DNA

ISLAMABAD, Observing International Rural Women’s Day (Saturday) the rural women from 123 districts present the 15th Annual Rural Women Conference by PODA-Pakistan here at Lok Virsa demanded to set minimum age for marriage for girls 18 years. They said that this age limit should be for all beyond race, ethnicity and creed.

The Three-Day Annual Rural Women Conference organized by PODA-Pakistan and supported for European Union Delegation to Pakistan, Election Commission of Pakistan, National Database Registration Authority (NADRA), GIZ and National Endowment for Democracy concluded today (Saturday) on passing a unanimously agreed resolutions highlighting rural women’s issues at the grassroots level to ensure their constitutional rights. PODA-Pakistan has been organizing the Annual Rural Women Conference since 2008 in Islamabad.

Urging the legislators, policy makers and parliamentarians to main the primary principle of gender equality enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan to uphold women’s political, social and economic rights, the gathering passed a set of resolutions unanimously. The resolution focused mainly on the areas of health, education, women’s financial inclusion, climate change, access to basic social services, political participation and women’s constitutional and citizenship rights while highlighting the need to adhere and ensure the principle of equal representation of rural women at all levels, policy, planning and implementation.

The conference participants of four provinces and regions of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan urged the provincial governments to adopt policies based on the concept of gender-equality which includes all segments of the society from person-with-disabilities, transgender persons, minorities, different ethnicities and indigenous communities to allocate resources for their development, while at the same time recognizing their contributions in the national development.  The conference participants reiterated their demand to recognize rural women as “farmers” so that equally to men they could be benefited from the government policies.

Reiterating European Union Delegation to Pakistan’s commitment for gender equality, present on the occasion, Thomas Seiler, Deputy Head said this conference is a “platform from where you make your voices heard collectively to tackle problems and challenges”.He also recommended the participants to take back their action plan in the form of conference resolutions with them to work on it at union level with their utmost resilience. He said that European Union Delegation to Pakistan has been working closely with the government of Pakistan and with other donors in assessing the needs for rebuilding the flood-hit areas and supporting future recovery efforts. “Women are among the most at risk in flood-affected areas. However, at the same they need to be on the frontline of relief plans ensuring their needs are treated on priority,” Thomas Seiler said.

Thomas Seiler also termed the conference an effective drive in connecting women’s demands raised from this platform with the steps taken and efforts initiated by the state institutions of ECP and NADRA for ensuring women’s equal participation in political processes.

Lauding the efforts of PODA, Farkhanda Naz, Provincial Ombudsperson Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace urged to extend harassment act to protect women working in informal sector. Earlier President, PODA Sameena Nazir presented an over view of the previous annual rural women conferences.

Nuzhat Shirin, Chairperson Sindh Commission on the Status of Women also spoke on the occasion terming conference a unique place for nurturing “a great sense of sisterhood” among women which was in itself a great accomplishment to celebrate.

Deputy Head of EUD to Pakistan, Thomas Seiler, awarded partner organizations and rural women for their contributions taking forward the conference’s agenda into their districts across Pakistan

The solidarity partners who received awards were: Nuzhat Shirin Chairperson Sindh Commission on the Status of Women, Rukhshanda Naz KP Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment at Workplace, Shaheen Farooqi, Bhera Press Club, Zarina Salamat, member PODA board, eminent poet, Kishwar Naheed. Rural Women Leaders who were awarded included: Aqsa Noor, Mirpur, AJK, Shahida Irshad, Quetta,  Balochistan, Shazia Fida Gilgit, GB, Rukhsana Jahengir, Swat KPK, Mehwish Majeed, Layyah, Punjab and Azra Memon, Dadu, Sindh.

Chairperson National Commission on the Status of Women, Nilofer Bakhtiar, Reema Aftab, DG Inclusive Registration, NADRA, Moazzma Yousaf, Director Inclusive Registration and Zahid ur Rehman Assistant Director NADRA were also among the award recipients for their contributions to uplift the cause of rural women.

KARACHI: In a veiled dig at Sindh’s ruling party PPP, PTI Chairman Imran Khan said Friday that the reign of “dacoits” in the province should come to an end.

Khan’s remarks came during his visit to Karachi as he rallies his party workers for the anti-government “Azadi March”, for which the date is yet to be announced. In a recent gathering, the PTI chairman told his workers to be ready as he could give the call for the march “at any time”.

In his address today, the PTI chairman said that in the next general elections, his party would form governments in Sindh and the Centre.

“Sindh’s resources are stolen, and they are siphoned out of the country,” the PTI chairman said.

Khan urged Karachi’s youth to come forward and partake in politics as political movements in the early days would begin from the metropolis.

“Had there not been violence in Karachi, it would have progressed more than Dubai,” Khan said as he vowed that now, things would change for the port city as “no power” could stop his party from getting its mayor elected in the upcoming local body elections.”After the local body elections, we will also emerge successful in the general elections,” he said.

‘Decisive time’

The PTI chairman also said that the incumbent government, which came into power through a “foreign conspiracy”, would not remain in office for long. “My nation has stood up for its future.”

Seperately, while speaking to lawyers in the metropolis, the former prime minister said that the nation is facing a “decisive time” as if “big thieves” keep getting NROs then the country would not have a future.

He said that lawyers understand the need for upholding the law and that is why they should support his cause.

“Powerful people steal money and launder it abroad. This is why, I am waging jihad and I want all of you to support me,” the ex-prime minister said.

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif Friday criticised PTI Chairman Imran Khan for his incessant whining on the matter of the army chief’s appointment.

“Imran Khan has been using [abusive] language since his ouster. Before, Khan would say that he and the [establishment] are on the same page. During his time in power, his hugs would not end with them and now, he is abusing them,” Asif said.

Addressing a joint press conference with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik and Special Assistants to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi and Attaullah Tarar, the defence minister added that the PTI chief’s only problem is regaining power. He added that Pakistan’s state cannot function at the behest of Khan’s personal wishes.

“Pakistan’s state is not subject to anyone’s wish; it [functions] under the law and Constitution,” Asif remarked.

The minister added that Imran Khan only “begs for, abuses, and holds meetings” for power.

“We (PML-N) do not believe in political victimisation,” the minister said, adding that his party believes in rule of law.”

He criticised Khan’s indifference to being accountable in multiple cases and recalled how Nawaz Sharif would appear in courts himself when summoned.

“Nawaz Sharif would himself appear in courts and [in front of] joint investigation team,” he said.

The minister slammed Khan for shutting down the accountability commission, along with cases pertaining to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Malam Jabba, and Billion Tree Tsunami.

“They are annoyed that the courts are providing relief to the PML-N,” the minister said, adding that Khan’s wishes have been ruined.

Khawaja said that Imran Khan would have completed five years in power had he not been “incompetent, corrupt, and arrogant”.

“Imran Khan loves money, but he will get tired after continuously crying,” he said.

Highlighting the sacrifices of the Pakistan Army during the press conference, Khawaja Asif said that 53 soldiers including officers have been martyred in the last three months.

“Soldiers of the armed forces are sacrificing their blood for the country’s security,” he said.

Berating the former PTI government, Khawaja Asif said that Pakistan’s diplomatic ties with the world were affected during Imran Khan’s tenure.

Referring to PTI’s criticism over the acquittal of PML-N leaders, Khawaja Asif said that the court issued its ruling on merit.

“Imran Khan Niazi and his followers have nothing to show for their performance,” he said and accused the past government of lodging false cases against the leaders of PML-N.

“A baseless money laundering case was registered against Shahbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz,” he added.

“We proved by our words and actions that we stand with the judiciary,” said Khawaja Asif.

From Our Correspondent 
PESHAWAR, OCT 14 /DNA/ – President Frontier Custom Agents Association, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi Friday urged authorities to take steps for promotion of Afghan Transit Trade that was affected by recent floods.

He expressed these views in a meeting that was attended by Customs high ups, Pakistan and Afghan businessmen associated with transit trade. He said that concerns of business community relating to Afghan transit should be considered and steps should be taken for their addressal.

Director Transit Trade Peshawar, Arbab Qaisar Hamid who attended the meeting said that Afghan authorities have been requested to send transit documents at the earliest after updating their own system. 

Assuring cooperation to business community of both countries, he said that steps would be taken for their facilitation and hurdles in transit trade would be removed.

Islamabad, Oct 14 /DNA/ : COMSTECH in partnership with UPSIGN, SAWIE, ICCFS, IFS & Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) celebrated world food day. The slogan for world food day this year was “Leave No One Behind”.

To mark this year’s World Food Day, keynote talks and panel discussions were arranged with experts from all over the world with several years of experience in Agri-food research systems. The webinar discussed the key challenge faced by our food system from climate change and other threats.

The experts said that our food system is suffering from malnutrition and food security. The debate uncovered how sustainable use of natural resources could help to enhance productivity, soil health, water, and the role of biodiversity. The question of how can we address the food production crisis, protecting our soil microbes, plants, animals & natural capital, and produce healthy food to support a healthy life and a healthy planet was discussed.

The panelists also discussed the way forward to address the impact of COVID and recent floods in Pakistan on food security. They talked about how the research, and knowledge exchange of good practices could be translated to develop climate change adaptation strategies, mitigation, and what specific measures can be taken to support the climate crisis victims. The panelists pondered upon creating the resilient growth that does not leave anyone behind.

The experts noted that Pakistan is one of the top ten countries which are most vulnerable to the climate change crisis. They agreed that the climate change disaster has affected its food system with extreme heat, droughts, unpredicted rain patterns, and attacks from invasive species of pests & diseases.

COMSTECH the OIC Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, joined hands with the leading research, academic & farming organizations from Pakistan and around the world for hosting the World Food Day celebration. These partners were UPSIGN, SAWIE, ICCFS, IFS & Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF). UPSIGN is an educational charity based in the UK supporting collaborations between UK & Pakistan. SAWIE is a digital platform based in the UK and Pakistan offering farm advisory & data insights. International Center for Climate Change, Food Security & Sustainability (ICCFS)/Consortium on Climate Change, Sustainability & Conservation (CCSC), The Islamia University Bahawalpur are leading research organizations. The International Foundation for Science, IFS, is an international, non-governmental organization.