KARACHI
PM extends greetings to nation, Muslim Ummah on Eid-ul-Azha
ISLAMABAD, Jun 16 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has extended warm greetings to the Pakistani nation and Muslims around the world on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.
In a message, he said Eid-ul-Azha commemorates the unwavering commitment and readiness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his beloved son Prophet Ismail without hesitation, as commanded by Almighty Allah. “The day reminds us of the importance of sacrificing what is most dear to us in the way of Allah. It teaches us the value of selflessness and devotion to Allah.”
The prime minister said the day also serves as an occasion to unite the people and foster the bonds of brotherhood and fraternity as well as to look after the less fortunate amongst us and make them part of our collective celebration.
“Whilst our wish is for peace, prosperity and love to prevail all over the world during Eid ul-Adha, we are also watching with sadness and concern other ongoing conflicts and violence in many countries worldwide. We should not forget the sacrifices and sufferings of the people of Palestine and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir” he added.
On this Eid day, he said “we pray for our Palestinian and Kashmiri brothers and sisters who are bravely facing brutal foreign occupation but remain steadfast in their struggle to achieve their right of self-determination”.
“May the spirit of Eid-ul-Adha, with its message of solidarity and unity, brings prosperity, success and happiness to the entire Muslim ummah,” he prayed.
On directive of CM, bike provided to disabled student in Musakhel
QUETTA, Jun 16 (APP): On special directive of Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti, a new motorcycle was provided to the disabled student of Government Boys’ High School Mahmoodabad in Musakhel area of the province.
According to report, a report that went viral on social media showed that a disabled student from a rural area of Musakhel was facing difficulties in commuting from home to school.
Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti directed to provide a motorcycle to this talented student Shaukat Khan, on which Balochistan Government Spokesman Shahid Rind ordered to provide assistance to the student by contacting the relevant authorities.
On which Deputy Commissioner District Musakhel Abdul Hameed Zehri went to the child’s school and met him and announced the provision of school bags and other teaching materials as well as a three-wheeled motorcycle made for people with disabilities.
In the light of which, a student named Shaukat Khan was invited to the Deputy Commissioner’s office yesterday and appreciated for his hard work and a new motorcycle was handed over to him.
While talking, DC Abdul Hameed Zahri said that we all need to play an active role in helping people get out of the deprivations and frustrations of disability and enjoying the colours of nature.
The district administration and government of Balochistan are trying to solve all the problems of disability among the people, he said.
On this occasion, the school administration thanked Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti, Provincial Government Spokesperson Shahid Rind and Deputy Commissioner Abdul Hameed Zahri for their prompt assistance to the student.
MNA Asifa Bhutto Zardari arrives in Nawabshah
NAWABSHAH, Jun 16 (APP): Member National Assembly and daughter of Former Prime Minister Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, Asifa Bhutto Zardari has arrived at Nawabshah on Sunday to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with his Father President Asif Ali Zardari at Zardari House Nawabshah.
Soon after his arrival Asifa Bhutto Zardari met with President Asif Ali Zardari and later visited different areas of Nawabshah city.
They instructed the district administration for maintenance of the sanitation situation in the city on all the three days of Eid ul Azha.
During their stay at Nawabshah President Asif Ali Zardari and Asifa Bhutto Zardari would meet different delegations and party office bearers and workers.
Governor calls on PM
LAHORE, Jun 16 (APP): Governor Punjab Sardar Saleem Haider Khan on Sunday called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and discussed matters pertaining to the province during a meeting at Model Town here.
According to a press release by the Governor’s House, Governor Punjab Sardar Saleem Haider Khan shared greetings with the premier Shehbaz Sharif on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.
Rs 850 bln of budget to present on June 22 in Balochistan: Buledi
QUETTA, Jun 16 (APP): Provincial Ministers on Sunday said that the Balochistan government was going to present a surplus of more than 850 billion rupees of budget 2024-25 on June 22 which would be a people friendly budget.
Provincial ministers including Mir Zahoor Buledi, Mir Shoaib Noshirwani and government spokesman Shahid Rand expressed these views while addressing at a press conference at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
They said that in the budget, 25 percent has been allocated for education and 10 percent for health, this time, an allocation of 58 bln was kept for Balochistan in the Federal PSPD, the salaries of employees up to grade 16 would be increased by 25 percent while for those above grade 17 by 20 percent.
Provincial Planning and Development Minister Mir Zahoor Buledi said that more than 9,000 schemes were included in the previous budget of Balochistan, it was difficult for the province to run them.
He said that the provincial government has done a major surgery of PSDP and put the unnecessary schemes in the cold storage, saying that the upcoming budget would be according to public needs, welfare.
The provincial government is giving priority to health and education, we are going to increase the budget of the education sector by 25 percent, under the Benazir Scholarship Program in the province and stipends will be given to PhD candidates in the fields of science, technology, engineering and accounting, while children of civilian martyrs to be provided free education from 1st to 16th standard, he underlined.
He said that the grant of universities was going to be increased from 2.5 billion to 5 billion, and 2 bln rupees would be kept for admitting children out of schools in the province.
The minister said that they would build a hospital in the style of Gumbat Hospital in Naseerabad Division, a satellite hospital would be established in Quetta on the model of NICVD.
991 mln for handing over the hospital in Bekar to Indus Hospital, a grant of 1.7 bln for Sheikh Zayed Hospital for Cardiology, burn units in 15 districts at a cost of 700 million, a total of 581 mln will be spent on breast cancer treatment with Roche, while 505 mln for health card grant, he noted.
Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi said that connecting GDA Hospital with Indus Hospital would cost Rs1.2 bln, PPL Hospital was going to be handed over to Indus Hospital at a cost of 782 mln.
He said that the allocation of Balochistan in the federal PSDP has been increased to 58 bln rupees, we have registered a protest in the National Economic Council after which the decision to withdraw provincial level schemes from the federal PSDP has been withdrawn.
He said that no federal project was completed in Balochistan for 15 years, the federal portfolio of the province was 1600 bln, 10 percent allocation was given every year, in the current financial year, only 43 percent of the amount was released, which was 59 bln rupees.
He said that only 6 bln rupees were given for the provincial schemes, which badly affected the federal projects.
The minister said that this time an amount of Rs 58 bln has been kept, 17 bln for the Quetta-Karachi highway, Rs 8 bln on two levels for Hoshab Auran highway, Rs 3 bln for Nokundi-Mashkil Highway, 3.5 bln for Zhob-Kuchlak Road, 10 bln for Kachchi Canal, Rs 5 bln has been earmarked for Turbat-Mand Road, while a project of Rs 40 bln has been included for the road from Gwadar Panjgur Mashkil to Afghanistan, he said.
In response to a question, he said that the federal government has made substantial plans for Balochistan which were encouraged, a grant of 400 bln rupees would be provided for the rehabilitation of flood victims.
He said that due to the Eid holidays, the budget has been delayed to present it uninterruptedly.
He said that those who were ready for negotiations by recognizing Pakistan’s ideals and constitution would negotiate with them, we could solve our problems by sitting together.
Speaking on the occasion, Provincial Finance Minister Mir Shoaib Noshirwani said that Balochistan had a development budget of 229 bln rupees in the budget of the current financial year, out of which 129 bln rupees would be spent by the end of this month.
The province was supposed to get 55 bln rupees from PPL, which was not received. There was a budget deficit of 49 bln rupees in the province so this amount has not lapsed, he said.
He said that the budget of the next financial year would be more than 850 bln rupees, which could be people-friendly and the fruits of which would reach the people.
He said that the salaries of employees from grade 1 to 16 would be increased by 25 percent and grades 17 to 22 by 20 percent and pension by 15 percent.
The minister said that the provincial revenues would be Rs121 bln with an increase of 8 percent, provincial taxes would enhance by 18 percent from Rs 38 bln to Rs 48 bln, Non-tax income could boost by 2% to 18.5 bln rupees.
He said that in 2023-24, Rs 2.25 bln have been received from Reko-diq project, PPL would pay Rs 58 bln in installments in the next financial year.
He said that in the non-development budget, 25 percent of the budget to be allocated for education and 10 percent for health, adding that the local council grant was going to be increased from 16 bln to 35 bln, 40 billion and 10 billion rupees would be provided by the provincial government for subsidy in the form of solar tube wells for the landowners.
He said that the livelihood of 52 percent of the population of the province was agriculture saying that Rs 14 bln could be amplified in other 25 funds of the provincial government including Women’s Skill Development, Employee Housing Fund, Employee Retirement.
He said that Grant-in-Aid was going to be boosted from Rs 49 bln to Rs 93 bln including 5 billion rupees for climate change, 3.4 billion rupees for WASA, Rs 2.3 bln for cadet colleges and Rs 5 bln for universities.
Karim congratulates Mulim Ummah on occasion of Eid-ul-Azha
QUETTA, Jun 16 (APP): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Central senior leader Chaudhry Naeem Karim congratulated the Muslim Ummah on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.
In statement issued here, he said that the day of Eid-ul-Azha teaches Muslims about sacrifice, the real message of Eid was to serve the people of God and to share the happiness with the poor, the helpless and the orphans.
The leadership of Muslim League (N) is trying to get the country out of crises, he said.
He said that Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) set a great example by offering his beloved son Hazrat Ismail (AS) for sacrifice on the command of Allah.
On Eid-ul-Azha, one has to pledge to sacrifice lies, hypocrisy and backbiting forever, he said.
He said that the leadership of PML-N has always prioritized the wider interest of the country over political and personal interests saying that even today, our leadership was trying to take the country out of crisis and on the path of development and we would definitely succeed in this regard.
He said that as a nation there was a need to forget mutual grudges and differences and promote the spirit of brotherhood and love, today gives the message of self-denial, personal ego and self-sacrifice and working for the development of the country with the spirit of self-sacrifice, brotherhood and unity.
Chaudhry Naeem Karim said that on the happy and blessed occasion of Eid, we have to pledge to make the service of the poor and helpless humanity the motto of our lives.
At the same time, we must remember the solidarity and sacrifice with the oppressed people of the world, especially Kashmir and Palestine.
Governor Mandukhail congratulates to Muslim Ummah on Eid-ul-Azha
QUETTA, Jun 16 (APP): Governor Balochistan Jaffar Khan Mandukhail on Sunday congratulated to all the Muslim Ummah on the occasion of Eid-ul Azha and prayed to the Almighty to accept your worship, Hajj happiness and sacrifices.
In his message on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, he said that this day was also a day for renewing the feelings of sacrifice, surrender, love and tolerance for all Muslims which reminds of the unparalleled sacrifice of Hazrat Ibrahim Khalilullah and Hazrat Ismail Zabihullah.
He said that the day of Eid-ul-Azha was a day of collective joy for all Muslims and the main purpose of sacrifice was to sacrifice one’s personal interests and desires to gain the pleasure of Allah.
Addressing the public, Jaffar Khan Mandukhail said that minor negligence and imprudence at the public level regarding the observance of safety measures could lead to great losses.
He directed the district administration to make timely arrangements for the timely disposal of garbage and cleanliness in public places on the first, second and third days of Eid.
He said that you must share the joy of Eid with the orphans, widows, poor and destitute living near you.
Over 68% of Pakistan’s land area classified as arid or semi-arid, vulnerable to desertification: Romina
ISLAMABAD, Jun 16 (APP): Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam has said that as the global community marks the World Desertification Day on June 17th, Pakistan – which is facing expanding desertification and recurring but intense droughts – stands at a critical juncture in its fight against desertification and land degradation.
In her press statement issued here on Sunday, the PM’s aide said that the theme for this year’s World Desertification Day 2024, “Restoration. Land. Climate.”, resonates deeply with the present government’s commitment and on-ground efforts to fight desertification by restoring degraded lands and ecosystems, enhancing climate-resilience and achieving sustainable development goals.
“Through targeted policies, investments in research and technology and fostering international cooperation, Pakistan remains steadfast in its commitment to combating desertification and achieving land degradation neutrality,” Romina Khurshid said.
She highlighted that Pakistan is a signatory to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and is closely working with international partners to address desertification. Various projects and initiatives are supported by international organizations to enhance Pakistan’s capacity to combat this issue.
Spelling out factors behind the issues of expanding desertification and land degradation, the PM’s aide said that warming temperatures, shifting or declining rainfall patterns, recurring droughts, loss of vegetation and tree covers, unsustainable agricultural, irrigation practices, overgrazing, urbanisation, ranching, mining and clearing of land and heat-trapping carbon emissions from industrial, transport and fossil fuel-run energy sectors and deforestation are major causes.
Over 68% of Pakistan’s land area is classified as arid or semi-arid, making it vulnerable to desertification, she underlined and added that soaring desertification levels in recent years have resulted in loss of fertile topsoil, soil erosion, water scarcity, lower agricultural, loss of agriculture-based livelihoods, increase in rural poverty, hunger and malnutrition, rural-to-urban migration, habitat loss, degradation of natural ecosystems.
Sharing a global picture of the desertification challenge, the PM’s coordinator said that like elsewhere in Africa, Europe and Asia, desertification has emerged as a serious environmental issue in Pakistan, adversely impacting large areas of the country and posing a serious threat to agriculture, water resources and livelihoods.
Of all global regions, Africa and Asia are the worst-hit regions, bearing the brunts of desertification. According to an estimate, a little less than 2 billion people in Asia live in conditions or areas characterised as desertification or drought-hit parts and the number of the people affected by desertification or drought will soar to 2.5 billion by 2050, she explained.
The PM’s aide emphasized that the global observance of the world desertification day on June 17 this year, however must serve as a stark reminder of the growing environmental challenges faced by not only the global regions but also Pakistan, underscoring the urgent need for concerted global efforts to combat desertification.
In light of the challenges of desertification and land degradation, the present government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already taken proactive coping measures to address desertification in collaboration with various stakeholders including civil society organizations, academia, and international partners, the PM’s aide empahsised.
“Various initiatives including Green Pakistan Programme, climate-smart agriculture, National Adaptation Initiative, Living Indus, climate-resilient urban planning and management, Recharge Pakistan are already being implemented to fight desertification by promoting sustainable land management practices, increasing tree cover for restoring degraded land and conserving natural resources as well as increasing groundwater level,” she elaborated.
Romina Khurshid Alam said further that under these government-led desertification-control initiatives, we are taking all-out measures to engage local communities, development partners, civil society organisations for their role in deal with the threat of desertification.
Efforts are also being taken to raising awareness about the impacts of desertification for combating desertification in the country. Their participation and commitment are crucial in implementing sustainable solutions and adapting to the changing climate patterns, she added.
“I believe that addressing desertification in Pakistan requires a holistic approach, integrating environmental, economic and social strategies and engaging local communities and all relevant stakeholders to achieve sustainable land use and protect the livelihoods of those affected,” she remarked, adding, “As the country observes World Desertification Day, let us reaffirm our collective responsibility to preserve our natural heritage, protect our land resources, and secure a sustainable future for generations to come.”