ISLAMABAD, MAY 26 /DNA/ – General Syed Asim Munir, NI (M), COAS Pakistan Army had a telephonic call with Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of General Staff of Iranian Armed Forces and extended deep condolences over the sad and unfortunate incident of helicopter crash on 19 May 2024 which led to demise of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minster Amir Abdollahain and other important officials.

COAS expressed that Late President Ebrahim Raisi and Late Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian were exceptional leaders and true friends of Pakistan.

COAS highlighted that loss of both the leaders and others was truly tragic and irreparable. COAS on behalf of all ranks of Pakistan Army extended prayers for the departed souls and well wishes for the bereaved families.

COAS said that Pakistan has historic, cultural and brotherly ties with Iran and the Armed Forces of Pakistan and Iran have always stood together. General Bagheri thanked COAS for sharing grief and vowed to continue the cooperation between the two militaries.

PINDIGHEB, MAY 26 /DNA/ – The participants of the training session organized by PODA organization, held at the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) office in Pindigheb, unanimously supported the legal amendment to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 years in the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act 2015.

Nikah khawans and nikah registrars representing ten union councils attended the one-day training held in the TMA Pindigheb hall. They emphasized the need to introduce the required amendment at the earliest to safeguard the fundamental rights of young girls, enabling them to benefit from Article 25-A of the Constitution, which obligates the state to ensure the education of children from 5 to 16 years of age. The training aimed to strengthen the role of nikah khawans and registrars in stopping child marriages. The activity was part of the project “Reduce Early Marriages to Enhance Gender Equality,” funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Islamabad.

The participants also demanded a review of the existing nikah nama to accommodate current requirements and called for consultative sessions to gather practical and relevant recommendations.

The Project Manager, Nabeela Aslam, said that to protect girls’ constitutional rights to lead dignified lives as citizens of Pakistan, PODA is engaging with all segments of society to amplify the demand to increase the minimum age of marriage for girls. For this purpose, government officials of the relevant departments, members of the legal fraternity, media persons, mothers, daughters, community leaders, health workers, teachers, girls, role model women, religious scholars, and staff of basic health units across Punjab have been engaged through a wide range of activities to reduce early marriages in 41 districts of Punjab.

Addressing the gathering, the President of the Pindigheb Bar Association, Faisal Shehzad, urged the participants to ensure their effective role in ending child marriages. The participants noted that although there has been a decrease in child marriages, however the practice still exists, particularly among the weaker segments of society.

The focal person for all union councils of Tehsil Pindigheb, Naveed Abbas, elaborated on the actions taken by the union councils under his supervision, including the mandatory registration of marriages within three days.

The training was facilitated by the office of the Assistant Commissioner, Tehsil Pindigheb, Noor Zaman, and his staff. Around 30 people participated, including nikah khawans, registrars, lawyers, TMA staff, and media persons.

Khawaja Zahid Nasim, Advocate, and Hifza Bukhari, former Finance Secretary of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, led sessions of the training and engaged with participants to play their roles effectively in reducing early marriages. The participants received certificates for completing the training.

Mumtaz Ahmed Bhatti

ISLAMABAD: Engineers working for the Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak PWD) continue to face financial hardships as they remain deprived of the technical allowance that their counterparts in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have been receiving for many years. This disparity has created a significant financial burden on the federal engineers.

The state-of-the-art buildings and infrastructure developed by Pak PWD engineers across the country stand as a testament to their efficiency and expertise, yet their financial struggles highlight a pressing issue that demands immediate government attention.The Pakistan Public Works Department is a key federal agency responsible for constructing and maintaining public buildings and infrastructure across the country. The department’s engineers play a crucial role in ensuring the quality and durability of these constructions, which include government offices, hospitals, schools, and other essential public facilities. Their expertise and dedication have led to the successful completion of numerous state-of-the-art projects that contribute significantly to the nation’s development.Despite their critical role, Pak PWD engineers are not receiving the technical allowance, a financial benefit provided to engineers to compensate for the specialized skills and knowledge required in their field.

 This allowance is meant to recognize the technical expertise of engineers and to provide financial support that reflects the complexity and importance of their work.While Pak PWD engineers continue to be deprived of this crucial financial benefit, their counterparts in the provincial departments of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have been receiving technical allowances for an extended period. This disparity is a source of frustration and demoralization for federal engineers, who find themselves financially disadvantaged despite performing similar or even more complex tasks.

By offering this financial benefit, the government would be investing in the well-being and efficiency of its workforce, which is essential for sustaining the quality of public infrastructure.The deprivation of a technical allowance for Pakistan Public Works Department engineers is a critical issue that needs immediate government intervention.

The federal government must prioritize this issue and take swift action to approve the technical allowance for Pak PWD engineers.

ISLAMABAD, MAY 25 /DNA/ – Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Saturday said that a “message of unity” was sent as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur attended an overall “productive” meeting of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

On Thursday, the PTI had lashed out at the government for allegedly excluding CM Gandapur from the invitation for today’s SIFC meeting.

The government formed the SIFC in June 2023 to bring together provincial and federal government representatives, as well as military officials, in a decision-making forum. Its goals include seeking solutions for economic revival and increasing FDI inflows.

Moreover, the council is managed by an apex committee comprising the prime minister, chief of army staff, chief ministers and other high-ranking government officials.

Addressing the media after today’s SIFC meeting in Islamabad, which was attended by CM Gandapur as well, the information minister said: “I want to say that all four chief ministers expressed complete trust regarding the SIFC, assured complete cooperation and also iterated the belief that the SIFC is a serious and effective forum and a lifeline to stabilise the economy, to develop the economy and to solve the country’s issues.”

He reiterated that CM Gandapur on behalf of his province also “fully assured that they will cooperate”.

Tarar said he was seated CM Gandapur in the meeting and had “small talks in a very cordial environment and good mood in which he talked about his province, we had many discussions on the province’s issues and we had some talks on a lighter note as well which I think is positive since we are political people and talks should always remain ongoing in politics”.

“He accepted that ‘we have our issues, there are constraints as well and oftentimes we have to talk because of them but we are not out of the SIFC. We express trust in the SIFC and accept it’.

“He talked about [the issues of] his province, definitely did and indeed he should as well. Along with that, he accepted the importance of the SIFC. I think today’s meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere with great positivity and the frank discussion that was held about the economy, increasing investment, public-private partnerships … I think the good thing is that a message of unity was sent after today’s SIFC meeting that the Centre and the provinces are on one page.”

Tarar said the meeting’s participants agreed that investment, whether in the Centre or the provinces, would be promoted.

“I thank all chief ministers that they not only participated but gave very valuable input. This forum will move forward because of their input and coordination.”

Tarar said the meeting also discussed the United Arab Emirates’ recent pledge of $10 billion worth of investment in Pakistan’s economy, adding that the prime minister announced the formation of six specific regional desks in the SIFC to cater to investment from China, the United States, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the European Union.

He said the chief ministers supported the move.

“I think this was a very historic meeting whose dividends you will see in the coming days.”

Tarar said economic indicators were improving and amounts were being set aside by foreign countries for investment in Pakistan.

“Today was a very positive meeting. I congratulate all provincial governments for it. It was decided that there will be more frequent meetings of the executive committee in which many suggestions will be discussed which will then be brought to the apex [committee] and many decisions will be made in the executive committee.”

KP CM acknowledges ‘very good meeting’
Meanwhile, CM Gandapur too acknowledged that “it was a very good meeting”, saying that he had previously iterated the provincial government’s pleasure at KP’s resources being used for the country.

He said the resources of the province should continue to benefit both its residents and the larger country.

However, he added that the KP government would “never compromise” on its share of resources, adding that the issue was raised in the SIFC meeting and “the commitment has been given that the province’s resources, rights and share of the people will be protected and we too assured that our resources had always benefited the people and will continue to do so.”

Gandapur said the federal government was deliberating some additional taxes in KP and the former tribal areas but he had informed the SIFC members that such a step was not possible due to the already present financial circumstances of the province’s people and thus that such measures were not incorporated in the budget.

“They agreed with me and told me they would not include them,” he said, adding that the federal government said that it would hold further rounds of discussions with all stakeholders before levying the additional taxes.

He also downplayed the matter of his alleged exclusion from the invites for today’s SIFC meeting, saying that he had already given his clear message.

“Then they called us and want us to be a part of it so we are present and will do our work.”

Questioned about any meeting with Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and talks about the PTI, CM Gandapur said he met the army chief two times.

“When I am already getting the opportunity to talk to him then I don’t think I need to talk at a place where the opportunity is not there, the atmosphere is not right and other people are present,” he said.

PM commends SIFCs role in national prosperity, urges further collective efforts
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the SIFC was playing a critical role in the country’s progress and prosperity and thanked the provincial governments for expressing their confidence in the platform.

Addressing the SIFC meeting, the prime minister said that all members should work tirelessly to build a Pakistan as perceived by the founding fathers.

The prime minister urged the provincial governments to further support the SIFC and move ahead in unison “like a family to compensate for the losses of the past” and overcome issues of poverty and hunger.

He said that the federal government did not get enough resources for initiating development projects after the distribution of resources among the provinces, therefore under such conditions, all governments should move together with unity.

Updating the members of SIFC about his recent visit to the UAE, he said the Emirati leadership had announced a $10bn investment in Pakistan and expressed their complete confidence in the SIFC.

“The leadership of brotherly countries and others as well are aware of the functioning of SIFC,” he observed.

“When SIFC was formed through legal procedures, certain concerns were expressed by a quarter but with the passage of time, its significance, efficiency and achievements had shut all kinds of criticism and everybody now fully supported its initiatives,” PM Shehbaz added.

The premier stressed that the SIFC members should resolve to achieve their targets and work tirelessly to “transform Pakistan into something upon which Pakistanis can feel pride”.

The prime minister also underlined the need of capacity building and enhancing professionalism of experts in different fields.

He said that he had already instructed the ministries clearly to hire consultants and experts and would soon seek their feedback.

The prime minister said that the digitisation process of the Federal Bureau of Revenue had already commenced.

He urged all stakeholders to redouble their efforts and promote the local talent and industry, adding that 60 per cent of the population comprised the youth, who should be trained in information technology while natural resources worth “billions of rupees” lying untapped be fully utilised.

The prime minister also credited SIFC for paving the way for the Reko Diq project in Balochistan.