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S$ 24.2 billion remittances in 10 months a trust of overseas Pakistanis in government, says Raza Bashir Tarar

Ottawa – May 27, 2021 : Pakistan High Commissioner to Canada Raza Bashir Tarar has described a record and unprecedented surge in remittances up to US$ 24.2 billion sent by overseas Pakistanis back home in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as a vote of confidence in the government and its policies.

He made this statement while addressing an e-katchehry-cum-public forum organised online for the Pakistanis living in Canada for redress of their issues and addressing their concerns about consular services and other community related issues. Consul General of Pakistan Toronto Abdul Hameed, Consul General of Pakistan Vancounver Janbaz Khan and Consul General of Pakistan Montreal Mr. Ishtiaq Ahmad Aqil also attended the forum and answered queries of the participants.

Raza Bashir Tarar assured the community that in in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and regular advice and guidance from Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan High Commission and its Consulates in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal would continue to provide prompt consular services to the community. He said the love of overseas Pakistanis for Pakistan and their contribution to the development of the country was valued at all levels of the government in Pakistan.

The High Commissioner emphasized that Pakistan’s Missions in Canada had provided adequate services notwithstanding the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than letting the pandemic be a recipe for inaction, technology and out-of-box thinking was employed to provide uninterrupted consular services.

He reiterated that while e-katchehry was held once every month, Pakistanis were welcome to approach the High Commission and its Consulates any time any day for resolution of their issues and contact details of officials had also been circulated in this regard. He also urged the community members to register themselves with the Pakistan High Commission for planning consular services in view of their number and presence in different regions in Canada.  

During the e-katchehry that followed, several issues including duties of Consulate Generals of Pakistan, directory of Pakistani professionals, digital transformation, service delivery of Pakistani institutions, alerting overseas Pakistanis in fake housing projects, transportation of dead bodies in COVID times, discontinuation of the PIA flights and online processing of passports and tourism issue came up for discussion and the High Commissioner and his team answered the queries.

Coronavirus cases, deaths continue to go down in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The number of coronavirus cases and deaths continues to go down in Pakistan as the country reported 75 deaths in the last 24 hours.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data, 75 more people died of the infection, raising the death toll to 20,540.

A total of 62,706 samples were tested, out of which 2,726 turned out to be positive. The positivity ratio of new infections was recorded at 4.34%, the NCOC said.

The number of people recuperating from the infection climbed to 831,744 with 3,901 more recovering in the previous 24 hours.

Thus far, Punjab has reported 337,073 infections, Sindh 313,059, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 131,027, Islamabad 80,779, Balochistan 24,823, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 19,008 and Gilgit Baltistan 5,533.

Yesterday, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had decided to open up vaccine registration for citizens aged 19 years and above from Thursday (today).

Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar tweeted: “In today’s NCOC meeting we decided to open up vaccination registration for all 19 years and above.”

Role of youth pivotal in development: Fawad

DNA

ISLAMABAD, MAY 26 (DNA) – Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Hussain Chaudhary says role of youth is pivotal in the development of the country.

Addressing a ceremony in connection with Kamyab Jawan Program at Bahria University in Islamabad on Wednesday, the Information Minister said that it is the need of the hour to prepare skilled workforce as per the requirements of the market.

“The concept of an entrepreneur is fast emerging in the world and that the countries creating more entrepreneurs will be more successful in future,” the minister said.

The minister stressed the need for adopting such skills that could be useful in facing the life challenges and the changes taking place around the world, saying “our thoughts must be progressive and should match the changes emerging around the globe.”

Fawad said the skills always made people superior to others, adding “if we want to change Pakistan and our life, we have to adopt skill and nobody can deny the importance of the skill in this modern era.”

He was of the view that the country’s institutions would have to rise and meet the needs and standards of the developing world.

The minister said the skill development was the real work that needed to be done in Pakistan, as the country’s 60 per cent population was under the age bracket of 30 years. He was of the view that technology had changed the whole world and the same would happen in Pakistan too.

The minister said that today’s world had been shaped by the young generation, adding the whole modern technology including Facebook, Google, PayPal, Twitter was developed by the youngsters.

“The people who developed these technologies were not 60 years or 70 years old but they are the young people who changed the whole world. They are youngsters,” he added. The minister said that technology had changed the whole world and the countries that followed the changes had started emerging and moving towards the road of progress, prosperity, and development. He advised the youth to increase their knowledge and gain awareness from the world.

Korean sponsored Islamabad Technology Park inaugurated

Construction of this Islamabad IT Park will provide a business friendly environment for Pakistani small and medium IT companies: Ambassador Suh Sangpyo

Mahnoor Ansar

ISLAMABAD: The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Suh Sangpyo accompanied by the Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications, Syed Amin ul Haque inaugurated the Islamabad Technology Park here on Wednesday

On the occasion, Suh Sangpyo commented that IT Park constructions are key projects of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund EDCF. In 2019, Korea signed the framework agreement with Pakistan to provide 500 million dollars of EDCF loans that give financial space for the construction of infrastructure in Pakistan.

Today we witness together a tangible outcome of EDCF projects. Islamabad IT Park will be a landmark in strong ties between Korea and Pakistan. Korea is ready to support Pakistan’s own IT capacity reinforcement with a longterm perspective, such as capacity building, infrastructure and technology development.

Suh Sangpyo remarked that the construction of this Islamabad IT Park will provide a business friendly environment for Pakistani small and medium IT companies. Syed Amin ul Haque conveyed gratitude to the Korean Government and the Korean Ambassador to Islamabad for their full support in the construction of the IT Park. Syed Amin ul Haque further shared that the state-of-the-art IT Park project will be completed in 30 months and stated that the inauguration of this Park is another positive step towards the achievement of the Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of a Digital Pakistan.

PM vows action against DG Khan dacoits

Bureau Report

LAYYAH: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday vowed action against dacoits in Dera Ghazi Khan, after a video of three kidnapped people went viral on social media, two of whom were brutally murdered on tape.

Addressing a launch ceremony in Layyah of the Insaf Sehat Sahulat Card, he said he was saddened to see poor people being killed in this barbaric manner.

He said the Rangers have been given instructions to bring the perpetrators to book and provide all possible assistance to the police.

“Now these dacoits will not be spared. No one will be allowed to pester area residents any longer,” he promised, adding that if needed a police checkpost will be established in the area.

The Ladi gang had abducted three people from the Taman Khosa area. A video that went viral yesterday showed one being shot dead, while the limbs of the other were chopped off before he was killed by the ring leader, known as Khuda Baksh.

All the while, his partner was filming the horrific events.

The Ladi gang leader said in the video that he had “killed the murderers of his companion Haroon”.

Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar also noted with grave concern reports of the incident and ordered immediate action against the gang.

According to Hamza Salik, political assistant of DG Khan’s tribal area, the Ladi gang members are hiding in the Koh-e-Sulaiman mountain range.

He said the border forces, with the help of Rangers and Punjab police, will “wipe out the gang”.

Speaking about the sehat cards, the prime minister said provision of health cards to the citizens would ensure complete and free of cost health coverage, which prior to this was unimaginable in the country’s history.

He said now with the extension of health card facility to every family of the Punjab province, the poor people would no longer have to worry about medical treatment.

He said every family in the Sahiwal and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions could now avail health treatment worth Rs720,000. They are free to get health facilities in public and private hospitals alike.

An additional Rs300,000 can be given to the deserving families when required, he added.

The prime minister also underlined the need to encourage the private sector to fully participate in health initiatives.

He observed that the government-owned lands could be offered to the private sector at affordable prices for the construction of hospitals and other health facilities, especially in the far flung areas of the country.

Hosting US: Taliban warn neighbors

The statement warned that if any neighboring country allowed US military bases on its soil, it would be construed as treachery

Special Correspondent

ISLAMABAD: The Taliban have warned Afghanistan’s neighboring countries against hosting US military bases following the exit of foreign forces from the strife-torn country which appears to be on a cusp of a civil war.

The Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Majahid said the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” wanted to clarify its position after “various well-known media outlets reported that the United States wants to stay in our neighborhood after withdrawing from Afghanistan in order to carry out operations in our country.”

 “The foreign forces in the region are the root cause of insecurity and war and the great tragedy that everyone has witnessed over the last 20 years, especially our afflicted people, more than anyone else,” Majahid said on Wednesday in a statement shared on his Twitter handle. “We urge neighboring countries not to allow anyone to do so,” he added.

The statement warned that if any neighboring country of Afghanistan allowed US military bases on its soil, it would be construed as treachery and would go down in history as such.

“The people of Afghanistan will not remain silent in the face of such a provocative act. They will fulfill their religious and historical responsibilities in the same way as they have down throughout history,” he added.

US Centcom chief said in a Pentagon briefing that al Qaeda, Islamic State and other terrorist groups could regroup in Afghanistan post US-exit. And that he would like to keep a small ‘quick response force (QRF)” on-call in the region to neutralize any threat.

This statement set off speculations that the United States could be looking for keeping the “QRF” in a military base in one of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries.

Russia’s presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said on Monday that Tajikistan and Uzbekistan would not allow the US to establish military bases on their territories. The same day, Pakistan also sought to quash speculation on this issue.

“There was no US military or airbase in Pakistan, nor is any such proposal being envisaged. Any speculation on this account is baseless and irresponsible and should be avoided,” Foreign Office spokesperson said.

Govt. to re-file CRP against Justice Isa case in SC

ISLAMABAD: The spokesperson of Ministry of Law and Justice on Wednesday said that the federation would re-file Curative Review Petition (CRP) against Justice Qazi Faez Isa case verdict in due course of time after addressing the office objections raised by the Supreme Court Registrar Office.

“Against the order of the majority in the Review Petitions of Justice Qazi Faez Isa and others dated 26.04.2021, the Federation of Pakistan on 25.05.2021 preferred a Curative Review Petition on which certain objections were raised by the Office of the Supreme Court. After addressing the office’s objections the matter shall be re-filed in due course of time, in accordance with law,” reads the press release issued by the law ministry.

The registrar of the Supreme Court of Pakistan had returned a review petition filed by the government against the Supreme Court’s judgment on the review petitions in the Justice Qazi Faez Isa case.

The office had returned the application with the objection that a review could not be conducted twice into one case.

The reference filed by the government in May 2019 had alleged that Justice Isa acquired three properties in London on lease in the name of his wife and children between 2011 and 2015, but did not disclose them in his wealth returns.

US completes 25% troop withdrawal

News Desk

KABUL: As violence continues to surge across Afghanistan, the US has completed nearly 25% of the exit process in terms of troop withdrawal, handing over or destroying its equipment in the war-ravaged country.

After nearly two decades of engagement in Afghanistan, the foreign troops began the retreat on May 1.

According to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, the exact details of the departure plan for an estimated 9,592 foreign soldiers will not be announced at this time.

“As we draw down, certain equipment must return to coalition home countries. Equipment which is not required to be returned, when we are able to, will be turned over to our ANDSF (Afghan National Defense and Security Forces) partners to leave them as best equipped and in the best posture as we can as we depart,” the alliance’s press office told Turkish news agency.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has also engaged its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Arabian Sea and six B-52 bombers based in Qatar to support the exit of the US and coalition forces from Afghanistan. By May 24, the Eisenhower had conducted over 600 flight operations in the last week alone that aided the drawdown, it said.

To preserve operational security, the DoD has said it will only be providing an approximate range of the percentage of the exit process that is complete.

UAE envoy discuss matter of mutual interest with Farrukh Habib

ISLAMABAD: Hamad Obaid Alzaabi, the UAE Ambassador in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, meets Farrukh Habib, Minister of State for Information of Pakistan, and discusses joint bilateral work, ways to strengthen the partnership and exchange of experiences in areas of common interest

PAKISTAN TO CONTINUE TO STAND WITH AZERBAIJAN THROUGH ITS TIMES OF NEED: SANJRANI

DNA

Islamabad, MAY 26 – Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani has underscored the need for a robust action plan to enhance trade and investment opportunities between Pakistan and Azerbaijan. The Chairman Senate expressed these views at reception held in connection with national day of Azerbaijan.

He also emphasized the need for making more efforts in order to boost the bilateral trade as it does not commensurate with close political ties between both the countries. Pakistan and Azerbaijan have great expertise to share and trade in the fields of energy, defense, agriculture, natural resources, science and culture, there is need to adopt a robust Action plan for enhancing trade and investment opportunities.

He further said that ties between the two countries are based on historical cultural bonds, mutual respect and trust. He also extended his good wishes to the leadership, government parliament and people of Azerbaijan on their National Day.

He thanked the ambassador for presentation of the jubilee Medal of 100th Anniversary of diplomatic service of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He said that it signifies the sincerest wishes of Azerbaijan to take our diplomatic ties and friendship one step higher. He acknowledged the award and expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

He reiterated that Pakistan will continue to stand with Azerbaijan through its times of need, as Azerbaijan has stood by Pakistan in its times of need, particularly with its support on the Kashmir issue.

He expressed satisfaction that there is tremendous goodwill for each other at the leadership and official level which is also manifested in the people to-people contact.

 The Chairman Senate said that Pakistan was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The two countries have since exchanged great support on critical issues through the respective political leadership.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be present here on the momentous occasion of the National Day of Azerbaijan” said Chairman Senate.

Chairman Senate observed that both Pakistan and Azerbaijan believe in peace and development therefore consider regional growth and prosperity a shared agenda. He said that regional connectivity is important for promoting socio-economic growth and both sides must prioritize linkages to boost trade and economic cooperation.

He said that geographical location enhances significance of both the countries in the region and both can become hub of economic activity.

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