Day: April 8, 2023

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan says Pakistan and the United States are long-standing and historic partners.

Talking to President and Chief Executive Officer of World Affairs Council of America (WACA) Matthew Hughes at the Embassy in Washington, he said the current positive trajectory in the bilateral relations is based on strong desire on both sides to expand the bandwidth of this relationship, with special focus on enhanced cooperation in non-security areas.

The Ambassador appreciated the role played by WACA and its leadership for promoting programs and educational initiatives for diverse, multi-generational audiences across United States from grassroots to grasstops citizens. He briefed Hughes about current state of Pakistan-United States bilateral relations.

He also highlighted the importance of linkages between academics, educational institutions and diaspora to forge solid foundation for long-lasting relations, highlighting huge potential for WACA’s collaboration and intertwining with similar platforms in Pakistan.

Hughes briefed the Ambassador about WACA’s mission and its leading programmes. He expressed willingness to expand collaboration with counterparts in Pakistan.

The World Affairs Councils of America (WACA), founded in 1918, is the largest nonprofit international affairs organization in the United States. The WACA network comprises of 93 autonomous and nonpartisan councils across 40 states in US.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal says although China Pakistan Economic Corridor is a bilateral project but its scope is regional.

Talking to China Economic Net, he said the CPEC not only provides a chance to Pakistan but also to other countries to make progress in various fields.

The Minister said the Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, and African countries are now expressing their interest to integrate with the CPEC.

He said there has been remarkable progress on CPEC in Pakistan and it has made valuable contribution in helping us to overcome the energy crisis and modernize the infrastructure.

Ahsan Iqbal said under the BRI and other regional cooperation projects, there will be tremendous opportunities for countries like Pakistan to trade more with China and other BRI countries.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Two soldiers have embraced martyrdom in an improvised explosive device explosion in Bara, Khyber district.

According to the ISPR, IED exploded on vehicle of Security Forces resultantly, Naib Subedar Hazrat Gul (age 37 years, resident of Lower Dir) and Sepoy Nazir Ullah Mehsud (age 34 years, resident of South Waziristan) embraced Shahadat.

Sanitization of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists in the area.

Pakistan’s Security Forces are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our soldiers further strengthen our resolve.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Economy and Energy Bilal Azhar Kayani has said the incumbent government has successfully averted the looming default and made significant progress towards stabilizing and rebuilding the national economy on a sustainable basis.

In a tweet, Bilal said once Pakistan’s immediate external account challenges are addressed and the global outlook improves, Pakistan would also experience a GDP growth recovery.

He said there is a primary surplus of 0.9% of GDP this year as compared to a primary deficit of 0.6% during last year.

Bilal Kiani said the incumbent government, under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is taking all necessary measures for the 9th Review to pull Pakistan out of the current economic crisis.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has felicitated ISI for carrying out a brilliant operation that resulted in the arrest of the leader of Baloch National Army (BNA).

In a tweet on Saturday, he said this operation speaks of outstanding professionalism of our institutions. He said the arrest will help suppress militancy in Balochistan and usher in a new era of peace.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar says government is planning to bring new schemes for the development of the country.

In a video statement on Saturday, he said provision of fuel subsidy to motorcycles and cars up to 800cc is under consideration.

He said he will virtually attend the upcoming annual spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund.

Refuting the impression given by some media outlets, Ishaq Dar said our team will be participating in the scheduled meetings as per routine whereas he will attend important meetings virtually.

Citing prevailing political situation of the country, the Minister said he decided to participate in IMF meeting virtually as Supreme Court of Pakistan has asked the government to provide funds to Election Commission of Pakistan to hold elections in Punjab.

Ishaq Dar said Pakistan has repaid debt around eleven billion dollars in the past few months.

He expressed hope that staff level agreement with the IMF will be finalized soon.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has termed return of the Supreme Court Bill by President Dr. Arif Alvi despite duly passed by the Parliament as unfortunate.

In a tweet tonight, the prime minister said that through his conduct, the president has belittled his august Office by acting as a worker of the PTI, one who is beholden to Imran Niazi more than the Constitution and demands of his Office.

Meanwhile, in another tweet, Shehbaz Sharif said with the death of Alastair Lamb, a respected diplomatic historian and researcher, last month, an era of erudite scholarship on the origins of the Kashmir dispute came to an end.

Shehbaz Sharif said through his carefully researched books, he exposed Indian lies and propaganda.

Source: Radio Pakistan

On successful completion of fifty years, a series of events to mark the Golden Jubilee of 1973 Constitution of Pakistan will start from Monday.

In this regard, constitutional chairs are being established at public universities across the country on special directives of Speaker National Assembly Raja Parvez Ashraf.

The constitutional chairs would make the public and students aware of the salient features of the constitution and the historical background of its evolution.

Source: Radio Pakistan