ISLAMABAD, Feb 5 (APP):Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has called upon the government to take measures for ensuring timely establishment of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) under the mega project of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the federal capital that would give boost to industrial activities in the region and contribute to improving country’s exports.
President of ICCI Sheikh Amir Waheed said CPEC has now entered into the second phase of the Long-Term Plan (LTP) after the completion of the Early Harvest Programme (EHP) and stressed that more focus should be given on industrial cooperation in the second phase to promote industrialization in the country.
He was talking to Vice President, SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik, during a meeting with him along with a delegation. Muhammad Naveed Senior Vice President ICCI, Zubair Ahmed Malik Chairman Founder Group and Malik Sohail Hussain Chief Coordinator FPCCI were also in the delegation.
He said local industry should get better opportunities in SEZ that would be set up in the second phase.
He said the business community has pinned lot of hopes from CPEC and emphasized that the modernization of local industry should be the main component of the LTP in order to transform Pakistan into an industrialized country at par with other developed countries.
Speaking at the occasion, Vice President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Chairman United Business Group Iftikhar Ali assured that he would convey the demand of ICCI for establishment of SEZ in Islamabad to the relevant authorities.
He said the CPEC was a game changer for Pakistan and the LTP has created lot of positives for Pakistan and it would touch upon all important sectors of the economy including connectivity with road and rail infrastructure, information network, energy, trade, industrial parks, agriculture, poverty alleviation, and tourism with a focus on maritime tourism.
He said apart from industrial cooperation, the LTP would also modernize Pakistan’s agriculture sector as new agro-based technologies, seeds, and irrigation mechanism would be introduced.
He stressed that the enterprises from China and Pakistan should be given enhanced role in the LTP so that joint ventures and partnerships between the private sectors of Pakistan and China could be materialized to create economic benefits for both countries and for the region.
ICCI for timely establishment of SEZ under CPEC in federal capital
Chitral Gol power project, a leap forward towards autarky in energy sector
PESHAWAR, Feb 5 (APP):Golen Gol electricity project of 108 megawatt capacity in Chitral recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, was a leap step forward towards autarky in energy sector besides bolstering trade and business sectors and addressing the long inherited problem of load shedding forever.
The political and economic experts besides people of Chitral highly lauded PML-N Government for fulfilling yet another promise by constructing the long awaited project with approved cost Rs 29 billion that would immensely help provide inexpensive electricity to people of this mountainous district besides bolstering trade and business activities in KP in general and Chitral in particular.
Its completion was landmark step forward to make country self sufficient in energy besides providing uninterrupted electricity to people of Chitral with its overall positive effects on tourism, trade, commerce and infant industries.
Sardar Aurangzaib Nalota, PML-N Parliamentary leader in KP Assembly told APP that following mega Lawari Tunnel project, Chitral Gol was another gigantic project completed by PML-N Government in record possible time, showing our commitment towards speedy development of KP and Chitral.
Following devastating floods of 2015 in Chitral, he said the federal government had directed WAPDA to supply electricity generated from the first unit of the project to Chitral to meet the energy needs for socio-economic development of the backward and far-flung areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
He said this quantum of electricity is three times more than the present requirements of Chitral, and will also cater for the surge in electricity demand in future.
The project will result in a new era of progress, economic prosperity and prosperity in Chitral, besides stabilizing the national economy by providing low-cost and environment-friendly electricity to the national grid besides reducing pressure on forest resources.
He said when PML-N government took over in 2013, 18 to 20 hours load-shedding was a routine problem that made life of people miserable besides marred industrial and business growth.
The PML-N leadership had announced to end load shedding in five years and political orphans are now hiding their faces from people after all promises made by PML-N leadership were successfully fulfilled, he said.
“The mass protests and agitation on roads and siege of PESCO offices that was a routine matter against massive load shedding in 2012-13 due to lackluster policies of past regimes, will see no more demonstrations in future as additional energy are being added to the national grid after completion of the ongoing mega energy projects in the country.” said Sardar Aurganzaib Nalota.
Criticizing the previous governments for pushing the country into darkness of load shedding, he said the past governments completely failed to address the grave problem of energy shortfall resulted in unemployment, economic imbalance, poor economic growth and inflation.
The start of power generation from first unit of Golen Goal Project was a significant step forward to make country energy self sufficient, he said adding that this project will provide affordable energy to the people of Chitral besides the country.
The installed generation capacity of the project is 108 MW with three generating units having a capacity of 36MW each. The first unit has been completed while the second and the third unit will be commissioned in March and May respectively. The project will provide 436 million units of electricity to the national grid every year with about Rs 3.7billion benefits per annum.
Economics Expert Professor Dr Muhammad Naeem said uninterrupted energy supply at affordable rate was major requirement for successful growth of industrial and business sectors and Golen Gol project constructed on a tributary river of Mastunj in Chitral was a leap forward towards economic prosperity.
“The project will also help the small industries to grow and increase their production, besides ending monopoly of large industrial units.” he said.
He said that electricity and industrial growth was directly linked and the pressing problem of unemployment and inflation could only be addressed by encouraging industrial and business sectors in the country.
Professor Naeem expressed the hope that Golen Gol project will usher in a new era of progress and prosperity in Chitral, besides stabilizing the economy by providing low-cost and environment-friendly electricity to people of Pakistan.
They congratulated the nation on completion of the Golen Gol project and termed it a gift by PML-N government for energy-starved people and industry of Chitral.
Joint efforts vital for country’s progress: Shehbaz
LAHORE, Feb 05 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that joint efforts should be made for ensuring progress and prosperity of the country.
Talking to media-persons here, he said, “The PML-N has proved that it is a true representative party of the people.”
The chief minister said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government (led by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf) would have launched big projects in the province, had Imran Khan not wasted time in staging sit-ins.
He said, if get chance in 2018 elections the looted money would be brought back to the country.
India fails to supress Kashmiris’ freedom movement: Khawaja Asif
SIALKOT, Feb 5 (APP)::Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif Monday said the Indian army had failed to suppress the freedom
movement of Kashmiri people through atrocities, large scale human rights violations, genocide and custodial killings in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing a Kashmir conference here at Anwar Club Auditorium, he said now the time had come for the international community to wake up and put pressure on India to give the fundamental right of plebiscite to the oppressed Kashmiri people.
He said Pakistan always wanted the peaceful solution to the core issue of Kashmir and the world should ensure early implementation of the United Nations resolutions for that purpose.
The foreign minister said: “Kashmiris are not alone in their generation-to-generation struggle for their freedom from Indian yoke as every Pakistani stands with them.”
He said the Indian Army had miserably failed to crush the Kashmiris’ struggle for independence as they were writing a new chapter of their freedom movement with every passing day.
He said the martyrdom of Burhan Vani by the Indian Army in 2016 had given impetus to the Kashmir freedom movement.
Khawaja Asif said Kashmir was a lifeline for Pakistan, and sacrifices of the thousands of Kashmiri martyrs would become fruitful and the day was not far when Kashmir would be free from the India subjugation.
The minister said the whole Pakistani nation stood with the oppressed Kashmiri people and was showing complete solidarity with them. Early peaceful solution to the Kashmir dispute had now become vital for ensuring durable peace in South Asia, he added.
PSB holds exhibition matches on Kashmir Day
ISLAMABAD, Feb 5 (APP):Kashmir XI beat PSB XI by 1-0 in the hockey exhibition hockey match to mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day here ay Nasser Bunda Hockey Stadium.
Pakistan Sports Board organized Hockey and Football Exhibition matches in connection with Kashmir Solidarity day on Monday.
Centre Half Muhammad Essa scored the lone goal of the match in 6 minute of the first half.
A football exhibition match was also played at Jinnah Stadium in which PSB XI beat Kashmir-XI by 7-6 in penalty kicks.
In the scheduled time match was drawn with 2-2 goals. The match was supervised by Asadullah, Ex International football player.
Syed Abu Ahmed Akif, Secretary Ministry of IPC and Mishap Malik were the chief guest on the occasion and distributed prizes amongst the teams.
Dr Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera, DG PSB, Dr Waqar Ahmed DDG, Azam Dar Director Media were also present on the occasion.
No military solution to Afghan war: PM Abbasi
NEW YORK, Feb 5 (APP:):Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has warned that little progress towards ending the long-running conflict in Afghanistan would be made until all sides entered into peace talks, saying there was no military solution.
The prime minister, in an interview with Bloomberg, a new York-based international news agency, voiced skepticism over US President Donald Trump’s increase in troops to assist the Afghan security forces and said Islamabad was ready to help mediate talks with the Taliban.
“At the end of the day the Afghans have to sit down and talk,” Prime Minister Abbasi said in the interview released Monday.
Relations between Pakistan and the United States have deteriorated in the past year, the Bloomberg report noted. On January 1, President Trump withheld nearly $2 billion in aid, alleging Islamabad has not taken decisive action against the Haqqani network.
Prime Minister Abbasi, in the interview, rejected charges that Pakistan had been selective in its fight against terrorism. Following an announcement last week that 27 Taliban and Haqqani network insurgents had been handed over to Afghanistan in November in a what Abbasi described as a “routine” prisoner transfer. He said there was no evidence Pakistan was backing militants fighting across the border after a spate of violence left hundreds dead and wounded in Kabul last month.
“These are Afghan nationals, who were arrested inside Pakistan, they were not involved in a terror attack on us otherwise we would have prosecuted them here, so we handed them back to the Afghans,” the prime minister said.
US military funding was already “very minimal,” Abbasi said, noting Pakistan was still owed billions of dollars in reimbursements from the Coalition Support Fund.
However, he said, Pakistan was not considering closing the US supply routes into landlocked Afghanistan.
Bloomberg said Trump’s actions have provoked outcry from Pakistani officials, who draw attention to the thousands of civilians and soldiers who have died fighting terrorism within its borders.
Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said last month Pakistan felt “betrayed” and won’t seek a restoration of American aid. Islamabad has also drawn closer to China as it finances more than $50 billion in infrastructure projects across Pakistan, the report said.
Despite Trump’s stance, Abbasi said talks and intelligence cooperation was still ongoing and that a growing relationship with China should not stop that.
“They are not mutually exclusive relationships and nobody wants it that way either,” Abbasi said. “China is more of a longer term, a deeper relationship, the US is probably more transactional.”
Action has been taken against the United Nations Security Council sanctioned charities linked to Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, who was released from house arrest in Lahore in November — provoking condemnation from the White House and India, it was pointed out.
In the last two-to-three months Pakistan has “more or less complied” with sanctions against the Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation and Jamaat-ud Dawa, an alleged front for banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, Prime Minister Abbasi said.
More action against Hafiz Saeed is unlikely as “we have no charges against him,” he said.
Marriyum Aurangzeb grieved over demise of mother in law of Kahlid Azeem
ISLAMABAD, Feb 5 (APP):Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage has expressed her deep grief and sorrow over the sad demise of the mother in law of Kahlid Azeem Bureau Chief of Saama TV.
In her statement, she prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss.
Pakistan to continue highlight Kashmir issue, Indian atrocities: Barjees
ISLAMABAD, Feb 5 (APP):Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Chaudhry Muhammad Barjees Tahir Monday said Pakistan will continue to highlight the Kashmir issue and Indian atrocities against innocent Kashmiri people.
Talking to PTV, he said Pakistan would also continue to extend political, diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiri brethren with the same passion.
He said the day was observed every year to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people
for their just right to self-determination as pledged in the UN resolutions on Kashmir.
The minister said Kashmir Solidarity was being observed to express “solidarity and whole-hearted support of the Pakistani nation to the just struggle of Kashmiri people for their inalienable right of self-determination”.
Barjees said Kashmir issue was the oldest unresolved issue on UN agenda. He said if referendum can be held in East Timor and Sudan then why plebiscite cannot be held in Kashmir.
The minister urged the United Nations to implement its resolutions for solution of Kashmir dispute as per the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
He said Pakistan respects all resolutions of UN and the world council has endorsed the resolutions many times in its sessions since1947.
“India has crossed all records of atrocities and human rights violations in held Kashmir. Despite Indian unprecedented brutalities, the Kashmiri youth are taking forward their freedom movement,” he said.
Barjees said Pakistan wanted to resolve the Kashmir issue through composite dialogue process. He said due to this issue South Asia has become a flash point. “A durable peace in South Asia is not possible without the solution of Kashmir issue,” he said.
Kashmiris’ struggle destined to succeed: COAS
RAWALPINDI, Feb 05 (APP):Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa Monday said the struggle of Kashmiris was destined to succeed.
“Repression of Indian occupying forces can never suppress valiant spirit of Kashmiris, who rightfully await awakening of international community for plebiscite under UN resolution,” he said in a message on the Kashmir
Solidarity Day according to a tweet of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor.
“Regardless of the ordeal, their struggle is destined to succeed IA (Inshaa Allah),” the COAS added.
All leadership united on Kashmir issue, Pakistan to continue its support: PM
MUZAFFARABAD, Feb 05 (APP):Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Monday said the issue of Kashmir was engraved permanently in the hearts of Pakistanis and reiterated full support of the government and people of Pakistan to the just and legitimate
right of the Kashmiri people for the peaceful resolution of the issue in line with their aspirations.
He said all the illegitimate use of force and coercive measures by the occupation forces in the Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) had miserably failed to suppress indigenous freedom struggle. About 207 million Pakistanis supported their Kashmiri brethren in their struggle.
The prime minister was addressing a joint session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and Kashmir Council on the Kashmir Solidarity Day. President of AJK Sardar Masood Khan and Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Muhammad Barjees Tahir were also present on the occasion.
The prime minister said there might be differences among the political leaders but on the Kashmir issue, all the leadership was united and there were no two opinions.
Stressing upon unity for highlighting the Kashmir issue at all the international fora, the prime minister said the issue would remain alive till its peaceful resolution as per the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and the UN resolutions.
He also underscored the need to involve the Pakistani and Kashmir diaspora to further highlight the IoK issue and the gross human rights violations committed by the Indian occupation forces.
.:The prime minister, referring to the AJK assembly and council, said the house had been a seat of unanimity among different Kashmiri leaders, who lent unequivocal support to the people in the Indian occupied Kashmir.
He called upon the ruling and opposition benches to set aside their political differences and work with more vigour for the Kashmir cause.
He said the Kashmir Solidarity Day reflected a spirit of unity among all the rank and file of the nation and in the legitimate struggle, Kashmiris were not alone as the whole Pakistani nation was standing with them.
“The hearts of Pakistanis and Kashmiris beat together,” he added.
The people of Pakistan, he said, felt the pains and sufferings of the Kashmir people in IoK, who had been facing the illegal subjugation of the Indian rule for the last 70 years, and extended their whole-hearted support to the Kashmiri leadership. Every child in the IoK was a freedom lover and their desires should be reciprocated with unity, he added.
He reiterated that the government of Pakistan and its people would continue their political, diplomatic and moral support to the Kahmiri people struggling for their right to self-determination.
The prime minister said the federal government would extend all possible support for the development of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The development budget for the AJK had been doubled, he added.
He said various dormant projects like Neelum-Jehlum power plant were being completed with the active support of the federal government.
He referred to the construction of Mansehra-Mirpur-Muzaffarabad road under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which would enhance connectivity and spur progress and development in the AJK.
He also assured full support of his government for the families of Shuhada (martyred), who lost their lives as the result of Indian shelling.
The prime minister lauded the role of Pakistan Army in its success against the war on terror. Pakistan fought the biggest war on terror in the world with immense sacrifices and succeeded whereas the world had failed, he added.
He said there was no interference from the federal government over the formation of AJK government as it was elected by the Kashmiri people.
The prime minister also advised the AJK government to strive for providing a better governance system so that people could get their issues resolved at their doorsteps.
He also appreciated former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif for his efforts to highlight the Kashmir issue and making defence of Pakistan invincible.