SIALKOT: December 13 –
Secretary Industry and Commerce Punjab Ehsan Bhatta visits and addressing Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry
SIALKOT: December 13 –
Senator Muhammad Abdul Qadir, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum presiding over a meeting of the committee at Parliament House
ISLAMABAD: December 13 –
PM says terrorists already lost war; reiterates unyielding “no surrender, no retreat” policy
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Dec 13 (APP): Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said on Wednesday that terrorists had already lost the war, emphasizing the nation’s unwavering resilience against this scourge and preparedness to deliver a fitting response to terrorism.
“I want to tell the perpetrators that you have already lost the war. Only the declaration is yet to be made and the time is yet to be finalised. They are fighting a lost war and we are fighting a war already won by us, Alhamdulillah,” he said talking to the media at the Combine Military Hospital after inquiring about the health of the soldiers injured in a terrorist attack that took place here on Tuesday.
He said he was amazed to witness the strong conviction of the soldiers who were resolved to fight the terrorists even while being injured.
He said those supporting the war against terrorism would stand victorious in the world as well as the life hereafter but contrarily, the terrorists had not only destroyed their lives but would also rot in hell after their death.
The prime minister told the media that the Ulema stood with the state, peace and the whole society.
“With whom they are fighting? Do they want to frighten us with death? No one will be scared. They should fulfill the desire to fight us for any desired duration,” he remarked.
He said the state was pursuing an unyielding policy of no surrender and no retreat.
Prime Minister Kakar said many thousand people had already sacrificed their lives in the war against terrorism and thousands more were ready to join the course.
“If they carry out one attack we will march 10 steps ahead. If they take 10 steps, we will advance by 100 steps. This is the war of the winners and we are with the winners, here in this world and the life hereafter,” he commented.
He said the whole nation stood united against terrorism and was resolved to defeat the evil in all of its forms and manifestations.
He said Pakistan was a strong and resilient nation and its armed forces would thwart the nefarious designs of the enemies.
Caretaker Federal Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti, Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Haji Ghulam Ali and Caretaker KP Chief Minister Justice (Retd) Syed Arshad Hussain Shah accompanied the prime minister.
Bilawal for reinvigorated democratic process to ensure country’s development & progress
PESHAWAR, Dec 13 (APP): Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said a vibrant and reinvigorated democratic process was the sole option to put the country’s economy on a path of development and progress.
Addressing a lawyers’ convention, he said that under the democratic system, Pakistan could get rid of current challenging circumstances, adding the lawyer fraternity always played a vital role for the supremacy of law and struggle for democratic process.
He said that the leader of the people and the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had to face the consequences of flawed judicial process.
He said : “I am grateful for the struggle that the lawyers have started to get justice for the leader of the people Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto.”
Bilawal said that the PPP was a staunch supporter of the strong judicial system in the country, free from any
influence or pressure.
Criticizing previous PTI’s governments in the provinces and the centre, the PPP chairman said that PTI promises of jobs and houses remained unfulfilled and people were forced to face the high inflation and price-hike.
He said that during PTI’s government the minimum wage was not implemented, the problem of electricity bills, loadshedding increased manifold, the infrastructure was damaged from Sindh to KP due to flash floods.
He said that no incentive was given to attract new investment in the country and instead of resolving the problems of the masses, the leadership of other political parties was detained in jails.
Bilawal said PPP has a history of serving the masses, providing relief to common man and taking incentives for the welfare of the people and the country.
He said lot of people had been benefitting from Benazir Income Support Program and now Benazir Sahulat Program in Sindh was facilitating the laborers, adding this facility would be extended to the rest of the country in future.
He said that two million houses were being built for poor people in Sindh and soon people living on roads and in slums would become owners of their own houses.
Similarly, the PPP government provided facilities to poor people in Sindh at every platform, adding help was being provided to the poor people in business so that they do not face problems in the future.
Hospitals were providing all the medical facilities including cardio treatment to the people in Sindh, Bilawal said and vowed that PPP would extend the facilities to the rest of the country after coming to power.
HESCO detects 250 more connections involved in power theft
HYDERABAD, Dec 13 (APP):The Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) has captured more 250 electricity connections involved in power theft within a span of 24 hours and submitted 221 letters to the relevant police stations for registration of FIRs.
The HESCO spokesperson informed on Wednesday the campaign against electricity theft in the region was going on under the supervision of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Engineer Bashir Ahmed and during the last twenty-four hours, 250 connections involved in electricity theft were apprehended. He apprised that 221 letters were submitted at various police stations for filing FIRs while 36 FIRs have been registered.
The connections identified include 8 commercial, one industrial and 241 domestic connections and all have been disconnected and detection bills of 94 thousand 371 units have been issued to them, the value of which is more than 2.6 million rupees.
He further mentioned that during the 98-day-long ongoing drive, a recovery of more than 9.14 billion rupees has been made, with the identification of 13,793 individuals involved in electricity theft. So far, 142 individuals have been apprehended during the campaign and over 9600000 units have been charged against the electricity thieves as penalties.
IRSA releases 84,800 cusecs water
ISLAMABAD, Dec 13 (APP):Indus River System Authority (IRSA) on Wednesday released 84,800 cusecs of water from various rim stations with inflow of 38,300 cusecs.
According to the data released by IRSA, water level in River Indus at Tarbela Dam was 1483.78 feet and was 83.78 feet higher than its dead level of 1,398 feet. Water inflow and outflow in the dam was recorded as 19,700 cusecs and 45,000 cusecs respectively.
The water level in River Jhelum at Mangla Dam was 1165.00 feet, which was 115.00 feet higher than its dead level of 1,050 feet. The inflow and outflow of water was recorded 4,800 cusecs and 26,000 cusecs respectively.
The release of water at Kalabagh, Taunsa , Guddu and Sukkur was recorded as 61,800, 37,200, 35,800 and 6,200 cusecs respectively. Similarly, from River Kabul, a total of 6,700 cusecs of water released at Nowshera and 2,000 cusecs released from River Chenab at Marala.
ECP enforces nationwide ban on deputy commissioners’ transfer, posting
ISLAMABAD, Dec 13 (APP):The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has imposed a nationwide ban on the transfer and posting of Deputy Commissioners and Additional Deputy Commissioners and others assigned to supervise the upcoming elections.
In a letter addressed to the Secretary Establishment and the four Chief Secretaries, the ECP emphasized the strict enforcement of the ban, citing the pivotal roles assigned to DCs and ADCs in the upcoming general elections.
“I am directed to state that the Commission has appointed DROs, ROs and AROs on 11th December 2023 for the conduct of General Elections 2024. To this end Commission has imposed complete ban on the posting/ transfer and leaves of DROs, ROs, AROs and Data Entry Operator DEOs (EMS Operators) engaged in Election process forthwith and till the culmination of election process,” says the letter.
Winter Hockey coaching camp to start from Dec 15
HYDERABAD, Dec 13 (APP):A winter Hockey coaching camp for Boys and girls will be organized by District Hockey Association Hyderabad in collaboration with Rizwan Tanvir hockey academy in Aastro Of hockey ground of Board stadium from 15 December
Sharing details about winter coaching camp, president District hockey association Iftekhar u din said that the purpose of organizing winter camp was to strengthen the hockey game at grossroots level.
Meanwhile Secretary Rizwan announced that all male/female students of Government and Private Schools could get registration for winter camp.
Interested students have been asked to contact camp Incharge Rizwan Mughal and Hamad Rizwan at Hockey ground of board stadium Latifabad unit 6 from 3.30 pm to 5 pm.
PHA Lok Mela continues entertaining citizens
SARGODHA, Dec 13 (APP):The colourful seven-day ‘Lok Mela’ of Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Sargodha continued enriching regional cultural heritage and traditions on its seventh and final day on Wednesday.
Families in a large numbers from Sargodha city and other areas visited the event and enjoyed various colouful programmes.
“It’s a great source of highlighting the regional culture and providing enjoyable opportunities to citizens,” said a family members, who had come to visit the Mela from Chak No 120-SB.
Bushra Khursheed, a private schoolteacher, who had come to the Mela along with her family members, said “we are very thankful to the PHA for arranging such a beautiful and cultural event. Organising such events is need of the hour for promoting cultural values and creating awareness among the young generation about their national heritage.”
Musical performance, fireworks, ‘Ludi’ dance, acrobatics, gymnastic performance, agriculture and citrus exhibition were part of the week-long event, Focal Person for Lok Mela Shafqat Awan said.
Developing Asia’s 2023 growth outlook upgraded to 4.9%
ISLAMABAD, Dec 13 (APP):The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised its economic forecast for developing economies in Asia and the Pacific to 4.9 percent.
The regional economy is expected to grow 4.9% this year, compared with a previous forecast of 4.7% in September, according to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) December 2023, released by the bank Wednesday. The outlook for next year is maintained at 4.8%.
“Developing Asia continues to grow at a robust pace, despite a challenging global environment,” said ADB Chief Economist Albert Park.
“Inflation in the region is also gradually coming under control. Still, risks remain, from elevated global interest rates to climate events such as El Niño. Governments in Asia and the Pacific need to remain vigilant to ensure that their economies are resilient, and that growth is sustainable,” Park added.
The region’s inflation outlook for this year has been lowered to 3.5% from an earlier projection of 3.6%, according to ADO December 2023. For next year, inflation is expected to edge up to 3.6%, compared with a previous forecast of 3.5%.
The growth outlook for Southeast Asia this year has been lowered to 4.3% from 4.6%, amid weak demand for manufacturing exports. The outlook for economies in the Caucasus and Central Asia has been raised slightly, while projections for Pacific economies are unchanged.
Risks to the outlook include persistently elevated interest rates in the United States and other advanced economies, which could contribute to financial instability in vulnerable economies in the region, especially those with high debt.
Potential supply disruptions caused by the El Niño weather pattern or the Russian invasion of Ukraine could also rekindle inflation, particularly regarding food and energy.