DNA

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 30 – National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Wednesday said the Covid-19 cases had climbed to 16,581 in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

According to the NCOC official, total 182 deaths were reported from the ICT while 15,865 patients had recovered completely.

Commenting on the situation, an official of Ministry of National health Services said several local level administrative decisions were made to control the disease.

He advised the citizens to continue following the social distancing, use of mask and other precautionary measures to stop increasing local transmission of the COVID-19 in the ICT.

He said the government had adopted effective strategy to combat COVOD-19 that had resulted reduction in the corona cases across the country.

He said present facts and figures of the disease show declining trend of coronavirus at all level due to prompt response of the government.

Expressing satisfaction over current COVOD-19 situation, he said all this was made possible due to team efforts and the efficient work of the NCOC.

He said the main focus of the strategy was to control the disease and maintaining business activities of small and poor traders. He added such strategy was successfully implemented to get results.

He said all federal and provincial and public and private institutions concerned played remarkable role under the NCOC against the disease.

He said all possible measures were adopted to control COVID-19 to avoid further load on already burdened health system of the country.

He said strategies were made to control coronavirus keeping in view the global information, focusing on data with integration of local data in a scientific way.

He made it clear that the government had not decreased the daily testing capacity but actually the testing figure was declined due to improving the corona situation.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 30 – Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the Chairman, Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) appreciated Pakistan’s efforts with regards to Afghan peace process and also the recent string of confidence building measures from Islamabad. He specifically mentioned Pakistan beefing up trade infrastructure along the Pak-Afghan border to boost bilateral trade and the announcement of new visa policy.

The Chairman was speaking at a roundtable event organized by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in Islamabad, earlier today.

Dr. Abdullah said he had wanted to visit Pakistan for a long time, and was concluding his trip in Pakistan today with a very positive impression and hope in his heart.

He also said Pakistan and Afghanistan have the opportunity at hand, to begin a new era of bilateral relations, based on mutual respect and shared prosperity. The ongoing negotiations offer a window of opportunity. Peace and prosperity in both Pakistan and Afghanistan are interdependent. He said there is a need to go beyond the rhetoric and the usual blame game, as one cannot afford to pursue dissolution.

Imtiaz Gul, Executive Director CRSS titled Dr. Abdullah Abdullah as a “Man for Peace”.  He also informed the plenary that CRSS has tried to keep the issues of public interests alive through cross-border dialogues and built pressure for their resolution. Gul also thanked Dr. Abdullah Abdullah for his mediation for smooth functioning of Pakistan’s sponsored projects within Afghanistan, over the last few years.

Dr. Abdullah Abdullah also appreciated CRSS efforts, stating that in the last five years, even when the two sides had a very acrimonious relationship, CRSS always kept the door open for dialogue and cooperation.

Regarding the intra-Afghan negotiations, he said that after 42 years of war, the Afghan government and the Taliban are sitting across the table; that in itself is historic. There is no maiden prescription for the future of Afghanistan; we have to work it out with a broad-based consensus.

He said that there is a sense of urgency than ever to look towards our region as one. We need to take into account the current geo-political shifts and draw necessary lessons. Our collective goal should be to reduce tensions, promote moderation, increase regional connectivity, trade, transit, economic integration, business to business and more importantly, people to people interactions.

Lastly, he apprised the participants about his meetings with Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan Asad Qaiser and Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani. He termed meetings and overall mood of these parliamentary institutions very positive. He would take this mood back to Kabul and hoped for increased parliamentary interactions between two sides.

The roundtable was attended by Dr. Shoaib Suddle, Former IG Police; Shandana Gulzar Khan and Mehnaz Akbar Aziz, Members National Assembly, Pakistan; Ambassador Tasnim Aslam, Ambassador Asif Durrani, Ambassador Sanaullah, Ambassador Qazi Humayun; Samina Durrani, Trustee, CRSS; Ayaz Gul, Tahir Khan, Rehman Azhar, Hasan Khan – senior journalists, and Zeeshan Salahuddin, Program Director CRSS, along with Afghan guests and officials accompanying Dr. Abdullah Abdullah.

ISLAMABAD, SEP 30 (DNA) – Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar has announced that Ehsaas Emergency Cash payments to those with biometric issues and families of dead beneficiaries will be continuing nationwide till October 30.

However, the previously defined last date for filing applications till September 30, 2020 remains unchanged. Applications are closing today for beneficiaries facing biometric failures and families of dead. Formerly, September 30, 2020 was the last date for disbursements to eligible beneficiaries under Ehsaas Emergency Cash.

But for now, aiming to facilitate smooth payments, the last date of cash disbursements has been extended till the end of October 2020 as long as the application is submitted till September 30, 2020.

Two weeks ago, Ehsaas had opened online portal to receive applications from eligible beneficiaries with biometric verification issues.

Likewise, Ehsaas had set out the application process for families of dead beneficiaries who had to despatch applications for facilitation in payments directly to Dr. Sania Nishtar along with the CNIC details of dead family member, death certificate verified by NADRA and CNIC details of eligible heir directly to Ehsaas offices at F-Block, Pak Secretariat, Islamabad.

Ehsaas is closely monitoring the payments in field and is committed to supporting beneficiaries being confronted with issues throughout it.

Expediting the payment process to remaining Ehsaas Emergency Cash beneficiaries, the listing and inspection procedures are underway and customized payment responses to all eligible applicants will be sent accordingly so that emergency cash transfer operations across the country get completed within due timeframe. =DNA

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ISLAMABAD, SEP 30 (DNA) – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to submit comments on a petition of former president Asif Ali Zardari.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Ghulam Azam Qambrani directed them to submit their replies by next hearing slated for October 14. The PPP co-chairman moved the petition pleading with the IHC to quash money laundering and Park Lane references filed against him by the NAB.

Farooq H Naek, representing the PPP co-chairman, contended before the court that his client has challenged the accountability court’s jurisdiction to hear the mega money laundering case.

He argued the court lacked jurisdiction to take up the case. To a question, he said that a banking court can hear such cases. The counsel said the SBP governor has not filed any reference against Zardari, nor has any notice served on him by the central bank.

On September 28, an Islamabad accountability court had indicted Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur, and other accused in a supplementary reference filed against them by the NAB in the mega money laundering scam.

The court, however, deferred indictment of the accused in the Park Lane and Thatta water supply supplementary references until October 5 due to absence of some co-accused in both cases. =DNA

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DNA

NAWABSHAH, The Indonesian Consul General at Karachi, Totok Prianamto, urged on promotion of bilateral relations with Pakistan so that people of both brethren Islamic countries could benefit from experiments of each other.

 The CG, in a meeting with Deputy Commissioner Shaheed Benazirabad Abrar Ahmed Jaffar here Wednesday, highly praised rich culture of Sindh and its people’s great passion for hospitality.

The love and affection extended by the people of Shaheed Benazirabad and other districts of Sindh enriches the visitors with pleasure, Totok said.

During deliberation, Deputy Commissioner said that Sindh having the distinction of being one of the ancient cultures and civilizations of the world is cradle peace and harmony due to Sufism.

 The DC said that District Shaheed Benazirabad has an archaeological site of Chanhyon-jo-Daro that was assumed  contemporary to Moen-jo-Daro.  He added that four universities, Pakistan’s First Bakhtawar Girls Cadet College and scores of other educational institutions were functioning in the district that also possesses an important value owing to its agricultural output.

 On the occasion the DC presented traditional gifts of Sindhi cap and Ajrak and souvenir of district to the Indonesian envoy who reciprocated with a souvenir shield and gifts to Deputy Commissioner.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 30 – Through the medium of a remote virtual event, Huawei Pakistan, working together with the Higher Education Commission, took part in the official closing ceremony for the Seeds for the Future program, 2020. The event was attended by Mr. Moin-ul-Haque, Pakistan Ambassador to China,Dr. Fateh Marri, Executive Director HEC,Mr. Ma Libing, Deputy CEO Huawei Pakistan and the 32 students who participated in the program.

This is the 6th year seeds for the future is happening in Pakistan,unlike previous years, when a whole batch of nominated students could travel to China for the study trip, this was the first time that the program was moved online due to the obvious restrictions of COVID-19. Out of a pool of 1173 applicants, 32 engineering students from 27 universities all across Pakistan were nominated by the Higher Education Commission.The aim of the program, which has been active in over 126 countries & regions since its inception in Thailand, has been to nurture upcoming STEM talent from around the world. As a global ICT market leader, Huawei has taken it upon itself to promote local ICT industries as part of development in their operational regions.

During the one week online learning program from 21st to 25th, Sep 2020,students from Kenya alongside students from Pakistan received technical training from Huawei and industry ICT experts, who shared their expertise on courses covering a wide range of topics like the Chinese language, strategic leadership, 5G, cloud computing, AIetc.

Students were required to finish a number of compulsory courses and get a minimum of 60 marks on the test at the end of the course. Out of the 32 students, 26 successfully passed the course and got the graduation certificate.The top two students, Muhammad Hamza from Barani Institute of Management & Sciences and Muhammad Shahzeb Khan from BUITEMS, Quetta secured a sponsored trip to China in 2021 with perfect scores. The top ten students also received other awards, like Huawei Free Buds, Huawei Pad or Huawei Nova 7i mobile phone.

Dr. Fateh Marri, Executive Director HEC, remarked that, “I congratulate the students who have secured distinctions in these courses, from over a thousand students, you are the few who have been selected to be a part of this program. I’m thankful to Huawei and their very strong collaboration with the Higher Education Commission and universities across Pakistan.” He elaborated further that HEC has been focusing to promote use of technology in teaching and research. Establishment of consortium of over 60 Universities from China and Pakistan for joint collaborations,establishment of over 20 ICT academies in universities and start of 100 smart class rooms being a few examples.

Continuing with this sentiment, Mr. Moin-ul-Haque, Pakistan Ambassador to China stated, “We are going through an era of digitalization with technologies like 5G, AI, Cloud Computing, and Big Data that are poised to bring profound transformation to our lives. I would like to thank Huawei for enabling the technology that brought all these students together on one platform to conduct these courses, despite difficult times.”

Student representative Ume-Hani Usman from NED University, Karachialso shared her experience about the program, “The program was highly beneficial for us, getting cutting-edge knowledge in the field of ICT. All the online courses were well-organized and designed in a way to deliver valuable knowledge of recent technologies along with personal development courses that widened our horizon of thinking and decision making in this era. “

Ma Libing, Deputy CEO Huawei Pakistan, also shared his remarks, stating, “We want to help the upcoming generations reach their fullest potential by becoming tomorrow’s technology leaders, innovators, and pioneers. This program is meant to further develop their inclusion in our global digital society.”

The Seeds for the Future program has been a successful addition to Huawei’s social-enterprise partnership goal in Pakistan since the first batch of Pakistani students traveled to China in 2015. So far 87 Pakistani students have been benefited from this program. DNA

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