ANKARA, NOV 25: Launching ceremony of the third of the fourth MILGEM class corvette, PNS Khaibar, for Pakistan Navy was held today at Istanbul Naval Shipyard. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan graced the occasion as chief guests.

The PNS Khaibar was launched with a prayer by both leaders for its safe functioning. Both leaders also jointly performed keel laying and steel cutting of the offshore patrol vessels for Turkish Navy.

Addressing the ceremony, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the exceptional nature of Pakistan-Türkiye relations and the historic tradition of supporting each other during times of trial and tribulation.

Tracing the glorious history of deep rooted bilateral fraternal ties, the Prime Minister said that the defence collaboration between Pakistan and Türkiye for the construction of MILGEM class warships was aimed at promoting peace and warding off aggression. He called for further strengthening of joint defence production capabilities. The Prime Minister added that the Pakistan-Türkiye strategic partnership was a source of stability for the entire region.

The Prime Minister greatly appreciated President Erdoğan’s personally supervising the assistance effort from Türkiye to Pakistan in the aftermath of the devastating floods in Pakistan.

In his address, President Erdoğan noted that the two countries shared a strategic relationship as they mark the 75th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. He highlighted that the Turkish people had not forgotten the assistance from the Muslims of the subcontinent during its national struggle. President Erdoğan termed defence cooperation an important pillar of the bilateral relationship and congratulated everyone involved in the successful execution of the MILGEM project.

Speaker of Turkish Grand National Assembly Mustafa Şentop, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, and Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank also attended the event. From Pakistan side, Minister of Defence Production Muhammad Israr Tareen, Minister of Commerce Naveed Qamar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Maryum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Fahd Hussain, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, and Chief of the Naval Staff of Pakistan Admiral M Amjad Khan Niazi attended the ceremony.

Earlier, upon his arrival at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard, the Prime Minister was received by Turkish President Erdoğan and presented a guard of honour.

The contract for four MILGEM Class Corvettes for Pakistan Navy was signed in 2018. Under the contract, two ships were to be constructed at Istanbul Naval Shipyard and the other two at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works. Induction of MILGEM warships in Pakistan Navy fleet will augment its capability and contribute in its efforts towards maintaining peace and security in the Indian Ocean Region.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President of Türkiye participate in the launching of the MILGEM Class Corvette for Pakistan Navy, 25th November 2022

Launching ceremony of the third of the fourth MILGEM class corvette, PNS Khaibar, for Pakistan Navy was held today at Istanbul Naval Shipyard. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan graced the occasion as chief guests.

The PNS Khaibar was launched with a prayer by both leaders for its safe functioning. Both leaders also jointly performed keel laying and steel cutting of the offshore patrol vessels for Turkish Navy.

Addressing the ceremony, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the exceptional nature of Pakistan-Türkiye relations and the historic tradition of supporting each other during times of trial and tribulation.

Tracing the glorious history of deep rooted bilateral fraternal ties, the Prime Minister said that the defence collaboration between Pakistan and Türkiye for the construction of MILGEM class warships was aimed at promoting peace and warding off aggression. He called for further strengthening of joint defence production capabilities. The Prime Minister added that the Pakistan-Türkiye strategic partnership was a source of stability for the entire region.

The Prime Minister greatly appreciated President Erdoğan’s personally supervising the assistance effort from Türkiye to Pakistan in the aftermath of the devastating floods in Pakistan.

In his address, President Erdoğan noted that the two countries shared a strategic relationship as they mark the 75th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. He highlighted that the Turkish people had not forgotten the assistance from the Muslims of the subcontinent during its national struggle. President Erdoğan termed defence cooperation an important pillar of the bilateral relationship and congratulated everyone involved in the successful execution of the MILGEM project.

Speaker of Turkish Grand National Assembly Mustafa Şentop, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, and Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank also attended the event. From Pakistan side, Minister of Defence Production Muhammad Israr Tareen, Minister of Commerce Naveed Qamar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Maryum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Fahd Hussain, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, and Chief of the Naval Staff of Pakistan Admiral M Amjad Khan Niazi attended the ceremony.

Earlier, upon his arrival at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard, the Prime Minister was received by Turkish President Erdoğan and presented a guard of honour.

The contract for four MILGEM Class Corvettes for Pakistan Navy was signed in 2018. Under the contract, two ships were to be constructed at Istanbul Naval Shipyard and the other two at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works. Induction of MILGEM warships in Pakistan Navy fleet will augment its capability and contribute in its efforts towards maintaining peace and security in the Indian Ocean Region.

By Faisal Munir
ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary Ministry of Aviation and Member
National Assembly Malik Sohail Khan has said on Friday that Prime
Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif deserves praise for his decision to
appoint General Asim Munir as the Army Chief, who played his role in
bringing the country out of a state of anxiety in a timely manner. The
Pakistan Army is the protector of the country’s borders and their
respect is the duty of every Pakistani. The manner in which
discussions and defamatory criticisms have been going on on social
media regarding the retired army chiefs and incoming chiefs of the
Pakistan Army for the last few days is dangerous for the country.

Parliamentary Secretary Aviation said the Army is an organized
institution which has to function according to its constitutional role
Criticizing the chiefs of Pakistan’s armed forces for no reason cannot
be the work of patriotic people. After the appointment of the Army
Chief, the PTI real Azadi March has no significance, all the noise was
for the appointment of the Army Chief.

Malik Sohail Khan said that when the appointment process has been
completed on the instructions of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz
Sharif, now a plan is being made to march towards Islamabad for face
saving, which will fail miserably. Imran Khan came with the mission of
blocking the road for the common people to fulfill his goals This is
something that should be dealt with according to law.

Parliamentary Secretary Aviation has said that Every Pakistani expects
from the newly appointed Army Chief General Asim Munir that the army
will continue to work in the best interests of the country and the
nation while remaining limited to its constitutional role.

RAWALPINDI: Outgoing Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Nadeem Raza’s farewell to arms ceremony was held at the Joint Staff Headquarters on Friday, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

According to the military’s media wing, General Nadeem Raza is retiring on November 26 after 41 years of illustrious military service. The farewell ceremony was attended by former CJCSC’s and senior officers of the tri-services.

In the farewell address, General Raza thanked Allah Almighty for enabling him to discharge his duties to the best of his abilities with honesty, justice and dignity.

He applauded the sacrifices rendered by the armed forces in defending the motherland, said the ISPR.

The outgoing CJCSC reiterated that defence of the country is impregnable and gallant soldiers will not hesitate in making it even more formidable.

A smartly turned out tri-services contingent presented guard of honour to the chairman joint chiefs of staff committee on arrival at the venue. 

Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza appointed as new CJCSC

Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza will take over from Gen Raza after his appointment.

A day earlier, uncertainty surrounding key appointments in the military ended after President Arif Alvi signed the summary and approved the appointment of General Asim Munir as the next chief of army staff and Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee (CJCSC).

“President Dr Arif Alvi has promoted Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza HI(M) to the rank of General with immediate effect and appointed him as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee with effect from 27th November 2022. The President promoted Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir HI(M) to the rank of General with immediate effect and appointed him as Chief of Army Staff with effect from 29th November 2022,” said a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat.

It added that the promotions and appointments have been made under article 243(4) (a) and (b) and Article 48(1) of the Constitution of the Pakistan. Both the articles are to be read with Sections 8-A and 8-D of the Pakistan Army Act 1952.

In this regard, the President has signed the summary received in his office. 

Both — Gen Munir and General Mirza — met PM Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi, separately, after the confirmation of their appointment as the new chief of army staff and joint chief of staff committee.

DNA

Islamabad, NOV 25: The standard of journalism in Pakistan is gradually deteriorating as many journalists have become biased parties, listening to one side, and then building and reporting narratives in a distorted way. This way, they are not only failing to report the truth but also creating instability and confusion in the society.

These views were expressed by Ariful Haque Arif, a veteran journalist and social activist, during a session held at Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad. The discussion was also partaken by Chairman IPS Khalid Rahman, Saleem Bismil, former secretary, AJ&K, Dr Ijaz Shafi Gilani, founder Gallup Pakistan, Rauf Klasra, a renowned journalist and columnist, and other prominent media persons.

Presenting his observations on the current situation of journalism in Pakistan, Arif stated that extreme polarization, blame games, false narrative building, and threatening of opponents is having significant repercussions on the country and its society. Due to the causal effect of journalism in politics, and in turn on the society as whole, a journalist should not act as a powerbroker, unless it falls under the umbrella of national interest and political stability.

He emphasized that media persons need to learn lessons from pre-independence journalists like Zafar Ali Khan, Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Abdul Majeed Salik, Charag Hasan Hasrat, and Ghulam Rasool Mehar, who were leaders as well as authors and historians at the same time, uniting people on one hand, and shaping public opinion for the better on the other.

The speaker also saw building and strengthening of independent institutions indispensable for development, growth and stability of the country. To achieve this, he viewed, politicians and policymakers needed to be strong, sincere and honest, making sure that they do not politicize the institutions for their own gains. On the other hand, journalists must also maintain objectivity to preserve media as an effective pillar of the state, he concluded.

ISLAMABAD, NOV 25 /DNA/ – The kind of socio-political polarization, toxicity and utter lack of tolerance being witnessed in the society today – where we have stopped listening, rather listen to attack – is increasingly and alarmingly becoming a political and social culture. This deadly mix also takes a devastating toll on the social capital, and has repercussions for the economic output of the country.

These remarks were made by Dr. Huma Baqai, Rector, Millennium Institute of Technology and Entrepreneurship (MITE), Karachi, during the Sindh Chapter of Paving Pathways to Social Cohesion – Faculty Members Workshop Series, organized by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) at and in collaboration with MITE.

She further said that unfortunately, Pakistan today has become a country which is suffering from brain drain, much more than it has ever experienced in the past due to disillusionment among youth so much so that they don’t see a future for themselves in the country.

In this entire scenario, there is a huge onus on faculty members – given their youth outreach potential – as nurturers and mentors to sow seeds of peace in the minds of the young people who will become the leaders of tomorrow. In a country like Pakistan where around 65 percent of the overall population is under the age of 30, such an intervention becomes ever more important.

While we are teaching skills and technology – as market needs, let us not forget teaching the lubricants as dire needs of the society for cohesion, where the lubricants are tolerance, inclusion, rule of law, equality and equity, and no society can grow without these lubricants.

Diversity is an asset the society needs the most. Only by equally accessible justice – to everyone regardless of individual identities/ backgrounds, can rule of law be upheld. In the endeavor to bolster women empowerment, it is extremely important to onboard and sensitize male members of the society.

Paving Pathways to Social Cohesion is a great initiative, in fact, couldn’t be timelier as this is the kind of lubricant that our society needs at this moment in time to peacefully and respectfully coexist and pursue shared goals of development and prosperity.

The workshop screened four original short films produced by the Center on the core values of social cohesion, where the participating faculty members representing different universities across Karachi actively and critically participated in the discussions had throughout the workshop.

 They said that while social mobility is about equal opportunity to every member of the society for growth and development, we should not selfishly pursue our dreams that it reduces space for others to pursue their dreams to avoid the paradox. Our best agency and opportunity to bring a positive social change is at home.

We should make no mistakes in attributing subjecting ideas to different social identities as it can have negative consequences. We must take the courage to speak about the issues though hard to speak about but so critical to the long-term peace and stability in the society. The media discourse and content must also be inclusive of the messages that promote harmony and mutual respect. Young generation is highly malleable, and not necessarily resistant to good messages, they just need good guidance.