RAWALPINDI, Aug 08 :Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) has introduced a special Tree-20 program to motivate and encourage the university students to come forward and play a role to make the plantation campaign a success.

According to Vice-Chancellor of PMAS-AAUR, Prof. Dr Qamar-uz-Zaman the program had been decided in a Vice-Chancellors Forum meeting under which every student of the university would be bound to plant and save 20 trees during his study period.

He informed that two plants nurseries were established under the University Green Office where different types of plants had been grown and being distributed free of cost to the students and local community to strengthen the Prime Minister’s “Clean and Green Pakistan” Campaign.

A monsoon tree plantation drive for a whole week under Prime Minister’s Program “Clean and Green Pakistan” program was kicked off here at PMAS-AAUR, he added.

Prof. Dr Qamar-uz-Zaman said that trees are the lungs of the earth and due to deforestation environmental pollution and temperature was increasing day by day.

He said that Pakistan falls in the most vulnerable countries to climate change in the world.

To make the earth cooler and combat climate change threat, it should be the prime responsibility of all the citizens to plant and save trees for the future generations, he added.

He also appreciated the government’s “Clean and Green Pakistan” initiative which is first of its kind in the country.

Recently President ArifAlvi when talking about Balochistan said that the government was”seriously focusing” on the social and economic uplift of the province. He highlighted the”enormous opportunities” that would be brought to Balochistan because of CPEC.

Haider Ali Nawaz is currently a student at Lahore University of Management Science pursuing his BSc (Hons) in Political Science.

8^th September 1958, the coastal land of Gwadar was handed over to the Pakistani government, by the Omani royalty, and like the rest of Balochistan the area was mostly neglected by the government. To see the reality of this one does not need to look any further than the provincial budget of 2015, prior to the Chinese investment.Hence, thecoastal town of Gwadarwent unnoticed and untouched for over 57 years up until the, China, opened the eyes of the government to its business and geo-political potential.

Gwadar is a naturally formed harbor which only requires a bare minimum of investment to be made on the port for operational purposes. Situated along the southwestern end of the Pakistani coastal belt is 15,216 square kilometers of a deep-water port with year around ability to function at full capacity and further divided into two bays, eastern and western. This division is made by the natural mountain formationwhich has been labelled as the Hammerhead.

In 2015, the CPEC’s inception took place whichallocated $46 billion for the development of the overall China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Hence began the development of the second planned city of Pakistan in 74 years of its independence and that too at the behest of a foreign government.

This influx of foreign investment into the most underutilized province of Pakistan does haveapositive influence in terms of uplifting the social and economic fabric. However, the question remains how much share does Pakistan government has in this progress? Or it is China how is doing all the work.

As per the agreement which has been signed the Pakistani government has leased out 2,200 acres of coastal area to the Chinese government for the next 40 years, established the first Free Zone of the state and set up a combined civil and military Special Security Division of 15,000 personnel with the objective to safeguard the foreign investment. Although this sets up the state of Pakistan well on its way to realize its true economic potential and place in the regional and global economic landscape, the future thinking should be complimented by the lessons of the past.

There has been instances where Pakistan allowed foreign presence which most of the time didn’t turn out to be as much beneficial for Pakistan. Here, it is important to understand that the previous presence was of military purposes, however in case of Pakistan-China it is sheerly economic. Henceforth, the outcomes could turn out to be more beneficial for Pakistan if things went smoothly.

However, most of the skeptics has genuine concern regarding this collaboration pointing out the question:Is Pakistan genuinely gaining the best possible outcome of the promises made by a foreign government or is it just the same deal camouflaged as an economic presence rather than military? If one thinks pragmatically it is important to understand that any of bi-lateral agreement would be of any benefit unless Government of Pakistan knows how to turn tide in the favor for Pakistan. Whenever an agreement is taking place between two sovereign states each has to score maximum for itself. That is how international interactions work either military or economic.

In attempts to curtail the on-going security concerns of Gwadar the government fenced up the most economically active parts of the city. However, instead of providing the locals permits to operate within these premises it further sidelined the local fishery businesses, whose cooperation was key to setting up the initial infrastructure of the port.

Moreover, in terms of uplifting the social fabric,progress is there but what was promised is being delivered remains a question for many. The labor that is being used includes local however, upper tier of construction sites is purely Chinese. It might be due to the lack of technical training of the local population. Hence not only are the locals pressed for jobs presently but as time goes on without the presence of proactive steps taken to impart these skillsets the situation will only get worse. Another key issue that is being faced is the language barrier of the locals with the foreigners. Without the ability to communicate, any sort of collaboration between the two nationalities in the future will only remain a fool’s paradise.

The point that the government should remember is that this socio-economic project is not an accommodation of a foreign state on Pakistani soil but rather a collaboration. Rather than using this initiative as a means of political point scoring when the elections roll in, the political strata of Pakistan should ensure that the state is treated as an equal partner at the table rather than that of a licensed contractor. A reevaluation of both long- and short-term strategiesshould be carefully considered to ensure that Pakistan is also pursuing its own national interests rather than only acting as a bridge between China and the Indian Ocean.

Dr Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan

Kazakhstan is the “biggest” economy of the Central Asian Region which has also “plentiful” of natural resources. It celebrates 30 years of its independence in 2021. During these years it has successfully “transformed” its macro-economy which is now stable and sustainable with bright prospects.

Due to numerous and constant structural reforms its national economy has been diversified up to optimal levels of productivity, innovation and renewables orientations. Its banking system is the biggest in terms of deposits, finances, operations and mortgaged assets in the whole region. Its financial system is resilient, restructured and remolded up to the requirements of global system and BASEL.  

According to latest report of the World Bank (2019-2020) Kazakhstan has a GDP of above $180 billion. It is the largest economy in Central Asia, accounting for more than half of the region’s GDP.

Unemployment is low 4.9 percent in 2020. It joined the World Trade Organisation in 2015 which further strengthened its economic ties with the outer world.

Strategic vision of the government provides great opportunities for local entrepreneurs. The government plans to increase the number of people employed in SMEs to 4 million compared to 3.3 million in 2020, thus increasing the GDP share of SMEs to 35 percent by 2025 compared to 31 percent in 2020.

Constant structural reforms in economy, administration, business, trade and industries have transformed into biggest recipient of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the Central Asia. It was ranked 25th in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2019. It has attracted over $330 billion in the FDIs since 1991 which has increased 16-fold since independence.

Now Kazakhstan accounts for approximately 70 percent of FDI into Central Asia. According to Kazakhstan statistical data (2020) around 50 percent of FDI in Kazakhstan has been attracted from the EU, including $96.6 billion from the Netherlands, $16.7 billion from France, $8.7 billion from Belgium, $6.8 billion from Italy and $5 billion from Germany.

Kazakhstan has been introducing comprehensive reforms in recent years to strengthen protection for investors, abolishing red tape, and transparent tax system and support domestic and international investors, businessmen and entrepreneurs. In this context, Kazakhstan was ranked 34th in the 2021 Index of Economic Freedom (in comparison with 59th in 2019) among 180 countries which is again highest among the CIS countries.  The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) was established in 2018, aimed at making Nur-Sultan a financial hub in the region.

It has stable, and accommodative political system in which opposition has stakes to participate in the decision making process of the government.  On political front, parliamentary elections were held on 10 January 2021, to elect members of the Mazhilis and local representative bodies. The elections were the first since the implementation of new national guidelines designed to further increase the openness, fairness and transparency of Kazakhstan’s electoral system. 3 out of 5 political parties gained enough votes to win seats at the lower house of Parliament following the election.

In this regard, Kazakhstan president H.E. Kassym Jomart Tokayev has successfully institutionalized concepts of “Listening Stat” in the hierarchy of government’s vertical and horizontal presentations. In this connection, Kazakhstan was ranked 29th in the UN E-Government Survey 2020 among 193 countries (compared to 39th in 2019) the highest among CIS countries.

According to the Constitution of Kazakhstan, it has a presidential form of governance. Executive power is shared by the government, while legislative power is exercised by Parliament consisting of the Senate and the Mazhilis.

Right from the beginning, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev introduced various meaningful political, law, civil, and judicial reforms in the country aimed at modernising the political system and ensuring protection of human rights. It included, establishment of the National Council of Public Trust, an advisory body under the President to conduct open dialogue with representatives of the public, legal formalisation of an institute of parliamentary opposition, 30 percent  quota for women and young people to be included in political parties’ candidates lists, decriminalisation of libel, liberalisation of peaceful assemblies and registration of political parties, lowering the threshold for political parties to enter Parliament from 7 percent to 5 percent, joining the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thus abolishing the death penalty and last but not least, strengthening the role of the Ombudsman for Human Rights which has now further strengthened its political stability and democratic norms in the country.

It seems that substantial reduction of electoral threshold, relaxation in formation of political parties, paradigm shift from indirect elections to direct, further empowerment of women, free role of media, NGOs, civil society, and last but not least inclusion of very young people in the various elections has now further revolutionized the process of politicization and democratization in the country. In this context most recently held “Akim Elections” in rural areas of Kazakhstan through direct votes has consolidated true spirits of democracy in the society at the gross-root levels.

It has strong political commitment having strategic vision to play a wider global role and widen its strategic partnership with South Asia especially with Pakistan which was among the first few states to recognize it in 1991.

It aims to become among the 30 most advanced countries in the world by mid-century, while shifting from a resource-intensive growth model to one that is cleaner, more innovative and more diversified. Reaching those goals will require further substantial reforms to improve public governance, to make the economy more open and competitive, to promote greener growth and to promote more equal access education, employment and economic opportunity.

Right from the beginning, Kazakhstan initiated a series of reforms to introduce spirits of decentralization and a modern free market model to achieve the desire goal of socio-economic prosperity, massive industrialization and eradication of poverty and generation of new jobs. It successfully transformed the outlook of political canvas by changing its one-party government to a multi-party democratic system.

Over the past 30 years Kazakhstan has established diplomatic relations with 186 countries and transformed into one of the dynamically economies of the region and world alike.

On the front of external relations, Kazakhstan has implemented a multi-layered foreign policy to establish good relations worldwide and is a world leader in the movement to ensure nuclear security.

On 29 August 1991, Kazakhstan closed the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site and gave up the fourth largest nuclear arsenal in the world. It contributed to the establishment of the Central Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (CANWFZ) in 2009. A Low-Enriched Uranium Bank under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been established on the territory of Kazakhstan.

It has now become hub of diplomacy, conflict resolution, interfaith harmony and last but not least, multiculturalism. Kazakhstan plays a crucial role in enabling the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative. Kazakhstan accounts for 70 percent of transit traffic passing from China to Europe and vice versa.

It previously hosted two rounds of nuclear talks between the P5+1 and Iran. Kazakhstan convened the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which now consists of 27 member states. It is also a founding member of the Eurasian Economic Union which was established in 2014. It may also be recalled that Kazakhstan became the first Central Asian country to be elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2017-2018.

Moreover, Kazakhstan is an active participant of regional projects being as a co-founder of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States (CCTS). It became the first post-Soviet and the first Muslim-majority country to chair the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010, and hosted the first OSCE summit in eleven years, which adopted the Astana Commemorative Declaration towards a Security Community.

Kazakhstan successfully chaired the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 2011-2012. Kazakhstan hosted the EXPO 2017 International Specialised Exhibition in Nur-Sultan with the theme of Future Energy.

Kazakhstan has made a significant contribution to the settlement of the Syrian crisis through the Astana Process, which provided a platform for negotiations between the Syrian government, the armed opposition and the guarantor states Russia, Turkey and Iran. Contribution to rebuilding of Afghanistan is a major priority for Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan has rich ethnic diversity which is indeed core strength of its state and people alike. There are approximately 140 different ethnic groups and almost 4,000 religious organisations operating freely across the country representing 18 religious denominations. The key ideas of ethno-politics were devised during 1993 by former president, founder and father of the nation H.E. Nazarbayev. It was derived from Kazakhstan’s century’s old civilization, rich traditions, culture and customs based on the preservation of interethnic harmony, ethnic diversity, equality of citizens regardless of ethnic affiliation as well as instruction in proper patriotism

It has been pioneer of interfaith harmony in the region and the world alike. It has been judged as the best tolerant country in the region by many regional as well as international organizations of humanities.  

The largest ethnic group is Kazakhs 68.5 percent. Other ethnicities include: Russians 18.9 percent, Uzbeks 3.3 percent, Uighurs 1.5 percent, Ukrainians 1.4 percent, Germans 1.0 percent and Koreans 0.6 percent. Every three years, the capital Nur-Sultan hosts the Congress of Leaders of World & Traditional Religions to provide a forum for religious leaders to discuss the core issues facing the humanity and communities worldwide. The UN Human Development Index (2020) ranked Kazakhstan 51st in the (compared to 76th in 1999) the highest among CIS countries.

Being prominent regional expert of Kazakhstan & CIS I fully endorse structural reforms of Kazakhstan president H.E. Kassym Jomart Tokayev which has actually revolutionized its macro-economy, politics, civility, society, judicial system, administration, governance, foreign policy, trade & commerce potential, inflows of FDIs, joint ventures and last but not least brightened its future socio-economic prosperity, industrial productivity and connectivity with all the regional countries.

Wajeeha Bilal

Our historical timeline seems to suggest that colonial and empirical wars might be a thing of the past. While the human population has improved with an inclination towards democracy and a better civilization, we tend to believe more in peace and diplomacy. But with all the ongoing conflicts, it is hard to imagine that we have achieved peace. Most of these conflicts are mostly civil wars as a result of cold wars or political instability. We may be directed towards peace with the establishment of peace-oriented organizations and defined international borders, but we are a long way from achieving true peace. Apparently free from colonialism or communist dictatorship nowadays, civil and local wars are the primary cause of global conflicts.

In his book, “The Anarchy”, a notable British historian William Dalrymple had examined East India Company’s contribution to the decline and crippling of the Mughal Empire between 1756 and 1803, as “the supreme act of corporate violence in world history”. “Anarchy” is related to the subcontinent’s condition following the death of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. The company’s story that left a permanent mark in the history of the subcontinent, is a dreadful warning about the possibility for the abuse of corporate power and the corruption by which the influence of the investors is manifested. “… if history shows anything, it is that in the intimate dance between the power of the state and that of the corporation, while the latter can be regulated, the corporation will use all the resources in its power to resist.” The corporate rule could be the main demon, but the fact is that violence, exploitation, and corruption were not merely corporate’s debt but continue to mark the timeline of human existence. The influence of multinational corporations or foreign takeovers in the third world countries could be as harmful as colonialism. Violence and exploitation, the absurd atrocities still continue, which only makes us more depressed. In the recent decades, American invasions of Afghanistan or Iraq have revealed that our world is far from being free of colonialism or powerful manipulation.  The superpowers or empires act as global powers that use marketing strategies, multinational and global campaigns with the accumulation of new surveillance-capitalism. The corporate influence is enhanced with military conquests and economic sovereignty. The use of force and economic power are the main manipulating weapons in this war of exploitation, hiding behind the curtains of diplomacy. Though the means and tools might seem different, yet manipulation of the masses continues both at the national and the international level.

With the ongoing electoral battles in our local politics as well, the manipulation of the public continues in a spiteful manner through mendacious propaganda. At a time when the powerful campaigns need to justify the standing of the high commands, a dirty game of mud splashing continues. Amidst the chaos and corruption, a superior exploitation once again takes advantage of weak and poor.  It was heart wrenching to see the major stress of the electoral campaigns being shifted from a platform of democracy to one of manipulation and anarchy. There was more focus on aggressive attacks than on the issues faced by the public or the land itself.

Though the election commission had given directives to ensure decency in their conversations and avoid use of improper language, as the campaign for elections in Azad Kashmir warmed up, political rivals fired all kinds of accusations at each other that proved to be a mere insult to the right cause. Electoral campaigns needed to align with the just cause of the Kashmir issue rather than based on shameful allegations that could adversely affect Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir Dispute in the international community. And the elections that came after weeks of heated and disruptive campaigns, from the three mainstream parties — the PTI, PPP and PML-N throwing spiteful allegations at each other, were bound to be chaotic in practice. According to reports, this year the pre-poll campaign had surpassed the previous records of hostility towards their rivals and as a consequence of the violence, voting in some polling stations was temporarily suspended; several people were reportedly injured, and a number of political activists were also detained.

People may buy into the malicious propagandas for peace but only because the powerful have been trained to believe that they have an advantage. But when the means and campaigns are anarchic, so will be the results. Chaos and anarchy will only follow when the focus of peaceful solutions for a dispute are undermined by spitting poison at the opposite parties. Democratization and globalization may have helped humans understand the idea, but true peace can never be attained unless the powerful learn to embody the true spirit of these words. When the technical tools and means of marketing campaigns are used to value the people they tend to serve, only then can humanity progress on a massive scale.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 08 :Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) would organize national “Azadi Mushaira” on August 14 in connection with Independence Day celebrations.

PAL Chairman Prof Dr Yousaf Khushk told APP on Sunday that the academy has planned a number of programmes in connection with Independence Day celebrations.

He said that eminent poets and scholars would be invited in the “Mushaira”, adding that academy was making efforts to encourage young poets and writers.

Dr Yousaf Khushk said that the literary personalities had played very important role in creation of Pakistan.

He said that in the Independence Day celebrations, Pakistan Academy of Letters would hold various programmes in headquarter, Islamabad and all regional offices.

He further said that in the celebrations, writers, poets and scholars from across the country would participate in different literary events.

BEIJING, Aug 8 :As part of the celebratory activities of 70 years of Pakistan-China diplomatic ties, five movies from Pakistan were screened during a first-ever Pakistan Film Week where a lots of interest was witnessed among Chinese movie lovers.

The movies screened with Chinese and English subtitle during the week were Motorcycle Girl, Punjab Nahi Jaungi, Bin Roye, Ho Mann Jahan and Blind Love.

Pakistan Embassy, Beijing and China-Film Administration jointly organized the four-day film week to further enhance cultural exchanges and people to people contacts between the two countries.

The film premier event was attended by officials of China Film administration, China Film Archives, China Film Co-production Cooperation, National Administration of Radio and Television, representatives of Media and officers from Embassy.

While commenting on the films, a senior official of China Film Administration said that with access to five of Pakistan’s best films, the Chinese audience could know more about the Pakistani culture and enjoy its beauty.

“I’ve seen the 2018 Urdu-language film Parwaaz Hai Junoon before and I do like it! I can hardly wait to see these 5 Pakistani movies!” a Chinese movie fan said excitedly.

We would like to take the importation of Parwaaz Hai Junoon as an opportunity to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in film industry between both countries,” noted Xiao Ping, president of China Film Import & Export Corporation, in an exclusive interview.

In the future China will stay tuned for Pakistani films, take into account their genres and market performance and choose the suitable ones for Chinese audiences, Xiao Ping said.

A young Chinese lady who saw four out of five films told that now cultural exchanges between the two countries became more and more frequent.

ISLAMABAD: /DNA/ – National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal has said that NAB strongly believes in  zero tolerance in eradication of corruption-100% development. NAB was absolutely committed to rooting out corruption with an iron hand in an atmosphere of renewed energy and dynamism, where fighting against corruption is being taken as national duty.” He said that the Father of the Nation Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in his address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan had termed corruption and bribery as one of the biggest curses.
“That really is a poison. We must put it down with an iron hand,” the NAB chairman said, adding that the bureau was established to eradicate corruption in a holistic and integrated manner.

He said that NAB is striving to accomplish its mission to rid the nation of corruption and corrupt practices. Its operational methodology has three stages for proceeding of cases – complaint verification, inquiry and investigation by adopting “accountability for all” policy for eradication of corruption. He said that national and international-reputed organizations had acknowledged the hard work, commitment, transparency and merit being put in by NAB officers. “NAB officers should double their efforts in arresting corrupt elements and recovering the public’s hard earned money from them.”

He said that to close the possibility of any single NAB officer/official influencing official business, the new concept of a “Combined Investigation Team” (CIT) was introduced where two investigation officers and a legal consultant, financial expert under the supervision of additional director/case and concerned director were working as a team for a fair, transparent and unbiased, inquiry/investigation.  He was of the view that the quality of inquiry and investigation of NAB would improve due to the establishment of NAB’s first Forensic Science Lab (FSL) in Islamabad which “has all facilities of Digital Forensics, Questioned Documents and Fingerprint Analysis which will help produce quality and solid evidence in conduct of inquiries and investigations”. He said that NAB has devised a Monitoring and Evaluation System (MES) to monitor its performance and all regional bureaus in qualitative and quantitative terms which has proved very helpful in evaluation of overall performance. He said that NAB was the only organization with whom China has signed a memorandum of understanding to oversee projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC).  He said that NAB Ordinance 1999’s preamble lays emphasis on nabbing corrupt and recovering the looted money. “NAB has recovered Rs. 814 billion directly and indirectly since its inception and its overall conviction ratio is about 66 % in accountability courts.”

Rawalpindi, AUG 7 /DNA/ – “Actions driven by full devotion, commitment and enthusiasm do not go without laying positive results. The same spirit of Punjab Forest Department (Extension) Chakwal Rawalpindi Division has gifted the nation a dense potential forest on big area of barren land and furthermore 1 million more saplings would be planted with the active participation of the masses in the district”, said District Range Forest Officer (Extension) ChakwalSherAfzal Raja on the occasion of “Plant for Pakistan Move” which was observed with a number of practical activities in the district.  

Deputy Commissioner Chakwal Bilal Hashim, Coordinator to Punjab Minister for Higher Education Raja Usman, Divisional Forest Officer (Extension) Rawalpindi Jameel Ahmed Bangash and Saba Hassam principal Akhuwat College Chakwal jointly made the plantation of 5000 saplings successful in a single day along with students of Akhuwat College. The Principal of the college also announced earmark1 kanal of land in the premises of the college for nursery. SherAfzal Raja told the media persons that the forest department has also handed over 600 plants of different fruits to the college administration to plant the same in their college. He also applauded the efforts of DC Chakwal Bilal Hashim and other officers of district administration who helped the forest department to score a big success in tree plantation. He said we have identified 3000 kanal of more barren land for cultivation under “Up-Scaling of Green Pakistan Program” launched by the Punjab Forest Department. “5000 kanal of barren land has already been brought under cultivation in the district”, he added.

SherAfzal Raja said that the Punjab Forest Department is bearing all the expenses for the resettlement of all the barren lands owned by the farmers in the division. He said that this scheme was a part of the success of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Movement and Forest Department employees had been working on it day and night.

Baku, AUG 7 /DNA/ – Ali Alizada has been appointed as Azerbaijan Ambassador  to Iran. In a message herald ‘I am deeply honored to be appointed by the President of Azerbaijan today as an Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Iran and at the same time the Permament Representative of Azerbaijan to the Economic Cooperation Organization.
I will do all my efforts to justify this trust and contribute to strengthening of our friendly relations. I am very grateful to Mr.President for confidence and trust.=DNA