Wednesday, 9 December 2020
ISLAMABAD, DEC 9 - Pakistan on Wednesday rejected the U.S. State Department’s arbitrary and selective assessment under a U.S. domestic legislation on religious freedom.
The designation of Pakistan as a “country of particular concern” is completely against the realities on the ground and raises serious doubts about the credibility of the exercise.
Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs further said, such subjective designations do not contribute towards promoting the cause of religious freedom worldwide. Pakistan and the U.S. have been constructively engaging on the subject at the bilateral level, a fact regrettably overlooked by the U.S.
He said, Pakistani society is multi-religious and pluralistic with a rich tradition of inter-faith harmony. Religious freedom and the protection of the rights of minorities are guaranteed by our Constitution and ensured through a range of legislative, policy and administrative measures.
The glaring omission of India, where the RSS-BJP regime and their leaders openly disregard religious freedom and discriminate against minority communities in an institutionalised manner, is unfortunate and puts the credibility of the U.S. report into question. State complicity in organized violence against the Muslim minority in India is a matter of record. It is no secret that attacks by cow vigilantes and mob lynchings of Indian Muslims take place regularly, with complete impunity for the perpetrators. Systematic demonization, dispossession, marginalization and targeted violence against Muslims using the communal slur of “love jihad” in Hindutva-inspired India has become commonplace.
The findings and recommendations of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom as well as the U.S. Congressional hearings on the maltreatment of minorities in India and the violation of religious freedom all over the country including in the Muslim-majority Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) were ignored by the U.S. State Department.
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BUCHAREST, DEC 9 – President Klaus Iohannis has said in his International Anticorruption Day message that it is “absolutely fundamental” to the health of the state and society that the phenomenon of corruption be firmly combated by the responsible institutions, whether it is political, financial, administrative or academic corruption. , corruption in the health system or in education.
“The progress of the Romanian society in recent years in terms of the fight against corruption is visible, but the effort of the institutions in this direction must be continuous and sustained, fully respecting the principle that no one is above the law,” said Iohannis.
“International Anti-Corruption Day, established by the United Nations Convention against Corruption, is an opportunity to remind us that our efforts, of all, for a better society, in which integrity is assumed at all levels, must continue in a sustained manner. . Corruption is a complex phenomenon, deeply rooted in the practices of those who seek to use public power for personal or group interest. In a broad sense, corruption is not just about taking and bribing. Bribery, nepotism, abuse of power are all forms of this scourge that is, in fact, eroding the development of a society, “Klaus Iohannis said in a message sent on Wednesday, on the occasion of the International Anticorruption Day.
He stressed that sanctions must be such as to discourage corruption.
“Whether we are talking about political, financial, administrative or academic corruption, corruption in the health system or in education, it is absolutely fundamental for the health of the state and society that this phenomenon be firmly combated by the responsible institutions. The sanctioning dimension must, indeed, be such as to discourage these harmful behaviors that do a lot of harm to society and slow down its progress “, said the head of state.
Iohannis added, however, that education plays an important role.
“At the same time, without a systemic preventive effort, focused on building a culture of integrity, fighting corruption will not be enough. The education system trains future citizens, and the assumption of behavioral values and their internalization is achieved from the first stages of youth development. It is, therefore, necessary to discuss more about values and morality in schools, in a practical, interactive way “, Iohannis said.
The president’s message also states that: “The progress of Romanian society in recent years in the fight against corruption is visible, but the effort of institutions in this direction must be continuous and sustained, fully respecting the principle that no one is above law. There is also a need for an unequivocal attitude of citizens towards acts of corruption, which translates into zero intolerance towards those who resort to such acts “.
“Deeply attached to democratic values and the rule of law, I have acted and will continue to act for a legislative and institutional construction that will be a catalyst for a developed Romania, built on integrity, honesty and common sense,” he concluded. Johannis.
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COURTESY universul.net
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ISLAMABAD, DEC 9 – Huawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices,hosted its sixth annual 5G Ecosystem Conference in the Middle East on the sidelines of GITEX Technology Week 2020. The conference highlighted the developments related to the Middle East’s 5G ecosystem, with a particular focus on exploring issues related to innovative 5G solutions and applications for various industries, 5G’s role in advancing digital transformation and its business value for the operators, authorities, and industries. The conference also tackled the challenges for strengthening the region’s 5G ecosystem in the region and the prospects for partnership between the public and private sectors to leverage 5G benefits in all fields.
Held virtually under the slogan of ‘New Value Together’, the conference was attended by industry experts from across the Middle East and around the world, including telecommunications operators, industry analysts, leading enterprises, and various technology partners in the 5G ecosystem. Many of the discussions centered around the socio-economic importance of making 5G a commercial success; something that is especially pertinent in the time of COVID-19 as the pandemic has increased demands for seamless, reliable connectivity for individuals and enterprises alike.
Several countries in the Middle East were among the first wave of 5G commercial launches globally starting as early as 2018. In the GSMA’s 2020 report “The Mobile Economy Middle East & North Africa”, the telecom industry body estimates that there could be 60 million mobile 5G connections across the region by 2025, with USD70 billion being spent in the region on infrastructure rollouts between 2019 and 2025[1].
Vanness You,VP of Huawei ME Marketing and Solutions, CNBG, said: “With a new year ahead of us and the hope for better things to come, advanced technologies such as AI, cloud, computing, and 5G will play a major role as a strong contributor to driving social prosperity and advancing the economy.In particular, 5G will be essential to societal development during the pandemic andthe post-pandemic economic recovery. We would like to worktogether with Middle Eastoperators and partners to unleash the value of 5G networks for consumers and industry, harvesting more remarkable achievements in business and society. Huawei is firmly committed to working with our customers and partners, to investing in 5G ecosystem construction and the incubation of new industrial applications for various industries, and to open cooperation with other platforms such as 5G OpenLab to meet industry requirements.”
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ISLAMABAD, DEC 9 /DN/– Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that December 8, 2020 was the deadline for the filing of income tax returns 2020, but the FBR system was not working properly, due to which many taxpayers had to face great problems in filing their tax returns and this situation necessitated the further extension in the last date for filing of income tax return.
Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that due to the spike in the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, most of the tax consultants were unable to provide their services to the taxpayers in preparing income tax returns, therefore, it was the need of the hour that FBR should consider extension in date to facilitate maximum taxpayers in filing of income tax returns. He said that the lockdowns in the past had destroyed many businesses due to which a great number of the business community was facing difficulty in paying electricity bills, rents of shops and salaries of their workers. In these circumstances, extending the deadline for filing income tax returns was an important necessity.
ICCI President further said that out of a population of 206 million, about 1.7 million income tax returns were filed till December 8 as compared to 2.7 million last year. Thus, about 37% less tax returns have been filed this year. He said that the economic condition of the country would not improve unless the number of filers was increased. He said that there were about 8 million commercial electricity connections in the country and advance tax was also deducted from the electricity bills but filing of only 1.7 million income tax returns should be a cause of concern for the government. He said that the government has a record of power connections so every effort should be made to take advantage of it for expanding the tax base of the country.
Ms. Fatma Azim, Senior Vice President and Abdul Rehman Khan, Vice President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that in view of the difficulties faced by the business community, it was necessary to take trade associations on board for making decisions on tax matters. They said that the date for filing of income tax returns should be further extended to provide an opportunity to the business community to file its tax returns.=DN
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BEIJING, DEC 9 – Chinese companies want to develop slaughterhouses in Pakistan, as a step forward contributing to beef export, says a report published by Gwadar Pro on Wednesday.
According to the report, China, reflected in high domestic prices, the overall demand for beef remains strong. Recently, efforts are being made to help Pakistan beef enter China.
“There are already many smart people in the Chinese city of Chengdu who want to develop slaughterhouses in Pakistan,” said Mahmood Akhtar, deputy consul general of Pakistan in Chengdu.
He told Gwadar Pro that the quarantine authorities in Beijing are likely to visit Pakistan and see the slaughterhouse there.
“Because Pakistan is not so advanced in slaughter technology and farming, with the help of Chinese investors in Pakistan, they can secure the disease-free animals and provide the modern techniques of slaughtering and preservation of the meat and the cold chain.”

We already sent a lot of business people who are interested, and they are looking forward to finding the right partners because it’s a completely new development in need of local partners who are familiar with the local environment, ” he said.
“To export Pakistan beef to China, the most difficult issue is the FMD, the breeding conditions there do not meet our requirements,” said Li Hongwu，president of Pakistan Sichuan Chamber of Commerce.
They have been making effort to bring slaughterhouses to Pakistan for a long time.
“The export of fresh products also requires the construction of supporting facilities such as cold storage.
However, Pakistan’s electricity supply was unstable before. “According to Li Hongwu, the member companies of PSCC planned to go to Pakistan at the beginning of this year to open up the entire beef export chain from breeding to marketing, and gradually solve the existing problems, but the plan was suspended due to COVID-19.
“The breeding industry in Pakistan is still in a primitive stage without large-scale and modernization. To meet the export standards, We can provide technical guidance and equipment and open the export market.
But we still need to cooperate with many local companies, since we can not bring workers from China. There is still a long way to go,” he said.
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Queenstown, DEC 9 - Members of the Pakistan squad took part in the first practice and training session after 14 days of isolation on the tour of New Zealand.
The squad was allowed to train after serving their time in a managed isolation and quarantine. They practiced for three hours in Queenstown today.
The national team and Shaheens’ squad trained respectively. Shaheens practiced under the supervision of junior head coach Ijaz Ahmed while the national team did light training under head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and batting coach Younis Khan.
Meanwhile, middle-order batsman Haris Sohail and leg-spinner Usman Qadir expressed their views on the sidelines of the training session.
Haris said that they have missing training for the last 14 days and the boys enjoyed their first practice session. “Everyone looked excited about the first net session today and after a gap of two weeks, we did light training. Our aim is to adapt the conditions slowly.”
The 27-year-old Usman Qadir in awe of Queenstown’s ground and its outfield and is confident that the team will get rhythm ahead of the T20I series.
“It was hard to spend the quarantine period but we are pleased that time has passed,” said Usman. “We can burden ourselves with excessive training but we are positive of getting used to the conditions before the first T20I,” he added.
Note, 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 in Auckland.
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ISLAMABAD, DEC 9 – Pakistan exports to China has increased by 30% during last month, resulting in the improvement of trade balance between the two countries, Gwadar Pro reported on Wednesday.
To address issue of trade deficit, the major concern of Pakistani side, China has proactively taken a lot of measures to maintain a balanced trade relation with Pakistan between the two sides.
The report says, China is keen to expand more market access for Pakistani products and organizes varieties of trade promotion activities in Pakistan and China every year.
Adviser to Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment Abdul Razzaq Dawood had stated in a tweet that during Nov 2020, Pakistan’s exports to China increased considerably.
This healthy trend is an indication that our exports are re-gaining their momentum. It was advised that the exporters should aggressively market their products in geographically diversified areas.
Giving a good start, the governments of the two countries had slashed tariffs on more than 300 categories of imported items that are widely used as raw material for the export of goods.
According to the report, along with the constant upward trend of China-Pakistan trade, a rising concern on trade deficit with China had been echoing in the Pakistani business communities.
It is pertinent to mention that the main reason behind the trade imbalance has to be the structural problems in nature between industries of two countries.
China has a strong manufacturing base to export goods as compared to import. Up to now, China turns to be the largest trading partner of more than 120 countries and regions in the world, and China has never intentionally pursued the trade surplus, not with any trade partner.
Therefore, It is time to dedicate some technical and financial resources to drawing a full map to determine how exports to the entire world, and more specifically to China, can grow.
It is up to the subject specialists to come up with viable options for reducing Islamabad’s trade deficit with Beijing and improve trade balancing.
Moreover It is up to the political leadership of the two countries to sort out this issue as early as possible. That will also deepen their strategic geopolitical ties.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has led to economic recession in major parts of the world and year 2020 is going to end with a deeper recession than the one seen in the wake of the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.
A change in trade policy factoring in all the possibilities in global trade dynamics is a must. There is perhaps a greater need for promoting intra-regional trade to take advantage of the economy of trade, the report added.
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ISLAMABAD, DEC 9 - Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday inaugurated Air Sial, the third private airline of Pakistan, which was introduced and will be operated by Sialkot’s business community.
Accompanied by federal ministers Hammad Azhar, Ghulam Sarwar, Adviser Razzak Dawood, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Usman Dar, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and Special Assistant to Punjab CM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, the prime minister cut the ribbon to launch the airline which will initially operate domestically.
With its current fleet of three Airbus A320-200s, the airline will operate flights to and from Sialkot, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.
Air Sial, a licensed airline, is the brainchild of members of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry who launched the project after the success of their earlier initiative, the Sialkot International Airport Ltd.
Air Sial’s vice chairman Fazal Jilani had earlier told Dawn by telephone that soon after its inauguration by the prime minister, the airline would start selling its tickets.
The privately owned airline was granted permission to run its operations by the Aviation Division in 2017. It also plans to launch flights to foreign destinations.
During the visit, the prime minister will interact with the business community besides launching various development projects worth Rs 17billion under Punjab Intermediate Cities Investment Programme.
He will break ground for the city’s sewage system and water supply scheme which will cost Rs9.5bn, inaugurate recreational parks for the general public costing Rs300 million, and provision of latest machinery for solid waste machinery for Rs600m.
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COURTESY DAWN NEWS
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LONDON, DEC 2020 - British Airways has announced the appointment of Carrie Harris as its new head of sustainability.
Harris joins British Airways from the airline’s parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG), where she has been group sustainability manager for the past five years.
She is a chartered environmentalist, Fellow of IEMA (the accreditation body for sustainability professionals), registered environmental auditor and holds two master’s degrees in environmental science and management.
In her role at British Airways, reporting to Louise Evans, director of external communications and sustainability, Harris will be responsible for a team of eight who work on the airline’s strategy for environment, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing, as well as community investment.
Last year Harris helped launch IAG’s Flightpath Net Zero, committing the group to achieving net zero by 2050, a global first for an airline group and a landmark climate strategy for the aviation sector.
During her time at IAG she has successfully embedded sustainability into the group’s business activity and financial planning processes.
Announcing the appointment, Evans said: “Sustainability is absolutely fundamental to British Airways’ future strategy and I am delighted to welcome Carrie to British Airways as head of sustainability.
“This is a crucial role in our organisation, and I know Carrie’s expertise, as well as her ability to deliver, will have a hugely positive impact on our sustainability agenda.”
Later this week British Airways is expected to retire the final 747 aircraft in its fleet, four years earlier than originally planned due to the collapse in traffic caused by the Covid-19 shutdown.
The aircraft are being replaced by more modern models such as the A350 and 787 which are between 25-40 per cent more fuel efficient.
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COURTESY BREAKING TRAVEL NEWS
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KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — The Barisan Nasional (BN) did not discuss in detail the ongoing Perak political crisis during its supreme council meeting, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters tonight.
The BN treasurer-general declined further comment when pressed about shifting alliances among the Malay parties triggered by the collapse of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government in Perak.
He passed the buck to coalition chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who is also Umno president to clarify BN’s position towards PAS.
“You have to ask the president, it is not for me to say,” Hishammuddin said as he left Menara Dato Onn, the Umno headquarters where the BN supreme council had convened earlier.
PAS and Umno formed a partnership under the name Muafakat Nasional (MN) in the days after Election 2018 that catapulted Pakatan Harapan (PH) to victory.
Speculation is rampant that the Umno-PAS partnership may be in jeopardy with Bersatu openly courting PAS to regain control of Perak.
Later, when pressed further, Hishammuddin said the onus is on the state chapters of the political parties to resolve the ongoing crisis in Perak.
“I think the Perak issue has played its course. That one you have to wait and see what comes out from the leadership of each party.
“It was not discussed in detail today,” he said.
Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu was forced to resign as Perak mentri besar after Umno lawmakers triggered a no-confidence vote against him in the 59-seat state assembly last Friday.
The outcome was 48 against Ahmad Faizal compared to only 10 in his favour. One spoilt vote was recorded.
The Perak Ruler had held separate audiences with several political leaders earlier today, hoping to find out if there was anyone who commanded the majority support, without any conclusion.
Earlier today, Perak DAP chief Nga Kor Ming said his party was willing to partner long-time foe Umno for the sake of government stability, while Perak PKR chief Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak proclaimed his party’s readiness to work with any party and form a unity government as a resolution to the current rudderless state.
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COURTESY malaymail.com
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BUCHAREST, DEC 9 - The president of the PSD National Council, Vasile Dîncu, announced on Tuesday that PSD is willing to support the reform of the CCR, in the context in which Marcle Ciolacu and Gabriela Firea demanded the formation of a national union government, which should include PSD.
Vasile Dîncu claims that the “architecture of the Romanian state”, the Constitution, the Constitutional Court should be changed , about which he says that “it has become a kind of everyday court ”.
" I give you a hypothesis: let's assume that the PNL - USR PLUS negotiations will not work. Because it seems very simple to us: the president says something and everyone will line up. I don't think everyone will line up. I know the parties in Romania well. I don't think USR-PLUS will accept anything: liberal prime minister, PNL president… They, who have a rather different program from the PNL, who are a key party, I don't think they will accept anything, they will not accept to be the second wheel to the cart.
I think they will ask the prime minister (…) This negotiation might fail and then everything will be reconfigured. Then, the scenario made by the media is that UDMR is a party that is given 3-4 ministries and then everyone passes it to his cart. Not true. Those of us who know UDMR, who have ruled with UDMR and negotiated with UDMR, know that it is not an emotional party that is going left or right. It depends on the negotiations, the needs of the Hungarian minority and the project they are doing.
He is now negotiating with the president and the right. Let's not be sure that UDMR will accept any conditions. Now we are not talking about things in depth, we are only talking about general attitudes. There is a long way to go before we have a majority. In post-election arithmetic, when the government is formed, the majority will be super-fragile. There will be a weak majority (…).
I think we need a parliament with a serious majority in the future, I think it's not just the president who wants that.
We should change the architecture of the Romanian state, maybe the Constitution, the Constitutional Court, which has become a kind of 'everyday' tribunal.
We have to see what will be done for Romania of the future and, with such governments, I don't think it is a great success if we get to rely on such arithmetic ", said Vasile Dîncu on Antena 3.
Dîncu also claimed that Iohannis "will not be able to pass" over PSD in the new Parliament.
"The president wants to leave homework for the PNL. What we see now is a party meeting, the president is still a player, he was in the campaign, he eliminated Ludovic Orban and he took the initiative, he is probably the best negotiator (…) I think at this moment, in an informal discussion , several variants are being tested regarding the exclusion of the party that won the elections, PSD. We expected that, the president predicted. He said he wanted to remove the PSD from power.
PSD will make a very important group in the Parliament, which will not be overcome, regardless of its position in the area of government. Let's not forget: Parliament is the one that legitimizes and censors the government, even if we have seen that the president wants there to be no opposition in Parliament (…) Whatever solutions are sought, the majority he could do now or after the investment of the new Parliament, they represent games of power and I am somewhat out of the customs that say that the winner is given the opportunity to make a majority, even if at first sight it seems that he cannot do it ", Vasile Dîncu added.
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COURTESY universul.net
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