ISLAMABAD, 5 DEC /DNA/ – The 6th round of Pakistan-Mexico BPC was held in Islamabad today. The Pakistani delegation was led by AS (Americas) Ambassador Mariam Aftab while the Mexican delegation was led by Ambassador Jose Tripp DG (Africa, Central Asia & ME) of Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and regional and multilateral developments. They agreed to further deepen and broaden dialogue and cooperation in multiple domains.
SAID ALAM KHAN / DNA
PESHAWAR: At least seven people, including three school children, sustained injuries, two of them serious, in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast on Warsak Road here on Tuesday morning.
According to police, the explosive was planted alongside the road near a private bank and a school. The explosives blasted with a big bang as glasses of nearby buildings shattered by the explosion.
Rescue teams and security personnel reached the spot within minutes and moved the injured to Lady Reading Hospital. The injured children are between seven and 10 years of age, the hospital sources said adding the condition of a nine-year-old child is serious.
The injured have been identified as Ahmed Zia, Ehsanullah, Javed Khan, Zahirullah, Saad Ahmed, Shakirullah and Yusuf Khan. The staff of the nearby bank remained unhurt.
Talking to media persons, SP Arshad Khan said that the blast took place at around 9:10 am saying four-kilogram explosives were used in the blast.
According to Bilal Ahmad Faizi, the spokesman for emergency rescue services, an IED went off on Warsak Road in the morning. Police officials said that there was no indication that school children were the target of the attack.
According to the CCTV video, the explosion took place at 9:11 AM. The explosive material was installed in the divider in the middle of the road.
Traffic was as per routine at the time of the blast. The blast caused severe damage to nearby buildings. In the video, a police mobile can be seen passing by a few seconds before the explosion.
Peshawar has been witnessing such acts of terrorism since long. As many as 149 people including 132 schoolchildren were killed when terrorists attacked Army Public School on December 16, 2014 in Peshawar.
Ambassador of Jordan to Pakistan, Maen Khreisat calls on Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani at Parliament House
Mehtab Pirzada
ISLAMABAD, 5 DEC /DNA/ – Maen Khreisat, the Ambassador of Jordan to Pakistan called on Chairman Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani today at the Parliament House. The discussion primarily focused on strengthening bilateral ties and addressing pressing humanitarian issues.
The Ambassador and Chairman Senate delved into the current situation in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, condemning the Israeli actions and emphasizing the broader implications for the Middle East region. Chairman Senate appreciated the efforts of King Abdullah bin Hussein of Jordan in seeking an end to the ongoing crisis. Recognizing Jordan’s pivotal role as the custodian of Masjid Al Aqsa Compound and underscoring its historical significance in maintaining peace in Alquds Jerusalem.
Ambassador Khreisat highlighted Jordan’s continuous support for the Palestinian people, including the establishment and replenishment of a hospital in Gaza to provide crucial medical services. Given Jordan’s historical commitment to Palestinian refugees, the Ambassador stressed their ongoing efforts to assist in times of need.
The Chairman Senate called for efforts to achieve heightened international awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank. He urged collective efforts to end the suffering of innocent Palestinians and emphasized the necessity of a resolution in accordance with international law. Genocidal actions and war crimes of zionist Israeli regime in Palestinian territories were condemned.
Acknowledging the enduring fraternal ties between Jordan and Pakistan, rooted in shared religious and cultural values, Jordanian Ambassador expressed a commitment to further strengthening these bonds. Chairman Senate proposed an increase in bilateral trade and economic relations, reflecting the mutual desire for enhanced cooperation between Pakistan and Jordan.
The meeting concluded with a shared determination to foster collaboration not only in addressing immediate challenges but also in building a stronger foundation for sustained partnership between the two nations.
ISLAMABAD, 5 DEC /DNA/ – The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) and Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Tuesday discussed the prospects of initiating a city-to-city collaboration between the two countries in order to promote sustainable governance in the global south through climate resilient urban planning.
The collaboration came under discussion during a meeting between Jemal Beker Abdula, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the FDRE to Pakistan and Captain (retd) Anwarul Haq, Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Chief Commissioner Islamabad.
Both sides discussed matters of mutual interest including knowledge exchange between the administrations of both the countries’ capital cities—Addis Ababa and Islamabad.
Ambassador Jemal Beker Abdula briefed the CDA chairman about the overwhelming response received by the Green Legacy Initiative of H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of FDR Ethiopia, from around the world.
He said Ethiopia had planted more than 32 billion seedlings of different trees, fruits and animal feed during the last four years. “Our government’s target is to plant over 50 billion plants by the end of 2025,” he added.
The ambassador also appreciated the services rendered by the CDA in beautifying Capital city Islamabad. “The clean and green environment ensured by the CDA in Islamabad is very impressive and we look forward to have a strong collaboration between the administrations of Islamabad and Addis Ababa.”
CDA Chairman Captain (retd) Anwarul Haq agreed to the proposal and said exchange of knowledge and skill between the two countries would eventually promote sustainable governance and development in the global south.
He said the Islamabad administration was making all-out efforts to ensure clean and green environment in the well-planned city of Pakistan.
GAZA CITY: Israeli forces pressed ahead with their air and ground bombardment of the southern Gaza Strip, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians, even as the United States and the United Nations repeatedly urged them to protect civilians.
The Israeli military said that three more soldiers were killed during fighting and four others were seriously wounded in various battles in the Gaza Strip.
More than 80 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave, the UN said on Tuesday, citing official Israeli sources.
Asked on Monday about the mounting death toll since a truce collapsed between Israel and Hamas on Friday, Israel’s closest ally the United States said it was too soon to say whether Israel was doing enough to protect civilians and that it expected Israel not to strike zones it has identified as safe.
Residents and journalists on the ground said the intense Israeli air strikes in the south of the densely populated coastal enclave included areas where Israel had told people to seek shelter.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to Israel to avoid further action that would make the already dire humanitarian situation in Hamas-run Gaza worse, and to spare civilians from more suffering.
“The Secretary-General is extremely alarmed by the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Hamas… For people ordered to evacuate, there is nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
Israel largely captured the northern half of Gaza in November, and since a week-long truce collapsed on Friday they have swiftly pushed deep into the southern half.
UNGA President repeats call for Gaza ceasefire
UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis said he was “deeply alarmed and saddened by the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East” and repeated his call for “a longer-term humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip.
He also called for the unconditional release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas and for the unimpeded access to aid to Palestinians in the enclave.
More than 130 hostages still in Gaza, says Israeli military
Israel’s military said on Tuesday that 137 hostages are still being held by Hamas inside Gaza, including 17 women and children.
“We have a moral obligation to continue to do everything to bring everyone home,” it said on X.
Latest casualty figures
Gaza
Killed: 15,899
Wounded: 42,000
Occupied West Bank
Killed: 260
Wounded: 3,365
Israel
Killed: 1,147 in October 7 attack (revised down from 1,400)
Soldiers killed since October 7: 404
Wounded: 8,730
Source: Palestinian Health Ministry, Israeli army
Mumbai: Dinesh Phadnis, celebrated for his portrayal of Fredericks in the legendary television series CID, has passed away at the age of 57.
Dayanand Shetty, his co-actor renowned for playing Daya on CID, confirmed his demise, stating that Dinesh breathed his last while receiving treatment at Mumbai’s Tunga Hospital.
Shetty revealed that Dinesh succumbed to multiple organ failure, citing complications that led to him being taken off the ventilator the previous night. The actor’s funeral is scheduled in Mumbai.
By: Syed M Ilyas
Over the years, the institution of the Wafaqi Mohtasib has emerged as a strong and effective bulwark against bureaucratic red tape, maladministration, arbitrary decision making and delays, thereby providing relief to millions of downtrodden Pakistanis, who are often at the receiving end and remain a victim of such delays and hiccups.
At independence, the country inherited a colonial type of bureaucratic machinery typically rooted in archaic rules and regulations, which have seldom been updated to meet the requirements of the present age.
It seriously hampered the capacity to address public grievances and to provide prompt relief. Secondly, the bureaucracy itself was neither trained nor motivated to respond to such challenges and to find out of the box solutions. Resultantly, the public kept suffering for too long as the outdated system continued to take its toll.
The silent prayers of the people were finally answered in 1983 when the government decided to establish the office of the Federal Ombudsman through a Presidential Order to address such issues. However, in the beginning, it’s functioning remained subdued and the bulk of the people were either unaware of its existence or simply didn’t understand its utility & methodology how to get relief, in case of any wrongdoing by a govt .agency.
It was only at the turn of the new century and with the onset of the communication technology proliferation particularly the private media, mobile & Internet, which had helped to turn over a new leaf & gave a big boost to its working.
During the last one decade or so, the institution of the Wafaqi Mohtasib has been catapulted into prominence and the people of Pakistan are literally heaving a sigh of relief over the silver lining that emerged amidst dark clouds.
Metaphorically, it’s a whiff of the fresh air, heralding a new era of hope and promise. Free of cost justice and that too at their doorstep is really something taking the people by surprise. It is unparalleled in the country’s 75 years of chequered history.
DNA
ISLAMABAD: In a smart move, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Core Committee decided to speed up its peaceful political activities across the country and special instructions were issued to PTI Punjab chanpter to start preparations for holding workers conventions across the province after successful workers conventions in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
PTI Core Committee meeting congratulated all the party’s officials including the newly elected PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan for their unopposed election in the recently held intra-party elections after their nomination by PTI founding Chairman Imran Khan.
The forum held out assurance to the newly elected Chairman Barrister Gohar of their full support and cooperation and expressed best wishes for him.
They said that the PTI founding Chairman had dealt a crushing blow to the decades-old hereditary and dynastic political system in the country by nominating a capable and loyal party worker for the top post of the party.
It was said that the PTI Core Committee had already allotted the post of life time chairmanship to the PTI founding chairman Imran Khan.
During the meeting, the forum decided to expediate peaceful political activities across the country and gave approval to hold workers’ convention in Punjab after KP for which intrustoins were issued to party’s organizational officials to start the preparations for holding workers’ conventions in the largest province of the country at the earliest.
PTI core committee voiced strong concerns over the issue of non-disbursement of the much-needed funds for the forthcoming general elections. The forum urged the caretaker government to release the funds without any further delay for holding general elections.
They made it clear that the entire nation was well-ware of the real objectives and goals of the caretaker government regarding holding free, fair and transparent elections.
PTI Core Committee vowed that the nation would not accept any obstacle in the way of holding elections on the scheduled date due to non-availability of funds or any kind of unconstitutional and illegal execuse.
The forum also expressed a strong resentment over taking the returning officers (ROs) from administration instead of the Judiciary, adding that it was a plan of pre-poll rigging in all respects. Therefore, the participants of the meeting underlined that any deliberate or inadvertent attempt to affect the transparency of the elections would be a criminal attack on the national interest as well as democracy.
PTI Core Committee made it clear that the nation would neither accept any such attempt nor would it allow election rigging by administrative officers come what may.
They demanded that the electoral wachdog should immediately withdraw the decision of appointing administrative officers as ROs and hand over the responsibility of conducting the elections to impartial judicial officers.
PTI Core Committee strongly protested against non provision of unhindered access to the national and international media to the trial of the PTI founding chairman Imran Khan in jail despite clear the court orders, adding that denying access to media representatives, independent observers or the public to the proceedings of the trial believed the very concept of an open trial.
The forum urged that the caretaker government should shun the practice of disregarding the court orders and give unhindered access to the representatives of domestic and foreign media in next hearing of the case.
ISLAMABAD, DEC 04 (DNA) — Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Shirwa Abdullahi Ibrahim along with the Rector of Somalia National University, Prof. Dr. Hassan Osman Gaal and the Rector of Somalia’s Benadir University Prof. Dr. Mohamed Mohamud Hassan, Monday, called on Dr. Hathal Homoud Alotaibi, President, International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) at his office at New Campus.
During the meeting issues pertaining to mutual interests including promotions of education and enhancement of educational ties between higher education institutions of both countries were discussed.
It was agreed that cooperation from IIUI in various faculties can pave the way for further improvement in Somalian Higher educational Institutions. On this occasion they agreed to strengthen bilateral educational ties between IIUI and Somalian universities.
During the meeting mentioning the auspicious services and significant role of Prof. Dr. Hatahl Homoud Alotaibi, President International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), the Somali Ambassador appreciated the university’s vision of quality education, students centric approach and progress in research.
Somali Ambassador said IIUI is a source of attraction for a large number of students in Somalia. He thanked the IIUI President for taking good care of the Somali students studying at IIUI.
The IIUI President apprised the Ambassador of the university’s history, future plans, vision and recent activities and achievements. He said IIUI is eager to welcome and facilitate more Somali students at IIUI. He opined that IIUI has a diversified cultural environment where a large number of countries are represented by foreign students.
He shared that in the previous 3 years, as a result of the reforms under varsity’s new strategic plan, the university has gained dynamic place in rankings across the world as well as its achievements have doubled. He assured that IIUI will be available to discuss exchange of professionals with Somali universities and it will also help them to hunt best Somali Alumni of IIUI. — DNA
DNA
ISLAMABAD, DEC 4: Building Control Directorate of Capital Development Authority has introduced state-of-the-art fast-track service by modernizing the system of providing amenities to the citizens. In this context, on Monday, CDA has started to ensure the approval of the building plan in the facilitation center on fast track. Under this modern and fastest system, residential buildings of 356 yards will now be approved with an additional fee of 20,000 thousand with required documents within 2 days, while residential buildings larger than 356 yards will be approved with a fee of 30,000 thousand.
Additionally, commercial buildings up to 10000 square yards will also be approved within 3 days. A separate desk has also been established for all these matters. It should be noted that the citizens coming to this place will not have to stand in the line of one window separately. Similarly, arrangements have been made to sit in a good environment for the citizens who come here. After receiving the token, the citizens came to the fast track service will be able to go to the relevant desk on their number and get their case processed by the relevant desk.
It should be noted that with the establishment of fast track service, the citizens coming to the CDA Facilitation Center will neither have to wait for a long time nor will they have to stand in lines. Similarly, after the paper documents are completed, the citizens will not have to wait unnecessarily and their case will be approved immediately. It should be noted that Fast Track Services is the first and modern facility of its kind across the country, the scope of which will be extended to other desks later.
