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First Hajj flight arrived Bacha Khan Int’l Airport

By
Amjad Shafique
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PESHAWAR, Jun 21 (APP):The first Hajj flight arrived at Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar with 275 pilgrims on board of a private airline here on Friday.
Airport Manager Zia Ahmed, along with hockey Olympian Rahim Khan, hockey Olympian Musadiq Hussain, and other officials, welcomed the pilgrims.
Soon after arriving at the international arrival terminal at the Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar, pilgrims were garlanded with flowers.
According to officials, PIA’s post-Hajj operations will continue until July 21 to bring back over 35,000 pilgrims from Saudi Arabia through 171 flights.
The flights will be operational for Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Sialkot, and Peshawar.

CPEC significantly contributed to Pakistan socio-economic development: Ayaz Sadiq

By
NNPS Desk
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ISLAMABAD, Jun 21 (APP): Speaker of National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said on Friday that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had not only transformed Pakistan’s infrastructure landscape but had also significantly contributed to its socio-economic development.

“All political parties of Pakistan speak with one voice in complete solidarity with CPEC as a ‘Game Changer’.

The bond between the people of the two nations has successfully withstood the test of time” he expressed these views while addressing the event “Pakistan-China Political Parties Forum and the 3rd Meeting of CPEC Political Parties Joint Consultation Mechanism”.

He said, “China and Pakistan have always held each other’s hands and shown the world that both nations stand together as one in peace and prosperity, and tragedy and turmoil.”

Ayaz Sadiq said, “This “all-weather friendship” bears testimony to the age-old Chinese saying: A friend — one soul, two bodies.”

While reflecting on the historic visit of President Xi Jinping to Pakistan in 2015, he said it was a defining moment for this Region as agreements worth 46 billion dollars were signed on the occasion.

He also reminded that on that very occasion President Xi and Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, jointly inaugurated the first-ever complete “GREEN PARLIAMENT” of the world, converting the energy needs of the Parliament of Pakistan to solar energy.

“The unique project symbolizes the sincere desire of our two nations to work jointly for a brighter, cleaner, and safer future,” he added.

Mentioning continuous collaboration between the parliaments of two countries, he said, “Parliaments of Pakistan and China enjoy an all-weather partnership, mutual trust, and practical cooperation.”

He said that during his last tenure as Speaker of the National Assembly, he had the privilege of leading parliamentary delegations to China twice on the invitation of the Chairman of the National People’s Congress.

“These exchanges paved the way for deeper bilateral ties and facilitated the implementation of CPEC projects through parliamentary oversight as both nations have actively stood by each other on every international and regional parliamentary forum such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Speakers’ Conference, promoting shared interests, sovereignty, and stability,” he added.

Ayaz Sadiq shared that during his previous tenure as Speaker had the privilege of hosting the first-ever Speakers’ Conference on “Regional Connectivity and Countering Violent Extremism”, comprising of countries that included Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and Turkey.

He also mentioned the Parliamentary Committee on CPEC ensured vigilant oversight of the government and followed up on the progress of the projects under CPEC through regular reporting to the Parliament of Pakistan.

The Speaker address reaffirmed the resolve of the Parliament, Government, and people of Pakistan to build on past successes and in ensuring that CPEC reaches its full potential.

Pakistan’s envoy to Mexico presents credentials to President

By
Shumaila Andleeb
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MEXICO CITY, June 20 (APP): Pakistan’s ambassador to Mexico, Shozab Abbas presented his credentials to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a formal ceremony held here at the presidential palace.

The meeting was also joined by Foreign Minister of Mexico, Ms Alicia Bárcena.

Ambassador Abbas emphasized the importance of strengthening bilateral diplomatic, political, economic, and scientific relations between Pakistan and Mexico.

He highlighted the potential for enhanced cooperation in various sectors, reaffirming the commitment of both nations to deepen their ties.

Mexico, the second most populous country in North America after the United States, shares a significant economic relationship with its northern neighbor.

The Mexican economy, closely integrated with that of the United States, has shown remarkable growth, with its GDP surpassing USD 1.5 trillion in 2023.

Ambassador Abbas recalled the historic cooperation between Mexico and Pakistan during the 1960s Green Revolution, initiated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

This period witnessed collaborative efforts between agro-scientists from both countries, leading to the development of the high-yield wheat variety known as Mexi-Pak. This groundbreaking scientific breakthrough in the field of agriculture remains a crucial factor in addressing food security issues in Pakistan. Additionally, a number of Mexican mountaineers visit annually to climb the summit of the Karakoram mountains in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. Last year, the volume of trade recorded between the two countries was around USD 300 million.

Ambassador Abbas congratulated President López Obrador on the successful elections held on June 2, 2024. He extended his warm wishes to the newly elected President, Ms. Claudia Sheinbaum, expressing hope that the continued leadership of the Morena party would bring prosperity to the people of Mexico.

Additionally, Ambassador Abbas advocated for the reopening of the Mexican embassy in Islamabad, a move that President López Obrador principally agreed to.

Pakistan and Mexico enjoy cordial relations and support a consensus on United Nations Security Council reforms. However, high-level political interactions are essential to further promote bilateral relations and bring the people of both countries closer together in areas of mutual interest. The late President Pervez Musharraf was the last Pakistani president to visit Mexico, in 2004.

Weekly inflation up by 0.94 pc

By
NNPS Desk
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ISLAMABAD, Jun 21 (APP): The weekly inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed an increase of 0.94 percent for the combined consumption groups during the week ended on June 20, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Friday.

According to the PBS data, the SPI for the week under review in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 316.88 points as compared to 313.93 points during the past week.

As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 23.78 per cent.

The weekly SPI with the base year 2015-16 =100 covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups.

The SPI for the lowest consumption group of up to Rs 17,732, increased by 1.58 per cent and went up to 309.10 points from the last week’s 304.28 points.

The SPI for consumption groups of Rs 17,732-22,888, Rs 22,889-29,517; Rs 29,518-44,175 and above Rs 44,175, increased by 1.44 percent, 1.20 percent, 1.11 and 0.69 percent respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 25 (49.02%) items increased, 5 (9.80%) items decreased and 21 (41.18%) items remained stable.

The items, which recorded a decrease in their average prices on a week-on-week basis included petrol (3.76%), diesel (0.84%), rice basmati broken (0.08%) pulse masoor (0.08%) and chicken (0.05%).

The commodities which recorded an increase in their average prices on week-on-week basis included tomatoes (65.84%), potatoes (5.61%), onions (3.78%), bananas (3.29%), LPG (2.44%), cigarettes (1.67%), pulse moong (1.53%), garlic (1.29%), milk fresh (0.95%), eggs (0.83%), georgette (0.28%) and shirting (0.17%).

On-year basis, the commodities that witnessed decrease included wheat flour (32.90%), chicken (20.60%), cooking oil 5 litre (16.17%), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (13.39%), vegetable ghee 1 kg (12.42%), bananas (11.69%), mustard oil (8.24%), tea packet (2.52%) and petrol (1.38%).

The commodities which recorded an increase in their average prices on year-on-year basis included gas charges for q1 (570.00%), tomatoes (191.00%), onions (122.66%), chilies powder (54.81%), garlic (40.55%), shirting (30.75%), salt powder (29.49%), gents sandal (25.01%), pulse gram (22.67%) pulse mash (22.60%), beef (22.12%) and electricity charges for Q1 (21.46%).

Lawmakers urge govt to provide more relief to agriculture, IT sectors

By
Amjad Shafique
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ISLAMABAD, Jun 21 (APP):Lawmakers in the National Assembly on Friday urged the government to focus on people-oriented policies and provide more relief to the agriculture and Information Technology sectors.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (Pakistan) leader Muhammad Farooq Sattar, while participating in the budget debate, termed the budget for 2024-25 as traditional, reflecting a continuity of policies from the past 77 years.
“The country’s current debt servicing issues, noting that most budget allocations are used for this purpose,”  he highlighted.
 He said, “It is the government’s responsibility to prepare the budget with the public’s issues in mind.”
He said, “Unfortunately, every budget seems to favor the wealthy.”
Sattar urged the government to focus on the agriculture sector and criticized the imposition of more taxes on salaried individuals.
He called for relief measures for the poor in the budget and asked the government to revise the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.
He stressed the need to resolve Karachi’s water issues and to allocate more funds to improve the city’s drain system.
 He also advocated for more incentives to attract Foreign Direct Investment and for policies that encourage a growth-oriented economy.
Sunni Ittehad Council’s Rana Atif thanked his party for giving him the opportunity to contest the elections and promote the party’s vision.
He highlighted the issues of his constituency and asked the government to solve these issues of every district without discrimination.
He called for the government to address the issue of IPP capacity payments and to take steps to further enhance the country’s import.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Asia Naz Tanoli said that in 2018, the government solved the issue of load-shedding and that during the PML-N tenure, more funds were allocated for development projects.
She recalled that the PML-N government saved the country from bankruptcy and sacrificed its politics.
She said, “Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif always worked for the development of the country, and that global confidence in the country improved during their tenure.”
She asked the government to start metro bus services from Taxila to Islamabad.
Sunni Ittehad Council’s Omer Farooq thanked his party chairman for awarding him tickets and appreciated the people of his constituency for electing him.
He said that the issue of corruption should be resolved.
Farooq advocated for more relief for the agricultural, industrial, and Information Technology sectors as these sectors would create more job opportunities for the people.
He also highlighted the issue of law and order in his constituency.

Senators demand broader economic dialogue, people’s centric approach in Finance Bill, 2024

By
Amjad Shafique
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0
Ali Jabir
ISLAMABAD, Jun 21 (APP):The Senators on Friday demanded the government and the opposition to initiate broader economic dialogue and embrace people’s centric approach to provide relief to the masses battered by economic crunch and inflation in the Budget 2024-25.
The members of the Upper House of the Parliament were presenting recommendations to the National Assembly on the Finance Bill, 2024.
The session commenced 22 minutes late from the scheduled time with the verses of the Holy Quran’s Surah Al-Furqan that detailed the characteristics of the virtuous and the followers of Rehman (The Almighty Allah) who walk politely on the earth and bear the best virtues of starting conversation with Salam (Salutation), seekers of the Almighty’s forgiveness from the Hell and are not extravagant nor thrifty but maintain balance in their spending.
Deputy Chairman Senate Syedaal Khan Nasar while initiating the House business allowed Senator Poonjo Bheel to raise a matter of importance.
Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), Senator Poonjo Bheel urged the House to allocate some time to pay tribute to former prime minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto on her birthday.
Deputy Chairman, Sedaal Khan Nasar on behalf of the House paid tribute to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto on her 71st birth anniversary and directed Senator Sagid Mir to hold fateha for the departed soul.
Senator Bilal Ahmed Khan of PPPP also paid tribute to his leader Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
He hoped that the government would consider the recommendations of the House on the Finance Bill, 2024 to provide relief to the masses.
“The current budget of Rs18 trillion was tabled before the House whereas the government had established its stance that the people did not pay taxes,” he informed.
“One and a half decade back the taxes collection was Rs1500 billion that improved over the time but the tax net was not enhanced and the already taxed were further burdened by every successive government,” Khan said.
Senator, Muhammad Qasim of Balochistan National Party said it was a very heavy budget that was beyond Rs18 trillion that only included Rs 1400 billion development budget.
He alleged that there was no rational approach in the political history of the country.
He urged the government to pay heed to the industrial sector and the factory owners who were leaving the country due to poor economic policies and fiscal constraint.
Senator, Amir Waliuddin Chishti of Muthahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan said the budget was not favourable for the masses as it was going to further burden the people due to the system’s criminal negligence in economic affairs.
A healthy and educated society could only lead the country but this time health and education sectors were also taxed including every stationery item and medicines whereas the middle class was also impacted in the prevailing economic turmoil and rising inflation, he added.
“Salaried class has been taxed every time, whereas the Finance Bill, 2024 when compared to the neighbouring countries revealed that the country’s inflation is in double digit but that of India, Bangladesh and others is in single digit. Our foreign exchange reserves are of $1.9 billion whereas Bangladesh has $24 billion exports and over $14 billion reserves,” Senator Chishti said.
Pakistan’s growth rate, he said was 2.4% and that of Bangladesh was 5.8% due to lack of policy consistency in the country.
Senator, Nadeem Bhutto of PPPP said the budget tabled was beyond Rs18 trillion that demanded a charter of economy to bring nation out of economic crunch, whereas there were good recommendations from the opposition and treasury benches.
Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri of Balochitan Awami Party demanded the government renegotiate the new agreements with the independent power producers (IPPs) to reduce the growing burden of capacity payments on the masses.

US supports ‘direct’ talks between India, Pakistan: State Dept

By
NNPS Desk
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0

WASHINGTON, Jun 21 (APP): The United States support “direct discussions” between India and Pakistan, saying the two neighbouring countries should work out the mode for the talks themselves, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller has said.

“We value our important relationships with both India and Pakistan,” he said in response to a question from a Pakistani TV channel reporter at his daily news briefing on Thursday.

“As we have said, we support direct discussions between India and Pakistan, but the pace, scope and character should be determined by those two countries, not by us,” Miller added.

Relations between India and Pakistan have deteriorated since August 5, 2019, when New Delhi unilaterally annexed the disputed Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir, leading to heightened tensions between them. Official talks between the two countries have remained suspended since then.

Answering another question, he stated, “US and Pakistan both have a common goal of addressing regional security threats.”

“We partner with Pakistan on security through our high-level counter-terrorism dialogue, including several counter-terrorism capacity building programmes, and we support a series of US-Pakistan military-to-military engagements,” Miller said.

“We are in regular communication with Pakistani leaders as a part of our partnership on CT issues, and we will continue to discuss regional security in detail, including through our annual counter-terrorism dialogue and other bilateral consultations,” he added.

Pakistan has special place in China’s foreign policy, says senior Chinese minister

By
Shumaila Andleeb
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0

ISLAMABAD, June 21 (APP): China’s Minister of Central Committee of the International Department of Communist Party of China (IDCPC), Liu Jianchao on Friday said as its “iron brother and time-tested friend”, China accorded a special place to Pakistan in its foreign policy and desired to strengthen the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.

The senior Chinese leader expressed these views in a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, held here in Islamabad.

Liu expressed satisfaction at the steady pace of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and said China would extend full cooperation to Pakistan for the timely implementation of all ongoing and new CPEC projects.

He also lauded the political parties of Pakistan for their steadfast support to CPEC and China-Pakistan friendship.

He reiterated China’s keen desire to further enhance linkages between the Communist Party of China and the political parties of Pakistan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar appreciated the positive contribution of CPEC to Pakistan’s socio-economic development, and progress and prosperity.

He underscored that as the flagship project of President China’s Belt and Road Initiative, CPEC had led to major transformation in energy security.

Lauding the unanimous political consensus on CPEC in the two countries, Dar expressed Pakistan’s firm resolve to building upon the achievements of CPEC and for its high quality development in its Phase-II.

The two sides agreed to maintain the momentum of high-level engagements and to further enhance communication on important regional and global issues.

Foreign journalists witness high-quality development of Wendeng District in China’s Weihai city

By
NNPS Desk
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0

BEIJING, June 21 (APP): A delegation of international media outlets arrived at Wendeng District in Weihai City to conduct on-site visits to Weili Tools Company, Yunxiang Embroidery Workshop, and Yiyang Company.

The Journalists from Russia, South Korea, Pakistan, Hungary and Azerbaijan were on visit to Weihai, East China’s Shandong province to capture the charm of exquisite city through words and lenses.

During the three-day event under the theme China, an Opportunity; the journalists immersed themselves in the rich folk customs and exquisite scenery of the city.

When entering the exhibition hall of Weili Tools Company, the delegation was amazed by digitalized and intelligent tools such as the locked wrench, transformers scissors, and other tools.

An ordinary-looking wrench with a display screen and 5G connectivity received highly praises from the journalists. In the exhibition hall of Yunxiang Embroidery Workshop, exquisite Shandong embroidery pieces caught the eyes of international media outlets.

Not only are there handcrafted, semi-handcrafted embroideries, but there is computerized embroidery, all of which have vibrant colors and delicate designs, reflecting the profound cultural heritage of Shandong embroidery.

The delegation was deeply impressed by the exquisite craftsmanship.

Foreign journalists witness high-quality development of Wendeng District in China's Weihai city

As the journalists walked, listened attentively, took photos earnestly, and made detailed notes, they expressed their eager intention to share the story of Weihai and showcase the new image of city’s high-quality development to the world.
APP/asg

Engro fertilizers completes largest-ever EnVen plant turnaround with investment of approx. $50 mln

By
Amjad Shafique
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0
ISLAMABAD, Jun 21 (APP):Engro Fertilizers has invested approximately USD 50 million in a plant turnaround to enhance its reliability and operational efficiency and the company successfully completed the largest-ever scheduled maintenance activity for the EnVen Plant, spanning 55 days, as planned on June 18, 2024.
Established in 2011 with an investment of USD 1.1 billion, the EnVen Plant has an annual production capacity of 1.3 million tons and is the most energy efficient fertilizer plant in Pakistan, with the lowest consumption of gas per ton of urea, said a news release.
The project scope of the turnaround included over 5,000 technical activities, including the first-ever replacement of the waste heat boiler, overhaul of the furnace convection section, ammonia storage tank inspection and a comprehensive overhaul of six major turbo trains and gas turbines.
At peak, more than 6,000 people were engaged round-the-clock at the Plant site for these turnaround activities.
According to Ali Rathore – CEO of Engro Fertilizers, “The safe and successful completion of this major turnaround, despite extreme weather conditions, showcases the engineering excellence of the Engro Fertilizers team in executing large-scale projects within planned schedules and budgets, while prioritizing the safety of everyone involved in the activity. These critical projects were executed in-house by our talented engineers using innovative techniques and global best practices of safety and quality.”
He added that, “The meticulous planning and execution ensured that the availability of urea to our hardworking farmers was not impacted, demonstrating the entire Engro Fertilizers team’s firm commitment to our purpose of enabling the food security of Pakistan. We would like to thank our employees, contractors, global technical partners, local administration, and all other key stakeholders for their seamless support and guidance that contributed to the success of this major turnaround.”
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