Day: January 17, 2022

ISLAMABAD:Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed for completion of public welfare and development projects in the stipulated time on priority basis.

He was talking to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman and Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, who called on him in Peshawar on Monday. Political situation, administrative affairs and law and order situation in the province were discussed in the meeting.

They reviewed the ongoing public welfare and development projects, particularly implementation of agriculture transformation plan, forest conservation projects and public appreciation of health cards. The Prime Minister was also briefed on the measures being taken to control inflation and the operation against hoarders.

ISLAMABAD:Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has said the government wants to hold talks with the opposition for reforms in electoral and judicial process as well as accountability systems.

In a tweet on Monday, he said this is not possible without negotiations with the opposition. However, he said, the corrupt leadership of the PPP and the PML-N is not interested to discuss any issue except relief in this cases.

The Minister said if the PML-N detaches itself from the Sharif family, it would be a positive development. He said the political parties need to change the leadership involved in moral and financial corruption. He said Nawaz Sharif left his workers behind and went to London in every difficult time. He said such a leader does not have respect among his workers.

ISLAMABAD:Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram has said that Global Social Protection Knowledge platform will provide an opportunity to build a database, which would be instrumental in building resilience to protect ourselves and our future generations from any future catastrophe.

He said this while speaking to a hybrid Networking Event on ‘Declaration on Establishing a Global Social Protection Knowledge Platform’ held in Dubai Expo, Pakistan Pavilion on Monday. This event was co-hosted by Pakistan Mission to the UN, Turkish Mission to the UN, Costa Rica Mission to the UN, Nigerian Mission to the UN, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says a press release received here on Monday from New York.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Munir Akram said the pandemic has impacted vulnerable individuals worldwide, with the average incomes of people in the bottom 40 percent of the global income distribution estimated to be 6.7 percent lower than pre-pandemic projections in 2021.

While emphasizing the need of a social protection mechanism, he said, countries all over the world injected economic stimulus packages to care for their poor and needy citizens. “With robust social protection systems have been able to provide lifeline to their people by providing cash support”, he added.

He said social protection systems have thus demonstrated their value during the COVID-19 pandemic, saving lives and backstopping economies at large. “It is obvious that without the surge in State-provided social protection, economic damage could have been far worse, he said, adding that we must not lose this momentum.”

Munir Akram said four billion people around the world are still without any form of social protection, thus we need to redouble our efforts to achieve social protection for all by 2030. He said a new era for social protection systems would be a foundation for inclusive and sustainable societies and for the achieving our overarching objectives of “leaving no one behind” and “eradicating extreme poverty”.

The envoy also insisted on the need to galvanize all these examples in order to maximize their benefits “through peer learning and knowledge sharing”. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Senator Dr Sania Nishtar delivered a keynote speech.

This networking event was designed to raise awareness of and promote the establishment of a platform involving member states, who, recognizing that the pandemic has demonstrated the importance of social protection systems for building resilience, intend to accelerate sharing of global social protection knowledge and practices by forming an interactive Global Community of Practice that would allow country practitioners to directly connect, exchange, and learn from each other’s experiences.