UNITED NATIONS, Nov 16 (APP):An alarming trend in the cultivation and production of opium in Afghanistan reveals an 87 per cent production increase compared to 2016, the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) said in its Afghanistan Opium Survey 2017.
“It is high time for the international community and Afghanistan to reprioritise drug control, and to acknowledge that every nation has a shared responsibility for this global problem,” UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said at the launch of the survey.
According to the latest figures released by the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics and UNODC, in addition to an 87 per cent jump to a record level of 9,000 metric tonnes in 2017, the area under opium poppy cultivation also increased to a record 328,000 hectares in 2017, up 63 per cent compared with 201,000 hectares in 2016.
“For both Afghanistan, and the world, we are heading towards uncharted territory with a new record high obliterating the previous one in 2014,” Fdedotov said. Additionally, he said, the number of poppy-free provinces in the country decreased from 13 to 10 ” and after more than a decade, Ghazni, Samangan and Nuristan lost their poppy-free status. The number of provinces affected by cultivation increased accordingly from 21 to 24.
“These frightening figures should give considerable pause for reflection on whether the calculus on the illicit drugs flowing from Afghanistan adds up to a workable and achievable solution,” Fedotov added, again urging the international community to revisit its engagement with Afghanistan, and to acknowledge that fresh assessments and policy revisions may be necessary.
Pointing to the multiple challenges the increase would pose for the country, Fedotov stressed, that Afghanistan, “already suffering from the opium produced within its borders, the increases will drive drug abuse, an increased dependency on the illicit economy, and rising levels of corruption.”
Gains on governance and transparency in Afghanistan and surrounding countries will also be challenged by more instability, insecurity, and increased funding to terrorist groups.
“New actors and markets are likely to emerge; some of these new actors may be terrorist groups attempting to use the drug trade to finance their global operations,” Fedotov explained.
Far greater amounts of opium in the world’s consumer markets would increase health and social problems “also placing added burdens on already stretched Afghan public health services.
The Executive Director called opium cultivation and production “a complex development issue and bound to the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development,” for which partnership and coordination is also needed.
“UNODC has created initiatives-including the Triangular Initiative, the Paris Pact and the networking the networks activity-to assist, but engagement must be stepped up to increase effectiveness,” he stated.
Afghanistan opium production jumps 87 per cent to record level: UN survey
Pakistan-US sustained engagement critical to Afghanistan peace: US Senator
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (APP):”Sustained engagement between Pakistan and the United States remained critical to achieving peace in Afghanistan, US Senator Jack Reed said in a meeting with Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry here on Wednesday.
Ambassador Chaudhary has held meetings with several US lawmakers in recent weeks to apprise them of Pakistan’s perspective on the new US strategy for South Asia and the current situation in Afghanistan.
Senator Reed is the Ranking Member of Senate Armed Services Committee. He is also a member of Senate Appropriations and the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committees.
Ambassador Chaudhry informed the Senator that Pakistan had successfully reversed the tide of terrorism by clearing its tribal and border areas of all militant groups and the improved security situation is helping efforts to boost the country’s economy.
He said that the growing global recognition of Pakistan’s status as an emerging economy, improvement in the country’s security environment was helping attract foreign investors’ interest, including from corporate sector of America.
Ambassador Chaudhry emphasized that Pakistan wanted to work with the United States to bring peace to Afghanistan because Pakistan’s economic and security gains would be at risk if instability in Afghanistan continues.
He also expressed concern about the growth in ungoverned spaces inside Afghanistan, which were being used by terrorist elements to launch attacks against Pakistan. Appreciating Ambassador Chaudhry’s briefing, Senator Reed observed that continuing engagement between Pakistan and the United States remained critical to achieving peace in Afghanistan.
Entire country is unified on CPEC: Ahsan Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):Minister for Planning and Development, and Interior Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said all the four provinces,
the federal government, Azad Jammu and Kashmir , Gilgit Baltistan, and FATA are on the same page regarding timely completion of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.
“CPEC belongs to entire Pakistan and not to any specific part of the country and all of its units are satisfied
with current progress of the mega project and their share in CPEC projects”, Ahsan Iqbal said while addressing media after reviewing the preparation for upcoming 7th Joint Coordination Committee on CPEC.
He said CPEC is helping to connect far flung areas of the country due to heavy investment in infrastructure
sector.
The meeting was chaired by Ahsan Iqbal and attended by Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervaiz
Khattak, Governor KP, Zafar Iqbal Jhagra, Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider, Secretary Planning, Shoaib Siddiqui and representatives of governments of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.
The JCC is the apex decision-making forum on the CPEC which is jointly chaired by the planning and
development minister and the vice chairman of National Development and Reform Commission of China.
Mr Iqbal said the 7th JCC on CPEC is scheduled to be held here on November 20 and 21 in which chief ministers of
all provinces, representatives of private sector, and representatives from China would participate.
He added that representatives from private sector investment and business community are being specially
invited in the meeting as the government wants to engage the private sector and business community in materializing the phase of Industrial Cooperation under CPEC.
The minister highlighted that billions of dollars have already been invested in energy and infrastructure projects which are now bearing fruits and are helping in overcoming energy crisis and up gradation of the infrastructure sector.
While in the second phase, special focus would be given on building industrial sector under CPEC and approval
would be given for construction of all nine Spedcial Economic Zones in various parts of the country.
He said a fibre optic cable is being laid from Khunjrab to Islamabad which will help fast technological development
in Gilgit Baltistan.
Chief Minister KP said he is quite satisfied with the progress of National Highway Authority in the province
and hoped that all projects under CPEC would be completed on time.
Khattak also commended the federal government’s efforts in bringing the Chitral-Chakdara road project under
CPEC.
On the occasion Prime Minister AJK thanked former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for including projects of AJK in
CPEC.
He said due to these projects, AJK is witnessing rapid socio-economic development .
While representing FATA, Governor KP Zafar Iqbal Jhagra said all stakeholders are on same page
regarding the multi-billion dollars mega project of CPEC.
He said feasibility today report for construction of special economic zone in FATA is submitted to Board of
Investment for approval and hoped that construction work on the zone would start soon.
Replying to a question, Ahsan Iqbal said issues of Karachi Circular Railway and Main Line-1 would be removed
soon and work on KCR would be initiated on time.
Replying to another query regarding the ongoing sit in by some religious groups in the city, Iqbal said no Mulsim can compromise on the finality of Prophethood (Khatm-e-Nabuwat) and the entire nation is united in this regard and it will not be appropriate to create division among the nation.
He said making the lives of patients, students and the general public miserable, is not love for the
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
“Even, the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) tell us to respect the rights of every human being,” he
added.
The minister said the Tehreek-e-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLR) and their leaders
are constitutionally allowed to register a peaceful protest and warned them
not to take the law into their hands.
He said the government is making efforts to avoid violence and is also aware
of the inconvenience that is being caused to the general public.
He said some elements from among the protestors are deliberately inviting the
law enforcement agencies to take violent action against them as they want dead
bodies to play dirty politics.
However, the government is trying hard to resolve the issue peacefully to avoid any violence in the city,
he said, adding the use of force against protestors would be government’s last option in case all other options are failed.
Provincial governments fully committed to hold quality measles campaigns
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar Wednesday said that the provincial governments were fully committed and prepared to conduct the quality measles campaigns.
The government of Pakistan appreciated the tremendous partnership with Gavi and its continuous support to the country, she said while talking with Dr Seth Berkley, the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in Abu Dhabi.
During meeting, they discussed the strengthening of immunization of Pakistani Children with the support of GAVI, says a fax message received here.
She said that Pakistan had most recently applied for the Gavi support for
Measles campaigns, as the country planed to conduct a nationwide campaign in
March–April 2018 for preventing the risk of measles outbreak and to curtail the
risk of morbidity and mortality of children due to this serious disease.
Seeing the criticality of the programme need, the government
of Pakistan has forwarded a request to GAVI to intervene for supporting the
urgent need of the country.
The minister said that the EPI programme was building upon the lessons learnt from
the previous campaign as well as the mop-ups which had been recently completed
by the provinces, based on which a comprehensive micro planning and timelines had
been developed in consensus with the provinces.
In this regard a dedicated session was held during the last Joint Supervision,
Appraisal and Evaluation Mission where it was agreed to conduct measles campaigns
in March-April 2018 in the view of measles risk assessment by WHO and
epidemiological analysis by the experts.
The government of Pakistan is grateful to Gavi as the additional support will help the
programme in targeting the poorly and inadequately immunized strata of the urban
slums where the largest number of under and un-immunized children reside in Pakistan.
She said that further with the Support of Gavi Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Platform the
Programme could be expanding its cold chain points which would improve the
overall vaccine and logistics management system and boost the service
delivery.
She said the government of Pakistan particularly appreciated Gavi “One Technical Assistance
Plan” initiative which had helped the country in optimizing the donor funds, being
utilized through the development partners, for best value of money without
duplication of efforts and resources.
The pooled funding under Multi Donor Trust fund mechanism along with the integrated
Performance framework in National Immunization Support Project (NISP) has
further synergized the support in the technical assistance in priority areas.
She said EPI programme continued to work in synergy with Polio Eradication initiative.
A working group on synergy has been constituted. At Federal level an EPI officer has been
deputed as the member in EOC for better coordination for sharing of the
zero-dose and defaulters data, based on which Federal EPI is regularly
providing feedback to the Provincial Programmes for improving the service
delivery efforts and covering the un-immunized population.
Pakistan to welcome French coop in mass transit transport system development
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):Pakistan would welcome French cooperation and collaboration in the development of mass transit transport system in Pakistan to provide modern and efficient travelling facilities to its population of 207 million.
The ambassador of Pakistan to France Moin ul Haque said this while talking to a group of French students of Paris Institute of Science and Technology, who called on him in the embassy in Paris on Wednesday, a press release said.
He said Pakistan was giving top priority to the development of public transport and mass transit system in many cities of Pakistan. Many new projects like Metro Bus System had already been constructed in Lahore, Islamabad and Multan, Orange line metro was nearing completion in Lahore, whereas similar projects were being planned in other major cities of the country, including Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Faisalabad.
He said under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, Pakistan was also upgrading and expanding its existing road and railway infrastructure.
The ambassador observed that France had one of the world’s most advanced and integrated urban transit transport system which would serve as a good model for similar projects in Pakistan.
He invited the French companies to benefit from the investment opportunities in the ever growing and lucrative transport sector of Pakistan.
The French students who are also employed in major French transport/railway companies are currently developing a pre-feasibility study for a mass transport system in Hyderabad, the second biggest city of province of Sindh Pakistan with the objective to suggest best possible urban transport system for the city as a part of their MBA degree assignment.
PM strongly condemns attack on police officer in Quetta
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has strongly condemned attack on Police Officer in Quetta on Wednesday resulting in the loss of precious lives of the officer and his family members.
The Prime Minister prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls of police officer Muhammad Ilyas and his family members.
PM for early finalization of Hajj Policy 2018
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Wednesday directed the Ministry of Religious Affairs to immediately convene the Policy Formulation Committee constituted under the direction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan for early finalization of policy options for Hajj 2018 and its approval from the Cabinet.
The prime minister was chairing a meeting on Hajj policy here at the PM’s Office, a PM media office statement said.
Afterwards, the process of inviting applications should be started as soon as possible so as to complete the balloting process in-time and ensure timely arrangements and training of the Hujjaj, he added.
He also directed that special considerations should be given to the applicants over the age of 75 years and to those who apply for three consecutive years but were not selected through the balloting process.
Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, secretary Religious Affairs Division, Pakistan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and senior officials were present during the meeting.
The prime minister was given a detailed briefing on Hajj operations and efforts being made by the ministry to improve the system. It was informed that the present government, during its tenure, had accorded special attention towards better facilitation of the Hujjaj performing their religious duty.
The confidence of the people over the fairness and transparency of the system was clearly reflected through the number of 338,696 applications received in 2017 as compared to 86,919 applications in 2013.
The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the overall improvements made during the last four years in providing quality and affordable accommodation, better catering and transport facilities to the Hujjaj.
Matters pertaining to the security of Zaireen visiting Iran and Iraq also came under discussion during the meeting.
People suffer for 8th day due to protest at Faizabad Interchange
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP)::The people of twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi continued to suffer for eighth consecutive day Wednesday due to massive traffic jams on different roads caused by the protest of Tehreek Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR) at the Faizabad Interchange.
Around 3,000 protestors have blocked the Faizabad Interchange by placing barricades on all the service roads around it. The Metro Bus service along with private transport could ply till Faizabad Bus Terminal causing trouble for the commuters.
Even pedestrians feared to cross the interchange in the presence of protestors wielding bamboo sticks, who were pressing for acceptance of their demands.
Heavy contingents of police along with Rangers and other law enforcement agencies deployed to maintain law and order situation.
The roads blocked by the protestors include IJP Road, Islamabad Expressway, Murree Road and service roads. Due to blockage of the Expressway at the Faizabad Interchage, the main artery of the twin cities, motorist had to use alternative routes, including Lehtrar Road and Park Road in Islamabad and Double Road in Rawalpindi, to reach their destinations causing traffic jams on many roads.
When contacted, an Islamabad Traffic Police spokesman said extra personnel had been deployed at various
points to facilitate the road users and to control traffic. He said commuters could use Peshawar Road, Murree Road
and Double Road to reach Islamabad while those heading towards airport or Koral Road might use Lehtrar Road. .
Opposition voicing against corruption just for point scoring: Daniyal
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):Minister for Privatization Daniyal Aziz Wednesday said opposition was raising its voice against corruption just for point scoring.
Talking to a private news channel, he said it was an irony that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had closed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accountability commission and Pakistan Peoples Party was in a bid to reduce National Accountability Bureau’s powers in Sindh but still voicing against corruption.
The minister said Imran Khan was known as ‘U-Turn Khan’ and he was habitual of speaking lies before the public.
He predicted that the PTI chief was going to disqualify because his lawyer had given confessional statement regarding money trail of Niazi services before the court.
Replying to a question, he said the interior ministry was trying its best to maintain law and order in the country.
Daniyal Aziz said former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was disqualified on Iqama but not on corruption charges in the Panama Papers case.
He said opponents were creating hurdles in the way of government and trying to defame the PML-N leadership from the day one but they would not succeed for the purpose.
Lawyers community rendered unprecedented struggle for democracy: Nawaz
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):Former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Wednesday said the lawyer community had rendered supreme sacrifices and made unprecedented struggle for the cause of democracy in the country.
Talking to a lawyers delegation, including former presidents of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and representatives of Pakistan Bar Association (PBA), which called on him here, Nawaz Sharif said he held a long march along with the lawyer community, which culminated in the restoration of an independent judiciary in the country.
The long march, he said, was aimed at upholding the supremacy of law and justice. Access to justice was a fundamental right of every citizen, he added.
Nawaz Sharif Pakistan was also created by a man, who was also a lawyer. He would take the lawyer community
along in his struggle for the supremacy of law and justice, and to uphold the sanctity of vote, he added.
For a stable Pakistan, the former prime minister said, democracy and strong democratic institutions were
imperative.
He said owing to the efforts of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government, power load-shedding and the menace
of terrorism had been overpowered to great extent.
Nawaz Sharif said he had always served Pakistan with devotion and commitment and would continue to do so in future. The struggle made by him with his firm stance would ultimately benefit the people, he added.
The lawyers on the occasion assured their full support to the former prime minister.
The lawyers delegation comprised Yasin Azad, Latif Afridi, Kamran Murtaza, Azam Nazir Tarar, Akhtar Hussain, Qalib Hassan and Fazal Haq Abbasi. Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana, Senators Dr Asif Kirmani and Saud Majeed, Rana Maqbool Ahmad, Naseer Bhutta Advocate and Arshad Jadoon Advocate were also present in the meeting.
Govt not to accept any illegal demands of protesters: Talal
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP)::Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry Wednesday said the present government would not accept any illegal demand of protestors holding a sit-in at the Faizabad interchange of the federal capital.
A committee headed by Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq was constituted for looking into the
matter, he said talking to a private news channel.
The minister claimed that according to reports, some anti-state elements were present in the sit-in at Faizabad,
who wanted to create unrest in the federal capital.
Replying to a question, he said former prim minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif wanted that justice should be done
in his case.
When justice is not seen to be done it does raise many questions: Marriyum
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb talking to media outside the Accountability Court here Wednesday said when justice is not seen to be done and verdicts are given in haste, it does raise many questions.
She said an elected prime minister was sent home on the basis of an ‘Iqama’ because it had been decided before hand notwithstanding the fact that there were neither any corruption charges against him nor there was any evidence available to corroborate them.
However, efforts were now being made to frame some allegations and ferret out the supporting evidence, she added.
The minister observed that the joint investigation team (JIT) report was an interim submission as its volume 10
was incomplete and the process of mutual legal assistance had also not been concluded.
She said concluding four references in six months meant that for each reference only one and a half months
would be allowed. She asked as to why there was so much haste and urgency involved in these cases while the
verdict against an absconder from the anti-terrorist court, who appeared before it after two years, had been
reserved. She said there could not be double standards in law. She said that previous petition filed by him in the court was accepted and such a verdict delivered on it for which they were still trying to find incriminating evidence but sent
the thrice elected prime minister home.
She said the questions raised by Maryam Nawaz in her tweet were being asked by the entire nation but their answers would be given by the people in the 2018 elections.
Marriyum said Nawaz Sharif was a popular leader and it was the legal right of all the people to ask the questions that they were asking to seek justice.
ECP to give verdict in PTI chief ’s code of conduct violation case on Dec 4
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday decided to give its verdict in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s code of conduct violation case on December 4.
A five-member bench of the commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan heard the case.
PTI counsel Shahid Gondal requested the ECP to adjourn the hearing against the party chairman
till the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) hearing on the case on November 29.
In his arguments before the commission, Shahid Gondal said that as the case was being heard by the IHC, the ECP should adjourn its hearing.
In response, the CEC asked the advocate to present the high court’s stay order before the
commission. The chief election commissioner questioned the PTI counsel that had the IHC issued stay order on the hearing and in case it had, the PTI should provide a copy of the judgment.
The high court did not issue any stay order to the ECP. The code of conduct was
established through consultations with political parties and in keeping with
the Constitution,” the CEC said.
The hearing of the case was adjourned till December 4. The ECP said it would announce its
decision in the case on that day after hearing the lawyers’ arguments.
The PTI chief was accused of violating the ECP’s code of conduct in public addresses at
Jhelum and Sahiwal prior to by-elections there this year. Imran Khan had
challenged the notices before the Islamabad High Court.
Parliamentary Committee on National Accountability meets
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):The 19th meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Accountability Law was held here Wednesday at Parliament House.
The agenda of the meeting included discussion on the proposed National Accountability Commission Law and reviewing the minutes of the previous meeting for implementation.
Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid chaired the meeting while it was also attended among others by Minister for SAFRON Abdul Qadir Baloch, Minsiter for Energy Owais Leghari, MNA S.A Iqbal Qadri, Senator Saud Majeed.
President condemns Quetta terrorist attack
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):President Mamnoon Hussain Wednesday strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Quetta in which a police officer along with his family members embraced martyrdom.
Expressing heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, he said the attack on police and civilians was a cowardly act which could not be tolerated.
He emphasized that the life and property of the citizens could only be protected by eradicating terrorism so that peace in the country could be ensured.
The president also directed the authorities concerned to provide all possible medical facilities to the injured.
Yemen’s suffering deepens as border shutdowns enter 2nd week: UN agencies
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 15 (APP):The top humanitarian official in war-ravaged Yemen has warned that millions of people in the country remain at severe risk due to the worsening situation in the country due to the closure of land, sea and air borders.
“We have some 21 million people needing assistance and seven million of those are in famine-like conditions and rely completely on food aid,” U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen Jamie McGoldrick told reporters in Geneva over the phone.
He said a proposal to deliver vitally needed aid to Yemen via smaller ports than those under blockade will not solve the catastrophic humanitarian situation there, and he called for the reopening of the country’s major import hubs, Hodeida and Saleef, along with Sanaa airport.
Smaller ports such as Aden in southern Yemen and Jazan, which is in neighbouring Saudi Arabia “ lack the capacity to handle the amount of fuel, food and medicines that’s needed, McGoldrick said.
“Coming from Jazan in the north or coming from Aden in the south to serve the bulk of the population that we have identified, in the northern part of the country, it would be very difficult in many places because of for security issues, because of logistical issues” he said.
This would increases the cost of supplies by an estimated $30 per metric tonne and this is something that would then reduce the amount of money we have to serve the population and right now our humanitarian response plan is only 57 per cent funded, McGoldrick explained.
He said that Yemen has just 20 days worth of diesel left in the north, and three months reserves of wheat, adding that while he has heard reports that Aden and other ports were opening, there has been no confirmation of it.
The decision to blockade Yemen was taken by the Saudi-led coalition engaged there in a three-year war against Houthi militants, which, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has left more than seven million close to famine and 21 million needing assistance in one of the world’s poorest countries.
With humanitarian supplies “dangerously low,” McGoldrick warned that keeping famine and disease at bay risks setbacks.
With the closure of land, sea and air borders now entering its second week, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed alarm at the worsening humanitarian situation.
“Over the past week, the closures have prevented humanitarian and commercial supplies and restricted the movement of aid workers. They are also placing new economic strain on a civilian population already suffering through many months of conflict,” UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler told a regular press briefing in Geneva.
“As a result, continued Spindler, “our staff and those of our partners are seeing an increase in the number of civilians seeking humanitarian help. Vulnerable populations including internally displaced people, refugees and asylum seekers are especially hard-hit.”
The spokesperson reminded reporters that since the conflict began in March 2015, it has become the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, affecting 21 million people.
“Two million internally displaced people, a million returnees and 280,000 refugees and asylum seekers are all struggling to survive through increasingly prolonged displacement,” he stressed, adding that worsening conditions have also led to child labour and early marriage.
“Together with other members of the humanitarian community in Yemen, UNHCR is advocating for the border closures to be lifted without delay. The closures are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, posing a critical threat to the millions struggling to survive,” Spindler added.
One in 10 children victims of child labour: UN agency
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 15 (APP):An estimated 152 million children around the world work, a practice that the international community at a United Nations co-organized conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is trying to eliminate.
“Of those, almost half are in hazardous work. We need to recognize that progress has been very uneven,” International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Guy Ryder addressing the opening of the IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour, which began on Tuesday, according to press release issued at UN Headquarters in New York.
The senior UN official urged governments to work together to eradicate child labour by 2025, as agreed to in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The goals cannot be clearer, nor can the uncomfortable reality that if we do not do more and better, we will not achieve them,” Ryder warned.
According to an ILO report, more than half of all children “ some 73 million “ work in jobs that directly endanger their health, safety and moral development.
A majority of the children cited between the ages of five and 17 work in agriculture, including farming, fishing, forestry and livestock.
“Poverty is the main cause of child labour in agriculture, together with limited access to quality education , inadequate agricultural technology and access to adult labour, high hazards and risks, and traditional attitudes towards children’s participation in agricultural activities,” ILO said in the report, Ending child labour by 2025: A review of policies and programmes.
Among other findings, the report noted a link between child labour and armed conflicts.
The incidence of child labour in countries affected by armed conflict is 77 per cent higher than the global average, while the incidence of hazardous work is 50 per cent higher, according to the report, which noted the use of Syrian refugee children in the work force throughout the world.
The authors point to the need to boost legal protection and inspections of work places, strengthening social protection and investing in free, quality education, as ways to fight against child labour.
The conference in Buenos Aires ends on Thursday.
Four Pakistanis featured on Forbes magazine’s ’30 under 30′ list
NEW YORK,Nov 15 (APP):Four youthful individuals of Pakistani origin have been featured on Forbes, the top American business magazine’s ’30 under 30′ 2018 list.
Now in its seventh year, the list, released on Tuesday, features 600 individuals who have done some outstanding work in different professions, such as consumer technology, games, finance, healthcare, energy and science.
“This list continues to spotlight the impressive, the inspiring and the (genuinely) enviable,” its editors — Caroline Howard with Natalie Sportelli — wrote.
The four individuals of Pakistani origin are:
Khizer Hayat, 28, is the cofounder of ThroughPut, a data science automation company which estimates waste in supply chain and logistics operations and offers recommendations to eliminate bottlenecks and areas of concern. Hayat is also the President of the Teach Pakistan Initiative, an NGO working to improve the education system of rural Pakistan.
Sarah Ahmed, 28, was recognized for her work in the retail and e-commerce industry. The New York-based entrepreneur founded Warp + Weft, “a premium denim brand that weaves its own fabric to guarantee the best value and fit.”
S. Zayd Enam, 25, decided to drop out of his PhD program at Stanford when he founded Cresta.ai, a bootstrap startup that builds AI to help scale and improve the quality of customer services. Enam dropped out of high school to work on his first startup MediConnect, a healthcare provider platform in Pakistan.
Raza Munir, 29, is Cofounder, Climb Credit which takes an innovative approach to combating student debt: ROI lending. Raza Munir, along with cofounders Zander Rafael, Amit Sinha and Vishal Garg, partner with schools and programmes that justify the cost of tuition and offer legit career paths — mostly in skills-based fields such as robotics and nursing. To date they have provided fast and affordable loans to over 5,000 students attending 60 schools and hundreds of programs. In October the startup entered into agreements with investors to purchase $130 million of student loans originated by Climb Credit.
Over 19,700 people die from diabetes annually in Afghanistan
BEIJING, Nov 15 (APP): More than 19,700 people lost their lives due to diabetes in Afghanistan annually, the country’s public health ministry said on Wednesday.
“The 2012 International Diabetes Federation finding shows that 19,773 out of some 849,000 people affected by diabetes die of the disease annually in Afghanistan,” Dr. Qamaruddin Hafiz, a senior official of the ministry, was quoted in a statement published by the Chinese newspaper Global Times.
Hafiz has assured that the ministry was making efforts to find the causes of the non-communicable disease and draw attention of the people to the preliminary diagnosis and treatment of the illness.
On Tuesday, the country marked the World Diabetes Day with a theme of raising awareness among the people and to reduce the disease rate, according to the statement.
Women are mostly the victims of diabetes as the official said more than 199 million women are affected by disease and the number is feared to surpass 313 million by 2040, all over the world, the statement noted.
Created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), World Diabetes Day is marked annually on November 14 all over the world.
PM chairs meeting; NSC agrees on proactive Pak role in best interest of Muslim Ummah
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP):The National Security Committee Wednesday unanimously agreed that it was of critical importance for Pakistan to play a proactive role in the best interest of the Muslim Ummah, while firmly adhering to its bilateral commitments.
The agreement reached after detailed discussion on the subject during the meeting of NSC held here with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the chair.
The meeting was attended by Prof Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Interior, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Foreign Affairs, General Zubair Mehmood Hayat, Chairman JCSC, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of the Army Staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Chief of the Naval Staff, Air Chief Marshall Sohail Aman, Chief of the Air Staff, and senior civil and military officials.
According to a press release issued by the PM’s Media Office, the Foreign Secretary briefed the meeting on the latest developments in the regional security situation with a focus on the events rapidly unfolding in the Middle East.
The NSC condemned the recent attacks on Pakistan Army post at Bajaur Agency and police officials in Quetta, and expressed deep concern over the now increasingly exposed activities of hostile intelligence agencies to destabilize Pakistan.
The Committee reviewed the security situation in Balochistan and appreciated the significant improvement brought through the tireless work by the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies.
The Committee affirmed that the thrust of Federal Government policy shall be to collaborate more deeply with the Government of Balochistan for the rapid socioeconomic development of the province.
The meeting also developed a consensus on providing increased development resources to the province and adopting a cooperative implementation mechanism for development projects to ensure greater efficiency and transparency so that the benefits of increased development funding flow directly to the Baloch people at the very grassroots level.
The Committee was apprised that concrete measures were being undertaken to improve border management to deny movement of miscreants and criminals into Balochistan.
The Committee was also informed that the Federal Government was following a policy of allocating amongst its best civil servants to Balochistan to improve the administrative efficiency in the province.
While reviewing the progress made with respect to Pakistan’s commitment under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) framework, the Committee observed that Pakistan needed to convey its position and achievements comprehensively and clearly to the FATF.
The Committee also reviewed the status of regional gas and oil pipelines under consideration from the perspective of strengthening Pakistan’s energy security, and it was agreed that Pakistan should take advantage of the opportunities available where they are in Pakistan’s best economic and national interest.