Day: October 11, 2021

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Pakistan and Saudi Arabia Agree to Further Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation

H.E. Nawaf Bin Said Al-Malki, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, called on the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, at the Finance Division today.

Both sides discussed matters pertaining to mutual interest and agreed to further strengthen economic and business ties between the two countries.

While extending a warm welcome, the Finance Minister, Shaukat Tarin, highlighted that Saudi Arabia has always supported Pakistan, and the bilateral ties are rooted in centuries-old religious, cultural, and commercial links between the people of both countries.

Moreover, a large number of Pakistani expatriates are working in different fields and are a great asset to the country. The overseas Pakistanis play a pivotal role in our economy through remittances, the minister added.

The Finance Minister further apprised the Ambassador about the potential for increased collaboration between the two countries in the areas of agriculture and food security.

The Saudi Ambassador stated that Saudi Arabia is opening up to foreign investments and stressed the need for an increase in mutual investments in different fields.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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Prime Minister Stresses Coordinated Efforts to Develop Pakistan’s Mineral Sector

Prime Minister Imran Khan stated on Monday that the mineral sector of Pakistan held a huge potential, as it offered a good return on investment and could contribute to the overall economic growth of the country.

Chairing a high-level meeting on the mineral development framework, the Prime Minister emphasized that a coordinated effort by the federal and provincial governments was required to beef up the steps being taken for the development of minerals.

A focal person, he directed, must be appointed at the earliest to play a bridge between the federal and provincial governments and supervise the implementation of the mineral development framework. He underlined that the models, adopted at the international level, should be studied to learn lessons and enhance the capacity of indigenous human resources to be employed for mineral development. The goals and targets of the mineral development framework be completed within their allocated timelines, he stressed.

Earlier, Federal Secretary Petroleum briefed the meeting on the strategic plan for mineral development. The meeting participants were informed that the mineral sector, at present, contributed less than 1% to the GDP, and the implementation of the strategic plan, categorized into short, medium, and long-term targets, would enhance the share of minerals to 10% over the next 15 years.

The Secretary Petroleum explained that the plan consisted of harmonizing the federal and provincial efforts, enhancing the technical outreach, helping database development, providing fiscal incentives, training indigenous human resources, and developing a legal framework.

The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers, Shaukat Fayaz Tarin, Muhammad Hammad Azhar, Asad Umar, Advisor on Commerce, Abdul Razaq Dawood, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication, Dr. Shehbaz Gill, Director General Frontier Works Organization, and senior federal and provincial officers.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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New Gwadar International Airport to be operational by 2023

The new Gwadar International Airport, being built at an area of 4,300 acres would be operational by September 2023.

According to the official source, the passenger terminal building of the project would be completed by June 2023. Work related to air traffic control by March 2023, while the overall construction of the airport would be finished before September 2023.

The airport development is a part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor development, which is a cornerstone of China’s One Belt One Road initiative.

Source: Radio Pakistan

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Governor Punjab undertaking an official visit to Brussels

Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar is undertaking an official visit to Brussels till 14th of this month.

On arrival, he was received at the airport by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg, Zaheer A. Janjua and officers of the Pakistani Embassy.

During his visit, the Governor will meet the influential members of the European Parliament, across the political spectrum, as well as Belgian Parliamentarians.

Pakistan enjoys excellent relations with the EU and all its member states, which are based on mutual understanding, respect and common values of democracy and pluralism.

The Pakistan-EU Strategic Engagement Plan provides the institutional framework for cooperation in diverse fields, including political, economic, security, climate change, green energy, migration and mobility.

The visit by the Governor Punjab will take forward the process of close consultation and collaboration between the two sides.

Source: Radio Pakistan

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Instagram to Introduce “Take a Break” to Protect Teens From Harmful Content

Instagram has caught flak recently for having harmful content that’s causing mental health issues in teens. As a result, the social media giant is now trying to mitigate the problem by introducing a new feature called “take a break”.

Facebook vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg said that:

We’re going to introduce something which I think will make a considerable difference, which is where our systems see that a teenagers is looking at the same content over and over again, and it’s content which may not be conducive to their well being, we will nudge them to look at other content.

He added that they are pausing work on the Instagram Kids apps and giving parents optional controls to supervise teens. They are planning to introduce a “take a break” feature instead which will simply tell teens to take a break from Instagram or steer them away from harmful content.

Clegg did not reveal a timeline for this feature, but a Facebook spokesperson has told The Verge that the feature is not in testing yet, but it will be soon. This means that we will likely not see it this month, but near the end of the year. Instagram head Adam Mosseri has also said that they are currently “exploring” new features.

We will update this space as soon as there are new updates.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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Afridi Reveals the Opening Pair Who Should Replace Babar & Rizwan in World Cup

Former Pakistan captain, Shahid Afridi, believes that the explosive opening batters, Sharjeel Khan and Fakhar Zaman, should be the openers for the national T20 team. Afridi opined that the power-hitting ability of the duo should be utilized in the powerplay as they possess the ability to take the game away from the opposition in the first six overs.

Afridi talked about Pakistan’s T20 team in a video on his official YouTube channel. Afridi said that both the openers should be properly used in T20 cricket as both of them are match-winners.

“Everyone has their opinion, but I think that Fakhar Zaman and Sharjeel Khan should be Pakistan’s openers in T20 cricket. Even if one of them clicks, we will win the game inside the first six overs,” Afridi stated.

The legendary all-rounder said that Pakistan’s decision to use Fakhar in the lower middle-order does not make sense as Fakhar has played as an opener throughout his career. He said that Fakhar has the ability to take on the opposition and should be played in his natural position as he can shift the momentum towards Pakistan in the powerplay.

Fakhar has been demoted down the order to accommodate an opening partnership of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, both of whom have been in sublime form. The two batters have been Pakistan’s most successful batters over the past year and have scored heavily as an opening pair.

The 44-year old also commented on wicket-keeper batter Azam Khan’s exclusion from the 2021 T20 World Cup squad. Afridi said that Azam is not ready for international cricket and advised him to work on his batting and fitness to make a comeback to the national T20 side.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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Mohammad Amir Takes a Dig at Pakistan’s Selection Policy

Former Pakistan pacer, Mohammad Amir, has taken a sly dig at Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) selection policy for the upcoming 2021 T20 World Cup. Amir hinted that PCB decided to make changes to Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad after pressure from the cricketing fraternity.

PCB decided to make three major changes to the initial squad as the former captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, young exciting batter, Haider Ali, and explosive opener, Fakhar Zaman, replaced Azam Khan, Khushdil Shah, and Mohammad Hasnain in the 15-man squad.

Amir took to Twitter to take a dig at the PCB. Amir tweeted that fast bowler, Wahab Riaz, and opener, Sharjeel Khan, should have been included in the squad as well but the PCB decided to select two players of their liking and were forced to select the other due to media pressure.

Amir tweeted, “I still believe Shoaib Malik, Sharjeel Khan and Wahab Riaz should be in the squad, but hwa wohi hai 2 tere or 2 mere but it’s time to support our team.”

Veteran middle-order batter, Shoaib Malik was included in the squad later on as middle-order batter, Sohaib Maqsood was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a back injury.

Amir expressed his delight at Malik’s inclusion and tweeted in his support once again.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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