Saifullah/DNA

ISLAMABAD:  Uzbekistan’s Minister for Transport Makhkamov Ilkham called on Prime Minister Imran Khan,. During the meeting, matters relating to bilateral relations, regional connectivity, and peace and security in the region were discussed.

The Prime Minister underscored Pakistan’s fraternal ties with Uzbekistan based on common religious, historic and cultural bonds and reaffirmed the commitment to further deepen bilateral cooperation in all spheres.

 The Prime Minister recalled his last meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and stated that Pakistan looked forward to his visit at the earliest convenience. The Prime Minister underlined Pakistan’s resolve to forge closer ties with Central Asia, covering trade, investments, energy, and people-to-people contacts. The Prime Minister particularly highlighted the importance of joint efforts to promote regional connectivity for economic growth and development of the region. In this regard, the Prime Minister said that Pakistani seaports provided a great opportunity to Central Asian States for access to the Indian Ocean.

The two sides agreed to pursue Trans-Afghan railway line project “Mazar-e-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar.” The Prime Minister supported Uzbek efforts to secure financing for the project by signing Joint Appeal Letter addressed to the Heads of various International Financial Institutions (IFIs) by Heads of State/Government of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Uzbek Transport Minister conveyed the cordial greetings and best wishes of the Uzbek President and noted that President Mirziyoyev was looking forward to visiting Pakistan. On behalf of President Mirziyoyev, he also reiterated the invitation to the Prime Minister to visit Uzbekistan. He also reaffirmed Uzbekistan’s desire to have deeper bilateral trade and economic ties as well as enhanced connectivity with Pakistan. The Minister for Railways Mr. Muhammad Azam Khan Swati and Advisor for Commerce Mr. Abdul Razak Dawood were present during the meeting. The Uzbek Minister for Transport is on a one-day visit to Islamabad to discuss in detail rail and road cooperation from Central Asia to Pakistani seaports.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, DEC 29 – Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution (IICR) organized a webinar on education system of Pakistan, titled “Removing Pitfalls: Re-imagining the Education System of Pakistan”.the webinar included eminent speakers which highlighted the existing lacunas in the education system and how it can be improved through various means.

The session was moderated by Ms. Sabah Aslam, Founder IICR, while the rest of the rooster included, Dr. Amna Mehmood, Dean Social Sciences IIUI, Dr. Tanveer Afzal, Assistant professor Department of Education AIOU, Mr. Khurram Ellahi Khan, PhD Scholar and Motivational Speaker and Ms. Naureen Ibrahim, Member National Assembly.

While speaking to the webinar Mr. Khurram spoke on the importance of self realization for education. He emphasized that the core foundation of knowledge is self realization. Whether its Greeks or the Muslims’ golden era it was the self realization which prompted the innovation and extended the horizons of Knowledge, he said. Adding more he said the prime urge of knowing is embedded in the very existence of human being, one just has to realize it and the moment one realizes it, the rightful pursuit starts.

Dr. Amna Mehmood brought solutions to the table as she said that there is a need to integrate technology and develop knowledge based learning rather burdening the student physically and psychologically as well. Moreover, she emphasized that changes shall be brought to basic level which will ultimately lead to advance levels. Dr. Amna said that there is a huge difference between basic education in other countries specially west and basic education in Pakistan. adding more she said the there is also a need to add skilled people to the education sector as well so that the people who are earning professional degrees can have better understanding of what they are being taught.

The next speaker on the panel was Dr. Tanveer Afzal laid down a detailed framework on education system of Pakistan through his presentation. While speaking he added that Pakistan lacks skill based learning and there is more focus on memorizing rather actually learning a skill, from environment in classrooms to board exams, it confines the learning process to memorizing. Furthermore, he said that there are systematic flaws which we need to overcome because these flaws hinder the ability to innovate and subdue the creative capabilities in students. While giving recommendations Dr. Tanveer said that we need to engage students into setting goals which can improve and give growth to the environment of innovation. Moreover, he also said that the learning environment shall be open which can improve the learning process

The last speaker on panel was Ms. Naureen Ibrahim. While addressing the webinarMs.  Naureen said that Education model is perhaps one of the most important indicators in determining the level of development of a nation. Evaluations aren’t the only thing that determine how good or bad an education system is. Aspects such as affordability towards higher education, study hours, quality and equal access to education, investing in teacher training, use of new technologies, innovative teaching methodologies, and nurturing the talent , putting the right and precise amount of effort are the things that would prepare millennials to cope up with evolving world , a new world with a new culture , new social and political norms and a better understanding of humanity.She said that it is true that we are lagging in our education system which is menacing our society and has laid roots to various crimes. She added that apart form what content is being taught what is more important is how it is being taught and from whom it is being taught, which is teacher. Emphasizing the need of teachers she said that irrespective of forms of education system it is important to understand the importance of teacher and how it can improve the whole education system as a whole.

The session was then followed by the question and answer session by worthy participants and then session was concluded by Ms. Sabah Aslam, Founder IICR.

ISLAMABAD – The National Accountability Bureau  (NAB) on Tuesday  arrested  PML-N leader Khawaja Asif in assets beyond means case.

The PML-N leader was arrested from Ahsan Iqbal’s house in Islamabad.

NAB spokesperson Nawazish Ali Asim has confirmed to The News that Asif has been arrested in a case of assets beyond means.

The arrest was made soon after a PML-N meeting — held to decide whether the party’s lawmaker should resign from the Senate or not — concluded.

Sources informed Geo News that the chairman NAB had signed on Khawaja Asif’s arrest warrants and that he has been shifted to the anti-graft watchdog’s Rawalpindi office.

Khawaja Asif failed to declare the source of Rs220 million he received from Dubai, the sources said.

Moreover, PML-N lawmaker Hina Parvez Butt said that she condemned the arrest and warned Prime Minister Imran Khan that his “days in office were numbered”.

Khawaja Asif was ‘always ready to be arrested’

Geo News anchor Hamid Mir said on his show, Capital Talk, said that the former foreign minister knew he would be arrested and had even made preparations beforehand for it.

“He had prepared a bag as well and would say that the NAB would arrest him soon,” said Mir.

The spokesperson for Nawaz Sharif Muhammad Zubair, speaking on Geo News’ programme Capital Talk, said that the arrest came in response to Maryam Nawaz’s speeches.

“They wanted to do something, and now they did,” he said, adding more PML-N leaders would be arrested in the coming days.

Zubair said that people were questioning Sheikh Rasheed’s appointment and now we have seen his first move as interior minister.

DNA

ISLAMABAD– The United Kingdom reported the detection of a variant of SARS-COV-2; B.1.1.7, also called VOC-202012/01, earlier this month. Preliminary analysis by their experts suggests that this particular variant may be more transmissible; there is NO evidence so far to suggest that the infection caused by this variant is more severe. This strain has also been detected in other countries.

The Government has taken a number of steps to respond to this development. On the 21st December 2020, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided to limit and restrict travel from the UK to Pakistan only to certain categories of travelers and only under strict protocols that mandated a negative PCR test before the flight, a PCR test upon arrival in Pakistan and quarantine as prescribed by the authorities. Moreover, track, trace and quarantine was also initiated for passengers who had arrived from the UK as far as 7 days before the announcement of these travel restrictions. These measures are in place until 4thJanuary 2021.

In addition, viruses detected from individuals coming from the UK are also being evaluated in select laboratories for the presence of this variant. Based on this proactive effort, there are five samples [two at the National Institute of Health and three at the Aga Khan University hospital in Karachi] which may have the variant strain, based on preliminary analysis. These results have to be confirmed through further analysis (whole genome sequencing) which will take a few more days to complete.The NCOC and Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination are following this closely and necessary updates will be provided in due course.

DNA

Islamabad, DEC 29  – Finja, Pakistan’s leading digital lending platform, announced today that it has closed $9 Million of a $10 Million Series A1 financing round. This latest round brings in new investor ICU Ventures, with all previous institutional investors participating again including BeeNext, Vostok Emerging Finance, Quona Capital and Gray MacKenzie Engineering Services (a Descon company). Under the terms of the financing, the company has the flexibility to raise an additional $1 Million as a part of this round.

Finja subsidiaries operate under dual licensing regimes of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for its lending and digital payments businesses. With this first-of-its-kind support from both regulators, Finja has forged digital partnerships with banks, FMCGs, distributors, kiryana stores and small businesses. The company has clocked over Rs. 100 Billion in transactional volume with its assets under management growing in excess of 110% during the pandemic year.

Supported by the credit books of its partner banks, Finja has disbursed over 50,000 unsecured digitally scored Islamic and conventional loans to businesses and salaried individuals. Small business and consumer lending represents a Rs. 10 Trillion (USD $60 Billion) market in Pakistan of which less than 4% is currently penetrated. As a result of this sector being neglected, small businesses have largely struggled to grow due to unavailability of capital.

‘‘With this new capital injection along with our strong partnerships with SECP, SBP, banks, FMCGs, distributors and so many other parts of the supply-chain and payment ecosystem, we are fully equipped and supported by the industry to rapidly scale to create unprecedented impact.” said Qasif Shahid, Finja’s Co-Founder and CEO. Qasif previously launched mobile banking products in Singapore, East Africa, UAE and Pakistan.

Finja’s Co-Founder and Chairman Monis Rahman added, “We are excited to scale our efforts to help small businesses and consumers reach their goals with dignity. We are grateful for the support of some of the world’s best fintech funds which have invested in Pakistan for the first time through Finja.” Monis is one of Pakistan’s digital pioneers and runs Rozee.pk, Pakistan’s largest jobs platform.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, DEC 29 – President Arif Alvi on Tuesday said disabled persons in the society deserved access to education and employment as their “equitable right, and not as charity”.“The State is responsible to transform the society in a way that it accepts and mainstreams the differently-abled persons in all segments of life,” the President said in his address at a wheelchair distribution ceremony, held here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The embassy of Azerbaijan in Islamabad gifted 100 customized wheelchairs to the disabled people in Pakistan, at an event attended by First Lady Samina Alvi, Azerbaijan’s ambassador Ali Alizada and a number of disabled persons including children.President Alvi emphasized on adopting inclusive approach towards persons with disabilities by providing them education at regular schools instead of secluding them at special institutes.He said persons with physical, visual or hearing impairment could be easily absorbed into the normal school system, to be followed by targeted skilled training for their accommodation at workplace.

“It is the time to shun the stereotype approach towards disabled persons and give them opportunities and access to facilities,” he said.He stressed proper implementation of 2.5 percent disabled quota in jobs and ensuring training through National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) for effective results.The President mentioned that of the social welfare agenda initiated by him and his wife, the uplift of disabled people was a priority and ‘a subject close to their hearts’.

He said the government under Ehsaas project had registered two million people with disabilities for disbursement of stipend, while banks had also launched schemes to offer loans for special persons to carry out small and medium enterprises.The President mentioned that the Chairman Capital Development Authority had assured him that all pavements in Islamabad would get ramps by March, besides 250 public parks to also become wheel-chair enabled in near future.He said the government was working with the business community of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi to make accessible the market places for disabled.He said a survey revealed that around 15 percent of the population of Pakistan was suffering with different forms of disabilities, which needed to be given an access-friendly environment in buildings and public places.

He pointed that lack of facilities at public places forced the families to confine their disabled members at homes.The President extended sincere gratitude to Azerbaijan for gifting wheelchairs to the disabled people of Pakistan, saying the precious gesture of compassion was a belief in respecting the rights of such people.He lauded Ambassador Ali Alizada for his commendable job of contributing to the socio-welfare development of Pakistan through launching projects in fields of education, culture, environment and health, including providing assistance to Thalassemia Centre in Islamabad.He mentioned that Pakistan and Azerbaijan enjoyed friendship based on common religion and culture of “caring for weaker segments of society”.

He also congratulated Azerbaijan on liberation of its territories captured by Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.Azerbaijan’s ambassador Ali Alizada said the memorable event of gifting of wheelchairs was manifestation of the support the two countries gave to the rights of persons with disabilities.He said the proposal by President Dr Arif Alvi to Azerbaijan for customized wheelchairs depicted his personal commitment to the welfare of disabled people.President Alvi and Begum Samina Alvi also took round of the exhibition of handicrafts and paintings made by children with disabilities aging 12 to 15 years and appreciated their talent.With majority of the audience on wheelchairs, the President and the First Lady approached each individually and greeted them with their words of encouragement and appreciation.

DNA

LAHORE, DEC 29 (DNA) – Balouchistan High Court Tuesday upheld  DGTO decision barring all the 30 bogus votes of 15 fake trade bodies in the province which were to be cast in the annual election of Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in December 30 (Wednesday) tomorrow.

It was also ordered that Mrs Sonia and Mrs Mehreen Akhtar can not be nominees of Quetta Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Fpcci election.

Engineer Daroo Khan Achakzai former President FPCCI and provincial chief UBG and Haji Jamal Uddin Achakzai had challenged these bogus votes on the grounds that these 15 trade bodies are not existing anywhere in the entire province and how their bogus votes can be included in the final list?

Khalid Tawab said Supreme Court also today restored the membership of Mian Zafar Iqbal from Faisalabad representing small chambers who is now contest VP election .

Chairman UBG Iftikhar Ali Malik said now UBG will sweep election with overwhelming majority of record highest number of votes in the history of country.