ISLAMABAD:Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noor-ul-Haq Qadri has said that government is committed for provision of basic facilities to general public at their door steps.
Talking to different delegations in Landi Kotal, District Khyber, he said federal government has initiated several mega projects to improve the living standard of tribal people.
He said reforms are being introduced in government sectors for good governance.
ISLAMABAD:Rain and snowfall is expected at scattered places in northwest Balochistan, while at isolated places in hilly areas of upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir , Gilgit Baltistan and South Punjab during the next twelve hour.
According to Met office, fog is likely to prevail in most plain areas of Punjab and upper Sindh during morning/night hours. Cold and dry weather is expected elsewhere in the country.
Temperature of some major cities recorded on Monday morning were: Islamabad and Peshawar six degree centigrade, Lahore eight, Karachi twelve, Quetta zero, Gilgit minus one Murree and Muzaffarabad minus two degree centigrade.
ISLAMABAD:Dr Nasir Khan, the Executive Director of National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) on Monday chaired a meeting with the heads of education departments from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and officials of Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) here on Monday.
The meeting was held here at NAVTTC HQs. During the meeting Dr Nisar Khan said that technology and innovation are the fundamental to economic success in the modern competitive world, thus it is imperative that we equip our youth with technical skills along with conventional education to prepare them for the job market.
Matric-Tech is a flagship project of NAVTTC that is being launched as third stream of education alongside matriculation in general science and arts, and it aims to integrate technical and vocational education and training with formal education.
Initially Matric-tech will be piloted in 15 schools of Islamabad, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan. The scheme will provide opportunity to the youth to choose their career path by giving them options to select between higher education and skill education according to their aptitude.
The details of the project have been discussed with the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) which has declared level 4 qualifications equivalent to Matric that would be implemented through Boards of Technical Education across the country.
The government has approved PC-1 of the project and it will formally be launched in schools in April this year. Working paper and scheme of studies for implementation of this project were discussed in detail during the meeting.
The participants termed this initiative of NAVTTC a huge step towards empowerment of youth and assured of their cooperation in its implementation in their respective regions.
NAVTTC is also working to make the curricula available on Mobile Apps, training videos, 3-D stimulators, virtual and augmented reality and Books in PDF in Urdu and English.
ISLAMABAD:President Dr Arif Alvi visited institute of Child Health in Karachi on Monday.
The President visited different sections of the institute and reviewed health facilities being provided there. The President was briefed about the working, performance and problems of the institutions.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said provision of better health facilities to the people is top priority of the government and steps in this regards are being taken.
RATODERO:The number of HIV positive cases so far detected here up to Saturday 18th January 2020 during last over eight months has reached to 1250 since 25th April 2019 when the screening was launched by the Sindh AIDS Control Program (SACP) at the Taluka Headquarter Hospital (THQ).
Out of these total cases 985 are children, of them 603 are males and 382 are females and 265 are adults and of them are 190 females and 75 are males. 39068 people among the general population have yet been tested who arrived voluntarily at the screening camp. Many HIV positive cases also belong to nearby districts but the SACP is not disclosing their statistics for unknown reasons one of them is fear of getting defame worldwide and avoid panic among the affected people. Eight new cases have been detected since last Saturday out of which one is adult female, three male children and four are females which prove that number of HIV cases is prevalent more among the children than adults.
According to international protocols all siblings of the affected cases are also to be tested but this huge work is still pending despite passage of so much time which has created rumours that provincial government is not serious in properly handling the epidemic which has caused 43 lives so far.
PPI News agency also learnt that the affected people are also facing a stigma and discrimination by their fellow villagers and relatives for which government or the SACP has done nothing as yet to get them relieved.
When Dr. Imran Arbani, who at the very outset detected HIV cases here, was contacted on Sunday he said that one Imtiaz Jalbani has shifted from his village Thalo Ghangro and is staying in Ratodero in a rented house as his five kids were suffering from the viral disease out of which his two children have expired.
He said in village Subhani Khan Shar as many as 30 children have been detected HIV positive where a cop, also resident of same village, is forcing them to erect their own separate village away from their present village so that they are not affected by the virus.
Dr.Arbani further revealed that one married HIV positive woman also complained to him while weeping that her husband is constantly threatening her that he will divorce her because not only she but her son is also suffering from the viral disease.
He said the affected people are facing worst kind of discrimination and attitudes from their fellow citizens and even relatives which need to be curbed through massive and constant awareness programs which is almost non-existent because most of the people are illiterate and lack proper medical knowledge.
He said quacks have once again been very active which also need to be eradicated permanently without loss of further time otherwise such cases will continue to emerge without any control.
Dr.Sikandar Ali Memon, Provincial Program Manager, SACP and Focal Person for Media, was contacted to have his input about the release of endowment fund of Rs 1 billion announced by the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and kept in the annual Sindh budget and establishment of 12 HIV Treatment Centers across Sindh during the current fiscal year but he did not attend any call.
NAUDERO:Two accused were nabbed by Naudero police Sunday and eight motorcycles stolen and snatched recovered from their possession here Sunday.
The arrested accused were identified as Irfan Khuhro and Azhar Suprio. Further probe was under way.
ISLAMABAD:Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has said that the federal government is extending all-out assistance to the people affected by recent rains and snowfall in Azad Kashmir and Balochistan.
In a statement, he said the rescue and relief activities are underway in Neelum Valley in which Pakistan Army, NDMA and the management of Azad Kashmir are taking part in a vigorous manner. He said work regarding opening of roads is in progress in the affected areas. He said the injured persons are being provided with best medical facilities.
