ISLAMABAD : The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday sought the complete record of the appointment of Special Assistant to PM (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari as the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) chairman.

Justice Aamir Farooq of the IHC was hearing a petition challenging the SAPM’s appointment as the PTDC chairman.

Advocate Hafiz Arafat stated before the court that Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed his aide the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation chairman. Bukhari held the position previously on a temporary basis but was later appointed on a permanent basis, he added.

A notification regarding his appointment was also issued with the government initially stating that it was the cabinet’s decision to appoint the SAPM the chairman of the PTDC but later, it was said that the prime minister made the decision.

Justice Farooq questioned whether legal requirements for the appointment of the PTDC chairman were fulfilled or not.

He directed the government to submit the complete record of the appointment within ten days’ time.

The hearing was adjourned until September 29.

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 8 (DNA) – Several studies have shown that Pakistan’s air is not safe for human health and causes thousands of premature deaths annually.

Ironically, we don’t have ample facilities to measure air quality all over the county and control vehicular and industrial pollution. On the other hand, we have coal plants for energy and cement production adding more pollutants to the air.

Well-known environmentalist and Executive Director Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) Munir Ahmed remarked while speaking to a webinar as chief guest, organized by the IDCLC, on Tuesday to mark the first ever International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies.

Encouraged by the increasing interest of the international community in clean air, and emphasizing the need to make further efforts to improve air quality, including reducing air pollution, to protect human health, the General Assembly decided to designate 7 September as the International Day of Clean Air for blue.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for facilitating the observance of this Day, recognizing the need for increased awareness and international cooperation to reduce air pollution.

Ahmed said: Air pollution is the single greatest environmental risk to human health, causing 7 million premature deaths annually from diseases like stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.

It is responsible for a substantial amount of disability for those living with these diseases. Many air pollutants are also powerful climate forcers, harming the health and well-being of those living today and making the world less safe for future generations.

He said despite citizens’ concerns over the increasing air pollutants causing glaciers melt and pacing up the climate impact, governments worldwide behaving irrationally to control air pollution. Sufficient investments are not made in this regard by the developed world that is responsible for the compromised air quality.

Munir Ahmed said we immediately need to work on the air quality of Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Muridke, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi. This is ironic to note that Islamabad is 7th most polluted city in Pakistan despite all tall claims of a clean and green city.

IDCLC founding president Shaaref Munir said  air comprises certain elements that need to stay in their respective proportions. Any changes in it would lead to pollution or making the air harmful to breathe in.

Clean air is primarily a source of sustaining growth and life. By breathing cleaner air, one can reduce the risk of getting a stroke, any heart disease, lung cancer and/or respiratory diseases such as asthma.

In the opposite scenario, living in a polluted area would lead to catastrophic short and long-term effects on human health – especially to their respiratory tract.

Children and infants’ health is most likely to be affected by their surrounding air quality, compared with the other age groups, and may grow up with a number of breathing problems if they’re brought up in a polluted environment.

Therefore, maintaining air quality is a must for sustaining good human health and the surrounding environment to live in – especially for a country like Pakistan where 35-40 percent of its population comprises children under the age of 15.

Sadaf Yasin said the air we breathe knows no borders and envelopes and sustains all living things. Yet our relationship with this most basic life-giving substance has changed. Nine out of 10 people around the world breathe air that does not meet World Health Organization guidelines for clean air. We have the solutions and must take the necessary actions to improve air quality.

President IDCLC Haares said that his club members have planted more than 10,000 plants in different parts of the city to contribute their role in improving the air quality and environment.

He said it is our responsibility to maintain quality air because every living thing on earth is dependent on quality clean air.

From humans to wildlife to trees, one of the most important factors for their survival is clean air. All living things on Earth are interlinked. Bad air quality can lead to air pollution, which could further result in human and wildlife diseases. Air quality is a must to immensely reduce the negative effects it could have on living and nonliving creatures on earth. DNA

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DNA

KARACHI, SEPT 8 – The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has expressed grave concern over declining trend in exports, which have posted a downfall of around 20 percent to $1.58 billion in August 2020, startling especially for the economic managers who claimed that economy was recovering from the adverse effect of turbulent period of post-corona slowdown.

The apex trade body chief Mian Anjum Nisar said that the drop in exports during August period was really surprising, calling for out-of-the-box solutions for economic growth in these crucial times, as COVID-19 has adversely impacted the world economy as well as the Pakistan trade and industrial sectors.

According to data, Pakistan’s exports during the month of August recorded a downfall of around 20 percent in dollar terms, as compared to the same period last year. It’s amazing that the dip in Aug export figures comes after a surge in exports during July 2020, when Covid-19 restrictions were more stringently in place. In first two months of July-Aug the exports also went down by nearly 4 percent, however, country’s trade deficit contracted to $3.4 billion due to shrinking imports. The trade deficit, which stood at $3.7 billion in the comparative period of last fiscal year, shrank to $3.4 billion during July-August of 2020-21. In absolute terms, there was a reduction of $307 million or around 8 percent in trade deficit in the current fiscal year. Overall, imports dipped 6.3 percent to around $7 billion during the July-Aug.

Mian Anjum Nisar said that the flooding situation in the country, especially in Karachi, has also affected the overall industrial operations, indicating the exports volume might not begin to recover in Sept as economic activity was not expected to return to normal immediately. He said that power trippings, slowdown in business activities, delay in transportation and hampering of port operations were some of the issues faced by the exporters due to the unprecedented rains across the country.

The FPCCI President said that besides liquidity problems and issues of increasing cost, the rains and subsequent urban flooding also caused a significant damage to the infrastructure, disrupting the supply chain and affecting industrial operations.

He urged the concerned provincial governments to upgrade drain system in business hubs of all cities, as sewerage system was outdated and dysfunctional, and these areas become flooded with water whenever there was a heavy downpour. He said that rainwater enters the factories, godowns, shops and basements, damaging the whole merchandise, goods, plants, machinery and raw materials etc.

While the share of regional countries in world exports have considerably increased over the last 40 years, Pakistan’s exports have remained stagnant during this period, he said. Unless attention was paid to all factors that hamper the industrial and exports growth, we may not be able to achieve the desired results. Some of the impediments to the growth of industry include cost of production, poor governance, obsolete technology, low productivity, lack of competitiveness, supply constraints and energy issues.

He said that the government has already missed its annual export target for the first two years. For its second year, the economic managers had set the export target at $26 billion, which it later revised downward to $22.4 billion.

For the current fiscal year, the government has set the export target at $27.7 billion, requiring just 6 percent growth.

Mian Anjum Nisar said that the government has to formulate long-term and consistent policies for the revival of industry and improvement in exports that have been stuck in a downward spiral for a longtime. He said the government must take immediate steps for the timely-refunds of sales and income tax, issuance of income tax exemptions on utility bills and resolve issues faced by the industrial sector.

He said that the local currency continued its downward slide against the US dollar despite the fact that Pakistan’s Current Account Deficit has continuously been reducing owing to lower imports and better inflows. He warned that weakening of rupee indicates that the country might once again march towards a huge trade deficit, which increases the current account deficit again.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, Sep 8 : Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC)is committed for ‘Clean Green Pakistan’ as various campaigns launched to clean the environment in several districts including federal capital.

According to a senior official of the Ministry, he said Clean and Green Pakistan initiative would also work on ailing societal issues such as proper sanitization, solid waste and liquid disposal management and safe drinking water.

Adding that he said institutions such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was already working on a number of projects related to crisis management and environmental changes.

Their focus was to bring rural communities together and train them to conserve natural resources and at the same time working on providing equal opportunities for women he said.

Their ongoing project includes a group of women from rural areas building and repairing houses affected by floods he added.