KABUL, (DNA) : Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday was given a warm reception at the Afghan Presidential Palace as he arrived in the neihbouring country on his maiden visit.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani received Prime Minister Khan on his arrival at ARG Presidential Palace, situated in the heart of Kabul city.

The Prime Minister reviewed the guard of honour presented by a contingent of Afghan forces.

President Ghani and Prime Minister Khan introduced each other with their respective delegations.

Later, the two leaders proceeded for a meeting to be followed by delegation-level talks.

Earlier, Afghan Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammad Haneef Atmar and Afghanistan’s Special Representative for Pakistan Umer Daudzai received the prime minister at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

The Prime Minister’s entourage included Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, PM’s Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Director General Inter Services Intelligence Lt Gen Faiz Hamid, Special Representative for Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq and senior officials.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan and the embassy officials were present.

On the invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, this is Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first visit to Afghanistan since he assumed office in 2018.

The programme in Kabul includes tete-e-tete with President Ghani, delegation-level talks, and joint press stake-out.

The focus of the talks between two leaders will be strengthening of bilateral relations, the Afghan peace process and regional economic development.

The Prime Minister’s visit is part of regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Islamabad, November 19 (PR).  Allama Iqbal Open University has expedited the process of verifying admission data of applicants for admission in various programs offered in autumn 2020 semester from matriculation to PhD level. Admission data of 90 percent candidates have been verified so far and remaining 10 percent would be verified within a week time. Verified admission data of the students have been uploaded on the university website to enable them to confirm their admission.

Director Admissions, Mian Muhammad Riaz, has informed that the candidates who have applied for admission in autumn 2020 semester may check status of their admission from the ‘Admission Confirmation’ link on the university website. To get information about objected admission forms or incomplete ones, the candidates can access ‘Admission Objection’ link on the university website. The Vice Chancellor AIOU, Prof. Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum has directed the mailing department to complete the entire process of mailing of books within the stipulated time period by all means. The students may contact the following numbers for further information about the admission in different academic programs.

Matriculation (051-9057431) Intermediate (051- 9057432) Bachelors (051-9057435) Teacher Education (051-9057421)B Ed (051- 051-9057760) Post Graduate (051-9057422)

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday left for his maiden trip to Afghanistan on the invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the prime minister boarded a special plane for Kabul at Nur Khan airbase.According to the Foreign Office, PM Imran’s visit schedule includes tete-e-tete with President Ghani, delegation-level talks, and joint press stake-out. The focus would be on further deepening fraternal bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Afghan peace process, and regional economic development and connectivity, spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said.

PM Khan’s visit is part of regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said and added that it will be the first visit of PM Imran Khan to Afghanistan.

President Ashraf Ghani had last visited Pakistan last year in June. Earlier, the two leaders had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 14th OIC Summit in Makkah in May 2019. The prime minister also had a telephonic conversation with President Ashraf Ghani in September 2020.

The PM’s visit builds on the sustained engagement between the two countries in recent months for enhancing bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. In this context, besides the foreign minister’s regular exchanges with his Afghan counterpart, there have recently been important visits from Afghanistan to Pakistan of Chairman High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Speaker Afghan Wolesi JirgaRahman Rahmani, and Commerce Minister Nisar Ahmad Ghoraini, the press release added.

As part of this process, and in run-up to the prime minister’s forthcoming visit, Adviser Commerce and Investment Razaq Dawood visited Kabul on 16-18 November 2020 and held in-depth discussions on bilateral trade and investment ties and matters related to transit trade.

The people of Pakistan and Afghanistan are linked through immutable bonds of history, faith, culture, kinship, values and traditions. The premier visit to Afghanistan will help foster a stronger and multi-faceted relationship between the two brotherly countries.

Rawalpindi November 19, (DNA) : Science University Anqra (SUA) Turkey and Knite Human Management (KHM) SHALAAN  Pakistan have inked a MoU here on the other day. Under this agreement, Pakistani students who intend to seek higher education in science and technology would be facilitated in SUA with less financial burden.

Terming this MoU a landmark, Vice Chancellor of SUA Taner Altunok Taysen said in a video conference held in SHALAAN office that Pakistani students having less resources would be able to seek latest and market demanding skills and professional education within their financial budget. Assistant Professor Penar Ali Dez also supported the stance of her VC and said this agreement also enables us to get admitted Turkish students in Pakistani Universities for higher education.  They also admired the role of KHM in promoting high skills among Pakistani students and help them get good jobs in and outside the country. Chief Executive Officer of KHM Khalid Nawaz said both the countries have good brethren relations and this agreement would strengthen these ties. He said the world is moving very fast towards the height of technologies and we must keep pace with it. “Making our youth technologically skillful is a must to ensure their survival in future”, he mentioned.

DNA

ISLAMABAD – The Leading representatives of industry and enterprises showed their confidence in Government of Pakistan’s timely interventions to insulate the industry from getting hurt due to COVID19.

Appreciating State Bank of Pakistan’s deferment of loan and temporary economic relief facilities, they suggested that government should do more to protect micro small and small enterprises from the direct and indirect effects of a possible second wave of COVID19.

They also highlighted the need for establishing an internationally recognized certification lab which may certify that exports going to Middle East and EU were according to their respective standards. In the absence of such lab in Pakistan, exporters have to send their samples to China to get the required certification. In case of any restriction on air transportation during second wave of COVID19, our exports t these destinations would be severely affected.

This was the crux of the virtual meeting of high powered “Industry and Enterprise” sub-group of Planning Minister’s Advisory Committee. The group’s convener and member of Advisory Committee Dr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri highlighted that Government of Pakistan was trying to reach out to the private sector stakeholders to understand and address their needs during the pandemic. “In the short run the purpose of getting feedback from leaders of industry is to enable the Government to come up with a demand driven and evidence based policy response to protect businesses during these testing times; in the medium to long run, this group can help Planning Commission to tailor its initiatives that may stimulate sustainable growth and economic recovery” said Dr Suleri, while orienting about the purpose of establishing the sub-group.

Mr. Asim Saeed, Member, Planning Commission reiterated that as a key planning agency of the Government, the Planning Commission believes in engaging with all stakeholders. In this case, we want to come up with doable initiatives which have a complete buy in of industries.

Mr Asfandyar Farrukh, Managing Director, Hub Leather Group said that reopening of business activities helped to honor the export orders. Terming cashflow and liquidity crunch as a major challenge for retail sector during COVID19, he urged that State Bank should come up with a mechanism to lend money to retail sector based on their banking transactions and other taxes.

Engr M.A Jabbar, Chief Executive, Qaim Automotive highlighted the disparity that exists between ease in customs duties provided to exporters and manufacturers for local supplies. Government needs to provide some tax breaks amidst COVID19, demanded Engr Jabbar.

Ms Shanza Anwar from Steel Castings group termed shortage of steel scrap – a basic raw material, the biggest challenge for the steel industry. She pointed out that one of the biggest market for Pakistan fans, Saudi Arabia has additional certification requirement. These laws were changed during the times of COVID and most of the industry players were not aware of them. This caused in our consignments getting held at Saudi ports of entry. We have to send fans to China for testing and certification. Government should ensure that we have internationally accredited labs in Pakistan for uninterrupted exports.

“Miracle Man”, Mr Zafar Masud, President Bank of Punjab termed deferment of loan repayments by private sector and  Temporary Economic Relief Facility (TERF) by SBP as a major relief measures for industry. He also emphasized on creating awareness about employment initiatives, “Kamyab Jawan Program” and “Punjab Rozgar Scheme”. He however, expressed fears about possible default of many industries in the FY22, and said that banking sector should work on minimizing the fall out effects of COVID19 in FY22.

Mr Waqar Ahmad of Nestle Pakistan and Afghanistan highlighting the impacts of COVID on food and beverage sector said that multiple times shutdowns of production plants to disinfect them is increasing the cost of production. “The beverages sector has struggled to recover as schools and large gatherings got curtailed during peak sales season, i.e., summer” he added. Government needs to ensure smooth movement of food items during future waves of the pandemic he advised.

Muhammed Ashraf, Former President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industries raised the issue of new certification required to export to EU from February 2021.  “These tests are extremely expensive, and we don’t have internationally accredited laboratory in Pakistan. This would hamper export of medical and surgical goods to the EU”, added M Ashraf. He also suggested that a Special Economic Zone should be established in Sialkot, which would help in cleaner and greener production by reducing industrial waste.

Ms Rahat Kaunain, Chairperson, Competition Commission of Pakistan reiterated the need for protecting SME sector during pandemic times. “We need figures and updated data evidence to see how SMEs can be helped further”, she opined.

Dr. Vaqar Ahmed JED SDPI highlighted the need for a more strengthened public private dialogue and that also at a sector specific level. “The digital transformation of businesses is important during the pandemic. The implementation of e-commerce policy should be expedited” he added.

The recommendations of the sub group would be presented in the Planning Commission Advisory Committee on 25th November.