ISLAMABAD, FEB 20 (DNA) – 5.6 Million Covid Vaccine doses will reach Pakistan by End March 21 out of which 2.8 million doses of Gavi / Covax are expected to reach by first week of March 21 and 2.8 million doses by second week of March 21. 17.1 million doses will reach Pakistan by end June 21.

Registration of citizens over 60 years have also been started. Senior Citizen can Sms CNIC number  on 1166 for registeration.

Moreover, registeration of general healthcare workers have also been started. They can register at www.covid.gov.pk/vaccine

DNA

ISLAMABAD, FEB 19 – On the invitation of Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Imran Khan will undertake a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka from 23 February 2021. This will be his first visit to Sri Lanka after assuming office.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including members of the Cabinet and senior officials.

The Prime Minister’s program includes meetings with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Prime Minister will also lead the delegation-level talks, covering all areas of cooperation between the two countries including trade and investment, health and education, agriculture and science & technology, defence and security, and culture and tourism. Besides bilateral matters, views will be exchanged on key regional and international issues.

During the visit, the reconstitution of the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Association will be also announced to further promote parliamentary exchanges between the two countries.

The Prime Minister will also participate in a joint ‘Trade and Investment Conference’ aimed at promoting trade and investment between the two countries. A number of MoUs to enhance bilateral cooperation will be signed during the visit.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have maintained close, cordial and mutually supportive relations since 1948. The two countries share commonality of views on a wide range of international and regional issues. Both sides also work closely at the international and regional fora including the United Nations and SAARC.

The Prime Minister’s visit would help further strengthen the Pakistan-Sri Lanka relationship and enhance mutual cooperation in diverse fields.

DNA

RAWALPINDI, FEB 19: General Kenneth F. Mc Kenzie Jr, Incoming Commander US CENTCOM, called on General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) at GHQ.

Matters of mutual interest, regional security situation with particular reference to ongoing Afghanistan reconciliation process were discussed during the meeting.

Both expressed unanimity of views on importance of political resolution of Afghan situation. COAS said that Pakistan is committed to efforts for peace in Afghanistan as it is important for peace in Pakistan.

Visiting dignitaries acknowledged Pakistan’s commendable efforts in the fight against terrorism and ensuring regional stability.

DNA

ISLAMABAD – Head of Massoud Foundation, Mr. Ahmed Wali Massoud, called on Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, today. The exchange of views focused on the Afghan Peace Process and Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations.

During the meeting, the Foreign Minister welcomed Mr. Ahmad Wali Massoud’s visit to Pakistan and lauded the historic contribution of Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud as a key Mujaheedin leader during the Afghan resistance.

As regards Afghan peace process, the Foreign Minister highlighted Pakistan’s facilitation of the U.S.-Taliban Peace Agreement and the commencement of Intra-Afghan Negotiations. The Foreign Minister stressed that this historic opportunity must be seized by the Afghan leaders to achieve an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement.

The Foreign Minister expressed serious concern at the current level of violence and underscored that all sides must take measures for reduction in violence leading to ceasefire. The Foreign Minister also underlined the need for being vigilant about the role of “spoilers”. Highlighting that Pakistan had no favourites in Afghanistan, the Foreign Minister reiterated that Pakistan’s message to all sides was to work together constructively for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. He added that this would open new vistas for trade, economic cooperation and regional connectivity.

Foreign Minister Qureshi highlighted that Pakistan had taken a number of steps to further strengthen bilateral cooperation and people-to-people linkages including opening of border despite COVID-19, introduction of friendly visa regime, and scholarships for Afghan students. The Foreign Minister emphasized that all these measures were practical manifestations of Pakistan’s desire for closer ties with Afghanistan. The Foreign Minister also appreciated the role of Massoud Foundation in the social sectors and noted that it could play an important part in promoting civil society and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister expressed the hope that the Afghan peace process would achieve its desired objective of return of peace and stability in Afghanistan. He reaffirmed that Pakistan, on its part, will continue to play a constructive role.

ISLAMABAD, FEB 19 (DNA) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday has decided to re-challenge the nomination papers of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and joint candidate of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for Senate elections, Yousaf Raza Gillani in appellate tribunal.

Sources told that PTI representative has obtained the verified copies from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in this regard. The decision came day after ECP had rejected the objections raised by PTI leader Fareed Rehman and approved nomination papers of Gillani, allowing him to contest the Senate elections.

On February 16, 2021, PTI had challenged Gillani’s nomination papers and accused him of concealing the facts. Yousaf Raza Gillani had not mentioned his sentence in contempt of court case in his nomination papers, PTI leader said. Fareed Rahman further said that Gillani didn’t fulfill the requirement of Article 62 of the Constitution.

While recording arguments on the objections, the counsel of PDM candidate said that his client was charged not convicted in the case and that Supreme Court (SC) had given him a symbolic sentence. The sentence of Yousaf Raza Gillani ended in 2017 and he contested the General Elections in 2018, he told. PTI’s allegations were lies.

The time of ECP was wasted on this matter and nomination papers of Yousaf Raza Gilani should be accepted, the lawyer argued. PPP leader Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said that if the objectors had read Article 63 of the Constitution, they would have not come raised this issue as this article does not apply here.

It is to be mentioned here that a total of 170 candidates had filed their nomination papers in the ECP for the elections on 48 seats in the upper house of the Parliament. 29 candidates from Punjab, 39 from Sindh, 51 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 41 from Balochistan and 10 from the federal capital Islamabad had submitted their details.

As per schedule, the candidates can file appeals against acceptance or rejection of nomination papers on February 20 and the last date for disposing of these appeals is February 23. The revised list of candidates will be published on February 24. The candidates can withdraw their nomination papers on February 25. Polling on 48 seats will be held on the 3rd of next month at the Parliament house in Islamabad and the four provincial assemblies. = DNA

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