FARUKH SHEHZAD

BAKU, MAY 20: Head of the Press Service of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Leyla Abdullayeva has commented on the statement of the official spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of India on the recent developments along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

“Let me first underline that the key reason of the border issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan is Armenia’s illegal occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories till November 2020. Hence, it is Armenia that violated Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders. And now Azerbaijan is just restoring its internationally recognized borders. 

As it has been officially stated Azerbaijan continues its work on the border protection system within the territorial integrity of the country and this process is carried out on the basis of maps available to each of the sides that define the borderline between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Several disagreements occurred between the sides on border issues earlier, and all of them were settled via negotiations among the sides to the trilateral statements.

Second, it is quite strange that in past 30 years the MFA of India has not made an appeal for the withdrawal of the occupying forces of Armenia from the Azerbaijani territories, and is now speaking about pulling back forces. Apparently, this latest statement was made without a proper thorough examination of various dimensions of this issue.

I would like to remind that Azerbaijan has always been calling for, and continues to call for, the full respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of states. We believe that mutual respect for and strict adherence to these principles is the only way to settle any dispute and build truly good neighborly relations.

I must also stress that Azerbaijan as a current chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, has made the promotion of the Bandung Principles one of the priorities of its chairmanship. These principles have contributed to the promotion of justice and equality in international relations and ensured respect for the norms and principles of international law. Any attempts that harm the unity within the NAM are deplorable,” Abdullayeva said.

“Unfortunately, we observe a dramatic rise in intolerance and xenophobia in Armenia. What is particularly troubling is that this trend is aimed not only against Azerbaijan but now covers any nation or group that would dare to express an opinion even slightly differing from an Armenian line. In this country, the Nazi collaborators are idolized and international terrorists are glorified. An incomprehensible act of vandalism was recently taken against the monument to such a world-known proponent of peace and tolerance as Mahatma Gandhi.

Such trends of extremism are dangerous and they must be addressed immediately. Armenia must be encouraged to abandon toxic ideas of national supremacy and territorial expansion. Armenia must finally start abiding by international law and making its key principles a basis for the normalization of relations with neighboring states. Only then will Armenia start benefiting from the good neighborhood and regional cooperation.

Azerbaijan, in its turn, continues to be strongly committed to peace, security, regional development and cooperation on the basis of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders,” she added.

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NEW YORK, MAY 20: The UN Human Rights Council said on Thursday it would hold a special session on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, amid Israel's deadly violence against the Palestinians in Gaza.

The session, planned for next Thursday, will address “the grave human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”, the council said in a statement.

The session was requested by Pakistan, which is the coordinator of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Palestinian authorities, it said.

It will be the 30th extraordinary meeting of the UN's top rights body since its creation 15 years ago.

The United Nations did not immediately say how many of the Geneva-based council's 47 member states had backed the call, but at least a third must come out in support for a special session request to be granted.

Thursday's announcement came as Israeli air strikes continued to hammer Gaza and as diplomats stepped up efforts towards a ceasefire to stem the devastating violence that erupted 10 days ago.

Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed 230 Palestinians, including 65 children, according to the Gaza health ministry, leaving vast areas in rubble and displacing tens of thousands in the crowded territory.

Israel's army has meanwhile said Hamas and other Islamist armed groups in Gaza have fired 4,070 rockets towards Israel, the overwhelming majority of them intercepted by its Iron Dome air defences. The rockets have claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child, with one Indian and two Thai nationals among those killed, the police said.

Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel's ambassador in Geneva, urged member states to oppose next Thursday's meeting.

“The convening of yet another special session by the Human Rights Council targeting Israel is testament to the clear anti-Israeli agenda of this body,” she said on Twitter.

“The sponsors of this session are only rewarding the actions of Hamas, a terrorist organisation, that has indiscriminately launched over 4,000 rockets at Israeli civilians, using the people of Gaza as human shields.

“I call on all member states of the council to strongly oppose this meeting,” said Eilon Shahar.

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NEW YORK, MAY 20: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged the international community on Wednesday to persuade Israel to end its aggression against the Palestinians and to take concrete steps for a solution to the Palestine issue.

The foreign minister arrived in New York on Wednesday evening on a Palestine peace mission and to attend an emergency meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), called by the Organisation of Islamic Corporation (OIC) and the Arab League.

Pakistan has joined hands with Palestine, Sudan and Turkey to take a united stance at the UNGA session scheduled today. This will be the first UN meeting that will see the physical presence of foreign ministers since the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed the world. Prior to this, UN had been holding virtual meetings in the wake of the pandemic.

Soon after his arrival in New York, Qureshi hosted a working dinner of the foreign ministers of OIC member states to discuss the situation in Palestine.

“We hope the UNGA meeting will send a strong message … to end the Israeli aggression and to take concrete steps to find a solution to the Palestine issue,” said the foreign minister while addressing the dinner.

The discussion focused on the worsening situation in Gaza and ways to formulate a unified and unequivocal response from OIC member states to Israeli aggression ahead of the UNGA meeting on Thursday evening.

Foreign Ministers Mevlut Cavusoglu of Turkey, Riyad Al-Maliki of the State of Palestine, Othman Jerandi of Tunisia and UNGA President Volkan Bozkir also attended the dinner.

Qureshi noted that Israel’s use of indiscriminate and disproportionate force against innocent Palestinians had enraged the entire Muslim ummah.

Israeli aggression has led to the loss of numerous innocent lives, including women and children, he said, reiterating Pakistan’s strongest possible condemnation of Israeli actions.

He said Israel had launched a deliberate and systematic assault against Palestinian worshippers at the Al Aqsa mosque during the month of Ramazan, violating the sanctity of the holy site.

The foreign minister also condemned Israel’s policy of the expansion of illegal settlements, forced eviction of Palestinians from their homes and demolition of their houses with impunity.

Qureshi expressed his deep gratitude to all brotherly OIC countries, who along with Pakistan, played a proactive role in convening the special meeting of the UNGA.

The permanent representative of Pakistan at the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, and the ambassador of Pakistan in Washington, Dr Asad Majeed Khan, also attended the dinner.

A statement issued by Pakistan’s UN mission said that the foreign minister’s visit to New York was part of Pakistan’s intensive diplomatic outreach to mobilise international support for ending the ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestinians.

The foreign minister will address the special session of the UNGA today and highlight Pakistan’s stance on this issue.

The UNGA session follows an intensive international effort to secure a ceasefire in the occupied Palestinian territories after a week of deadly cross-border violence.

Calls for ceasefire

Earlier UN efforts to enforce a ceasefire were blocked by the United States (US). For the third time in a week, the US on Sunday blocked a joint statement from the UN Security Council (UNSC), which called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestine.

In his address to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General António Guterres also called for ending the current “senseless” cycle of violence in the Middle East.

Terming the hostilities “utterly appalling”, the secretary-general warned that hopes of coexistence and peace between Palestinians and Israelis were being pushed even farther to the horizon.

“[The] fighting must stop. It must stop immediately,” he said. “Rockets and mortars on one side and aerial and artillery bombardments on the other must stop. I appeal to all parties to heed this call.”

On Wednesday, a UN relief agency called for an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian assistance to reach the victims.

“Gaza’s one million children are reeling from the mounting consequences of [a] violent conflict with nowhere safe to turn. Lives have been lost and families shattered,” said United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Henrietta Fore.

Fore’s comments followed a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stating that only five trucks in a 24-vehicle humanitarian convoy had been able to enter southern Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Israeli authorities closed the crossing only hours after reopening it, blaming “militants” of launching mortars.

According to the UNICEF chief, nearly 30,000 children have been displaced in the occupied Palestinian territory since 10 May.

This underscores the need for “an immediate cessation of hostilities on humanitarian grounds to allow the entry of staff and essential supplies, including fuel, medical items, first aid kits and Covid-19 vaccines,” the UNICEF chief said.

The UN secretary-general expressed similar sentiments in a separate message, saying: “We are seeing immense human suffering and extensive damage to homes and vital infrastructure in Gaza.” He urged the international community to “ensure adequate funding for our humanitarian operations in Gaza.”

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BAKU, MAY 20: Azerbaijan’s Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva once again visited the members of an Armenian armed group, who were detained on the territory of Azerbaijan, the Ombudsman’s Office told AzVision.az.

During her next unnoticed monitoring of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice under her National Preventive Mechanism mandate, Sabina Aliyeva once again visited the members of the armed group, who were settled by Armenia in the liberated areas of Azerbaijan, but detained as a part of the countermeasures for criminal acts threatening the lives and health of our civilians and military servicemen and handed over for the investigation being accused of committing terror acts.

It should be noted that those persons were detained during the measures countering criminal and terror acts resulted in the killing of four Azerbaijani servicemen and severely injuring one civilian in the territory of Azerbaijan on 12-13 December 2020 after a month of ceasing all hostilities in accordance with the joint statement of 10 November 2020, signed by the country leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia.

During the tete-a-tete meeting with those persons, the Ombudsman investigated the situation of ensuring their rights.  The accused persons expressed their satisfaction with their detention conditions, nutrition, healthcare service, and treatment.

The ombudsman privately listened to all those persons, presented them legislative acts in their own language, and explained their rights.

An ad-hoc report of the ombudsman based on the outcomes of this monitoring was submitted to relevant international human rights organizations.

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ISLAMABAD, MAY 20: Pakistan will decide Afghanistan’s future as the United States only has a minor role now in the country after almost 20 years of uninterrupted military presence.

This claim by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani echoed in the US Congress this week, where lawmakers from both Republican and Democratic parties expressed concern about Afghanistan’s future after the withdrawal of American and Nato forces and deliberated on the key role that must be played by Pakistan in this regard.

The Biden administration plans to withdraw all foreign troops from Afghanistan by September 11, almost 20 years after the first US troops arrived in the country.

In an interview with German publication Der Spiegel earlier this week, President Ghani had said that bringing peace to Afghanistan now was “first and foremost a matter of getting Pakistan on board” and the withdrawal would greatly reduce America’s influence in the country.

“The US now plays only a minor role. The question of peace or hostility is now in Pakistani hands,” he had claimed.

The alarming message was repeated in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday when Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat, read Ghani’s quote during a hearing on “the US-Afghanistan relationship after the withdrawal.”

She described the Afghan president’s claim as “quite a statement” and asked America's chief negotiator on Afghan affairs, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, about the way forward.

"What specifically are you doing to push Pakistan’s leaders and to ensure that they do step up the way we want them to?" she asked the ambassador.

Khalilzad said that he believed Pakistan’s civilian and military leaderships both recognised there was economic benefit in having peace in Afghanistan.

“COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Prime Minister Imran Khan both (also) recognise that this economic benefit is where the future is. Gen Bajwa has said countries do not develop, regions develop,” he said.

“And I know there are challenges inside Pakistan, but I believe that Gen Bajwa’s last visit to Kabul was positive. They have discussed some steps that the two sides will take — working with the United Kingdom — in support of the effort to improve relations between these two countries.”

Ambassador Khalilzad called the Pak-Afghan relationship the Achilles heel of Afghanistan’s recent history that “needs to be overcome and we are hopeful, given the recent developments”.

The US envoy also underlined the need to view Ghani’s statement in the regional context, adding: “President Ghani is right in the sense that the region is important for a peace agreement to bring lasting stability to Afghanistan.

“It needs broad support inside […] Afghanistan and in the region, because part of Afghanistan’s problem has been a […] proxy conflict.”

The US, he said, was trying to build a regional consensus and support for peace and that’s why he “has repeatedly emphasised” the importance of this economic dimension of peace.

“The potential connectivity and trade between Central Asia, Afghanistan and South Asia is a vital part of the future of that region and for Afghanistan,” Khalilzad said while urging Afghans also to avail this opportunity for peace.

“One should not absolve the Afghans of their responsibility. They must accept each other and find a formula that can resolve their differences,” he said.

Congressman Ted Lieu, another California Democrat and a former US Air Force colonel, asked if Pakistan was so important for the success of the Afghan peace process, why was it not being treated accordingly.

“I am just curious about what happened earlier this year when 40 world leaders were invited to the climate summit, including the leaders of India and Bangladesh. And the leader of Pakistan was not invited, even though Pakistan is the fifth most climate vulnerable country. Even though 35 of the 40 countries invited have populations smaller than Pakistan’s,” he said.

“It seems to be disrespectful to not have invited the Pakistani leader to this climate summit when the leaders of India and Bangladesh were invited.

“And now we are asking Pakistan to help us, a lot, in Afghanistan. So, I am wondering what was the thinking (behind) that sort of exclusion of the Pakistani leader?”

Khalilzad said: “Of course, you are right. Pakistan is an important country. We have had periods of great cooperation with Pakistan. And Pakistan has a critical role to play in Afghanistan going forward and in a number of other issues.

“As to the climate summit, I am not in a position to respond as to what decisions were made but Pakistan’s participation, I believe, did occur. If you are interested, we can take that question for a response for the record. But I was not involved in it,” he added.

“Yes, I would like a response for the record,” Congressman Lieu responded.

Congressman Darrel Issa, a California Republican, noted that “during the ten years or twenty years, we have watched our ability to have a positive influence on Pakistan and Pakistan having a positive influence on Afghanistan go from bad to worse”.

Responding to a question from the committee’s chair Congressman Greg Meeks, Khalilzad said the US has recently had productive meetings with Russia, China and Pakistan, calling on the two Afghan sides to reduce violence and engage seriously in negotiations and on the Taliban not to pursue a spring offensive.

“We would like Russia and China and Pakistan to back efforts for a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan. Working to build a consensus on this objective,” he said.

When Congressman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, asked how the US would defend its interests in Afghanistan after the withdrawal, Khalilzad said: “We will maintain assets in the region. We are developing opportunities for enhanced cooperation with regional partners.”

And when Congressman Joseph Chabot, an Ohio Republican, suggested that the Taliban were behind last month’s bombing of a girls’ school in Kabul that killed scores of students, Ambassador Khalilzad said: “I don’t believe that they blew up the school. It’s likely ISIS which is seeking to disrupt any potential peace process and the Talibs have been fighting ISIS forcefully, which is positive.”

He pointed out that the Taliban were a formidable force against ISIS and the situation in Afghanistan was different from Iraq where the Shia-Sunni conflict created space for ISIS, while the Taliban and ISIS were from the same sect.

“The Talibs have done a reasonably good job in taking ISIS on,” he added.

Congressman Ami Babulal Bera, a California Democrat, said that since Pakistan “has been supporting the Taliban all along,” how the Biden administration could expect them to support the peace process now.

“There’s no military solution to Afghanistan and that comes to the diplomatic solution and the role of Pakistan. Pakistan has a special responsibility, given the fact that you described,” Ambassador Khalilzad said.

“And if Afghanistan goes towards a protracted war or a long war, Pakistan will suffer and Pakistan will be blamed for it. Gen Bajwa and PM Imran have said they have changed their policy, that peace settlement is the best.”

He noted that Pakistan had signed its name to a document that forbids a Taliban emirate and a military takeover. “We expect that they will deliver on those commitments. And we have found the recent engagement between Afghanistan and Pakistan encouraging,” he said.

Congresswoman Dina Titus, a Nevada Democrat, asked if the US could use its bases in Qatar and Diego Garcia to conduct airstrikes into Afghanistan, if needed.

“We are going to maintain both monitoring and strike capability in the region and expand cooperation with some of the neighbouring states for counter-terrorism purposes,” Khalilzad said.

“We will also maintain financial support and cooperation with Afghan security forces, but direct military support, such as strikes, are not being contemplated at this time.”

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ISLAMABAD, MAY 20: Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar on Wednesday said the new policy would focus on growth and development of the automotive industry together with affordability, quality, availability and indigenisation.

In consultative sessions with auto sector stakeholders to discuss the Auto Industry Development & Export Plan (AIDEP) 2021-26, the minister said that the government would like to see an increased footprint of electric vehicles to improve the environment and to reduce oil import bill.

The representatives of Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (Pama) and Pakistan Association of Auto Parts & Accessories Manufacturers (Paapam) held separate meetings with the minister. Commerce Adviser Razak Dawood was also present.

The minister suggested to both associations to table suggestions to reduce the prices of small cars to bring the cost within the affordability of lower middle class of the country.

Pama and Paapam lauded government efforts to formulate the policy as universally accepted by key players.

The bodies also commended the current government for support amid the Covid-19 pandemic through the salary loans, investment loans and slashing down of interest rates to protect the industry.

It was decided to hold the consultative sessions till finalisation of AIDEP draft.

Support for hybrid cars sought

Meanwhile, in another de­­v­elopment the local industry has sought the government’s support and a policy for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). According to the industry, HEVs are a better option for consumers than the electric vehicles (EVs).

The incumbent government has already approved and notified the first-ever EV Policy of the country to facilitate the new transformation in the auto industry.

The policy is aimed at a complete replacement of a conventional internal combustion engine with a battery-backed system.

“Up to three per cent EV Battery degradation every year results in more charging cycles. This means there will be more CO2 and less mileage in addition to huge loss of economic value,” said SM Ishtiaq, CEO SM Engineering.

Talking to media on Wednesday, he said that 30,000 EVs were estimated to consume 1pc of Pakistan’s generation capacity. “One unit of electricity is being sold at Rs50 so Rs2,000 will be required to charge 40 kWh battery to get the mileage of less than 180km. This translates into the cost of Rs11 per km to the consumer,” he said.

“On the other hand, the HEV’s cost is Rs5 per kilometre and internal combustion engine (ICE) cost is around Rs9.3 per km, which is way much efficient for the consumer in comparison with EVs so a sane choice will be either HEV or ICE,” he added.

“The government and policy makers should seriously consider other alternatives to BEVs while formulating or implementing policies in this regard because hybrid remains the most feasible technology as it offers best of both worlds,” said Mr Ishtiaq.

He added that the hybrid vehicles as better option as compared to the EVs as the latter would huge outflow of dollar in case of the estimated import of 20,000 units per year.

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ISLAMABAD, MAY 19: AAA Associates, A Leading Group of Companies, and JDC Foundation (Jafaria Disaster Management Cell) jointly launched First Free Mobile Restaurant to provide 3-time meal services to the needy and indigent population of Islamabad.

AAA Associates has been partnered to fund the noble cause of JDC free food program initiative by successfully setting up the world’s largest Free Mobile Restaurant outside PIMS Hospital in the Capital City. After the successful launch of Free Mobile restaurant in Karachi, JDC Collaborated with AAA Associates to extend its Free food program initiative to other cities by carrying out similar activity for underprivileged population of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The multi-wheeler food-loaded vehicle will be utilized to make good quality and hygienically cooked food reachable to everyone throughout the whole year. It can provide 3 times meals for 15,000 people on daily basis.The visitors will be served with variety of Food and beverages prepared by a team of Professional Chefs to serve the deprived community in the most dignified manner. The facility not only serves the visitors with variety of dishes but also allow them to take food for their families at home.

The Launching ceremony of First Free Mobile restaurant in Islamabad has been graced by Mr. Noor-ul-Haq Qadri Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony &  Mr. Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari. They have praised the initiative of AAA Associates & JDC for arranging the ‘free mobile restaurant’ as it compliments Government’s vision of Hunger free Pakistan. The Initiative resonate with Prime Minister Imran Khan vision to eradicate Hunger by providing free food and shelter to deprived section of our society.

During the tour of the free mobile restaurant in Islamabad, JDC chairperson Syed Zafar Abbas Jafri showed his gratitude for this partnership with AAA Associates to become part of this great cause and promise to continue his struggle to support oppressed communities of the society in whatever way he can.

Speaking on the occasion, AAA Associates’ Managing Director Lt. Col Shahzad Ali Kiani (Retd) stated that “We feel honoured to be part of such a noble cause that provides us with an opportunity to serve humanity. AAA Associates has been in forefront of reaching out to deprived communities in time of need. As we have grown to a leading group of companies of Pakistan, we take it as our responsibility to bring prosperity within our community especially those who have been neglected over  time. We’ll continue our support to bring an end to hunger in Pakistan”

AAA Chairman Mr. Shiekh Fawad Bashir also shares his views “ AAA Associates was created with an aim to revolutionize the industry by creating such business units that are profitable and at the same time socially responsible towards their community.

We intend to create a culture in which a business community is equally sensitive towards well-being of their surroundings and not limited in profit making practices. I’m glad we are heading towards the right direction and this collaboration with JDC will be a step towards our ambition of socially responsible Business community of Pakistan”

Earlier, AAA associates with collaboration of RCCI had arranged Daily Iftar for 500 people throughout the Month of Ramazan to feed the indigent population of the twin cities with dignity and respect.

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PIDE Webinar with Nobel Laureate Prof. A. Michael Spence on the topic of Global Economy in the Post-Pandemic Recovery Period

ISLAMABAD, MAY 19: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Islamabad hosted a successful webinar yet again with a Nobel Laureate for the 4th time. Prof. A. Michael Spence, a Nobel Laureate was the Keynote speaker, at the webinar titled ‘The Global Economy in the Post-Pandemic Recovery Period’ held on 19th May,2021.

Prof. A. Michael Spence was the keynote speaker at the session, where more than hundred people joined and participated. The session was moderated by Dr. Nadeem ul Haque, Vice Chancellor, PIDE.

Professor. A. Michael Spence, had an optimistic view of how Pakistan has handled its crisis contrary to its neighbors. He discussed the post pandemic recovery patterns, vaccine manufacturing on global level and post pandemic recovery of global economy.

While talking about the challenges that the world has to face right now, he also mentioned the hidden opportunities this post pandemic recovery will bring. Professor. A. Michael Spence, predicted that complete global recovery can be expected around 2022 provided the vaccine production and manufacturing increases. He also sees potential for global explosion of entrepreneurial activities.

He expressed that the digital domination during this pandemic has opened new horizons for countries like Pakistan, where people can turn their business global without having to move from one country to another.

Professor. A. Michael Spence mentioned that the high growth sectors post pandemic will be digital transformation, biomedical science and technology, healthcare and energy transformation, while an evident surge in E-commerce will be witnessed globally.

In closing remarks, Professor. A. Michael Spence gave an optimistic view of how Pakistan will emerge as a strong economy post this pandemic referring to its ongoing recovery pattern.

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LAHORE, MAY 19: The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has posted the final results of the 6th Population and Housing Census 2017 on its website, according to which the country’s total population stands at 207.68 million, with an annual growth rate of 2.4 per cent.

The population includes 106.018m males, 101.344m females and 321,744 transgender persons.

“The Council of Common Interests (CCI) on Dec 16, 2016 decided to conduct the census in two phases with the support of the armed forces. The PBS demarcated the whole country into small compact areas called census clocks comprising 200 to 250 houses on an average, with a total number of over 1.68 million blocks with well-defined boundaries and maps.

The entire delimitation process was carried out with the close coordination of provincial governments, local governments, revenue department and district administrations,” the bureau states on its website.

Count includes 106m males, 101m females, 321,744 transgender persons

After a three-year delay, the federal cabinet had approved the 2017 census in December last year in a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan — with a dissenting note submitted by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, one of the federal government’s allies.

Since Sindh had opposed the exercise, it also rejected the release of the final results that were approved by the CCI last month.

Taking into account the objections raised by Sindh and other stakeholders, the government also decided to hold the next census in October by using the latest technology to avoid chances of any mistakes/errors, as reported in the previous exercise. It also committed to releasing the results of the new census by 2023.

According to the final results of the 2017 census, the country’s annual growth dropped to 2.4pc from 3.06pc and 2.69pc, as recorded in the 1981 and 1998 censuses, respectively. The total population in 1981, 1998 and 2017 was recorded at 84.25m, 132.35m and 207.68m, respectively.

The total count in the 2017 exercise included 132.013m rural and 75.670m urban population.

The population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was 11.06m and 17.74m as per the 1981 and 1998 census results, jumped to 30.51m in 2017. The number of people in the erstwhile Fata, which was recorded at 2.20m and 3.18m in 1981 and 1998, increased to 4.99m.

Punjab, being the largest province in terms of population, stood at 109.99m people that earlier recorded 47.29m and 73.62m people in the 1981 and 1998 exercises, respectively. Sindh, which recorded a population of 19.3m and 30.44m in 1981 and 1998, jumped to 47.85m people in the 2017 census.

However, Balochistan’s population almost tripled to 12.34m that was 4.33m in 1981 and 6.57m in 1998. Similarly, the population of Islamabad Capital Territory increased six-fold — from 0.34m in 1981 and 0.81m in 1998 — to 2m.

On the basis of religions, the total population count includes 96.47pc Muslims, followed by 1.27pc Christians, 1.73pc Hindus, 0.09pc Ahmadis, 0.41pc scheduled caste and 0.02pc others.

The census results also state that 7.08pc of the people mentioned Urdu as their mother language, 38.78pc Punjabi, 14.57pc Sindhi, 18.24pc Pashto, 3.02pc Balochi, 0.17pc Kashmiri, 12.19pc Seraiki, 2.44pc Hindko, 1.24pc Brahvi and 2.26pc others.

“With a -0.043pc difference with the provisional results, the country’s population, as per final results of census 2017, is 207.68m with a population growth rate of 2.40pc from 1998 to 2017 with 106.3m males and 101.3m females,” the PBS website stated.

It said the 2017 census was conducted in two phases, with each being 30-day long. Phase-I began on March 15 and concluded on April 14, 2017 in which 61 administrative districts comprising 79,773 blocks were enumerated. Phase-II started 10 days later and lasted from April 25 to May 24, 2017, covering 89 administrative districts comprising 89,170 blocks.

The statistics bureau’s brief report on the 2017 census posted on its website reads that a “de jure approach (usual place for residence)” had been used for data collection, as per the practice adopted in the past censuses. In order to lend credibility to the operation, the pattern of 1998 census was adopted, with a soldier accompanying each enumerator. One team was assigned two blocks in the same area, it adds.

The report further states that 108,000 civilian field and monitoring staff had been deputed by the provincial governments and the armed forces provided 200,000 personnel for census duty, of which 44,000 were deployed with civilian enumerators. The remaining personnel were used for security, command structure and logistic support duties.

“For a successful conduct of the census, improvement in census processes and involvement of stakeholders, the government of Pakistan constituted a sub-committee of the Governing Council of PBS consisting of renowned demographers and experts on Jan 31, 2017 with terms of reference to oversee the whole census process from trainings, data collection, processing and finalisation of results,” the report mentions.

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ISLAMABAD, MAY 18: An online speech competition was organized by the Confucius Institute of Islamabad, Pakistan to celebrate the 70th anniversary of China-Pakistan diplomatic relations.

China and Pakistan have enjoyed a long lasting era of peace and tranquility. Thereby, Confucius Institute Islamabad deems crucial to future strengthen the people to people relation between China and Pakistan.

8 students participated in today’s final competition, the students delivered outstanding performance which was an assurance of the understanding in regards to the historical and cultural mutuality between both countries. Bushra Nizar, a student of Department of Area Studies (China), NUML, won the championship of the final competition. 

Moreover, the speech competition was attended by the students and faculty members of Confucius Institute Islamabad and honorable guests including the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong, Cultural Counselor Zhang Heqing, Major General Jafar , President of the National University of Modern Languages, and guests from NUST, COMSATS, and Sargodha University.

In their remarks, the major guests appreciated the long history of friendship between Pakistan and China, and the role of Confucius Institutes in improving it further.

They believe that with the joint efforts of the outstanding youths of the two countries, China-Pakistan relations will usher in a more prosperous and beautiful tomorrow.

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Munaza Kazmi

Throughout the human history, nothing had killed people in masses than the infectious diseases. Justinian in 6th century has perhaps killed half of the global population of the time, Black Death in 14th centaury have horrified the world by killing 200 million, 100 million died in 1918 with Spanish Flu: a figure lot more than the casualties of World War II, then 300 million expired resulting small pox and then the cruelest event of last year 2019 “Bush Fire” Australia, which not even taken 800 human lives but the loss of 1.25 billion innocent little creatures and now in year 2020 we are under another horrific event.

So, we can say our planet had gone through a number of pandemics since its creation or to the known human history, although none of them was akin to the recent one namely COVID-19 or Coronavirus. It can be presumed that, the reason of its being dangerous the most and distress and alarm in populace is its unpredictable nature and the slow unbearable death. Along with its severe implications on the global economy, routine business and unpredictable nature and on top with no medicine, no solution to undergo at least till yet.

The product of this pandemic is so overruling that it had made the de facto authorities of even the most powerful countries and regions handicapped. All of a sudden, the entire world had moved to a halt, with no proper means of cure, nothing but restrictions on global and domestic travel, rulings of social distancing and prolonged quarantine, which had devasted every business of life, what to say of mere economy or any other entity.

Resulting this unforeseen and unpredictable hurricane of Corona virus, the world had entered in a strange mystery, in every nook and corner we see shutdown and verdicts of distancing, even from our dear ones, every business is under lockdown but the most vulnerable is the tourism and hospitality. Following the pandemic measures, the industry of tourism and hospitality seemingly entering into tornado of huge crises. Consequently, Pakistan’s tourism and hospitality industry is at great risk, as people are unable to visit Pakistan following the fear of disease and viral measures. The world had come to a strange standstill, in a short period of time there came a sudden shift from over tourism to no tourist.

The industry of tourism and hospitality had entered into tornado of huge crises due to the devasting effects of the pandemic of Coronavirus. In the hindsight the industry of tourism and hospitality is at a great risk as people around world are unable to travel shadowing the viral measures and the risk of spread.

Airlines, roadways, cruise had been temporarily stopped their operations, the hotels and resorts had paused their services for the time being following the government orders in order to stop the spread of virus, which had caused a serious hit to the economy of Pakistan and also it is a big setback to the pains and labors in the way of reviving the industry of tourism and hospitality to the current regime of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Industry of tourism and hospitality of Pakistan is an emergent market and from last few years, Pakistan had pinned her hopes on the upcoming arrival of international tourist and was preparing for a healthy and warm welcome, since Pakistan once known in world by terrorism only had shed the old leaves and was budding with new, as it had earned a lot goodwill among the world and favorably good reviews and support from international media, the year of 2019 was proved lucky for the prospects of tourism.

The tales of love and hospitality were ringing in the ears of the people around the world, moreover Pakistan went famous for its hospitality where on social media we can find a number of stories one of them namely “Trevor James” from “Food Ranger” have shocked the world’s hospitality by making the famous line “Everything is Free in Pakistan! I Never Paid Once! (I tried!). Similarly, the government had done a lot for enhancing the tourism and in making the tourist arrival comfortable and easy; relax visa policies, visa on arrival, improved security and improvement in tourism infrastructure, even thou Islamabad the federal capital of Pakistan had featured as “among world safest capital” in World Crime Index report, furthermore many of the giant hotels of the world had signed agreement with Pakistan and some have been started their construction also in mega cities and metropolis.

Next to say the fruits of efforts were started to appear as all the hotels, resorts and flights were booked for the upcoming spring and then what came upon the world was never even thought in the wildest of our dreams; the pandemic of Coronavirus.

However, last year some recovery had observed, but due to our negligence again the number of registered cases started to increase with increase in death rate. This forced the government to halt the industry once again, which is not only affecting on the macro level but on the micro level as well, since a lot of family’s bread and butter is dependent on the income from hotels and tourism.

Moreover, Pakistan as a developing country whose economy is highly dependent on agriculture, manufacturing and service industries, it can be realized how shutdown measures, prolonged quarantine and disruptions in transportation and supply topple with travel restrictions had impacted the industry overall scenario and to the economy of Pakistan. a further increase in the miseries.

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Munaza Kazmi has recently done Master of Philosophy from Bahria University Islamabad. Her debut novel is Unrequited Love.

She’s an author, columnist writing in different newspapers and a researcher having seven publications till yet, she’s been writing since 2016.

You can connect to Kazmi at twitter @munaza_kazmi or on research gate as munaza kazmi.

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