DNA

Islamabad; 03 July: Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has said that we as Muslims have to take the lead and resolve long standing issues plaguing the Muslim Ummah like Palestine and Kashmir through political conflict resolution mechanisms.

The AJK President made these remarks while speaking to Prof. Dr. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Director General Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University who called upon the President here at Jammu and Kashmir House.

The AJK President said that the Muslim world has to unite against forces trying to create a divide amongst their ranks. He said that Islam is a religion of peace and we have to propagate the true teachings of Islam. He added that the Muslim Ummah has to realize its true potential and regain its true position in the global spectrum.

President Masood Khan said that despite being the oppressed, a major chunk of the Muslim population has adopted a defensive posture about Islam, Kashmir and Palestine. “We have to be proactive and start a process of result-oriented dialogue amongst fellow Muslim nations towards the resolution of these longstanding disputes” said the President.

The approach for humanitarian diplomacy for these territories under occupation should be immediately explored by Muslim countries all over the globe, asserted Masood Khan.

Prof. Dr. Zia-ul-Haq informed the President of the Institute’s activities. He said that this institution has been one of the leading think tanks in the country providing assistance in legislature and drafting leading documents on Islam. He informed that in 1973, this institute also played a seminal role in the drafting of the Constitution and then producing its Arabic translation for dignitaries attending the 1974 Lahore Summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

The Director General said that various magazines and quarterly research journals – recognised as category X by HEC – are being published at the Institute. He said that a special edition of their leading Fikr-o-Nazar research journal solely focusing on Kashmir will also be published in the coming months which will subsequently be composed into a book for public dissemination.

The AJK President appreciated the positive role played by the Institute in helping highlighting the various issues faced by the Muslim Ummah and praised the Muslim scholars and researchers who have contributed to this cause.

Prof. Dr. Zia presented various books and research journals published by the Institute to the President. He also invited the AJK President to visit the Institute which he said housed over 25,000 rare handwritten manuscripts and books, some dating over seven centuries.

DNA

ATTOCK, JUL 3 – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) central leader and senior vice president PML-N Punjab Sheikh Aftab Ahmed has said that Nawaz Sharif has taken historic steps to raise the living standards of the people in the near future. PML-N will play a vital role in bringing the country out of crisis under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif.

Notis Khan is appealed not to take notice of anything else, otherwise it too will be out of reach of the people. He expressed these views while talking to media persons on the occasion of his arrival here.Dr Muhammad Ashraf Butt, Haji Abrar, Talal Ashraf Butt were also present on the occasion.

Sheikh Aftab Ahmed said that Imran Khan, who came to power by making big claims during the elections, has now come to know that running a government is not for everyone.It was Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his team who handled the country after coming to power in 2013. There is no precedent for it.Terrorism and load shedding were on the rise in the country in 2013. The economy was devastated but the Pakistani nation saw that the leader Pakistan Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his team worked day and night to overcome the problems. DNA

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DNA

KABUL, JUL 3 – President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in a decree promoted General Abdul Rashid Dostum, the former first vice president of Afghanistan to the rank of Marshal.

The Office of the President in a statement said: “President Ghani issued a decree in this regard late last month.” According to the reports, President Ghani approved the conferment of the Marshal title on Gen. Dostum as per Article 19 and Item 64 of the constitution of Afghanistan.

The decree further added that the title on Gen. Dostum has been conferred for his services in resolving the political stalemates and ensuring security in the country. The issue of conferment of Marshal title remained a hot topic during the negotiations.
This was a provision of the political agreement between President Ashraf Ghani and Dr Abdullah Abdullah signed on May 17.
The promotion was a part of the political agreement between President Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the Head of High Council for National Reconciliation. According to the agreement, Dostum will receive membership in the High Council of State and the National Security Council of Afghanistan. Dostum is the third person in the history of Afghanistan to receive the title of Marshall after Shah Wali Khan and Mohammad Qasim Fahim.

The 111th session of the International Olive Council (IOC), chaired by Georgia, has taken place via video conference.According to the regulations of the session of the Council, the event was attended by representatives of Member States – Albania, Algeria, Egypt, the EU, Georgia, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay and observer states – Argentina, Uzbekistan and Syria.The IOC Chair George Svanidze addressed the opening ceremony of the session.

He informed the participants about the application of Uzbekistan to join the Council and congratulated the Uzbek side on receiving the observer status in the organization.

It was noted that the decision of Uzbekistan to join the IOC will not only strengthen the image of the Olive Council, but will also give impetus to development of olive production in Uzbekistan.

The Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Levan Davitashvili, the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khojayev, as well as the Deputy Minister of Trade of Turkey Sezai Uçarmak also addressed the event.To develop the olive sector, Uzbekistan needs close cooperation with leading olive producing countries with new knowledge and technologies.

In this context, cooperation of Uzbekistan with the International Olive Council will create all the necessary conditions for starting the development of the olive industry in Uzbekistan and expanding plantations in the country.Heads of delegations supported the intention of Uzbekistan to join the IOC and congratulated the Uzbek side on receiving the observer status in the Council.

On July 2, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting to review the implementation of priority projects and prospects for expanding trade-economic, investment and financial-technical cooperation with Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

In recent years, the indicators of mutual trade turnover with these countries have been steadily growing, new joint projects of cooperation in various sectors are being implemented within the framework of roadmaps based on the results of summits.At the meeting, special attention was paid to timely implementation of existing projects and development of new proposals for deepening the investment cooperation.

It was noted that 48 projects worth $5.6 billion are being implemented in the country together with Japanese partners in such areas as geology, chemistry and petro chemistry, banking and financial sector, healthcare and education.In particular, projects are being successfully implemented for construction of hotel complexes with HIS Group, expansion of production capacities of SamAuto JV with Isuzu and Itochu companies, construction of power units at Navoi Thermal Power Plant with attraction of preferential loans from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and many others.It was noted that, despite the pandemic, since the beginning of the year, mutual contacts between the government and businesspeople of the two countries have intensified, including through modern information technologies.

The Head of the state noted the need for expanding practical cooperation between Uzbekistan and Japan by promoting specific economic programs and projects.Bilateral cooperation with the Republic of Korea has also shown positive dynamics in recent years. Since the beginning of the year, the trade turnover has reached $1 billion, 60 new enterprises have been created with participation of Korean capital and their total number has reached 855.It was noted that projects have successfully been implemented this year to create Children’s Multidisciplinary Medical Center in Tashkent and Uzbek – Korean International University in Fergana, which created about 1 thousand new jobs.

The construction of an Innovative research and production pharmaceutical cluster in Tashkent region’s Zangiota district, which was launched by President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on April 17, 2020, is in full swing. The project provides for creation of a Pharmaceutical Technical University, as well as modern production of medicines.Such spheres as agriculture, innovation and ICT, chemical, pharmaceutical, light, electrical and jewelry industries, education and healthcare are identified as promising areas.Within the framework of financial-technical assistance programs through Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Economic Development Fund, 17 projects worth more than $750 million are being implemented, including the construction of a Chemical Technology Center, an adult medical clinic, equipping medical and educational institutions in Uzbekistan.As a result of joint projects with Japan and Korea, it is planned to attract foreign investments totaling more than $1 billion.In general, practical implementation of agreements will create more than 50,000 new jobs, increase production by $4.1 billion and exports by $1.14 billion.Following the high-level visit to the UAE in 2019, a solid package of bilateral documents, as well as agreements in trade-economic and investment spheres were also signed. It is planned to implement projects in energy, infrastructure, chemistry and petro chemistry, agriculture, tourism and other areas.To date, specific projects worth more than $4 billion are being worked out, the total number of enterprises with UAE capital is 141.It was noted that agreements with UAE companies are already yielding results.Thus, Masdar company invests in construction of a 500 MW Wind Power Plant in Navoi region, the total investment will amount to more than $500 million.A joint investment company with a capital of $1 billion was created with participation of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development. The company started financing its first projects.Abu Dhabi Fund for Development participates in modernization of infrastructure of the city of Samarkand.UAE’s Mubadala Investment Company is working on projects in energy sector, as well as on increasing production and deep processing of hydrocarbons.President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted the need for full and qualitative implementation of measures set for 2020 in accordance with roadmaps with Japan, the Republic of Korea and the UAE.Reports from heads of involved ministries and agencies were heard at the meeting, specific measures and tasks were identified.