Gilgit-Baltistan is gearing up to vote in the region’s third election since GB was given the power to rule itself in 2009 through its assembly. The votes will be cast today (November 15).

Voting began at 8am and will continue till 5pm.

GB has 24 constituencies and its assembly has 33 seats. A total of 330 candidates are contesting 24 seats. Of the remaining seats, six are reserved for women and three for technocrats.

The region has a population of about 1.3 million and a total of 745,361 voters have registered, of which roughly half or 339,992 are women. The election commission has set up 1,990 polling stations.

PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz, PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and PM Imran Khan visited the region to campaign for their parties.

Deputy Commissioner and District Returning Officer Naveed Khan toured the polling stations Sunday morning and met polling officers.

The first vote in Astore was cast by former local government chairman Muhammad Ramzan.

Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz visited multiple polling stations on Sunday and heard complaints from staff and voters. He instructed staff not to bother voters and said polling should be transparent this year.

GBLA-1 (Gilgit-I)

List of candidates:

• Johar Ali (PTI)
• Jafarullah Khan (PML-N)
• Amjad Hussain (PPP)
• Syed Mustafa Shah (ITP)
• Tariq Hussain (PML-Q)

GBLA-2 (Gilgit-II)

List of candidates:

• Fatehullah Khan (PTI)
• Hafeezur Rehman (PML-N)
• Jameel Ahmed (PPP)

GBLA-3 (Gilgit-III)- Elections postponed

The election has been postponed in GBLA-3 after one candidate, Justice (retd) Syed Jaffar Shah, died of the novel coronavirus on October 10.

Shah was contesting on the PTI’s ticket. After his death, PML-N candidate Dr Iqbal switched loyalties and joined the ruling party.

The election will be held at a later date.

GBLA-4 (Nagar-I)

List of candidates:

• Zulfiqar Ali (PTI)
• Arif Hussain (PML-N)
• Javaid Hussain (PPP)        
• Rizwan Ali (MWM)

GBLA-5 (Nagar-II)

List of candidates:

• Sajjad Hussain (PML-N)   
• Mirza Hussain (PPP)
• Rizwan Ali (MWM)
• Abid Hussain (PML-Q)
• Muhammad Essa (APML)

GBLA-6 (Hunza-I)

List of candidates:

• Col. Abaid Ullah Baig        
• Rehan Shah 
• Zahoor Kareem                  
• Mehnaz Wali 

GBLA-7 (Skardu-I)

List of candidates:

• Muhammad Zakeria Maqpoon (PTI)
• Muhammad Akbar Khan (PML-N)
• Syed Mehdi Shah (PPP)

GBLA-8 (Skardu-II)

List of candidates:

• Muhammad Saeed (PML-N)      
• Muhammad Ali Shah (PPP)
• Muhammad Kazim (MWM)

GBLA-9 (Skardu-III)

List of candidates:

• Fida Muhammad Nashad (PTI) 
• Wazir Waqar Ali (PPP)
• Wazir Muhammad Saleen (IND)
• Manzoor Ahmed (IND)

GBLA-10 (Skardu-IV)

List of candidates:

• Wazir Hassan (PTI)
• Ghulam Abbas (PML-N)    
• Muhammad Khan Wazir (PPP)
• Mushtaq Hussain (MWM)
• Wazir Ishaq (PML-Q)
• Muhammad Sikander Ali (ITP)
• Najaf Ali (IND)
• Basharat Hussain (IND)
• Raja Nasir Ali Khan (IND)
• Syed Yaseen Shah (IND)
• Manzoor Hussain (IND)

GBLA-11 (Kharmang)

List of candidates:

• Syed Amjad Ali (PTI)
• Shabbir Hussain (PML-N) 
• Niaz Ali (PPP)
• Muhammad Ali Khan (ITP)
• Muhammad Qasim (IND)
• Iqbal Hussain (IND)
• Syed Muhsin Rizvi (IND)
• Shujaat Hussain (IND)
• Ghulam Muhammad (IND)
• Mehboob Ali (IND)

GBLA-12 (Shigar)

List of candidates:

• Raja Muhammad Azam Khan (PTI)
• Muhammad Tahir Shigri (PML-N)
• Imran Nadeem (PPP)
• Muhammad Hassan (PML-Q)

GBLA-13 (Astore-I)

List of candidates:

• Muhammad Khalid Khurshid Khan (PTI)
• Rana Farman Ali (PML-N)
• Abdul Hamid Khan (PPP)
• Abdul Rehman (JI)
• Eijaz Ahmed (IND)
• Rana Muhammad Aflatoon (IND)
• Abdul Rehman (IND)
• Ghulam Akbar (IND)
• Dr Ghulam Abbas (IND)
• Muhammad Shafi (IND)
• Muhammad Munawer Lone (IND)
• Naseem Shah (IND)

GBLA-14 (Astore-II)

List of candidates:

• Shamsul Haq Lone (PTI)
• Rana Muhammad Farooq (PML-N)
• Muzaffar Ali (PPP)
• Mehfooz Rehman (PSP)
• Neematullah Khan (JI)

GBLA-15 (Diamer-I)

List of candidates:

• Noshad Alam (PTI)
• Abdul Wajid (PML-N)
• Bashir Ahamed (PPP)
• Ashiqullah (PML-Q)
• Abdul Baqi (MQM-P)
• Waliur Rehman (JUI)

GBLA-16 (Diamer-II)

List of candidates:

• Atiqullah (PTI)
• Muhammad Anwar (PML-N)
• Haji Dilbar Khan (PPP)
• Saifullah (JUI-P)
• Abdul Aziz (PML-Q)
• Attaullah (IND)
• Muhammad Mera Jan (IND)

GBLA-17 (Diamer-III)

List of candidates:

• Haider Khan (PTI)    
• Saddar Alam (PML-N)        
• Abdul Ghafar Khan (PPP)
• Rehmat Khaliq (JUI-P)
• Muhammad Zaman (IND)
• Mehboobur Rehman (IND)
• Abdul Khaliq (IND)
• Abdul Bar (IND)
• Muhammad Shoaib (IND)
• Naimat Wali (IND)
• Haji Kaman Khan (IND)

GBLA-18 (Diamer-IV)

List of candidates:

• Gul Bar Khan (PTI)   
• Sadia Danish (PPP)
• Mehar Dad (PML-Q)
• Abdur Rasheed (JUI-P)
• Abdul Sattar (IND)
• Malik Shifayatur Rehman (IND)
• Malik Kifayatur Rehman (IND)
• Pachdar (IND)

GBLA-19 (Ghizer-I)

List of candidates:

• Zaffar Muhammad (PTI)
• Atif Salman (PML-N)
• Pir Jalal Ali Shah (PPP)
• Asghar Khan (Barabari Party)
• Sher Ameen (JUI-P)
• Sohail Ahmed (PML-Q)
• Ajab Khan (IND)
• Nawaz Khan (IND)
• Mehboobullah (PRHP)

GBLA-20 (Ghizer-II)

List of candidates:

• Nazir Ahmed (PTI)
• Muhammad Nazar Khan (PML-N)
• Ali Madad Sher (PPP)
• Khan Akbar Khan (PML-Q)
• Abdul Khaliq (JUI-P)
• Sher Faraz (IND)       
• Fida Khan (IND)          
• Shehnaz Bhutto (IND)
• Sherjahan Khan (IND)
• Sher Faraz (IND)
• Safdar Ali Sherazi (IND)
• Attaur Rehman (IND)

GBLA-21 (Ghizer-III)

List of candidates:

• Raja Jehan Zaib (PTI)
• Ghulam Muhammad (PML-N)
• Muhammad Ayub Shah (PPP)
• Javaid Iqbal (IND)
• Gohar Shah (IND)
• Jamsheed Khan (APML)
• Tajwar Hussain (GB Qoumi Movement)

GBLA-22 (Ghanche-I)

List of candidates:

• Muhammad Ibrahim Sanai (PTI)
• Razaul Haq (PML-N)
• Muhammad Jaffar (PPP)
• Gulam Nabi (JUI-P)
• Ibrahim (IND)
• Javed Akhter (IND)
• Rehmatullah (IND)
• Syed Nazar Abbas Kazmi (IND)
• Muhammad Akhter Khan (IND)

GBLA-23 (Ghanche-II)

List of candidates:

• Amina Ansari    (PTI)
• Ghulam Hussain (PML-N) 
• Ghulam Ali Haidary (PPP)
• Ghulam Ali (PSP)
• Mumtaz Ali Yaqvi (PML-Q)
• Wilayat Ali (JUI-P)

GBLA-24 (Ghanche-III)

List of candidates:

• Syed Shamsuddin (PTI)    
• Manzoor Hussain (PML-N)
• Muhammad Ismail (PPP)
• Muhammad Ibrahim Tabbasum (PML-Q)
• Abideen Rahi (IND)

Gilgit Baltistan announces strike from November 14 to 16

Gilgit Baltistan has announced a strike in region during the upcoming elections from November 14 to 16.

The decision was announced in a notification by the Election Commission of Gilgit Baltistan. The commissioner said that polling will begin in 23 constituencies of the region from 8am to 5pm on November 15.

Rigging claims are baseless: chief election commissioner

Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shehbaz Khan has said there is no truth to the accusation that the elections have been rigged.

“I can’t stop people from saying what they want,” he said in an interview with SAMAA TV on Friday. “I ask people where is their mandate being stolen? Please tell me if I have done anything illegal.”

He claimed that the opposition parties are trying to build a narrative against the government. If you remember even in the US Elections Donald Trump said the elections were rigged, he said.

This happens everywhere, he added. “I can assure you that the elections will be neat and clean.”

Khan was asked why he didn’t do anything to stop senators, MPAs and other influential leaders from campaigning in the area. “We have issued 330 violations to people but I couldn’t have stopped them through any mechanism. I have to work under the law. You can’t expect me to stand with a baton to stop people.”

Why is Gilgit-Baltistan so important?

Gilgit-Baltistan is a historically distinct political entity near the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at the junction of China, Central and South Asia, and Afghanistan.

Gilgit-Baltistan was previously known as the Federally Administered Northern Areas. It is an autonomous region in northern Pakistan with separate government and electoral system. In 1970, it became a single administrative unit called the Northern Areas under the administrative control of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas, formed after the amalgamation of the Gilgit Agency, the Baltistan District of the Ladakh Wazarat, and the states of Hunza and Nagar.

The region is divided into two administrative divisions: Gilgit and Baltistan/Skardu. Its government is made up of the GB Council, Legislative Assembly, ministers, a chief minister and a governor. Its assembly has the power to make laws on 61 subjects, including land revenue and administrative courts and it votes on the budget.

CPEC passes through the Karakoram Highway and covers almost 600 kilometres in GB, giving the area a high profile geopolitically.
Since 1947, GB has not been granted provincial status due to its colonial association with the disputed region of Kashmir. During a recent speech, however, PM Khan promised to make GB into a province soon.

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Hakan Cavusoglu finally noted that these purposeful crimes of Armenia in this territory are crime against humanity.

BAKU, NOV 14 - “A commission has been established under the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) to investigate the violations caused by Armenia's attacks on Azerbaijan, and we have started work on Azerbaijan since yesterday,” said Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Hakan Cavusoglu who is on a visit to Ganja.

According to him, the commission is the only commission established by law under the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Commission has the duty of investigating, identifying, reporting on human rights violations in the international arena in Turkey and abroad, preparing reports and presenting them at international forums: “The work we are doing in Azerbaijan is related to the investigation, analysis and preparation of reports on violations here. Azerbaijani Army started an operation to liberate its occupied territories, as occupation of Karabakh and 7 surrounding regions continued for 30 years and Armenia committed attacks on July 12 and 27. 

Battles were in occupied territories in Karabakh region and clashes occurred within the framework of Azerbaijani borders. But many rockets, projectiles shelled, attackes were committed by Armenia to the territories settled by civilians within the framework of great security. According to the protocols of the Geneva Convention, missile shelling on civilians far from battles by a country during any battle is a crime. 

From this point of view, Armenia’s attacks on Ganja, Barda, Terter, and other cities, where there is not military objects and settles by civilians, is a war crime. All of us know death of children, youth, older people, even persons of Armenian origin there.”

Hakan Cavusoglu finally noted that these purposeful crimes of Armenia in this territory are crime against humanity.

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COURTESY APA.AZ

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Imad Wasim-led unit register victory in one-over eliminator

Karachi Kings have managed to cement spot in the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for the first time in dramatic fashion after a one-over eliminator against Multan Sultans in the qualifier on Saturday at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Chasing 142 to book their place in the grand finale of PSL 2020, Kings looked in complete control, courtesy sublime 65 from Babar Azam.

However, his departure turned the tables around completely and Kings were on the brink of a heartbreaking defeat.

But captain Imad Wasim kept his nerves and smashed a last-ball boundary on the bowling of Mohammad Ilyas to take the game into Super Over.

In the one-over eliminator, Kings emerged victorious as Sultans could not chase down the target of 14 runs, courtesy sublime bowling performance from Mohammad Amir.

Earlier, Sultans, after being put into bat first, managed to post a rather mediocre total of 141-7 in their allotted 20 overs.

Ravi Bopara finished the innings with the top score of 40 off 31. For the Kings, youngster Arshad Iqbal and left-arm pacer Waqas Maqsood claimed two wickets each.

Well that’s it from our coverage for the first game on Saturday. Do join us for the next game.

What a fantastic over by Mohammad Amir. Top-class bowling from the left-armer.

UPDATE: That’s it. We finally have a winner as Karachi Kings clinched the one-over eliminator.

Karachi Kings’ fans are optimistic that Mohammad Amir will be able to save these 13 runs in the over.

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COURTESY SAMAA.TV

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WASHINGTON, NOV 14 - Major changes expected in the US immigration policies under President-elect Joe Biden will favour Muslims nations, according to political analysts.

In October, Biden promised to end Donald Trump’s “unconstitutional Muslim ban” on day one of his presidency. Biden could overturn these “tough” guidelines using executive orders, according to experts.

“In theory, presidential proclamations and executive orders can be rescinded by the new president,” said Michele Waslin, program coordinator at the Institute for Immigration Research at George Mason University, Virginia. But in many cases the change will not be immediate since extensive plans will need to be made to carry out the changes, she added.

Biden’s first 100 days in the office will be crucial as he is expected to revoke Trump’s executive orders targeting Muslim nations, according to a report by National Public Radio, Washington.

The Trump administration in 2017 had placed a ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

Biden pledged to raise refugee admissions to 125,000, which the Trump administration had reduced to 15,000 from 110,000 set by former president Barack Obama in his last year. Biden also intends to provide humanitarian protection to migrants, which the experts predict will be “most difficult”.

After taking office in January, the Biden administration will restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, announced by Obama in 2012. It allows teens and young adults, who were brought to the US as children but who lack immigration status, to apply for education and work without fear of deportation.

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COURTESY SAMAA.TV

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The long-awaited iOS 14.3 beta 1 IPSW is now released. You can now download the beta update with OTA profile file to enjoy the latest iOS 14.3 experience on your iPhone. For iPad users, the iPadOS 14.3 beta 1 is also available to download and test on compatible Apple devices.

iOS 14.3 Beta 1 Features

There is not much detail revealed by Apple as to what we can expect in the latest update. However, the update will be available for developers via an over-the-air update in the Settings. 

There are several featured updates we can find in the latest update. Apart from the bug fixes and security patch updates, the new update can include general interface improvement. We can also expect some added features to the new beta version.

ProRAW Photo Format

Apple originally announced the news of ProRAW photo format for iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max when it unveiled the new phones last month. Surprise for all the Apple fans! The new iOS 14.3 beta update may include ProRAW photo format as well.

Apple said that the new photo format feature will be released with its upcoming software update. You may be able to find this feature by going to Settings > Camera and then look under the options available in “Formats”.

Apple described the ProRAW photo format as:

“ProRAW is a 12-bit file that uses the Linear DNG format to retain more information and dynamic range in the file, providing additional flexibility when editing exposure and white balance. Each file is approximately 25 MB.”

iOS 14.3 Beta 1 – App Suggestions During Phone Setup

OSLO, NOV 2020 - If the measures that are now in place do not lead to reduced infection, a complete “lockdown” of Norway is a possibility, Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) said on Friday.

Such a lockdown, where only the socially critical jobs would be carried out, is part of the government’s measures if the situation gets worse.

“But we are not there now,” Solberg emphasized at a press conference about the corona situation on Friday.

Other countries in Europe have closed down significantly more than Norway, she pointed out.

Tucked away near the centuries-old Storytellers' Bazaar, the decaying mansions in Peshawar once home to Bollywood superstars are being brought back to life.

The ancestral homes of Golden Age heroes Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar in the northwestern city are symbols of its link to the world's largest film industry, but have suffered from decades of neglect.

The region's archaeology team says it is close to wresting the more than 100-year-old buildings, located in the heart of the historic walled city, from their private owners so they can be restored and turned into museums.

“I always feel sad and angry while looking at Kapoor's house, that it once was a beautiful mansion of top quality,” said Samiuddin Khan, who remembers running through the 40-room abandoned house as a child and flying kites from the rooftop.

“It was extremely beautiful inside. The structure is still intact but some walls have collapsed and much of the wood has been damaged.” Once an architectural wonder, the family home of Kapoor, who died aged 63 in 1988, is influenced by Mughal empire, Central Asian and British colonial design, featuring ornately carved doors and balconies and gothic-style windows.

Kumar lived in a simpler home down a small lane in a busy market, its entrance faded and its roofless interior heavily damaged.

The actors grew up in a quarter that is home to the fabled Qissa Khwani (Storytellers) Bazaar where travellers would share tales of their adventures.

Kumar, who is now 97, has credited his successful career to his early life in the neighbourhood, where he first learned to narrate.

But like many emerging actors, the pair were enticed away from Peshawar to India's entertainment centre Bombay, now Mumbai, in the years before the partition.

The pair even starred alongside each other at the beginning of their careers, in the 1949 hit Andaz.

“This is our cultural heritage and we take pride in preserving it. We are very proud that Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor were from Peshawar,” said Abdul Samad, director of archaeology and museums in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Present-day Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan, known as the King of Bollywood, also has links to the area but his family home which is still in use has not suffered the same decline.

Across the country, hundreds of pre-partition buildings have been left to ruin or been demolished over the years.

Many had been built by Hindus and Sikhs who left them behind when they fled newly founded Pakistan for India, archaeology experts say.

Peshawar suffered a huge knock-back to its cultural standing after becoming a hotbed of violence from the 1980s onwards, bringing an end to the golden era of Pashto-language cinema in the region, known as Pollywood.

Militant groups, including Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, bombed at least three cinemas and more than 100 music shops before a military crackdown near the border with Afghanistan in 2015 resulted in drastic improvements in security.

As the city revives, more than 1,800 heritage buildings with traditional features have been identified for preservation by the province's archaeology team, but Pakistan could need years to arrange the finances required to their purchase and restoration.

“If a proper archaeological survey was conducted, we would discover a cultural site almost every kilometre,” said archaeological director Samad about Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

There are hurdles still to overcome in saving the Kapoor mansion too.

Its owner Hajji Ali Qadir told AFP he would take the authorities to court if they did not pay him at least two billion rupees ($12.5 million).

“I told them that it's an antique and the price for an antique is multiplied 10 times,” he said. “We will get more money if we build a plaza here.” The archaeology department has said it will use legal powers if needed to purchase the Kapoor and Kumar homes with taxpayer money, for a figure still to be determined by the province's financial authorities.

“We felt proud and held our heads high while watching the actors from Peshawar performing in Indian movies, that this land has produced such great actors who proved their worth in Mumbai,” Khalo Khalil Sarhadi, an 80-year-old resident of Peshawar, told AFP.

“Now the new generation will know how Peshawar has produced big stars and actors, those who have given an identity to Pakistan and India,” he said of the museum projects.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS!

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ISLAMABAD: infinix Mobility Limited is yet again transcending its way towards the launch of Note 8 with the groundbreaking technology. The Note series, that has never ceased to amaze its users, is this time coming with a meticulously designed processor of Media TekHelio G80 from MediaTek’s G-series chipset domain.

MediaTekHelioG80 are specially designed octa core gaming chipsets that have revolutionized the mid-range mobile market.

MediaTekHelio G80 chipset is known for its seamless gaming experience that provides smoother performance in heavy-loading game engines! It can run multiple games like PUBG, Fortnite, Asphalt, Call of Duty etc. in high settings.

This year owing to the pandemic, a lot of people have been home stricken and spent most of their time on mobile phones playing games.PUBG became so popular that every mobile manufacturing company thought of providing the best gaming experience to its end user in relatively low price. So considering the holistic market of gaming enthusiasts, Infinix has geared its focus to provide a better gaming experience in its note series with MediaTekHelio G80.

With its heterogeneous multi-processing a user can enjoy the perks of split window i.e. gaming and work both at the same time.
MediaTekHelioG80 also maximizes the battery performance and makes sure that the battery does not drain too fast. This chipset also supports multiple AI features like bookeh, face recognition and provides better software features. It is paired with 6 gigs of RAM in Note 8 and Note 8i to maximum performance and functionality.

With the emerging competition in the mid-range market, chipset plays a pivotal role for the end users in the potential purchase. Which is why Infinix chose MediaTekHelioG80 for the Note 7’s successor.

All the information jotted over here is not just a conjecture, it is actually backed up with some facts and figures. The diagram attached below shows the comparison of MediaTekHelio G80 processor with MediaTekHelio G70 and Snapdragon 665. The results from the ANTUTU Ranking are pretty evident that how MediaTekHelioG80 has surpassed Snapdragon665 performance wise!

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Dr M Ali Hamza

Impression management is a deliberate or subliminal process in which individuals, communities, and nations endeavor to influence the perceptions of others about a person, object, or a happening, by setting and supervising information in social interaction. It is not a new phenomenon, rather existed for centuries in different shapes. Impression management is commonly used as an alternative to ones’ presentation, in which an entity tries to influence the perception of one’s own image.

The idea of impression management initially practiced through face to face interaction, but later expanded with an invention of modern tools such as computer-mediated interaction, broadcasting technology, internet based platforms, podcasts, social media etc. The concept is related to academic fields of study such as economics, politics, psychology and sociology as well as practical fields, for instance corporate communication, industry linkages and development of social cognition.

If taken in account only last 100 years, we can clearly witness the invasions, destructions, foreign occupations, industrial revolution, knowledge creation, and a buzz word “the innovation” happening at high velocity. On a parallel track we have observed that the progressive nations spending billions of dollars in establishing, maintaining and enhancing their positive impression. The British Empire invaded unstoppably and brutally tainted and tarnished all the cultures, but still the colonized minds see them with respect and honor because they established an image of technologically advanced, scientifically systematic, caring, progressive, learned and soft empire. Americans slaughtered red-Indians, bombarded Vietnam, engulfed the gulf, destroyed the world harmony, but still they have guts to be called advocates of peace due to their impression of being economic might through science and technology.  This all just did not happen. Nations built these images not only through wish and desire but with intentional focus, adequate design of purpose, and well thought execution strategy. Beside economic, political and other impressions, the impression of science loving society is what the world is doing. As we listen to present Govt. showing concern for applied research, declares full commitment and offers a plan for high budget chunk in pursuance of S&T, there it needs to work on science diplomacy as well.

Science diplomacy is an engagement for scientific collaborations among nations to address global problems and to build productive international partnerships. The term encompasses formal and informal technical, medical, research-based, academic or engineering exchanges in the general area of international affairs. Science diplomacy relatively a less utilized approach to diplomacy and has gained attention recently. It is a phenomenon of the 21st century, and number of factors continue to drive this trend, but the most important one is the recognition of major global challenges and realization that science with its applications are part of the cause as well as the cure. As a result, while much of the international science regime is still focused on discovery, there is an increasing demand for the integration of science cooperation in international relations. Science diplomacy began to surface following the end of the Cold War. Toward the last decades of the 20th century, much of the focus of science diplomacy moved beyond the role of science as a bridge to diplomatic dialogue and more toward the role of science interactions as the basis for addressing key global challenges. The new millennium encouraged strategic partnerships to promote activities of international cooperation and compromise on issues with a heavy scientific input and global concern, such as environmental degradation, hygiene & sanitation, biosafety etc. This involved even the development of strategic scientific relations between historical or potential rival countries or blocs: especially between the West and former Soviet Union countries, as a way to promote scientific cooperation to the extent that it could hedge against diplomatic failures and reduce the potential for conflict.

At first glance, scientists and diplomats are not obvious companions, because science is a quest for truth and diplomacy is an honest act of lying abroad for the good of one’s country. Regardless, science diplomacy is gaining tract worldwide. The unambiguous reality of human civilization is that we now are globally interconnected. Pakistan being a major player in regional as well as global activities immensely needs to exploit the vacant area of diplomacy: use science in and for diplomacy, and do diplomacy for science. We need to train our scientists to engage in this cause of scientific connectivity to play their role in local-global applications of science. The journey to international relations through science can begin through communicating science to own masses. The ministry of science & technology needs to inspire and fund the projects that flourish love of science in young energetic academicians and students. Science has to be a way of life. In the words of Brian Greene: a string theorist “Science is a perspective. Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that’s precise, predictive and reliable a transformation, for those lucky enough to experience it, that is empowering and emotional.”

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Lahore: A COVID-19 advisory has been issued for national cricketers which states that players should be very careful for the next 10 days before leaving for the tour of New Zealand.

According to sources, the advisory is also applicable on players not participating in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season five playoffs. The move by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) came in the wake of widespread cases of the coronavirus.

The PCB medical panel has instructed players to stay extremely careful for the next ten days before leaving for New Zealand. The players and staff are required to stay at home mostly.

The advisory further stated that national players should restrict their movement to the open air and should strictly abide by the COVID SOPs imposed by the government.

It must be noted that Green Shirts and Shaheens’ squad are scheduled to play in New Zealand. The 35-member squad will leave on November 23 for Lincoln, Christchurch.

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