Islamabad, OCT 17 /DNA/ – Hanif Abbasi former Special Assistant to Prime Minister and Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry former Federal Minister along with Senator Ahmed Khan, Zia ullah Shah & Raja Hanif Advocate former MPAs, Sardar Nasim Khan former Mayor Rawalpindi and Farah Naz Akbar President PML-N Women Wing Islamabad visited Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) to congratulate the new Office Bearers of ICCI.

Addressing the business community, Hanif Abbasi and Dr. Fazal Tariq Chaudhry assured that they would fully support ICCI in its efforts for the establishment of a new industrial zone and representation of sitting President ICCI in CDA Board. They said that 11 new routes for Islamabad have been finalized and very soon the citizens would see electric businesses on the roads of the Capital that would provide quality transport and reduce 50% traffic flow. They said that all dead development projects of the twin cities including Bara Kahu Bypass and Rawal Road Interchange have been revived to address traffic issues and facilitate the growth of business activities. They further assured that they would cooperate in addressing all highlighted issues including expediting work on IJP Road and de-sealing of Centaurus Mall. They also asked the business community to cooperate with the government for providing relief to the flood affectees.

Senator Ahmed Khan also stressed that the government should cooperate with ICCI in materialization of the industrial zone project and representation in the CDA Board.

In his welcome address, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that ICCI has been making efforts since long for the establishment of a new industrial zone in the region to boost industrialization and representation of sitting President in CDA Board to safeguard the interests of business community and requested that both politicians should cooperate with ICCI in these important initiatives. He stressed that the Capital should be made a protests free city and a separate venue may be earmarked for such political activities to save the businesses from any losses. He said that the DC rates for land prices have been hiked by 400-500 percent due to which the business of real estate sector was suffering and emphasized that these rates should be rationalized to facilitate the growth of business activities. He said that work on IJP road may be expedited to save businesses and commuters from problems and a parking plaza in every major market in Capital may be built to address the parking issues.  

Azhar ul Islam Zafar, Vice President, ICCI said that the closure of Centaurus Mall has rendered about 4000 persons unemployed and around 300 families have been made homeless and requested that both politicians should cooperate in resolving this issue amicably.

Zafar Bakhtawari, former President ICCI presented a cheque of Rupees one million to Hanif Abbasi for the relief of flood affectees.  

Khalid Javed, Mian Akram Farid, Zubair Ahmed Malik, Muhammad Ejaz Abbasi, Baser Daud, Sheikh Amir Waheed, Muhammad Naveed Malik, Khalid Chaudhry and others were also present at the occasion.  

ISLAMABAD, OCT 17: Chairman PTI Imran Khan is addressing a press conference after the party meeting held to chalk out the next line of action in the wake of a landslide victory in Sunday’s by-polls.

Khan alleged that the elections were held in the constituencies where PTI was weak and the ruling coalition fielded joint candidates to ensure his party’s defeat — but they failed.

He said that the government did not wish to hold elections and used floods as an excuse. “They said that there were floods. But in the constituencies where elections were held, floods did not have an effect there.”

Khan claimed that he lost Karachi’s Malir by-polls to a PPP candidate — Abdul Hakeem Baloch — as it was rigged.

“Sindh’s election commissioner was on the provincial government’s payroll. We reject [Malir’s] by-election and demand re-election,” the PTI chairman said.

He said the nation does not accept this legislature and wants new polls across the country.

Khan announces decisions of party’s senior leadership

• PTI to call special session of KP, Punjab assemblies on torture of its leaders, journalists;
• PTI senators to file petition against torture of its leaders;
• Party to write letters to int’l oragnisations — human rights committee in Geneva, UN special rapporteur on torture, EU special representative on human rights, int’l parliamentary union;
• Long march to be held any time soon.

Earlier, PTI leader Faisal Javed said chairman Khan would soon announce the course of action regarding long march after consulting with the PTI leadership.

Javed said the party’s decision on the final long march call would be revealed after the meeting.

Former prime minister Imran Khan won the majority of seats in by-polls on Sunday, building forward momentum in his drive to push the six-month-old Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government into announcing an early general election.

The PTI chairman contested seven of eight seats and secured six, while PPP, part of the ruling coalition, claimed the other two seats.

While Khan will have to quit from all but one of the seats won — and polls will have to follow — the victory indicates his political narrative was popular among voters.

The cricket-turned-politician, who was sent home through a no-confidence vote in April, has been addressing huge public meetings across Pakistan demanding early elections. 

The PTI’s key meeting, chaired by Imran Khan, was primarily held to decide on when to push their strategic envelope for mounting pressure on the government in the shape of a final ultimatum for early elections.

The meeting also consulted on finalising a date for the long march, while the report on the initial results of the by-elections also came under review.  

ISLAMABAD, OCT 17 /DNA/ – Pakistani telecom company, PTCL has signed an agreement with evision – the media and entertainment wing of global telecom services provider, e& – to launch its own video streaming platform in Pakistan.

The new Digital Video Over-The-Top (OTT) platform will host the richest collection of Hollywood and Pakistani entertainment content besides a rich assortment of national and international news and sports channels, thereby catering to the diverse news and entertainment needs of everyone in the family.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, OCT 17: Founding Chairman (now Patron-in-Chief) of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), academician, statesman, veteran politician who is also internationally known as the father of Islamic Economics Professor Khurshid Ahmad has been bestowed with Turkey’s prestigious Islamic Economics Award for his lifelong contributions to the field of Islamic Economics and Finance, during the 10^th Islamic Economics Workshop being held in Istanbul.

The award is announced each year by the Islamic Economics Research Center (IKAM), which is based in Istanbul, and works under the umbrella of the popularly known ILKE Science, Culture and Education Foundation (İlim Kültür Eğitim Vakfı), Turkey.

The prestigious award, which has been previously won by eminent scholars like Dr Omar Chapra, Prof Monzer Kahf and Dr Sabri Orman (late) in the preceding years, was received by Istanbul-based Pakistani academician Ahsan Shafiq on behalf of the Professor, who could not travel to attend the ceremony himself due to his old age and staggering health. 

Islamabad, OCT 17 /DNA/ – The President has urged the need for early finalization of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE to enable Pakistan to increase its exports, adding that Pakistan also needs to explore new avenues in economic diplomacy and investments with UAE. He said that bilateral trade between Pakistan and UAE could be further increased from its current level of USD 10.6 billion to make it commensurate with our excellent relations and close geographic proximity. He made these remarks while talking to Pakistan’s Ambassador-designate to UAE, Mr. Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, who called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, today.

The President highlighted that there was huge potential for cooperation between the two countries in the field of renewable energy, commercial, industrial, infrastructure development and hospitality sectors. He noted that 1.6 million strong Pakistani diaspora in the UAE was an asset and was playing a significant role in the progress and development of the two countries. He said that the remittances sent by the Pakistani diaspora stood US $ 5.814 billion in 2021-22 which hugely helped Pakistan to overcome its foreign exchange requirements. 

The President conveyed his gratitude to the UAE government for providing assistance to the flood victims in Pakistan, which included 57 humanitarian assistance flights and 2 ships carrying relief goods from UAE. He appreciated the support of UAE to Pakistan at FATF and IMF and the deposits made by the Government of UAE to the tune of US$ 2 billion to enhance Pakistan’s liquidity and foreign exchange reserves. While expressing his satisfaction over the Foreign Direct Investment of US$ 2.9 billion made by UAE in Pakistan, he said that there was a need to increase this investment in the coming years. 

The President asked the Ambassador-designate to create digital linkages of the Pakistani diaspora with the online higher education institutions of Pakistan like AIOU and Virtual University to help them improve their digital skills and also take up high-value courses to enhance their capacity and skills level, which would help them in improving their income. He especially highlighted the DigiSkills Training program of the Prime Minister, which could be promoted among the diaspora in order to equip them with the requirements of developed economies.

The President also advised the envoy to sensitize the UAE leadership with regard to increasing cases of Islamophobia in Indian society and their pursuit of Hindutva, which was endangering the lives of minorities, especially Muslims.