Month: October 2022

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has underlined the need to bring a substantial increase to the quantum of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Ireland to realize the full potential of bilateral trade.

He said the current level of investment by Ireland in Pakistan should be further enhanced by inviting Irish companies to invest in Pakistan and benefit from its lucrative foreign investment regime. The President expressed these views while talking to Pakistan’s Ambassador-designate to Ireland, Ms Aisha Farooqui, who called on him, here at Aiwan-e-Sadr, on Monday.

Talking to the Ambassador-designate, the President said that there were immense opportunities for the IT-skilled youth and start-ups to secure online jobs in Ireland as more and more IT companies in Europe were shifting their headquarters to Ireland, which had been termed the “Silicon Valley of Europe”.

The President expressed the hope that the Ambassador-designate to Ireland would work towards further deepening Pakistan’s fruitful partnership with Ireland and expanding the mutually beneficial cooperation by taking meaningful steps.

He said the meaningful steps may include an increasing level of bilateral engagements, catalyzing the flow of investment to Pakistan, creating online job opportunity for the IT skilled youth of Pakistan, increasing parliamentary exchanges, cementing people to people to contacts, and seeking better cooperation in agriculture and livestock.

He said Pakistan should focus on becoming an active partner in Quantum Computing research programs as quantum computers may take a few minutes or hours to solve complex scientific problems which supercomputers of today may take years to solve.

The President termed the support of Ireland for Pakistan very important during the ongoing Fourth Biennial Review of GSP Plus and launching of the new GSP Scheme post-2023 which, he said, would require active engagements. He also termed the opening of the resident Embassy in Islamabad in October this year by the Irish Government as a welcoming step and said that it would help in taking the mutually beneficial and friendly relations between the two countries to the next level.

The President said that there was over 25,000 strong Pakistani diaspora in Ireland, which included Pakistani students and professionals, adding that higher education was an important area of bilateral cooperation and advised the Ambassador-designate to make efforts to enhance cooperation in technical education and Irish scholarships for Pakistani students to study in the Irish universities.

He also asked the Ambassador-designate to highlight the human rights violations being committed by the Indian Occupation Forces in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). He added that Jammu and Kashmir was an international dispute, and should be resolved as per the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and in line with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

Dr Arif Alvi said that there was a need to sensitize the international community, particularly the United Nations and its human rights machinery, to take cognizance of the rapidly deteriorating situation of Islamophobia in India and hold India accountable for its failure in ensuring the security and well-being of its Muslim citizens.

ISLAMABAD: “Technology is a key enabler to accelerate transformation of businesses for sustainable growth”, said Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Aamir Khan, in his address to ICAP’s All Pakistan Chartered Accountant’s Conference 2022.

He pointed out that there are three integral challenges to sustainable growth of corporates, which also become cause for lack of transformation of companies into enterprises suited to transforming needs of the market and consumers. He noted these challenges to be avoidance of risk, emphasis on experience instead of nourishing newer approach from youth, and reluctance to adapt to changing needs of the market and consumers.

He said the social and cultural factors of our country teach risk avoidance and doses the masses with the accompanying uncertainty. “To me, a risk-taking culture encouraged by organizational support, lies at the heart of progress.

During the past few decades, legacy leaders in many industries that failed to embrace risk and innovation have faded away, rather unceremoniously”. The solution then becomes embedding and inculcating a risk-taking attitude with a careful calculation of the potential outcomes and putting “what-if” strategies in place, he said.

The SECP Chairman also accentuated on the nurturing youth to become power houses of innovation and providing them leadership opportunities. He said the youth group (aged below 30 years) has an outlook and aspirations that differs significantly compared to their seniors.

He said, “New opportunities and risks around ESG, climate change and gender mainstreaming resonate more strongly with the younger population. Elaborating the need for openness to adaptability, Aamir Khan said with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, the ability to accumulate, share and analyze data for decision-making is critical for any futuristic and sustainable program.

“Equally important is the continuously educate and retrain the entire workforce consistently an emerging and new technology use cases,” he noted. Aamir Khan also shared instances where SECP has put all these solutions into practice within its ranks and has encouraged those under its regulatory ambit to apply the same.

He said, in 2019, approximately 28 percent of SECP officers were under the age of 35, while within 3 years, by 2022, this percentage has increased to 35 percent. “Furthermore, specially constituted teams, comprising of officers below age 35, are routinely tasked to work on practical problems and give presentations and recommendations to the Commission”, he informed.

He mentioned SECP’s flagship transformation program LEAP, as a product of a team with an average age well under 40. He concluded his remarks by highlighting new models of business and viewing operative and delivery models through the lens of users as a significant aspect for sustainability.

“It is indeed the right time that we build businesses that last, rather than to build for profit. It is imperative that we all work together by stepping in to the shoes of end users to determine their needs and consider the impact of our actions on the society”, he said.

ISLAMABAD: Though there are a few genuine problems with the Iranian regime, the fault-lines are being systematically targeted through media-framing and threat-perception building in an orchestrated manner which, in turn, fuels unrest by mobilizing the populace, both domestically and internationally.

This was observed during a session, titled ‘The Current Unrest in Iran and its Impact on Pakistan and the Region’, held here at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), says a statement issued by the IPS here on Monday. The session was addressed by Iran affairs experts Ambassador (r) Asif Durrani and Dr. Nazir Hussain, dean faculty of social sciences and humanities, University of Wah, besides Khalid Rahman, chairman IPS, and Ambassador (r) Syed Abrar Hussain, vice chairman IPS.

The speakers were of the view that continuity of such political instability and unrest in Iran would have implications for Pakistan and the region. Moreover, the Western world, by making Iran’s unrest a pivotal debate, may produce a fallout in Pakistan and exploit its fault-lines revolving around internal issues.

The speakers emphasized that in order to preempt these implications, exploitation, and media framing, it is crucial that there is unity and less polarization between all religious and political elements of Pakistan. They were of the view that incidents that caused unrest are not new for Iran but, at times, an increased level of turmoil provides an opportunity for entities to exploit it to fulfill their ulterior agendas and corner elements which are a bigger threat or problem.

The current unrest in Iran follows the same trend and is of interest to many global players for varied reasons entailing domestic or international agendas. Considering this, a prominent role in forming public political opinion on Iran’s situation is being played by the Western media, they highlighted. Though there are problems in Iran, the depiction by the media, through employing media framing and building threat perception, is inaccurate in its meaning.

It is not only intensifying the disturbance but also mobilizing the demand to bring a political change in Iran. The speakers pointed out that this is a part of non-traditional warfare in which fault-lines are exploited to fulfill an agenda. These fault-lines can be internal conflicts in a system and disagreements among the public.

In the case of Iran, they further noted that so far it has been managing well its political fault-lines, such as the extreme disagreement of people and governmental flaws, in order to avoid greater unrest by maintaining continuity in the political system. However, greater challenges regarding the continuity of the supreme religion-political leadership, another fault-line that is being eyed by hostile entities, may emerge in the future.

ISLAMABAD: The master plan of Gwadar smart port city envisions the development of industrial base, thus the city will be the hub of trade and economic activities, and a great attraction for tourists, investors, and labour.

These views were expressed by Mujeebur Rehman Qambrani, the Director-General of Gwadar Development Authority (GDA), while speaking at a special session on “Gwadar and the Road to Sustainable Development” organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute here on Monday.

He said masterplan of Gwadar port city is inspired by China’s city of Shenzhen and GDA is vigorously executing it for a timely delivery. “More than five years were spent on refining this master plan with close collaboration between Pakistan, China and other stakeholders,” he added.

He apprised the participants regarding various projects, including Asia’s largest airport to be functional in 2023, plans for implementing safe city model, oil and gas infrastructure for smart energy modeling in the city, maritime tourism and extensive plans for ferry transport and freight and railways network connecting Gwadar with Karachi and other parts of the country.

He said this year the GDA will inaugurate work on ambitious Central Business District in Gwadar to be spread over 12.3 square kilometers to encourage fast track development through public-private partnerships.

The District will be developed in 10 years will cost around Rs84-90billion and Rs400billion of profit is estimated to be generated. Cognizant of the environmental concerns in development, he said there are plans for solar park as well as various on and off-grid solutions to meet the energy demand of the city.

Mentioning initiatives to meet the energy demand, he said that 100MW will be added to system in Gwadar to bridge energy demand-supply gap through partnership with Iran.

On water supply management initiatives, he informed that two freshwater dams have been connected to meet the high water demands. Though water is ample, management issues have marred the distribution system, which will be replaced.

He said a separate governance structure has been agreed by the federal and provincial governments for one-window operations to enable swift decision-making. Dr Hassan Daud Butt, Senior Advisor, China Study Centre, SDPI said that keeping in view the demand for new jobs in the country, it is crucial to embrace technology faster than our current pace to improve productivity and avail future economic opportunities.

He said Sino-Pak cooperation in connection with CPEC and COVID-19 has transformed our technological pace. He said China is building an enabling environment for business and economic opportunities in our country, therefore, we must prepare ourselves to capture the same.

He said the world is on the verge of a new economic transformation with Turkey introducing Islamic financial system and Fortune 500 companies are mushrooming in China rather than USA. Dr Sajid Amin, Deputy Executive Director, SDPI said that development sector and civil society organizations can play a pivotal role as knowledge partners and in the advocacy of the immense socio-economic potential of Gwadar. He lauded the efforts of GDA to develop linkages and research collaborations with think tanks and civil society to support and highlight the initiatives being undertaken in the development of Gwadar.

ISLAMABAD: First Lady, Begum Samina Arif Alvi, has urged girls and women to regularly conduct self-examination for five minutes every month for the early detection of Breast Cancer.

She was addressing a breast cancer awareness session organized by the Saint Joseph’s College for Women, Karachi. Students, staff members, faculty, former students and caretakers of the college attended the session, says a statement issued here on Monday.

The session involved a talk with the students and teachers as the First Lady believes with conviction that schools and colleges are the hubs of education and learning, they play a pivotal role in perpetuating and shaping mindsets that are then responsible for producing individuals who occupy places of significance in society.

Addressing the occasion, Begum Alvi stressed the need for a timely diagnosis of breast cancer to ensure a healthy life. While her personal engagements span over four years with regard to Breast Cancer Awareness and assistance, she is currently involved in various initiatives regarding the fight against Breast Cancer and the need to spread its awareness.

She stated how Pakistan has the highest incidence of Breast Cancer in Asia. She spoke about the initiative which commenced from Aiwan-e-Sadr and has now spread all across the country with the intention to fully educate and equip women across Pakistan with the knowledge and assistance to take this disease hands-on.

Awareness walks, setting up centres for Breast Cancer detection/ mitigation and innumerable talks on spreading awareness across the country are just a few of the many activities the First Lady has spearheaded to fight the spread of Breast Cancer and provide support to its fighters and survivors.

The First Lady told the gathering, that October, being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, holds immense significance and stressed how imperative it was for early detection to mitigate the impact of Breast Cancer and enhance the survival rate of patients suffering from it.

She urged the students and teachers of the college to pay heed to the seriousness of the matter and for them as the future of this country to play an active role in spreading awareness among themselves as well as the society by and large. She further went on to highlight how Breast Cancer was more than ever, brushed under the rug for the taboo this topic carried within our societies.

She mentioned how her team and the efforts they have put into fighting this disease have now garnered rapid support, where media has been actively engaging in spreading the message, telephonic messages are run before each call is made, celebrities have joined the effort to spread the message and social media has been used as a pivotal tool to reach out to as many people as possible.

Her talk also mentioned how men, although at a lower risk, are also vulnerable to the disease, a concern many are unaware of. As the sickness is mostly, and only associated with women. She spoke on Shaukat Khanum’s accord that the disease is treatable and entirely curable if detected within stage 1 or stage 2. Thus, making early detection the most integral part of the fight against Breast Cancer.

Stating that 98 per cent of patients are likely to recover completely if made aware of self-examination and early detection. First Lady detailed the presence of Breast Cancer Examination centres set up throughout the country, 13 (Sindh), 8 (Punjab), 3 (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and 5 (Baluchistan), in order to make accessible the support provided by the Government. These centres were spread throughout the country and also offered discounted rates during the month of October, offering free detection and subsequent assistance.

The First Lady also stated that her team was constantly working towards fighting this ailment and also supporting the flood-affected victims of Breast Cancer who are the most vulnerable segment of society at this point in time. She further urged the gathering to take a pledge, in joining this effort and spreading the message to their family, friends, and beyond.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister Mian Javed Latif has said the government will not allow any bloodshed during PTI long march.

Addressing a news conference in Lahore on Monday, he said PML-N has decided to raise public awareness about PTI’s so-called long march. He said PTI Chairman is worried due to failure of his long march and unable to decide what to do next as few thousand people are taking part in his march.

He said the PTI Chairman is playing with people’s sentiments and country’s economy. The Minister said Imran Khan has become favourite person for Indian media due to baseless allegations against the state institutions.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to not hold by-election on NA-95 (Mianwali).

NA-95 had fallen vacant after PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s disqualification by the ECP in the Toshakhana reference. The court passed these directions while hearing a plea filed by Imran Khan against the ECP’s decision to disqualify him.

After disqualifying Imran Khan under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution, the ECP had on Oct 24 de-notified Imran Khan as MNA from NA-95 with “immediate effect”. Imran Khan then had filed a plea with the IHC, challenging the ECP’s decision to disqualify him.

On Monday, Barrister Ali Zafar appeared for Imran Khan. The plea was heard by Justice Aamer Farooq. Later, the court issued notices to the respondents and adjourned the hearing till Nov 10.