Using politics as cover to harm national institutions not acceptable: GB CM

Wed, 8 May 2024, 11:53 PM

GIlGIT, May 08 (APP): Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan on Wednesday said that using politics as a cover to harm national institutions, spread chaos, and promote hatred in the country was not acceptable.

The GB chief minister, in a statement in connection with the 9th May 2023 tragic incidents, said,” A year has passed since the darkest day when some miscreants, under the guise of politics, spread hate and violence, attacking national institutions, defence installations, and memorials.

He said every person had the right to do politics and to vote, but using politics as a cover to harm national institutions, spread chaos, and promote hatred was never acceptable.

Strongly condemning the tragic incidents of May 9, he called for strict action against the miscreants.

On that day, he said, an attempt was made to create a rift between the army and the people and politics was used as a cover for violence.

“I hope that our nation and young generation will reject this hybrid warfare and have faith in their national institutions, moving forward with positive thinking, while avoiding hate, discrimination, and violence in the name of politics,” the GB CM concluded.

PM draws line between national heroes and traitors on May 9

Najam ul Hassan

Wed, 8 May 2024, 11:53 PM

ISLAMABAD, May 8 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that May 9 was a day that separated two distinct mindsets – one that sacrificed for the country and the other that betrayed the nation for personal gains.

One year has passed, but the nation has not forgotten its betrayers and will never forget them, he wrote on his X timeline.

The prime minister maintained that “on one hand, we have the great sons of the soil, their families, and the patriotic people who have shed their blood for the country, on the other hand, we have those who are consumed by the fire of hatred and have no regard for the national interests, institutions, constitution, or laws”.

“We promise to the country, the great martyrs, their heirs, and the nation that May 9 will never be forgotten”, he said adding “we must move forward, overcome the challenges, and create a bright future for our future generations”.

He said this day served as a reminder of the sacrifices made by our heroes and the treachery of those who betrayed the nation.

“Let us honor the memories of our martyrs and continue our journey towards progress and prosperity.”

Tarar assures APNS to resolve issues of newspaper industry

Shumaila Andleeb

Wed, 8 May 2024, 11:47 PM

ISLAMABAD, May 8 (APP): Federal Minister of Information Attaullah Tarar has said the federal government gives utmost importance to the development of print media and vowed to amicably resolve the problems faced by newspapers.

The information minister expressed these views as he attended a meeting of the Executive Committee of All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) held here, which was presided over by APNS President Naz Afreen Sehgal Lakhani.

Tarar acknowledged the role of print media in countering fake news and said media was playing an important role in the country. He assured the APNS members for resolution of the problems faced by the newspaper industry.

Secretary General APNS Sarmad Ali welcomed the federal minister and apprised him of the problems faced by the print media. He emphasized increase in rates of the government’s advertisements and the initial payment of the arrears of the member publications, said a statement issued by APNS.

The APNS officials stressed the need for removing the hurdles in renewal of registration through the Press Registrar Office and urged simplification of the procedure.

The meeting also discussed implementation of regional quota of advertisements and called for exemption of General Sales Tax, customs and duties on import of printing stuff such as ink and printing plates in the upcoming budget.

The meeting was attended by Naz Afrin Sehgul Lakhani (President), Imtenan Shahid (Senior Vice President), Sarmad Ali (General Secretary), S.M. Munir Jilani (Joint Secretary), Waseem Ahmed (Daily Awam Quetta), Mohsin Bilal (Daily Ausaf), Humayun Tariq ( (Daily Business Report), Ansar Mehmood Bhatti (Monthly Center Line), Muhammad Waqaruddin (Daily Dunya), Javed Mehr Shamsi (Daily Kaleem), Rukhsana Saulat Salimi (Weekly Nikhar), Bilal Mehmood (Daily Nawai Waqt), Sardar Khan Niazi (Daily Business Report), Magazine Naya Rukh, Faisal Zahid Malik (Daily Pakistan Observer), Humayun Gulzar (Daily Siasat), Irfan Athar (Daily Tejarat), Syed Haroon Shah (Daily Wahdat), and Nasir Dad Baloch (Daily Sindh Sujag).

Mehtab Khan (Daily Ausaf) and Tahir Mughal (Daily Nawa-i-Pak) attended the meeting as special observers.

Fauzia Shaheen (Monthly Dastak), Zahida Abbasi (Nau Saj Daily), Mohsin Syal (Aftab Daily), and Tahir Qureshi (Nawa-i-Ufaq) joined through the Zoom meeting.

CDWP recommends 3 projects to ECNEC for approval

NNPS Desk

Wed, 8 May 2024, 11:45 PM

ISLAMABAD, May 08 (APP): The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Wednesday recommended three projects worth Rs 126 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval.

The CDWP met her with Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission in the chair, said a press release.

The meeting was attended by Secretary Planning Awais Manzur Sumra, members of the Planning Commission, Additional Secretary Planning, as well as representatives from federal ministries and provincial governments.

Two projects related to transport & communications sector were presented in the meeting. The first project pertained to up-gradation and widening of Jaglot -Skardu Road 164 km (2nd revised) worth Rs 33,270.600 million referred to ECNEC for further consideration.

The project is executed on EPC / Turnkey basis. The revised project envisages widening, up-gradation and improvement of existing 167 km Jaglot Skardu road (S- 1).

The existing road with varying width of 3.8 m to 4.0 m will be widened to 8.5 m and 12.3 m formation width with allied structures and facilities. Around 47% length of the road (78.3 km) will be designed with carriageway width of 7.3 m (rolling terrain) and 53% length of road (88.7 km) will be designed with carriageway width of 6.1 m (hilly terrain).

The scope of work includes construction of 21 new bridges and culverts to replace causeways along with allied facilities. The earlier 1st revised PC-I was accorded approval with slight difference in scope as follows;

Around 30% length of the road (50 km) will be designed for speed of 70 ~ 90 km/hr with carriageway width of 7.3 m (rolling terrain) and 70% length of road (114 km) will be designed for speed of 40 ~ 60 km/hr with carriageway width of 6.1 m (hilly terrain).

The scope of work includes construction of 20 new bridges and 40 culverts along with allied facilities.

The second project was “Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of N-5 from Moro to Ranipur km 318 – 404 (NBC/SBC) and 32 x damaged Bridges under ADB Flood Emergency Loan (Revised)” worth Rs. 57,245.400 million referred to ECNEC for further consideration.

The project shall be financed through Special Financing in the Form of Flood Emergency Loan from Asian Development Bank amounting to US $150 Million. (Average exchange rate is 279). Equivalent to Rs. 41,850.0 million in terms of Pak Rupee. The Revised PC-I envisages, rehabilitation / reconstruction of 86-kilometer long and 7.3-meter wide with 03-meter wide outer TST Shoulder and 01-meter wide asphaltic shoulder on either side from Moro to Ranipur in the Districts of Naushehro Feroz and Khairpur Mir’s of Sindh Province.

The project includes 32-bridges i.e construction of 09-bridges and rehabilitation of 23-bridges, on NHA Network all over the Country i.e National Highways & Motorway (M-8) (N-95, N-25, N-50, N-65, N-5, N- 55, N-15, N-35), all over the Country.

Based on the information received from the Site Authorities regarding extent of damages and inundation and information gathered through field visits, the Project has been divided into 14 Lots, restoration of which is proposed under funding from ADB Emergency Loan.

A project related to Health was presented in the meeting namely “Prime Minister’s Programme for Elimination of Hepatitis C Infection” worth Rs. 35,411.950 million referred to ECNEC for further consideration.

The project partners China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) and Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives.

The source of funding is 195 million Chinese Yuan (to screen 50% of the target population, and the government of Pakistan, through the Public Sector Development Program, will cover the cost of remaining 50% of the population screening for Hepatitis C. the project intends to screen 100% of the population in two phases. In the first phase, districts with a high prevalence of Hepatitis C will be included, whereas the remaining 50% will be covered in the next phase.

The target will be to eliminate Hepatitis C from Pakistan by 2030.

Pakistan,World Bank seal new development partnership

Ali Ali

Wed, 8 May 2024, 11:28 PM

ISLAMABAD, May 08 (APP):The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Ahad Khan Cheema, met with Martin Raiser, the South Asia Regional Vice President (SARVP) of the World Bank,here on Wednesday to discuss a range of issues relating to Pakistan’s economic growth.

Minister Cheema welcomed Vice President Raiser and expressed gratitude for the ongoing support and assistance from the World Bank Group (WBG) to Pakistan, said a press release issued here.

He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to implementing key reforms across major sectors to foster sustainable economic growth.

Discussions centred on the new Country Partnership Framework, where the Minister praised the World Bank’s teams for their guidance.

He also highlighted ongoing efforts to accelerate project implementation and resolve bottlenecks.

The Minister requested that the World Bank consider expanding its development portfolio for Pakistan through innovative financing options and by encouraging private sector participation, with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Vice President Raiser commended the Government of Pakistan for their dedication to steering Pakistan toward economic recovery. He expressed satisfaction with the progress on various sectoral projects and socio-economic reforms, expressing confidence that these initiatives would lead to a more prosperous future for the people of Pakistan.

The Vice President committed to deepening the partnership between the World Bank and the Government of Pakistan, particularly in areas such as human capital, climate change, agriculture, energy, water, and decent employment.

He also assured the Minister of his full support in exploring new financial solutions to align with Pakistan’s development priorities.

Both sides also signed a Joint Communique wherein it was mutually agreed to engage in a long-term, focused partnership under the new Country Partnership Framework with annual reviews for assessing progress and course correction to achieve transformational impacts over a decade through a select set of critical development priorities.

The initial set of priorities include structural economic reforms, improving foundational learning, energy sector reforms, climate adaptation and increasing economic opportunities, including in agriculture.

In his closing remarks, Minister Cheema thanked the Vice President Raiser and his team for their visit, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to providing full support at all levels of government to ensure the success of ongoing and future developmental projects.

No fuel, aid getting into Gaza amid Israel’s Rafah offensive: UN agency

NNPS Desk

Wed, 8 May 2024, 11:25 PM

UNITED NATIONS, May 08 (APP): Israeli military manoeuvres and shelling continued in and around eastern Rafah in southern Gaza Wednesday as UN humanitarian officials stressed that “no fuel or aid” was getting into the enclave.

“We’re not receiving any aid, the crossing area has ongoing military operations and is an active war zone,” said Scott Anderson, from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, in a post on X.

“We are hearing continued bombardments in this area throughout the day. No fuel or aid has entered into the Gaza Strip and this is disastrous for the humanitarian response.”

The development comes amid deepening international concerns including from the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about a full-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah, fueled by the closure of Kerem Shalom and the seizure of Rafah crossing on Tuesday by Israeli forces, dashing ceasefire hopes.

In addition to concerns over dwindling supplies of fuel, food and other basic necessities in Gaza, UN humanitarians reported that tens of thousands of people in Rafah have been uprooted once more by Israeli evacuation orders.

“Every day we are displaced. Every hour we are displaced,” Rafah resident Salah Rajab Gazan was quoted as saying by UN News, a news website, inside the enclave.

“We expected that the deal would be reached and we’d go (back) to Gaza City. But what we expected did not happen and the opposite happened.”

In another interview, a former resident of Jabalia camp in northern Gaza described his exhaustion and loss, after seven months of war which had claimed the lives of his children. “I can’t find a mattress to sleep on; I used to have a house and floors. I am tired of life because there is no life in Gaza. Gaza has no future.”

In a bid to secure an end to the war and the release of all remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, the UN chief issued a direct appeal to the Government of Israel late Tuesday “to stop any escalation and engage constructively in the ongoing diplomatic talks”.

Posting on X late on Tuesday, he said that “disturbed and distressed” by the Israeli Defence Forces’ renewed military activity in Rafah, just as he called on Hamas leaders and Israel “to show political courage” and secure a ceasefire.

After more than 34,000 Palestinians killed, mostly women an children, “haven’t we seen enough?” Guterres asked, at UN headquarters in New York.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Qatar to visit Pakistan on Thursday (May 9)

Ali Ali

Wed, 8 May 2024, 11:22 PM

ISLAMABAD, May 8 (APP):The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi will visit Pakistan on Thursday, May 9, as a special envoy of the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the State of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrehman bin Jassim Al Thani.

In Islamabad, the Minister of State will call on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and on Deputy Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, a Foreign Office statement said.

Pakistan and Qatar have longstanding and multifaceted bilateral relations characterized by high-level exchanges and visits.