ISLAMABAD, AUG 21 /DNA/ – Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi received a telephone call from Heiko Maas, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, today. The two leaders exchanged views on the latest developments in Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Qureshi underlined the critical importance of peace and stability in Afghanistan. He added that an inclusive political settlement was the best way forward and Pakistan supported efforts in that direction.

The Foreign Minister added that Pakistan was working closely with regional and international partners and that Pakistan and Germany had convergent views. The Foreign Minister highlighted that Pakistan was undertaking wide diplomatic outreach to promote shared objectives.

Foreign Minister Qureshi said that we must work together to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. The international community’s support for Afghan peace process would be of vital importance in this regard.

The Foreign Minister of Pakistan also stressed that it was important for the international community to remain engaged in support of the Afghan people for ensuring humanitarian and economic assistance.

Foreign Minister Qureshi invited the German Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan to carry forward the process of substantive engagement between the two countries and close consultations on the Afghanistan issue.

MOSCOW, AUG 21: Moscow pledged retaliatory measures after a new set of sanctions imposed by the United States on a Russian ship and two companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Russia‘s foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Washington imposed the sanctions on Friday on a ship, its owner and a construction company, but opponents of the project said the measures were insufficient to stop it.

The United States and Britain also imposed sanctions on Friday on men they said were Russian intelligence operatives responsible for the poisoning one year ago of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

“We view such hostile actions by the Biden administration as dictated by a lack of political will and an unwillingness to build U.S.-Russian relations on a partnership basis,” Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, was quoted as saying in the statement.

ISLAMABAD, AUG 21 /DNA/ – Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi called Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu today.

During the call, the two Foreign Ministers exchanged views on bilateral relations and reviewed the latest situation in Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Qureshi stated that the recent visit of President Dr. Arif Alvi to Turkey for the launching ceremony of MILGEM Naval Ship further strengthened bilateral cooperation.

The two Foreign Ministers also recalled the recent telephone conversation between Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about developments in Afghanistan.

Reiterating Pakistan’s support for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Qureshi underlined the importance of an inclusive political solution as the best way forward. The Foreign Minister added that Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) had underscored the importance of peace and stability in Afghanistan for Pakistan and the region. The Foreign Minister expressed the hope that the Afghan leaders would work together to achieve inclusive political settlement.

Foreign Minister Qureshi added that the current situation in Afghanistan required sustained international engagement to ensure stability and long-term economic development.

The Foreign Minister also apprised his Turkish counterpart of Pakistan’s facilitative role in evacuation of personnel of Embassies, international organizations, media entities and others.

Foreign Minister Cavusoglu appreciated Pakistan’s role in the current situation and thanked Foreign Minister Qureshi for facilitating Turkey’s evacuation efforts.

The two Foreign Ministers agreed to coordinate closely on the situation in Afghanistan.

Islamabad, AUG 21: /DNA/ – A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad and Inovatian-Asia (Private) Limited, a sister concern of international technology firm Inovatian Inc. with offices in Canada, UK, USA and Egypt, which was founded by renowned scientist and innovator Dr Hatim Zaghoul.
Zaghloul is known for his inventions, along with his friend Dr Michel Fattouche, of WiFi, WiMax and LTE’s WOFDM and the complex randomization of CDMA2000 and MCDSSS protocols widely used in telecom sector across the world. The company also specialized in 6G telephony solutions, cyber security, and data solutions.
Naufil Shahrukh, general manager operations of IPS, and Farzana Yaqoob, CEO, Inovatian-Asia signed the MoU during the ceremony. Khalid Rahman, chairman, IPS, Kashif Siddiqui, director, Inovatian-Asia, Professor Dr Adeel Akram, department of telecommunications, University of Engineering & Technology (UET), Taxila, Shafaq Sarfraz, manager outreach and IPS-LEAD (Learning, Excellence, and Development Program), and other officials of both the organizations were also present.
The MoU aims to foster cooperation between the two organizations to carry out joint capacity-building programs, disseminate research and analysis, foster dialogue among scholars, experts, scientists, and policymakers, and develop indigenous, state-of-the-art ICT (Information and Communication Technology) resources and solutions in Pakistan and the Muslim world.