador of the United Arab Emirate (UAE) to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Salem Al Zaabi discussed different prospects
to find out ways and means for enhancing bilateral trade between his country and Pakistan in a meeting with President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry Zahid Latif Malik on Tuesday.
He pledged extending full cooperation for organising single country exhibitions between both countries.
He also promised to facilitate the businessmen of Pakistan in acquiring long-term business visas. He appreciated the law
and order situation in the country and said that Pakistan was a safe country.
The ambassador expressed his commitment for working with the Pakistani government and media to project a soft image
of Pakistan around the globe.
He disclosed that Expo 2020 in Dubai would be a great opportunity for the Pakistani businessmen and especially for
business community of Sialkot for establishing B2B contacts with the businessmen of 180 different countries.
He urged the business community of Sialkot to attend the expo.
The SCCI president apprise the ambassador of the potential of Sialkot exports. He underscored the need for discouraging
indirect sourcing, which was hindering the bilateral trade.
“Businessmen able to make Pakistan economic giant”
LAHORE, Mar 27 (APP):Lord Mayor Lahore Col (R) Mubashir Javed said on Tuesday that business community has the ability to turn Pakistan into an economic giant.
He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), where LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid, Senior Vice President Khawaja Khawar Rashid, Vice President Zeshan Khalil and EC members also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the challenges being faced by the business community.
Lord Mayor said that the world is in a state of ‘economic war’ for long and all economies are working hard to win the race.
He said that various countries, which were economically deprived in 70s, have done reasonable progress.
Mayor said that government has started work to clean temporary encroachments in order to make the flow of traffic smooth.
He said that Budget has been allocated for roads construction in Lahore which will be started within 3 to 4 months.
LCCI President Malik Tahir Tavaid said that in today’s fast changing world, cites compete with each other for attracting business. A most striking feature of the Census 2017 is that around 66 percent of the population of Pakistan now lives in ten cities.
He said they are the level at which the ease of doing business is judged. This makes the measurement of the size of the economy of cities and the understanding of its structure extremely important.
He said Lahore was the second largest city of Pakistan in census 1998. It retains that position in Census 2017. What is new is that it is the only city of Pakistan whose population has more than doubled in the intercensal period, from 5,143,495 to 11,126,285.
Malik Tahir Javaid said that the most important result of the study is that Lahore has a large economy of over a trillion rupees. In 2010-11, the size of the economy of Lahore was around Rs945.6 billion. It went up to Rs 1,227 billion in 2014-15. This means that the share of Lahore in the Punjab economy increased from 17.7 per cent in 2010-11 to 18.9 per cent in 2014-15. The corresponding shares of Lahore in Pakistan’s GDP were 10.4 per cent and 11.5 per cent.
The LCCI president said that with economies of scale and agglomeration, a high growth of Lahore will contribute to high growth of Punjab and a high growth of Punjab will lead to a high growth of Pakistan. With an urban population growth of 4.02 per cent, the Lahore district is now 99 per cent urban.
He said servicing this large population has changed the structure of the economy as well. The predominant sector of the economy of Lahore is now the services sector. He said we need to understand the policy implications of the rising share and growth of services. The city will have to effectively manage environment, infrastructure, investment, consumption and other services to remain competitive.
He said that encroachments are a serious problem in the markets despite good efforts in the past by the government but this problem still prevails and needs to be rooted out.
Sohail Lashari, Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry, Shahid Nazir, Shahbaz Aslam, Dr. Shahid Raza, Mian Muhammad Nawaz, Naeem Hanif, Adnan Khalid Butt and others were present
PM inaugurates Tolanj gas processing facility in Kohat
KOHAT, March 27 (APP):Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Tuesday said with the abundant natural gas reserves and improved security situation, Pakistan offered ample opportunities of investment in this sector of economy to local and foreign companies.
The prime minister was addressing a ceremony here after inaugurating a US$ 150 million Tolanj Gas Processing Plant that will produce 20 million cubic feet gas per day besides contributing 31 million dollars revenue annually to the national kitty.
The processing facility was commissioned on December 5, 2017.
It had commenced production from Tolanj X-1 and Tolanj West-1 gas wells in Kohat, a leap step forward towards making Pakistan self-sufficient in energy sector.
The prime minister lauded MOL Pakistan’s support in meeting Pakistan’s energy requirements besides its valuable contribution towards investment and generating employment opportunities in the country.
The gas processing facility will immensely help make a direct positive effect on the overall industrial growth, development of infant industries and socio-economic conditions of people of this region.
He said Tolanj gas facility being a classic example of public-private partnership was a major headway in meeting the growing energy demands of people and industries of Pakistan.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan was making great progress in all spheres of life due to his government’s prudent
economics and energy policies and the long inherited problem of load shedding was successfully addressed.
He recalled that when the present PML-N government took over in 2013 the country was facing acute gas and electricity shortages, adding, but now every sector including the domestic consumers as well as the industry were getting gas supply.
Similarly, the Prime Minister said the issue of electricity shortages had also been addressed to a large extent due to the government’s efforts.
He said the government was encouraging business groups, corporate entities and foreign investors to take full advantage of the facilities offered by his government and bring investment in Pakistan.
The Prime Minister said Tolanj gas processing facility was the largest gas project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and would help better the gas supply in the area.
He appreciated MOL Pakistan for heavy investment in the country and making this project a success story, which he termed as a “win-win” for all. It was an efficient and modern plant, he added.
The Prime Minister hoped that the other companies would also benefit from the MOL’s successful experience and ventures in Pakistan. He further hoped that MOL would continue to invest in Pakistan.
He also thanked the Governor KP as well as the provincial government for their cooperation in the project.
Dr Berislav Gaso, Executive Vice President Upstream MOL Pakistan said his group has already invested over one billion dollars in oil and gas sectors in Pakistan and its direct subsidiary oil and gas companies are working in this country since 1999 and are significantly contributing in the development of Pakistan.
For nearly two decades, he said, MOL Pakistan was playing a pro-active role in Pakistan Oil and Gas sector and has been contributing through its funds in order to help mitigate the problem of energy shortfall.
With the launch of Tolanj facility, he said, we are looking forward to make more large-scale investment in this country with cooperation of Government of Pakistan.
Ali Murtaza Abbas, MOL Regional Advisor Middle East, Africa and Pakistan appreciated Prime Minister of Pakistan’s commitment in strengthening and streamlining the energy sector of the country.
He said inauguration of the Tolanj facility was a great achievement and historic day for people of KP especially for Kohat.
Graham Balchin, CEO MOL Pakistan said the plant has successfully started operation after thorough inspection and re-testing of its all components.
He said these measures have given immense confidence to all stakeholders for safe, sustainable and long term operations of this plant and commended teams and engineers for its successful operations.
The Prime Minister, who was accompanied by Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Engr Iqbal Zafar Jhagra formally inaugurated the plant by unveiling the plaque.
Senior officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Islamabad and MOL Pakistan were also present on the occasion who briefed the Prime Minister about salient features of this gigantic project.
Earlier upon arrival in Kohat, the Prime Minister was warmly received by Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Engr Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and other senior officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and MOL Pakistan.
Country’s development interlinked with democracy: Baligh
ISLAMABAD, Mar 27 (APP):Minister for Education, Professional Training Engr Muhammad Baligh Ur Rehman Tuesday said the country’s development and prosperity were interlinked with the democracy.
The continuity of democratic system was essential to achieve milestone as second time in the history of country a democratic government was going to complete its constitutional tenure which was landmark, he said talking to PTV programme.
The minister said dictator’s regimes had badly damaged the integrity and economy of the country.
He said there were rumors created by some political parties that the present government would not complete its constitutional tenure but we had not given importance to the statements of non-serious people.
He reiterated the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government would complete its constitutional tenure.
He said Pakistan has powerful constitution and nobody could intervene in the system according to that. He urged every individual to hold accountability and learn from the mistake of past.
Replying to a question, Baligh Ur Rehman said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) were leveling allegations of corruption in Senate elections against each other.
He said PPP had signed National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) with dictator Pervez Musharaf.
Lt Gen (Retd) Tariq Khan takes charge as CE & MD of FFC
ISLAMABAD, Mar 27 (APP):Lt Gen (Retd) Tariq Khan has assumed the charge of Fauji Fertilizer Company limited as Chief Executive and Managing Director on Tuesday after his appointment by the Board of Directors of the Company.
Lt. Gen Tariq Khan, HI(M) has replaced Lt. Gen (Retd) Shafqaat Ahmed, HI(M).
FFC, a market leader in Pakistan was established in 1978, as a joint venture between Fauji Foundation and HALDOR TOPSOE A/S Denmark. FFC has become a vibrant company with three world class Urea Plants. The Company holds diversified stakes in Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited, Askari Bank Limited, Fauji Cement Company Limited and Pakistan MarocPhosphore SA (PMP). In line with the strategy of diversification, FFC Energy Limited; the pioneer among the Wind Power Plants in Pakistan is contributing 50 MW to the national grid and further committed to address shortage of energy in the Country. FFC has setup another business venture as Fauji Fresh n Freeze Limited (FFF) which is a state of the art (individually quick frozen fruits and vegetables) plant; the first of its kind in Pakistan.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan, HI (M) (Retd) thanked the Board of Directors for reposing their trust by electing him as the Chief Executive & Managing Director. He stated that FFC is the flagship Company of the Fauji Group which is not only pride for Fauji Foundation but for the nation as a whole, said a press release.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan, HI(M) (Retd)appreciated the services of Lt Gen Shafqaat Ahmed, HI(M) (Retd) outgoing CE&MD who displayed outstanding standards of dedication, passion and utmost energy which infused a new spirit into the Company.
Lt Gen Tariq Khan, HI(M) (Retd) bringswide ranging experience to the organization and pledged to continue the good work already being done.