Day: January 21, 2022

ISLAMABAD:Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed informed the Senate on Friday that fencing on 2,6,80 kilometers of area along Pak-Afghan border has been completed, while the remaining 21 kilometers will be completed soon.

Speaking on a point of order in the Senate, he said we are also trying to complete fencing on two hundred kilometers remaining areas across Pak-Iran border. The Interior Minister said for durable peace, we were engaged with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on different issues when the police constables of Shaheen Squad were attacked in Islamabad.

Condemning the Lahore blast, he said the investigation into the incident is underway and no one will be allowed to spoil peace of the country. Senator Dr Sania Nishtar, who is also the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Poverty Alleviation said the government has started multiple initiatives to tackle stunting and child and mother related issues in the country.

Responding to a question during the Question Hour in the Upper House, she said Ehsaas Development Centres will be opened in every district of the country by June this year. She said so far fifty centres have been opened in fifteen districts. Dr Sania Nishtar said on the direction of Prime Minister Imran Khan, a comprehensive Nutrition PC-1 for the entire country including the federal areas with the title “tackling malnutrition induced Stunting in Pakistan” has also been prepared.

Three Ordinances were also laid before the House. These included; “the National Rehmatul-Lil-Aalameen Authority Ordinance, 2021”, “the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Ordinance 2021” and the Pakistan Nursing Council (Emergency Management) Ordinance, 2021”. The House will now meet again on Monday at 2:30 p.m.

ISLAMABAD:Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs Usman Dar has said that engaging youth in the healthy activities is a priority of the government.

Addressing a news conference along with Chief Executive Officer of Lahore Qalandars Atif Rana here on Friday, he said sixty-eight percent population in the country is below 30 years of age, and they need to be engaged in healthy activities. The SAPM said new sports heroes will be discovered in twelve sports through Kamyab Jawan Sports Talent Hunt Drive.

He said Kamyab Jawan Program and Lahore Qalandars will jointly hunt talent in cricket and bring forth new heroes. He said Muhammad Zahid is the first hero of this joint venture, who bowls at 92 miles per hour. Usman Dar said sports need to be given the status of economy so that players could have employment opportunities as well. He also emphasized on promotion of all games including hockey and football. Speaking on the occasion, Atif Rana said that they would conduct talent hunt programmes across the country after the next PSL.

ISLAMABAD:To commemorate the second anniversary of the ‘Treaty of Aachen’, the German and French embassies in Pakistan will meet tomorrow (Saturday) for a luncheon with the recreated menu of 1963 originally served on the occasion of signing of the treaty at Elysée Palace.

According to a statement released by the Press and Public Diplomacy Section of the Deutsche Botschaft Islamabad/German Embassy Islamabad here on Friday, January 22, 2022 marks the second anniversary of the ‘Treaty of Aachen’ which raises Franco-German partnership to a new level of closer cooperation and enriched friendship.

This new chapter is based on all the constructive developments resulting from the Elysée Treaty signed in January 1963 between Chancellor Adenauer and General De Gaulle, a founding text that sealed reconciliation after the Second World War.

It is an opportunity to pay tribute to the countless citizens, students, political leaders, and civil society activists who over the decades have been building the foundation of the strong and vibrant Franco-German friendship we see today. Thanks to their unceasing effort, people, regions, cities, schools and universities on both sides are closer today than ever before.

Within the European Union, France and Germany have been a major driving force strengthening peace, solidarity, and cohesion through a multitude of joint initiatives. These values are very much in line with the programme of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first half of 2022: a more sovereign Europe, a new European model of growth and a human oriented Europe.

ISLAMABAD:The G77 Chair Ambassador Munir Akram, who is also the Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN has insisted that unless vaccines are distributed on just and equitable basis, our chances to defeat the corona virus are minimal.

Delivering a Group77 statement at a joint briefing by the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Munir Akram, on behalf of the G77 and China, welcomed the first briefing by the Presidents of the General Assembly and the ECOSOC.

He said “we recognize the valuable contribution that these coordination initiatives represent to articulate efforts and promote synergies” and called for further actions related to this matter, says a press release received here on Friday from New York.

While mentioning the challenges confronted to the world community, Ambassador Munir Akram, the Chair of Group of 77 for the year 2022, said that “We are confronted with a triple challenge: recovery from the Covid-19 Pandemic; achievement of the SDGs – during the remaining decade of action; and the existential threat of climate change”.

He said, “The Group of 77 and China believes that vaccine inequity is hampering recovery of the developing countries from Covid-19 Pandemic”. He insisted further that “Unless vaccines are distributed on just and equitable basis, our chances to defeat the virus are minimal”.

He also stressed on addressing the barriers to development and distribution of medical equipment, including aspects related to intellectual property, technology transfer and scaling up of local and regional manufacturing capacities. In this regard, he welcomed the initiative by the PGA to convene a high-level meeting on vaccine equity and hoped that both the General Assembly and ECOSOC will continue to play their respective roles in ensuring vaccine equity.

He also stressed on a need to generate the financial resources for the recovery of our economies from all possible sources. The rising and unsustainable debt burden is a major concern among many developing countries. The Group therefore supported the High-Level Thematic Debate on “Debt Sustainability for Better Recovery” to be convened jointly by the Presidents of the General Assembly and the ECOSOC.

He urged world leaders to ensure that the new general allocation of $650bn special Drawing Rights (SDRs) by the IMF are utilized for the recovery. “The majority of these SDRs should go to the developing countries in need” he said.

The Group, therefore, underlined the necessity to channel a sizable part of the unutilized SDRs to the developing countries, which need the liquidity. Paying special attention to the social protection measures, he insisted that “Universalization of access to social protection should be a priority during 2022”.

On behalf of the Group77, Ambassador Munir Akram insisted on the fact that “racism is antithesis to the spirit of humanity”. “The pursuit of equality underpins the ideals enshrined in the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the principle of leaving no one behind incorporated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” he said.

“Despite our efforts, inequalities in the economic, social, and political spheres, however, continue to permeate institutions, social structures, and everyday life,” he expressed his concern. In the pursuit of attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, he said that “Investment in quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure is critical for the COVID-19 recovery”.

“Many developing countries need support in project identification and development and mobilization of private and public investment,” he said. “Private sector investment can and must be scaled up significantly, especially in areas such as energy, communications, transport, and technology,” he suggested. The chair recognized the important role of the United Nations development system, the World Bank, and other multilateral institutions in addressing the capacity and funding gaps in quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure investment, working through existing initiatives, especially in developing countries.

He ensured that the Group would continue to accord high priority to the challenges faced by LDCs, LLDCs, SIDs and Middle-Income Countries to achieve the sustainable development goals. Looking at the year 2022’s crucial milestones and events for the sustainable development agenda, including the adoption of the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework, 2nd High-Level Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” (2018-2028), the 2nd Oceans Conference, the High-Level Meeting on the New Urban Agenda, and 5th LDC Conference, he expressed his commitment to “engaging constructively and actively in all processes and calls for a decision on a new date for the postponed LDC conference at the earliest”.

“The Group of 77 and China remains committed to engaging in the process of ensuring a sustainable and inclusive recovery guided by the 2030 Agenda and stands ready to work actively with the General Assembly and ECOSOC towards the achievement of this goal,” he concluded.

ISLAMABAD:Prime Minister Imran Khan had a telephonic conversation with Bill Gates, Co-Chairman of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on Friday and discussed matters of shared concern including Polio Eradication in Pakistan and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the work of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. He in particular lauded the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Pakistan.

According to a press release, the Prime Minister reaffirmed that eradication of Polio from Pakistan remains a key priority of the government and efforts are underway to intensify the anti-Polio campaign across the country despite challenges related to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. He also underscored that Pakistan witnessed a continued positive progress with sharp reduction in Polio cases in 2021 and recorded only one Polio case in the whole year.

While commending the Gates Foundation’s strong advocacy to promote equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of equitable, timely, and scaled delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to help low-income countries alleviate the social and economic effects of the pandemic.

Bill Gates appreciated the recent efforts made by Pakistan to eradicate Polio, reinforced his commitment to Polio eradication; acknowledged Pakistan’s successful Covid-19 vaccination campaign; and assured of Gates Foundation’s continued support. The Prime Minister and Gates agreed to continue working together on the shared objectives.

ISLAMABAD:Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the present government has given a new direction to the country’s foreign policy from geo-politics to geo-economics for the welfare of people.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Friday, he said the country’s economy is now touching 5.37 percent growth rate regardless of the contraction caused by COVID-19 to the international economies. He said according to a survey of World Bank, our agriculture sector is growing by 3.3 percent. He said our exports and remittances are reaching record levels besides the statistics show that per capita income is also increasing.

The Foreign Minister said regardless of gas shortage, the Urea production has witnessed an increase. He said we are providing urea to the farmers at much lower rates than the international market. He said action will be taken against those hoarding the commodity. Shah Mahmood Qureshi admitted that inflation posed a major challenge.

He, however, said there are several international factors behind it including that of increase in the price of gas and petroleum products in the global markets. The Foreign Minister said we welcome the criticism of the opposition parties but they should not spread despondency amongst the people as it is not in the interest of the country.

He said we took painful decisions to stabilize the economy. Taking the floor, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal criticized the government’s economic policies. Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar categorically stated that gas theft will not be tolerated in any part of the country.

Responding to a calling attention notice, he expressed satisfaction that Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited has significantly reduced its system losses from 12.5 percent to 8.5 percent over the last three years. He said there is a need to bring further improvement in Sui Southern Gas Company Limited. He pointed out that the country’s gas reserves are depleting at the rate of nine percent annually.

Hammad Azhar introduced before the house the Private Power and Infrastructure Board Amendment Bill, 2022. The House also passed two resolutions extending the Diplomatic and Consular Officers (Oath and Fees) Amendment Ordinance 2021 and National Rehmatul Lil Alameen Authority Ordinance, 2021 for a further period of one hundred and twenty days.

The Statement of Contingent Liabilities of the federal government for the current fiscal year was also laid before the House. The annual reports of the Council of Islamic Ideology for the period from 2012-18 and the report on Islamic Law of Inheritance were also laid before the House.

The National Assembly adopted a motion allowing the use of its hall for the 48th session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers to be held in March. The motion was moved by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Earlier, at the outset, the House offered fateha for those martyred in Thursday’s bomb blast in Lahore.

Responding to the points of PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar said that the PTI government has steered the country out of difficult economic situation. He said the previous government left behind a bankrupt economy.

He said our growth rate of about 5.4 percent is based on enhanced exports and revenue collection, increase in foreign exchange reserves and reduction in current account deficit. He said the world institutions are appreciating economic outlook of Pakistan. The House has now been prorogued.

ISLAMABAD:The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has approved export of selected commodities to Afghanistan against Pakistan currency, considering the food crisis and prevailing situation in war-torn country.

The approval was granted at an online meeting of the committee on Friday, virtually chaired by Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin. The Committee allowed removal of 45 percent Regulatory Duty on the import of Chilghoza from Afghanistan.

This reduction tariff on this item will encourage the legal import of unprocessed Chilghoza for processing in the country for export and will also create jobs in the far flung areas of border regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and economically backward areas of Balochistan.

The ECC approved engaging the services of third party to carry out the Monitoring and Evaluation functions of the Kamyab Pakistan Program. It also gave approval as a goodwill gesture on the government level, payment of 11.6 million dollars compensation to the affected Chinese nationals of Dasu Hydropower Project incident.

The Ministry of Industries and Production presented a summary on the Urea fertilizer requirement for remaining Rabi Season 2021-22 and allowed the operations of SNGPL based plants for further two months at gas rate of 839 rupees MMBTU for the mentioned period. The Committee also approved various technical supplementary grants.