Day: January 7, 2022

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OIC IPHRC urges states to introduce strong anti-corruption legislation 

Islamabad, January 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):The seventh international seminar of the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission on Corruption and Human Rights has adopted Islamabad Declaration urging all states to introduce strong anti-corruption legislation and step up efforts to address the injustices and other negative consequences of corruption.

The declaration was adopted at the concluding session of the seminar in Islamabad on Friday. It noted that recovering and returning confiscated assets and illicit financial flows can contribute to effective resource mobilization, poverty eradication, sustainable development and the enjoyment of all human rights particularly for the developing countries.

The declaration encouraged all OIC states to enhance the capacity of the judiciary, prosecution service and law enforcement agencies to combat corruption. It further asked them to establish fully equipped, empowered and independent accountability institutions capable to investigate corruption including sophisticated transnational crimes in an independent and impartial manner.

The declaration also called for the establishment of an OIC intergovernmental working group to actively explore innovative ideas and initiatives to strengthen the existing international framework to prevent corruption and to end impunity. The declaration stressed the need for integrating the role of technology in promoting increased transparency, accountability, accessibility and citizen participation.

It also commended the leading and commendable role played by Pakistan in highlighting the scourge of corruption and its impact on human rights at all the national and international levels. Addressing the concluding session, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari called for fighting corruption, money laundering and illicit financial flows in a cohesive and cooperative manner. She stressed that concerted national and international efforts are essential to deal with this multidimensional and transnational issue.

The Minister for Human Rights stressed for repatriation of stolen assets from save havens. She said these safe havens provide a way out for the corrupt to safeguard their assets gained through corruption. She said the FATF needs to take cognizance of the safe havens where money laundering continues to be held.

As regards Pakistan, Shireen Mazari said Pakistan is the first South Asian and the third Asian country which has launched National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. She said this action plan is a vital tool to protect human rights as well as fight corruption at the state and business enterprises level. Shireen Mazari said we have also enacted Protection of Journalists and Media Professional legislation to ensure freedom of expression so that the ills of society can be exposed and mitigated.

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

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Asad Umar vows to reduce gender disparity in country 

Islamabad, January 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reduce gender disparity and provide equal opportunities to girls and women to play their role in economic development of the country.

He was chairing a meeting on the National Gender Policy Framework in Islamabad. The meeting was briefed on the institutional initiatives that are planned to be rolled out by the Planning Commission for promoting gender integration across all national policies, programmes, offices and key management processes.

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

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Pakistan stock market claims highest profit in 10 years with aggregate profit of Rs258 billion: Tarin 

Islamabad, January 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin says Pakistan stock market has claimed highest profit in ten years with aggregate profit of 258 billion rupees. He said this in tweet on Friday.

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

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Pakistan performs exceptionally well in combating COVID, compared to countries in region: PM 

Islamabad, January 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):Prime Minister Imran Khan says Pakistan performed exceptionally well in combating COVID, compared to the countries in the region. Chairing a meeting of the Macro Economic Advisory Group in Islamabad on Friday, he said government’s policies of Smart Lockdown and incentive for the construction industry, social protection programs and subsidies for industries, small and medium enterprises kept the economy growing at a steady pace which have been praised by commentators globally.

He said government’s three years are an economic success story as we inherited huge circular debt, anti- export policies, unsustainable fiscal conditions, less competitive business environment and policies of lack of incentive for the private sector.

The Prime Minister said despite worst balance of payments crisis in the history of Pakistan in 2018, economic difficulties due to COVID, high commodity prices in the global market and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan having direct and indirect impact on Pakistan, the growth is still expected to be above four percent which is a huge achievement.

Imran Khan directed the departments concerned to coordinate and implement the long term and short-term plans for the further betterment of both macro-economic condition of the county and improvement in economic condition of the people. The meeting was given a comprehensive overview of the overall economic situation of the country, the government’s steps to mitigate the effects of high commodity prices on common people and government’s achievements in the last three years.

The meeting was informed that after successfully averting the crisis that the previous government left, robust economic stabilization measures were taken which resulted in high growth compared to all regional countries even in the tested times of COVID.

The exports have shown an increase of 25 percent, tax revenues are record high with an increase of 38 percent and remittances have also increased by 27 percent. Moreover, the agriculture sector witnessed record incomes, record high profits of 950 billion rupees by industries, boom in IT sector due to government’s IT policy, reduction in monthly circular debt after successful IPP tariff agreements.

In addition to the above, the government fulfilled its promise of a welfare state by launching the biggest social safety program under Ehsaas, brought institutional reforms and successfully complied with FATF’s conditions which saved us from going into the blacklist.

The meeting was also presented with proposals to mitigate the transfer of the effects of high global commodity prices to common people. The proposals included an increase in incomes, purchasing power of the people, subsidies focused on middle and lower income classes and expansion of social safety net.

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

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‘Fascistic Hindutva’ forces pose danger against Muslims in India

New Delhi, January 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has found fault with a section of opposition parties for not raising their voice against the anti-Muslim ‘Dharam Sansad’ in Haridwar due to the upcoming Assembly elections.

The CPI-M in an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘People’s Democracy’ said, they are unable to grasp the enormity of the danger posed by “fascistic Hindutva forces.”

The CPI-M said that the men and women in saffron, who made the anti-Muslim speeches and call for violence to eliminate them, were “not some fringe elements” but represented the “mainstream of the Hindutva forces, which include the RSS and the BJP”.

It also said that they had the “state patronage” and it was evident from a picture that emerged of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami touching the feet of one of the “inciters at the Dharam Sansad, Swami Prabodhananda”.

The editorial said that the Haridwar event was part of the “speeches and rhetoric” of the leaders of the RSS outfits and the BJP that are “taking place with greater frequency” and cited Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath’s “constant Muslim baiting speeches” to BJP MP Tejashwi Surya’s recent call to use mutts and temples to reconvert Muslims and Christians to Hinduism.

These are “not just ‘hate speeches’ in the realm of rhetoric but it is being translated daily into acts of violence and intimidation” of Muslims and Christians on the ground, it said. However, the editorial said that it was “regrettable” that some of the secular opposition parties are “unable to grasp the enormity of the danger posed by the fascistic Hindutva forces”.

“Some issued statements of disapproval or condemnation while some others sought to avoid the issue given that elections are around the corner in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Not just condemnation in words but concerted united action is the need.

When the BJP-ruled states are letting these forces run amok, it becomes the duty of the secular and democratic forces to unitedly rebuff and counter these forces,” it said. However, the CPI-M did not specify which opposition party or parties it was referring to.

The editorial said the speeches at the Dharam Sansad fall under the sedition as per the Indian Supreme Court interpretation that the provision was applicable only when there is a call or incitement to violence.

“The evidence is all there in the public domain. The event had been live-streamed and videos of the speeches widely circulated. They all show speaker after speaker, calling for arms to be taken up, the massacre of Muslims, cleansing the villages off them and one speaker even saying that he would have shot (former) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a revolver if he had had the opportunity to do so,” it said. “The speeches do not constitute just ‘hate speech’, but are an open incitement to violence and ethnic cleansing,” it added.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org

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Modi’s India dangerous place for Muslims, other minorities: Report

Islamabad, January 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):India has become a fascist state and a dangerous place for Muslims and other minorities under Narendra Modi who is seeking to shape the country according to Hindutva dictates. A report released by Kashmir Media Service, today, said that Modi, with a mission to purge India of its minorities, was relentlessly implementing RSS ideology against them. It added that attacks against minorities, especially Muslims, had become a norm in the country.

It said that Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and low-caste Hindus were living in a state of fear in India as their persecution had increased manifold since RSS-backed Bharatiya Janata Party attained power in India. Since Modi came to power, it added, Hindu extremists have emboldened so much so that they are openly resorting to violence against minorities in India.

The report lamented that religious intolerance was growing in the country under Modi’s right-wing regime whose policies are reflective of Hindutva ideology and seeking to impose hegemony of Hindu Brahmin culture on all and sundry living in the country. It said, Modi’s fascist ideology is the biggest threat to peace and stability in South Asia and that the world community must come together to deal with this dangerous mindset and save minorities in India.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org

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Criticised RSS on Facebook; Kerala PFI leader sent to jail for 14 days

Srinagar, January 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):Kerala Police arrested Popular Front of India local leader Usman Hameed over his Facebook post criticising Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Kerala Police on Thursday. Hameed, a 41-year-old from Kattappana in Idukki is the Idukki district committee member of the Popular Front of India.

He was charged under section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (promoting enmity between groups on the grounds of religion) and sent to Sub Jail Peermade for 14 days, Kattappana Police Station SHO told media.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, 4 January, Hameed criticised RSS and other Hindutva groups for inciting riots in the state and Kerala Police’s alleged inaction against those saffron groups. He also shared a news story on social media which was about the state government intelligence informing that the RSS is making headway for statewide riots.

In the Facebook post, Hameed also wrote that if the law and order maintaining agency in the state will not act properly against RSS rallies like “the Kerala police earlier did”, Muslims have to defend themselves.

According to Intelligence, RSS was planning to stage a show of strength at various centers that include the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) strongholds on 5 January. The RSS plan for conducting displays across 142 centers in Kerala, was hatched in secret and the exact venues, participants, and leaders too were decided for, said Intelligence. Condemning the arrest, the Popular Front of India state committee alleged that the arrest is a part of Kerala Police’s Hindutva agenda.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org

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IIOJK people facing brunt of Indian state terrorism: APHC

Srinagar, January 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has condemned the unabated killings, arrests and other atrocities by Indian forces’ personnel across the territory.

The APHC spokesman in a statement issued in Srinagar said that the freedom-loving people of Kashmir were facing the worst Indian state terrorism with extreme fortitude in their just struggle for securing their inalienable right to self-determination.

Paying glowing tributes to the martyrs and the precious sacrifices rendered by brave people of Kashmir for the sacred cause of freedom from Indian subjugation, he said that despite Indian suppression and repression, the exemplary steadfastness displayed by the people of Kashmir had jolted Indian military arrogance and utterly bulldozed its nefarious designs to break the will of the Kashmiri people.

The APHC spokesman hailed the valour of freedom-loving women prisoners of conscience, languishing in Tihar and other jails in India and the occupied territory, including, Aasiya Andrabi, Naheeda Nasreen, Fehmeeda Sofi, Hina Bashir Beig, Aasiya Bano, Rasqeem Akhtar, Sheeba, Anjman Younis, Tabbasam Maqbool, Saima Akhter, Shazia Akhter, Saiqa Akhter, Aasiya Akhter and Naseema Begum. All these women detainees have been incarcerated on flimsy grounds and deprived of the basic amenities, including hygienic food and medical care, he lamented.

The spokesman urged the United Nations Human Rights Council and other human rights organisations to visit the hellish jails of India and take on spot account of the miserable life of the illegally detained Hurriyat leaders and activists, including APHC Chairman, Masarrat Aalam Butt, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya Andrabi, Dr Shafi Shariati, Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Dr Ghulam Muhammad Butt, Ameer Hamza, Muhammad Yousaf Mir and Muhammad Yousaf Falahi.

He also urged the international community to support the Kashmiris’ just struggle for right to self-determination, help stop the worst human rights abuses perpetrated by Indian forces in IIOJK and play role in settling the lingering Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN resolutions.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org