Karachi : Governor Sindh Imran Ismail has said that the incumbent government is taking steps to further strengthen the interfaith harmony in the country and purses the policy of zero tolerance for propaganda any religion or sects in the name of freedom of expression and religious sentiments.

Talking to the 12-member delegation of International Religions Freedom headed by Ilyas Younus Masih, who was called on at the governor’s house in Karachi, Imran Ismail said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is committed to building an enlightened and interfaith society in the light of Islamic Ideology.

He said that the present GoP believes that complete religious freedom and peace is essential to the minority community for creating developed Pakistan and the government did lots of work for the protection of minorities rights, including the National Commission for Minorities and the inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor.

Peshawar : Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has said the provincial government is committed to provide best education facilities to students belonged to merged districts.

In a statement, he said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved admission quota for students hailing from merged tribal districts in medical and dental colleges across the province.

Meanwhile, according to a notification of Homes and Tribal Affairs Department, total 334 students will be able to get admission in medical and dental colleges on quota seats.

The quota seats allocated for Khyber Medical College 41, Ayub Medical College 28, Saidu Medical College 20, Gomal Medical College 20, Khyber Girls Medical College 38, Bacha Khan Medical College 25, Nowshera Medical College 12 and 6 seats allocated for Gaju Khan Medical College.

RAWALPINDI (DNA) :  The Director Generals of Military Operations of India and Pakistan held discussions over the established mechanism of hotline contact. The two sides reviewed the situation along LOC and all other sectors in a free, frank and cordial atmosphere.

In the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace, the two DGsMO agreed to address each other’s core issues / concerns which have propensity to disturb peace and lead to violence.

Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the LOC and all other sectors, with effect from midnight 24/25 February 21. Both sides reiterated that existing, mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be utilized to resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding.”

ISLAMABAD,  25^thFEB 2021 : Three Centers of Excellence of the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), a Pakistan-based intergovernmental organization of 27 developing countries, signed general agreements for collaboration in various fields of science and technology in the presence of Prime Ministers of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, during hisvisit to Colombo. The agreements were signed by the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI), Sri Lanka, with the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), Pakistan, and the COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Pakistan. ITI was represented by its Director General, Dr. Radhika Samarasekera, while ICCBS and CUI were represented by the Pakistani High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Maj. Gen. (R) Muhammad Saad Khattak.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between ITI-Sri Lanka and ICCBS-Pakistan would provide platform for cooperation in the areas of natural products/medicinal plant chemistry, food chemistry, biotechnology, nanotechnology, tropical disease research, and analytical services. Under the MoU, the parties would undertake academic and research cooperation in terms of scholarships, fellowships, hands-on trainings on sophisticated equipment, joint supervision of students, conducting bi-institutional workshops, exchange of research scientists and faculty members, exchange of academic materials and publications, setting up of analytical service laboratories, etc.

On the other hand, the Intent of Cooperation (IoC) signed between ITI-Sri Lanka and CUI-Pakistan would provide basis for cooperation in education, research and capacity building through joint training programs, conferences and seminars; joint academic and research activities; exchange of researchers, staff and faculty members; short-term and long-term fellowships; implementation of short-term training courses; publishing joint research journals; sharing of scientific resources, etc.

Reflecting on this development, the Executive Director COMSATS, Dr. S. M. Junaid Zaidi, SI and HI , today talking to the press ensured that the signing of the afore-mentioned MoU/IoC would facilitate COMSATS’ Network of International S&T Centers of Excellence in achieving its mission of promoting South-South and Triangular cooperation for finding S&T-based solutions to the sustainability issues in the global South, and at the same time, would bring Pakistan and Sri Lanka closer for mutually beneficial cooperation in science, technology and innovation.

All indoor dinning, weddings to resume; cricket fans allowed to go to stadiums; work from home restriction also eliminated

Ansar M Bhatti

ISLAMABAD: The National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday decided to loosen coronavirus restrictions that it earlier put in place after carefully reviewing the second phase of precautionary measures or the Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs).

The NCOC added that the decisions could be reviewed again in view of the increased disease prevalence, whenever deemed necessary. According to a statement issued in this regard, provinces can, however, enforce targeted NPIs where required, depending upon disease prevalence in a given area or sector.

Following are some of the decisions taken by the NCOC.

• Time-limit lifted from commercial activities and amusement parks;

• Condition of 50% work from home removed for office employees;

• Indoor wedding ceremonies will be allowed from March 15, 2021, with stringent COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place;

• Indoor dining allowed from March 15, subject to a review on March 10;

• Opening of cinemas and shrines allowed with strict COVID-19 SOPs with effect from March 15;

• Wearing of face masks, social distancing, smart lockdowns will continue and will be ensured;

• From a health perspective, the conduct of local bodies and cantonment board elections may be planned by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by the end of May or early June 2021.

• Spectators’ attendance in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Pool matches to be increased to 50 % from the current 20%. Whereas, full attendance will be allowed for play-offs with stringent COVID-19 SOPs in place.