Day: June 28, 2024

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz says 35 billion rupees have been allocated for the development of Lahore. She stated this during a meeting with Chairman Model Bazaar Company and Member National Assembly Muhammad Afzal Khokhar in Lahore today. She said model bazaars will be converted to the Green Punjab Solar Model. Chief Minister also accorded approval to the decision to start free home delivery services from the model bazaars. Maryam Nawaz also directed the launch of a mobile app for online orders from model bazaars. Source: Radio Pakistan

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz says the provincial government has completed its first one hundred days of serving the people with dedication. Addressing Punjab Assembly in Lahore today, she said the government presented the historic budget in Punjab's history. The Chief Minister said the laptop scheme for students will be resumed at a cost of ten billion rupees. She said a plan to enroll out-of-school children in schools is being initiated. She said free milk will also be provided to children up to grade five in schools. Maryam Nawaz said free medicines and treatment facilities are being provided to the public in hospitals. She said a Center of Excellence for special persons will be established in every district of Punjab. She said that the government will give historic package to farmers. She said farmers who are holders of Kisan Card will receive interest-free loans of up to one hundred fifty thousand rupees. Source: Radio Pakistan

Ambassador of China, Jiang Zaidong called on Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Islamabad today. Reaffirming Pakistan-China All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, the two sides expressed the resolve to implement the bilateral consensus reached during the Prime Minister's visit to China. They also expressed the resolve to further strengthening of Pakistan-China friendship and up-gradation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Source: Radio Pakistan

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has issued an alert about rains and thunderstorms in different parts of the province from today till Monday. According to PDMA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, all the Deputy Commissioners have been advised to take precautionary measures to avoid any human and material losses during the forecast period. Source: Radio Pakistan

Pakistan will work with the United Nations and all interested states to further develop the concept of peace enforcement. This was stated by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, while addressing the UNCOPS Summit 2024 at the United Nations General Assembly in New York today. The Interior Minister said Pakistan is proud of longstanding contributions to the UN peacekeeping. He said Pakistan is committed to peacekeeping partnership especially with the African Union and the OIC. He said in today's dangerous time, the world faced threats of forced foreign interventions, suppression of freedom struggles, poverty, inequality, global tensions, military tensions and nuclear arms race. Mohsin Naqvi said preventive diplomacy should focus on addressing the root cause of conflicts. He said the UN peacekeeping missions face increasing challenges from terrorist groups, tribal rivalries and threats to safety. He said Pakistan agrees with the cause of series and broad-based future reflection of the UN peacekeeping. The Min ister suggested that peacekeeping missions must be part of an overall political strategy, which seeks to address and resolve the cause of conflict and violence. He said the mandate of the UN peacekeeping must be responsive to the special circumstances or situations. He added that each mission should be provided with adequate human and material resources and advanced capabilities like radars and early warning intelligence. Mohsin Naqvi said improvement can be made in command and control structure especially to ensure timely response to attacks against civilians and peacekeepers. He said the collective mission of the UN peacekeepers is clear to foster international cooperation in safeguarding communities and ensuring the security of nations. The Minister said the strength of our partnership lies in our mutual dedication to peace, security and justice. Source: Radio Pakistan

Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Romina Khurshid Alam has said relief camps have been established in vulnerable areas to cope with possible floods during the forthcoming Monsoon rains. She made these remarks while chairing the meeting of task force on global warming and heat waves in Islamabad today. Romina Khurshid emphasized the importance of utilizing all available media platforms, including digital, electronic, radio, and mosque loudspeakers to effectively communicate information about the relief camps. She urged authorities to address the pressing issue of tree cutting and the dumping of trees in streams to avoid damage to bridges during floods in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir. Source: Radio Pakistan

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar has assured journalists that problems faced by them will be solved on priority basis. Talking to newsmen outside Parliament House in Islamabad today, he announced to constitute a committee for protection of rights of journalists. The Minister said a mechanism will be made and meetings will be held with the provincial governments to investigate the cases regarding the killing of journalists. He said the government is fully focused on timely payment of salaries and dues to journalists and media workers. Attaullah Tarar said the issue of salaries and dues of journalists is being discussed with Pakistan Broadcasters Association and All Pakistan Newspapers Society. He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has always accorded importance to solve problem of delay in payments to journalists and media workers. The Minister said he stands in the frontline with journalists and there should be no mis-coordination on any issue of journalists. He said still muc h work needs to be done on defamation law and discussions are going on with journalist organizations on the law. Source: Radio Pakistan

Different sectors of Pakistan's economy have witnessed positive trajectory during the outgoing fiscal year 2023-24 due to prudent policies of the government. According to Economic Outlook report of Finance Division, the agriculture sector witnessed an overall growth of 6.3 percent with strong quarterly growth rates during the fiscal year 2023-24. The foreign investment during July-May 2023-24 recorded an inflow of 1.2 billion dollars as against 0.5 billion dollars of previous fiscal year. The total foreign exchange reserves increased to 13.1 billion dollars this month while net federal revenues grew by 51 percent to reach 5627.5 billion rupees against 3715.3 billion rupees last year. The Consumer Price Index inflation reached its lowest level in 30 months and was recorded at 11.8 percent last month, showing a significant decline from 38.0 percent in the same month of last year. Large scale manufacturing sector experienced moderate growth of 0.45 percent during July-April of fiscal year 2023-24, marki ng an improvement of 8.8 percent as compared to same period of last fiscal year. The current account posted a deficit of 0.5 billion dollars during Jul-May 2024 as against a deficit of 3.8 billion dollars last year, largely reflecting an improvement in trade balance. The performance of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) also remained upbeat during last month with KSE-100 index continuing its bullish trend and closing at 75,878 points. Inflow of remittances in July-May2023-24 recorded an increase of 7.7 percent at 27.1 billion dollars as compared to 25.1 billion dollars last year. Source: Radio Pakistan