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KARACHI: Deputy Chairman Senate of Pakistan Saleem Mandviwalla, while speaking at a webinar organized by Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) on Wednesday to develop national consensus on core economic agenda, stated that inconsistency and changes in policies have always been a problem as these changes either implemented through federal budget or otherwise throughout the year create a challenging environment for the business community. Therefore, all the Chambers and trade associations and FPCCI must unite and make collective efforts to effectively deal with issues being faced by the entire business and industrial community.

The webinar was also attended by Member National Assembly Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhry, Vice Chairman Businessmen Group Anjum Nisar, President KCCI M. Shariq Vohra, Senior Vice President Saqib Goodluck, Vice President Shamsul Islam Khan and others.

Saleem Mandviwalla advised all the Chambers to encourage their members to bring cases of harassment by NAB to Chamber’s notice and the same should subsequently be forwarded to Deputy Chairman Senate’s office so that these could be taken up with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in order to get them resolved.

He stated that he has received hundreds of applications from all over the country from businessmen who have been victimized by NAB. “These businessmen were victimized as they carried out businesses with people currently being investigated by NAB”, he said, adding that businessmen should not be scared of the government authorities and come forward to highlight NAB’s harassment.

Speaking on the occasion, MNA Ahsan Iqbal underscored that it was the private sector that holds the key to progress of any nation as the days when the national investment used to lead are gone. Economies are increasingly dependent on Foreign Direct Investment and private investment. Unfortunately, Pakistan has not been able to harness the potential of foreign direct investment and private sector investment. The economy would never flourish when private sector remains shy to invest in the economy, he added.

He said, “We are now living in an extraordinary time, a time for paradigm shift. The whole model of business is undergoing fundamental changes and the models for industrial revolution developed some 300 years ago are becoming irrelevant as today the knowledge economy holds key to wealth creation.”

Hence, there is a need to explore new ways, compatible sources for wealth development and enhance capacity, Ahsan Iqbal said, adding that time has come that all the key stakeholders of Pakistan including the politicians, judges, military, bureaucracy, media and the private sector have to sit down together to develop a 10-year long national charter or a code of conduct on economy, democratic governance, justice, social issues, foreign policy and national security. “These are the fundamental areas in which we need consensus. Key to national economic development lies not in setting out policies, it lies in creating an enabling environment and it lies in developing confidence amongst the drivers of the economy who the investors.”

He pointed out that a country like Vietnam maintains US$9 billion FDI and Myanmar attracts US$4 to US$5 billion FDI per annum while Pakistan with a population of 210 million people was barely attracting US$1 billion. “Given our population and market size, we should be attracting US$20 to US$25 billion FDI per annum which will only come if our private sector is investing. If our private sector is not investing, FDI will also not come”, he added. “Economic stability can only be achieved through political stability hence we must learn from our mistakes and start speaking the truth also. We must understand that without stable politics there cannot be a robust economy”, he opined.

Vice Chairman BMG Anjum Nisar, in his remarks, stated that it was a matter of grave concern that even after more than 70 years of existence, Pakistan’s exports were hovering around US$24 billion whereas the FDI was around US$1.5 billion which actually is a shame for a country like Pakistan. “Hence, it was very essential to come up with Charter of Economy which must address the basic issues and we must also look at other models around the world to see what strategies were pursued by many countries to improve their exports, FDIs and other economic indicators. Secondly, the political parties have right to protest but we have to deal with political uncertainty in order to pull the country out of economic crises.”

Earlier, while welcoming the webinar participants, President KCCI M. Shariq Vohra stated that the Karachi Chamber has initiated a series of webinar to develop national consensus on core economic agenda as it was very crucial to put the political differences aside and establish long term goals under a Charter of Economy for a period of 20 years in order to ensure economic and industrial stability all over the country.

ISLAMABAD, DEC 16 (DNA) –  Government officials from Pakistan and the United States today inaugurated 155 District Disease Monitoring Units to enable local health officials to track the spread of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, more effectively throughout Pakistan.

The Monitoring Units, which are designated spaces within existing district health offices, have been equipped with modern audio-visual equipment and internet connectivity to strengthen real-time coordination on disease monitoring between the district and provincial levels.

The United States Mission to Pakistan, through the Agency for International Development (USAID), also supported the training of rapid response teams working in the Monitoring Units on how to conduct contact tracing for COVID-19 cases. These teams were also trained to use data to identify potential COVID-19 hotspots within the districts.

“Being able to rapidly monitor, detect, and respond to public health threats such as COVID-19 is critically important.  It inspired our partnership with the Government of Pakistan to establish these District Disease Monitoring and Response Units and build the capacity of nearly 3,000 healthcare workers to rapidly respond to public health threats in Pakistan,” said USAID Mission Director Julie Koenen. “We thank the Government of Pakistan for our continued collaboration as we meet the challenge of linking these units to Provincial, Regional, and Federal structures, thereby providing critical resources to stop the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.”

The Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr. Faisal Sultan, expressed his gratitude to the United States Government and acknowledged that this support will go a long way towards institutionalizing an integrated disease surveillance system in Pakistan.=DNA

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DNA

KARACHI, DEC 16 –  UK government’s Department for International Trade hosted a virtual seminar in collaboration with Pakistan Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers’ Association (PPMA) and Woodley BioReg Limited UK on “Route to International Certifications for Pharmaceutical Companies”.

The event, chaired by the Deputy High Commissioner Karachi and Trade Director, Pakistan Mike Nithavrianakis brought together local pharmaceutical companies interested in getting their manufacturing facilities compliant to global manufacturing standards and a UK based consultancy firm on Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).The list of those attending were: Mr Tauqeer Ul Haq (Central Chairman PPMA, Mr Ash Ramzan (Principal Consultant, Woodley BioReg Limited), Ms Mahwash Khan (Chairperson PPMA South Zone) and Rehan Shahid (Senior Trade Manager).

Deputy High Commissioner and Trade Director Mike Nithavrianakis highlighted how the UK’s expertise can be utilised to help local pharmaceutical companies achieve international certifications and expand their export markets.Deputy High Commissioner and Trade Director Mike Nithavrianakis said, “The pharmaceutical industry is among the fastest-growing sectors in Pakistan and has recorded double-digit growth rates in the last four years.

However, the export potential of this industry remains under-utilised and this can be addressed by getting local manufacturing facilities certified to international standards. Our aim is to provide detailed guidance on the process of international certification and an overview of the UK’s quality standards and regulatory requirements for Pharmaceuticals, Nutraceuticals and Medical Devices. We are excited about the potential for the UK and Pakistan to work ever more closely in this sector.”

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ISLAMABAD, DEC 16 –  Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has finalized evaluation process of course assignments of overseas students enrolled in spring 2020 semester and their final result will soon be declared. According to Examinations Department, AIOU has completed the process of assignments’ assessment and uploaded marks of the students settled in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuweit, Qattar, Oman and Bahrain for matriculation and intermediate programs on the university website ([email protected]).

The Examinations Department has further informed that final results of these programs would be announced soon. It is pertinent to mention here that AIOU has been imparting quality education to the overseas Pakistanis settled in the Middle East, Europe and America through distance education.

Upon the special directives of the Vice Chancellor, AIOU, Prof Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum, university has expedited the process of offering courses in collaboration with institutions of Europe, Canada and USA. In this regard, an MoU with a Canadian organization ‘NextGenU’ has been signed recently to offer six certificate level courses jointly. According to the agreement, AIOU will offer these courses in spring 2021 semester.

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QUETTA , DEC 16 – The Steering Committee on the Rule of Law (RoL) Roadmap Balochistan convened its fourth stock take meeting on 16 December 2020 in Quetta. The session concluded with a firm commitment made by Mr. Ziaullah Langove, Minister Home & Tribal Affairs, GoB towards advancing the criminal justice sector reforms envisioned under the Rule of Law roadmap in Balochistan.

Balochistan has achieved significant milestones under the RoL Roadmap Project since its inception to date. This project is being implemented by UNODC and supported by the British High Commission. Balochistan has succeeded to establish a fully functional governance mechanism that drives evidence-based and cross institutional RoL Reform which was possible due to the commitment and dedication of the government of Balochistan and all stakeholders to make this reform meaningful and sustainable.

The progress made under the roadmap was applauded by all the stakeholders despite the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19. The participants took stock of the achievements, lessons and exchanged views on next prospects for cooperation. Mr. Hafiz Abdul Basit, Additional Chief Secretary, Home & Tribal Affairs, GoB appraised the SC members of another major milestone, which is the final approval of the PC-1 by the Government, committing the amount PKR 500 million for the RoL reform in the province under the Roadmap.  He further thanked all those who have been working relentlessly to get this approval. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Jeremy Milsom, Representative, UNODC Pakistan emphasized that through the coordination efforts with the Government of Balochistan, considerable progress under the Rule of Law reforms has been achieved. However, the time is now to continue pushing forward and move the needle on implementing a robust set of reforms to align the criminal justice institutions to reinforce human rights and address underlying challenges of gender-based violence through promoting the rule of law and democracy in Balochistan.

Key findings from the assessment survey on citizens’ perception regarding the performance of criminal justice institutions and the baseline study in Balochistan were presented. While the findings of the survey and baseline provide a benchmark to use a demand-driven approach through citizens’ perspectives to enhance legitimacy, fairness, efficiency and transparency of the criminal justice sector towards ensuring safety and security of the citizens, the baseline also provides a yardstick for criminal justice institutions to measure their performance and progress against RoL provincial set targets.

The Delivery Unit apprised the forum further on the progress made to date, particularly on the digital platforms through a demonstration of the website which is continuously being updated to project the dynamic nature of the criminal justice reforms led by the RoL roadmap. The digital interface of the roadmap is powered by a dashboard that provides a convergence platform through evidence-led data analytics to inform both policy and practice of  criminal justice institutions.

The Roadmap project is recognized as a groundbreaking and innovative approach to drive evidence-based policy and reform through a robust governance structure and regular stock takes.

The organizers of the steering committee meeting thanked all stakeholders for their participation and acknowledged UNODC’s efforts and the British High Commission for their continued and generous support.