ISLAMABAD, Feb 13 (APP):The National Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill to regulate the recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed in the National Assembly Secretariat.
MNA Nighat Parveen has moved the bill before the House.
MNA of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI), Dr Arif Alvi has proposed amendments in the bill which were accepted by the government. Arif Alvi said that appointments from BPS 16 to 19 should be made in National Assembly through Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC)

ISLAMABAD, Feb 13 (APP):Minister for Housing and Works Akram Khan Durrani here on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abassi for approval of Rs.715 million for the up-gradation of Bannu airport project.
The CDWP approved to release Rs.715 million for up-gradation and extension of Bannu Airport for A-320/B-737 Aircraft operations, said a press release.
The Minister said that the release of Rs. 715 million for the aforesaid airport will be a gift for the people of Bannu and adjacent areas.
The airport he said will also facilitate the trade route of CPEC by providing faster way of communication and transportation with the neighboring countries.
“It will open new avenues and opportunities for the local people” he said.
Akram Khan Durrani said that the government is committed to provide every facility to the people of Bannu.
Former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had announced in a Public gathering to establish airport in Bannu to facilitate the local people.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 13 (APP):Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar Tuesday ordered the Jang Group newspapers to publish a clarification explaining as to why they had failed to run a correction regarding a news that they published Monday.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by the CJP heard the suo moto notice case on the news published in the group newspapers – The News International (English) and Daily Jang (Urdu) – attributing him (CJP) as saying that ‘he wants Shehbaz Sharif to become prime minister.’
The court had directed chief editor and publisher of The News and Jang, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, to appear before it, who, however, failed to comply with the directive.
During the course of proceedings, the chief justice asked Qayyum Siddiqui, who represented Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, as to why a correction had not been published despite the court’s order.
Qayyum Siddiqui replied that he had conveyed the SC’s order to the chief editor. He was not aware as to why the newspapers had not published a correction.
The chief justice remarked that the Jang group newspapers must publish a clarification explaining as to why they had not published the correction just like they had published the original story.
He warned that if the group failed to publish a correction, he would order the Sindh and Punjab’s inspector generals of police to produce Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in the court.

KARACHI, Feb 13 (APP):Sindh Governor, Muhammad Zubair here on Tuesday said that stable bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Great Britain has manifested itself in terms of social development of the country.
Talking to Christopher Hunt, the Director of British Council for
Sindh and Balochistan, he said improvement registered in the social
sector was more evident in the spheres of education and healthcare
services.
Sindh Governor also particularly appreciated the network of
libraries being run by British Council meeting the needs of local
population.
Access to information and knowledge, he said had definitely
promoted education with direct impact on economic development and
improved living standards of the people.
“The government despite its resource constraints is working hard
to promote education and assistance provided by British Council is of
significant relevance,” said the Governor of Sindh.
Christopher Hunt on the occasion apprised the Governor about
different projects British Council had envisaged for the people,
particularly youth and students belonging to the province.
These were said to be mainly focused on supplementing academic
pursuits of the young population.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 13 (APP):Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Sardar Muhammad Yousuf Tuesday said the present government had taken a series of steps to promote interfaith harmony in the country.
Speaking on a resolution moved by the MNA Belum Hasnain, the Minister said festivals of minorities including that of Holi and Easter were also marked at the official level to promote religious harmony and ensure peaceful coexistence.
Meanwhile, responding to a call attention notice moved by Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister of State for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal told the House that government has allocated 1001 billion rupees this year for provision of loans to the farmers.
He said the loans are disbursed on the basis of cultivable land, recovery rate and credit requirements of the provinces.
He rejected the impression that there was disparity in disbursement of farm loans between Punjab and the rest of the country.
He pointed out that as compared to Punjab’s 41.23 percent, the loan disbursement growth in Sindh stood at 60.39 percent, Balochistan 62 percent, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 43 percent during the first six months of current fiscal year.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 13 (APP):Minister of State for Education Engineer Baligh-ur-Rehman has said continuity of democracy was the only solution to all the problems being faced by the country and it was collective responsibility of the political parties to work for the purpose.
The mandate given by the people to a certain party should not be stolen, he said, adding that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership had played a negative role in the recent change of government in Balochistan.
Talking to a news channel, the minister said the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) would won the NA-154 Lodhran bye-election with a thumping majority, which would in fact be a victory for democracy.
Replying to a question, he said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan had always violated the constitution as evident from his reluctance to appear before the Election Commission and courts while former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif along with his family appeared before the courts.
To another query, he said Mushahid Hussain Syed was a seasoned politician and had played a great role as parliamentarian. He was an asset not only for the PML-N, but also for the parliament and country, he added.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 13 (APP):A three member delegation of Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) Pakistan, led by Sajjeed Aslam, called on Minister of State for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan here Tuesday and discussed with him the potential of the services sector in economic development with special focus on the accountancy services.
The delegation apprised the Minister that there was great demand for Pakistan’s professionals in the Middle Eastern countries and support from the government will ultimately benefit the country in many ways.
The group presented different proposals that could be considered for inclusion in the next budget and the same could help generate resources for the country.
The Minister appreciated the initiative of ACCA and said that he was highly supportive of promoting professional talent in different fields at home and abroad.
The Minister said that “Pakistan has a lot to offer to the world and we believe in paving the way for the youth of the country to prosper”. The delegation also presented a study on CPEC, “The Belt and Road Initiative: Reshaping the Global Value Chain”, for perusal of the Minister.

MIRPUR, Feb 13 (APP):Azad Jammu & Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan said on Tuesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy towards Kashmir is myopic and counter-productive also atrocious, cruel and brutal.
He said Modi’s operatives in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) had wreaked havoc by killing, maiming and torturing thousands of Kashmiris of all ages who demand freedom from Indian occupation.
The President made these remarks while talking to a seven-member delegation of the Sindh Youth Assembly representing different political parties. The delegation comprised Danyal Jillani, Qurrat-ul-Ain Nasir, Muzammil Hussain, Muhammad Zafeer, Abdul Samad, Najeeb ur Rehman and Syed Maqsood Ahmed.
Sardar Masood Khan said Modi’s carnage in Kashmir being executed by occupation forces must come to an end. “We hold Modi responsible for all the killings in IOK which are reminiscent of his policy against Muslims in Gujrat in the early 2000s”, he said.
The President strongly condemned Indian occupation forces’ deliberate plans to kill and terrorize Kashmiris living on this side of the Line of Control. “India must know that there would be massive and fitting retaliation for these acts of hostility and any other misadventures”, he said, adding “India mustn’t stage another farce of so-called, botched surgical strike.”
The President urged the youth representatives in playing their role in creating awareness about Kashmir in the Pakistani and international media, particularly the social media. He said that Pakistani civil society has the skills and resources to launch such a campaign.
He requested them to use #KashmirMatters to raise concerns about human right violations and crimes against humanity being committed in Indian occupied Kashmir by the Indian forces.
The President said the entire territory of Jammu and Kashmir and all the people residing in the area are the “jugular vein” of Pakistan. This reality, he said, couldn’t be altered.
To a question, President Masood Khan said that taking the Jammu and Kashmir to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) would be unwise as such demands are a conspiracy to foil the UN Security Council resolutions which have clearly prescribed that the people of Jammu an Kashmir would be asked through a free and fair plebiscite to determine their political future.
These parameters of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, he said, must not be altered before the will of the Kashmiris is ascertained through existing decisions. Taking the issue to the international ICJ would change the legal contours of the case and we would not allow that to happen, he added.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 13 (APP):The Senate session started on Tuesday at 10:00 am with the recitation of verses from the Holy
Quran.
Presiding Officer Col (R ) Tahir Hussain Mashhadi was in the chair. The House would take
up a single agenda item special reference for late Ms Asma Jahangir.