Month: February 2023

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan was granted bail on Tuesday in the terrorism and prohibited funding cases after he appeared before both the courts, located at Islamabad’s judicial complex.

Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Raja Jawad Abbas heard the terror case and granted bail till March 9 against submission of surety bonds worth Rs100,000. Banking Court judge Rakhshanda Shaheen confirmed the bail of Imran Khan in the prohibited funding case. Imran Khan, accompanied by a large number of party workers, appeared before both the courts.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the authorities concerned to ensure completion of all projects of power sector and solarization in the country within the stipulated time.

He was chairing a high-level a meeting here in Islamabad on Tuesday to review progress on power sector projects and measures to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity to the consumers in summer. The Prime Minister directed that there should be no load-shedding during Sehr and Iftar in Ramadan and minimum load-shedding be done in the upcoming summer. He also directed to accelerate the process of solarizing the government buildings.

Expressing dismay over the delay in laying of Thar-Matiari 500KV transmission line, the Prime Minister ordered departmental action against those responsible for negligence. He said the National Transmission and Dispatch Board should be re-constituted. Shehbaz Sharif said energy conservation policy be promoted through a media campaign and by including it in the curriculum of schools and colleges. He directed all the provinces to ensure strict implementation of energy saving measures.

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has underscored the need for promoting skills-based and technical education in the country to meet the needs of the industry and others sectors of the economy.

He highlighted that almost 22 million children were out of schools, adding that urgent measures were needed for their intellectual and physical development to make them useful citizens of the country. The President expressed these views while chairing a meeting of the Senate of National Skills University (NSU), here at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad, on Tuesday.

Addressing the meeting, the President emphasized that NSU needed to produce more skilled people by equipping them with the latest skill sets to fully meet the demands of the market. He highlighted the need for career counselling for students by the universities to help them choose appropriate professions. He asked the NSU management to establish linkages with national and international technical education institutions to improve the quality and skills of its graduates.

Prof Dr Muhammad Mukhtar, Vice Chancellor of NSU, briefed the meeting about the role of the university in promoting skill-based education in the country. The Senate of NSU also confirmed the minutes of the 4th meeting of the Senate, besides endorsing the decisions taken by the VC on behalf of the Senate. The meeting also approved the establishment of the NSU sub-campus in Muridke, Sheikhupura.

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has called for joint efforts by all stakeholders, including the federal and provincial governments, community and health professionals to work for the prevention and treatment of mental health disorders.

He said it was a matter of serious concern that 24% of the country’s population was suffering from mental health related issues, whereas only 500-600 mental health professionals were available in the country to cater to the needs of this population. He emphasized the need for increasing the number of mental health professionals, besides strengthening the capacity of general health professionals by training them to address the challenge of rising mental health disorders.

The President expressed these views while chairing a meeting on mental health through the video link. President of Pakistani American Psychiatric Association of North America (PAPANA), Dr Muhammad Zeeshan, representatives of the National Commission of Human Rights, World Health Organization, Pakistan Psychological Association, Pakistan Psychiatric Society, Taskeen Health Initiative, and Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination attended the meeting.

Professor and Chair of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, Prof Dr M Waqar Azeem, Professor of Psychiatry and Program Director at the University of Nevada, Dr Mujeeb Shahid, Executive Vice Chair and Professor of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Prof Dr Asim Shah, Director Muslim Mental Health Consortium, Prof Dr Farah Abbasi, Child Fellowship Director at the Harvard Medical School, Dr Zheala Qayyum, and Program Director Residency and Addiction Fellowship at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, Dr Nauman Ashraf, attended the meeting virtually.

The participants gave various suggestions to cope with the challenge of mental issues. The meeting emphasized the need for raising awareness about the diseases, educating people about mental health, eliminating the stigma attached to it, and providing quality counselling and treatment to mental health patients.

The participants also called for the capacity building and training of health professionals in Pakistan, adding that a central coordinating mechanism among various stakeholders was also essential to avoid duplication of efforts. The meeting also underscored the need for developing a national autism plan.

Prof Dr Rizwan Taj from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) informed the meeting that the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination had established an autism center at PIMS, adding that it would be a role model for provinces and other hospitals to follow. The President appreciated the role of overseas Pakistani medical professionals, especially Pakistani American Psychiatric Association of North America (PAPANA), for supporting the initiative on mental health.

ISLAMABAD: A delegation of Executive Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) of China, Japan and South Korea called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Welcoming the ADB delegation, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude for ADB’s longstanding association with Pakistan and for being a reliable partner in the socioeconomic development of Pakistan. The Prime Minister lauded ADB’s generous support in the wake of the 2022 floods. This included the emergency relief grant, Post Disaster Needs Assessment, and pledges made during the Climate Resilience Conference in Geneva.

The Prime Minister appreciated ADB’s financing across key economic sectors of Pakistan, particularly transport, energy, climate change, and social sector. He expressed the hope that ADB’s would continue its strong partnership with Pakistan in addressing the country’s macroeconomic challenges.

The participants were appraised that the 9th review under the IMF program is progressing well with Staff level agreement expected in the next few days. The Prime Minister underlined that Pakistan is committed to complete the reforms agreed in the program.

The ADB Executive Directors expressed their deep satisfaction with the government’s efforts in addressing the huge challenges of the devastation caused by the recent floods. They renewed ADB’s resolve to continue working closely with Pakistan in addressing its economic challenges. The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and relevant senior officials.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict in the suo motu case initiated over the delay in the announcement of the date for the election of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies.

The verdict will be announced tomorrow (Wednesday) before around 11:00am. The case was heard by a five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.

The court heard all the parties including the Attorney General for Pakistan, counsels of the ruling coalition, the PTI, the president and others over two consecutive days.

On February 23, the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial had taken a suo motu notice of an apparent delay in the announcement of the date for the elections of Punjab and KP assemblies.

The suo motu notice was taken to assess who was mandated to issue the date for elections of both the provincial assemblies and who had the constitutional responsibility of conducting elections and when.