ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that economic stability was the top most priority of his government, a private news channel reported.
Presiding over a meeting of his economic team in Islamabad, PM Imran emphasized upon a strong economic system and added that the system will restore investors’ confidence, create new jobs and help boost local industries in the country.
Talking about closed industrial units, the prime minister directed to evolve a comprehensive plan within 60 days to restore the units. He directed the concerned authorities to complete reforms in connection with the closed industrial units at the earliest.
Pakistani Prime Minister chairs meeting of the economic team at Islamabad. (PID)
Speaking on the occasion, PM Imran directed to include private sector in small and medium-sized enterprises. The prime minister directed his economic team to provide every possible facility to investors and take measures for ease of doing business in the country.
On the occasion, PM Imran directed Advisor to the PM on Economy and Finance Abdul Hafeez Sheikh to present a comprehensive strategy in this regard by next week. (With additional input from INP)
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday rejected four applications filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) seeking secrecy during the scrutiny of its foreign funding sources.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Mohammad Raza also instructed the scrutiny committee to continue its work and instructed PTI representatives to appear before the committee on Oct 14.
PTI’s founding member Akbar S. Babar had filed the case in 2014, alleging that nearly $3 million in illegal foreign funds were collected through two offshore companies and that money was sent through illegal ‘hundi’ channels from the Middle East to accounts of ‘PTI employees’. He had also alleged that the foreign accounts used to collect funds were concealed from the annual audit reports submitted to the ECP.
A scrutiny committee was formed in March last year to complete an audit of PTI’s funding sources in one month. Its mandate was later extended for an indefinite period.
In a previous hearing on Oct 1, the ECP bench had reserved its verdict on PTI’s applications after listening to the arguments of the various parties to the case.
Speaking to media after the verdict was announced, Babar said that the process of the scrutiny of PTI’s funding would be brought to its logical conclusion. He said that the funding case against PTI would reveal the true facts to people and clarified that he did not have any personal enmity with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Dissident founding member of the PTI Babar had filed the foreign funding case before the ECP in 2014 after he developed differences with PTI Chairman Imran Khan over alleged internal corruption and abuse of laws governing political funding.
The petitioner and former PTI Central Vice President said the petition filed in November 2014 seeks findings on sources of PTI funds in all PTI bank accounts operated in and outside Pakistan, revealed or concealed before the ECP.
He said the details of accounts should include the 23 bank accounts all over Pakistan requisitioned by the State Bank of Pakistan that includes two PTI Lloyds bank accounts operated in the UK, one company registered in Australia with the title ‘Insaf Australia Incorporated’, two companies registered in the U.S. under the signatures of PTI Chairman Imran Khan besides funding details from Denmark, and the Middle East.
Akbar S. Babar stated that he has no personal enmity with PM Imran Khan. “We started this journey of reform together. It was only when I found that the PTI had deviated from its founding ideals that I challenged Imran Khan as my loyalty to Pakistan comes first”. He said until political parties first clean up their act and become transparent and accountable under the law, there can be no change in Pakistan.
He added that the last one year of PTI rule had proved his stance that without merit, accountability and transparency, political parties would remain a mere tool to climb the power ladder, lacking the capacity, competence, and commitment to deliver any good to society.
For over a year, the proceedings of the case were delayed in the ECP as the PTI had filed a writ petition in October 2015 in the Islamabad High Court seeking to restrain the ECP from scrutinising its accounts.
In February 2017, the IHC had remanded the case back to the ECP for a fresh review of its jurisdiction. On May 8 of the same year, a full bench of the ECP had once again declared its complete jurisdiction over the matter and stated that the PTI had failed to produce any evidence that the petitioner had been expelled from the party and hence lost the right to question the PTI’s accounts.
In March 2018, a scrutiny committee had been formed to look into PTI’s foreign funding accounts to ascertain any wrongdoing. (With additional input from INP)
BEIJING: Prime Minister Imran Khan met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and discussed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, regional situation and matters of mutual interests.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Imran thanked the Chinese president and his government for its principled stand on the occupied Kashmir issue.
The prime minister also briefed the Chinese president about Pakistan’s present situation and said the country has come out of the difficult economic situation and will never forget China’s financial cooperation in this regard.
PM Imran further said China has never asked anything for its support against our national interest and helped the country without any conditionality.
He added that China provided Pakistan an opportunity to come out of very difficult economic situation and appreciated the Chinese support under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework.
The Chinese president lauded PM Imran for speaking on China-Pakistan relations during the UN General Assembly’s session.
He said both countries enjoyed close friendly relations and cooperated with each other in different fields.
Leaders of the two countries had in-depth exchange of views on a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. Meetings were marked by traditional warmth, mutual understanding and strategic trust. Prime Minister Imran Khan also attended the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing Horticulture Expo 2019 as a chief guest.
Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated the Chinese leadership and people on the 70th Anniversary of founding of the People’s Republic of China. He felicitated China for its remarkable growth and underscored that the reform and opening up process of China was a model for developing countries. He maintained that the steady march of the Chinese nation under its visionary leadership towards national rejuvenation was becoming a reality.
Recalling the Joint Statement of November 4, 2018, which outlined the important bilateral consensus between Pakistan and China, the two sides reaffirmed their firm resolve to further strengthening Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership aimed at building a Community of Shared Future in the New Era.
Stressing that the close ties, deep-rooted friendship and strategic partnership between Pakistan and China served the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples, and contributed to peace, stability and development in the regional atmosphere, the two sides reaffirmed their support on issues concerning each other’s core interests.
Chinese leaders reiterated solidarity with Pakistan in safeguarding its territorial sovereignty, independence and security. The Pakistan side reaffirmed its commitment to the One China Policy. Supporting One Country Two Systems, Pakistan reiterated that affairs of Hong Kong were China’s internal matter and all countries should uphold international law and basic norms of non-interference in internal affairs of other countries.
The Pakistan side briefed the Chinese side on the regional situation of Jammu and Kashmir, including its concerns, position, and current urgent issues.
The Chinese side responded that it was paying close attention to the current situation in Jammu & Kashmir and reiterated that the Kashmir issue is a dispute left from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.
China opposes any unilateral actions that complicate the regional situation. The two sides underlined that a peaceful, stable, cooperative and prosperous South Asia was in common interest of all parties. Parties need to settle disputes and issues in the region through dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual respect.
Pakistan side underscored that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a transformational project. A CPEC Authority was established to oversee the expeditious implementation of CPEC projects. Both sides maintained that the second phase of CPEC will promote industrial and socio-economic development in Pakistan. Pakistan side also underlined that the Gwadar Port has been granted various facilities enabling it to become a trade and logistical hub for the region. The two sides expressed determination to speedily execute CPEC so that its growth potential can be fully realized making it a high-quality demonstration project for BRI.
The two sides maintained that the ninth session of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) to be held in November in Islamabad would further fast-track implementation of the ongoing projects and explore new avenues of cooperation, including ML-1. The two sides underlined that Chinese investment in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and collaboration in SME sector would further expand Pakistan’s industrial base and diversify its export base.
Both sides agreed to jointly study identified projects by the Pakistan side in power, petroleum, gas, agriculture, industrial and infrastructure sectors. Those projects were entrusted to the concerned Joint Working Groups (JWGs) for deliberation and subsequent consideration by the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC).
The two sides held in-depth exchange of views on deepening bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, finance, defence and security, education, agriculture, social sector, people-to-people contacts and cultural linkages. Both sides renewed their commitment to reinforce sister-city ties and were happy to note that a major event was being organized in Islamabad in November 2019 to deepen cultural cooperation and people-to-people ties between the two countries.
Both sides underlined that educational links between the two countries were becoming stronger. Prime Minister Imran Khan thanked Chinese leadership for providing opportunities to Pakistani students to study in China. He hoped that those students will play an important role in further deepening historic and deep-rooted ties between the two iron brothers.
Prime Minister Imran Khan thanked the Chinese leadership for China’s consistent support for Pakistan’s economic development. The two sides agreed that early implementation of the Second Phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement would contribute to increase in bilateral trade. Both sides agreed to take full advantage of the China-Pakistan Joint Economic and Trade Commission to achieve balanced and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
The leaders reviewed the excellent bilateral defence cooperation and agreed to further strength this cooperation in the areas of military exercises, training cooperation, personnel exchanges, and equipment and technology cooperation.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and called on all countries to strengthen international cooperation on counter-terrorism. China appreciated Pakistan’s unrelenting efforts and tremendous sacrifices in countering terrorism. It supported Pakistan in implementing its National Action Plan and called on the international community to objectively recognize Pakistan’s contributions to regional peace and security through its success in fight against terrorism.
Both sides expressed satisfaction over the close cooperation between the two countries at multilateral fora and resolved to deepen strategic coordination and consultation. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and support for multilateralism and win-win cooperation. (With additional input from INP)
ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa), an autonomous specialized cultural institution working under the administrative control of National History and Literary Heritage Division has announced to hold its annual mega event known as “Lok Mela” from 15th November 2019.
The festival is scheduled from 15th to 24th November 2019 at Lok Virsa Complex, Garden Avenue, Shakarparian, Islamabad.
Inaugural ceremony of the 10-day event is scheduled on Friday, 15th November 2015 at 3 pm which will be graced by Mr. Shafqat Mahmood, Minister for Federal Education, Professional Training, National History and Literary Heritage.
The main features include provincial cultural pavilions, artisans at work, folk songs and dance performances, exotic craft bazaar, cultural nights, folkloric performances and many other activities.
As per tradition exists for the last four decades, the festival will formally open with a chadarposhi/ dastarbandi ceremony, which is a way of proclaiming Lok Virsa’s commitment to the high stature that craftspeople and folk artists have in the cultural mainstream of the nation. This year, one established master craftswoman and one male folk artist/ musician will be honoured with chaddarposhi and dastarbandi by the chief guest.
Culture departments of all provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir have been invited to set up pavilions presenting their indigenous folk culture, artisans, folk artists and traditional cuisine as link nodes of the festival‘s foundation grid.
Special attractions featuring folk singers, folk entertainers and other entertaining shows will be organized throughout the festival period. Display of traditional folk dances from all over Pakistan will be held in open air at intervals. Folk entertainers and rural musicians are invited from all over the country to participate in the festival.
An exotic craft bazaar with score of tastefully decorated pavilions offering a variety of knick-knacks, antiques, craft items and cultural materials will also be set up.
Each province, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir will hold its cultural night during Lok Mela in which eminent folk artists and folk performers hailing from the respective province/ region will perform live in a concert.
Traditional mouth-watering Pakistani cuisines will be arranged at the venue of the festival.
The festival will culminate with a colorful Award Ceremony scheduled to take place on the last day i.e. Sunday, 24th November 2019 in which cash awards will be distributed among the most talented and deserving artisans on the recommendations of a national jury constituted for the purpose in full view of the national media. Mela entry ticket will be Rs.50/- per head. Daily timings will be from 10 am to 9 pm.
ISLAMABAD: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) has formally sought permission from the Islamabad administration to hold the much talked “Azadi March” on October 27, at D-Chowk located in the federal capital’s red zone.
JUI-F leader Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, through his counsel Kamran Murtaza, submitted an application on Tuesday to the chief commissioner Islamabad seeking permission to hold the march as well as security arrangements for the participants.
“The JUI-F will be holding the Azadi March on October 27, 2019 at D-Chowk, Islamabad, exercising its democratic and Constitutional right under Articles 16 and 17 of the Constitution against the incumbent government,” reads the application.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalur Rehaman had announced one week ago that the party will begin its anti-government “Azadi March” on October 27.
The JUI-F chief had said that all opposition parties had rejected the July 25, 2018 elections and had called for fresh elections. “In this regard, the JUI-F and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal have carried out 15 ‘million marches’ in the country to raise awareness among the people,” he had added.
He had said that participants of a meeting of JUI-F decided that on October 27 — the day celebrated by Kashmiris across the world as Black Day — the party will express complete solidarity with Kashmiris and with those demonstrations, a march on Islamabad will begin.
“This will be an Azadi march. Groups of people from all over the country will embark on this journey which will culminate in Islamabad, where we will send the government packing,” he had said.
“We are not ones to disperse easily,” he warned.
The PPP and PML-N, who along with the JUI-F had been holding near-daily meetings with each other to debate the anti-government action to be taken, have yet to indicate whether they will join the march on Oct 27 or not. (With additional input from INP)
ISLAMABAD: The government would set up four more Citizen Facilitation Centres in the federal capital to offer them one-stop solution of their problems including vehicle verification, provision of driving licenses and a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) lodged in any police station.
“Four more citizen facilitation centres will be
established in the capital city to ensure speedy redressed of public issues
through one window solution,” Federal Minister for Interior Ijaz Ahmad
Shah said on Tuesday.
Inaugurating the special desk for overseas Pakistanis at
Police Facilitation Centre, Islamabad F-6, the minister lauded the efforts of
Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police for setting up the centre on modern
lines.
“Materialization of such initiatives depict that we are
moving in the right direction under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran
Khan, who has been strong proponent of public welfare,” he remarked.
Before the commencement of the cabinet meeting, Ijaz Shah
said Prime Minister Imran Khan questioned every minister about the initiatives
taken by their ministries for the public welfare.
He said the Capital Development Authority and Islamabad police were
taking several initiatives that were aimed at public facilitation and resolving
their problems instantly.
To a query, he said the ICT police was recruiting more
traffic personnel in Islamabad Traffic Police to ensure smooth flow of traffic
on the capital’s roads.
“When we come to canal, we will cross it,” he said
while responding to the queries of about the plan of Maulana Fazlur Rehman for
marching towards Islamabad
this month.
In my opinion, he said the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal
(JUI-F) chief would not launch the ‘Azadi march’ in the current month.
The minister said Imran Khan was the first Prime Minister of
Pakistan who had been striving to run the country on pattern of the Madina
state.
He said the government was bringing reforms in seminaries
and introducing the syllabus that would help them become a constructive part of
the society.
“We are just adding the subjects like Maths, Science,
English and History in madrassas’ syllabus,” Ijaz Shah replied to another
question.
He said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) assumed the power
after getting people’s mandate and would remain in the power till it had the
public’s confidence.
He said it was the right of the opposition to criticize the
government while the latter was supposed to perform and deliver.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas
Pakistanis Syed Zulfikar Bukhari said the special desk for expats was set up in
the facilitation centre to ensure swift resolution of the overseas Pakistanis’
issues.
The initiative, he said was taken by the ministry of
Overseas and Human Resource Development in collaboration with the ICT Police.
He said the officials of Overseas Pakistanis Foundation had
been deputed over the special desk to establish a strong connectivity among the
departments concerned for resolving expats’ complaints on fast-track.
The move was the part of efforts made by the government to
facilitate the expatriates, besides encouraging their investments in real
estate sector of the country, he added.
In response to high number of land grabbing complaints
lodged by Pakistani expatriates on Prime Minister Performance Delivery Unit
(PMDU) and Call Sar Zameen App, he said the ministry had planned to set up the
facility in police stations of ever city after its complete success in Islamabad.
Zulfikar Bukhari said the ministry had drafted the rules for setting up fast-track courts in Islamabad that would help resolve the property disputes of the overseas Pakistanis within months(Additional Input From INP)
ISLAMABAD: A formal request for re-issuance of former director general of parks and horticulture in Karachi, Liaquat Ali Khan Qaimkhani’s arrest warrant was sent to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal for approval on Tuesday.
According to details, the authorities have decided to
interrogate Qaimkhani, who is already under-custody, regarding ownership of
expensive cars and dozens of plots.
Earlier, NAB had raided Qaimkhani’s residence in Karachi and arrested him
in Bagh Ibne Qasim scam.
The team had confiscated gold coins, prize bonds, five sets
of expensive jewelry and foreign currency from Qaimkhani’s secret coffer.
The valuables are expected to be worth Rs150 million while another coffer is
yet to be opened.
The anti-graft body had also seized eight luxury vehicles,
sophisticated arms, property files, jewellery and official records of the KMC
from his custody.
Sources revealed that in the span of 20 years, Qaimkhani had built 71 parks “only in the documents” and no park was built in real, and the accused ex-DG had formed fake companies for illegal purposes.
Moreover, documents of seven bungalows in Karachi
and Lahore were
also found in his home during a search in PECHS, Block-6. ‘Original
files’ of the KMC were also seized from the held suspect’s home. (Additional Input From INP)
ISLAMABAD: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) with Pakistan Stone Development Company (PASDEC), Federal Ministry of Industries and Production, Government of Pakistan to collaborate in the areas of research, advocacy, training and capacity development. Under the MoU, both parties agreed to cooperate in raising awareness through advocacy campaigns on potential of marble and granite sector, capacity building initiatives, and joint research projects.
Executive Director, SDPI, Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO), PASDEC, Zahid Maqsood Sheikh on behalf of their
respective organizations signed the MoU on Monday here at SDPI in Islamabad.
PASDEC is a subsidiary of Pakistan Industrial Development
Corporation (PIDC) working under the auspices of Ministry of Industries &
Production (MOIP) and is mandated to initiate multiple projects to uplift the
existing set-up of marble and granite sector.
Speaking on the occasion, Executive Director, SDPI, Dr Abid
Qaiyum Suleri said to achieve economic growth and development, there is a need
to think of diversification and potential of different sectors, where marble,
stone and granite sector has tremendous potential to grow and can boost our
exports. “The sector needs to adopt environment friendly and modern
techniques in development of stones to help protect the environment”, he
said adding the SDPI will provide research support, help in raising awareness
and advocacy support and will suggest best environment friendly practices to
help grow the sector in a sustainable manner.
Dr. Abid remarked that the SDPI will be an ambassador of
marble and granite sector and will highlight the importance and potential of
the sector on internal forums.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), PASDEC, Zahid Maqsood Sheikh
said the sector carries the capacity to turn around the national economy and
has great potential of generation of employment. “New technologies and
best environment friendly practices can be adapted to help reduce the wastage
in the stone development” he said adding the SDPI has proven research and
advocacy strength to tap the potential of the sector which will help the sector
to grow.
Chairperson PASDEC, Shamama tul Amber Arbab said that
despite there is a lot of un-tapped potential in the sector, there is least
awareness and attention towards development of the sector. “There is a
dire need of raising awareness and advocacy for basic policy change and
intervention for the growth of the sector”, she stressed.
Ambassador (Retired) Shafqat Kakakhel, Chairperson Board of Governors (BoGs), SDPI said sustainable practices and principles should be adopted in the development of the sector. He said the collaboration between both parties on research, advocacy and capacity building is a welcome step in the development of the sector. (Additional Input From INP)
According to a press release, the amount is additional financing issued by the bank for the social development project which supports more than 5 million eligible families across the country through over $3.6 billion in total cash transfers so far.
The management of the development bank has said that it will continue to support cash transfers as well as help BISP implement institutional strengthening measures.
“Social protection programs like the BISP are crucial to ensure that the poorest segments of the population do not go further into poverty,” said the ADB Director of Public Management Tariq Niazi.
He added that the ADB was committed to helping the Pakistani government “implement alternative modalities for social protection and poverty reduction
The ADB official noted that these initiatives included asset transfer programs that promote improved human capital and reduce inter-generational poverty.
Pakistan Xiaohong Yang also weighed in on the loan, saying that the additional financing would support further institutional strengthening
“A policy research unit will also be established within BISP to help monitor and improve the performance of ongoing programs and design new cost-effective and evidence-based initiatives.”
“These include programs such as poverty graduation programs and conditional cash transfers for health and nutrition in line with global best practices,” he added. (Additional Input from INP)
ISLAMABAD: Leader of the House in Senate Shibli Faraz said on Monday that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman is misusing religion to his advantage.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader talked to media and maintained that Fazal-ur-Rehman collected funds in the name of Namoos-e-Risalat (sanctity of Holy Prophet).
Shibli Faraz said the JUI-F chief is using religion in politics and does not want the Madrasah (religious seminary) reforms. “Even ten Maulanas cannot take the stance over Namoos-e-Risalat which Prime Minister Imran Khan took,” he added.
Furthermore, the senator said that we should rectify the mistakes in the system, and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) should address the problems.
Serious concerns over intentions of ‘Azadi March’: Mian Aslam
Minister for Information, Punjab, Mian Aslam in a press conference on Monday said that the Prime Minister of Maulana’s protest agenda seems nefarious.
Aslam said that the religious cleric was trying to rile up young minds and lead them towards chaos and anarchy in the name of justice and rights.
“Innocent children are being told to carry along sticks and canes to the protest (Azadi) march,” said Aslam.
Aslam expanding upon the intentions of Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman said that the march would bring harm to all the hard work done by the Prime Minister in his recently concluded US visit.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan represented the Ummah and the plight of innocent Kashmiri’s on a global scale, Maulana with his self-serving attitude wants to harm the diplomatic case that Pakistan is trying to build against Indian atrocities, he is also bringing harm to the image of Pakistan as a country by taking aggressive measures against the state which may lead to unfortunate events.”
The minister said that no one would oppose a peaceful march and protest, but if things got out of control then anything could happen, he yet again expressed serious doubts over the intentions behind the march and the intentions harbored by its patriarch, Maulana Fazal ur Rehman. (With additional input from INP)
