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ABBOTTABAD, OCT 10  –   Passing out parade held at Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul, Abbottabad. Passed out cadets were of 142nd PMA Long Course, 32nd Technical Graduate Course, 61st Integrated Course, 16th Lady Cadet Course and 1st Basic Military Training Course.Cadets from Palestine, Maldives, Qatar and Sri Lanka were also among the passed out courses.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa was the chief guest on the occasion.COAS reviewed the parade and gave awards to distinguished cadets.

The coveted Sword of Honour was awarded to Academy Senior Under Officer Muhammad Faateh of 142nd PMA Long Course.

The President’s Gold Medal to Battalion Senior Under Officer Junaid Khan of 142nd PMA Long Course, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Overseas Gold Medal to Under Officer Naazim Naseer of 142nd PMA Long Course from Maldives, Chief of Army Staff Cane to Company Junior Under Officer Tanawosh of 32nd Technical Graduate Course and Commandant Cane awarded to Sargent Hamza Tariq of 61st Integrated Course, Company Sargent Major Ada Urooj of 16th Lady Cadet Course and Company Under Officer Mehwish Anjum of 1st Basic Military Training Course.

DNA

ISLAMABAD  —  Former President ICCI Shahid Rasheed Butt on Saturday said incompetent rules have inflicted more harm to the economy than the enemies of Pakistan have.

Volumes can be written on the promises of the rulers which were never honoured, he said.

Shahid Rasheed Butt said that the overwhelming majority of rulers have depended on promises and claims while damaging national interest for their gains with the exception of a few.

He noted that a neighbouring country is destabilising Pakistan since decades with transforming our country into a desert high on her agenda but the rulers have ignored this threat for the last 53 years. Rather they have amassed billions in the name of overcoming energy scarcity.

There is not a single political party in Pakistan which can claim to have substantially improved area under cultivation, yield, irrigation system or quality of life of farmers.

Despite being an agricultural country our import of fruits and vegetables is more than what it was fifteen years back, he observed.

Mr. Butt said that nothing was done to boost industrialisation in the country to improve employment, production, exports resulting in unsustainable import bill.

Bringing the bleeding energy sector, PIA, Steel Mills, Railways and many other institutions were never considered a good decision by successive governments as reforms in the institutions have a political price no one is ready to pay.

The political struggle among politicians has taken the economy as hostage and masses have to pay the bill for uncertainty, he said, adding that majority of rulers were good in borrowing pushing up debt to over Rs 44000 billion and burdening country by foreign debt worth 112 billion dollars.

MUHAMMAD TAHIR

DNA

FAISALABAD, OCT 10 – Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO is striving hard to provide maximum facilities to its consumers, protection of the rights of consumers as well as officials is top priority of FESCO, said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) FESCO Eng. Arshad Munir he was addressing to the officers at FESCO headquarters here today.

CEO directed to escalate the speed on different electricity related development projects in all eight districts of FESCO region and said that provision of uninterrupted power supply to its consumers is FESCO’s top priority.

He said that many projects are in pipeline to strengthen and upgrade the distribution system.He made it clear that we have to work together for consumers satisfaction because a satisfy consumers reflects the company success.

He also directed the senior officers to transfer their expertise and skills to the juniors to improve the performance of company and facilitate the consumers.Director Public Relations Officer Tahir Mahmmud Sheikh told.

Earlier, different delegations of the unions also met the Arsahd Munir and presented him bouquets of flowers. CEO thanked them and directed to follow the safety-first principal so that company could be saved from fatal and non-fatal accidents.

The 2020 research will assess the impact of extremism and terrorism on mental health and national psyche. The Research will also explore public policy options for increased investments in mental health.

Islamabad, OCT 10  – Pakistan is fighting its war on terror for the last 40 years, this has greatly impacted the national psyche towards others and especially how citizens react to any external stimuli. Mishal Pakistan, a country partner institute of the Future of Economic Progress System Initiative of the World Economic Forum will be conducting this longitudinal study to measure the state of mental health in Pakistan and beyond.

The study is announced on the World Mental Health Day, which is observed on 10 October every year, with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health.

The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide. Specifically, goal 3 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focuses on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages. World leaders have committed to “prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases, including behavioural, developmental and neurological disorders, which constitute a major challenge for sustainable development”.

Neuropsychiatric disorders in Pakistan make up the 11.9 percent of the global diseases while only 2.62 percent of the GDP is spent on health, and data on incidents related to suicide remains unavailable. Mishal Pakistan’s research study will look in to the psychological health of Pakistan to assess the impact of violence as a result of the war on terror. This research initiative focuses on assessing the impact of terrorism on a society’s mental wellbeing and how it effects the individuals belonging to these respective communities. The recent data shows that the overall mental health of communities has been majorly impacted during the COVID-19 outbreak while violence remains one of the key factors of the collective consciousness of the society.

Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan and the Member Experts Network of the World Economic Forum said, “Mental Health is one of the most ignored areas of research in Pakistan, while the nation is exposed to multiple challenges the policy makers need the said research data for public policy design and allocation of appropriate resources”. He further said, the research will seek help from the academia sector to incorporate the research findings into the knowledge platforms across the globe and suggest public policy options for increased investment in mental health”. This is also the theme of the World Mental Health Day 2020 as well.

Pakistan has been fighting the war on terrorism for more than 40 years. It is anticipated that the war has had a serious impact on the mental health of the society and has created an overall negative effect on the communities and their well-being. A 2019 study by American Psychological Association indicated that 41% women in KPK who were temporarily placed from Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan (FATA) to Jalozai Camps were experiencing PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Mishal Pakistan aims to study the correlation between extreme circumstances and mental health while highlighting how it impacts the population of the country in different segments.

Speaking on the occasion, Nadim Salim, Chief Executive Officer of Insights Research, said that, “one of the things that motivated us to conduct the Research study is that working on mental health helps improve our communities by making it more acceptable for those suffering from mental illnesses to seek help, learn to cope, and get on the road to recovery”. He also said, “In addition, mental health isn’t just about mental illnesses. It’s also about maintaining a positive state of wellbeing”.

This year’s World Mental Health Day, on 10 October, comes at a time when our daily lives have changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The past months have brought many challenges: for health-care workers, providing care in difficult circumstances, going to work fearful of bringing COVID-19 home with them; for students, adapting to taking classes from home, with little contact with teachers and friends, and anxious about their futures; for workers whose livelihoods are threatened; for the vast number of people caught in poverty or in fragile humanitarian settings with extremely limited protection from COVID-19; and for people with mental health conditions, many experiencing even greater social isolation than before. And this is to say nothing of managing the grief of losing a loved one, sometimes without being able to say goodbye.

The economic consequences of the pandemic are already being felt, as companies let staff go in an effort to save their businesses, or indeed shut down completely.

Given past experience of emergencies, it is expected that the need for mental health and psychosocial support will substantially increase in the coming months and years. Investment in mental health programmes at the national and international levels, which have already suffered from years of chronic underfunding, is now more important than it has ever been.

According to a joint research of the Pakistan Psychiatric Center, Fountain House and the Shaukat Khanum Research Center published in the Taiwan Psychiatric Review 2020, Pakistan has only 400 trained psychiatrists for a population of 220 million, while more than 15 million people are suffering from one form of mental illness or the other. Moreover, Pakistan is a traditionalist society where discussing mental illness or related dysfunctional behavior is highly discouraged. The study by Mishal Pakistan will also examine the social structures and the pressure associated with discouraging people to seek professional help.

Mishal Pakistan is Pakistan’s leading strategic communication and design company. It is also the country Partner Institute of the Future of Economic Progress System Initiative, World Economic Forum. Mishal is responsible to generate primary data on more than 150 indicators measuring Pakistan’s competitiveness and other indicators. Mishal’s foremost domain of activity is behaviour change communication, strategic communication with a spotlight on media and perception management.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, OCT 10 –  Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused drastic decline in the business activities across the country and it was high time that the government should focus on formulating more conducive policies besides taking supportive measures for the private sector to enable businesses to revive and boost business activities in the country.

He emphasized that the State Bank of Pakistan should work with commercial banks to provide loans on low interest rates to the private sector for revival and expansion of business ventures. He was addressing a dinner reception hosted by Sheikh Abdul Waheed, Chairman, Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) and Faad Waheed, Executive Member ICCI in honor of new Office Bearers of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said promoting ease of doing business should be the top priority of the government so that the economy could come out of the difficulties created by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, instead of taking facilitative measures for businesses, FBR was issuing regulatory orders like SRO-924 and SRO-931/2020 that would create additional problems for businesses of Construction and automobile sectors. He stressed that FBR should take stakeholders fully on board before issuing any new SRO that would save the economy from unnecessary problems.

Speaking at the occasion, Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, Chairman, Punjab Board of Investment and Trade highlighted the potential areas of investment in the Punjab Province and said that the business community should capitalize on them for future business promotion and growth. He stressed the need of close cooperation and regular interaction between policymakers and business leaders to make new policies that should put the economy on the path of sustainable growth.

Mian Akram Farid Chairman Founder, Ms. Fatma Azim Senior Vice President, Abdul Rehman Khan Vice President ICCI, former Presidents FPCCI Abdul Rauf Alam, Zubair Ahmed Malik, Ghazanfar Bilour, former Presidents ICCI Khalid Javed, Tariq Sadiq, Zafar Bakhtawri, Mian Shaukat Masud, Ejaz Abbasi, Atif Ikram Sheikh, Zahid Maqbool, Sheikh Amir Waheed, Baser Daud, Ahmed Mughal, Muhammad Ahmed Waheed, as well as Ch. Waheed ud Din, Nasir Qureshi, President Haripur CCI Shehbaz Sheikh, President RCCI Nasir Mirza, Sohail Altaf, Khalid Tawab, Samina Fazal, Rafat Farid, Ahsan Bakhtasari, Ajmal Baloch, Khalid Chaudhry, Malik Sohail Hussain, Tahir Mehmood, Executive Members ICCI, Presidents of Market Associations and a large number of business community attended the dinner reception.

Pakistan Hotels Association annual elections were held during July to September, 2020 and Election Results were announced at its 56th Annual General Meeting held on September 29, 2020 at Regent Plaza Hotel, Karachi. Following Office Bearers and Executive Committee Members have been elected for the term 2020-21:

1. Mr. Haseeb A. Gardezi – Chairman

Mr. Haseeb Amjad Gardezi is a C—level professional with over 24 years of diversified senior management and hospitality experience. Being a certified Management and Hospitality professional from Cornell School of Hotel Administration, USA is working as Chief Operating Officer, Hospitality Division of Hashoo Group and CEO of Hotel One (Pvt.) Limited. Hashoo Group owns and operates Marriott and Pearl-Continental Hotels in Luxury segment and Hotel Ones’ in the select service segment. He introduced the concept of Franchise management in limited Service lodging facility in Pakistan under the brand name of Hotel One by Pearl-Continental and heads the largest national network of such facility of Hotel Ones’

2. Mr. Shakir Abu Bakar Bhura – Senior Vice Chairman     

Mr. Shakir Abu Bakar is a C-level Finance Executive with professional experience spanning over 32 years across a range of industries including Hospitality, Real Estate, Construction & Petroleum.  He has been associated with the Hashoo Group for more than 20 years and has served in different senior management positions. Currently Mr. Shakir is with Hashoo Group as Chief Financial Officer Hospitality & Real Estate Division. He joined the HHL Board in the year 2020 and is also on the Board of other Group companies and member of the Audit & HR Committees. Leader with ability to strike a practical balance between the mitigation of risk & capitalization of opportunities

3. Mr. Mirza Mansoor Ahmed – Vice Chairman South

Mirza Mansoor Ahmed a well-known professional in the hospitality industry of Pakistan with more than 30 years of experience, and first General Manager, Movenpick Hotel Karachi since last many years. He has remained General Manager of Karachi Marriott Hotel, prior to this, he was with the Pearl Continentals in their Lahore and Karachi properties.

4. Mr. Irshad B. Anjum – Vice Chairman North

Mr. Irshad B. Anjum, Director Operations, Faletti’s Hotel Lahore since 2014 with vast experience, who started his career since 1970 with Food & Beverage education from Germany and USA and work experience in Germany, USA, London, Dubai and Afganishtan. He has been General Manager on Pearl Continental Hotel properties in Karachi, Bhurban and Lahore

Following are the Executive Committee Members of PHA with their active role and participation to promote hotel and tourism industry of Pakistan:

5. Mr. Zubair Baweja, M.D. Pakistan Hotels Developers Limited / Regent Plaza Hotel Karachi
6. Mr. Ameen Lakhani, Corporate Director Finance, TPS / Serena Hotels
7. Mr. Rehan Faiz Pirzada, Cluster General Manager, Karachi Marriott Hotel
8. Mr. Mohammad Akhtar Bawany, Vice Chairman, Pakistan Services Limited
9. Mr. Fazal Ellahi Kushtiwala, Director, Hotel Jabees Karachi
10. Mr. Hameed A. Kidwai, Group Advisor, Hashoo Group – Islamabad Marriott Hotel
11. Barrister Mansoor Shah, Director, Samsons Inn Hotel, Malam Jabba, Swat
12. Ms. Fauzia Hashi Oila, Director Sales, Serena Hotels / TPS, Karachi
13. Mr. Amjad Hussain Durrani, Assistant Director Finance, Hotel Mehran Karachi

Secretary General            

Pakistan Hotels Association

DNA

ISLAMABAD – FBR seems to be more interested in collecting refunds than taxes which is damaging the fragile economy, an FPCCI official said Saturday.

The refund system should be automated and its responsibility should rest with the central bank to reduce complaints and corruption and improve the economic situation, said Convener FPCCI Central Standing Committee on Insurance said Dr. Murtaza Mughal.

He said that the government is trying hard to inject new blood in the economy and restore the confidence of the business community but the tax mechanism is working against it.

Unrealistic tax targets have compelled the FBR to strangulate the business activities through highhandedness to show performance, he added.

Dr. Murtaza Mughal who is also President of the Pakistan Economy Watch said that FBR continues to issue SROs which violates the government’s intention to spur growth.

He said that recently SRO 889 has been issued for surveillance of factories which is being opposed by the industrialists as it will trigger harassment, corruption and litigation.

Similarly, through two SROs, banks have been directed to report anyone withdrawing one million rupees or more and depositing ten million rupees or more while real estate agents have been directed to report all the sales and purchases to FBR.

These SROs will damage the realty sector, discourage investment and may reverse the gains made through the construction package, amnesty scheme and other incentives offered by the government to spur growth.

He said that all over the world the real estate market is kept insulated from fear, raids, unnecessary audits but here its different which is one of the reasons Pakistanis ignore the local market and invest in the realty sector of other countries.