Day: December 15, 2021

Islamabad, December 15, 2021 (PPI-OT):President Dr Arif Alvi has urged the people to avail benefits from 20 different components of the Ehsaas programme. Talking to media after inauguration of the One Window Ehsaas Center at G-7 Sector in Islamabad, he directed the concerned officials to inform people about the different components of the Ehsaas programme.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar briefed the President on the One Stop Shop operations of Ehsaas which integrate all benefits and services for 14 different target groups in one space. The President, along with First Lady Samina Alvi, also visited different desks at the center and also met with the Ehsaas beneficiaries.

He was informed that with all Ehsaas benefits and services in one space, One Window Ehsaas Center facilitates Ehsaas recipients who previously had to go to many offices to get their problems fixed. The President appreciated the initiative to facilitate the people. He urged the media and public representatives to create awareness about these facilities being provided by the government.

Talking to Radio Pakistan Correspondent Ijaz Hussain Dr Sania Nishtar said One-Window center offers wide ranging services including Ehsaas Kafaalat, ATM machines for Ehsaas cash payment, NADRA office for biometric verification, and desks for Ehsaas School Stipends, Ehsaas Nashonuma, Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship, Ehsaas Amdan and others. She said billions of rupees are being allocated annually for different programs, under the umbrella of Ehsaas initiative, with 100 percent utilization during last two years.

For more information, contact:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
4th Floor, Cabinet Block, Pak. Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9103557
Email: info@moib.gov.pk
Website: http://www.moib.gov.pk

Islamabad, December 15, 2021 (PPI-OT):Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam received the Ambassador of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan His Excellency Hamad Obaid Alzaabi today on 15th Dec, 2021. Syed Fakhar Imam acknowledged the effective measures taken by the UAE to address the issue of food security. He expressed his desire to further enhance cooperation between Pakistan and UAE, especially with respect to food security, in the strenuous Covid-19 circumstances. His Excellency Hamad Obaid Alzaabi apprised the Federal Minister of the current status of UAE’s efforts to control the issue of food security in the country.

Fakhar Imam said that Pakistan has had good relations with UAE for the last 50 years and is looking forward to the next 50 years of cooperation. Minister said that the agricultural economy of Pakistan has grown by average 4%. He said that under the leadership of PM Imran Khan agriculture has been put back on priority. Fakhar said that Pakistan has donated 50,000 tonne of wheat to Afghanistan and World Food Program has acquired 200,000 tonne of wheat from Pakistan for Afghanistan. He said that Pakistan and the world needs to do their part to end famine and hunger in Afghanistan.

Fakhar said 2 million additional bales of cotton will add Rs. 200 Bn to the economy of Pakistan. He said the need of the hour for Pakistan is to develop value added industry. He said that Agro industry has huge potential in Pakistan. He said that processing units of citrus fruits, mangoes, potatoes, tomatoes, onion and dates can yield high return for foreign investors. Fakhar said PTI government had a roadmap and a strategy to uplift the agriculture sector of Pakistan. Minister said that Pakistan is the 5th largest producer of milk and only 7% of it is processed, identifying the huge gap in the value added and processing sector.

He said currently we have 40Mn cows to attain the current level of productivity because the domestic cow has the capacity of only 1000 litres per lactation, however worldwide cows can produce up to 6000 litres of milk per lactation. He said that the most pressing issue that Pakistan’s agro economy faces is low yield. He said that through high quality inputs and research high yields can be achieved. Ambassador of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan His Excellency Hamad Obaid Alzaabi said that Pakistan has huge potential and a wide number of opportunities to enhance its agro economy.

He said that the Dubai Expo 2020 is an ideal example of UAEs efforts to bring the world together. He said UAE wishes to play its part in resolving the issue of food security. He said that Pakistan and UAE need to enhance cooperation in the agriculture sector for mutual benefit. Fakhar Imam and Ambassador of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan His Excellency Hamad Obaid Alzaabi agreed to increase collaboration between the Food Ministries of the two countries in order to eradicate hunger. Fakhar Imam emphasized the necessity of strengthening the brotherly ties between the two countries.

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Islamabad, December 15, 2021 (PPI-OT):Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib says Prime Minister Imran Khan has been taking steps for the betterment of the country and future generations irrespective of political considerations. Addressing a workers convention in Islamabad today [Wednesday], Farrukh Habib said the government has abolished the class education system and implemented a uniform education system across the country.

He said that no dam had been built in Pakistan after 1967 and the present government has started work on 10 major reservoirs including Mohmand Dam, Dasu Dam, Sindh Barrage. Farrukh Habib said completion of these projects will generate 10,000 MW of cheap electricity and provide 13 million acre-feet of storage. These projects will be able to store as much water as we had in the last 70 years.

He said that Health Insaf Card has been issued to the entire population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its distribution has been started in Punjab. He said the present government has built 1700 km of roads in 3 years and KP is the only province that built its own motorway between Mardan and Swat. He said that plans are afoot to build 6,000 km of roads in Punjab at a cost of 645 billion rupees.

For more information, contact:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
4th Floor, Cabinet Block, Pak. Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9103557
Email: info@moib.gov.pk
Website: http://www.moib.gov.pk

Islamabad, December 15, 2021 (PPI-OT):The Supreme Court has directed the Higher Education Commission to close illegal campuses of the private universities. A three-member bench of the apex court heard the case pertaining to the non-issuance of degrees to the students from the private universities’ illegal campuses.

The bench ordered the HEC to formulate a procedure to issue degrees to students who had passed out from illegal campuses through some special arrangement. Justice Bandial said that uniform implementation of the HEC’s policies should be ensured throughout the country.

For more information, contact:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
4th Floor, Cabinet Block, Pak. Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9103557
Email: info@moib.gov.pk
Website: http://www.moib.gov.pk

Islamabad, December 15, 2021 (PPI-OT):Federal Minister for Privatisation, Mohammed Mian Soomro chaired a Privatisation progress review meeting in the Ministry today. Federal Secretary Privatisation and other senior officials of the Ministry and Privatisation Commission attended the meeting. Federal Minister was briefed about the progress regarding ongoing privatization program including Jinnah Convention Center (JCC), House Building Finance Corporation Limited (HBFCL), First Women Bank, Pakistan Steel Mills, Pak Re-insurance Corporation, NPPMCL and others.

The entities that were discussed in the meeting are included in the active privatisation list, and most of them are at advanced stages of privatisation. Federal Minister was also briefed about the matters relating to Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC), out of eight, six interested parties/ investors have submitted statement of qualification and after the approval of SoA with SECP the bidding is expected in March-April next year. It was briefed that the minutes of CDA board meeting regarding the status of JCC are awaited to move forward.

For the sale of remaining Federal Government Properties, the FASA terms are being discussed with top-ranked IP. The issues related to the divestment of up to 20% shares of Pak Re-insurance (PRCL) are being taken up with the Ministry of Commerce and PRCL and Federal Minister for Privatisation will hold a meeting with Advisor to PM on Commerce, to discuss the matters related to the aforementioned divestment. Federal Minister was briefed about the current status of House Building Finance Corporation (HBFCL), Ministry of Privatisation will issue expression of interest (EOI) for investor after approval of summary regarding HBFCL Board of Directors (BoD) from PM and Cabinet; the summary has already been forwarded to PM office in this regard by Finance Division.

Moreover, the board meeting of First Women Bank was held and auditing firm has been appointed to complete the audit of three preceding years to complete the privatization. It was also briefed in the review meeting that the refence price options for Heavy Electrical Complex will be placed before Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP), as the bidding/ transaction for HEC is to be completed in the upcoming month. The RFP, regarding initiation of the process for the replacement of GoP excess equity and loan through commercial borrowing has been finalized in consultation with stakeholders, to be initiated by NPPMCL.

The Federal Minister was also briefed about the transaction status of other entities including Pakistan Engineering Co. (PECO) State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC), Sindh Engineering Limited (SEL), Guddu and Nandipur Power plants. In the end, Federal Minister stated that privatisation is a major part of current government’s economic reforms agenda, and urged all concerned to expedite the resolution of issues which might hinder the timely completion of these transactions. the Minister urged all to make all out efforts to resolve the related issues so the targets could be achieved in stipulated time and also in an efficient and effective manner.

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Principal Information Officer,
Press Information Department (PID)
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Islamabad, December 15, 2021 (PPI-OT):Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired the second meeting of Apex Committee on Afghanistan today. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Information Minister Fawad Ahmed, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid, Planning Minister Asad Umer, Advisor on Finance Mr. Shaukat Fayaz Tarin, Advisor Commerce Abdul Razzaq Dawood, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, National Security Adviser Dr. Moeed Yousaf and senior civil and military officers. The Prime Minister expressed the hope that the world would not repeat the mistake of disengaging with Afghanistan.

He urged the international community to support the vulnerable people of Afghanistan. The Prime Minister stated that Pakistan will support Afghan people in every possible way to avert humanitarian crisis. The Prime Minister highlighted that Pakistan has already committed to immediate relief of in-kind humanitarian assistance worth Rs. 5 billion, which comprises of food commodities including 50,000 MT of wheat, emergency medical supplies, winter shelters and other supplies.

The Apex Committee was briefed that as per directions of the Prime Minister the facility of free COVID vaccination for all Afghans entering Pakistan from land borders is being continued. The process of obtaining Pakistani visa has been simplified for Afghans. The Prime Minister also instructed that humanitarian organizations wishing to work from Pakistan to support efforts in Afghanistan should be facilitated as Pakistan has already committed to being the air and land bridge for humanitarian support to Afghanistan.

Participants of the Apex Committee again expressed concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and emphasized that Pakistan will not abandon Afghans in their time of need. On Sunday, Pakistan is hosting an extraordinary session of OIC Foreign Ministers in Islamabad to highlight the plight of vulnerable Afghan people in these testing times and to discuss ways for helping them.

For more information, contact:
Principal Information Officer,
Press Information Department (PID)
Tel: +92-51-9252323, +92-51-9252324
Fax: +92-51-9252325, +92-51-9252326
Email: piopid@gmail.com
Website: www.pid.gov.pk

Islamabad, December 15, 2021 (PPI-OT):Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says Pakistan does not want to become part of any camp rather wants to concentrate on its economic and social issues. In an interview with Voice of America, he said the world needs to save itself from the cold war mentality.

The Foreign Minister said Pakistan would take care of its own interests and it is not in our interest to become part of any confrontation. He said the incumbent government has shifted its policy from geo-politics to geo-economics and the United States can help Pakistan in this respect through trade, investment, technology transfer and promoting regional connectivity.

He said we want good relations with the United States. The Foreign Minister said the priorities of the incumbent government are economic security and socio-economic development of the people of Pakistan. Referring to the situation in Afghanistan, the Foreign Minister said the humanitarian crisis in the neighbouring country is severe and Pakistan is hosting the conference of OIC Council of Foreign Ministers to address this issue.

He said Pakistan is persuading the world not to leave Afghanistan alone in this critical situation because it would destabilize that country and leave space for terrorists, which would be a historic mistake. He said Pakistan has also invited special representatives of P5 countries for the conference of OIC Council of Foreign Ministers. The Minister said the conference would be an opportunity for the Afghan interim government to remove apprehensions of the world. He said the conference has one-point agenda to focus on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

For more information, contact:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
4th Floor, Cabinet Block, Pak. Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9103557
Email: info@moib.gov.pk
Website: http://www.moib.gov.pk