Day: March 21, 2021

KARACHI:Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), organized a workshop on Green Building and Sustainable Development. Keynote speaker was Aqrab Ali Rana, Chief Executive and Founding Member of Pakistan Green Building Council, Sustainability in Energy and Environmental Design (SEED). The event was organized by the Asstt. Prof. Nadia Qamar, Lecturer Areeba Seed and Lecturer Faiza Afzal.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor SSUET, Prof. Dr. Vali Uddin said that the natural resources are disappearing quickly, that is why it is necessary to make sure that you are part of the solution and not the problem. Recycling may help to slow down the consumption of these resources. According to the EPA, for every ton of paper we recycle, we save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy, and 7,000 gallons of water. People should make serious efforts to curb the pollution and to improve the environment by sustainable food choices, using alternative transportation, purchasing eco-friendly products.

Vice Chancellor Dr Wali pointed out that Green building is a better solution for developing a pollution-free society. It creates structures, using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability and comfort. Green building is also known as a sustainable or high performance building.

Aqrab Ali Rana, Chief Executive and Founding Member of Pakistan Green Building Council said that we need to bridge a gap between architect and developer; both should get on the same page. Architect does not give due importance to the developer and then expect him to make green building. Now the houses should have roof gardens where they can grow vegetables for greener sustainable environment. Jobs are created when the market has projects.

Dr. Muhammad Imran, Chairman, Civil Engineering Department, SSUET said that the construction activities open the job opportunities that result into the development of that area. He advised to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for sustainable development. Renewable energy solutions are becoming cheaper, more reliable and more efficient every day.

Stressing to adopt responsible development approach to make Pakistan a knowledge based society, Architect Fazal Noor, Chairman, Architecture Department, SSUET, said, “Instead of understanding and respecting our local practices, we are engaged in promoting a foreign culture. We need to understand our traditions, our values and our environment. Three things, creativity, technology and entrepreneurship, are compulsory to resolve the problem. We are destroying the nature in the process of mass production, housing building etc.

KARACHI:Tariq Haleem, former Vice President of FPCCI and leader of United Business Group, has congratulated Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on his re-election as Chairman of the Senate and Mirza Muhammad Afridi on his election as Deputy Chairman of the Senate.

He also expressed the expectation that both the elected leaders would play an active role in running the Upper House together with all parties to achieve desired results for the betterment of the country. He was of the opinion that the elected Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani being a responsible and dedicated politician, is quite capable of managing the affairs of the Upper House efficiently and the re-election of the Chairman Senate has also increased the confidence of the PTI government.

Tariq expressed the view that the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Senate will surely benefit the country if they consult with the concerned representative trade bodies and business community leaders in drafting laws related to the trade and industry sector.

He said that strengthening of democracy in the country is the need of the hour and clear changes in the politics of Pakistan are now becoming evident. He emphasized the need that the entire nation, including political parties and institutions should cooperate and join hands with Imran Khan for the national interest and economic development of Pakistan.

Tariq said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is striving hard to take the country towards major development and hence there is a need for Pakistan to remain a strong and stable country in the region. This will be possible only when the country’s systems are strong. He said that the Federal government should strengthen the institutions and control the rising inflation in the country so that every Pakistani can have 3 square meals a day and a roof over their heads.

KARACHI:As many as 44 more patients died of coronavirus in Pakistan during the last 24 hours while 3,667 new virus cases emerged. The country-wide death toll from the virus has surged to 13,843 so far since the outbreak of the disease in February.

According to a Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation, and Coordination report issued on Sunday, a total of 626,802 people have been tested positive for the coronavirus disease in the country since its outbreak in February 2020, out of which 263,058 were in Sindh, 197,177 in Punjab, 19,327 in Balochistan, 79,245 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 51,414 in Islamabad, 4,972 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 11,609 in Azad Kashmir. However, 581,852 patients have recovered from the disease so far.

KARACHI:The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) in a statement on Sunday opposed sweeping powers to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) saying that amendments in the law will turn the central bank compromise our sovereignty.

The autonomy of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) through an amendment in relevant laws will make Pakistan a slave of the international financial institutions, it said.

After amendment, the economy will be in total control of the IMF while the governor of the central bank will act as a viceroy triggering a new era of hardships and economic downturn, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW. He said that SBP should be autonomous but it should be answerable to some institutions as unnecessary liberty is unwanted while its role should not be changed.

He said that the masses will never accept hasty decisions that are against the national interests which will devastate the economy. Mughal said that NAB and FIA can summon prime minister but the amendments will provide immunity to the SBP officials.

Similarly, the Parliament can remove the prime minister but it will not be able to remove the chief of a central bank or hold SBP responsible for anything which is unjustified or against national interests. The amendments in the SBP Act if enacted will be the beginning of a new era of slavery as all the major decisions will be taken by international institutions, he observed.

Dr. Mughal said that the IMF has been trying such lethal amendments in the SBP Act since decades but all the governments ignored such unfair demands while now the amendments have been approved by the Cabinet after a debate of few minutes.

The Parliament should resist the move as it will compromise Pakistan’s sovereignty and we will become bonded labour. The reservations of top economists should not be ignored and the government while the opposition should also take it seriously before its too late, he said.

KARACHI:Lucrative Bank AL Habib’s 10th Rashid D. Habib Memorial Golf carrying a price purse of Rs7.9 million tees off at the Karachi Golf Club (KGC) on March 25. The tournament will conclude on March 28.

Prior to this, a two-day match for local professionals and caddies of KGC, the 20th Rashid D. Habib Memorial Golf Tournament, will be played on March 23-24 with the aim to support and develop professional golf at KGC.

The Rashid D Habib memorial National Professional Golf Tournament is one of the leading golf events for professional golfers in Pakistan.

Bank AL Habib has been sponsoring this tournament annually, since 2000.

Pakistan’s top golfers will compete in the Professionals category – including ranked Number 1 Muhammad Shabbir, Number 2 Ahmed Baig and the defending champion and current Pakistan Number 3 Matloob Ahmed who will be eyeing hat-trick this year.

Muhammad Munir, Muhammad Ashfaq and Waheed Baloch will also participate in the tournament.

These tournaments carry a total prize money of Rs7.9 million, including appearance money to be distributed amongst the top five professionals and top three senior professionals of the country.

In addition, a Toyota Corolla and a Suzuki Alto is also at stake for players, who achieve a Hole-In-One. The tournament is likely to include top 130 professional golfers of Pakistan. The prize distribution ceremony will be held on March 28.