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. .
People suffer for 8th day due to protest at Faizabad Interchange
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.
EX-VP Biden leads Trump by 11 points in potential 2020 matchup: Poll
NEW YORK, Nov 15 (APP): Former US Vice President Joe Biden would lead President Donald Trump in a 2020 general election, according to a new poll.
Only 35 percent of voters would choose to reelect Trump in 2020, the Politico/Morning Consult poll shows substantially fewer than the 46 percent who would vote instead for Biden, who has said that he is not closing the door on a third attempt at the presidency in 2020. One in 5 voters are undecided.
Biden made the statement that he may challenge Trump in 2020 in an interview with NBC News while promoting his new book, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.
“I honest-to-God haven’t made up my mind about that,” Biden, who is turning 75 later this month, told NBC. “I’m not closing the door. I’ve been around too long, and I’m a great respecter of fate, but who knows what the situation is going to be a year-and-a-half from now.”
According to the poll, a majority of white voters are divided in the matchup, with 41 percent saying they would support Biden and 40 percent backed Trump.
In the Midwest however, Biden has a 9-point lead over Trump in the potential matchup.
Biden is a strong critic of Trump and his leadership style. He has accused his administration of misunderstanding and misrepresenting the American values.
Biden, a favourite for the 2016 Democratic nomination, announced his decision to not run for the White House in October 2015, cementing former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s standing as the front-runner.
The new poll was conducted from November 9 to 11 among 1,993 registered voters. Its margin of error is 2 percent.
Royal children set about learning Chinese
BEIJING,Nov 15 (APP):Learning Chinese has once again proven as a great investment in children’s education after U.S. President Donald Trump’s granddaughter successfully played her diplomatic role and facilitated Trump’s successful visit to China by singing a Chinese song and reciting poetry in Mandarin.
Arabella Kushner, a six-year-old Chinese learner, has been hailed by Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “little star,” who also graded her performance with an “A+”. She started learning Mandarin from her Chinese nanny when she was just 16 months old, China Daily reported on Wednesday.
Learning Chinese has already become a new trend in royal families. Elisabeth, 16-year-old Princess of Belgium, studied Chinese in a Dutch speaking school in Brussels. Such a move also happened in the neighboring Dutch monarchy. Catharina Amalia, the heir to the Dutch throne, started learning Chinese in Hague in 2016.
Meanwhile, the Danish monarchy is another European royal family which has shown a keen interest in China and its culture and language. Apart from Danish, French, and English, Chinese is among one of the four languages used on the royal family’s website since 2014.
Chinese also appears to be a popular second language in Asian royal families. Princess Sirindhorn has been learning about Chinese culture and arts and has been studying Chinese language for years. Her proficiency in Chinese has earned her a title of “good friend of China,” enabling her to be a true envoy for Sino-Thai relations.
The number of foreigners learning Chinese has grown from 30 million in 2005 to 100 million today, with more than 60 countries now offering Chinese as part of their national education system.
PML-N rendered service for national prosperity: CM
LAHORE, Nov 15 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad
Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said politics was no gimmickry but a selfless service to people.
He added that people had defeated the conjurers at every
front who made politics a victim of their tricks.
“The objectives of these political elements have remained
unsuccessful in the past nor will they succeed in future. The
elements indulged in spreading anarchy, falsehood and leveling of allegations have no concern for the public welfare,” he said.
The chief minister expressed these views while talking to elected representatives who called on him here.
He said the politicians who were devoid of public service had only wasted the precious time of the people. These elements
who erected obstacles in the journey of national development would have to be accountable for their negative behavior.
These tricksters would again face defeat in the general
elections of 2018 and the conscious people would reject the
negative politics of opponents of the development.
He said those demanding for early elections were unnerved
over the speedy development of the country. He inquired that
how the elements that had made the people disappointed in
their province were claiming about change and added that it
was unbecoming of such politicians to talk about making of
a new Pakistan.
He said the loot and plunder of former corrupt rulers
increased problems of the people as the poor nation was
looted through the plunder of national resources.
The chief minister said corruption, loot and nepotism
had become a story of the past in development projects. The
government had promoted transparency in development schemes
and the PML-N had rendered service for national prosperity.
“The services of the PML-N leadership are unforgettable
and targets of development have been achieved in
our government,” he added.
It was a historic achievement of the PML-N that it had
put the country on the road to development by getting rid
of the economic deficit, he said and added the pivot of the
strategy of the PML-N was welfare and prosperity of the masses,
the chief minister said
Those who called on the chief minister included MNAs
Chaudhry Khalid Javed Warraich, Dr Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti,
Ghulam Bibi Bharwana and Sardar Ashiq Hussain Gopang.
Russia keen to establish trade relations with Pakistan
SIALKOT, Nov 15 (APP): Commercial Counselor of Embassy
of Russia in Pakistan Sergey Baranov on Wednesday said Russia was keen to establish strong bilateral trade relations
with Pakistan.
He said this while addressing a meeting of exporters held at the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here on Wednesday.
SCCI President Zahid Latif Malik presided over the meeting
while SCCI Vice President Abid Ahmed Khawaja, Dr Mariyam
Nouman, Chairman SCCI Departmental Committee on Women Entrepreneurs, Waqas Akram Awan and others also attended it.
The commercial counselor said the Russia was also keen to
develop strong Business-to-Business contacts between businessmen of Pakistan and Russia besides making sincere efforts to explore the mutual trade potential as well.
Meanwhile, Sergey Baranov showed keen interest in the
Sialkot-made sports goods and surgical instruments during his visit to several leading industrial units. He witnessed the
production process of sports goods and he highly hailed the
international standard craftsmanship of the Sialkot based
artisans.
On this occasion, Russian Envoy Sergey Baranov said that
Russia was intending to boost the mutual trade ties with Pakistan besides making all-out sincere efforts to strengthen the mutual trade.
Addressing the meeting, SCCI President Zahid Latif Malik
stressed the need to establish a proper and well-planned
banking channel between Pakistan and Russia, saying that
the mutual trade and business could never be developed
without proper banking system in Russia as well.
PM chairs meeting on net hydel profits; issue amicably resolved
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP): Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi chaired a high level meeting on the issue of net hydel profits here at the PM’s Office on Wednesday.
The issue of net hydel profits was amicably resolved during the meeting after taking into account the claims of the two provincial governments and modus operandi for the settlement of the amount involved, a press release issued by the PM’s Media Office here said.
The meeting was attended by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, Punjab’s Minister for Finance Ms Ayesha Ghous, secretaries Finance, Water and Power divisions, chief secretaries and senior officials of the federal and provincial governments.
SP among four killed in Quetta firing
QUETTA, Nov 15 (APP): Four persons, including Superintendent of Police (SP) City Investigation Muhammad Ilyas, his wife and a son, were killed and his daughter was injured when their vehicle was fired upon by unidentified gunmen in Nawan Killi area of the provincial capital on Wednesday evening.
According to police sources, the SP along with his family was on the way to home when the assailants riding on a
motorbike opened fire at them. His daughter, who was received bullet injuries, was rushed to the Civil Hospital.
The dead bodies of the SP, his wife and son Abdul Wahab, and Muhammad Adeel Advocate, who was also accompanying them, were also shifted to the Civil Hospital.
Upon information, the police reached the site of incident and cordoned off the entire area.
PIIA hosts `Peace in South Asia’ conference
KARACHI, Nov 15 (APP):A two-day moot on `Peace in South
Asia: Opportunities and Challenges’ commenced here on
Wednesday.
The conference is being organized by the Pakistan Institute
of International Affairs (PIIA) to mark their 70th anniversary.
Dr. Masuma Hassan, Chairperson PIIA, in her welcome address
said `South Asia is no exception to war and conflict. It is home
to some of the most intractable disputes, including that of
Kashmir. We have invited scholars from south asia and other
countries so that we can discuss the dynamics and factors in
pursuit of peace in our region’.
Chairman Parliamentary Committee on China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor (CPEC), Senator Mushahid Hussain, in his keynote address
further said that Peace in the region can help us achieve
untapped potential of South Asian natural resources while
providing employment opportunities to millions of youth and
eradicating poverty in the region. It will also help us wipe out
threat existing in the form of problems of water sharing, climate
change, environmental degradation.
Pakistan is the center of the regional trade and has
geo-strategic value. CPEC is the centerpiece and flagship in the
history of Pakistan, he added.
Scholars from leading think tanks, academia and diplomats in
the region were invited to participate in this conference.
Devika Mittal, Convener, Aaghaz-e-Dosti, Delhi, India,
through video message said about `Peace Education in
India-Pakistan Context: Praxis and Potentials’ in the same
session highlighted that `Focusing specifically on peace
education, a lot depends on the attitude of teachers like the
school management, towards peace education, its objective and
importance’.
`Teacher’s own understanding of these issues is crucial. In
the situation of a conflict between a teacher’s understanding and
the narrative in textbooks, it will be the teacher who will tend
to have an upper hand’.
Naresh Prasad Shrestha, Chairman, Director Institute of
Strategic and Socio-Economic Research, Kathmandu, Nepal, spoke
about Peace, Connectivity, Trade and Investment in South Asia: A
Nepalese Perspective.
The session three was about Informal Diplomacy and
Connecting with the People which was chaired by Ambassador
Najmuddin Shaikh, while Ambassador Aziz Ahmed Khan, Honorary Vice
President, Jinnah Institute, Islamabad, spoke about Informal
Diplomacy and Connecting People: Track II Dialogue Process.
Jehan Perera, Chairman, National Peace Council, Colombo, Sri
Lanka, spoke about `Priority Issues for Reconciliation in Sri Lanka’.
The session four is `Cooperation on Social Issues’ which
chaired by Senator (R) Javed Jabbar while Mahnaz Rahman,
Resident Director, Aurat Foundation, Karachi, delivered speech on
`Women’s Movement and Peace Building in South Asia’.