FARUKH SHEHZAD

ISLAMABAD, Dec 08 - Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has awarded a project Quantifying the Transmission Routes of Gastroenteritis (GastroPak) to a consortium of researchers from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) Pakistan, Earlham Institute UK, University of Warwick UK, Cranfield University UK, Institute of Development Studies UK, National University of Ireland Galway, University of Agriculture Faisalabad and Brigham and Women’s Hospital USA.

The grant is worth GBP 2 Million, out of which GBP 0.534 Million, has been granted to NUST, said a news release. The project is being led by Professor Dr Christopher Quince from Earlham Institute and University of Warwick, while the NUST team is being represented by Professor Dr Imran Hashmi and Professor Dr Sher Jamal Khan from NUST Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering (IESE), and Dr Aneela Javed from NUST Atta-ur-Rehman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB).

The research is aimed at quantifying rate of different non-vital Gastroenteritis Transmission in Pakistan, including social, biological, chemical and technical factors through agriculture, sanitation, drinking water, food, and person-to-person contact.

The study will further ascertain the effectiveness of alternative waste water treatment technologies for gastroenteric pathogen removal contrasting relatively low-technology methods, such as managed wetlands, with higher-technology membrane bio-reactors.

Felicitating the researchers on this meritorious accomplishment, Lt Gen Naweed Zaman, HI (M), (Retd), Rector NUST, hoped that this phenomenal achievement would inspire more researchers from the university to acquire such international grants in the future and bring accolades to their university and the country.

========

Justice (r) Ali Nawaz Chowhan

Human Rights Day is annually celebrated on 10th December every year. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, as the main United Nations official and his office plays a major role in coordinating efforts for the yearly observation of Human Rights. Every year a theme is given the latest being “Stand up for the Human Rights”.

In its proclamation on 10th December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), The General Assembly enunciated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

We are celebrating this day for the second year without the National Commission for the Human Rights. A functional body which has been made dysfunctional. Perhaps with a design. And we now see manipulations for the inductions of new incumbent of choice.

On this day as we stand up for the Human Rights we have to think of those who are placed below the poverty line in Pakistan and elsewhere. COVID-19 has added to their miseries. One of the main purposes for the creation of Pakistan and reflected in the letters of Allama Iqbal to Quaid was to remove poverty among the Muslims. In this context we have as yet to decrease our population living below the poverty lineThe mother of all evils.

The main minorities’ communities in Pakistan complain of forced conversions in Punjab and Sindh. On the global gender gap index, Pakistan was ranked 151 out of 153 by the World Economic Forum. At least 2846 cases of child abuse were documented, this includes Gang Rapes. About 162 mine related deaths took place last year.

There is no evidence of progress in implementation of safety and health standards in the mine sector. The countries expenditure on health is still less than 1% of its GDP against the required standard of 6%. The journalists complain about curbs on freedom on opinion and expression besides, harassment.

There was an excessive and arbitrary use of Exact Control List. The Supreme Court of Pakistan was unhappy on the performance of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The senate of Pakistan has already moved a privilege motion against NAB. The Dawn editorial on NAB performance dated 1st December is a charge sheet against NAB. There is also spike in the Cyber Crime and Online Harassment across Pakistan. Prisons in Pakistan remain over crowded with occupancy rate of 134%. In Punjab about 187 prisoners on death row suffer from mental illness, seventeen people are convicted of Blasphemy. This includes Junaid Hafeez of Bahauddin Zakariya University. There are about 10,000 Pakistanis incarcerated in overseas Prisons.

The Supreme Court had observed that the “Jirgas” and “Panchayat” was in violation of the constitution, but these continue to function. The process of induction of Judges for the special courts also needs a review as we hear of allegation of misconduct against some. Once special judges are inducted they are out of sight of the High Court. The quality of the judgment of some of the special courts is questionable. I wonder why we can’t have a unique Court system in the interest of Justice.

There is decadence in respect of Criminal Justice. It has been reported that the Supreme Court overturned the death penalty in large no of judgments between 2010-2018. The Supreme Court is burdened with more and more cases because of defective investigations, poor judgments of the courts below including service tribunals. The whole process before the plenary courts takes years to conclude. This is impairing confidence in the judicial system as people are taking Law into their own hands. A report on pending cases in Punjab subordinate judiciary counts these at number 1,12,000, While in the Lahore High Court these were 1,65,000 cases. In case of Peshawar, over 1,97,000 cases were pending with the District Judiciary. 40,700 cases were pending before Peshawar High Court. In case of Baluchistan, over 4,800 cases were pending before the High Court and about 13,000 cases were pending before District Judiciary.

The Islamabad High Court had about 16,000 cases pending. In case of Sindh, There were 83,920 cases pending in the High Court and 1,78,000 cases pending before the District Judiciary. Justice delayed is Justice denied. Delayed justice is a denial of fundamental Human Rights guaranteed by the constitution and thus violation of basic Human Rights. Therefore there is a need for streamlining the system and case management. The Judicial Academies are best places for training of Judges in this context.

The UN Human Rights committee was not satisfied with the report on the covenant of Civil and Political Rights, specifically in the context of extra judicial killing, enforced disappearances and the use of the death penalty. I’m of the view that we put a moratorium on death penalty until we are able to streamline our criminal justice system. There has also been increase in women trafficking, over 600 women were trafficked as brides to a neighboring country.

The child protection laws are still to be implemented in areas of Domestic labor and Child Marriage. Violence against Transgender community continues unabated, same is the case with Ahmadiyya community as we hear of murders in KPK and Punjab. A large number of people were found HIV-Positive, about 80% were below the age of 15 Years. So there is no protection. According to the world Air Quality Report for 2019, Pakistan is ranked amongst the worlds most polluted countries. There is acute water shortage problems in Karachi. The cases of hate speech continue to rise.

The NGO’s also suffered the indiscriminate brunt. There is a need for improving our performance in the 28 Human Rights treaties. These are being implemented by the Treaty Cell headed by the Attorney General because of the inability and lack of capacity of the Ministry of Human Rights to handle treaty matters. It is hoped that the Human Rights violations now rampant will be systematically checked through advocacy, awareness and adjudication of now many hundred cases pending before the National Commission as it is dysfunctional. This is a pure judicial function. How can we protect fundamental rights and Human Rights without a robust and dynamic judicial system?

The Author is a former International Judge of the UN at The Hague, Chief Justice of the Gambia, First Chairman of National Commission for the Human Rights Pakistan, Judge of the superior judiciary, Co-Chair Person UNESCO, Professor of International Law etc.

----------------------------------------------------

Ludovic Orban avoided answering clearly whether President Klaus Iohannis demanded his resignation from the post of prime minister, saying that the resignation was a personal decision, and to repeated questions from journalists Orban said he had made that decision after seeing the parliamentary election result .

Ludovic Orban made these statements on Tuesday, at the end of the PNL meeting on the negotiation strategy for the formation of the new government.

Orban said again that he considered it "a gesture of honor and dignity" to resign, to show that he is not clinging to office: "I considered it a gesture of honor and dignity after these elections to do this gesture. I did so for exactly the reasons I explained in the public statement. It is a decision that was natural to show that I do not cling to the position of prime minister, to show that I took into account the expressed will ".

"The resignation is a personal decision. It is a personal decision that I made ", said Ludovic Orban, when asked if President Klaus Iohannis was the one who asked him to resign.

Asked about the president's support, Orban replied: "It's not about support or non-support. I made a decision, I put it into practice ".

Asked if he had thought about the option of resigning before meeting with Iohannis, on Monday, in Cotroceni, Orban answered: “Certainly. When I saw the results of the vote ".

Ludovic Orban was also asked if he would like to be prime minister again, answering that he said very clearly that he had submitted his mandate and that he did not have this intention.

"In these conditions, I said very clearly: I submitted my mandate and I did not express this intention. We need stability, we focus on a parliamentary majority that has a very serious program that will lead to the development of Romania. There is only one answer - when an agreement is reached on a possible proposed prime minister, we will announce it ", said Ludovic Orban.

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban announced on Monday that he is stepping down as prime minister, a year and a month after taking office, saying he is leaving with a sense of duty. Orban said he would coordinate the negotiations leading to a center-right government and expressed his belief that the PNL would have the capacity to give the future prime minister and form the backbone of the future government.

-------------------------------------

COURTESY universul.net

------------

Muhammad Omar Iftikhar

The world has been using the Internet for well over two decades and applications on smartphones for over a decade. Their importance and usability were greatly admired when lockdowns were imposed in March across the world’s cities in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. These digital applications used on laptops, desktops, and cell phones have aided us in completing our daily tasks with ease. 

Whether it is typing a document and checking errors in it, connecting through video calls, purchasing products, ordering food, booking a ride, or conducting classes for that matter. Such applications have enabled us to continue with our life’s activities despite being under a lockdown. Millennials were the most attuned to using such applications and they adapted to this change without any hassle. 

They had been connecting with friends and classmates over such applications and social media tools and had an idea of how to use them when they went into isolation. The problem, however, was for the adults and senior citizens to adapt to using such technologies. Although many adults already had a smartphone, they were not properly utilizing its features as compared to the younger generation. They had to learn the basic concepts of using digital media applications. 

Such was the case with senior employees who had to participate in virtual meetings or faculty members who had to take online classes. The need of the hour was and will be to keep learning, unlearning, and relearning how to use digital media technology for effective results. With the Covid-19’s second wave upon us and most of the offices and all of the educational institutes working online, we must keep updating our knowledge by knowing more about the latest digital media technologies and how to incorporate them in our lives.

---------------------------------------------

Karachi, DEC 8 - Pakistan squad has arrived in Queenstown from Christchurch for training and intra-squad matches.

The 52-member squad reached Queenstown by air while one member joined the squad from Auckland.

Upon arrival in Queenstown, the national cricket team and Pakistan Shaheens squads reached their respective hotels. Both squads are scheduled to start training tomorrow.

It must be noted New Zealand public health officials cleared almost the entire Pakistan cricket squad to leave their managed isolation facilities.

One unidentified member of the 53-strong squad, however, would stay in the facility after he tested positive on day six of their mandatory 14-day isolation.

Pakistan Shaheens are scheduled to play a one-off four-day match against New Zealand ‘A’ from December 17 while the national team will play their first T20I against BlackCaps on December 18.

------------------------------------------

ISLAMABAD, Dec. 8 – China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) can support Pakistan’s livestock sector to mitigate poverty, says a report published by Gwadar Pro on Tuesday.

The CPEC’s road network is about three thousand kilometers long, and in some areas along the route, a lot of potential exists to develop the livestock sector and to establish farming business, the report said
quoting Hafiz Wasi Muhammad Khan, executive member of the Pakistan Agriculture Scientist Forum and renowned agriculture expert in Pakistan.

In an interview to Gwadar Pro, wasi spoke about the importance of creating a new regional economy along CPEC’s route as an effort to address issues of poverty and underdevelopment.

He also suggested that China may consider providing machinery and technology to build those areas, particularly for livestock development. This will create a positive image for CPEC and help create an economic cycle that can be good for both China and Pakistan.

The beneficiaries of this project will be the underprivileged people who will be gainfully employed through economic activities generated by CPEC. It will also lead to the reduction of poverty in those regions,” he contended.

Hafiz Wasi also emphasized that Pakistan needs to do a lot of internal reforms to gain long-term benefits from CPEC. He was of the view that Pakistan must understand the requirements of the Chinese market in the livestock sector.

When Pakistanis know Chinese demand in that sector, they will be able to introduce better regulatory measures to export products to the Chinese market.

He added that Pakistan needs to improve its agriculture sector with the help of China, which has introduced far-reaching reforms in enhancing its agricultural productivity.

A Joint Working Group(JWG) on Agriculture between China and Pakistan has been established.

That JWG must examine different areas to revitalize Pakistan’s agricultural economy. If Pakistan can meet China’s quarantine regulations, there is huge scope for Pakistan’s livestock and agriculture sector to grow and open up export opportunities of millions of dollars, he added.

He added, “the CPEC is slowly changing the economic and poverty profile of Pakistan. It is built along a long area, which could see tremendous economic growth in the years ahead. Due to this mega project, another area getting a lot of attention is the desert and mountain agriculture.”

----------------------------------------

ISLAMABAD, DEC 8 – Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) said that the real estate and construction sector has the potential to uplift the economy and put Pakistan on the path of sustainable economic growth, therefore, he urged that government should further extend PM’s construction for another year that would attract maximum investment to Pakistan and bring a revolution in the construction industry.

He said this while addressing as chief guest the inauguration ceremony of Asasa Real Estate and Builders launched by Ms. Attiya Liaqat CEO, the first female entrepreneurs who launched a real estate company in Gulberg Green, Islamabad. Ali Nawaz Awan MNA and SAPM on CDA Affairs, Sheikh Amir Waheed former President ICCI, Sardar Tahir Mehmood President Federation of Realtors, Muhammad Naveed Malik former Senior Vice President ICCI, Najeeb Malik President Gulberg Estate Agents Association, former MNA Dr. Azhar Jadoon, Ch. Nadeem ud Din Gujjar, Irfan Mew, Rana Qaiser, Umair Khan, Malik Shaher Amir, Adeel Chaudhry, Rao Bilal Anwar and others were present at the occasion.

Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that housing demand was on the rise in Pakistan due to rapidly increasing population as the country needed to build around 12 million houses per year to bridge the huge gap and added that extension in construction package for one more year would facilitate the construction of more houses across the country, especially for the low income segments of the society. He said that over 70 allied industries were associated with the construction sector and boom in construction activities would boost the business of allied industries besides creating plenty of new jobs.

He said that the real estate and construction sector played key roles in the economic development of a country and the government should provide more incentives to this sector for achieving better economic growth and employment generation. He congratulated Ms. Attiya Liaqat, CEO, Asasa Estate and Builders for launching her career in real estate and wished her great success. He stressed that the government should make more conducive policies for economic empowerment of women so that they could play a more effective role in the economic development of the country.

Speaking at the occasion, Ali Nawaz Awan, MNA and SAPM on CDA Affairs said that the government has set the economy in the right direction and the country would emerge as a strong economy of the region in a few years. He said that after 40-50 years, Pakistan has got the opportunity to accelerate the industrialization process as the government was giving key priority to promote businesses and industries. He said that Pakistan was endowed with plenty of resources and great human talent and the current leadership was focused on harnessing the actual potential of the country for achieving rapid economic growth. He said that the government would encourage women through policy measures to come forward and play an enhanced role in nation building.

--------------------------------------

Esteemed compatriots!

I sincerely congratulate you on a remarkable holiday – the 28th anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and express my deep respect and the best of wishes.

Dear friends!

Unfortunately, this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, we are not able to hold large-scale celebrations occasioned to the Constitution Day. Yet despite this, with all our hearts do we feel the joy and splendor of this holiday. It is marked with special enthusiasm in work teams, educational institutions and mahallas.

Four years ago, relying on the provisions and principles of our Basic Law, we adopted the Actions Strategy and started delivering on extensive, accelerated democratic reforms. They have been built on the 7 amendments made to the Constitution, 5 codes and about 250 laws as the legal foundation.

Over the past brief span of time, our society, the mindset of people has radically changed in political, legal and socio-economic terms, and every one of our fellow countrymen and women makes a commendable input into the advancement of our nation. All this is indicative of the vitality and tremendous potential of our Basic Law.

Today, relying on this enormous power, our people courageously overcome hard trials and selflessly work for the sake of building a new Uzbekistan – a free, comfortable and prosperous life in the country.

Today, the phrase New Uzbekistan is perceived of in the international arena not just as a new notion, but also as a reflection of reality.

Indisputably, these achievements, themselves an outcome of the extensive legal opportunities enshrined in our Constitution, make us all feel specially proud.

Dear compatriots!

On the basis of the constitutional norm “The people are the sole source of state power”, an effective and sustainable system is being formed to ensure the supremacy of the Constitution and laws, whereby it is not the people who serve government bodies, but the latter serve the former.

Amid the current intricate times when the world has been changing rapidly, the system I have just mentioned, built on the norms of the Constitution, has fully justified itself in overcoming diverse trials and addressing new threats, the pandemic in particular, and in eliminating the consequences of natural and man-made disasters that took place earlier in the year in Bukhara and Syrdarya regions.

We have been implementing systemic democratic reforms that are irreversible and designed to ensure the principles of power of the people, social justice and humanism our Constitution is imbued with.

First of all, our every effort is aimed to secure and realize every person’s rights guaranteed by the Basic Law to receive qualified medical services and robust social protection.

During the pandemic, priority is placed on protecting public health, helping out citizens who lost their jobs, and entrepreneurs. The established Anti-Crisis Fund has raised 10 trillion soums, which is directed at providing financial support for the healthcare system, social infrastructure, population and enterprises.

During the passing year, more than 500 thousand entrepreneurs and over 8 million citizens have been provided with benefits in the amount of about 34 trillion soums, an additional 2.6 trillion soums were assigned to augment the size of social benefits, material assistance and boost employment.

Within the framework of the Affordable Housing State Program, once the most pressing social problem, more than 13 thousand of our compatriots were granted keys to new apartments this year alone.

In addition, a beautiful and modern town with multi-storey buildings and social infrastructure has been built for the families affected by the disaster at Sardoba reservoir.

Imbursement of initial payments for housing for more than 1,000 women who find themselves in difficult life situations is also among the kind actions.

In the course of spearheading proactive gender policy, accelerated work continues to improve the social and political status of women.

All of this helps to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic and the resulting economic and social crisis, as well as to bolster the confidence of our citizens in the future.

Dear compatriots!

Extensive efforts are undertaken to ensure in practice the constitutional principle of justice. Thus, in order to reduce poverty, new effective mechanisms of social support are being introduced.

In accordance with home visit studies conducted to enquire into the problems the people have to endure, 840 billion soums were allocated to support more than 2.5 million members of over 590 thousand families. The needs, life problems of women and young people in every family were studied, employment has been provided for able-bodied members of almost 300 thousand families.

Crucially, people develop the experience and skills to get out of poverty through self-employment, business skills and entrepreneurship.

Another vivid manifestation of humanism was the national movement Compassion and Support, set up during hard days for the nation by the business community, farmers and kindhearted citizens. As part of this movement, the categories of the population in need of social support received assistance in the amount of 204 billion soums.

On the basis of the principle “New Uzbekistan starts from the threshold of school”, great attention is paid to radically reforming the education system. Large-scale work is underway to promote science, culture, arts, literature, sports, and swell the effectiveness of spiritual enlightenment activities, identify the abilities and talents of young people, especially girls.

All this serves to create foundation for the Third Renaissance in our country – a new era of our national development.

Profound reforms are in progress in accordance with another important constitutional provision – ensuring human rights and interests in all walks of life, especially in the judicial and legal realm. This is confirmed by the fact that over the past four years, 2,600 citizens were acquitted, 2,400 were released from the courtroom, the number of judicial instances reduced from 7 to 3, the judicial system is formed on the basis of the principle of “one court – one instance”.

The National Human Rights Strategy is being implemented steadily.

Work continues on the application of the institution of clemency. During the year 2020 alone, more than 300 persons who have committed crimes out of ignorance and sincerely repented of their deeds have been pardoned and released from penal institutions; for 200 persons, sentences have been reduced.

People who did not have citizenship for a long time have now become full-fledged citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan. If over the past twenty-five years, citizenship was granted to only 482 persons, then this year alone, more than 8 thousand people received the right to be citizens of our country.

Thanks to the elimination of restrictions related to the acquisition of real estate in the city of Tashkent and the Tashkent region, more than 40 thousand citizens were able to register housing purchased in the capital region under their name.

Dear compatriots!

A consistent policy aimed at furthering the democratic reforms in Uzbekistan, ensuring human rights and freedoms, improving the wellbeing of the population is widely acknowledged by the world community.

When one talks about this, notable is the international support for a number of global and regional initiatives and specific proposals put forward by Uzbekistan in September this year at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

For the first time in the history of our nation, in October this year, Uzbekistan was elected member of the Human Rights Council – one of the principal bodies of the UN.

This is another great accomplishment of our open and proactive foreign policy.

Owing to the improvement of the investment and business environment in the country, growth in tourism and export potential, the active implementation of standards and norms of the International Labor Organization, Uzbekistan’s positions in international ratings are strengthening.

Despite various obstacles and problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the global economic crisis, our external relations have not been interrupted. Ties with neighboring states and partner countries in the political, trade, economic, humanitarian spheres are developing.

Our people are well aware that concrete measures have been taken this year to promptly and positively resolve the problems of Uzbek citizens abroad, provide them with legal assistance and bring them back home. Thus, amid the pandemic, more than 500 thousand of our citizens returned to the native land. Assistance of various kinds was provided to almost 100 thousand compatriots who found themselves in a tricky situation outside the country.

Humanitarian activities continue to return our citizens, mainly women and children, who, falling on false promises, left the country and today are left face-to-face with difficulties in the Middle East, in the region caught under armed conflicts.

In this regard, I would like to emphasize again: the citizens of Uzbekistan will always be under the protection of their state and the Constitution, and we will continue to firmly adhere to this principle.

Dear friends!

We are all well aware that our achievements over the past four years are only the first steps towards the big goals we have set. On this path, we have to address very important tasks.

First, today life itself requires perfection of the Constitution and laws. In particular, it is necessary to adopt laws that will serve the interests of the people, liberalize all spheres of our life, abolish legislative acts that do not meet the requirements of the time, optimize the regulatory framework, and reduce unnecessary norms regarding the regulation of business activities.

I think the political parties and civil society institutions will participate even more actively in the implementation of these tasks.

Second, it is essential to devise and apply effective mechanisms to prevent and combat corruption, the principal enemy of our development.

The urgency of this issue is confirmed by the fact that over the past two years, a total of 1,986 officials have been brought to justice for crimes related to corruption, who by their illegal actions caused damage to the state in the amount of 2 trillion soums.

To systemically and comprehensively continue work in this direction, we are elaborating a National Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2021–2025.

I want to stress once again: this remains the most critical and priority objective for us. After all, corruption is an extremely dangerous challenge that destroys the state from within and damages our national security, and an uncompromising fight against this phenomenon is the duty of every one of us.

Third, we need to amplify attention to the issues of consolidating the peace, tranquility, interethnic harmony and interreligious tolerance, the protection of public order in the country. For the practical provision of the principle “The law is above everything, punishment for crime is inevitable”, all the forces and capabilities of the law enforcement agencies will be mobilized.

Fourth, our priority task will continue to be to ensure the vital interests of our veterans, respected women and motivated youth, to strengthen the atmosphere of peace and cohesion in families, mahallas and in our multiethnic nation in general, where we all live as one family.

Fifth, we will step up efforts to ensure freedom of speech and press, independence of the media, and the establishment of public control over the activities of government authorities.

Every one of us must clearly understand that the processes of openness and transparency, pluralism of opinion and democratic renewal in our society have become as irreversible as the reforms carried out in all areas, and we will resolutely continue with this course.

Dear compatriots!

To steadily uplift the level and quality of life of our people, make it even more thriving and affluent so that every person in the country, regardless of ethnic origin, language and religion, feels the attention and care of the state and society is our key task.

I am convinced that all our compatriots, uniting on the path to this noble goal, will become active builders of a new Uzbekistan.

Once again, I sincerely congratulate you on the Constitution Day, I wish you all a sound health, happiness, great success in life and activities for the benefit of society.

May peace and harmony always reign in our homes, in our beautiful country!

May all our good dreams and aspirations come true!

--------------------------------------------

BUCHAREST, DEC 7 - The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, officially announced that he took note of the resignation of Ludovic Orban from the position of Prime Minister of Romania.

“In accordance with the provisions of art. 106 and of art. 107 para. (3) of the Constitution, the President of Romania appointed Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă as interim Prime Minister, in order to fulfill the attributions of the Prime Minister until the formation of the new Government. ”

Who is Nicolae Ciuca

Nicolae Ciuca (53 years old), was Minister of Defense in the Government led by Ludovic Orban. Prior to joining the Government, he was Chief of Staff of the Army. He is a career military man who has been noted for his presence in numerous military missions abroad, such as Iraq, Afghanistan or Bosnia. Ciuca was the commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion (also known as the Red Scorpions), which he led in Afghanistan and then in Iraq. The Battle of Nassiria (Iraq, May 2004), in which Romanian troops were led by Nicolae Ciuca, was the first battle in which Romanian soldiers were active combatants after World War II.

What General Nicolae Ciuca said in a 2014 interview about the Romanian Army's operations in Afghanistan:

• "If I were to teach a lesson that Afghanistan has managed to remind us of, it would be that, although we are in the age of information and knowledge, of ultra-fast technological evolution, paradoxically, the human resource - the military in the ground forces - they were the ones who made possible all the successes and successes obtained together with our partners. Through exceptional professional training, special adaptability, agility and extraordinary creativity, the Romanian military has overcome the emerging difficulties, specific to a theater of operations as complex and unpredictable as that of Afghanistan. ( source  ) 

Nicolae Ciucă was born on February 7, 1967 in Plenița, Dolj County. He graduated from the “Tudor Vladimirescu” Military High School in Craiova, in 1985 and then graduated from the “Nicolae Bălcescu” Military School for Active Officers in Sibiu, in 1988. He was a launch platoon commander, then a research and training platoon commander, to become a staff officer in the operations office in 1993.

Ciuca has participated in missions on the most important fronts of operations abroad and in numerous military exercises: in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan and Iraq.

In 2003 he obtained the title of doctor of military sciences, and on October 25, 2010 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.

Throughout his career, Nicolae Ciucă was awarded the National Order "For Merit", in the Degree of Officer, the National Order "For Merit" in the Degree of Knight, the Honorary Sign in the Service of the Fatherland, XV, XX, UN Medal for the UNAVEM mission III, the Honorary Emblem of the Romanian Army and the Honorary Emblem of the Land Forces General Staff.
Nicolae Ciucă - CV ( source  ): 

Date of birth: 07.02.1967;
Place of birth: Pleniţa locality, Dolj county;
Romanian nationality;
Marital status: Married, one child.

Education and Training: 

2012 - Postgraduate training course in the field of national security and defense "Security and good governance" - National Defense College;
2006 - War College, Land Troops, Master in Strategic Studies, USA;
2005 - English language course - NATO terminology, York Sr. John University; 
2004 - Civil-Military Relations Course in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Hulburt, Florida, USA;
2003 - Doctor in military sciences with the paper "The dimension of the Romanian Army's engagement in joint multinational operations", UNAP, Bucharest;
2001 - JOINT and multinational operations course, PfP Center, Bucharest; 
2000 - English language course, Land Forces Academy, Sibiu;
2000 - PSO course (peace support operations), PfP Center, Bucharest;
1997 - Peacekeeping Instructor Course, PfP Center Ankara, Turkey;
1997 - Brigade Staff Course, PfP Center, Bucharest;
1993-1995 - Courses of the Academy of Higher Military Studies, Joint Weapons Faculty, Joint Weapons Specialty, Bucharest; 
1990 - Training course for commanders of research companies, Făgăraş;
1988 - “Nicolae Bălcescu” Military School for Active Officers, Sibiu;
1985 - “Tudor Vladimirescu” Military High School, Craiova.

Professional experience: 
November 27, 2015 - advanced to the rank of general;

from January 1, 2015 - Chief of the General Staff;

October 2014 - January 1, 2015 - Deputy Chief of the General Staff;

January 2014 - October 2014 Chief of Staff of the Land Forces;

January 2011 - January 2014 - commander of the 2nd Infantry Division "Getica", Buzau;

February 2009 - January 2011 - commander of the 282nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade "Union of Principalities", Focsani;

March 2007 - February 2009 - Deputy Commander of the 282nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade "Union of Principalities", Focsani;

October 2006 - March 2007, authorized Chief of Staff, 2nd Infantry Brigade "Ruins", Craiova;

October 2004 - October 2006 - Chief of Operations, 2nd Infantry Brigade "Ruins", Craiova;

January 2004 - July 2004 - commander of the infantry battalion participating in the Iraq mission;

2003 - leader / director of the OCE / EXDIR exercise, within the ISAF mission;

June 2002 - January 2003 - commander of the Romanian battalion participating in the Enduring Freedom mission, Afghanistan;

2001 - commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion - SACEUR strategic reserve, participates in the multinational exercise “Dynamic Response”, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

February 2001 - October 2004 - commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion "Neagoe Basarab", Craiova;

2000 - Chief of Staff of the 26th Infantry Battalion - SACEUR strategic reserve;

2000 - commander of the Terrestrial Component at the Multinational Exercise "Blue Danube 2000";

November 1998 - February 2001 - Chief of Staff of the 26th Infantry Battalion "Neagoe Basarab", Craiova;

May 1997 - November 1998 - Staff officer in the Office of Operations and Training for Combat, 2nd Mechanized Brigade "Ruins", Craiova;

May 1996 - May 1997 - staff officer in the UNAVEM III mission, Angola;

July 1995 - May 1996 - staff officer in the Office of Operations and Training for Combat, 2nd Mechanized Brigade "Ruins", Craiova;

September 1992 - October 1993 - staff officer in the Operations Office, 121st Research Battalion, Craiova;

March 1989 - September 1992 - research and training platoon commander at the 121st Research Battalion, Craiova;

August 1988 - March 1989 - launching platoon commander at the 26th Mechanized Regiment "Ruins", Craiova.

Distinctions and decorations: 

- Military Intelligence Emblem of Honor;
- Logistics Honor Emblem;
- Air Force Honor Emblem;
- The honorary sign "In the Service of the Fatherland" for 25 years of activity;
- Emblem of Honor of Military Medicine;
- Emblem of Honor of the Naval Forces;
- Emblem of Honor of Communications and Informatics;
- Order "Military Virtue" in the rank of Knight;
- The emblem of merit „In the Service of the Romanian Army” cls. a III-a;
- The emblem of merit "In the Service of Peace" cls. a III-a;
- Emblem of Honor of the General Staff;
- National Order "For Merit" in the rank of Officer;
- Emblem of Honor of the Romanian Army;
- The honorary sign "In the Service of the Fatherland" for 20 years of activity;
- Emblem of Honor of the Land Forces;
- Honorary Emblem of the Romanian Army;
- Honorary title of "Military Veteran" for the military;
- The emblem of merit „Military Science” cls. a Ia;
- The honorary sign "In the Service of the Fatherland" for 15 years of activity;
- National Order "For Merit" in the rank of Knight;
- United Nations Medal.

-------------------------------------------------

COURTESY universul.net

-------------