LAHORE, Mar 17 (APP):Famous singer Atif Aslam set a new record of his popularity at social media as 22 million people searched his song “O Sathi” in a few days.
This was said by Atif Aslam while talking to APP here on Saturday.
Atif said he had recorded his song “O Sathi” for an Indian film, Baghi 2, which would be released soon.
Atif Aslam’s song set a new record of popularity
Title song of “Shor Sharaba” recorded
LAHORE, Mar 17 (APP):Producer Sohail Khan of film “Shor Sharaba” recorded the title song of his film.
Talking to APP here on Saturday, the producer said that he was paying special attention on the music.
Sohail said that he did hard work in every section of the production and people would like his film.
He said that Hussain Hyder Abadi was a director of the film.
Next Councillors convention to be held in Manchester on June 23
LONDON, Mar 17 (APP):The High Commission for Pakistan in London will organize the 4thCouncillors Convention in
Manchester (UK) on June 23.
Syed Ibne Abbas, Pakistan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK) had announced about Manchester Convention during his address at the 3rd Councillors Convention held in London on February 24, said a statement issued by the High Commission here on Saturday.
Encouraged by the success and positive feedback from the community after the first three Councillors Conventions, the High Commission has decided to hold more Convention in various cities of the UK.
The purpose of this initiative is to connect with the Pakistani community through their elected leadership and encourage the integration of British Pakistani diaspora in mainstream British society.
The Convention would also provide an opportunity to celebrate the successes of British Pakistanis in various walks of life.
The speakers will be a mix of MPs and MEPs, Councillors/Mayors, community leaders, and academics.
Councillors and Mayors of the region are encouraged to attend the event and make their voices heard on important issues to be discussed there.
The Consulate General of Pakistan in Manchester will be the focal point for this event.
SAARC Single Market for agribusiness need of the hour to attain food autarky
ISLAMABAD, Mar 17 (APP):Vice-President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pakistan chapter Iftikhar Ali Malik Saturday urged all eight members of the SAARC to work jointly to establish a single market and production base by integrating agricultural sector to promote equitable development, transforming South Asia into a global power besides attaining food autarky in the region.
According to a message received here, Iftikhar Ali Malik, presiding over a parallel session on “Agribusiness-Target-Doubling Agribusiness by 2030 ” on the second day of 3-day 6th SAARC Business Leaders Conclave being held at Kathmandu, said in principal it was decided that all the SAARC member states would exchange with each other new technologies and germ plasma to ensure food security in the region which would help them improve their system of agriculture and exports.
He also urged the SAARC member states to make joint efforts to deal with challenges such as water scarcity, food insecurity and malnutrition in the region.
“The threat of water scarcity looms large in the entire region. The population is increasing, but agricultural production is diminishing,” he said, adding post-harvest losses must be minimised to increase agricultural productivity.
He said that per capita water availability had decreased in the region over the years. “The per capita water availability is only 1,000 cubic metres per person. The figure was 5,200 cubic metres in 1947,” he added.
He said malnutrition affects 40 per cent of the children in the region. “We have to take steps to end this. We have to shift our focus from green revolution to ever-green revolution,” he added.
He said to attain the targets in agricultural sector, the member countries should resolve their all kinds of differences and eschew violence to work towards a prosperous region. “We seek cooperation from all neighbouring countries for fighting against abject poverty so that together with SAARC countries we can create our importance and emerge as a power in the world. It is imperative that we work together with a dream to win a fight against poverty, shoulder to shoulder,” he said.
For this purpose, Iftikhar Ali Malik suggested that a uniformed campaign should be launched in all SAARC countries to increase awareness against diseases in fruits, vegetables and other agricultural outputs that usually hinder region’s exports, especially in industrialised countries.
“We need joint programmes and being the member of SAARC we should experiment each others’ technologies and research findings in other ecologies to help develop food secure region,” he remarked.
Malik observed that the SAARC countries had had great potential to cooperate with each other for the development of agriculture sector, however there was need to cooperate and share research and technology with the member countries to help them develop their agriculture on modern lines.
He praised Pakistan for developing the state-of-the-art National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), which he said was not only contributing for the agricultural development of Pakistan but could play an important role in regional agriculture development.
New hydrogen-powered bus unveiled in Chengdu
BEIJING, March 17 (APP):An environment-friendly hydrogen-powered bus has made its debut in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province of China.
Built by a local company, the 10.5-meter long bus is equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell system which can guarantee a smooth ride of 500 to 600 kilometers on a full tank of hydrogen, reports the official Wechat account of the Chengdu Municipal Development and Reform Commission.
The bus can convert to electric power if it runs out of hydrogen. It is considered both pollution and emission-free. The prototype is part of a 6 billion yuan program to manufacture 25,000 new energy vehicles.
Hydrogen power has been a growing trend among automobile manufacturers over the past few years.
Chinese bus makers, including Zhongtong, Yutong, and Beijing Automotive Group have become leaders in China in the development of hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Mardan win KP U-23 Mardan Region Inter-District Female Games trophy
PESHAWAR, Mar 17 (APP):Mardan clinched the overall
trophy after winning eight gold medals and three silver medals in the Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa Mardan Region Inter-District Female Games which concluded here at
Mardan Sports Complex on Saturday.
Mardan obtained 111 points after securing first position
in Tug-of-war, Netball, Handball, Hockey, Athletics, Table Tennis, Basketball
and Badminton and took silver medal in squash, judo and cricket.
Swabi claimed second position after winning three gold
medals, silver medals by recording 72 points. Swabi got first position in
cricket, baseball, and squash and got runners-up trophies in tug-of-war, Netball,
hockey, athletic and table tennis. Malakand took third with two gold medal in
Judo and volleyball and silver medal in handball, baseball and basketball.
Kainat Gul of Mardan was declared best athlete when she
won gold medal in long jump, 200m and 400m while Mardan District won the
overall trophy of the Athletics. Mardan grabbed six gold medals, five silver
medal, followed Swabi with one gold and one silver medal while Malakand took
one silver medal and one bronze medal. Buner did not get any point.
In the Discus throw Sumaya Bibi won gold medal, followed
by Sadia Jehanzeb of Mardan and Danish Saeed of Swabi grabbed bronze medal.
In the long jump Kainat Gul of Mardan won gold medal,
Kainat Akbar of Mardan won silver medal and Bushra of Swabi got bronze medals,
in the 400m race Kainat Gul of Mardan won gold medal, Kainat Khan of Mardan
secured silver medal and Saima of Swabi, in the javelin throw Nadia of Mardan
won gold medal, followed by Shabeena of Mardan with silver medal and Sadia of
Malakand took bronze medal, in the 200m Kainat Gul won gold medal, followed by
Kainat Khan of Mardan and Shameem, in the shot put Asia of Mardan won gold
medal, followed by Danish Saeed of Swabi and Nargis of Mardan while in the 100m
Kainat Khan of Mardan won gold medal and was also declared fastest athlete and
Nazish of Swabi got bronze medal.
In the dramatically ended cricket final played at Mardan
Cricket Stadium, Mardan skipper won the toss and elected to bat first by
setting up 80 runs. Hussana, Irum scored 30 and 29 runs respectively. For Swabi
Javeria, Iqra and Sadia took two wickets each.
In reply, Swabi chased the target on the last ball for
the loss of seven wickets and claimed the trophy of the Cricket event. For
Swabi Sadia, Iqra and Nazish played well and made 29, 22 and 19 runs
respectively. For Mardan Hussana, Pari and Irum took three wickets each.
At the end, the chief guest Assistant Commissioner Mardan
Muhammad Imran gave away trophies and cash prizes. The winners were awarded Rs.
20,000 and Rs. 15000. Director Female Games, KP Miss Rashida Ghaznavi,
Organizing Secretary Hamid Khan, DSO Mardan Kashif Farhan, Buner (Ismail Khan),
Malakand, Swabi (Tariq Khan), officials, spectators and players were also
present.
Speaking on this occasion, Muhammad Imran lauded the organizing
committee for holding such a mega event by involving 11500 male and female players
from all across the province. He said this is for the first time that female
players have been given opportunity to play in the General Ihsan Sports Complex
Mardan. He said the govt is very keen to provide equal opportunities to female
alongside male and that is why the female are part of the Games wherein 17
different disciplines. He urged upon the female players to come and actively participate
so that they could come up at national and international levels.
Shehbaz,Chinese envoy discuss Pak-China ties
LAHORE, Mar 17 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad
Shehbaz Sharif and Ambassador of China in Pakistan Yao Jin
met here Saturday to discuss matters of mutual interest,
promotion of Pakistan-China relationships, development on
the CPEC projects and expansion of ties between the
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Communist
Party of China.
The Chinese ambassador congratulated Shehbaz Sharif for
his election as PML-N President and also conveyed greetings
on behalf of the Communist Party of China.
The ambassador viewed that election of Shehbaz Sharif as
the party head was acknowledgement of his capabilities and
hardwork, adding that relationships between the PML-N and
the Communist Party of China would improve further under
leadership of Shehbaz Sharif.
He mentioned that Shehbaz Sharif had given an exemplary
development to Punjab and for this reason the people of the
province gave special honour to him. Inviting the Chief Minister
to the conference of international political parties in China,
the ambassador said” “Your participation will be honour for
the leadership of China.”
While, Shehbaz Sharif said the PML-N and the Communist
Party of China were traditional friendly parties and bilateral
relations between two parties would improve further. He said
China was a trusted friend of Pakistan and Chinese leadership
had proved its love for Pakistan through CPEC which had
proved to be a game changer for the region.
“Friendship between Pakistan and China has been transformed
into timeless relationship and we are proud of friendship
with Chin,” he said and added that CPEC had been proved as a
gift and it had improved bilateral ties between China
and Pakistan and gave a new dimension to their friendship.
He said there was no parallel of Pakistan-China friendship
in the current situation and the people of Pakistan could not
ignore the exemplary friendship of China. He added the
relationship between Pakistan and China was touching new
heights.
He thanked the leadership of China for their best wishes for
his election as the head of the PML-N.
Brazilian Ambassador to visit SCCI on 19th
SIALKOT, Mar 17 (APP)::Ambassador of Brazil in Pakistan Claudio Raja Gabaglia Lins will visit Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here on Monday, Mar 19, 2018.
SCCI Vice President Abid Ahmed Khawaja told the media that the Brazilian Ambassador would discuss in detail matters of mutual interest with Sialkot exporters during the meeting, schedule to be held at
SCCI here.
Pakistan has become strong economy due to PML-N govt’s efforts: Ahsan
LAHORE, Mar 17 (APP):Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has
said that Pakistan has become a strong economy due to efforts
of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) government.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of mobile registration
service in the country here on Saturday, he said that initially
the equipment fitted in 122 cars would prepare computerised national identity cards (CNIC).
He said that elections would be held on time, adding that it
was a success of democracy that Senate elections were held according
to schedule; otherwise, some elements wanted to derail democratic
process by dissolution of the National Assembly.
He said that the country was facing political instability and
urged that no one should be allowed to create uncertainty in the
country.
The minister said that democratic forces were strong in the
country and masses were the custodians of democracy. He said that
the PML-N government would develop the country to the level that it
could be included in the top 25 economies of the world. He said
that people were not ready to accept propaganda of non-democratic
forces.
He said that peace is prevailing in the country now, adding
that several projects were under progress and motorways as well as
technology centres were being constructed.
Ahsan said that continuity of peace in the country would be
ensured for continuity of progress. He urged the opposition to
join hands with the government for installing a caretaker setup
for holding general elections; otherwise, the third force would
form the caretaker government.
“The world must be told that there were no differences on
democracy among the political forces, ” he added. The minister
hoped that all political forces would agree on an impartial
caretaker setup.
He said that defeated forces had won the Senate elections
while victorious ones were defeated, however, every setback
strengthened the democratic process.
He said that the attitude of institutions with former prime
minister Nawaz Sharif was increasing his popularity. In 2016, the
Supreme Court had given a judgement that all cases related to
the Exit Control List (ECL) would be sent to the cabinet, but
not a single case was referred to the cabinet during the previous
period.
Ahsan said that decision on putting the names of Nawaz Sharif
and Maryam Nawaz on the ECL would be made under the law. He said
that Musharraf was not a general now, he was head of a political
party so he should face the courts. He said when a politician could
appear before the courts while his wife is seriously ill, then
why a healthy politician could not come to the court.
He said that Musharraf’s counsel had assured the court that he
would appear before the court whenever he would be called. He
said that Musharraf should not be worried about his security and
should appear before the courts as non-appearance proved his crime.
He said that targeting the PML-N alone would be considered a
pre-poll rigging.
He said that respect of courts should be maintained. He
said that unity was need of the hour as the enemy wanted to fail
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The minister said that
people had reservations over the trial of Nawaz Sharif.
He said that he did not want to comment on Chaudhry Nisar,
former interior minister, adding that decisions at the interior
ministry were taken according to law.
Positive approach vital for making progress: Ahsan Iqbal
LAHORE, Mar 17 (APP):Federal Minister for Interior
Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday said that positive approach is
vital for ensuring progress in any field of life.
Addressing a prize distribution ceremony at Apa
Nisar Fatima Girls High School he said that education
and hard work were essential elements for achieving
success.
He said that it was not necessary that if a child
had born in a poor family so the future of that child
would be dark. Future could be changed through education
and dedication, he said.
He further said that daughters of the country were
proving their metal in all fields of life and parents
should ensure that the educational process of daughters
never get interrupted.
Federal Minister said that education should be
acquired with an objective to become good human being and
focus should not only be on getting job.
He said, “purpose of education is to make a individual
a good human being so that a person can understand the
difference between a human and inhuman”.
Ahsan Iqbal said that education develops an ability
of speaking truth and at a time when a student comes out
from educational institution he must be equipped with all
good moral values.He further said that one should set high
goals as big dreams always motivate for struggle and hard
work.
The minister giving his own example said that,”where
i am today is just a blessing of Allah Almighty and result
of hard work besides the prayers of my parents”.
The students should respect their teachers and
elders, he concluded.
On the occasion prizes were also distributed among
the students.