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Azerbaijani Ombudsman issues statement on Armenian missile attack on Mingachevir

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DNA

BAKU , OCT 6 – Azerbaijani Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva issued a statement in connection with the missile attack of the city of Mingachevir by the Armenian Armed Forces, where a large dam and power plant are located.

We once again bring to the attention of the world community that starting from September 27, 2020, the Armenian armed forces continue to fire heavily on densely populated civilian settlements, social, cultural facilities and strategic objects using heavy artillery, aircraft, special missile systems and prohibited weapons.

Thus, starting from 11 pm, October 04, 2020, according to the instructions of military-political administration of Armenia, that has not yet renounced its policy of occupation and aggressive actions, the armed forces of this country shelled from rockets the densely populated civilian settlements of Mingachevir city.

We stress especially that one of the missiles deliberately fired by the Armenian armed forces targeting at a power plant in Mingachevir, more than 100 km away from the area where the fighting took place, with the population of more than 100,000, fell in front of the power plant and the other near the house of civilians. Unfortunately, as a result of the rocket attacks on a private house, 5 people were hospitalized with various injuries, and the house was severely damaged.

We would like to inform you that Mingachevir, the industrial city of Azerbaijan, is of crucial importance from the strategic standpoint and the largest Water Reservoir and power plant in the South Caucasus region is located here. Targeting this reservoir and power plant could have serious environmental consequences for the whole South Caucasus region.

According to the Rio Declaration On Environment And Development (1992), the states shall therefore respect international law providing protection for the environment in times of armed conflict and cooperate in its further development, as necessary.

In this regard, we state that missile launch targeting Mingachevir reservoir and power block by Armenia, which severely violates the norms and principles of international law, including the norms of international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, is a serious threat to the environment and energy supply not only in Azerbaijan but throughout the region.

We once again call on international organizations to demand from occupant Armenia to unconditionally refrain from the criminal acts that infringe on the right of the civilian population to live, also to a safe and healthy environment, which is a gross violation of human rights and freedoms and poses a risk of a profound environmental disaster for the region, to liberate Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent districts, which are historical territories of Azerbaijan, and to undertake urgent actions to establish international legal responsibility.

RCCI shows concern on growing political & economic uncertainty

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DNA

RAWALPINDI, OCT 6 – The Business community of Rawalpindi city has shown strong concern on growing political uncertainty which ultimately affect the economy of the country and urged the government to resolve issues amicably.

The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) President Mohammad Nasir Mirza on Tuesday while talking to different trade delegations at chamber house said that the business community has grave concerns on growing political and economic uncertainty as both are interlinked with each other. The stock market hit badly and dropped more than 1000 points in a single day and on a bearish trend. Investors, especially foreign investors can only be attracted once we have political stability and continuation of economic policies.

After Corona, business activities have resumed with enormous difficulty. In such a situation, the recent political turmoil is detrimental to the country’s economy. The Prime Minister should take immediate notice here, he suggested.

He said that issues should be resolved amicably and political parties must show political tolerance, maturity and demonstrate the wisdom.

The trade delegates shared their issues including traffic congestion, tax notices, encroachment and parking.

The chamber’s platform will always be available in raising its voice to solve the problems of the traders, whether it is a matter of facilities or tax reforms, the chamber has always played its due role, he assured.

No harassment by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) and other agencies under the guise of tax notices, tax collection and registration, he demanded. Stakeholders should also be consulted on the issue of Point of Sales (POS). Group leader Sohail Altaf said that the business community has gone through a lot of hardships. Recent political instability will have a negative impact on business and investment and urged the government to address the given situation immediately.

UN: Bouznika’s Inter-Libyan Dialogue, ‘Real Opportunity’ to put an end to long conflict

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Bouznika, (DNA) – The inter-Libyan dialogue sessions, the second round of which is currently taking place in Bouznika with a view to reaching a political solution to the Libyan crisis, constitute “a real opportunity to put a definitive end to this long conflict,” said Monday the acting UN envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams.

In a speech delivered during the dialogue session between delegations from the High Council of State and the Libyan House of Representatives, Williams said that the meetings in Morocco, in addition to the discussions held in Switzerland to provide recommendations on crucial and necessary issues for the political resolution of the Libyan crisis, have “greatly contributed to creating this unique opportunity to revive the Libyan political dialogue”.

The UN official said she is satisfied with the meeting, around the same table in Bouznika, of the two delegations, in order to reach an agreement on the criteria for the selection of the persons who will occupy the posts of sovereignty, in accordance with the provisions of the Skhirat agreement concluded in December 2015, calling on the parties to continue their efforts to achieve this goal.

After praising the “tireless efforts” made to help resolve the Libyan crisis, Williams described the cessation of hostilities and direct clashes between the two sides in recent months as “encouraging”.

However, she said the cessation of hostilities may not be sustainable if the Libyan protagonists do not reach a permanent ceasefire agreement and a comprehensive political solution to the crisis as soon as possible.In addition, Williams stressed that the resolution of this crisis remains a top priority for the United Nations, given the “very difficult” conditions in which Libyans are living as a result of the continuing conflict.

Williams called for a comprehensive political agreement that meets the aspirations of all Libyan parties and sets Libya on the path to peace, stability and development.She also urged all Libyans to continue to work in support of the ceasefire and political dialogue, while promoting the interests of the country and the Libyan people with a view to restoring Libya’s legitimacy and sovereignty and building a democratic State.

Removing roadblocks to growth of clean energy the only way forward for Pakistan’s environmental security: IPS

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DNA

ISLAMABAD, OCT 6 – The Global Climate Risk Index has placed Pakistan on the fifth spot on the list of countries most vulnerable to climate change in its annual report for 2020. The use of fossil fuels which includes coal, gas and fuel oil on the other hand is detrimental for the country’s environmental future. It is thus imperative for the country to move to renewable energy sooner rather than later, wherein a failure in doing so will further aggravate the existing food, water and energy security related threats.

These concerns were raised in the first yearly meeting of IPS’ Steering Committee on Energy, Water and Climate Change, which was organized by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Islamabad for reviewing outgoing year’s progress as well as planned projects for the forthcoming year 2020-21. The meeting was chaired by Mirza Hamid Hasan, former secretary, Water and Power, and addressed by Ashfaq Mahmood, former secretary, Water and Power, Syed Akhtar Ali, former member energy, Planning Commission of Pakistan and author of many books on energy, Ameena Sohail, Sr IPS associate and energy lawyer, Khalid Rahman, executive president IPS, Naufil Shahrukh, GM-Operations IPS, and the Institute’s energy and water program’s team members Naila Saleh, Sarah and Wali Farooqi.

Terming the use of clean energy as the only way forward for ensuring an environmentally secured future for Pakistan, it was stressed that roadblocks in the way of wider use of clean energy should be addressed timely since it is not only the most efficient, feasible, reliable and safest mean of energy generation, but simultaneously will contribute to reducing reliance on imported fuels and harnessing the immense indigenous renewable energy resources available in   Pakistan. In parallel, Pakistan is already 5th most vulnerable country to climate change and could not afford to continue the existing trajectory. In this regard, the excessive rains in many parts of the country including Karachi were only a recent highlight of the alarming threats posed to the country—emphasizing urgent need for action to address the issue on priority basis.

It was pointed out in the meeting that the reason for not benefitting from this immense renewable energy potential in Pakistan lies in flexibility constraints and lack of commitment on behalf of relevant authorities, who neither had technical expertise nor the intent to make this shift. Further, it is more convenient for the grid operators to manage the grid dominated by base load power plants regardless of its detrimental impacts on environment, and hence they intend to continue the business as usual.

It was also pointed by energy experts that the on-ground steps currently taken by the government were not only contradictory to the targets set in the 2019 policy for ‘Alternative and Renewable Energy’, but also poorly contrasted to the global and regional renewable energy advancement.  For instance, the coal power plants installed in Sahiwal and Hub, and the other two being installed in Tharparkar and Gwadar were a direct contradiction of the mentioned policy. The speakers said that an argument is made frequently that when Pakistan has such huge reservoirs of coal at its disposal, why should it not be utilizing it to generate energy. The contrasting reality however remains that Pakistan’s reliance on coal fired power plants remain skewed toward imported fuels and coal, the cost of which is nearly at par with IPPs and has significantly contributed to the swelling of circular debt—now reaching trillions from billions.

The speakers also rued that there was no planning or proper data existent to address the circular debt issue. The regulators in the country were not playing their due role properly and many concerned departments were even reluctant to share the data with each other. The result of all this is that the claiming creditors demand unjustifiable bills, which are then accepted by the government without any analysis or forensic audit.

The speakers also highlighted that the generation capacity in the country has already surpassed the country’s needs—outpacing the transmission resulting in unserved energy and idled generation capacity. The state institutions like NTDC, according to the speakers, did not have enough research resources indigenously to assess the generation or distribution capacity of the country. It did on the other hand outsource the task to another institution in 2018 and that study has been completed recently, the work however took so long in its completion that the indicators and scenario used in preparing that report has become outdated in this time.

The experts stressed that the issues faced by Pakistan in moving towards renewable resources were not new as similar issues and obstacles were faced earlier by European countries as well. They however were finally able to identify best practices after making many mistakes and overcoming their hindrances. The need for Pakistan now, they maintained, was to learn from those experiences and best practices instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.

The participants were notified in the end that It was in line with these notions that IPS has already started seeking collaboration with renown institutions like Agora Energiewende based in Germany. These potential collaborations—build on a combination of established expertise in the renewable energy transition and with building partnerships with other think tanks working in emerging economies—will aid in mobilizing and enabling an environment for sustainable energy transition in the context of Pakistan.

Education Sector more resources & attention in Post Covid-19 scenario

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DNA

PESHAWAR, OCT 6 – Pakistan Development Foundation (PDF) and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar (SBBWU) collaboratively organized a two-day webinar on Pre & Post COVID-19 Lockdown, that aimed at preparing teachers and students to live in the ‘new normal’ and to understand and co-operate with each other.

The two-day webinar also focused at preparing the young people towards playing a positive role during the pandemics and untoward incidents. Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), Dr Qibla Ayaz, Vice Chancellor SBBWU, Dr Razia Sultana, Chairman PDF, Muhammad Bilal Sethi, known psychologist, Prof. Dr Khalid Mufti, Chairman National Technology Council Government of Pakistan Engr.

Imtiaz Hussain Gilani and  Secretary-General  Pakistan China Friendship Association (PCFA) Khyber Syed Ali Nawaz Gilani addressed the participants. Driven by Prof Beenish Asmat Ullah and Mrs. Tashfeen Zia, the webinar had plenty of students of the varsity itself and affiliated government colleges on first day and a large number of principals and teaching faculty on the second day in attendance.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of the CII, Prof. Dr. Qibla Ayaz said that our spirit should be conveying our feelings to each other for which physical interaction is not the only way. He added that the youth can play a role of paramount importance in spread of awareness against the COVID-19.

The Vice Chancellor SBBWU, Razia Sultana said that opening of universities is a challenging situation but her team is determined to take this challenge and get through it in a spic and span manner. She said that the lockdown strengthened the institution of family.

It also enabled us to know our weaknesses and strengths and enabled us to perform certain works by our own selves. She called for youth to read books during the situations like lockdown. Similarly, the Chairman of the PDF, Muhammad Bilal Sethi expressed that due to prolonged lockdown the students and faculty members have developed psychological changes. He added that the lockdown had also disturbed their daily routines, however, upon abrupt opening of institutions, it must be difficult for them to adopt with each other. This process will take quite some time. Sethi laid his emphasis on organizing training sessions for them towards preparing them to adopt with each other in less time.

He assured out all his organization’s support in this endeavor as his organization works on promotion of education, he remarked. He urged the youth to play its roles for the betterment of the lower-middle class who was affected by corona the most.

He also announced to donate books to the libraries of 04 participant colleges. Speaking to participants, Ali Nawaz Gilani appreciated the initiative and called for universities to arrange more webinars of the kind in the times to come. He also shared that we should also learn from experiences of China in post Covid-19 sceniro in order to counter these new challenges.

Federal cabinet decides crackdown on sugar hoarders

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ISLAMABAD : Prime Minister Imran Khan has chaired a session of the federal cabinet to deliberate upon important national issues including inflation, railways and revival of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

The cabinet members welcomed the appointment of Dr Waqar Masood as special assistant on revenue. The cabinet also reviewed the government steps for reducing inflation.

During the briefing, PM Imran Khan has been informed that steps are being taken for decreasing the prices of essential commodities and artificial hike in flour rates will end after the wheat imports. It was told that the first shipment of wheat reached the country and remaining shipments will arrive in Pakistan soon.The federal cabinet members decided to launch crackdown on profiteers and hoarders of sugar in order to bring down its prices.

In the session, Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed presented the revival plan of Pakistan Railways and raised the issue for the payment of pensions to the employees.

The members were briefed that Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) will fully revive in three phases. Rasheed said that the Supreme Court (SC) had directed to restore the KCR at earliest.

Moreover, the annual financial report of the national flag-carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), was also presented before the federal cabinet.

khurshid Barlas, Ata-ul-Haq greet newly elected RCCI President

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DNA

RAWALPINDI, OCT 6 – Kurdish Barlas, President, UK Pakistan Business Council Pakistan Chapter, accompanied by General Secretary UK Pakistan Business Council  Ata-ul-Haq, who is visiting Pakistan, visited the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

He congratulated the newly elected President of Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce & Industry Nasir Mirza and other executive members on assuming their responsibilities and briefed them on the activities of UK Pakistan Business Council.

Group Leader Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sohail Altaf on behalf of UK Pakistan Business Council Cooperation and Exhibition welcomed the proposals to promote trade activities by holding conferences & Exhibitions.

He also said that there was a need to take full advantage of the opportunities for trade cooperation. The atmosphere is very conducive for traders and the introduction of Pakistani products could increase Pakistan’s exports.

President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce & industry Nasir Ali Mirza said that business conferences and exhibitions would be held in Pakistan and the UK in collaboration with the UK Pakistan Business Council.

AJK govt committed to managing population growth: Sardar Masood

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DNA

MUZAFFARABAD, Oct 6: A high-level led by the UN Fund for Population Affairs (UNFPA) Country Representative Lina Mousa called on the AJK President Sardar Masood Khan at Aiwan-e-Sadr here on Tuesday, and discussed in detail with him various issues including population control as well as mother-child healthcare-related problems.

The AJK Health Minister Dr Najib Naqvi, Minister for Population Welfare Dr Mustafa Bashir Abbasi and Secretary Population Welfare Raja Mohammad Razzaq were also present during the meeting.

On this the occasion, the AJK president assured the visiting UN delegation that the state population welfare department and the health department were fully prepared to work jointly with the UNFPA and other UN agencies. He maintained that to ensure population welfare, family planning, reproductive health through training of lady health workers and to reduce the mortality rate of newborn and their mothers were among the priorities of the state government, the cooperation and the technical support of the UNFPA in this regard would be highly appreciated.

Sardar Masood Khan said that being a developing region, it was the priority of the AJK government to maintain a balance between the state population and its resources in order to ensure public health, education and economic development, and to put the territory on the path of development and prosperity.

He said that at present, the population of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir was increased at the ratio of 2.1 per cent, and if necessary measures are not adopted to control the population growth, we would be faced with a shortage of food, mass transfer of population and other economic issues shortly.

The AJK Health Minister Dr Najib Naq while appreciating efforts of the UNFPA to bring stability through population management assured that the state health department in collaboration with the UNFPA would make hectic efforts to achieve the desired goals.

The AJK Minister for Population Welfare Dr Mustafa Bashir said that his department frequently organizes seminars, workshops and other community programs to create awareness among the people about the population welfare so that the population the explosion is controlled with the consultation and cooperation of all segments of society.

He said that the AJK government desires to establish a midwifery school to produce trained women who could create awareness about reproductive health in the community.

The UNFPA country representative Ms Lina Mousa said that it was obligatory for all partners including the private sector and various government departments to play their role in population planning and we also desire that the government with the cooperation of the private sector should draw up a comprehensive roadmap to provide family planning facilities in accordance with international standards.

She lauded the determination of the state government regarding reproductive health, gender equality, women’s rights and the youth development, and assured full cooperation to the state government in this regard.

The UNFPA comprising Dr Yilma Alazar, International FP Advisor; Dr Jamil Ahmed Ch Program Specialist SRH; Dr Adeela Khan, Program Analyst will also call on Prime Minister besides attending the first meeting of AJK Task Force on Population to be chaired by Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan. The delegation will also visit different health facilities including Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Hospital, Abbas Institute of Medical Science.

NA speaker lauds EU help for parliamentary friendship

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EU ambassador said that European Union seeks cooperation with Pakistan in various sectors of economy besides social sector development in Pakistan

Shujat Hamza

ISLAMABAD, OCT 6 (DNA) – EU Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara called on Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser at Parliament House.

Issues of mutual interest, including enhancing parliamentary and economic cooperation between Pakistan and the European Union were discussed in the call on.

Speaker Asad Qaiser said that Pakistan attaches immense importance to its relations with the European Union and would like to further strengthen them through collaboration in diverse sectors.

He said that Improving Parliamentary Partnership project (I.P5) was great contribution by EU which would help Parliamentarians to better contribute towards parliamentary processes.

He also appreciated EU for its previous program I.P3 which turned out to be a success in enhancing capacity of Parliamentarians and the Secretariat.

The Speaker thanked the European Union for the trade concessions given to Pakistan under GSP Plus and said that the concession offered had given a substantial boost to the economy of Pakistan.

Referring to the vast opportunities for investment in Pakistan in the economic, industrial, trade and agriculture sectors, the Speaker offered EU investors to join the country’s economic development by investing in Pakistan. He said that economy of Pakistan as agrarian, however due to various handicaps; the potential of agricultural sector could not be realized.

He stressed the need for enhancing collaboration in agriculture sector and subsequent value addition.

The Speaker said that Pakistan’s role in the international community is responsible and wants all disputes to be resolved through dialogue and peaceful means. He said that a peaceful Afghanistan would play a positive role for peace and development in Pakistan and the region.

He said that Pakistan will continue its support for peace in. He said that parliamentary and trade relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan had witnessed positive developments in recent months.

He apprised about the parliamentary initiatives of visa and trade concessions, removing hurdles in trade activities and enhancing people to people contacts.

EU Ambassador to Pakistan Mrs. Androulla Kaminara thanked the Speaker of the National Assembly and said that the EU values its relations with Pakistan.

She said that European Union seeks cooperation with Pakistan in various sectors of economy besides social sector development in Pakistan.

Referring to the trade between EU and Pakistani, she said that Pakistani products were in demand in EU and steps are being taken to increase the volume of trade with Pakistan. She agreed that EU would support Pakistan in agriculture sector with special emphasis on value chain.

Emphasizing the need to promote parliamentary co-operation, the EU Ambassador said that the EU’s mission in Islamabad would continue to play a role in enhancing parliamentary co-operation.

She said that IP5 project was in implementation stage and would help Parliamentarians to enhance their capacity to better respond to their constituents. She was convinced that Pakistan’s contributions towards Afghan peace process would yield excellent results.=DNA

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Governor Punjab denies involvement in Nawaz treason case registration

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LAHORE: Governor Punjab Chaudhry Sarwar has denied involvement in the registration of a treason case against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

On Monday, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders were booked on treason charges.

Speaking to media he regretted over allegation of his involvement in a case against Nawaz Sharif and other Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders.

Chaudhry Sarwar said he has never called anyone a traitor in his life and added that he has no connection with Badar Rasheed, the complainant in the case against Nawaz Sharif.
Replying to a query, the Punjab governor, said that people like Badar Bashir are fond of frequently changing political parties. He was also spotted with PML-N leaders.

Earlier in the day, it emerged that Badar Rasheed Khan, the man who filed the treason case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, is himself nominated in three criminal cases.

As per details, Babar Rasheed is nominated in criminal cases including an attempt to murder, weapon possession, and interference in state matters.

Rasheed is booked at Old Anarkali Police Station, Police Station Shahdara, and PS Sharaqpur.

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