President Asif Ali Zardari emphasised Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “indispensable” support for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in a letter to the latter on Thursday. In response to Xi Jinping’s congratulations on taking over as president, Zardari expressed gratitude and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to enhancing practical cooperation with China. Zardari emphasised that despite the fact that both nations have made great strides in their bilateral collaboration, particularly with regard to the economic corridor, their bilateral ties have become stronger over time as a result of shared values, respect, and understanding. Referring to the “unique” bilateral relations between the two nations, the president stated, “Strong Pakistan-China relations are key to regional peace, stability, and development.”
On Thursday, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, the federal minister for maritime affairs, reaffirmed Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s dedication to Pakistan’s swift growth and urged the opposition parties to collaborate with the government in order to alleviate the plight of the average citizen. The minister emphasised to the media that our main goals are to raise province revenue, spur business expansion, strengthen the economy, and instill confidence in inverters. The opposition plays a critical role in this regard because the government will be guided by its “constructive criticism” while formulating “prudent policies” He asserted that it is our joint duty to use the parliament to make decisions that will benefit the general public and strengthen national institutions. According to the minister, the government’s first objective is to help the nation escape its current predicament.
A first boat carrying 200 tonnes of food aid was slowly making its way into the Gaza Strip on Thursday as efforts to provide additional humanitarian help to the Israeli-occupied Palestinian enclave intensified. Although Israel later claimed a Hamas fighter was killed in the rocket strike, the primary UN humanitarian organisation in Gaza claimed an employee was killed in an Israeli strike that occurred a day earlier that targeted one of its facilities in the southern city of Rafah. In the wake of over five months of fighting, starvation is about to strike 2.4 million people in the region, and donor countries, relief organisations, and nonprofits are working tirelessly to get food there. After bombing a UN food aid shipment to Gaza, the Israeli army started shooting at civilians there.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made unexpected trips to several Utility Stores located throughout the federal capital to oversee the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Ramadan Relief Package. He spoke with the programme participants during the visit and asked if they had any problems using the package in any way. He gave the relevant authorities instructions to make sure that eligible recipients of the Relief Package had no trouble using the facility. Speaking at the event, the prime minister said that during the holy month of Ramadan, food items would be given to qualifying families at reduced prices at Utility Stores locations all around the nation as part of the federal government’s historic Ramazan Relief Package, which is valued at Rs 12 billion.
The government’s primary priorities, according to Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, are end-to-end digitization of the tax system and documentation of the economy. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) conducted an introduction meeting with its members on Wednesday to examine the board’s performance and future projects, during which the finance minister paid them a visit. The minister emphasised how vital it is to digitise the FBR as soon as possible in order to improve revenue collecting efficiency and transparency. The main goals of these programmes would be to increase revenue collection by means of full-scale digitization, thorough economic recordkeeping, and enhanced FBR oversight. According to him, the administration is thinking about ways to increase the size of the tax base by including the real estate, wholesale/retail, and agricultural sectors in the tax code.
Ataullah Tarar, the federal minister for information and broadcasting, claimed on Wednesday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was working with the European Union to mislead the country. “The PTI spokespersons are receiving orders from jail to damage the nation, but nobody will be permitted to damage the economy,” he declared during his first press conference following his appointment as this country’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting. The minister, taking aim at the PTI leadership, claimed that the party’s conspiratorial elements were once again attempting to harm the economy of the nation and that the party had previously committed a heinous act by requesting in writing that the IMF refrain from making a loan arrangement with the Pakistani government.
General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Commander of the Bahrain National Guard, paid a visit on Wednesday to General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), at Joint Staff Headquarters. The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) reports that topics of mutual professional interest and enhancing security and military cooperation between the two nations were deliberated upon at the discussion. The determination to enhance security and defence cooperation between the two fraternal nations was reaffirmed by both parties. Earlier, the visiting dignitary was given the “Guard of Honour” by a well-groomed tri-services contingent upon their arrival at Joint Staff Headquarters.
Josep Borrell, the head of EU foreign policy, claimed that Israel was using malnutrition as a “weapon of war” and described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “not a natural disaster.” Borrell declared at the UN Security Council on Tuesday, “This is a man-made crisis.” “We must remember this when we search for alternate means of supplying support by air or sea: starvation is being used as a weapon of mass destruction, and the natural means of supplying support to roads is being closed, albeit artificially closed.” In an attempt to provide a sea route for the desperately required delivery of relief to the war-torn Palestinian enclave, a Spanish humanitarian boat carrying food to Gaza departed Cyprus.
On Wednesday, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, the Minister of Housing and Works, stressed the significance of respecting the law and preserving the integrity of the government housing allotment process. He gave the order to carry out a comprehensive examination of all prior allotments in order to find any instances of illegality or irregularity, and he warned that severe punishment would be taken against those found guilty while presiding over a high-level meeting of the Estate Office. According to a news release, the purpose of the conference was to discuss ways to stop the past practice of unauthorised allotments and guarantee openness in the allocation procedure. Director General of the Estate Office Obbaid ud Din briefed Riaz Pirzada about the administration and operations of the department during the meeting.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif gave the order to provide a detailed plan aimed at increasing IT exports. He said that the government will act to fully utilise the nation’s billion-dollar potential for IT exports and that the youth would be given access to the necessary resources for startups, education, and skill development. A review meeting on the IT and telecom sector was presided over by the prime minister. The PM Office Media Wing stated in a press release that senior officials, including Shahzad Saleem, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmed, Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Economic Affairs and Establishment Ahad Khan Cheema, and Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja, attended the meeting.
Recent Comments