ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (APP):Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday finalized the names of 27 candidates from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to contest senate elections against 11 vacant seats, which is scheduled to be held on March 3.
According to ECP, 14 candidates will contest for General seats, eight for women seats and five candidates were in the run for Technocrat seats.
It said five candidates on Technocrat seats included Dilawar Khan, Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Muhammad Yaqoob Shaikh, Moulana Sami Ul Haq and Nisar Khan.
Eight candidates for Women seats included Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, Sobia Shahid, Rubina Khalid, Raeesa Daud, Shagufta Malik, Mehr Taj Roghani, Naeema Kishwar Khan and Naureen Farooq Khan.
Similarly,14 candidates who were contesting elections on General seats included Bahramand, Khial Zaman,Syed Muhammad Sabir Shah, Abdul Latif Yousafzai, Ali Afzal Khan Jadoon, Fida Muhammad and Faisal Javed.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (APP):Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has declared 23 nomination papers as valid for elections to Senate General Seats from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
According to ECP, the commission also rejected the nominations papers of four candidates for FATA Senate elections.
It said that the validly nominated candidates for elections to senate from FATA’s General seats included Sajid Hussain Turi, Hidayat Ullah, Shammim Afridi, Mirza Muhammad Afridi, Hillal ur Rehman, Malik Najam-ul-Hassan, Shoaib Hassan, Tahir Iqbal, Abdul Raziq, Syed Akhonzada Chittan,Saleh, Faiz ur Rehman, Said Jamal, Shahid Hussain, Pir Muhammad Aqal Shah, Shahban Ali, Haji Khan, Zia ur Rehman, Malik Afzal Din Khan, Syed Ghazi Ghazan Jamal, Farhad Shahbab, Jangriz Khan and Nizam Uddin Khan.
It said that the nomination papers of four candidates have been rejected by the commission for FATA Senate elections included Irfan Ullah, Haider Shah, Adnan Sattar and Shah Khalid.

KARACHI, Feb 20 (APP):Sindh Governor Mohammed Zubair has said
that private sector is playing an active role in the provision
of education and health facilities as well as in the development of the social sector.
He said that the Rotary Club is at the top of the list in this regard.
The Governor said this while talking to a delegation led by chairman of
Rotary Foundation Paul Netzel here at Governor House, said a statement issued on Tuesday.
He said that the services of the club in eradication of the polio
virus are appreciable.
Governor Zubair said that the government will continue to cooperate with
with the Rotary Club and other non-governmental organizations working in social sector for the betterment of the people.
He said that the role of the Club in education and health sectors is
also commendable.
On the occasion, chairman of Rotary Foundation Paul Netzel said
that his institution is taking measures to further increase the provision of health and education facilities in the province.
He, also, lauded the cooperation of government in eradicating the
polio virus.
Aziz Memon, Awais Hari,Irfan Qurashi, Raes Ahmad Khan, Saleem
Rao, Ali Hafeez, Dr.Mansoor ul Haq and others were also present on the occasion.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (APP):The enrollment ratio of school going children has increased from 68 percent to 77 percent in last four years as a result of various measures taken by the incumbent government, Minister for Education and Professional Training Baligh ur Rehman told Senate Tuesday.
Answering the questions of Senator Sherry Rehman during question hour, he said an additional capacity of about 05 million children has been created to enroll children in public sector schools across the country.
He said that 4 million out of school children have been enrolled in schools, adding free primary education was being provided in all public sector schools across Pakistan and provincial governments were providing required funding for this purpose.
Baligh-ur-Rehman said that Punjab government has incentivized parents of children working on brick kilns in the province for sending their wards to schools.
Answering the question of Senator Mohsin Aziz, Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch informed that 10,715 Pakistanis are imprisoned abroad.
He said that 36,832 Pakistani prisoners have been released and repatriated to Pakistan during the last four years. A total of 3,087 Paistanis have been detained in Saudi Arabia and 2,710 in UAE, 40 in Bangladesh and 226 Pakistanis in Malaysia.
He said legal assistance was being provided to destitute Pakistani prisoners/detainees. Pakistan Community Welfare and Education Fund (PCW&EF), being administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is utilized to extend legal assistance to Pakistanis detained abroad, including payment of lawyers’ fees, fines and cost of repatriation of destitute Pakistani prisoners.
An Inter Ministerial Commission (IMC) with representation from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Develoment, has been established by the government to consider the cases of destitute Pakistani prisoners for legal and financial assistance.
In addition,he said Policy on Consular Assistance for Overseas Pakistanis which defines the parameters for provision of financial and legal assistance to detained/imprisoned Pakistanis is under submission for approval of the Federal Cabinet.

LAHORE, Feb 20 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned unprovoked firing by the Indian Army at the Line of Control (LoC).
In a message, the chief minister expressed grief and condolences over the martyrdom of an eight years old child.
He expressed his heartfelt sympathies and condolences with the bereaved family.
He said that brutalities of Indian forces were extremely condemnable.
He said that Indian army was blatantly violating human rights by targeting civilians.
He said that the cruel face of India has been fully exposed due to its targeting of unarmed citizens.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (APP):Islamabad High Court has issued notice to Chief Executive of Geo News, Mir Ibrahim, its host Ayesha Bakhsh, Hassan Nisar and Imtiaz Alam in a contempt of court proceedings.
Justice Shuakat Aziz Siddiqui directed them to appear in person before the court to explain why contempt of court proceedings may not be initiated against them on airing a programme violating court orders in connection with Valentine’s Day.
On February 14, 2018, program “Report Card” hosted by Ms. Ayesha Bakhsh and participated by Hassan Nisar, lmtiaz Alam, Hafeez Ullah Niazi, Mazhar Abbas, Irshad Bhatti and Babar Sattar, Advocate was telecast on Geo News.
One part of the program relating to order passed by the court against the promotion of Valentine’s Day was rediculed, disrespected and discussed in a very derogatory manner, the court observed.
Justice Siddiqui remarked that prima facie, the host, Hassan Nisar and Imtiaz Alam without showing any respect or keeping in view the restrictions imposed by Article 19 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 freedom of speech, etc. crossed all limits of decency and morality.
He observed that the act of the host and participants mentioned above apparently was tainted with malafide, ulterior motives, aimed at undermining the authority of the court and to disrespect the order passed by this court, which clearly comes within the definition of contempt of court.
Subsequently the bench directed the Chief Executive of Geo News Mir Ibrahim, host Ayesha Bakhsh, participants, Hassan Nisar and Imtiaz Alam to appear before the court in person and explain that why contempt of court proceedings may not be initiated against them and why PEMRA may not be directed to initiate proceedings for the cancellation of license of the channel “Geo News”.
The court also directed its office to make arrangements for watching the TV programme in the court room on next hearing and adjourned the case till February 27.

LAHORE, Feb 20 (APP):Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Tuesday said Pakistan needed to be projected as a sovereign, self-respected and self-reliant state and the leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) had a development vision to move the country towards the road to progress and prosperity.
Talking to President of PML-N Middle East Chaudhry Noor-ul-Hassan Tanveer, the chief minister said that continuous hard work was being carried out to cover the backlogs resulting due to negative politics of agitation in the journey of development.
“In the backdrop of international scenario, Pakistan cannot afford any negative politics,” he added.
He said that expatriate Pakistanis were ambassadors of the country and their strong role in strengthening national economy
could not be ignored.
Pakistanis doing strenuous hard work in different countries of the world had earned a niche and brought laurels home with their commitment and passion. Pakistani professionals have proved their mettle in different sectors across the globe and God-gifted abilities and skills of Pakistanis are recognized the world over.
The chief minister said, the role of Pakistani professionals and skilled workforce in the overall development of Middle East was unforgettable and they had also played an important role in strengthening of national economy.
Shehbaz Sharif said, after winning the elections of 2018, many more mega public welfare projects would be introduced.
He said, Overseas Pakistanis Commission, Punjab was actively working to solve the problems of expatriate Pakistanis and their district level committees are playing their active role in this regard.
President PML-N Middle East Ch. Noor-ul-Hassan Tanveer said, Shehbaz Sharif had set high standards of public service and mega projects of PML-N government had no resemblance in the 70 years history of the country. He said, the expatriate Pakistanis fully appreciated the services of Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and pray for his longevity.
Vice Chairman Overseas Pakistanis Commission, Punjab Khalid Shaheen Butt and Commissioner Afzaal Bhatti were also present on the occasion.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (APP):In a landmark event, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in collaboration with Rashidabad Memorial Welfare Organization
(RMWO) launched a welfare project by the name of Alamabad near Swabi on Tuesday, said a press release issued here by directorate of media affairs of PAF.
The mega project has been initiated for the welfare of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) in general and for the local populace of Swabi in particular.
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pervez Khattak along with Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, Chief of the Air Staff,
Pakistan Air Force unveiled the plaque of Alamabad to mark the earth breaking of this magnificent project.
The project is in line with the vision of PAF and RMWO, to set up model villages throughout the country by integrating all essential facilities in a well-knit mosaic so as to ensure a positive beneficial outflow to the needy rural folk-all under one roof. One such successful project, by the name of Rashidabad located near Hyderabad, has already created an everlasting
impact on the people of Sindh and is serving the local populace with dignity.
Located near Swabi Interchange, Alamabad has been named after the legendary fighter pilot of PAF, Air Commodore M M Alam (late).
The project will comprise educational, vocational and healthcare centres in close proximity with an aim of alleviating poverty and eliminating illiteracy from the adjacent rural areas of KPK. PAF and RMWO have also teamed up to launch a similar project at Quetta with the name of Yunusabad.
Air Commodore Shabbir Ahmed (Retd), President Rashid Memorial Welfare Organization (RMWO), in his speech
highlighted the success story of Rashidabad Model. Air Marshal Qazi Javed (Retd), CEO RMWO also delivered a speech highlighting the salient features of Alamabad project.
Begum Noshaba Wahab, the sister of late M M Alam also spoke at the occasion and thanked Pakistan Air Force and the government of KPK for paying such a great tribute to the legendary war hero of 1965 war.
Addressing on the occasion, the Air Chief said, “Besides providing an impregnable aerial defence of the country, PAF has always shouldered the responsibility of nation building. In this regard it has initiated welfare projects for the progress of the country which include quality educational institutions and state of the art vocational training centers. Rashidabad, a project by retired PAF officers, is a miracle indeed and a living proof of the fact that lighting such candles would soon illuminate the whole country”.
He further said, “Alamabad has been named after the ace fighter pilot of PAF Air Commodore M M Alam (late). PAF will leave no stone unturned in making this project a success and I am confident that it will help in providing respectable livelihood to the people of this area as well as ensure uplift in the standards of living”.
Chief Minister KPK acknowledged the sincere efforts and personal interest of the Air Chief in this project.
“I hope this project would usher in a new era of prosperity and progress in this area. It would not only equip the youth of this area with technical expertise but also open new vistas of social development and educational betterment,” he said.
He also lauded the selfless contribution of the people of this area for donating one thousand Kanal of land for the
project.
Two documentaries were also shown on the occasion. The first documentary portrayed the life of M M Alam, whereas, the second highlighted the contributions of Rashidabad Welfare Project in interior Sindh. Speaker KPK Assembly, Provincial Ministers, members of Provincial Assembly and high-ranking civil and defence officers also attended the ceremony.

RAWALPINDI, Feb 20 (APP):German Ambassador to Pakistan, Martin Kobler visited Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Sialkot on Tuesday, said a statement issued here by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The Ambassador met patients, injured due to Indian state terrorism through continued Cease Fire Violations (CFVs), the ISPR
statement added.