Pakistan Press International
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday thanked the European Union for its commitment of 97 million dollars for Pakistan’s flood affectees.
In a tweet, he said multifaceted relations between Pakistan and the European Union have grown over the decades. The Prime Minister said European Union continues to remain one of Pakistan’s largest trading and development partners and export destinations.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan has sought enhanced economic ties between Pakistan and Washington State.
He was talking to Governor Danny Heck during his visit to the capital of Washington State. Masood Khan said Pakistan and the United States enjoy a unique equation that had withstood test of times, says a press release received here on Friday from Washington State.
He said United States has remained the leading development partner of Pakistan for past 75 years. Our shared values and objectives provide strong underpinnings for forging robust partnerships in all domains and working together for regional and global peace and socio-economic development.
Referring to the recent floods in Pakistan and generous support provided by the US, especially an additional $100 million during the recently held International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva, the Ambassador thanked US and its citizenry for always standing beside people of Pakistan at every hour of need.
Noting impressive annual growth of Washington with GDP exceeding $600 bln, Masood Khan said that a strong economy and presence of world’s leading business conglomerates in Washington provided an ideal ground for fertile minds and booming businesses of Pakistan for forging mutually beneficial economic partnerships.
He identified agriculture, manufacturing, IT and telecom, biotechnology, tourism and clean green infrastructure as some of the critical areas where there existed huge scope for building strong partnerships. Masood Khan said the existing trade volume between the two countries is far below the actual potential and can be enhanced with targeted approach in critical sectors.
Welcoming the Ambassador to Washington State, Danny Heck said Pakistan is an important ally of the United States and the two countries have a longstanding relationship. He said Washington is the most trade driven economy of the United States and a strong partnership between Pakistan and Washington would be instrumental in enhancing bilateral trade volume manifold.
Earlier, Ambassador Masood Khan visited the Microsoft Headquarters and was received by Fatima Kardar, Vice President, COO and Chief Technical Advisor to CTO along with other Pakistani-American executives working in Microsoft. The Ambassador was informed that around 500 Pakistanis were working in Microsoft and were passionately working to see a Microsoft development center in Pakistan.
Discussing the ongoing cooperation between Microsoft and Pakistan, Masood Khan said that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan and Microsoft had signed Education Transformation Agreement (ETA) in December 2022 with the announcement of the Imagine Cup Initiative and 100,000+ free Technology certifications for university students across Pakistan.
He added that Microsoft and HEC collaboration would help the education landscape, empower next generation of students and would bridge the gap between knowledge and employability. The Ambassador, on the occasion, thanked Bill Gates and Gates Foundation for their continued support in education and Polio eradication from Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has called for the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on Kashmir and Palestine disputes calling for the right to self-determination of people in both places.
Taking part in a debate on ‘the Rule of Law among Nations’ at the Security Council, Pakistan permanent representative to the UN Ambassador Munir Akram, said the Council needs to actively promote the resolution of conflicts and disputes that will ensure international peace and security.
He said the Security Council has not been able to secure consistent implementation of its own resolutions relating to Palestine or Jammu and Kashmir so the right to self-determination of people there has been suppressed brutally and foreign occupation has been allowed to persist over several decades. The envoy said it is essential to elaborate the modalities through which this principle can be implemented universally and consistently in the contemporary context.
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday rejected a request of the Sindh government to postpone the local government (LG) elections and held that the local bodies polls in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions will be held on January 15 as per schedule.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in Sindh, in the wee hours of Friday, announced to postpone the LG polls due to reservations of its coalition partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) over existing delimitations.
The ECP in a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja here in Islamabad on Friday took stock of the situation after the Sindh government’s announcement and decided that the elections will be held as per schedule.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed the confidence that his United Arab Emirates (UAE) visit will help turning the friendship between Pakistan and the UAE into a strategic partnership.
Talking to a delegation of Pakistan Business Council in Abu Dhabi on Friday, he said his meetings with the UAE leadership were successful. The Prime Minister encouraged the delegation of Pakistan Business Council UAE to do business and investment in the country especially in the areas of energy, real estate, information technology, food processing and tourism etc.
The Prime Minister also invited the members of the delegation to come to Pakistan with proposals for investment and business. The members of the delegation expressed their content over the economic policies of the government and showed their interest in doing business and investment in Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD: While deciding an appeal filed by an accused of sexual harassment at the workplace, President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday held that the request of the accused to once again cross-examine the complainant after the engagement of a fresh counsel had no ground and, therefore, rejected his appeal.
The President referred the case back to the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment at Workplace (FOSPAH) for final adjudication after appraisal of the evidence. The President endorsed the Ombudsperson’s observation that the appeal filed by the accused was an apparent attempt to prolong the impugned case indefinitely to enhance the anguish and agony of the complainant.
It was further observed that the matter had already consumed sufficient time in the disposal due to the accused’s miscellaneous applications and was tantamount to starting a new round of litigation which prima facie was against the spirit and scheme of the Act 2010.
The President observed that the complainant who had filed a case of sexual harassment under section 8 of the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 before the Ombudsperson on 27.05.2019 had yet not been adjudicated. The accused had filed a representation before the President against the order of 23.09.2021 for seeking permission to reexamine the complainant again by a fresh counsel which was rejected.
The President in his order observed that the complaint was filed under the Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 before the Ombudsman on 27.05.2019. The accused had earlier filed a representation before the President against interlocutory order dated 23.09.2021 for seeking permission for the cross-examination of the complainant which was rejected on 26.01.2022.
The accused filed another representation despite the fact that the proceedings of the complaint were pending before the learned Ombudsman and a decision in this regard had yet to be made after appraisal of the evidence on the question of whether the element of harassment has been established or otherwise.
ISLAMABAD: A delegation of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce led by Chairman of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce, Abdullah Mohamed Al Mazrouei, called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed on the need to enhance Chamber to Chamber cooperation between the two countries saying that we would urge Pakistani Chambers to reach out to the Abu Dhabi Chamber and develop new linkages.
He encouraged members of Abu Dhabi Chamber to visit Pakistan to experience the excellent opportunities of growing their business. Shehbaz Sharif said that sending skilled work force to the UAE is one of the top priorities of his government.
The Prime Minister said that he is delighted to note that bilateral trade between Pakistan and the UAE has grown significantly in recent times. On the occasion, the members of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce showed interests in doing business and investing in Pakistan.