ISLAMABAD, May 26 (APP): Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf Thursday said that the life and teachings of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) provides foundation to forge harmony among various sects and overcome internal bickering.

Chairing the inaugural meeting of the newly constituted
National Ulema and Mashaikh Council (NUMC), he said the main aim of constituting National Ulema and Mashaikh Council was to promote harmony among various segments
of society and also to chalk out a joint strategy for promoting interfaith harmony and avoiding bickering among various segments of society.

The basic aim of creating a separate homeland was to live as a coherent and integrated nation, but alas the nation has virtually been divided on secretarian lines instead of transforming ourselves in to a coherent nation, he said.

Secretary Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sohail Aamir said the ministry was striving to promote the teachings and Seerah of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH).

The newly constituted Ulema and Mashaikh Council has been assigned a task to persue the recommendations of various Ulema from 1953 onwards and prepare a consensus code of conduct for ulema, sects and media for promoting interfaith harmony.

Islam teaches that everybody should be kind to each other without any discrimination, he said. The basis of spreading of message of Islam was kindness, welfare of others and equality among all the people of the world, he added.

Later, the in camera meeting of National Ulema and Mashaikh Council was held to evolve a consensus strategy for promoting interfaith harmony.

ISLAMABAD, May 26 (APP): Minister of State for Education Engr. Muhammad Baligh ur Rehman on Thursday urged the youth to be optimist for the national growth and social uplift.
Speaking at the final round of 18th All Pakistan Inter-University Declamation Contest organized here by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), he said Islam strongly condemns pessimism, adding that disappointment among people destroys nations.

He said that “Always see both the sides of a picture, as you have to sort out way out of the darkness of problems for your prosperous future,”.

He lamented the fact that deliberate efforts are made to spread pessimism among people under malicious agendas.

He said that declamation contests and speech competitions among students enhance their analytical and critical thinking.

He said such activities create a spirit to come forward and work hard for national growth.

Referring to the role of media, Baligh-ur-Rehman said the media has a major role in the development of a country, so it should not only point out negativities in our social fabric but should also highlight the positive aspects.

He said the incumbent government is paying due attention to promotion of higher education. Recalling the havoc of terrorism and extremism in the past, he said the menace of militancy took the country hostage till 2013, but currently the situation has highly improved as terrorism incidents have marked a visible decline.

He said the country’s capacity in generation of energy is rapidly increasing and it is also meeting its economic goals.

In his welcome address, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC congratulated the position holders and said that holding of the declamation contest is a regular activity organized by HEC every year.

Following the recommendation of the minister, he announced to increase the cash prize for winners from Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 1,00000 for first position holder; while for second position the cash is increased from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 75,000, and from Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 50,000 for the third position holder.

He also announced to award Rs. 10,000 to each participant of the contest.

Speaking about the recent QS ranking, the Chairman said that only 50 countries out of around 197 world countries were selected for ranking and it is an honour instead of a discouragement that Pakistan has got place in this race.

He said two Pakistani universities have made their pace in 700 world class universities. He said that educational growth needs hefty investment and Pakistan is in competition with the nations which have been investing in the sector for centuries.

He said that the Global Donors Forum has selected HEC for Three-G Excellence in Higher Education Award for the year 2016.

The Chairman said that Pakistan is confronted with a maze of problems, however solution to all ills lies in education. “We need to rectify the odds through education,” Dr. Mukhtar concluded.

As many as 30 contestants, both in English and Urdu categories, participated in the final round of the contest.

Prof. Dr. Waseema Shehzad, Dean Faculty of Social Sciences Air University, Islamabad chaired the English session, while Prof. Fateh Muhammad Malik, former Rector International Islamic University Islamabad chaired the Urdu session of the contest.

Those who took part in the English category included Fahad Farooq from Army Medical College (National University of Medical Sciences), Habib-ur-Rehman from Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta, Salika Durrani, Foundation University, Rawalpindi, Maryam Mahsood from Gandhara University Peshawar, Talha bin Azhar from Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Topi, Sawabi, Humaira Ahmed from Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, Abdul Hannan from Government College University, Faisalabad, Sana Murtaza Dayo from Liaqat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Anam Noor Ehsan from Aga Khan University, Karachi, Barmsh Khan from Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad, Rafia Noor from Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University, Quetta, Maria Esan from University of Balochistan, Quetta, Dua Fatima Faiz Muhammad from University of Sindh, Jamshoro, and Rameesha Khan from University of the Punjab, Lahore.

The Urdu category contestants included Ahmad Cheema from Army Medical College (National University of Medical Sciences), Rawalpindi, Ammad Shakeel from Al-Hamd Islamic University, Quetta, Shaista Gul Khan from Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta, Inam-ur-Rehman from Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Hafsa Abdul Ghafar from Government College for Women University, Islamabad, Adeela Batool from International Islamic University, Islamabad, Hareem Zafar from Islamia College University Peshawar, Umm-e-Farwa from Jinnah Sindh Medical College, Karachi, Makhdoom Shahab-ud-Din from National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Muhammad Taqi Jawad from Preston University, Kohat Campus, Ruqia Khan from Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University, Quetta, Kanwal Iqbal from Sindh Madressatul Islam University, Karachi, Muhammad Ehtisham Akbar from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Abdullah Imran from University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, and Ms. Mahrukh Baloch from University of Sindh, Jamshoro.

Ms. Noor Amina Malik, former Director General, Learning Innovation, HEC, Mr. S. Munawwar H. Naqvi, senior journalist from Financial Daily International, Islamabad, Dr. Najeeba Arif, Assistant Professor, Department of Urdu, IIUI, and Dr. Shaheena Ayyub Bhatti, Associate Professor, English Department, NUML performed the responsibilities of judges of the contest.

At the end, the Chief Guest distributed certificates and cash prizes among the participants.

Vice Chancellors as well as students of different universities were also present on the occasion.

ISLAMABAD, May 26 (APP): Ministry of Commerce would fund and support the establishment of dry port in Sargodha to facilitate the export of fruits and minerals, produced in the region directly to other countries.

This was decided in the 71st meeting of the Board of
Administrators of the Export Development Fund (EDF) held here under the chairmanship of Minister for Commerce, Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan here Thursday

The Board authorized to conduct a business and technical
feasibility study of the proposed dry port for detailed designing and cost estimation of the dry port project from a well reputed consultant, according to a statement issued by the Ministry.

The details presented in the Board meeting, informed that
citrus was major exportable item of the region and there were about 250 kinnow processing units operating in the region.

“All the export consignments of the region have to be
cleared at Karachi due to the unavailability of the dry port in the area”, it said.

According to the statement, the construction of dry port
would greatly facilitate the export process as all the consignments would be cleared and sealed at the dry port and dispatched to the destination country without having to bother for clearance at the sea port.

“This will provide great convenience to the exporters, save
considerable amount of time and encourage the exporters to export more”, it said.

It said that the dry port would also facilitate the exporters
of minerals such as gypsum, rock salt and iron ore which are found in the adjoining area.

This would also bring extra premium to the artisans associated with the cottage industry of wooden handicrafts which are exported to China, Malaysia and Italy.

The Minister for Commerce on the occasion said that one of the reasons that SMEs to stay away from exporting their products, was due to the cumbersome procedures involved in the exporting.

The dry port will provide them all the clearance facilities at
their door step, thus resulting in an attractive incentive to export their products, he added.

The Board approved the establishment of a fruit packaging and processing plant in Quetta.

The plant would provide modern value addition facilities which would help thousands of fruit farmers of Baluchistan to get extra value of the produce.

This would help the farmers to export their fruits to western
countries.

The Board also approved a project for the expansion of
Effluent Treatment Plant established in Korangi, Karachi which
produces electricity using the bio gas produced in the tanneries. Availability of bio gas generators save 70% of the energy already supplied through the grid.

Technical experts noted that this plant would cut the
operational cost and reduce the methane gas emission in the air considerably.

ISLAMABAD, May 26 (APP): A three-day Beijing Forum-Islamabad on China- Pakistan Economic Corridor was held in National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in collaboration with Peking University.

According to a private news channel, Beijing Forum-Islamabad commemorates the 65 golden years of China-Pakistan iron friendship in a unique way, as reflected in the principle theme “China and Pakistan in the Community of Common Destiny for all Mankind”.

It would be a three-day exercise encompassing three plenary sessions  and 11 panel sessions on a diverse range of topics. Beijing Forum-Islamabad offers a promise for global peace, prosperity and stability.