Day: June 27, 2024

Pakistan Coast Guards is continuing its operations to prevent smuggling of drugs and other prohibited items. The Coast Guards destroyed over six thousand bottles of Wine and 56 bottles of high quality Bear this year. The Coast Guards also set ablaze huge quantity of Hashish, Heroin, Crystal and Opium. Source: Radio Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says the government is working on many projects to provide ample employment opportunities to the youth and to develop their skills. He was talking to a delegation of young parliamentarians that called on him in Islamabad today. The delegation included Members of the National Assembly Raja Osama Sarwar, Barrister Aqeel Malik, Barrister Daniyal Chaudhry, Ahmed Atiq Anwar, Nosheen Iftikhar, Rana Aradat Sharif Khan, Muhammad Usman Owaisi, Amar Ahmad Khan Leghari, Dr. Shaista Khan, Zainab Baloch, Saad Wasim and Shahid Usman. Talking to the delegation, the Prime Minister said we have taken many steps to provide relief to the common man in the budget of the new financial year. He said laptops will be provided by government to eligible students. About 100 billion rupees have been allocated in the budget for the development of the IT sector, which is a historic step. Historic funds have also been allocated for skills development and sports sector. The Prime Minister said reforms in g overnment institutions and privatization of state-owned enterprises are priorities of the government to reduce the burden on the national exchequer. He said Pakistan continues to provide moral and diplomatic support to the oppressed Muslims of Palestine. Matters of the respective constituencies and the overall political situation of the country were also discussed in the meeting. The Prime Minister expressed hope that the young parliamentarians will work day and night for the development and prosperity of the country and public welfare. Source: Radio Pakistan

Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja has assured to extend full facilitation to the Swedish companies for investments in the IT sector. Addressing a delegation of Swedish companies in Islamabad today, she said Special Investment Facilitation Council is facilitating investment in diverse sectors. The Minister of State said digitization of economy is top priority of the government. She said the government has kicked off with the digitization of the FBR. She said approval has been given for the establishment of national digitization commission to be headed by the Prime Minister and represented by the four provinces. Source: Radio Pakistan

Prime Minister's Coordinator on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam has called for tackling escalating risks to biodiversity and ecosystems for overall environmental and human sustainability and development She was addressing a national seminar on 'Biodiversity Safeguarding Initiative: Global Assessment of the State of Nature and Biodiversity Safeguarding Actions in Northern Pakistan' in Islamabad today. Romina Khurshid Alam said Pakistan's northern region is home to unique biodiversity and ecosystems of global repute. She said continuing loss of habitat and fragmentation, deforestation and land degradation, soil erosion, pollution, illegal wildlife poaching and trade, unsustainable agricultural practices, use of chemicals in farming, and climate change are among the key pressing challenges facing the unparalleled biodiversity in the country's north. She emphasized the need for urgency of collective action for safeguarding the region's natural heritage comprising unique biodiversity and natural ecosystems . Source: Radio Pakistan

Pakistan has strongly criticized the United Nations report on "Children and Armed Conflict" for ignoring the plight of Kashmiri children under foreign occupation. Speaking during the UN Security Council open debate on "Children and Armed Conflict" today, Pakistan's Ambassador Munir Akram criticized the report for its persistent and glaring failure and selective omission of the plight of children in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine. Expressing deep concern about nearly thirty three thousand verified grave violations against children detailed in the United Nations Secretary-General's report, Munir Akram said children living under foreign occupation, such as those in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine, are particularly vulnerable to violence and human rights abuses. He highlighted that despite the killing of fourteen thousand children in the Gaza war, it took significant pressure for Israel to be included in the report, while the plight of children in Indian Ill egally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir was unjustly omitted. He stated that generations of Kashmiri children have grown up in an environment of violence, repression, and fear, noting that the humanitarian crisis for Kashmiri children worsened after India's unilateral actions of August 2019. Ambassador Munir Akram called for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and several Special Rapporteurs of the Human Rights Council to be granted access to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir to investigate massive violations of human rights. He requested the Special Rapporteur to investigate the whereabouts and condition of the 13,000 Kashmiri youth detained by Indian occupation forces after August 5, 2019. He stated that the UN Secretary-General's report last year rightly urged India to implement measures to protect children, including prohibiting the use of lethal and non-lethal force, ending the use of pellet guns, and preventing the ill-treatment of children in detention. Ambassador Akram emphasized that P akistan supports the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to address situations of children in armed conflict but stressed that the legal parameters of the SRSG's mandate must be respected. He stated that references to Pakistan in the Secretary-General's report were outside the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. Demonstrating Pakistan's commitment to child protection, Ambassador Akram affirmed that as one of the earliest signatories to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Pakistan is fully committed to implementing its provisions. Despite its principled position on the SRSG's mandate, Pakistan will continue to engage with the SRSG's office to further strengthen child protection in Pakistan in line with its national framework and international obligations. Source: Radio Pakistan

The National Assembly has approved two demands for grants pertaining to the Foreign Affairs Division. Cut motions moved by the opposition members on these demands for grants were rejected by the house. Winding up discussion on the cut motions, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the government has taken notice of the resolution passed by the US House of Representatives on Pakistan. He said the government will also pass a resolution in response to the US's resolution and the draft resolution will be shared with the opposition and treasury benches. He asked the treasury and the opposition benches to must show sovereignty and unity. The Foreign Minister rejected the impression that Pakistan faces isolation at the international level. He said Pakistan has been elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, which shows the confidence of the international community on Pakistan. He said the forum will be effectively used to raise the Kashmir dispute and the situation in Gaza. T he Foreign Minister said relations with Afghanistan are on the priority agenda of the government. He said the government is in contact with Afghanistan and dates are also being worked out for his visit to Kabul. Ishaq Dar said the government is pursuing the policy of economic diplomacy as it is the way forward to put the country on the growth trajectory. He said Pakistan has the potential to come out of the difficult economic situation. Six more demands pertaining to the Interior and the National Food Security Divisions were also approved by the House. Cut motions moved by the opposition members on these demands for grants were rejected by the house. Winding up discussion regarding agriculture, Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain assured the House to evolve a mechanism to provide targeted subsidies to farmers. He said inputs should be made available to farmers at fixed prices. Rana Tanveer Hussain further informed the House that agri students are being sent to China on g overnment expenditure to equip them with modern techniques, trends, knowledge and research in the agriculture sector. He said we want to double the per acre yield. Regarding solarization of agri-tube wells, the Minister said the government is providing subsidies in this respect. The House also approved another three demands for grants relating to the Law and Justice Division. Cut motions moved by the opposition members on these demands for grants were rejected by the house. The House will now meet tomorrow at 11 am. Source: Radio Pakistan

The initiatives taken by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) are being welcomed at the global level. A special seminar on CPEC Phase Two and SIFC was organized in Karachi. The business community from home and abroad, especially from China, who participated in the seminar, welcomed the initiatives of SIFC in the context of CPEC Phase II. The participants termed SIFC a great initiative of the civil and military leadership. Expressing confidence in the country's institutions, they said we believe that CPEC Phase Two will stabilize Pakistan's economy. Source: Radio Pakistan