ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (APP): Caretaker Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi on Friday expressed deep grief and sorrow over the demise of the mother of senior journalist MB Soomro.
He, in a condolence message, prayed to the Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss with equanimity.
The minister was saddened by hearing the sad news of the demise of the mother of MB Soomro.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (APP): Ambassador Ismatullo Nasredin of Tajikistan paid a farewell call on Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani here on Friday and discussed matters of mutual interest.
The foreign minister appreciated the contribution of Ambassador Nasredin in promoting bilateral relations between Pakistan and Tajikistan and wished him success on his new assignment as First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (APP): Caretaker Interior Minister Dr Gohar Ijaz on Friday visited the National Action Plan (NAP) Secretariat which is working to provide foolproof security to Pakistani nationals and foreigners.
The secretariat coordinator briefed the interior minister about the functioning of the National Action Plan.
The minister said that the protection of all citizens was the prime responsibility of the state and close cooperation between law enforcement agencies was very important in this regard.
He said that a law and order can be ensured only with integrated strategy and cooperation and all resources should be utilized to ensure peace and security during the elections.
Provision of foolproof security to foreigners should also be ensured, the minister directed.
He also directed to further improve the code of conduct for the security of foreigners and to ensure its implementation.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (APP): Pakistan Friday welcomed the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), whereby it had concluded that, prima facie, it had the jurisdiction to entertain the case against Israel and that South Africa’s claims of genocide were “plausible”.
The Foreign Office in a statement said that the ICJ had ordered Israel to urgently undertake a series of measures in relation to Palestinians in Gaza to prevent the commission of acts prohibited by the Genocide Convention, including killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
The court also ordered Israel to take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The implementation of the provisional measures required an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to bring about an end to the suffering faced by the people of Gaza.
Since 7th October 2023, Israel had engaged in military aggression and criminal actions against the Palestinian people.
“We consider the ICJ’s ruling timely and a significant milestone in the pursuit of justice for the Palestinian people and international accountability of Israel,” the Foreign Office said.
Pakistan called for the full and effective implementation of the ICJ’s decision so that basic human rights, dignity and identity of Palestinian people as a distinct group were upheld and protected, as stipulated by the United Nations Charter, relevant UN resolutions, and international law.
“Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support to the Palestinian people in their just and legitimate struggle for the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination.”
With a similar spirit, “Pakistan has supported the application filed by South Africa before the ICJ against Israel under the 1948 Genocide Convention, in follow up to which the Court today announced the provisional measures,” it added.
MULTAN, Jan 26 (APP): Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday that the PPP’s 10-point economic charter was aimed at combating the plethora of crises faced by the nation.
If voted to power “we will take from the elite and give to the downtrodden”, as per the ideology of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,he said while addressing a public meeting here at the Technology College ground.
Bilawal said that the PPP aimed to devolve the 17 ministries operating in the federation that was to be done after the 18th Constitutional Amendment. The public money of Rs 300 billion was wasted on the ministries.
“They will be devolved, their budgets will be cut and allocated to projects for the welfare of the people,” he maintained.
The PPP chairman said that he wished to serve the women of the nation as a son and he “plans to not only expand the Benazir Income Support Programme but also provide interest-free loans to make them financially independent”.
The PPP after forming the government would introduce ‘Benazir Kissan Card’ and ‘Benazir Mazdoor Card’, to provide crop insurance and financial assistance to all small farmers, and social security to labourers, he added.
For the youth, he said, the PPP aspired to initiate the ‘Youth Card’ so that unemployment could be dealt with and the youngsters were equipped with all the necessary skills, along with financial assistance.
Bilawal said that he was contesting the elections from Lahore, which had the impression of being a utopian city. However, there too, the people were troubled by poverty and unemployment, and their roads too were damaged.
“The PPP wishes to represent the entire country and solve its problems without any discrimination,” he added.
He urged the people to stamp his party’s symbol of arrow for establishing a government of the people.
The PPP chairman said that if given the opportunity, the next Punjab chief minister would be from South Punjab.
Earlier, former prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani recalled the number of initiatives taken by the PPP for the welfare of people.
He promised that Special Economic Zones (SEZs) would be established in Multan too in days to come.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (APP): Welcoming the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide in the Gaza strip, President Dr Arif Alvi has said that it was an outstanding judgment.
“Israel must immediately stop the genocide and bloodshed of the innocent civilians in Gaza”, he said in a statement.
He appreciated the ruling of ICJ asking Israel to fulfill its obligations under the Genocide Convention towards Palestinians in Gaza by taking all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide Convention and enabling the provision of urgently needed “basic services and humanitarian assistance” to the Palestinians in Gaza.
The President stated that the ruling had exposed the inhuman acts and barbarism being committed by Israel, adding that Israel had transgressed all boundaries of humanity by targeting women, children, and hospitals and didn’t even spare people who were standing in queue for food yesterday.
The President urged the international community and other organs of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, to take steps for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and prevent Israel from committing further bloodshed in Palestine.
The President deeply appreciated the bold stance of South Africa by taking Israel to ICJ to hold it accountable for its acts of genocide.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (APP): Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar Friday said that the general election on February 8 would bring political stability in the country.
The prime minister, in an interview with a private television channel, said after the elections, the new government would work to achieve political and economic stability.
He said his government successfully achieved most of the targets set by it and a white paper would be issued to enlist those successes.
“The biggest challenges were economic issues,” he said, adding the next government would have to work with the International Monetary Fund and bring reforms in the taxation system to take the economy forward.
He said the government carried forward the process of privatisation of state-owned entities, including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The process of privatisation was almost complete, he added.
The prime minister said the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) led the effort to sign $ 25 billion worth of memorandums of understanding with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The SIFC was formed by the previous government after enactment of a law in the Parliament, he recalled.
He said the social media would be regulated and some people would have to stop the wrong use of the medium.
The previous governments worked to control negative aspects of the social media and in future a “national firewall” through use of technology would be created to subdue the negative tendencies, he noted.
He said May 9 was an attack on the concept of the State of Pakistan and from the very start he was very critical of the elements involved in the incidents.
However, the whole of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf could not be kept away from Pakistani politics, he said, adding only some specific people of the PTI were involved in the incidents of May 9.
He clarified that his government did not target any political party. He remarked that undermining social order created anarchy which was not acceptable in any society.
“Social order is the guarantor of political order,” he added.
PM Kakar said the political parties needed to democratise themselves and decrease influence of individuals.
The Supreme Court’s decision on the intra-party elections of PTI was a welcome step and would increase the opportunities for politicians from the middle class to make a mark on the political landscape, he opined.
He said veteran politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman undertook a private visit to Afghanistan and the State of Pakistan was not involved in it, however, the Foreign Office did brief him on the situation in the neighbouring country.
He said the citizens of neighbouring, countries including Afghanistan had to observe immigration laws of Pakistan as was done all over the world.
He said Iran’s attack on Pakistani soil was absolutely wrong and Pakistan responded appropriately to the aggression. “We were shocked by the attack of Iran. We were not expecting this.”
Both sides had agreed to the need for de-escalation, he added.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (APP): Caretaker Federal Minister for Health Dr Nadeem Jan and Federal Minister for Interior Dr Gohar Ejaz on Friday visited the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
During the visit, they reviewed the medical facilities provided by the hospital.
Dr. Nadeem Jan said that the load of patients at PIMS hospital is increasing day by day.
He said that 12,000 to 15,000 patients come to PIMS for treatment every day.
Dr Gohar Ejaz announced the donation of 40 beds for PIMS emergency unit on emergency basis . He added from next week, food will also be provided to all patients and their families.
He said that soon a pharmacy will be started for PIMS in which free supply of all necessary medicines will be ensured.
Dr. Nadeem Jan appreciated these steps of Gohar Ejaz.
“I thank Gohar Ejaz for visiting PIMS after taking charge of the Minister for Interior.”
He said that PIMS is ensuring the sanitation system at the hospital on an emergency basis.
He said that providing quality of service medicines to patients is our mission.
Dr. Nadeem Jan said that the government is ensuring practical measures to improve the performance of government hospitals.
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