FARUKH SHEHZAD

KABUL, JUN 13: Turkey should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan under the 2020 deal for the pullout of foreign forces, a Taliban spokesman has said, effectively rejecting Ankara’s proposal to guard and run Kabul’s airport after the United States-led NATO forces depart.

The development raises serious questions for the US, other countries and international organisations with missions in Kabul about how to securely evacuate their personnel from landlocked Afghanistan, should fighting threaten the capital, reported on Thursday.

It also appeared to dash Ankara’s hopes of using the securing of Kabul airport to help improve ties with Washington – strained by Turkey’s purchase of Russian defence systems – in talks set for Monday between President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Asked in a text message whether the Taliban rejected Turkey’s proposal to keep forces in Kabul to guard and run the international airport after other foreign troops leave, the Taliban spokesman in Doha responded that they should go as well.

“Turkey was part of NATO forces in the past 20 years, so as such, they should withdraw from Afghanistan on the basis of the agreement we signed with US on 29th Feb 2020,” Suhail Shaheen told Reuters.

“Otherwise, Turkey is a great Islamic country. Afghanistan has had historical relations with it. We hope to have close and good relations with them as a new Islamic government is established in the country in future,” he added.

The State Department and the Turkish foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters said.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke on Thursday with Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar to “discuss bilateral cooperation and regional issues,” the Pentagon said in a statement, which did not specifically mention Afghanistan.

Under the February 2020 deal between the Taliban and the US signed by former President Donald Trump’s administration, all US forces were to be out of Afghanistan by May 1.

But Biden said in April that the pullout would be completed by the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US that prompted the US-led invasion and removal of the Taliban government that sheltered the al-Qaeda group.

Turkish officials say they made the Kabul airport proposal at a NATO meeting in May when the US and its partners agreed to a plan to withdraw their forces by September 11 after 20 years of backing the Afghan government in a war against the Taliban.

With violence raging, many US legislators and current and former officials fear the departure of the foreign forces and stalled peace talks are pushing Afghanistan into an all-out civil war that could return the Taliban to power.

The Pentagon says the US withdrawal is more than 50 percent complete. Turkey, with more than 500 soldiers still in Afghanistan training security forces, now has the largest foreign military contingent there.

Australia closed its embassy last month because of security concerns. The Taliban’s effective rejection of the Turkish plan to secure the airport could prompt other countries to shutter their missions.

The development also poses a quandary for the Biden administration, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken promising as recently as this week at a Congressional hearing to maintain a US diplomatic presence in Kabul.

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COURTESY Al-jazeera

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ISLAMABAD, JUN 13: The Indomie brand instant noodle factory built in Pakistan is expected to start production later this year, not only to supply the country's market but also in the region.

Indonesian Ambassador to Pakistan Adam M Tugio said a branch of a company called PT Indofood Pakistan has begun to build an Indomie factory in the Faisalabad industrial area.

"The factory is targeted to operate by the end of 2021 and is expected to be able to supply and sell PT Indofood products in South and Central Asian countries in the future," Tugio said in a press statement at the Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad received by the editors, Thursday (10/6). /2021).

Indomie is one of the Indonesian brands that has penetrated the global market widely. Previously, Indofood also built a factory in the Tekirdag industrial area, Turkey, and is said to have controlled 90% of the instant noodle market share in the country.

Apart from Turkey, PT Indofood also has a factory in Mombasa, Kenya.

The trade balance in 2020 reached US$ 2.5 billion with a surplus for Indonesia of US$ 2.1 billion or, an increase of 8% from 2019 which reached US$ 2.3 billion with a surplus of US$ 1.9 billion, according to data from the Indonesian Embassy. .

The data shows that Indonesia-Pakistan trade is able to grow in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tugio claimed that various efforts had been made by the Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad to improve economic and trade relations, including increasing exports and diversifying Indonesian products to Pakistan.

One of the efforts made is to cooperate with the E-Commerce Pakistan Gateway to hold the Indonesia-Pakistan Virtual Trade Expo 2021 and e-business matching on April 5-9 2021.

The activity was attended by 15 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the country and more than 100 potential buyers from Pakistan.

Several Indonesian companies that attended the exhibition included CV Tanaka Solution Agent, PT United Family Food, CV Tata Niaga Lestari PT Pareto Estu Guna, PT Audie Innovation Indonesia, PT Konimex, PT Bin Affan Exindo, CV Buana Raga, PT Audie Building Industry, and CV Donya Drop Daruet.

"Seeing the enthusiasm of the many participants of the 2021 Virtual Trade Expo, the Indonesia-Pakistan cooperation relationship is expected to be more solid in various fields including politics, education, socio-culture, defense, economy and trade," said Tugio.

The Indonesian Embassy also utilizes technology in an effort to increase exports, in collaboration with the CEO of E-commerce Pvt Ltd, Muhammad Uzair Nizam, who is also the founder of #ecombri.com, in the creation of a digital trade platform .

The platform will facilitate business actors from two countries in an effort to increase bilateral trade.

The #ecombri.com site is Pakistan's first and largest Online Plus Offline business-to-business (B2B) platform that has the potential to simplify the procurement process for buyers and sellers with both online and offline interactions.

The cooperation will be used to promote trade, tourism and investment in various cities in Pakistan, Tugio said.

According to the Executive of the Economic Function of the Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad, Syarief Shahabudin, although promotions abroad have been halted due to Covid-19 in the past year, the Indonesian Embassy's initiative allows economic activities and interactions with prospective importer partners of Pakistan to be realized.

Some of the Indonesian products on display were medical equipment, dried coconut/copra, snacks, coffee beans, medical equipment, building construction equipment, palm sticks, health drinks, cooking oil, handicrafts , sweets, and other agricultural products.

"Prospective importers from Pakistan are also enthusiastic about participating in the Virtual EXPO," said Syarief.

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COURTESY beritasatu.com

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COURTEYS smartjobs.pk

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ISLAMABAD, JUN 13: The National Comm­and and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday placed strict restrictions on travellers from 26 countries including India, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia and South Africa by placing them in C category.

In a separate development, the number of Covid-19 patients admitted to hospitals has fallen by around 60 per cent, with the positivity ratio remaining below 4pc.

An official of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) said Pakistan had introduced three categories to deal with Covid-19. 

He said: “Countries in A category are exempted from the mandatory Covid-19 test, travellers from areas in B category require a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that must be taken within 72 hours of the travel date while countries in C category are restricted and people can travel only under specific NCOC guidelines.”

According to a document available with Dawn, the NCOC revised the inbound air/land travel categories with an immediate effect.

The document mentioned India, Iran, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Iraq, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Tunisia, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Namibia, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago as well as Uruguay in the C category list.

All other countries have been included in B category and passengers from these countries will be required to present a negative PCR test result.

Meanwhile, the NCOC data reported 1,194 new cases and 57 deaths in the last 24 hours.

As many as 2,990 patients are currently admitted to hospitals compared to around 7,000 in April, indicating a drop of around 60pc. According to the official data, there were 42,717 active cases across the country on June 12, while 325 patients were put on ventilators.

Moreover, the country has been witnessing a positivity ratio of less than 4pc since May 30 when a rate of 4.05pc was reported at the national level.

Earlier on June 11, the NCOC had extended walk-in vaccination facility to around 39 million people in the age group of 18-30 years.

NHS ministry spokesperson Sajid Shah told Dawn that the government wanted to inoculate people at the earliest so that herd immunity could be achieved. 

He said public sector employees would have to be vaccinated by June 30 and to facilitate the vaccination all relevant centres would remain open from 8am to 10pm daily, except Sundays.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

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ISLAMABAD, JUN 12: AAA Associates and Real estate/Builder community held a press conference in press club Islamabad in which they requested Government to take action against the culprits behind Bahria Town Karachi incident. 

The Press Conference attended by AAA Associate's Chairman Mr. Sheikh Fawad Bashir and Leaders from Real estate community including Sardar Tahir, Ejaz Khan, Rana Ahsan and Adeel Malik to raise their voices against Karachi incident which has shocked the real estate community across the country.

Speaking on the occasion, AAA Association Chairman said” Pakistan has seen remittance increase of approx 27 bn in 11 months which is highest ever and major part of it is from Real estate. 

COAS also stated in a meeting with Business community that security of the Country depends on Economic security. 

Real estate industry is appreciating govt policies which is helping in a lot of inflow or Revenue. 

Incidences like BTK cause major blows to the industry which indirectly effects 40 connected industries as well. 

4 lac daily wagers are working in different Bahria Towns accross the Country. Hampering the flow of work effects their daily earnings. 

At this crucial juncture, Incident like this will prove counterproductive for the booming Industry and shatters Investor Confidence in Pakistan’s real estate sector."

CEO of Estate GuideMr. Rana Ehsan and CEO AD Real estate Mr Adeel Malik also supported the stance by requesting Concerned Authorities to bring perpetrators to justice and constitute complete security plan to prevent these violent attacks on Real estate and builder community within the country.

The construction industry in Pakistan is expected to expand by 3% in real terms in 2021, recovering from a decline of 6.2% in 2019. 

In support of construction sector, and boost employment and economic output, Government has announced a construction stimulus package by fixing tax rate for the construction industry, a subsidy worth PKR30 billion (US$191.5 million).

These Incentives will not be able to bear fruits until law and order situation is improved and complete protection is provided to the stakeholders.

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ISLAMABAD, JUN 11: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has taken the floor of the National Assembly to present Budget 2021-2022. The total outlay is Rs8,400 billion.

The government has allocated the following amount for different programmes.

• Rs260 billion for the Ehsaas programme.
• Rs900 billion for public sector development programmes, which has been increased by 40%. The amount will be spent on water distribution, road infrastructure, special economic zones, combatting climate change, among others.
• Rs12billion for agriculture.
• Rs23 billion for Diamer and Bhasha dams.
• Rs14 billion for Neelum-Jhelum hydro-power plant.
• Rs244 billion for Gwadar airport and highway.
• Rs25 billion for small dams in Sindh.
• Rs118 billion for energy and power projects.
• Rs22 billion for Jamshoro coal power plant.
• Rs16 billion for KI, KII projects in Karachi and Tarbela power plant.
• Rs100billion for special development packages for the development of poorer cities.
• Rs54 billion for the development of KP’s merged districts.
• Rs14 billion for tree plantation programmes and combatting climate change.
• Rs739 for Karachi transformation plan.
• Rs1.1 billion for the procurement of coronavirus vaccines. Government aims to vaccinate 100 million people by June 2022.

Some features of the budget:

• Pakistan reduces sales tax on locally manufactured electric cars to only 1%. Previously, it was 17%.
• Pakistan reduces sales tax on locally manufactured cars from 17% to 12.5%.
• No federal excise duty on 850cc locally produced cars.
• Action to be taken against those harassing taxpayers. Government to use tax machinery against those not paying taxes and those not filing them.
• No new tax on salaried people.
• FBR to form special retail cells to facilitate people.
• Special technology zones will be formed in the country. Plants, machinery and other equipment will be tax-free in these zones.
• The government has reduced the Capital Gain Tax from 15% to 12.5%.
• Sales tax on locally made electric cars has been reduced to 1% from 17%.
• Withholding tax reduced by 40%. There will be no withholding taxes on banking transactions, margin financing, air travel services, debit card and credit transactions and discovery of minerals.
• Withholding tax on mobile phones will be reduced by 10%, and then to 8%.

“Many challenges came our way this year but we tackled them all under the leadership of PM Imran Khan,” said Tarin. When the PTI came into power, the previous governments had taken many loans. No government had faced such a situation before. The current account deficit was $20 billion.

Coronavirus proved to be a big challenge for us but we combatted three waves of the deadly virus. Pakistan survived the devastating effects of the pandemic and continued the progress towards economic growth. “We even increased the capacity of our hospitals and provided them with the necessary equipment.”

The government also provided relief to people who suffered because of the coronavirus pandemic through cash programmes. In the first phase, aid was given to 12 million people.

We tried to promote e-commerce and online marketing too. Despite, Covid-19 outbreak, our per capita income increased by 15%, he said. “This shows that incomes have increased.”

Pakistan’s agricultural sector performed well. All crops, including wheat, rice, sugarcane, and corn, witnessed exceptional growth despite locust attacks. Only our cotton crops suffered because of pest infestation.

The country received historic levels of remittances. Majority of remittances were sent by low-income people. It improved their purchasing power. It will reach $29billion.

‘Sustainable growth’

The Budget 2020-21 seeks inclusive and sustainable growth. We hope to increase our growth rate to 4.8%.

We want to focus on the poorer segments of society and can’t let them at the mercy of the trickle-down effect again. “We want them to be able to fulfill their dreams.”

The government will focus on a bottom-up approach under which we will provide Rs500,000 loans to the poor, and Rs150,000 loans to farmers.

Under our low-cost housing scheme, we will give Rs2 million loans to them so that they are able to build their houses. They will be given Sehat cards and technical training.

Food security

Pakistan controlled its current account deficit despite heavy imports of food items. “We should accept that inflation is mostly because of the increase in imports of food items.”

Pakistan has become a food deficit country because not paying any attention for the last 10 to 15 years.

Wheat price increased because one-fourth of the wheat supplies were imported to meet our consumption needs. Internationally, sugar price increased by 56%, but in the country, it increased by only 18%. “We had to rely on imports to control sugar prices.”

Edible oil prices increased 76% internationally. In the domestic market, it increased by only 21%. “We have to make our country food sufficient.”

Relief for salaried people

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary has said that salaried people would get a relief in taxes in the Budget 2021-22.

He said this on SAMAA TV’s morning show NayaDin ahead of the Rs8,400 billion federal budget, which the government will present in the National Assembly later today.

The government officials are saying this budget will be “growth-oriented” and incentives will be given to agriculture, industry and IT sectors.

After contracting 0.4% last year, the economy recovered and is expected to grow at 3.9% this year, nearly double the government’s own target of 2.1%. For the next year, it is targeting a growth rate of 4.8%.

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said earlier this week that they would use the bottom-up approach, which would include marginalized and lower-income segments. They would be given business loans, health cards and technical training, he added.

The government has not released official data for unemployment, but Tarin said about 20 million people lost work last year as the coronavirus pandemic compelled the government to shut the economy for three months. Even now 2.5 million people are out of work, according to Tarin.

Other reports suggest an additional 20 million have slipped below the subsistence level, thanks in part to inflation that remained in high single digits throughout the year, higher than the annual target of 6.5, and was recorded in the double digit in the last two months.

The government has decided to increase the size of the Public Sector Development Programme by 38%, according to the finance minister. It will spend Rs900 billion on the PSDP in the next fiscal year.

The government has set a tax collection target of Rs5,829 billion for the next fiscal year, but it remains unclear where this money will come from.

News reports suggest the International Monetary Fund wants it to impose new tax measures, but the government is reluctant. Its top ministers are saying they will neither introduce new taxes nor increase the current ones, and rather go for expanding the tax net, which means the government will go after tax evaders with a focus on retail sector.

Tarin said they would take additional revenue by selling some of the government-owned enterprises, which are not making any profits.

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COURTESY SAMAA

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ISLAMABAD, JUN 10: Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad in collaboration with Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Islamabad organized Dialogue with Experts on the topic “Pakistan-ASEAN Cooperation”, on Wednesday, Jun 9.

The event was organized in virtual format at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Islamabad.

This dialogue was attended by the Ambassadors and Diplomatic staff of the ASEAN countries residing in Pakistan. The business community of the ASEAN countries also actively participated in the session.

The session commenced with the opening remarks by Mr. Khalid TaimurAkram, Executive Director, Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad.

He expressed his gratitude to all the participants and diplomatic staff of the ASEAN countries.

He stated that the initiative of creating awareness about the new framework of cooperation between ASEAN-Pakistan would bring immense benefits in multiple fields.

Adam M. Tugio, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Pakistan gave the welcome remark. He welcomed all distinguished participants and panelists. He shed light on the concept of ASEAN awareness in Pakistan.

H.E. Adam Tugio stated that this initiative would enhance the bilateral relations between Pakistan and ASEAN.

He stated that this broader engagement would further increase people to people and government to government contacts. Therefore, would promote tourism and cultural integration.

Major General Hafiz Masroor Ahmed (Retd), Vice President,CGSS welcomed all the participants. He stated that this era is of cooperation and globalization.

Therefore, we all must identify the areas of joint collaborative measures and integration.

The broader cooperation would benefit all parties involved and enhance multilateral relations, starting from ASEAN-Pakistan cooperation.

Mr. Aamer Ahmed Atozai, DG, East & Asia Pacific Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan stated about a greater aim of Pakistan's look East policy, especially, the ASEAN member states.

He explained that in 1993 Pakistan became the Sectoral Dialogue Partner (SDP) of ASEAN and since then it has been enhancing its efforts to gain the status of full dialogue partner.

He discussed that Pakistan’s status of full dialogue partner would provide momentous to the multilateral and bilateral relations between ASEAN and Pakistan.

Mr. Aamer Ahmed enlightened the audience that Pakistan’s look East policy accounts to increase business-trade relations mainly with ASEAN countries. He highlighted Pakistan's pivotal role in countering the common challenges.

He stated that the Pakistan-ASEAN Sectoral Cooperation Committee is enhancing socio-economic development and working in number of fields.

It has also been laying foundation for ASEAN countries and Pakistan to discover wider areas to progressively work.

Prof. Dr. Saleem Mazhar, Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of the Punjab, Lahore gave a detailed presentation on Enhancing Academic Cooperation between Pakistan and ASEAN Member states. He gave brief analysis on ASEAN 2020 targets to be achieved in multiple fields.

He stated that Pakistan holds immense academic potential for the ASEAN region to engage into meaningful intellectual activities.

Prof. Dr. Saleem Mazhar explained that Pakistan has been offering many of scholarship programs in English Language for the ASEAN member states.

He stated that academic cooperation among ASEAN members and Pakistan would increase people to people connectivity and cultural integration.

Prof. Dr. Shabir Ahmad Khan, Director, Area Study Center (Russia, China,& Central Asia), University of Peshawar gave a comprehensive presentation on Pakistan role in bringing peace and stability in the region.

He stated that Pakistan is playing a constructive and significant role in regional stability and resolving the Afghanistan conflict.

He stated that Pakistan believes regional integration is the only way to facilitate peace process. It will develop inter-dependence and stakes of regional states in each other's stability.

He also gave his analysis that Pakistan considers inter-organizational cooperation with BRI, CPEC, ASEAN, and CAREC.

He highlighted Pakistan’s role in the Afghan peace process. He stated that bringing peace to Afghanistan is the responsibility of each state.

Shakeel Ramay, Member Board of Advisors, CGSS gave a detailed presentation on CPEC and prospects for ASEAN countries.

He suggested to gauged potential amid RCEP, CPEC and its significant aspects. Shakeel stated that it is important to increase economic relations through CPEC as it will provide huge opportunities to ASEAN.

While giving a detailed presentation, Shakeel discussed positive outcomes associated with CPEC, i.e., complementarities, existing potential in diverse areas and enhanced competitiveness.

He suggested that ASEAN and Pakistan can cooperate in number of fields amid CPEC, including industrial, textile sector along with the energy sector.

He stated that ASEAN countries have great financial capability. Thereby, financial investment in multiple economic projects in Pakistan would enhance cooperation.

He concluded by stating that the agriculture and tourism sectors have a lot of potential to cooperate, thereby, there should be great focus on the collective and win-win situation of all countries involved in the process of inclusive economic development.

Prof. Dr. Saeed-ul-Hassan Chishti, Vice Chancellor, University of Sialkot gave a detailed presentation on improving industrial cooperation through ASEAN's integrated framework: Prospects for Pakistan's SMEs. He highlighted the relationship between ASEAN and Pakistan.

Prof. Dr. Saeed gave a detailed analysis on Pakistan's SMEs with relevance to ASEAN industrial cooperation.

He stated that all big and famous cities of Pakistan, i.e., Sialkot, Lahore, Karachi have been recognized as a hub of wider industrial activities.

He stated that ASEAN and Pakistan trade volume is $6.3bilion, scaling up to enhance economic engagement with ASEAN through its countries.

He enlightened the audience that CPEC provides great opportunities to the ASEAN countries to enhance the multilateral ties and trade activities.

Prof. Dr. Saeed stated that multilateral industrial cooperation would enable ASEAN-Pakistan to explore opportunities in a lot of fields.

Rehan Younas, Executive Director, University of Sialkot stated that there are a lot of opportunities that come in the form of leadership and enhanced geo-economic relations.

He explained that CPEC provides unprecedented opportunities. Therefore, universities and academic centers connected through CPEC can enhance cooperation in many diverse areas.

Rehan proposed that there should be an integrated framework of collaboration on CPEC for sharing ideas and innovation.

In this regard, UICI framework of reference for CPEC would ensure sustainability and consistency in enhancing relationship. It will further boost relationship and inspire all.

He stated that the UICI framework of reference for CPEC will benefit all countries and universities connected through CPEC.

Major General Hafiz Masroor Ahmed (Retd), Vice President, CGSS gave the closing remarks and congratulated all the panelists and participants for successfully conducting the event.

He appreciated and admired all the worthy speeches, presentations and encouraged for future cooperation.

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OTTAWA, JUN 10: BA Canadian Muslim group demanded on Wednesday that all levels of the government immediately convene a National Action Summit on Islamophobia.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) established an online petition that has already garnered 22,287 signatures as of early Wednesday afternoon.

The call for action was spurred by the murder of four members of a Muslim family, victims of a hit and run "terrorist attack" on Sunday in London, Ontario.

"We call on all levels of government-federal, provincial, territorial, municipal-across the country to come together for a National Action Summit on Islamophobia to take immediate action on dismantling both violent forms of Islamophobia and systemic Islamophobia," according to a statement.

"These actions are urgent and necessary to ensure that no one else suffers the way #OurLondonFamily has suffered."

The NCCM move followed a vigil Tuesday in London and across Canada, attended by thousands. Several speakers urged politicians to not just express sorrow for the deaths, but to take steps to combat Islamophobia.

Nusaiba Al-Azem from the London Mosque was one who demanded "an immediate action summit on Islamophobia."

Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna Afzaal and Salman Afzaal's 74-year-old mother, Talat, were killed, while their son Fayez, 9, remains in a hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.

They were run down by a truck while taking a walk and were standing at an intersection when a half-ton truck jumped the curb and plowed into them.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was at the vigil in London, said there was no doubt it was a "terrorist attack" motivated by hate.

It was not the first horrendous attack on Muslims on Canadian soil. It was just a little over four years ago on Jan. 29, 2017, when a gunman attacked a Quebec City Mosque, killing six worshippers and wounding 19.

Along with the petition, the NCCM struck a defiant note in its statement.

"We will never be intimidated. We will never stop marching for love, justice, and goodness. We stand with #OurLondonFamily."

No government officials had responded to the call for action as of early Wednesday.

Separately, the US-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on President Joe Biden on Tuesday to condemn and confront the growing phenomenon of global Islamophobia following the attack.

America's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, in a statement, also urged Biden to appoint a special envoy to "monitor and combat Islamophobia, which has spread from America and endangered Muslims in Austria, China, Burma, France, India, Israel, Kashmir, and numerous other countries."

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COURTESY Anews

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ISLAMABAD, JUN 10: Knowledge Platform (KP), a leading EdTech organization in Pakistan, partnered with AFS Intercultural Programs to offer a fully funded scholarship program for Pakistani students.

The program is sponsored by the Government of Japan under the Kakehashi cultural exchange program. Knowledge Platform has selected five students from a total of 5,000 applicants across Pakistan after a rigorous evaluation process.

Ten other brilliant Pakistani students from the previous cohorts successfully completed the scholarship program in Japan and returned to Pakistan.

This scholarship program is a unique and exciting learning opportunity for Pakistani students aged between 14 to 17 years.

The selected students will attend regular school in Japan, as well as participate in co-curricular activities, such as arts and crafts and sports.

They will also get an opportunity to interact with Japanese students and learn the Japanese language. This additional skill will help them communicate more effectively with the Japanese people.  Japan will be hosting these five students hailing from different cities of Pakistan.

These students will travel to Japan in August 2021 and return to Pakistan in March 2022.  The school itinerary for these visiting students includes numerous engaging activities and trips to make their stay both educational and enjoyable.

Knowledge Platform’s CEO, Talhah Munir Khan, said: “We, as Knowledge Platform, feel immensely gratified to be investing in the future of Pakistan.

Here, in Pakistan, we have the most talented and brilliant children. It is a pleasure to be helping the youth of the country, so that they can showcase and exhibit their talent and skills in the global village, thus contributing to the country's pride and honour.

Knowledge Platform will work with full dedication and zeal to accomplish the dreams of our ambitious kids. We are grateful to the AFS Intercultural Program for making this scholarship program a great initiative towards a progressive Pakistan.”

Knowledge Platform is an innovative online learning platform, which provides gamified learning opportunities for students and schools in Pakistan.

Approximately, 450,000 students, 10,000 teachers, 900,000 parents, and 1,000 Schools in Pakistan subscribe to and use the digital blended learning solution designed by Knowledge Platform. 

Knowledge Platform will be announcing the Kakehashi cultural exchange program scholarship for 2022 by the end of 2021. If you wish to participate in the upcoming scholarship program, then please stay connected to our platform Learn Smart Pakistan and immediately sign in at leansmartpakistan.org today.

For additional details, please contact:

Omer Iqbal, COO, Knowledge Platform, at oiqbal@knowledgeplatform.com.

Kyiv, JUN 9 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday Russia has pulled out only 11,000 out of 105,000 border troops.

Briefing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the security situation in the east and near Ukraine during a phone talk, Zelensky said only part of the Russian troops and heavy weapons has been withdrawn from Ukraine’s border.

“Russia has almost not withdrawn its troops. Out of 105,000 Russian servicemen, only 11,000 went back,” Zelensky said, stressing the importance of maintaining international pressure on Russia.

For his part, Trudeau reassured Zelensky of Canada’s “unwavering support,” adding that the two countries “remain great friends.”

The two leaders also discussed ways to support Ukraine’s efforts toward NATO membership and coordination of efforts between Ukraine and Canada in the case of the downing of the PS752 flight by Iran.

In April, Kyiv accused Moscow of gathering a large group of armed forces on its border, voicing concern over possible annexation of the Donbas region. In response, Russia said it was concerned by the upcoming NATO exercises in Ukraine and the gathering of the Ukrainian armed forces in Donbas.

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COURTESY Anews

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