ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza has resigned from his post on Wednesday.

Zafar Mirza took to the social-networking website Twitter and made the announcement of his resignation.

“I have resigned as SAPM. I came to Pakistan on a personal invitation of PM Imran Khan after leaving the World Health Organization (WHO). It was a privilege to serve Pakistan,” he said.

Zafar Mirza further said that he was satisfied that he is leaving at a time when COVID-19 has declined in Pakistan as a result of a grand national effort.

“Due to ongoing negative discussion about the role of SAPMs & criticism on the government, I choose to resign. Pakistani people deserve better health care,” he further wrote in a Tweet.

It is pertinent to mention here that the apex court, while hearing a suo motu case on April 13 related to the situation arising out of the coronavirus crisis, had expressed displeasure over the performance of Dr Zafar Mirza in dealing with coronavirus pandemic and ordered the government to remove him.

Later, Prime Minister Imran Khan had chided his special assistant on health, Dr Zafar Mirza, over exhibiting unserious behaviour before the Supreme Court (SC).

Prime Minister Imran Khan had also ordered an inquiry against Zafar Mirza over hike in medicine prices.

Back in June, the NAB’s Executive Board Meeting (EBM) also approved to look into corruption complaints against Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza.

Earlier in the day, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Digital Pakistan Tania Airdus had also resigned from her post.

In a tweet today, Aidrus said she had tendered her resignation to Prime Minister over the controversy surrounding her dual nationality.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, JUL 29 – This year’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons honours the first responders helping to end the crime of human trafficking: law enforcement officers, social workers, healthcare professionals, NGO staff and many others working around the world to protect the vulnerable.

Like the frontline heroes saving lives and sustaining our societies in the COVID-19 pandemic, these providers are keeping vital services going throughout the crisis — identifying victims, ensuring their access to justice, health, social assistance and protection, and preventing further abuse and exploitation.

I thank these first responders and urge all governments and societies to join their cause, including through the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated many global inequalities, created new obstacles on the path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and left millions of people at greater risk of being trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labour, forced marriage and other crimes.

Women and girls already account for more than 70 per cent of detected human trafficking victims, and today are among the hardest hit by the pandemic.  With previous downturns showing that women face a harder time getting paid jobs back in the aftermath of crisis, vigilance is especially important at this time.

If the world is to put human dignity and human rights at the centre of the COVID-19 response and recovery, we need to do more to protect trafficking victims and prevent vulnerable people from being exploited by criminals. On this World Day against Trafficking in Persons, let us pledge to work for inclusive societies and economies that leave no one behind.

Two bears at the Islamabad zoo still haven’t been shifted to Balkasar Bear Sanctuary due to health concerns, the Islamabad High Court was informed on Wednesday.

The sanctuary authorities said that the temperature at the sanctuary is not suitable for the two bears. A German vet is currently treating them.

Justice Athar, while hearing a case on implementation of the court’s verdict on shifting all animals at the Marghazar zoo to suitable sanctuaries, asked why it shouldn’t be investigated why the bears were brought to Islamabad and on whose orders. “Why are you harming animals for the sake of recreation?”

He was informed that former wildlife director Raja Jawad issued a tender and purchased them for the zoo.

The court summoned more details on the transfer of the bears by July 29 and adjourned the hearing.

Many activists rejoiced after the court had ordered the transfer of animals from Marghazar zoo to suitable sanctuaries on May 22. The verdict was announced on three combined petitions: relocation of two brown bears, treatment of Kaavan, and stopping the shooting of stray dogs.

Kaavan, the only elephant at the Islamabad Zoo, is being shifted to Cambodia.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, JUL 29 – The Accountability Court Islamabad has accepted plea bargain request of accused Mian Waseem alias Lucky Ali of Rs.1.95 Billion. The said recovery is the highest recovery in the history of NAB due to NAB Rawalpindi’s efforts in cases of cheating of public at large.

The accused Mian Waseem alias Lucky Ali (Film Star)) lured and induced the general public by Massive Advertisement in Print, Electronic and Social Media to invest in his illegal societies. The accused used 11 different misleading names for housing societies to deceive general public including National House Buildings and Roads Development Corporation, Rawalpindi Housing and Industrial Development Corporation, Central Development Promotion Programme, Defence Valley Located at Dhamial Road, National Town Girja Road, New Islamabad City, Sir Syed Town, National Garden, Sir Syed Garden, Dhamial City and Defence Avenue.

As per RDA record, the accused never applied for any NOC nor he has any NOC from concerned department. All his societies are illegal. NAB Rawalpindi Conducted an inquiry against Mian Waseem Ahmed. During Investigation Mian Waseem accepted the guilt. Due to professional investigation by NAB, Mian Waseem alias Lucky Ali paid Rs.1.95 Billion through Plea Bargain. The amount collected from accused will all be refunded among affectees after proper scrutiny by NAB Rawalpindi. All the affectees of the above said societies are required to submit their claims in the office of NAB Rawalpindi to get their looted money. Moreover, the affectees who have not appeared in NAB are requested to submit their plot documents in NAB Rawalpindi as per law.  The Honorable Chairman NAB has appreciated the efforts of Mr. Seemab Qaiser Investigation Officer and Mr. Saeed Akhtar, Case Officer under the supervision of Irfan Naeem Mangi, DG NAB Rawalpindi.

The Honorable Accountability Court Islamabad has convicted accused Mati ur Rehman s/o Haji Surat Rehman in Modarba Case with Imprisonment: 12 years and fine Rs. 170 million whereas another accused Atiq ur Rehman s/o Haji Surat Rehman has been declared as Proclaimed Offender (PO).

During the course of inquiry/investigation, it revealed that accused Mati ur Rehman was the mastermind of whole scam, who in connivance with Atiq ur Rehman illegally and dishonestly induced members of the public at large under the name and style of Global Concerns, for investment in his so called Islamic business of Modaraba and thereby illegally, dishonestly received huge investments and issued Modaraba agreements / receipts against their investments entrusted to him, by giving an impression of legal and registered business. Initially to gain confidence of the members of general public / affectees, the accused persons gave profit for few months, but later on they neither paid profit nor returned the principal amount and disappeared. It was also revealed that Global Concerns was never registered as a modaraba Company with SECP / regulatory authority. Initially 515x complaints amounting to Rs. 160 million were received from general public. Interim Reference No. 09/2015 was filed in Accountability Court, Islamabad. Subsequently, 95 more affectees filed their claims, out of which 37x affectees joined the investigation proceedings and their claims were verified to the tune of Rs. 11,003,000/- and supplementary reference was filed in the Court. The Honorable Chairman NAB has appreciated the efforts of yed Ali Abbas, Investigation Officer and Mr. Saeed Akhtar, Case Officer under the supervision of Irfan Naeem Mangi, DG NAB Rawalpindi.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, JUL 29 – Pakistan National Council of the Arts has chalked out different programs to be presented online to celebrate Independence Day. These programs include online painting competition and Declamation Contest among children. Children are invited to send their speech on topic “Hum Zinda Qaum Hain” by 12^th of August to PNCA.

For painting competition, they have to send their works in any medium on “Hum Sab ka Pakistan”. “EID KAY MEHMAAN”will bring different prominent personalities  of showbiz, performing arts and Culture to homes of their fans. where they can get to know more about them and have a chat with them also . PNCA’s website launching, musical program Sur Sajan, short film contest, and Children film festival is also a part of Independence Day Celebrations.

A special Eid show was recorded here at the PNCA auditorium. Popular folk singers Javed Niazi and Babar Niazi presented folk and national songs. Dancers of the National Performing Arts Group added colors to the program by presenting regional and cultural dances. Renowned violinist Ustad Raees Ahmed presented tunes of  popular national songs. Celebrated  artist Laila Zuberi, Batin Farooqi participated in the program while  Shamoon Hashmi was compering  .

DG PNCA Dr. Fauzia Saeed while speaking on the importance of Independence Day said that PNCA remained active during ongoing pandemic period to keep the artists and art lovers connected through online programs with aim to provide entertainment to the homebound people and opportunity to the COVID19 affected artists from the remote areas. Independence Day programs are aimed to entertain and educate the youth about our cultural heroes and heritage of the country and to make them  realize their responsibilities to work for the uplift of the country.

DNA

FAISALABAD , JUL 29 – Specially designed biodegradable waste bags for sacrificial animal carcasses will be distributed to the citizens free of cost. Public awareness throughout the city And camps will be set up at 4 places for service delivery.

Chief Executive Officer Faisalabad Waste Management Company Kashif Raza Awan told Effective collection of animal waste carcasses on Eid-ul-Adha And a comprehensive plan for their elimination in an environmentally friendly manner Made for cleaning arrangements the Eid plan will run until August 3.

District administration in the city in the arrangements before Eid
Deployment of Waste Workers with Heavy Machinery in All Cattle Markets, Organized by Establishment of hygiene and awareness camps in cattle markets
Establishment of 16 West Transfer Stations at Union Council level
40 awareness camps in union councils,
In addition to cleaning the city’s major mosques and Eid venues
Zero waste operation is included in the important places and markets of the city on moon night
On the three days of Eid, the vehicles will be transported from the streets to the transfer stations with the help of small and big vehicles.
Later with the help of big dumpers Will be moved to the dump site.
On the first day of Eid-ul-Adha 474, on the second day 439 and on the third day of Eid 250 small and large vehicles will be part of the operation flat Effective at large gatherings at the end of Eid
And to destroy in an environmentally friendly way Special dumping points and mechanical washing of communal altars in the city are also part of the plan. Under the sanitation plan by FWMC
For the first time, door-to-door eco-friendly bags will also be distributed Specialized biodegradable bags will help in proper disposal of sacrificial animal carcasses. In addition, these bags will be available at important places and camps in the city during awareness activities. That Operations Manager Ijaz Bandisha
Told
Punjab Govt. FWMC is active in providing best sanitation facilities to the citizens in all cases.
In this regard, the leave of all officers and 4,000 sanitary workers has been canceled. For the convenience of the citizens, extraordinary cleaning measures will be taken by the organization on Eid
And citizens’ grievances will be addressed immediately.
And operations manager He said that meetings were also being held with other district bodies, elected representatives, religious scholars and especially citizens to share Eid plans.To ensure the best results.
FWMC Public Relations Officer Muteeb Virk said
For the convenience of the citizens, the helpline 1139 and social media will be kept fully active. The Eid cleaning plan has been prepared after thorough scrutiny Every effort will be made for its successful implementation But it includes the government’s commitment, as well as civil society And citizens will be desperately needed There is also an appeal from the citizens Instead of throwing away the debris, hand it over to the FWMC staff
And for hygiene complaints, contact our helpline 1139.

DNA

Islamabad – July 29 : Telecommunications leaders and experts from Pakistan and across the world recently virtually attended the SAMENA Telecommunications Council Leaders’ Summit to review plans for unleashing the potential of 5G networks to boost economies and societies in a post COVID-19 environment. The Summit was hosted by Huawei for the seventh consecutive year.

Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Federal Secretary of IT and Telecommunication; Maj. Gen. Amir Azeem Bajwa, Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority; Tania Aidrus, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Digital Pakistan, Mark Meng, CEO of Huawei Pakistan were all in attendance for this year’s SAMENA Telecommunications Council Leaders’ Summit.

Mark Meng, CEO of Huawei Pakistan committed that “Huawei will support the government’s Digital Pakistan initiative to move toward a diversified, knowledge-based economy with the latest technologies like 5G, AI, and Internet Of Things and unlock new venues of growth and innovation.”

The theme of the Summit was “5G+X: Harnessing 5G Across Industries for Investment Revival,” which shed light on how technology and ICT infrastructure play an increasingly important role in our societies, and therefore our economies. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need to strengthen digital infrastructure to better prepare societies for future crises and to make systems more resilient and sustainable, guaranteeing a better and more effective outcome.

Mr. Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Federal Secretary of IT and Telecommunication elaborated on this by saying, “Crisis presents both danger, and opportunity. Let’s focus on all the opportunities in the current pandemic and develop the ICT sector as the true key technology enabler for digital harmony, connectivity and cooperation among all sectors of society.”

Mr. Bocar A. BA , CEO of SAMENA Telecommunications Council also shared his opinions and stated that we are “increasingly witnessing progressiveness across Pakistan’s ICT policy and regulatory landscape” and he deemed it “necessary for 5G preparations to be accelerated in the country” in the hopes of achieving “digital inclusion” at all levels of society.

The Summit also explored how ICT stakeholders can work together with industry verticals to turn their vision into reality at the local and regional level. Participants reviewed 5G ecosystem cooperation in the Middle East and Pakistan, and how 5G paired with complementary technologies such as cloud, AI and can create new industry applications. Better integration of AI into the public health response was also spotlighted.

Maj. Gen. Amir Azeem Bajwa, Chairman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, said that “I believe that readiness of our telecom infrastructure will be sufficient to support 5G networks and services across the country.”

ISLAMABAD – The Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus has tendered her resignation from the post over the controversy surrounding her dual nationality.

Tania Aidrus herself broke the news on Twitter on Wednesday of her resignation, which according to her, has been sent to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“Criticism levied towards the state as a consequence of my citizenship status is clouding the purpose of Digital Pakistan,” she wrote on Twitter.

“In the greater public interest, I have submitted my resignation from the Special Assistant to Prime Minister’s (SAPM) role. I will continue to serve my country and the prime minister’s vision to my best ability,” she further wrote.

Prior to joining the team of Prime Minister Imran Khan to head the Digital Pakistan Campaign, Tania Aidrus was working as the Chief of Staff and Head of Strategic Initiatives on the Next Billion Users (NBU) team at Google.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, JUL 29 – The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front, while announcing full support to the traders, has appealed to the government to extend permission to the business community to run their businesses 24/7 till Eid-ul-Azha, reopening of all markets with strict implementation of the government SOPs to avoid spread of coronavirus.  

PIAF chairman Mian Nauman Kabir, in a joint statement with senior vice chairman Nasir Hameed and vice chairman Javed Siddiqi, shown his serious concern over the Punjab government’s sudden decision of lockdown, saying it is totally unilateral and unexpected move, which was taken without consultation of business community.  

It was better for the government to take the real stakeholders onboard before finalizing any plan of market closure especially on Eid days, he stated.   

Mian Nauman Kabir said that partial implementation of SOPs was just due to the limited market hours, which remained closed for two days in a week.  

He said that the Eid was an important event for the business community when business liabilities were paid off along with benefits to hundreds of thousands of people attached to different operations of the economic activities; hence, all economic areas should be functioning smoothly. 

Mian Nauman Kabir also appreciated the government for taking the immediate measure to control the outbreak in the country. At the same time, instead of creating an environment of fear and stress, we must recognize the symptoms and exercise as many precautions as possible, he suggested. 

He observed that COVID-19 was diagnosed in China in Jan 2020 and till now no vaccine was available to treat the patients, and preparing a vaccine might take a long time, therefore; it was very important to get adapted to the situation while recognizing all precautionary measures such as washing hands very often, wearing face masks, and avoiding unnecessary contact with everyone, etc instead of shutting the businesses altogether.  

He pleaded that the opening of markets would not only reduce the financial depressions but also progress the economic activities in the country. Therefore, the business community should be allowed to run businesses 24/7 till Eid with compliance of standard operating procedures (SOPs).  

Senior vice chairman Nasir Hameed said that current economic situation could not afford to keep the businesses shut for longer period, as opening of the businesses on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha with compliance of SOPs would help to boost the country’s economy. 

He also appealed the traders, industrialists and the general public to take all precautionary measures during the Eid-ul-Azha and fully comply with the instructions issued by the Deputy Commissioner in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. He said that traders and industrialists had suffered huge losses due to the pandemic, lockdown and it will take time to recover from this situation. However, he said that by the grace of Allah Almighty, the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic had significantly decreased, but there was possibility that the deadly virus could spread again on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha and we have to be careful. 

Vice chairman Javed Siddiqi urged the government to allow opening of all kinds of businesses completely especially on Eid days as our economy could not afford further losses by keeping businesses closed, as the Covid-19 had destroyed businesses, reduced tax collection and increased inflation and unemployment manifold.  

He assured that the traders would ensure implementation of safety measures and standard operating procedures (SOPs), announced by the government to avoid spread of coronavirus. He also appealed to masses to follow the SOPs as controlling the spread of COVID-19 was a responsibility of all segments of society. 

He said that the economy was expected to improve with the return of businesses to normal routine but it was closed again without any consultation of trade bodies.