ISLAMABAD, MAR 20 /DNA/ – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Spokesperson came down hard on the fake Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi for his statement pertaining to the suspension of social media platform ‘X’, demanding an immediate restoration of the social media platform.

PTI Spokesperson urged instant removal of the unjustified and unconstitutional ban on the social media platform ‘X’ and said that it was the old habit of Sharifs and Zardari mafia to use traditional and social media for their negative propaganda under the guise of media legislations.

He said that the fake government of form-47s and its bogus ministers’ non-serious statements regarding the closure of social media platform ‘X’ were making mockery of the so-called democratic system.

PTI Spokesperson went on to say that the fake government’s unjustified shutdown of the Internet, especially social media websites, on daily basis provided opportunities to the world to ridicule Pakistan.

He recalled that even the international human rights organizations were also raising voices against suspension of social media platforms for the last 32 days by the unelected rulers.

PTI Spokesperson stated that constitution was practically suspended and the basic constitutional rights were being crushed by power-wielders during the last 23 months, besides curbing freedom of speech and press had been the topmost priority of the usurper and anti-constitutional group.

He reminded that all coercive tactics, ranging from enforced disappearances to blackmailing families, were being utilised to target the impartial journalists and social media activists, adding that the state was taking these steps to strangulate freedom of speech and press to establish its unconstitutional control over the media.

PTI Spokesperson continued that the people-rejected PDM-2 undemocratic government was committing violation of all fundamental constitutional rights without any fear of accountability.

He pointed out that the basic constitutional right of freedom of expression and press were usurped in order to hide the facts of polls fraud and to impose the people-rejected clique on the nation once again.

PTI Spokesperson made it clear that the closure of social media websites without any reason and justification was a clear violation of Article 19 of the Constitution and international laws.

He called upon the fake minister of the fake government to ensure protection of citizens’ right to freedom of speech through immediate restoration of social media platform ‘X’.

ISLAMABAD, MAR 20: The two-day 52nd Vice Chancellors Committee meeting began in Islamabad on Wednesday to synergise for consolidation of key higher education policies and standards for the development of higher education sector. The meeting is being attended by around 170 heads of public and private sector universities.        

Addressing the opening ceremony, Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed emphasised the need for coordinated efforts by all the stakeholders for the development of higher education sector. He appreciated the role of university heads in the sector’s uplift and termed the universities as beacons of hope for society. Reiterating HEC’s commitment to universities autonomy, he urged the universities to, “exert the powers, provided that they are in line with the HEC policies and parameters.”

The Chairman spoke in detail on the prevailing challenges facing the higher education sector, including financial hardships, quality of degree programmes, governance at higher education institutions, relevance of research and development, authentic data collection, affiliation of degree awarding institutions, Transnational Education (TNE), graduates skill development, and training of youth alongside provision of education.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed urged the universities to launch only quality degree programmes that are relevant to the national needs. He made it clear that HEC will shut down all the degree programmes, including BS, MS, and PhD programmes, that do not meet the quality criteria. He categorically stated that HEC will not grant a one-time exemption for attestation of degrees issued in violation of its policies.          

Regarding the HEC Affiliation Policy, he emphasised that universities must implement the revised Affiliation Policy 2024 to ensure quality of higher education “before it is too late”.

He said HEC is putting efforts for internationalisation of universities through a one-widow operation by bringing foreign students to Pakistan. He further added that the sector is making remarkable progress in terms of the efforts for promoting Transnational Education (TNE). He underlined that the Pakistani universities can now develop partnerships with foreign universities under the new TNE Policy. 

The Chairman also noted that the growing number of social media blasphemy cases is a matter of grave concern. He said the university heads, faculty, and parents have a great responsibility to inculcate respect in youth for all religions, sacred personalities and associated literature to stop sacrilegious activities on social media.

Appreciating the Sindh Government for contributing over Rs. 26 billion to the universities operations, he said the Provincial Governments must significantly contribute to the higher education sector. He termed the development of education and health sectors a prerequisite for Pakistan’s uplift.

In his welcome remarks earlier, Executive Director HEC Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum underlined the importance of continuous improvement in quality standards, relevance, and quality of graduates. He underscored that consolidation of HEC policies and standards is a must for a strong higher education sector. He stated that HEC aims to formulate policies and strategies with evidence-based decisions based on data received from universities. “The sector cannot make progress unless the HEC roadmaps are implemented in letter and spirit under the supervision of the academic leaders,” he asserted.

Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum affirmed that HEC fully trusts the academic leaders in terms of the execution of policies. He said the HEC’s regulatory role will continue to keep the operations streamlined. He also elaborated the measures to improve HEC operations keeping in view that the sector has expanded with 262 universities operating in the country.

The Chair of the Vice Chancellors’ Committee, Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan thanked HEC on behalf of the VCs for assembling the university heads from the public and private sector HEIs, for deliberation and solution of the key issues. He said the VCs stand by HEC for revival of the HEC Ordinance and resolution of the critical challenges, such as financial crisis in universities, human resource management in universities including the appointment of faculty on Basic Pay Scale and Tenure Track System; search committee for appointment of Vice Chancellors; University Acts; affiliation of degree awarding institutions; MOOCs and online education; internationalisation of universities; quality of PhDs; and formulation of student representation platforms.

Expressing their views, the Vice Chancellors of different public and private sector universities demanded of the Provincial Governments to make significant financial contribution to the operations of universities in their respective provinces, urging the Federal Government to continue supporting the provincial universities alongside the federal universities.   

The opening ceremony was followed by panel discussions on Quality Assurance, Research & Innovation, Finance, Accreditation and Attestation, and Information Technology & Connectivity. HEC officials shared presentations on these themes to seek input from the participating Vice Chancellors. The panelists expressed their views about various policies and regulations, which were noted for further deliberation and incorporation. During the second day, each session chair will present recommendations and the same will be discussed by the forum for finalisation.  

LAHORE, MAR 20 /DNA/ – “The provision of bikes to students is a revolutionary scheme under Chief Minister’s Youth Initiative, said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who witnessed the signing of an MoU between Transport Department and Bank of Punjab for the provision of 20,000 bikes to students on easy monthly instalments. Secretary Transport Ahmed Javed Qazi and President Bank of Punjab Zafar Masood.signed the MOU.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said,”19,000 petrol and 1,000 electric bikes will be given to the students free of interest in monthly installments.” She explained,”The monthly installment of petrol bike will be Rs 5000, whereas it would be less than Rs 10,000 for the e-bike.”

Madam Chief Minister said,”The Government will bear interest on providing bikes to students on easy installments in collaboration with the Bank of Punjab.” She added,” The provision of bikes to students will revolutionise their lives. Personal ride will ensure ease of travel and saving of time in their daily lives,  which will lead to improvement in their academic performance.”

Madam Chief Minister noted,”Equal representation of male and female students in the distribution of bikes is welcome.“

Madam Chief Minister inspected the proposed electric and petrol bikes for students. She asked about the price of the bikes and checked their quality, and directed to match color of bikes with the color of Punjab government’s green logo.

The Chief Minister said,”Registration of students for bikes will start as soon as possible.” She added,”After the draw in May, delivery of bikes will start in the same month.”

Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Former Senator Pervaiz  Rashid, Provincial Information Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari, Provincial Minister Transport and Masstransit Bilal Akbar Khan, Chief Secretary, Secretary Transport and Mass Transit, Finance, HED, Chairman PITB, President Bank of Punjab Zafar Masood, MD PMA, Secretary PTA Punjab, Secretary RTA Lahore and other officers concerned attended the meetings..

ISLAMABAD, MAR 20 /DNA/ – Capital Calling, an Islamabad-based think tank, has welcomed the reports that International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to impose uniform excise rates on both local and foreign cigarette manufacturers.

It also appreciated former health minister Dr Nadeem Jan calling for a 50 percent increase in taxes on cigarettes to make them harder to access for the masses.

The think tank has endorsed the minister’s statement rubbishing the propaganda that rise in taxes will lead to smuggling of cigarettes, resulting in a loss to the national exchequer.

According to estimates, cigarette prices are the cheapest in Pakistan compared to other regional countries, it said.

The reports on IMF recommendations mention that it has suggested applying a consistent excise rate in one slab to all domestically produced cigarettes, regardless of the manufacturer’s origin.

It means local and multinational manufacturers will face no discrimination in taxes. Currently cigarettes are taxed in two tiers, which is resulting low collection of taxation from the cigarette industry.

Furthermore, the IMF has also proposed subjecting e-cigarettes to taxation similar to traditional tobacco products, citing comparable health impacts.

This recommendation is strictly in line with the guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO), said Dr Hassan Shehzad, from International Islamic University. He said due to the two-tier system, multinational companies manage to place their cigarettes in lower tier which results into reduction in cigarette prices.

The objective of these recommendations is to ensure equitable taxation across cigarette products, regardless of their source.

The think tank stated that it is estimated that the government has faced Rs567 billion loss due to influence of the international tobacco companies.

It said there is dearth of research to measure the damage that smoking has done to the society. The survey conducted to assess this damage are highly tilted towards economics, hence offering no solutions as to how to bring down smoking in the society.

Similarly, there is no concrete media strategy to counter smoking and its psychological impacts.

It said majority of smokers are in their thirties and there is a need to think about this age group formulating policies.

The institutions formed to counter smoking suffer from lack of coordination and vision; hence, fast losing their relevance. Capital Calling has demanded a reset of the mechanism to counter tobacco and fully implementation of IMF recommendations for uniformed tax on tobacco products, thinking of it as a right step to take.

ISLAMABAD, MAR 20 /DNA/ – COMSTECH organized a ground breaking ceremony for the establishment of Halal Authentication Laboratory at Islamic University in Uganda. The ceremony for the reverse linkage project between Uganda and Pakistan on “Establishing of the Halal Authentication Laboratory”, was held at the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU).

Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator General, COMSTECH was the Chief Guest in the ceremony. The ceremony was attended by Prof. Ismail Simbwa Gyagenda, Rector, IUIU, H.E. Dr. Issahaq Umar Iddrisu, The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Manager, Regional Hub Kampala, Uganda, H.E. Dr. Shk Ramadhan Mubajje, Mufti of Uganda, Mr. Sameh Hussein, Lead Technical Cooperation Specialist (IsDB), Prof. Dr. Syed Ghulam Musharraf, and Dr. Shakil Ahmed Technical Leads, ICCBS, University of Karachi, Pakistan.

The ceremony agenda included discussions regarding the project, it’s implementation strategy and timeline, training of human resources, along with composition of the project steering committee.

Furthermore, the esteemed guests visited the site of construction of the laboratory where H.E. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator General COMSTECH, laid the foundation stone of the laboratory.

COMSTECH has played a pivotal role in developing the project in support with Islamic Development Bank and International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS). This is a part of the COMSTECH Africa initiative in science and technology. Under this initiative, COMSTECH has also helped in the launching of master degree program in ICT in The Gambia, a citrus processing unit in Nigeria, faculty of engineering in Chad and training of eye surgeons from 10 west African countries.

The construction of the Halal Authentication Laboratory has begun and is expected to be completed by August, 2024.

Following recent skirmishes on the Pak-Afghan frontier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday asserted that the goverment would not tolerate any cross-border terrorism.

In the early hours of Monday, Pakistan struck Afganistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces in “intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations”, which, according to the Afghan interim government, killed eight people.

The Foreign Office had confirmed the strikes, saying they were aimed at the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which recently targeted security forces in North Waziristan, martyring seven soldiers.

The air strikes were responded to by Afghanistan forces which used heavy weapons, including mortars, to target troops across the border in Kurram and North Waziristan.

Tuesday remained relatively calmer as guns on both sides of the boundary remained silent, barring the Angoor Adda border.

Earlier this year, Pakistan conducted retaliatory strikes in Iran after the latter laun­ched attacks in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl in the border town of Balochistan’s Panjgur.

Addressing the first meeting of the apex committee since the new government came to power, PM Shehbaz said today: “We will not tolerate any terrorism from across the border. Under no circumstances.”

At the outset of the meeting, the committee prayed for the martyrs in last week’s North Waziristan attack. The premier recalled that thousands of lives had been lost to terrorism.

“Unfortunately, again, terrorism has reared its head. The reality is that despite such great sacrifices and resources expended, our martyrs and warriors are risking their lives to eliminate terrorism,” PM Shehbaz said.

Recalling his visit to the martyrs’ families, the premier quoted the father of 23-year-old Captain Ahmed Badar as saying: “Prime minister, terrorism must be eradicated.”

“I also told him that we cannot tolerate this terrorism anymore. Pakistan’s borders are a red line against terrorism,” the prime minister said.

“We want to exist in a very peaceful environment with our neighbouring brothers — do trade, commerce and expand our relations — but unfortunately, if a neighbour’s land is used for terrorism, this is intolerable” he asserted.

PM Shehbaz requested “neighbouring countries” to “come and sit” to devise a plan against terrorism “with sincerity of purpose work towards eradicating it”. “I am hopeful that our neighbouring country will carefully consider my invitation,” he added.

Resurgent terrorism
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in 2023 year, especially in KP and Balochistan after the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

The ISPR said earlier this month 10 militants were killed in two separate operations by security forces in the North Waziristan district. It added that Pakistan expected the Afghan government to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists.

Last month, a late-night attack on a police station in Dera Ismail Khan was repulsed. Gunmen had mounted an attack using heavy weapons but fled in the cover of darkness when police personnel fired back.

In December last year, 23 soldiers were martyred and more than 30 troops wounded after militants belonging to the Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) stormed a compound used by the military in Dera Ismail Khan’s Daraban area.

According to an annual security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations in 2023 — marking a record six-year high.

KP and Balochistan were the primary centres of violence, accounting for over 90 per cent of all fatalities and 84pc of attacks, including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations.