KARACHI, APR 09 (DNA) – Nong Rong, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China along with Li Bijian, Consul General of China at Karachi along with his team visited the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The meeting took note of various subjects pertaining to economic relationship between Pakistan and China particularly in reference to China Pakistan Economic Corridor and China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement.

He shared his views with the house regarding the upcoming online business portal of Chinese Government which will be a good opportunity for Pakistani business community to get easily connected with their Chinese counterparts.

He extended his full support not only of his Embassy at Islamabad but also at Consul General Office at Karachi to the business community particularly to the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The President FPCCI requested him in emphasizing strong and constants mutual efforts to eliminate negative air against CPEC and the bilateral trade. He also suggested that China should focus on investing in the people of Pakistan by giving access to Chinese market. President FPCCI also on this occasion expressed sincerest gratitude to the government of China for donating Covid-19 vaccines to Pakistan.

During the discussion made in the meeting, Mian Anjum Nisar, Immediate Past President FPCCI requested the Excellency to extend support to Pakistani business community in transferring technical knowledge in the field of agriculture.

Sheikh Jawaid Ilyas, Chairman of Pak-China Business Council pointed out the imbalance in the bilateral trade which is heavily in favor of China. He also encouraged the embassy to coordinate with the Federation in identifying relocation of Chinese industries in Pakistan especially in the new economic zones that have been identified for Chinese investment under the second phase of CPEC.

He also emphasized the need for the creation of Pak-China Joint Dispute Resolution Committee for smooth and easy resolution of problems that may arise during the bilateral trade. He also appreciated the strong support extended by the Consul General of China at Karachi to the business community in Sindh and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan.

The meeting was attended by a large number of prominent businessmen and representatives of different trade bodies including Hanif Lakhany, Vice President FPCCI, Ch. Saleem Bhullar, Vice President FPCCI, Zakaria Usman, Former President FPCCI, Former Vice Presidents Khurram Sayeed, Sh. Sultan Rehman & Qurban Ali, Amjad Rafi Former President KCCI and many others. = DNA

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Islamabad, April 8, 2021: Pakistan and India have reached a ceasefire agreement from 25 February 2021 onward.The Pakistan India Conflict Report by Senior Research Fellow, M. Nafees, at the Center for Research and Security Studies looks back at the losses on both sides in terms of human lives during this prolonged hostile period.

Between October 16, 2016 and February 25, 2021, Pakistan suffered 370fatalities and 661 injuries due to the border conflicts. The highest fatalities from these skirmishes and attacks took place in 2019. During that year, India carried out an aerial attack inside Pakistan to target an alleged terrorist training camp at Balakot. An Indian plane was shot down by Pakistani forces, and its pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was taken into custody for roughly 60 hours.

The following year, in 2020, a significant drop in fatalities from cross border attacks was recorded in Pakistan.

Civilians sustained the most casualties in these border skirmishes with 217 killed and 630 injured while 153 security personnel were killed with another 31 injured, mostly soldiers. Among civilians, there were 21 women and 11 children.

The casualties of border skirmishes in India were nearly half of Pakistan (1,032 in Pakistan vs 547 in India). A total of 282 individuals perished, while another 265 were injured in these scuffles.

The civil-military distribution of the victims in India is also dissimilar to what was found in Pakistan. Nearly 70% of the total fatalities were of the security personnel as compared to 41% in Pakistan. The percentages for civilians in India was 30%, compared to nearly 60% in Pakistan. There were 8 children and 13 women among the civilians. A mosque was also damaged in the frontier of Kupwara District on December 30.

It is evident that both countries experienced irreversible human tragedy. If the current decision of recommitting to ceasefire agreement of 2003 gains a long-lasting permanency, it can save many precious human lives on both sides of the border and provide a better environmentwhere purposeful dialogues can be held to address issues that remain disputed.

BERLIN, APR 9 – German needs to implement nationwide measures to break the current wave of coronavirus infections as quickly as possible, its health minister said on Friday.

“We need a lockdown,” Jens Spahn told journalists in a news conference, adding that nighttime curfews may be necessary to further reduce social contacts.

He said that there were currently nearly 4,500 patients in intensive care in Germany, adding: “If this continues, it will be too much for our health system.”

KARACHI , APRIL 09  :  The UN Global Compact Network Pakistan expressed its concern over the growing gender gap in Pakistan and called upon the government to accord priority to address this distressing situation. Highlighting Principle 6 of the 10 Principles of UN Global Compact that calls for the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, the GCNP stated that Pakistan’s gender gap has widened as it ranked 15th in, and opportunities for women.

GCNP further stated that girls are deprived of education, women are discriminated in job security and benefits, and the female population are also susceptible to the negative impacts of the economy. Pakistan is also a constituent of ILO and despite assurances given to ILO, Pakistan continues to slide down the gender parity.

Moreover, women workers are also subject to violence and sexual harassment. It also added that the WEF report said that “Another generation of women will have to wait for gender parity, as the impact of the COVID pandemic continues to be felt, closing the global gender gap has increased by a generation from 99.5 years to 135.6 years.”

GCNP said that it is now the responsibility of the private sector to ensure gender parity and showcase to the world that all practical efforts would be initiated to improve the country’s position in the global gender gap index. It added that its action plan includes the component of Girl 2030 program that would focus on access and inclusivity in trade and industry. This focus would be on the development of young women and provide skills, vocational training, mentoring, job placement, and business start-ups.

Fasihul Karim Siddiqi, Executive Director GCNP disclosed that the action plan would also provide guidance and inspiration to its members to develop transformational leadership in their enterprises that would introduce meaningful changes to enhance the access and inclusion of female employees.

He added that there is also an imperative need to change the working conditions so that women employees are also encouraged to take on tasks that at present they are prohibited by law to undertake. Today, women are pilots, truck drivers, etc. and hence it is worthwhile for enterprises to enable diversity in their environment.