MOSCOW – Russia‘s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that the United States had “failed” in its mission in Afghanistan, as Taliban insurgents make lightning gains and foreign forces pull their remaining troops from the country.
US President Joe Biden has tried to paint the withdrawal of foreign troops in “the most positive colours”, Lavrov said in Uzbekistan, according to Russian news agencies, “but everyone understands that the mission failed“.
ISLAMABAD, JUL 16 (DNA) – Meeting of Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination was held under the Chairmanship of Senator Dr. Muhammad Humayun Mohmand here at Parliament House Friday.
The Committee discussed six agendas in detail. At the outset there was discussion on the point of public importance regarding “Withdrawal of incentive from doctors serving in pathology and radiology department and deterioration of National Control Laboratory” raised by Senator Dilawar Khan and referred by the House on 3rd of June, 2021 for consideration and report.
While replying to the issue of withdrawal of incentive SAPM for NHSR&C Dr. Faisal Sultan informed that there is no change in policy on the matter. Officials from the Ministry stated that incentive has been discontinued owing to the directions of Finance Ministry. Chairman Committee decided to reach out to The Ministry of Finance on the matter in order to resolve the issue.
The agenda on Point of public importance regarding” improvement on the National Control Laboratory” was discussed in detail. The Committee members expressed their reservations regarding appalling and deteriorating situation of such an importance institution.
Senator Fawzia Arshad said that institute is in pathetic situation and essential equipment is getting obsolete. Even water is not available at institute premises, she said.
The Chairman Committee directed that there is need to upgrade the level of institute in order to get WHO recognition so that locally produced vaccines and medicines can be standardized and exported. Furthermore, the Committee decided to visit the Institute and observe the situation. The SAPM agreed and stated that the future course of action on improvement of National Control Laboratory can be chalked out as per recommendations and observations of the Committee.
The Chairman Committee Dr. Muhammad Humayun Mohmand said that the Committee will support the Ministry in every step for betterment of people of the country.
Answering to the question raised by members regarding availability of data on different variants of corona virus currently circulating in Pakistan the SAPM Dr. Faisal Sultan explained that it is impossible to perform genome sequencing of every positive case in the country thus getting exact data on different variants is near to impossible even for developed countries.
Only selected samples are chosen for genome testing and the results cannot be generalized across the country as sample size is too small. He further said that all the latest data regarding covid-19 situation in the country is available through NCOC every day.
Discussing the Public Petition submitted by Dr. Ashiq Ali Unnar regarding “amendment/inclusion of Electro Homeopathy in the Health Commission Act 1965 and 2017, referred by Chairman Senate on 25th June, 2021 to the committee for consideration and report” was discussed in detail.
The SAPM Dr. Faisal Sultan while referring to the practice of Electro Homeopathy said that there is currently no such accepted or recognized practice around the world of this nature. He requested that the matter should be referred to National Council for Homoeopathy for further investigation and deliberation. The Chairman Committee directed the Petitioner to approach the relevant department and the agenda was disposed off.
Senator Dilawar Khan apprised the Committee regarding recent case of spurious drugs in Peshawar. The Committee members lamented the DRAP officials on issue of spurious drugs and lack of quality drug testing labs in the country. The Chairman Committee said that “We are not here to criticize, we are here to improve the system for the people of Pakistan”.
The Chairman Committee sought a comprehensive report on the matter within 2 weeks. The DRAP officials were further instructed to contact provincial administration regarding progress on the case and report back to the Committee as to what steps have been taken so far by both provincial departments and DRAP.
Senator Fawzia Arshad said that the matter of spurious drugs is very important as it directly affects human lives. She further recommended that prices of drugs should also be vigorously monitored as essentials medicines are getting out of common people’s reach.
Ministry Officials also briefed the Committee on functions, work and performance of Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination and its attached departments/organizations and institutions.
The agenda on “”regularization of contract employees of ‘Federal General Hospital Islamabad’ raised by Bahramand Khan Tangi” was discussed in detail. Aggrieved doctors from Federal General Hospital were present during the discussion and were given ample time to explain the issue. The Committee members expressed their disappointment as to why the issue has been lingering on for so long due to procedural limitations.
The Chairman Committee decided to summon the relevant departments such as FPSC and Ministry of Law and Justice in the next meeting of the Committee in order the solve the longstanding issue as soon as possible.
Senators Fawzia Arshad, Rubina Khalid, Khalida Ateeb, Dilawar Khan, Dr. Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, Senator Sana Jamali and senior officials from the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination were present during the meeting. = DNA
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ISLAMABAD, JUL 16 (DNA) – The National Assembly was informed on Friday that the government is taking steps to address the issue of circular debt. Parliamentary Secretary for Commerce Aliya Hamza Malik told the house during question hour that we are entering into inexpensive agreements with the IPPs.
She said the government has reduced line losses and significantly enhanced the recoveries. She said a relief of 50.69 billion rupees was provided on account of payment of electricity bills of small and medium enterprises after the breakout of COVID-19.
Responding to a calling attention notice, Parliamentary Secretary for Interior Shaukat Ali said thirty nine officials of NADRA have been suspended for their involvement in issuance of fake CNICs.
He said an FIR has also been registered against ten officials whilst five officials have been arrested. He said the action against the NADRA officials was taken following a report by the FIA.
Responding to a calling attention notice moved by Abdul Akbar Chitrali and others regarding obscenity on TV channels, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said the PEMRA has been directed to issue advisory to the television channels on this matter.
He said the PEMRA in accordance with its code of conduct takes action against indecent and objectionable content. He said 335 show cause notices have also been issued and fine imposed on the television channel. The National Assembly on Friday passed two bills. These include Islamabad Capital Territory Senior Citizens Bill, 2021 and the Special Technology Zones Authority Bill, 2021).
The house passed three resolutions extending the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power (Amendment) Ordinance, the Higher Education Commission Amendment Ordinance (IX of 2021) and Higher Education Commission Second Amendment Ordinance (X of 2021) for a further period of one hundred and twenty days. The House has now been adjourned to meet again on Monday at 10 am. = DNA
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MINSK: The Embassy of Pakistan, Minsk in collaboration with the Museum of History of Private Collections held the opening ceremony of the Art/Photographic Exhibition “Treasures of Pakistan” by on 15 July at 1400 hours. Around 70 Art pieces and photographs by Pakistan’s renowned Artist Jimmy Engineer and photographer Hamid Hussain are being showcased in the exhibition organized in the framework of XXX International Festival of Arts “Slavianski Bazar in Vitebsk” which will continue to be opened for the general public till 31 July 2021.
Around seventy guests hailing from different sectors including government officials, Vitebsk governorate, university faculty/ students and expatriate Pakistanis attended the inaugural ceremony held at the Museum. The exhibition is likely to be seen by a large number of visitors in the coming days, currently visiting Vitebsk in connection with the Slavianski Bazaar, which is an important event held regularly every year in the month of July.
The inaugural ceremony commenced with the speech of Piotr Podgursky, Head of the Cultural Division of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee. Ms Tatiana Starinskaya, Director of the Vitebsk Regional Ethnography Museum and Prof. Anatoliy Shchastn, Rector of Vitebsk State Medical University also spoke on this occasion. The speakers appreciated the participation of Pakistan in the Slavianski Bazaar through this exhibition.
Ambassador of Pakistan to Belarus Sajjad Haider Khan gave a comprehensive speech covering Pakistan’s its rich Art and cultural heritage developed over several civilizations including that of Mehergarh, Indus Valley, Harappa and Gandhara. The diversity of art and culture, contemporary art scene and tourism potential of Pakistan were also extensively covered during the event. Subsequently, the Ambassador interacted with the media personnel including TV, Radio and print media.
Islamabad, JUL 16 – /DNA/ – The three-day Mango Food Festival is being held at Pearl-Continental Hotel Rawalpindi on Thursday, 15th July 2021. The festival was inaugurated by the Pearl-Continental Hotel Rawalpindi’s General Manager Mr. Rashid Rauf Banday, along with Mr. Ahmed Nadeem Brand Activation Manager, Telenor and food lovers from across the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The festival features a wide variety of mango specialities including Mango Salads, Mango Desserts, Mango Chaat, Mango Sandwiches with Mango Bread, Live Mango Pizza, Mango Enchiladas, Mango Rice and much more. In addition, there are also 10 different types of Mangoes available for the guests.
The event will continue from 12:30pm to 6:30pm till 18th July 2021 at Pearl-Continental Hotel Rawalpindi.
ISLAMABAD, July 16 /DNA/ – The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a Lincoln Corner on the NUST campus in Sector H-12, Islamabad.
Mr. Raymond Castillo, the U.S. Embassy’s Minister Counselor for Public Affairs, and Dr. Osman Hasan, Pro-Rector of Academics at NUST, signed an MoU to establish and run the Lincoln Corner. Additionally, representatives from the U.S. Embassy joined Lieutenant General Engineer Javed Mahmood Bukhari (retired), NUST Rector, and Dr. Riaz Ahmad, Head of the NUST International Office, for the ceremony.
In his remarks, Mr. Castillo said, “I believe that the Lincoln Corner at NUST will be a substantial resource for young leaders seeking to build their networks, hone their cross-cultural skills, and deepen their relationship with the United States.”
In joining the Lincoln Corners community, NUST becomes part of an 18-member strong network of partnerships between the U.S. Mission to Pakistan and eminent Pakistani institutes of education and culture. Lincoln Corners are event spaces and resource centers that connect young leaders with the United States. Online and in-person programs are free and open to the public.
The state-of-the-art Lincoln Corner at NUST will be located in the campus’s Central Library and will include a makerspace lab, comprehensive physical and digital information resources, and an Americana-themed public events space.
Construction of the Lincoln Corner NUST is anticipated to begin later this summer.
BY HUMA ARSHAD
John Mc Carthy the man who has coined the term “Artificial Intelligence” never had an idea that thousands of articles will be written for/against ‘artificial intelligence’ only due to the fear and myths about it. Generally, it is assumed that AI is introduced and has been programmed to do something devastating against human beings or it is a war of technology verse human beings. One of the most common fear is that AI will take over the job market and millions of people in the world will be jobless.
Artificial Intelligence versus Machine learning and deep learning
Artificial intelligence is the science of getting machines to mimic the behavior of humans. machine learning is the subset of AI that focuses on getting machines to decide by feeding them data on the other hand deep learning is the subset of machine learning that uses the concept of a neural network to solve complex problems. So we can say that artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning are interconnected fields. Both machine learning and deep learning feed artificial intelligence by providing algorithms and neural networks to solve data-driven problems. However, AI is not only dependent on these two. AI covers a huge field including robotics, natural language processing, expert systems, and a lot more.
Jobs at high risk due to AI
Kai-Fu Lee mentions in his book “AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World order,” almost 50% of the jobs worldwide will be taken over by AI. Drivers, cashiers, Farmers, Publishers, travel agents, receptionists, proofreaders, market research analysts, and many more could be handled by machines.
Jobs that are safe in an AI world
AI is very powerful but it cannot do everything, which humans can do. So, the good news in few jobs is still safe when it comes to AI. AI cannot do tasks comprised of compassion and creativity. The twist in the story is AI cannot deal with empathy it can produce answers based on data and data analysis but deal with the human while having an empathetic approach is beyond AI’s boundaries and control. Counseling of patients, computer science and engineering, fiction writing, even teaching, and science are the field that could be safer in the world of AI. AI can be your friend as well and can provide you a resource that can listen to you like a mother, and even you can program that resource according to your wish. It feels really exciting when you imagine your pizza delivery boy a robot but actually, that robot is a replacement of a human being.
Possible Solution
As we all know that the rapidly growing pharmaceutical world is inventing cures for diseases which is increasing life expectancy. That means more population and fewer jobs. The solution to this whole revolution of AI is either to control the population to create such job markets which can alive human creativity so that the human race will not only look towards government and become complacent. When it comes to wars and political governments of countries have to be extremely vigilant when and where to use AI which would not harm the entire human race. So AI is a blessing if used empathetically and with a humane approach.
TASHKENT: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi met with US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the International Conference on “South Asia-Central Asia Regional Connectivity-Challenges and Opportunities in Tashkent on Friday. Both the leaders discussed the current situation of the Afghan peace process. On the occasion, the foreign minister said that Pakistan will continue to play its reconciliatory role for peace in Afghanistan. He said Afghanis have to decide the future of Afghanistan. He said Pakistan considers peace in Afghanistan essential for the promotion of regional linkages and economic development in the region.
Ansar Mahmood Bhatti in Tashkent
TASHKENT: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the regional peace and stability is of paramount importance for enhanced trade and economic cooperation in the region. He was addressing the International Conference on “South Asia-Central Asia Regional Connectivity-Challenges and Opportunities in Tashkent on Friday.The Prime Minister said the Afghan situation and unresolved disputes are the key challenges to peace and stability in the region.
He said Afghanistan is the natural land bridge between Central Asia and South Asia, and peace in Afghanistan is the most critical factor for regional connectivity. Imran Khan said Pakistan’s foremost priority is the stability in Afghanistan as it directly affects us. He said Pakistan will continue to support all initiatives for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. He said we encourage all the neighbours and international stakeholders for their positive roles for a political settlement in Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister expressed disappointment over the allegations against Pakistan from the Afghan side. He said no country has tried harder to get Taliban on dialogue table than Pakistan. He said we have made every effort to get the Taliban on dialogue table and have peaceful settlement. He said to blame Pakistan for what is happening in Afghanistan is extremely unfair. The Prime Minister categorically stated that Pakistan is a partner in peace.
He said Pakistan has suffered seventy thousand casualties and a huge economic loss due to the unrest in Afghanistan. He said three million Afghan refugees have been living in Pakistan for decades. He said we do not have capacity and economic strength to get more inflow of Afghan refugees.
Referring to the unresolved disputes in the region, Imran Khan said Kashmir is the core issue between Pakistan and India adding the huge potential of cooperation remains untapped because of unresolved disputes in the region. The Prime Minister said Pakistan welcomes cooperation between Gwadar Port and other ports of the region. He said CPEC is the flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative, and it will promote regional cooperation.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister Imran Khan held delegation level talks with President of Afghanistan, Muhammad Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of ‘Central and South Asia 2021: Regional Connectivity: Challenges and Opportunities’ conference in International Congress Center of the Tashkent.
Prime Minister Imran Khan also held a meeting with Joseph Borell Fontelles, EU HC representative and Vice President of EU, on the sidelines of ‘Central and South Asia 2021.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi termed the allegations of the Afghan Vice President as ridiculous. He was talking to Afghan media people on the sidelines of the Central Asia and South Asia Conference.
The Afghan side conveyed to Pakistan its intention of carrying out air operation inside its territory opposite Chaman Sector of Pakistan. Pakistan responded positively to Afghan Government’s right to act in its territory. Inspite of very close border operations normally not acceded to by internationally accepted norms/standards/procedures, Pakistan took necessary measures within its territory to safeguard our own troops and population, he added.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said the international conference being held in Tashkent on Friday is aimed at promoting regional connectivity. In an interview in Tashkhent on Friday, he said over sixty countries are participating in the conference.
The Minister said heads of state and Foreign Ministers from different countries gathered in Tashkent to discuss ways to enhance regional trade and economy.
Ansar Bhatti
TASHKENT: The two-day Afghan conference which was scheduled to be held in Islamabad on Saturday has been postponed. New dates have not yet been announced.
According to sources, the schedule of the new conference shall be announced later. This correspondent learnt from reliable sources who came to attend the Central Asia and South Asia moot that the conference was postponed due to non availability of the Taliban leaders.
Sources further said that Taliban high level delegation was expected to attend the Islamabad moot however due to another meeting in Doha the Taliban delegation requested the Pakistani authorities to re-schedule the conference. New dates shall soon be shared, the sources added.
