ISLAMABAD, FEB 10: The Graduation Ceremony of the 40th Specialized Diplomatic Course was held at the Foreign Service Academy in Islamabad on Wednesday.

In his address at the ceremony as the Chief Guest, the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged the diplomats to be innovative and mould themselves according to modern demands of diplomacy to achieve goals efficiently and effectively.

The foreign minister said that a series of reforms have been instituted in the Foreign Ministry which is today more open to inputs for policy formulation.

Qureshi said that we are interacting with different segments of the society including the think tanks to get a fresh perspective.

However, he added that the foreign policy has to be led by the diplomats whilst accommodating the inputs from different stakeholders.

The foreign minister said that our diplomats need to be more articulate and effective team members who think out of the box and deliver results.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that we are employing images, graphics, and videos to better communicate with a wider array of audiences. He said that Specialized Cells including Crisis Management and Kashmir Cells have been established to deliver better results.

The foreign minister stressed that a better Civil Service is important to provide good governance. He said that the political leaders give their ideas and policies and it is the Civil Service that has to implement them.

Qureshi said that we want the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be such an institution that is strong enough to give the leadership that the nation requires.

ISLAMABAD : An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday extended the judicial remand of five arrested policemen in the Osama Satti murder case for 14 days.

The jail authorities didn’t produce the accused before the court due to lawyers’ strike.The investigation officer of the case filed an application seeking time to file the charge-sheet. Granting his plea, the court adjourned the hearing until February 19.

The accused include Muddasir, Shakeel, Mohammad Mustafa, Saeed Ahmed and Iftikhar Ahmed.

On Jan 2, the five Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel were taken into custody for indiscriminately gunning down 22-year-old Osama in the Sector G-10 area on Srignagar Highway within the jurisdiction of Ramna police station in the federal capital.

Shujaat Hamza

ISLAMABAD: NCOC morning session held. NCOC took a very comprehensive overview of vaccine administration progress to frontline health care workers and particularly various operational and administrative issues needing prompt action after start of vaccine on Feb 3rd. An elaborate and well defined procedure laid down by NCOC was shared with all stake holders. However the same was not strictly followed by some, resulted in violations. This was taken cognizance of and provinces asked to ensure compliance as per the agreed guidelines and procedures

NCOC vaccine nerve centre NIMS identified various violations and irregularities in vaccine administration. Mr Asad Umer said that NIMS was established to oversee the entire vaccine administration process and ensuring transparency and data accuracy. NCOC will ensure implementation of the vaccine strategy already shared with all stake holders. Only the front line healthcare workers (FLHCWs) who are saving precious lives and registered in resource management system by provincial health departments are authorized to be administered vaccine in this phase of vaccination.

No one else is allowed to bypass the NIMS / RMS vaccine system .  The complete vaccine administration record is maintained in the system for tracking and ensuring transparency

Since commencement of the inoculation process, 27,228 FLHCWs have been vaccinated including 21,121 in Sindh, 4,458 in Punjab, 691 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 274 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 239 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), 312 Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and 133 in Balochistan.

The FLHCWs can check their eligibility by sending their CNIC number to 1166 or visit nims.nadra.gov.pk website.

In the first step a confirmation message containing Adult Vaccine Center (AVC) and a pin code will be sent whereas in the second step the FLHCW will be informed about his appointment for vaccination at the designated AVC.

In the third step, he or she will visit the AVC along with his or her CNIC and pin code. The health staff at the AVC will confirm their appointment and verify CNIC and pin code.

The FLHCW will be vaccinated upon his turn. In the next step, the vaccination staff will confirm vaccine entry in NIMS and confirmation SMS will be sent. Finally, the FLHCW will have to stay for 30 minutes for monitoring after vaccination at the AVC. Moreover, in case of double shot vaccine the message will be sent after seven days.

KARACHI : An accountability court was informed on Wednesday that an accountability probe against provincial minister Sohail Anwar Siyal and others has been changed into an investigation.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) informed the court about progress in the inquiry against Siyal and others.

The court extended interim bail of Sohail Anwar Siyal, Zafar Siyal and Jameel Soomro till March 31.

“Ghulam Asghar and Bakht Siyal have also been included in the probe,” NAB prosecutor informed the court and sought more time from the court for completion of the investigation against the accused.

The court clubbed petitions of all accused in the case and adjourned the hearing till March 31.

The judge directed the NAB to produce its progress report of the probe in the next hearing of the case.

Sohail Anwar Siyal, Jameel Soomro and other accused were present in the court during the hearing.

The accountability watchdog inquiring into illegal allotment of lands and other charges against the provincial minister and other accused in the graft probe.

Islamabad, 10 Feb 2021 : Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur says India’s state institutions have become agents of Hindutva ideology of RSS, unleashing illegitimate atrocities on innocent people of the illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmiris.

He made these remarks in connection with the death anniversary of Muhammad Afzal Guru, who was secretly hanged to death by India in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail on 9th February, in 2013.

The Minister said the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir has become a terrible example of extra judicial killings, where the Indian government is rewarding its Law Enforcement Agencies’ officials, involved in fake encounters.

He said there are thousands of unmarked graves of innocent Kashmiris in the occupied valley which were also pointed out by the human rights organizations.