ISLAMABAD, JUL 10 (DNA) – Dr. Riad Malki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine has thanked MR. SARTAJ AZIZ, Advisor to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, thanking Pakistan, through a letter, for supporting the resolution of the Human Rights Council in its 29th Session on “Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of International law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”, Pakistan voted on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in favour of the resolution, where 41 out of 47 members voted ‘Yes’ in favour of the resolution, 5 abstained including India and 1 USA voted ‘No’.

The European Union (EU) and Switzerland signed a tax transparency agreement late last month that will put an end to Swiss banking secrecy for EU residents. The two sides will start sharing data on residents’ financial accounts from 2018. The data will include names, addresses, tax identification numbers and dates of birth, as well as a broad set of other financial and account balance information, according to the agreement.Work on similar deals with small princely states such as Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino, some of the most favoured tax havens and parking lots for dirty funds, are also underway. Notorious current and ex-rulers can easily stash funds there without disclosing their source. Not only have members of ruling elites from Pakistan, India, most African countries and the Gulf abused the Swiss laws and off-shore companies hidden ill-gotten money, even celebrities such as Boris Becker, John McEnroe did the same, without declaring their funds at home. These Western celebrities often paid heavily for non-declaration of funds in Switzerland or in the accounts of off-shore companies because financial accountability and the rule of law hardly leaves anybody off the hook.

By (Mohammad Abdullah Gul)

Historical Background

Hardly ever before in the history of this region an Asian heartland power has had a conflict free access to the warm waters of The Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. While it is unprecedented it is also highly alarming for the imperial powers and their affiliates who have held unchallenged sway over the region for centuries. It redounds to the credit of the special relationship between China and Pakistan over the past six decades. This historical miracle has now started to blossom; manifestly, in the form of the trading corridor between Kasghar & Gawadar – a strategically located deep sea port at the mouth of Persian Gulf which produces major quantities of oil & gas without which the engine of progress of all developed and developing countries cannot run.

TUSDEC CEO gives an interview to Centreline and DNA

By Yasir Habib Khan

Pakistan’s embattling economy looks to be on the mend. Index provider MSCI tends to consider Pakistan among emerging markets of the world. Inflation has been subsiding gradually and foreign exchange reserves gain steady upswing. Efforts are afoot to spur economic growth to around 7 percent. GDP growth is expected to ramp up to 4.7 percent in 2016.

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif chaired a high level meeting at the PM House to discuss issues relating to the working of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) in Pakistan. The meeting was attended by Minister for Interior, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan; Minister for Finance, Mr. Ishaq Dar; Special Assistant to PM on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Tariq Fatemi and other senior officers.

By Ansar Mahmood Bhatti in Dushanbe

Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif has said Pakistan will support and back all efforts meant for ensuring clean drinking water adding cooperation in water resources can also help reduce poverty.The prime minister was speaking on the the occasion of Water for Life 2015 conference held in the Tajikistan capital Dushanbe on Tuesday. The prime minister was accompanied by Water and Power Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Prime Minister Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.

“The importance of education — and especially schooling — cannot be overestimated. Not only has the expansion of primary and secondary education been linked to accelerated economic growth, poverty eradication and improved income equality, but education also appears to be closely associated with social enrichment and inclusion, the upgrading of human capital, increased opportunities, and enhanced freedom and welfare.That is why, as Pakistan’s prime minister, I have placed universal access to education very high on the national agenda.