ISLAMABAD
President Dr. Arif Alvi conferring the award of Nishan-i-Pakistan upon Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, Head of the Dawoodi Bohra community at a special investiture ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr
ISLAMABAD
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar chairs a meeting of the Taskforce for Strategic Reforms in Medical Education and Patient Care
ISLAMABAD
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar chairs a meeting of the Taskforce for Strategic Reforms in Medical Education and Patient Care
ISLAMABAD
Caretaker Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives, Muhammad Sami Saeed chairing a meeting to review progress of Power Sector at the Ministry
ISLAMABAD
WASA recovered Rs.243.6m in November
FAISALABAD, Dec 05 (APP):Water & Sanitation Agency (WASA) Managing Director (MD) Amir Aziz said that the revenue directorate has recovered 243.6 million from defaulters during November 2023.
He said that WASA teams had recovered Rs.233.2 million from defaulters during October after which recovery teams were directed to improve their performance. Recovery teams accelerated their efforts and succeeded in recovering Rs.243.6 million during November 2023, he added.
He appreciated the performance of recovery teams and said that they were taking strict action against defaulters without any discrimination. In this connection, recovery teams were also authorized to detach sewerage and water supply connections if they were not ready to pay dues, the MD said and appealed to consumers to pay their bills and dues voluntarily or be ready to face action.
PHA organizes flower exhibition at Gymkhana
RAWALPINDI, Dec 05 (APP): Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Rawalpindi here on Tuesday organized a flower exhibition at Rawalpindi Gymkhana.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Liaquat Ali Chatta and Station Commander, Brig. Ahmad Nawaz.
Apart from PHA Rawalpindi, other departments also participated in the exhibition.
The Commissioner on the occasion said that PHA Rawalpindi taking another important step to provide best recreational facilities to the citizens organized the flower show at Gymkhana.
Director General PHA, Ahmed Hasan Ranjha and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.
The students of different educational institutions and other departments also participated in the exhibition.
Various colorful flower stalls were beautifully decorated in the exhibition.
The Commissioner appreciated efforts of PHA Rawalpindi and other departments for organizing a beautiful flower show.
CM greets women cricket team for victory against New Zealand
LAHORE, Dec 05 (APP):Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi extends hearty congratulations to the Pakistan women cricket team for their triumphant T20 series win against New Zealand.
Commending the historic achievement, the chief minister lauded the women players for their exceptional performance, noting that they had etched their names in history by defeating a formidable team like New Zealand on their home ground. He said, “I believe that with a strong team, positive results always follow.”
CM condemns Peshawar blast
LAHORE, Dec 05 (APP):Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has vehemently denounced an explosion near a school on Warsik Road in Peshawar.
In his message on Tuesday, he extended heartfelt prayers for the swift recovery of all individuals, especially the children, who were injured in the blast.
UAD celebrates World Soil Day
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Dec 05 (APP):The ‘World Soil Day’ was celebrated at the University of Agriculture Dera Ismail Khan (UAD) on Tuesday by organizing a ceremony here at the varsity’s Department of Soil Sciences.
The ceremony was organized by the Department of Soil Sciences led by its Head of Department Dr Zarina Baloch wherein UAD Registrar Abdul Basit Khan was the chief guest of the ceremony. Director Admission Dr. Ehsan Ali, Director Academics Dr Saqib Ali, Dr. Arshad Jameel. Dr Riaz Ahmed Dr. Ghulam Abbas, Assistant Director of IT Irfan Ahmad, Ehteshamul Haq and Dr Muhammad Saqib were also present on this occasion.
Addressing the event, UAD Registrar Abdul Basit Khan said that ‘World Soil Day’ was celebrated all around the globe to convey a message regarding the importance of soil every year on December 05.
He said the universities must have to organize such events along with the education. He was of the view that such events would help motivate the students and HODs of other departments to come forward and organize such events.
He said the doors of his office were always opened for students and staff to organize such events, adding that he would extend all possible support for the purpose.
Abdul Basit Khan said, “Science is developing rapidly in today’s modern era and we should continue our research in science during this modern age of technology.”
He said the teachers and students must be motivated towards more research.
While appreciating the efforts of Dr. Zareena Baloch, the UAD Registrar said that the way she was rendering unparalleled services for the development and prosperity of the university.
He said the event would help to create awareness about the importance of soil as a vital contributor to human well-being.
Planning Minister reviews power sector’s progress
ISLAMABAD, Dec 05 (APP): Caretaker Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Muhammad Sami Saeed on Tuesday chaired a meeting to review the progress of the power sector of the ministry.
The Chief Energy Section gave a detailed briefing on current statistics, prevalent policies and new initiatives of the power sector, a news release said.
The Power Section of the Planning Ministry is assigned the tasks of technical appraisal of the Power Sector’s development projects to be considered by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
The Power Section is also involved in planning, policy-formulation process and furnishes comments on CCI, Cabinet, ECC summaries and other reports/intergovernmental agreements.
The minister was also briefed about the prevalent policies in the power sector.
In this regard, National Electricity Policy, 2021 was approved in June 2021 by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) which laid down six principles for the growth of the power sector including Efficiency, Transparency, Competition, Financial Viability, Indigenization and Environmental Responsibility.
To meet policy goals, principles and underlying directives in the respective areas as provided in the National Electricity Policy, an objective-oriented National Electricity (NE) Plan has recently been approved by the CCoE in August 2023.
The NE Plan envisaged 20 priority areas of intervention including Integrated Energy Planning, System & Market Operations, Electrification, Tariff Design and Subsidy Rationalization.
Among the new initiatives being undertaken in the Power Sector, the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM), Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) and Transmission System Expansion Plan (TSEP) are the notable ones that will shift the electricity market from a single-buyer market to bilateral competitive market. It will help bring healthy competition in the power market and introduce the concept of integrated planning.
Furthermore, the Energy Wing also proposed additional steps which include integrated energy planning of generation, transmission and distribution sectors, investment in the transmission and distribution sector, legislation for acquisition of land and Right of Way (RoW), technological interventions to curb theft and increase recoveries of DISCOs and management outsourcing of DISCOs.
The minister emphasized that the issues of circular debt, T&D losses, and improvement in the recoveries of outstanding dues of DISCOs should be addressed on a war-footing basis by Power Sector entities so that the sector could work on a sustainable basis for the provision of reliable, affordable and clean energy to the masses.
He also appreciated the Power Section for its excellent work carried out for nudging the power sector of the country in the right direction through its efforts in planning policy-making and appraisal of development projects.