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Mehran University Launches AI-powered career counseling program

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HYDERABAD, Aug 15 (APP): Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MuET) Jamshoro has launched Pakistan’s first AI-powered career counseling program in collaboration with IDEAGIST. This initiative marks a revolutionary shift in career guidance for students, allowing them to access up-to-date information on employment trends through advanced artificial intelligence. The program features IDEAGIST’s “CareerGPT” chatbot, which will offer modern career counseling services to Mehran University students.

According to the MUET spokesperson, the goal of the project was to provide students with the technical support needed for success in their chosen careers and the Vice Chancellor Professor Dr. Taha Hussain Ali stated that this agreement will serve as a significant milestone in providing essential technical resources and information for students to achieve excellent career outcomes.

Under the agreement, it is anticipated that integrating AI into career services will position the university as a leader in the field of educational guidance within the country. The agreement includes a 12-month pilot program, during which students will receive career guidance. The project aims to enhance student success and prepare graduates for a competitive job market.

The Managing Director and CEO IDEAGIST Hassan Syed expressed enthusiasm about launching this new program in collaboration with Mehran University. He noted that their AI technology is designed to assist students to choose a career path in an appropriate way and enhance their employment and professional opportunities.

Drug dealer held with over 1.2 kg hashish, cash

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DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Aug 15 (APP):The district police have arrested a drug dealer recovering 1.25 kilogram hashish and Rs 50,000 cash from his possession here in the limits of Saddar police station.
According to police spokesman, the crackdown against the menace of drugs was continued successfully in the district following the strict instructions of District Police Officer (DPO) Nasir Mehmood.
He said a team of Saddar police station led by SDPO Saddar Circle Imran Ullah Khattak along with Additional SHO Taimur Khan, taking action on a tip off, arrested accused drug dealer Farhan alias Amir son of Gulzaman, resident of Noor-velly. The police also recovered 1250 grams of hashish and Rs 50,000 cash from him.
The police also registered a case against the arrested accused and started further investigation.

Flag hoisting ceremony held at Pakistan embassy Oslo

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OSLO, Aug 15 (APP): Embassy of Pakistan in Oslo, Norway held a flag hoisting ceremony at the embassy premises with great zeal and fervor to mark the 78th Independence Day of Pakistan.

A large number of diaspora from Oslo as well as other cities of Norway including men, women and children attended the ceremony, a press release issued on Thursday said.

Ambassador Saadia Altaf Qazi raised the National Flag to the tune of the National Anthem. Messages of the President and the Prime Minister were also read out on the occasion.

Flag hoisting ceremony held at Pakistan embassy Oslo

Ambassador of Morocco to Norway, Nabila Freidji graced the occasion as Chief Guest.

The function also included speeches, songs and cultural performances as well as a fancy-dress parade of Pakistani-Norwegian youth in the traditional folk costumes of Pakistani provinces and regions presenting cultural diversity of Pakistan.

The children performed a tableau on a National Song to the huge applause of the guests. In addition, some other individual amateur singers and speakers including a 7-years old young child from Kristiansand (a southern city of Norway) took the stage in a commendable patriotic spirit.

Another highlight of the ceremony was a melodious performance by a PakNorwegian musical band RagaNor, known for its unique fusion of traditional & contemporary music styles, who captivatingly performed Qawwali, Ghazal and Geet, bringing soulful rhythms of Pakistan to Norway.

Ambassador Saadia Altaf Qazi addressed the gathering highlighting the significance of the day. She also distributed appreciation certificates among the program participants.

Canola, sunflower to be cultivated over 0.85 and 0.77 mln hectares

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP):The government has set a target to cultivate canola over 0.85 million hectares and sunflower over 0.77 million hectares during the current year in order to fulfil the local requirements of edible oil and reduce the reliance on imported oil.
During the period under review, the cultivation targets for rapeseed and mustard were fixed over 5.42 million hectares to produce 6.80 million metric tons of edible oil, said an official in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.
Meanwhile, the seed cotton to be cultivated over 3.118 million hectares as production targets of the mentioned commodity was fixed at 4.015 million metric tons, he added.
He said that the government was providing different incentives to encourage the farmers to cultivate oil seeds to enhance the local output of edible oil to save foreign exchange, which was being spent on the import of oil including soyabean and palm into the country.
He said that under the PSDP 2024-25, the government has allocated Rs1,000 million for the promotion of olive cultivation on a commercial scale in the Pakistan phase-II project to enhance the output of edible in the country, adding that Rs1,600 million for the national program for enhancing command areas in barani areas.
In its annual development agenda, the government has earmarked Rs800 million for the national oil seed development program, whereas an amount of Rs700 million would be spent on professional capacity building in the agriculture national reforms, he added.
The government has also allocated Rs 600 million for water conservation in barani areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, besides allocating an amount of Rs199.865 million on the mainstreaming of mountain agriculture research centres for the promotion of high-value agriculture in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Governor Tessori, Arshad Nadeem visit Mazar e Quaid to pay homage to father of nation

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KARACHI, Aug 15 (APP):Sindh Governor Muhammad Kamran Khan Tessori along with Olympian Arshad Nadeem visited the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on Thursday where they paid their respects and offered Fateha.
Governor Tessori and Good Medalist Arshad Nadeem also laid wreaths at the mausoleum and penned their comments in the visitor’s book.
Later on, Governor and the Olympian Arshad Nadeem also talked to media and said they visited Mazar-e-Quaid to pay homage to the father of the nation.
Arshad Nadeem who won Gold Medal for Pakistan in Paris Olympics is on a visit to Karachi and he also participated Independence Day celebrations organized at Sindh Governor House on the night of August 14.
He also called on Governor Sindh Muhammad Kamran Khan Tessori at Governor House.
Governor Tessori also presented a cheque of Rs. 2 million as reward he had announced for the Olympian over his unprecedented win in a Javelin Throw completion at Paris Olympics.

Climate change ministry, BISP joins hands to boost country’s forest cover

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP): Coordinator to Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam on Thursday said that engaging communities in tree plantation is vital for effective forest conservation and management, because their well-being is often intricately linked with the health of the forests they depend on, according to press statement issued here from the climate change & environmental coordination ministry.

The PM’s climate aide said further that since local communities often have traditional knowledge and practices that contribute to sustainable forest management, they can play an effective role in enforcing conservation, managing natural resources and protecting biodiversity.

“In fact, community-based forest management practices in many Asian countries have shown that communities, when strengthened with knowledge and ownership of resources act as the frontline defenders of forests against illegal activities like logging, poaching and land grabbing. Besides, they can also help monitor and report illegal activities and advocate for forest protection,” PM’s climate aide highlighted.

Given the effectiveness of community-based forest management in forest protection and conservation, the climate change & environmental coordination’s Upscaling Green Pakistan Programme (UGPP) has launched an ambitious tree plantation campaign in collaboration with the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) across all provinces, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit Baltistan to enhance tree cover in the country.

Underlining the overarching aim of the partnership between the ministry and BISP, the PM’s climate change coordinator Romina Khurshid said that partnership would aim to utlise large-scale nationwide network of the BISP financial aid beneficiaries and engage them in various tree plantation activities across the country.

“Such a large-scale involvement of the BISP beneficiaries in the tree plantation activities would help foster environmental stewardship and contribute to a greener Pakistan. Below is an overview of the activities and plans in each province,” Ms Alam hoped.

She also said that a large number of women beneficiaries and their families were also pro-actively engaged in various tree plantation activities on the Plant for Pakistan day, which was celebrated on the 77th Independence Day of Pakistan across the country on Wednesday.

The PM’s climate aide said that a robust plan has been hammered out in consultation with BISP to ensure for enhanced collaboration between the forest and BISP officials in all provinces, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan for widespread participation of BISP aid beneficiaries and their families.

Romina Khurshid Alam also said that all provincial BISP headquarters have been connected with provincial chief forest conservators and officials of the Green Pakistan Programme of the climate change and environmental coordination ministry for the collection of tree saplings and their distribution among the BISP aid beneficiaries for planting in their communities and nearby forest areas.

Nine lawbreakers netted

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RAWALPINDI, Aug 15 (APP): Rawalpindi police in an action against illegal weapon holders, fireworks dealers and other lawbreakers here on Thursday arrested nine accused besides recovering weapons, drugs, and other items from their possession.
A police spokesperson said that Civil Lines police arrested a fireworks dealer namely Taimoor and recovered fireworks items from his possession.
In another raid, an accused allegedly involved in aerial firing was rounded up by Race Course police and a 30 bore pistol and ammunition were recovered from his possession.
He said that Jatli and Saddar Wah police arrested three drug pushers namely Muhammad Rasheed, Muhammad Naveed and Rashid and recovered total over 2.5 kg charras and other items from their possession.
City Police netted a bike lifter, Muhammad Abbas and recovered a stolen motorcycle from his possession.
Similarly, Gujar Khan and Waris Khan police held Zeeshan Asghar, Ishtiaq and Zia ur Rehman and recovered two 30 bore pistols, ammunition and five liters liquor.
Separate cases have been registered against all the accused while further investigations are under process.
City Police Officer, Rawalpindi had directed the police officers to accelerate ongoing operations against drug peddlers, bootleggers and other lawbreakers, he added.

5 killed, several injured in traffic accident in Swat

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP):At least five people were killed on Thursday when a vehicle carrying wedding party guests plunged into a deep ravine in Swat District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to a private news channel, the accident occurred in the Chuprial area of Matta Tehsil, where a pickup truck veered off the road and fell into a steep gorge.
As a result, five people including women and children were died while several others were injured in the accident.
Rescue officials promptly transported the injured to Matta Hospital, where they are receiving medical attention.

Kashmiri journalists mark India’s Independence Day as Black Day by holding protest rally

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MIRPUR (AJK), Aug 15 (APP):Local fraternity, affiliated with national and regional print and electronic media here on Thursday observed India’s Independence Day as black day to express Kashmiris’ full dissociation and hatred against New Delhi for keeping bulk of their motherland illegally at gun point for last 77 years.
They urged the international community to ensure its due role for early peaceful settlement of Kashmir conflict under the spirit of international norms and commitments.
Journalists, besides civil society representatives from all walks of life participated in the protest rally organized under the auspices of Kashmir Press Club Mirpur.
The participants carried black flags and chanted slogans in favour of freedom movement and against human rights’ violation in Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
While strongly condemning India’s usurpation and the inhumane atrocities being inflicted on innocent Kashmiris in the occupied Kashmir, the speakers including Kashmir  Press Club President said that Kashmiris would continue to observe India’s Independence Day as a black day until IIOJK was freed from Indian forced and unlawful rule.
The rally later dispersed peacefully.

PCB, IBCC join forces to promote cricket in schools and colleges

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP):Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IBCC and PCB,  Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC) has organized a consultation workshop here to discuss how to promote domestic cricket in schools and colleges level.
The workshop was attended by representatives from educational boards, focused on addressing the challenges faced by students, such as physical fitness, financial limitations, and access to proper facilities.
As a result, inter-school and inter-college cricket tournament is set to start in October 2024.
The winners of the tournament will compete in inter-provincial and national levels and the winner will have a chance to represent Pakistan internationally.
The collaboration will ensure that students receive athletic training, physical fitness sessions, and access to well-maintained cricket grounds.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will provide technical support, while educational boards will help identify young talent.
Executive Director IBCC Dr. Ghulam Ali Mallah said, “This partnership is a huge step forward in supporting our youth. We are excited to see how this will help our players, both on and off the field.”
Director PCB Abdullah Niazi said, “We are committed to finding and developing the next generation of cricket stars. With this initiative, we are laying the groundwork for a stronger future for Pakistan cricket.”
As the tournament begins this October, we invite everyone to support these young cricketers, who could one day represent Pakistan on international level.