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Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Human Rights and Women Empowerment, Mushaal Hussein Mullick addressing an event organized by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry in connection with Kashmir Solidarity Day
ISLAMABAD
Dr Gohar Ejaz, CM KPK discuss peaceful conduct of Elections in province
ISLAMABAD, Feb 6 (APP): Caretaker Federal Minister for Interior, Dr Gohar Ejaz, and Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Justice (r) Arshad Hussain, chaired a meeting in Peshawar on Tuesday to discuss the peaceful and transparent conduct of Elections.
During the meeting, the administrations provided a comprehensive briefing on the arrangements made to ensure peaceful elections and overall security situation in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said a statement issued here.
Dr. Gohar Ejaz, reiterated the government’s unwavering commitment to ensuring free, transparent, and peaceful elections in the province.
Recommendations worked out on missing persons issue to be handed over to next govt: Solangi
ISLAMABAD, Feb 06 (APP): Caretaker Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi on Tuesday said the recommendations worked out by the caretaker government on the missing persons issue would be handed over to the next elected government.
“The caretaker government takes the issue of missing persons seriously,” he said in a statement.
The minister said the caretaker government, after comprehensive deliberations, had worked out its recommendations in light of the opinion of the commission and committee formed on the issue, guidance of the high court as well as civil society and media.
Ignite inks agreement with PSL Hashoo Group
ISLAMABAD, Feb 6 (APP): Ignite National Technology Fund, a Company incorporated under the Ministry of Information Technology (IT) & Telecom on Tuesday signed an agreement with Pakistan Services Limited (PSL) Hashoo Group.
The agreement led a consortium that includes Fauji Foundation, Telenor Pakistan, Change Mechanics, CyberVision International and Founder Institute to manage the National Incubation Center Islamabad for the next 5 years, said a news release.
This initiative underscores a collective commitment through public-private partnerships to further bolster the startup ecosystem in Pakistan, with a special focus on nurturing technology startups that promise to elevate the country’s economic GDP and generate employment opportunities for its youth.
In his welcome address, CEO Ignite Adeel Aijaz Shaikh apprised the audience about the overall impact of Ignite’s nationwide network of National Incubation Centers that has incubated more than 1480 startups which have created more than 188,000 direct and indirect jobs while attracting committed investment of Rs 23 Billion and generated revenue of Rs 16 Billion so far.
Dilating upon the particular success of NIC Islamabad, Adeel said, that since its inception, it incubated 295 startups including 136 female founders that have created 23,597 direct and indirect jobs, generated revenue of Rs 7.05 billion with a committed investment of Rs 7.88 billion.
NIC Islamabad is poised to build upon the success of its predecessor by offering an enhanced array of services designed to empower startups. These services encompass state-of-the-art workspaces, access to venture capital, mentorship from industry leaders, UI/UX design labs, makers spaces, and a focus on pivotal technological sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Robotics, Health, and Augmented/Virtual Reality.
Special emphasis is provided on creating investment opportunities for startups and the consortium and its supporting partners include leading incubators, accelerators and venture capitalists such as Founder Institute, Mass Challenge, International Accelerator, Loyal VC, Zayn Capital, Sarmayacar, 47 Ventures, FCD Capital and Pak Launch.
NIC Islamabad will also have an extensive focus on building health-tech startups, Aga Khan University and Hospital along with Rehman Medical Institute Peshawar are core Health Track Partners along with 10+ other renowned health institutions as supporting partners.
Red Buffer will be mentoring and providing support to Deep-tech startups as a specialized vertical.
The supporting partners also include leading Academic Institutions which ensures quality mentorship and access to University labs and specialist faculty to advise the startups on technical issues.
These institutes include GIKI University, Institute of Space Technologies, Foundation University, NUST Business School, Bahria Innovation Center and others.
With the new management, NIC Islamabad represents a crucial advancement in enhancing Pakistan’s digital landscape. Through creating a supportive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship, the joint efforts of PSL-Hashoo Group and Fauji Foundation, Ignite, MoITT, and additional key stakeholders are set to open up numerous possibilities for Pakistani startups and propel economic development and technological progress in the country.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar chairs a meeting of the Caretaker Federal Cabinet
ISLAMABAD
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar chairs a meeting of the Caretaker Federal Cabinet
ISLAMABAD
Eight-member Russian election observers visits ECP
ISLAMABAD, Feb 06 (APP): The eight-member Election Observer Group from the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, led by Chairman Andrey Maximov, visited the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to meet with Secretary Dr Syed Asif Hussain and others.
Secretary ECP, Syed Asif Hussain, extended a warm welcome to the members of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation upon their arrival in Pakistan to observe the elections.
The secretary briefed them on the preparations and arrangements made by the commission for conducting the elections in Pakistan.
The delegation chairman praised the Election Commission’s preparations for the elections and conveyed his best wishes for the smooth conduct of the general elections.
He also toured the ECP’s Election City and Election Monitoring Control Center, where officials briefed him on the commission’s operations.
OIC envoys meet Czech FM to discuss Middle East situation
ISLAMABAD, Feb 06 (APP): The ambassadors of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries in Czech Republic on Tuesday met Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky wherein they discussed the Middle East crisis.
Ambassador of Pakistan in Prague Ayesha Ali was also among the Muslim world envoys.
“I met Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky with a group of OIC ambassadors to discuss the ME crisis,” Ambassador Ayesha wrote on her X timeline.
In the meeting, the envoys had a candid discussion on all aspects of the situation including possible solutions.
Pakistan’s envoy conveyed her country’s position and strong support for the Palestinian cause.
Dr Kausar Abdullah lauds efforts of research institute for modernizing country’s agriculture sector
ISLAMABAD, Feb 06 (APP): Caretaker Minister for National Food Security and Research Dr Kauser Abdulla Malik on Tuesday chaired the 47th meeting of the Board of Governors of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC).
Official board members, including the Federal Secretary of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research and officials from the Ministry of Finance and Planning participated in the meeting.
In addition, provincial members also participated in the meeting and shared their views to enhance outreach of research and development to door steps of farmers, said a press release.
Speaking on the occasion Kauser Abdullah lauded the efforts of the research institute for modernizing the country’s agriculture sector.
He also provided guidance to the PARC team, emphasizing the importance of maintaining their current level of dedication while simultaneously strengthening their involvement and interaction with the farming and scientific community.
Chairman PARC, Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Ali, delivered a thorough overview to the Board concerning recent initiatives in agricultural research and the achievements made in addressing administrative challenges, as well as resolving longstanding financial liabilities pending since 2013.
During the briefing to the board, Dr Ali highlighted that the majority of the long-pending administrative and financial issues of the council have been resolved.
Additionally, for the first time in the history of PARC, a dedicated research budget has been allocated for conducting agricultural research in high-tech areas, he added.
He also provided the Board with updates on newly initiated programs aimed at aligning research with modern scientific paradigms, these programs include genomics-based improvement of livestock breeds, smart agriculture practices, the application of CAD and CNC technologies in agricultural machinery design, and the certification of organic agriculture practices.
The meeting expressed a firm resolve to extend all available resources for advancing agricultural research and development in the country
Federal Cabinet approves restructuring of PIA
ISLAMABAD, Feb 6 (APP): The Federal Cabinet on Tuesday approved the restructuring of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on the recommendation of the Privatization Division.
The cabinet, in its previous meeting approved the appointment of a financial advisor for financial and administrative restructuring of the airlines.
The cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar was told that the financial advisor had formulated a financial restructuring plan of PIA in line with international precedents under which the airlines will be divided into two companies, Top-Co and Hold-Co.
PIA’s core operations of engineering, ground handling, cargo, flight kitchen and training will be incorporated into Top-Co while other entities such as Precision Engineering Complex, PIA Investment Limited and others subsidiaries and properties will be incorporated in Hold-Co. These measures will help attract capital investors to PIA.
The cabinet also directed the cabinet sub-committee on Privatization to deal with the matters related to settlement of government-owned enterprises with PIA as soon as possible.
On the recommendation of the ministry of Privatization, cabinet also approved the privatization of First Women Bank Limited.
The cabinet on the recommendation of the Ministry of National Health approved the proposals regarding de-regulation of the prices of the medicines which were not included in the national list of essential medicines.
Under these proposals, prices of medicines other than essential medicines in the national list will be exempted from the Drugs Act, 1976 and necessary amendments will be made in the Drug Pricing Policy 2018.
Furthermore, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council will ensure that doctors will not prescribe vitamins, multivitamins, minerals and over-the-counter products to the patients.
The Drug Regulatory Authority will compile a list of vitamins, multivitamins, minerals and over-the-counter products as per the prevailing international standards and will also be in touch with the provincial governments in this regard.
The cabinet also approved the decisions taken in the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee held on February 01, 2024.
Meanwhile the cabinet approved the appointment of Lt. General Tahir Hameed Shah as a member and chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Board on the recommendation of the Ministry of Defense Production.
The appointment of Lt. General Tahir Hameed Shah will be effective from November 29, 2023.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the cabinet allowed Major Abid Mansoor Khan to receive award of “Note-e-Shujaat” and “Note-e-Sharf” from the Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia in recognition of his services.
The Federal Cabinet, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave permission to Protocol Officer Mohammad Ashraf Khan to receive a gold medal from the Government of Austria in recognition of his services.
Likewise the cabinet, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also gave permission to Air Commodore Syed Imran Ali to receive “Defense Cooperation Award First Class” award in recognition of his services as Defense Attaché at the Pakistani Embassy in Tokyo.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Law and Justice and the proposal of the Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court, the cabinet approved the conversion of 4 out of 8 accountability courts in Peshawar into special courts.
Apart from this, the proposal of Chief Justice Peshawar High Court was also approved by the cabinet regarding the appointment of judges of these courts.
The remaining courts will continue to function as accountability courts. These changes will not incur any additional burden on the national exchequer.