The families of the Pakistani military personnel who lost their lives in various terrorist attacks were contacted by President Dr. Arif Alvi on Friday. The relatives of the soldiers who lost their lives in the attacks that occurred on November 6, October 18, and November 29, respectively, in various parts of the nation, spoke with the president over the phone. The president honoured the martyrs who gave their life in defence of the country on behalf of the entire people. “The whole nation owes to the families of the martyrs for sacrificing their dear ones for the homeland,” he said. President Alvi made a call to the family of Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Hassan Haider, who was killed on November 6 in an incident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Madad Ali Sindhi, the federal minister of education, has underlined the value of technical education and skill development for young people in order to guarantee the nation’s economic growth. He was speaking during a signing ceremony for a memorandum of agreement (MoU) that took place on Friday at the Virtual University (VU) of Pakistan. In order to collaboratively create and introduce technical and vocational education training (TVET) e-learning programmes, VU and the National Vocational & Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) struck an agreement. The MoU was signed by NAVTTC Executive Director Aamir Jan and VU Rector Prof. Dr. Arshad Salem. The minister praised both groups for formally forming a strategic partnership, stating that by utilising VU’s experience with online professional development programmes, the cooperation aims to redefine TVET .
The Foreign Office announced on Friday that Pakistan and Russia have decided to further up their joint efforts to successfully fight terrorism, highlighting the advantages of such cooperation for both parties. According to a news release from the FO, the parties talked about the proliferation of terrorist ideas, different types of radicalization, and the improper use of ICTs for terrorist activities. Tenth meeting of Pakistan-Russia Joint Working Group on “Combating International Terrorism and Other Challenges to Security” was held here on Thursday. Sergey Vershinin, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, and Syed Haider Shah, Additional Foreign Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, co-chaired the meeting. The parties agreed to cooperate in other crucial areas of counterterrorism, including the fight against terrorism financing.
The Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A) Board of Directors met for the 32nd time on Friday, with Muhammad Sami Saeed, the caretaker minister for planning, development, and special initiatives, serving as its chair. According to a news release, Dr. Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Secretary Awais Manzur Sumra of the Planning Ministry, and private board members attended the meeting. The agenda, which was carefully selected to cover important topics related to long-term Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, was discussed with diligence and accuracy. The conversations covered a broad spectrum of subjects, which is indicative of the P3A’s all-encompassing strategy for encouraging cooperation between the public and commercial sectors for the advancement of the country.
Due to fuel shortages and a communications outage, UN humanitarian delivery to Gaza were once again halted on Friday, adding to the suffering of thousands of Palestinians who are homeless and hungry. The World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations stated that the scarcity of food supply would “immediately possibility of starvation” for populations. According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, an Israeli strike near the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt—the area where aid is transited—married off many Palestinians and injured others. Nine individuals were said to have died during the walkout, according to reports reported by Al Jazeera TV. Israel did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for confirmation of the purported strike.
In addition to starting the procedures for long-term endeavours in the greater interest of the country, caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Thursday instructed all the stakeholders to aggressively pursue the Special Investment Facilitation Council’s (SIFC) initiatives through a collaborative approach to reap the dividend in the short to medium term. The federal cabinet, province chief ministers, high-ranking government officials, and the chief of army staff were present during the seventh meeting of the Apex Committee of SIFC, which the prime minister presided over. According to a PM Office press release, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the different efforts being launched through the SIFC forum.
On Thursday, President Dr. Arif Alvi stated that Pakistan might overcome its political stability challenges if its legislators, executive branch, and establishment committed to addressing the problems together. In an interview with Voice of America (VOA), he was answering a query about whether the forthcoming national elections will result in political stability for the nation. President Alvi voiced confidence that the public view reflected in the poll results would create an atmosphere that would guarantee the stability and development of the nation. He dismissed concerns about the general election being postponed and stated that the political, judicial, and executive branches all agreed that the general election should take place on February 8 as scheduled.
It has been announced that Hajj expenses will be significantly reduced. At a news conference on Thursday, Caretaker Minister for Religious Affairs Aneeq Ahmed announced that the Hajj policy had been approved and that the fee for each prospective pilgrim had decreased by Rs 100,000. He outlined the key components of the new Hajj strategy in Islamabad and mentioned that this is the first time the price of the Hajj has been lowered in the nation. According to Ahmed, the government program’s Hajj expenses have dropped from Rs1,175,000 to Rs1,075,000 for the upcoming Hajj. He promised that even though costs would be lower, the quality of the Hajj arrangements would not be compromised. According to the minister, Pakistan has a Hajj quota of 179,210, which would be split equally between government and commercial Hajj programmes.
Pakistan refuted allegations made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in its newly published report on Thursday, stating once more that it has not sold guns to Russia or Ukraine. Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson for the Foreign Office, stated during today’s weekly media briefing that “we are not even in a position to tell which side is using which weapon in this conflict.” She further mentioned that Pakistan sells weapons to anyone with an end-user certificate. BBC Urdu made a claim earlier this week that it had documents that purportedly showed Pakistan selling weapons to Ukraine; the Pakistani government has constantly denied this assertion.
According to Dr. Gohar Ejaz, the acting minister of commerce and industries, the administration is attempting to increase exports to $36 billion while operating the nation’s industries at 100% productivity. Speaking at the Margalla Dialogue session on “Economic frontiers and entrepreneurial vision,” the Minister stated that the nation has to boost regional commerce in order to achieve economic progress, since remittances are currently at 22 billion and exports are at 27 billion. According to the Minister, Pakistan needs to prioritise exports and cease covering the deficits caused by misguided policies.
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