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Shipping Activity at Port Qasim

By
Waseem Iqbal
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0
KARACHI, Aug 22 (APP):Six ships, CMA CGM Pelleas, Maersk Cairo, Bitumen Kosei, Antares, New Apex and Navig-8 Constellation scheduled to load/offload Container, Bitumen, Palm oil, LNG and HSD, berthed at Container Terminals, Multi-Purpose Terminal, Liquid Terminal, Elengy Terminal and FOTCO Terminal respectively on Wednesday.
 Meanwhile another bulk cargo carrier ‘Kavita’ is also arrived at outer-anchorage of the Port Qasim on today morning.
A total of twelve ships were engaged at PQA berths during the last 24 hours, out of them four ships,MSC Positano, CMA CGM Pelleas, Maersk Cairo and Horizon-1 left the port on today morning while two more ships, Navig-8 Constellation and Madison Eagle are expected to sail on today afternoon.
Cargo volume of 181,400 tonnes, comprising 131,291 tonnes imports cargo and 44,353 tonnes export cargo carried in 3,446 Containers (837 TEUs Imports& 2,609 TEUs Export) was handled at the port during last 24 hours.
Five ships at Outer Anchorage of Port Qasim, out of them a Liquefied Petroleum Gas carrier ‘Epic Burano’ & two more Container ships, Tolten and X-Press Anglesey carrying LPG and Container are expected to take berths at EVTL and QICT respectively on Thursday. Meanwhile two more Container ships, Beijing and Hyundai Busan are due to arrive at port on Friday.

Ayaz Sadiq strongly condemns attack on school van in Attock

By
Waseem Iqbal
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Ayaz Sadiq
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP):Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, on Thursday, strongly condemned the tragic incident of firing on a school van in Attock, which resulted in the loss of two young children.
“The attack on innocent children is heart-wrenching,” the Speaker said in a statement, adding that those responsible for such heinous acts deserve no leniency. He called for the strictest legal action against the perpetrators.
Ayaz Sadiq extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the affected children, praying to Allah for the elevation of the ranks of the deceased and the swift recovery of the injured.

Pakistan achieved ‘Macroeconomic stability,’ economic indicators showing positive trends: Finance Minister

By
Waseem Iqbal
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0
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP):Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday said that the countries achieved micro-economic stability and all the economic indicators showing positive trends.
He said that currently, the country is going through a phase of economic stability and the government will be led on the path of sustainable economic growth with a good economic foundation.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said this while addressing the Inaugural Ceremony of Buna -Raast Connectivity Project Implementation Phase here.
He said that all economic indicators, including foreign reserves, workers remittances, policy rates, exchange rate, revenue collection and twins deficits including Current Account are going positive, leading towards growth and adding that foreign investors are showing confidence on the Pakistan economy.
Aurangzeb said that “We have two months import cover and the exchange rate is also stable.” He said that during the last two months, foreign companies and potential investors are showing their interest to make investment in the different sectors of the economy.
The minister said that the government is working on the digital economy and through the digitization of the economy, “We prioritize documenting the local economy.”
He said that because of prudent economic policies of the government and through reforms and administrative measures the country received the $3 billion workers’ remittances in the last month of July 2024.
He said the government prioritized the tax and energy reforms and over all structural reforms also in cards to achieve the sustainable economic growth in the county. The minister said that “Buna -Raast Connectivity Project” project is an exemplary project between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which is also a huge source for legal transaction of money and an evolved digital economy in the country.
He said that Pakistan also endorsed the KSA’s government vision 2030 and learnt a lesson from this economic vision for sustainable economic growth in Pakistan.Buna is the cross-border payment system operated by the Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization “ARPCSO,” which is owned by The Arab Monetary Fund “AMF.”  Buna aim to enable financial institutions and central banks in the Arab region and beyond to send and receive payments in local currencies as well as key international currencies in a safe, cost-effective, risk-controlled, and transparent environment. Buna offers participants modern payment solutions that comply with international standards, principles, and compliance requirements.
The Raast SBP ‘Raast’ Instant Payment System is a transformational initiative that is built on state-of-the art international standard ISO 20022 and promises to be simple, free, fast, interoperable, and a secure payment option for customers.
 The SBP launched the second use case of Raast i.e. Person-to-Person (P2P) payments in February 2022. Till date, around 34 million RAAST IDs have been created by customers having performed more than 270 million transactions amounting to around PKR 5.5 trillion (around USD 19 billion).

PM Shehbaz strongly condemns firing on Attock school van

By
Ishtiaq Rao
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PM Shehbaz Sharif

ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday strongly condemned the incident of firing targeting a school van in Attock, directing the authorities concerned to take strict action against the perpetrators.

The prime minister sympathised with the families of the children killed in the incident. He also prayed to Allah Almighty for a swift recovery of the injured children and instructed for their best medical treatment.

Calling the attack on children a cruel and brutal act, the prime minister called for strict action against those responsible for the act.

NHMP foils liquor smuggling bid

By
Waseem Iqbal
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0
ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP):National Highway and Motorway Police (NHMP) on Thursday foiled a bid to smuggle liquor near Islamabad Toll Plaza link road and recovered 157 bottles of liquor from a vehicle.
According to NHMP North Zone spokesman, Muhammad Saqib, the NHMP spotted a suspicious vehicle parked on Link Road while no one present in the car.
On searching it, the NHMP recovered 157 bottles of liquor from the vehicle and handed them over to the Noon Police Station,  for further legal action.

Will announce a five-year economic plan very soon as parameters finalised: PM

By
Ishtiaq Rao
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0

ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that he would unveil a five-year economic revival plan in the coming weeks as broad parameters had already been finalised through months-long deliberations with the stakeholders.

The prime minister, addressing the launching ceremony of Buna-Raast connectivity project, said the “Home-Grown Economic Program” would envisage measures to boost the country’s economy by uplifting agriculture, information technology and other untapped sectors.

“Our program is under discussion and I will announce it very soon. Great work has gone into it. It involves discussions and deliberations with all stakeholders over the last many months. Recently we have finalised its broad parameters. By next week or so, we will finalise it. I will go to the people to announce the program for the next five years,” the prime minister remarked.

Highlighting the challenges of reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue and power sector, he told the gathering that he was personally monitoring the digitisation of FBR and that the government was hopeful of positive outcomes of power sector reforms.

“There is no magic band. It is all about hard work, sacrifice, blood and sweat. Our nation is robust and strong. Our people are full of hope and energy. Let us put our work together. Let us not waste time on debates as we had done in the past. Let us now use this time for actual implementation on the ground. Insha Allah, you will see we will have dividends and will find our place in the comity of nations through hard work, hard work and hard work,” he said.

Under the Buna-Raast connectivity project, the Raast payment mechanism is being linked with the Arab Monetary Fund’s Buna system to facilitate millions of overseas Pakistanis in Arab countries to send remittances through a swift, affordable and effective mechanism.

The prime minister said that besides easing the remittance-sending process digitally, it would also help boost the country’s foreign exchange and further strengthen the already cordial relations between Pakistan and the Arab world.

Calling it a great step forward in promoting financial transactions through modern techniques, he said the project would expand the reach of Pakistan’s digital payment infrastructure.

“This signifies how 21st-century Pakistan is moving ahead by augmenting modern technologies in the people’s lives. This is the first cross-border real-time payment system linkage that will make remittances more affordable and accessible,” he said.

Moreover, Prime Minister Shehbaz said that the project also held the potential to accelerate the connectivity into a future model of a wider payment system where transactions would take place from region to region with a potential of over $20 billion in annual payments.

He thanked the Arab Monetary Fund, State Bank of Pakistan, Finance Ministry, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Karandaaz for their support in launching the project.

Earlier, he also gave away the mementos to Chairperson of Arab Monetary Fund Dr Fahad Alturki, SBP Governor Jamil Ahmed, President of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Dr Anita Zaidi, and CEO of Karandaaz Waqasul Hassan.

In his remarks, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the macroeconomic stability was taking root in Pakistan’s economy as manifested by reduced current account deficit, stable currency, improved foreign reserves, upgraded sovereign ratings, and reviving investors’ confidence.

He said the government was committed to infrastructural reforms and that its efforts were bearing fruits, though a lot more was yet to be done. The remittances were on the surge with $3 billion received in July, he added.

About the Buna-Raast connectivity project, he said the digitalisation would help bring transparency and reduce leakages in remittances, taxation and the power sectors.

He said the project would put the country on a sustainable path and on the right side of the FATF.

President of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Dr Anita Zaidi said the project would link the economies of Pakistan and the Arab world digitally, boost productivity and bring efficiency to systems.

Besides, it will also improve individuals’ lives making it cheaper to send money and improve families’ economic condition as 90% of remittance receivers were women.

She viewed that the project would facilitate, particularly women entrepreneurs enabling them to sell their goods and receive money digitally.

At UN, Pakistan urges ‘new thinking’ to effectively prevent conflicts, build peace

By
NNPS Desk
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Ambassador Munir Akram

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 22 (APP): Pakistan has called for “new thinking” to shape effective approaches to prevent conflicts, resolving disputes — such as Kashmir & Palestine — and building peace in conflict-hit countries.

“What is required is a comprehensive and integrated strategy which offers regional and international support to national efforts for conflict prevention and dispute resolution”, Ambassador Munir Akram told the UN Security Council which held a high-level debate centred on preventing conflict and building and sustaining peace.

Such a strategy, the Pakistani envoy said, must include: economic and financial support to the States in distress – to create employment and generate trust and hope; capacity-building, to enable governments to provide the basic services needed by local populations.
He also called for an end to external exploitation, which fuels violence and terrorism; good faith efforts at resolution of conflicts – at the local and regional levels; regional and international support for security and counter-terrorism operations; and a review of ill-considered sanctions that mostly punish the poor.

The meeting – convened by Sierra Leone, the Security Council president for August – was held against the backdrop of a rise in conflict globally. “The root causes of these conflicts range from the legacies of colonialism, internal struggles for scarce food, water and pastures, external competition for precious national resources and interventions designed to suppress the struggle of peoples to reclaim their own political and economic destinies,” Ambassador Akram said.

“The consequences of foreign occupation are nowhere as clear as in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine,” the Pakistani envoy said, as he called on the Security Council to end Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

While acknowledging the provision of security and basic needs and services is essential to build social cohesion and success against the forces of violence and terrorism, Ambassador Akram said such national strategies were not sufficient to address the complex crises we face in Africa and elsewhere.

“The proliferation of most of these conflicts has been caused by both endogenous and exogenous factors that must be understood and addressed.”

While the concept of nationally-led violence prevention strategies, as outlined in the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace, was valuable, Ambassador Akram cited Pakistan’s experience in fighting terrorism, noting that “Pakistan’s updated National Action Plan to combat terrorism, called ‘Azam-e-Istehkam’, relies on working with local communities to exclude and eliminate violence extremism and terrorism.”

“In Pakistan’s experience too, fighting terrorism on our border regions was successful due to the support, assistance and participation of the local communities,” he added.
Opening the debate, a senior UN official said that violence cost the world nearly $20 trillion last year, but investment in peace and conflict prevention has been steadily decreasing.
“Prevention and peace building can break the cycle of violence and lay the foundations to ensure sustainable development is possible for all,” Elizabeth Spehar, Assistant Secretary-General for Peace building Support, said.

Meanwhile, Sierra Leone’s trajectory from brutal civil war 22 years ago to peace today “stands as a beacon of hope and a testament to the power of commitment, dialogue, and inclusive peace building,” said Hawa Samai, Executive Secretary of the country’s Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion (ICPNC).

The Commission was set up in 2020 as part of broader efforts to prevent, manage and mitigate conflicts. It has established peace coalitions, as well as early warning and response mechanisms, across all 16 districts in Sierra Leone.

“By engaging a wide range of local actors, the ICPNC ensures that peace building efforts are grounded in the realities and needs of communities,” she said.

Dacoit arrested in police encounter

By
Waseem Iqbal
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0
FAISALABAD, Aug 22 (APP):Roshanwala police arrested one dacoit, while his 11 accomplices managed to escape after an encounter late Wednesday night.
Police said here on Thursday that 7-8 dacoits stormed into the house of a citizen Zaheer in Chak no.248-RB and looted cash and other valuable items. The victim family called Rescue 15 police for help.
Receiving information, a police team rushed to the spot and signaled 4 suspect motorcycles carrying 12 people including 8 men and 4 women near Chak No.254-RB at Sammundri Road.
But the motorcyclists took shelter in a nearby fodder crop and opened firing on the police team. The police also returned fire and during this encounter one of the outlaws received serious injuries, whereas his accomplices managed to escape from the scene under the cover of darkness.
The police arrested the injured accused and shifted him to hospital. He was identified as Abdur Razzaq resident of Chak No.420 Burhan Di Jhok. The police took four motorcycles, weapons and other items into custody from the spot while further investigation for arrest of the escapees was under progress, spokesman added.

RDA seals illegal commercial properties

By
NNPS Desk
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0

RAWALPINDI, Aug 22 (APP): Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) on the directives of Director General (DG), Kinza Murtaza while conducting an operation sealed illegal commercial properties in Bahria Town Phase-VIII.
According to a RDA spokesman, the RDA Enforcement Squad conducted a targeted operation against unauthorized commercial buildings in Bahria Town Phase-VIII, and sealed the Amlairz Premium Hyper Market Plaza and Triple-A Heights constructed on Plot No. 11 on Lake View Road.
Assistant Director, Building Control, Building Inspectors and other officials took part in the operation and sealed the illegal commercial properties as the property owners identified as Azeem Shahid, Abid Shahid and Fawad Bashir violated the approved building plans and maps.
Despite prior notices issued by the RDA, the owners continued to flout regulations, breaching the Punjab Development of Cities Act 1976 and the RDA Building and Zoning Regulations 2021 by constructing illegal commercial buildings without obtaining the necessary approvals or No Objection Certificates (NOCs), the spokesman said.
He informed that the DG had directed the Land Use & Building Control (LU&BC) Wing to take strict action against encroachments, unauthorized constructions, and illegal commercial activities.

Police arrest three dacoits

By
Waseem Iqbal
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0
PATTOKI, Aug 22 (APP):The police on Thursday arrested three dacoits and recovered cash, two motorcycles, and other valuables from their custody.
The police spokesman said a team of Sarai Mughal police station in an operation nabbed the culprits.
Meanwhile, the police in another operation arrested an absconder by using modern technology, he added.
The police registered cases against the accused and launched further investigations.
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