ISLAMABAD: December 28 –
Caretaker Minister for National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination Dr. Nadeem Jan and Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Inter-Faith Harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi presenting Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar with the Islamabad Declaration Supporting Immunization and Polio Eradication at the conclusion of National Ulema Conference.
ISLAMABAD: December 28 –
Over 1400 Aero Apprentices passed out at PAF Airmen Academy Korangi Creek
ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (APP): The passing out Parade of Aero Apprentices was held at the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Airmen Academy, Korangi Creek, here Thursday.
Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Air Defence), Air Marshal Irfan Ahmad, was the chief guest at the occasion, a PAF news release said.
Earlier, Air Vice Marshal Syed Imran Majid Ali, Air Officer Commanding, PAF Academy Korangi Creek, received the chief guest.
A total of 1,410 Aero Apprentices including 66 trainees from Pakistan Navy and 01 trainee from Sri Lanka have successfully completed their technical training.
While addressing the ceremony, the chief guest said, PAF is a highly professional organization that is venerated as a combat efficient force and has always come up to the expectations of the nation during testing times through its historic valour, operational preparedness and professional excellence.
He further said that PAF was equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and had full potential to defend the aerial boundaries of the motherland.
The chief guest emphasized that the current security scenario called for a fully harmonized training of PAF workforce that was fully capable of protecting and maintaining its next generation defence assets.
He congratulated the graduating airmen and wished them a bright future and success in their upcoming professional assignments. Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Air Defence) also commended the Academy Instructional Staff for their sincere endeavors and commitment to the cause of training.
Later, the worthy chief guest awarded trophies to the distinction holders. Chief of the Air Staff Trophy for Overall Best Performance was awarded to Aircraftman Talha Usman whereas Asghar Khan Trophy for the Overall Best Performance in Aeronautics was clinched by Aircraftman Muhammad Arslan. Nur Khan Trophy for the Best in Avionics Technology was conferred upon Aircraftman Talha Usman whereas Air Officer Commanding Trophy for the Best Performance in General Service Training was awarded to Academy Sergeant Aircraftman Anees Ur Rehman. The Trophy for Best Performance in foreign trainees was lifted by LAC Abeykoon ABMS from Sri Lanka.
36th Federal Cup Tennis C’ships from Jan 1
ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (APP): The 36th Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championships will be held from January 1-7 at Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF)-SDA Tennis Complex, Garden Avenue, Islamabad.
The event will see top-notch national players vying for top honours in different categories of Men, Women, Boys 18&Under, Boys 14&U and Boys and girls 10, said a statement issued here.
Elite players of the country including Aqeel Khan, Muhammad Shoaib, Muzammil Murtaza, Muhammad Abid, Barkatullah and many other national players and those of all affiliated units of PTF – Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force, WAPDA, Railways, HEC, SNGPL, POF Wah, Punjab, Sindh, KPK, Balochistan, Islamabad, AJK & Gilgit-Baltistan, have been invited to participate and show their prowess at the tennis extravaganza.
Meanwhile, Tariq Mehmood Murtaza, President of the Islamabad Tennis Association chaired the Executive Committee meeting and approved the arrangements for holding the Federal Cup Championships in a befitting manner.
The last date for the tournament entry is December, 29. After the deadline, no entry for any event will be accepted or entertained.
LDA to give possession of Jinnah Sector C Block on Saturday
LAHORE, Dec 28 (APP):In a significant development for the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) City residents, Commissioner Lahore and Director General (DG) LDA Muhammad Ali Randhawa announced on Thursday that possession of Jinnah Sector C Block’s plots would be handed over on Saturday.
The first phase includes allocating possessions for over 1,500 plots in C Block, ranging from 5 to 10 marlas and one to two kanals.
Under Commissioner Lahore’s leadership, a crucial meeting was held to discuss the important matter of granting possession of plots in LDA City Jinnah Sector C Block.
The 1,200-kanal C Block also features a park, sports complex, cricket stadium, and various other amenities. The structure of Chanab Road’s tower has been completed, finishing work is ongoing, and the facilitation centre is progressing rapidly.
The two senior officials said that advertisements would be issued for acquisition of the remaining lands in Jinnah Sector. He emphasised that following the directives of the Punjab chief minister, the administrative issue of LDA City’s plots had been resolved.
Versatile poet Shaikh Ayaz remembered on his death anniversary
ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (APP):Renowned Urdu and Sindhi poet, fiction writer, scholar, and educationist Shaikh Ayaz is commemorated on his 26th death anniversary observed on Thursday.
Born as Mubarak Ali Shaikh on March 2, 1923, in Shikarpur, Shaikh Ayaz obtained a law degree after completing his graduation.
Throughout his literary career, Sheikh Ayaz authored a total of 60 books, including the Urdu translation of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s poetry titled “Shah Jo Risalo.”
In 1976, Shaikh Ayaz was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of Sindh University, reflecting his significant contributions to the field of education.
In recognition of his literary services, Shaikh Ayaz was honored with the ‘Sitara-e-Imtiaz’ award.
On December 28, 1997, at the age of 74, Shaikh Ayaz passed away in Karachi. According to his will, his mortal remains were laid to rest in the vicinity of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s mausoleum in Bhit Shah.
The legacy of Shaikh Ayaz continues to inspire and resonate in the literary and educational spheres, marking his enduring impact on Urdu and Sindhi literature.
IRSA releases 32,800 cusecs water
ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (APP):Indus River System Authority (IRSA) on Thursday released 32,800 cusecs water from various rim stations with an inflow of 36,800 cusecs.
According to the data released by IRSA, the water level in the River Indus at Tarbela Dam was 1475.92 feet and was 75.92 feet higher than its dead level of 1,398 feet. Water inflow and outflow in the dam was recorded as 16,500 cusecs and 15,000 cusecs respectively.
The water level in River Jhelum at Mangla Dam was 1156.10 feet, which was 106.10 feet higher than its dead level of 1,050 feet. The inflow and outflow of water was recorded at 6,100 cusecs and 4,000 cusecs respectively.
The release of water at Kalabagh, Taunsa, Guddu and Sukkur was recorded as 16,400, 20,000, 21,400 and zero cusecs respectively. Similarly, from River Kabul, a total of 7,100 cusecs of water were released at Nowshera and 6,700 cusecs were released from River Chenab at Marala.
FCCI president discusses exports to Saudi Arabia with addl secretary
FAISALABAD, Dec 28 (APP):President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) Dr Khurram Tariq held a meeting with Rizwan Saeed, additional secretary, Middle East Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and reviewed ways and means to enhance exports to Saudi Arabia.
After meeting here on Thursday, the FCCI president stressed the need to enhance exports to Middle Eastern countries in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said an FCCI delegation was scheduled to perform Umrah, but it has now been linked with the Pakistan single country exhibition, scheduled to be held in Riyadh in February next year.
He said the event could provide the business community of Faisalabad to interact with the credible importers of Saudi Arabia.
He said that Rizwan Saeed had assured that earlier Sialkot Chamber was given an opportunity to play a key role in the exhibition held in Saudi Arabia. However, the ministry of foreign affairs intends that FCCI should play a key role in the scheduled exhibition to give a quantum jump to the Pakistani exports.
Rizwan further assured that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistani ambassador in Saudi Arabia would fully patronise the FCCI to make this exhibition a total success. Saudi Arabia is a net importing country and Pakistan could export anything to this country by cultivating cordial relations with the investors and importers of Saudi Arabia. The Pakistani ambassador would host the FCCI delegation and could also arrange their B2B meetings with the leading Saudi Arabian importers during their stay in the kingdom.
The efforts would also be made to give full protocol to the FCCI delegation in addition to arranging their meetings with the representatives of the Riyadh, Medina and Mecca Chambers, Rizwan added.
Hafiz Shafique Kashif Convener FCCI Standing Committee GCC Region was also present during this meeting.
Education Minister takes notice of delay in development of QAU sub campus in Punjab
ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (APP):Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Madad Ali Sindhi on Thursday took strict notice of the inordinate delay in the development of campus of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) in Punjab.
During a meeting with Advisor Planning HEC and Directory P&D QAU, he ordered an immediate inquiry to be done and the report to be presented to him by January 04, 2024.
Madad said that such delays are a major obstacle in the academic journey of our youth.
He ordered HEC and QAU to immediately resolve all of the pending issues related to it and further coordinate with the Punjab Government to ensure speedy construction of the campus.
He said that it is high time that the relevant departments are held accountable for inefficient and ineffective management.
Madad Ali Sindhi also paid a surprise visit to the QAU Islamabad Campus. He visited the hostels and said that the existing condition of the hostels is deplorable. He highlighted the poor maintenance of the facilities.
Students met with him and highlighted their plea about insufficient academic facilities such as the availability of the Internet.
Madad took notice of the situation and ordered an immediate revamp of the hostels.
He said that students cannot study unless they have the basic facilities.
He said that it was unimaginable for students to focus on their studies if they had to deal with such problems.
Madad assured the students that he would order an immediate revamp of the conditions of the hostels.
Madad said that we work towards student exchange programs with friendly countries but after looking at the conditions of the hostels, it is pertinent that we first fix our institutions before inviting foreign students to study here.
He said that it is a sad state of affairs and that this will limit opportunities for our students to go abroad in student exchange programs.
He said that such problems need to be addressed on war footing and ordered the relevant authorities to resolve these issues immediately.
PCSIR experts call for promotion of vertical agriculture farming to increase food production
PESHAWAR, Dec 28 (APP):Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR)’s experts and speakers of various departments here Thursday said that adaptation of innovative techniques and vertical agriculture farming was imperative for increasing food production in the country.
These views were expressed during a one-day seminar on ‘adaptation of innovative techniques for agro-food production and value addition’ organized by PCSIR here.
Director General (DG), PCSIR, Jahangir Shah said that vertical agriculture farming has made deep inroads in countries including Japan and Pakistan with a population of around 240 million could also benefit from it enormously.
He said that agricultural land was reducing due to the high population bulge in the country and vertical farming was the best option to achieve autarky in food.
“We can easily obtain about 15,000-ton vegetables and fruits from one kanal’s land through the vertical farming procedure,” he said, adding normally 55,000 plants came in one layer and 110,000 in the second layer and so on.
He said that approximately, the vertical plantation was made in nine layers, which means that 495,000 fruits and vegetable plants could be achieved per season after making only 10 million investment,” he said.
PCSIR, Peshawar introduced vertical farming techniques on five kanal lands under a public sector development program (PSDP) project titled ‘research, development and innovation’ under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Islamabad with enormous success.
Dr. Jahangir Shah said that utilization of indigenous resources was vital for the development and promotion of industrial and agriculture sectors besides export enhancement, adding the demand-driven science and technology research and skilled human resources development through specialized training largely contribute to industrialization and socio-economic growth of the country.
Faud Ishaq, President of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) while praising the services of PCSIR in the country’s development said that Pakistan was blessed with all resources including manpower, hydel, water, sea, rivers, mines and minerals if properly utilized can bring huge economic laurels.
He said that precious water of rivers was being wasted due to the lack of dams and suggested adaptation of drip irrigation practices to bring arid land under agricultural cover.
Assuring support to PCSIR, he said that SCCI was ready to promote newly invented products for the benefit of people.
Sirtaj Ahmad Khan, coordinator of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry suggested strengthening of research, development, and innovation (RDI) departments in public sector departments and universities besides increasing the volume of trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan for the mutual benefit of both countries.
Dr Sarwat Ismail of PCSIR Islamabad said that today’s seminar was aimed at creating awareness among people and farmers about its scope and achievements.
Engr Javed Iqbal Khattak, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Executive Officer KP Economic Zones Development and Management Company said that work on the agriculture economic zone at Daraband in DI Khan on 3,125 acres was started with the assistance of Kuwait’s company, adding 1,000 acres were allocated for processing and 2,125 acres for agriculture produce. He assured full cooperation with PCSIR.
The delegation of Afghanistan, academia, researchers, and traders besides scientists attended in large numbers. Later, shields and certificates were distributed among experts and students.
Rupee gains 26 paisa against Dollar
ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (APP):The Pakistani Rupee on Thursday witnessed the 12th consecutive recovery session as it gained 26 paisa against the US Dollar in the interbank trading and closed at Rs 281.93 against the previous day’s closing of Rs 282.19.
However, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling rates of the Dollar in the open market stood at Rs 281.9 and Rs 284.4 respectively.
The price of the Euro increased by Rs 1.87 to close at Rs 313.47 against the last day’s closing of Rs 311.60, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen went up by 03 paisa and closed at Rs 2, whereas an increase of Rs 2.14 was witnessed in the exchange rate of the British Pound, which traded at Rs 361.40 compared to the last closing of Rs 359.26.
The exchange rates of the Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal decreased by 08 and 07 paisa to close at Rs 76.76 and Rs 75.17 respectively.