FARUKH SHEHZAD

ISLAMABAD – Staff Major General (Pilot) Salem Hamad Eqail Al-Nabet, Commander Qatar Emiri Air Force, along with his delegation visited Air Headquarters, Islamabad.

Upon his arrival, the distinguished guest was received by Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force. A smartly turned out contingent of the Pakistan Air Force presented Guard of Honour. The visiting dignitary also paid homage to PAF martyrs by laying a floral wreath at Yadgar-i-Shuhada (Martyrs’ Monument).

Later, the General had a detailed meeting with Air Chief. Both the Commanders discussed various matters pertaining to mutual interest. Commander Qatar Emiri Air Force lauded the professionalism of PAF personnel and the exceptional progress made by PAF over the years, especially through indigenization. The Air Chief highlighted brotherly relations and collaboration between the two sides. Both the dignitaries agreed to further augment the already existing cordial relations between the two air forces.

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KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wasim Khan is excited about the Pakistan Super League’s most-anticipated final between Karachi and Lahore.

Speaking to media in Karachi on Monday, Wasim said Tuesday’s game will be magnificent as arch-rivals, Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars, come face-to-face in the finale.

Wasim said the KK vs LQ match won’t be different than the Manchester United vs Manchester City rivalry. “Everyone in Karachi, Lahore, and the rest of Pakistan will be waiting.”

Wasim said the match will take place without crowds in the stands due to coronavirus.

“It is a historic occasion and I am personally saddened that fans won’t be there for this biggest match but we will try to reintegrate fans to stadiums. This will also be a magnificent occasion in Pakistan,” he concluded.

Lahore Vs Karachi on Tuesday

Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets in Eliminator 1 of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 at National Stadium.

The best innings of Mohammad Hafeez’s PSL career were instrumental in a run chase that at one point was on the verge of a meltdown with Lahore 33-3.

Hafeez formed a crucial partnership with Ben Dunk, then Samit Patel, and lastly with David Wiese but most importantly, stayed till the end to ensure that his team got home.

With the victory, the Qalandars stay alive and will face Multan Sultans for a place in the final opposite Karachi Kings.

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ISLAMABAD, NOV 16 – Pakistan has established cooperative relationships in S&T with a number of countries and establishment of various Centers of Excellence in Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Artificial Intelligence and Allied Technologies; Advanced Technologies in Biomedical Materials; Mineral Resources Engineering; Agriculture Food Technologies; and Railway Engineering are underway, all under the Ministry’s Knowledge Economy Initiative.

These remarks were a part of the fourth Ministerial-level Consultative Committee Meeting of the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) headed by the Federal Minister for S&T, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, with participation of 30 delegates from 19 countries. The meeting was an august gathering of three Ministers, a vice minister and other high-level government officials belonging to Iran, Jordan, Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen, Turkey, Bangladesh, Somalia, Zimbabwe, China, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Uganda. The participants deliberated on a 9-point agenda during the meeting virtually hosted from COMSATS Secretariat, Islamabad.

In his message, the Chairperson highlighted Pakistan, the host country of COMSATS Secretariat, as an ardent supporter of COMSATS’ mandate since inception. “Working in close proximity of the Secretariat, my Ministry is a witness to the hard work and devotion with which the organization is striving towards its mission at the highest and the grass-root levels alike”, remarked the Minister.

Mr. Fawad lauded COMSATS’ efforts for implementing the decision of the previous meeting and urged his counterparts in the 26 other Member States to duly support COMSATS’ operations by all means, especially more regular Annual Membership Contributions. He urged COMSATS’ Member States to work collaboratively for dealing with the menace of COVID-19 pandemic and help address the associated socio-economic challenges.

Speaking on the occasion, the Secretary to the Committee and Executive Director COMSATS, Dr. S.M. Junaid Zaidi, remarked that scientific collaboration is an important area for South-South and triangular cooperation. He encouraged the Member States to use COMSATS’ forum to incubate partnerships and find new innovation approaches to support and speed up the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The meeting also had the participation from international organizations including: The South Centre, Switzerland; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Italy; United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Thailand; The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Italy; and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Pakistan. COMSATS Centres of Excellence in China, Colombia, Egypt, Gambia, Iran, Indonesia, Jordan, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Turkey provided the perspective of the COMSATS’ Network of International S&T Centres of Excellence that has been engaged in scientific cooperation through regular annual meetings. Ambassadors and diplomats of Member States in Islamabad also attended the meeting.

The meeting resulted in revitalized commitment from the focal ministries of COMSATS Member States. The delegates called for and agreed on having stronger ties among scientists and researchers for solving common development problems; effective cooperation and initiatives at highest levels for emergent situations, such as COVID-19 pandemic; scientific and academic exchanges; as well as developing strategies for addressing issues such as food security and climate change. It was proposed that there should be a joint crisis management fund.

Participating countries were appreciative of COMSATS’ role in providing a strong S&T cooperation platform to developing countries and pledged to their best in further strengthening it. The areas identified for cooperation and mutual support included: multilateral research, refugee management, Science Diplomacy training, data science, climate sciences, energy, post-pandemic preparedness, agriculture, biotechnology, food security and nutrition, capacity building, ST&I-led knowledge economy, and SDGs.

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ISLAMABAD, NOV 16 - The Embassy of Syria in Pakistan has opened a condolence book for condolences on the sad demise of Walid Al Muallem Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria.

The condolence book will be opened at the Syrian embassy H No 43-A, School Road, F 6/2 on Tuesday November 17, 2020 from 10 am to 2 pm.

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COURTESY DNA NEWS

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BAKU - Azerbaijan on Sunday gave Armenia 10 more days to evacuate Kalbajar district, which borders Nagorno-Karabakh, due to climatic and natural conditions, an official said.

In a press conference, Hikmet Hajiyev, the foreign policy aide to the Azerbaijani president, said through Russia, Yerevan asked for more time to leave the district occupied in 1993.

"By displaying humanity," Azerbaijan accepted the request to leave the region, which was under occupation for 27 years, he said.

Due to extreme weather conditions, the only road in that direction, Zod-Varnenis, is narrow, he said, adding that taking these conditions into consideration, Azerbaijan gave Armenia more time to evacuate its civilians.

About 60,000 Azerbaijanis living in the region, when it was occupied, were forced to abandon their homes who then moved to various regions of Azerbaijan.

Yerevan also brought Armenians to Kalbajar -- where no Armenians had been living before -- and settled them illegally.

Karabakh conflict

Relations between the ex-Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

Fresh clashes erupted on Sept. 27, and the Armenian army continued its attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces, even violating humanitarian cease-fire agreements, for 44 days.

Baku liberated several cities and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages from Armenian occupation during this time.

On Nov. 10, the two countries signed a Russia-brokered agreement to end fighting, and work towards a comprehensive solution.

Turkey welcomed the truce, which is a result of Baku's military successes and has given it an upper hand over Yerevan to resolve the three-decade-long dispute.

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COURTESY THE NATION

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ISLAMABAD – Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) postponed  today’s (November 16, 2020) papers in Rawalpindi city and Islamabad region.

As per a notification issued by the Controller’s office, due to some unforeseen reasons the university postponed final papers of various subjects of BA, BS, B.Ed, M.Ed, MA and MSc programs that were scheduled for today (Monday, November 16, 2020) in Rawalpindi city and Islamabad Region. 

Students of other parts of the country would appear in their examination as per previous schedule.  According to the notification new date for the revised schedule of the postponed papers will be announced later.

According to another notification of the university, examination centre no. 177 (Tanvir Hussain Shaheed Model Collage for Boys (IMCB), Street No. 43, G.7/4, Islamabad) has been shifted to Examination Center No. 171 (Azaan Khan Shaheed Model School for Boys Street No. 10, F-8/3, Islamabad) With effect from 16th November, 2020 onwards. Revised Roll No Slips will be issued to all concerned students, however already issued Roll No. slips shall also be valid for the time being.

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RAMALLAH – President Mahmoud Abbas, a letter he sent to the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, praised Pakistan’s positions in support of the Palestinian cause.“We followed with great interest and gratitude your last televised interview, and your honorable statements about the official Pakistani positions that are firm and supportive of the just Palestinian cause,” read President Abbas’ letter.

President Abbas stressed that Pakistan is a source of pride for every Palestinian in the world as well as for every Pakistani citizen.

“We highly appreciate your adherence to your positions in support of the Palestinian people to obtain their legitimate rights, despite the pressures that you are subjected to, which confirms your courage, originality and the strength of your resolve, and your commitment to support the causes of peoples demanding justice,” President Abbas said in the letter.

The president wished the Prime Minister of Pakistan good health, happiness and success, wishing the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, its president, government and people, continued progress and prosperity.

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COURTESY DNA NEWS

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The term Sustainable development is defined as an approach to developing or growing by using resources in a way that allows for them to renew or continue existing for others. The concept of sustainable development can be interpreted in many different ways, but at its core is an approach to the development that looks to balance different, and often competing, needs against an awareness of the environmental, political, social and economic limitations we face as a society.

In simple terms, through sustainable development, we can recognize that what we do today to make our lives better should not have a negative consequence for our children or their children/ future generation. Sustainable development is a common agenda for global concern, which everybody agrees upon, It also highlights today world issue such as global warming, climate change, Overpopulation, Poverty, Racial discrimination, Global pandemic etc. It is generally the balance between economic growth, care for the environment and social well-being. After the industrial revolution, people-focused towards the technological advancement and development and due to the industrialization, the world started fear from the changes across the world. Air pollution, climate change as well as forest degradation play a key role in the world to think about the destruction of the earth as a planet.

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a new, universal set of goals, targets and indicators that UN member states. The Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the Global Goals, are a call from the United Nations to all countries around the world to address the great challenges that humanity faces and to ensure that all people have the same opportunities to live a better life without compromising our planet.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has 17 goals with 169 targets that all 191 UN Member States have agreed to try to achieve by the year 2030. Each of the 17 SDGs has specific targets to be achieved by 2030. The goals and targets are universal, means that they apply to all countries around the world, not just poor countries but developing countries have to follow. Reaching the goals requires action on all fronts either it can be governments, businesses, civil society, non-governmental organization (NGO's), IGO's and people everywhere around the globe.

Let's discuss the 17th SDGs goals according to the United Nations. The first goal of SDGs is No Poverty. This goal-focused to end poverty in all its forms everywhere. Next is Zero Hunger which emphasized to End hunger, achieves food security and improved nutrition and promotes sustainable agriculture. Good Health and Well-being is the third goal of SDGs which concentrate to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Quality Education, the fourth SDG goal stress to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The Next is Gender Equality which points out Gender equality and empowers all women and girls. Clean Water and Sanitation Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Affordable and Clean Energy also ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Decent Work and Economic Growth which Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, the nine-goal of SDGs focus to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation. Reducing Inequality talk about Reduce income inequality within and among countries. Sustainable Cities and Communities emphasis to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Responsible Consumption and Production focus on sustainable consumption and production patterns. Another major SDGs goal includes the Climate Action in which it takes urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts by regulating emissions and promoting developments in renewable energy.

Life below Water and Life on Land are also the major goals of SDGs which focused on Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development and Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. Next is Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions which Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. The last goal of SDGs is Partnerships for the Goals in which Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalizes the global partnership for sustainable development.

As the SDGs were set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly. The goals provide the gateway to the state for their development. Now, this is the prior responsibility of the state to achieve goals before the year 2030.

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Raja Furqan Ahmed

The writer is a student of International Relations and Freelance journalist currently based in Islamabad, Pakistan. He can be reached at furqanraja1122@gmail.com

One in three Norwegians are driving their cars more often during the coronavirus pandemic due to the risk of infection on public transport, a survey shows.

In a survey conducted by YouGov for the insurance company Tryg in October, 34% of Norwegians answered that they drive a car more often than before.

“Many people prefer to drive a car now to avoid the risk of infection on public transport, which the authorities also encourage.

“But the numbers vary greatly between cities and the country,” communications consultant Torbjørn Brandeggen in Tryg noted.

In Oslo, as much as 50% are driving more now than before.

At the same time, less than 20% of people in more rural areas answered that they drive more.

In Troms and Finnmark, only 13% answered that they drive more often than before.

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COURTESY NORWAY TODAY

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BUCHAREST - The vaccine against the new coronavirus will not be mandatory, as confidence in a vaccine must be built, not imposed, said Alexandru Rafila, Romania's representative at the World Health Organization and a candidate of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) at the upcoming general elections.

"This vaccine will certainly not be mandatory. Or let's say these vaccines 

because we are talking about more than one," Rafila said at local news 

channel Antena 3.

"Surely this vaccine will not be mandatory for children, adults or anyone else, 

and obviously the trust in the vaccine should be built not imposed, so I am 

convinced that this discussion about making it mandatory is not being taken 

into account, as least if we are talking about these new vaccines," he added.

Alexandru Rafila also said that, according to some opinion polls, the rate of 

acceptability of such a vaccine stands at around 50%.

"It's important that, by vaccinating doctors and people from high-risk categories, 

to increase the confidence in the vaccine, but this is linked to a very good 

information campaign for the general public that must be sincere, 

transparent and professional; and then surely if people see that 

those who have received the vaccine have not developed side 

effects, they become protected from the disease, they will 

certainly have the confidence to get vaccinated," Rafila explained.

According to a survey quoted by Agerpres, more than 38% of Romanians would 

not vaccinate against COVID-19 if such a treatment would be made available 

in the next period. 30% said they would wait a while and vaccinate only if 

they see no side effects at other people, 21.8% said they would get the 

vaccine, and 8% would only accept if they were told more about the 

treatment.

The same survey, conducted by the Larics Center for Sociological Research (CCSL) 

in partnership with the Romanian Association of International Drug Manufacturers 

(ARPIM) and with the Institute of Political Science and International Relations 

(ISPRI), under the auspices of the Department of Medical Sciences of the 

Romanian Academy, said that more than 44% of Romanians believe that 

vaccination should be discussed for each individual. Meanwhile, 26.6% of 

respondents considered that the risks of immunization are more 

significant than the benefits, while 25.5% see the benefits of 

vaccination as much greater than the risks.

Of the respondents, 55.24% stated that they generally agree with vaccines and 

vaccination. 35.46% said that vaccination is suitable only in certain cases, and 

8.49% said they disagree with such treatment.

President Klaus Iohannis said earlier this month that the Romanian authorities 

expect the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines to arrive in Romania in the first 

quarter of 2021. According to him, Romania is set to receive more than 10 

million doses of vaccine from those contracted by the European Commission.

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COURTESY ROMANIA INSIDER

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• PPP, PML-N cry foul

• Most voters, election staff observe SOPs

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was on the driving seat in the most hotly-contested elections ever held in strategically-located Gilgit-Baltistan on Sunday, according to incomplete and unofficial results, with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) complaining about some irregularities and alleged rigging during the polling and counting process which mostly remained peaceful.

Till filing of this report, the unofficial results from only nine constituencies had been received, with PTI and independents winning three each, PPP two seats and Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) having a seat adjustment with the PTI winning in one constituency.

Out of the remaining 14 constituencies, the PTI was leading in five, independents in four and the PPP in three, whereas the candidates belonging to the PML-N and the JUI-F were leading in one constituency each.

The PTI workers celebrated the victory of its candidate Raja Zakaria Khan who defeated former chief minister Syed Mehdi Shah of the PPP on GBLA-7 Skardu-I seat. According to unofficial results, the PTI candidate bagged 5,290 votes, followed by Syed Mehdi Shah 4,114 votes and Muhammad Akbar of the PML-N only 196 votes.

The second seat won by the PTI is GBLA-11 Kharmang where its candidate Syed Amjad Ali defeated independent candidate Syed Mohsin Rizvi.

Mohammad Kazim of the MWM won the GBLA-8 Skardu-II seat by defeating PPP’s Syed Muhammad Ali Shah after a tough contest.

The three independents who bagged victories are: Nasir Ali Khan (GBLA-10 Skardu-IV), Javed Ali Manwa (GBLA-5 Nagar-II) and Mushtaq Hussain (GBLA-22 Ghanche-I).

Javed Ali Manawa was an aspirant of the PTI ticket and contested the election independently when the party awarded ticket to Rizwan Ali of the MWM after reaching an agreement with the latter. The MWM candidate stood third in the race and another independent candidate Zulfiqar Ali Murad remained runner-up.

The PPP has so far managed to win GBLA-4 Nagar-I and GBLA-24 Ghanche-III seats. In Nagar, PPP’s Amjad Hussain defeated Ayub Waziri of Islami Tehreek Pakistan, whereas Zulfiqar Ali of the PTI remained third in the race.

In Ghanche, PPP’s Muhammad Ismail beat PTI’s Syed Shamsuddin with a margin of just 843 votes.

The formerly ruling PML-N was leading only in GBLA-21 Ghizer-III where its candidate Ghulam Muhammad was marginally ahead of PTI’s Raja Jahanzeb and PPP’s Muhammad Ayub Shah.

Elections have been delayed in GBLA-3 following the death of PTI GB president retired Justice Jaffer Shah due to coronavirus.

Earlier, despite the threat of Covid-19 and harsh weather conditions in some upper areas, the GB people voted in a complete discipline manner with no reports of violence coming from any part of the region where out of 1,141 polling stations, 577 had been declared sensitive and 297 highly sensitive.

Though the polling process remained peaceful, reports about clashes came later in the evening from different parts of Skardu and Ghizer at the time of counting of votes. A clash erupted between the workers of the PPP and PTI in Skardu when the counting was still going on. The PPP alleged that the PTI workers had attacked the party office and as a result seven of its workers received injuries.

Late in the night, the PPP alleged that the returning officers were not announcing the results despite completion of the counting process. A senior PPP leader even alleged that polling was continuing in one of the polling stations at Ghizer till 11pm and after that the PTI workers had taken away the ballot boxes from the site.

As the results started pouring in from various polling stations, a number of federal ministers took to Twitter to castigate the opposition parties for raising rigging allegations. Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry was quoted by a TV channel as saying that the people of GB had buried the opposition’s narrative.

A low turnout was witnessed in some upper areas of GB, including Ghizer, Hunza and Sost, due to snowfall. There were also reports about slow pace of voting at some polling stations due to power outages.

Most of the voters and the election staff, however, were seen following standard operating procedures (SOPs) that had been announced by the caretaker GB government at the polling stations to deal with coronavirus threat.

This time the polls in GB had assumed much significance because of the tense political situation in Pakistan where 11 opposition parties have been running an anti-government campaign from the platform of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Test for major parties

Political experts are terming the elections a test case for the popularity of the country’s three major political parties — the PTI, PML-N and PPP. Despite being part of the anti-government opposition PDM, the country’s two main opposition parties — the PPP and PML-N — contested the elections in GB against each other.

The PPP, which ran an extensive campaign led by party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, was the only party which kept on highlighting irregularities and wrongdoings on the part of the election staff and security personnel at some polling stations through social media almost throughout the day.

Information secretary of the PPP’s GB chapter Sadia Danish, who is also a candidate from GBLA-18 Diamer-IV, alleged that the polling agents of the party’s candidate in Gilgit-1 (GBLA-1) had been made hostage at a polling station set up at Government Girls Middle School at Skarkai. She also accused the presiding officer of stamping some ballots.

Ms Danish alleged that Form-45 had been received at 62 polling stations in the constituency of GBLA-1 Gilgit after 8pm.

The PPP alleged that in one of the polling stations in GBLA-13 Astore-I, the security personnel were seen asking the people to vote for the PTI candidate.

Minutes before closing of polling, PPP vice president Sherry Rehman held a news conference in Gilgit and alleged that a number of election observers of the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) had been removed from the polling stations before the start of the counting process.

Ms Rehman said Fafen observers must be given full access and all observers should be allowed inside during the counting of votes as their absence would only create more questions and cause controversy. “People who are coming to cast their votes are finding out that their votes have already been cast through postal ballots. It is concerning and the PPP has informed the Election Commission but has not received any answer,” she said.

Ms Rehman said it was unacceptable that women were being restricted from using their right to vote and such acts would only damage the credibility of the elections.

Earlier in the day, the PPP had alleged that women had been barred from voting at some polling stations at Tangir Vallet in Diamer.

A senior Fafen representative, when contacted, confirmed that some returning officers, mostly in Skardu, had asked their observers to leave the polling stations before the start of the counting process. However, he said, when they approached the Election Commission, it immediately issued the directives to the presiding officers that Fafen observers be allowed to witness the counting process. He said Fafen had deployed nearly 550 election observers and they received reports only from eight of them about imposition of some restrictions on them during the counting process.

As many as 327 candidates, including four women, contested for 23, out of 24 general seats, in the third elections for the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA). The elections were earlier scheduled to be held in August but postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The PPP had fielded 23 candidates whereas there were 21 aspirants from the PML-N. After making a seat adjustment with the MWM on two constituencies, the PTI had fielded 22 candidates.

The PTI had been strengthened with the recent joining of local leaders and seasoned politicians who had previously won the elections on PPP and PML-N tickets.

More than 15,000 security personnel from GB, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan performed duties at polling stations.

PPP chairman Bhutto-Zardari, who has been in the region for weeks and leading the party’s political campaign, through a tweet earlier in the day said the Election Commission must not fail the people and should ensure that “every vote is cast and counted”. “The people’s enthusiasm is a testament to their commitment to democracy,” he said.

Addressing a press conference earlier in the day in Multan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi responded to accusations by the opposition of pre-poll rigging.

“Parties win and lose; it is a part of politics. But the people’s trust in the election process must be maintained,” he said, adding that the opposition had gotten a “full opportunity” to campaign amid a peaceful environment.

“There were no clashes or fights, the campaign was completed. According to my assessment, their expectations might not be fulfilled. But if they make noise about rigging, it would not be correct,” he said.

Information Minister Shibli Faraz said the people of GB were exercising their democratic right to vote. “Their passion illustrates their desire for change. Using the power of their vote, the people of GB will reject incompetent rulers that have never prioritised the people’s welfare,” he said.

Gilgit-Baltistan, formally known as the Federally Administered Northern Areas, is an autonomous region with a separate governance and electoral framework. The total number of registered voters in the region is 745,361 with 450,305 males and 339,998 females. Women constitute 45.61 per cent of the total electorates.

In the 2015 elections, the total number of voters stood at 618,364 — 329,475 men and 288,889 women. The proportion of women voters at that time was 46.71 per cent, which means that the gap between male and female voters in the region has increased by 1.10pc in the past five years.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS!

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