FARUKH SHEHZAD

ISLAMABAD, JUN 26: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday questioned the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) decision to continue to keep Pakistan on the watchdog's "increased monitoring list", also known as the grey list, despite implementation on 26 out of 27 points included in the original action plan.

In a statement, Qureshi said there was "no room" to keep Pakistan on the grey list after it had implemented nearly the entire action plan, according to a report by Radio Pakistan.

The foreign minister said it needed to be looked into whether FATF was "being used for political purposes", adding "some powers desire to keep the sword of FATF hanging over Pakistan."

It was yet to be determined whether the FATF was a technical forum or a political one, the statement quoted him as saying.

Qureshi said whatever steps Pakistan took were in its own interests, emphasising that it was in Pakistan's interest to stop money laundering and terror financing.

A day earlier, FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer said Pakistan would remain on the grey list till it addresses the single remaining item on the original action plan agreed to in June 2018 as well as all items on a parallel action plan handed out by the watchdog's regional partner — the Asia Pacific Group (APG) — in 2019.

"Pakistan has made significant progress and it has largely addressed 26 out of 27 items on the action plan it first committed to in June 2018," he said at a virtual press conference after the financial watchdog's five-day plenary meeting.

Pleyer, however, added that the item on financial terrorism still needed to be addressed which concerned the "investigation and prosecution of senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terror groups".

He said Pakistan was still "failing to effectively implement the global FATF standards" across a number of areas.

When asked about the new action plan after the APG evaluation, Pleyer said the plan had "six action items including enhancing international cooperation and demonstrating that assistance is being sought from foreign countries in implementing UN Security Council designations".

Pleyer said even after the last remaining item on the original action plan was addressed, delisting would not occur as there was a parallel action plan that was also given.

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COURTESY dawn news

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Exclusive by

Editor-In-Chief / Farukh Shehzad

Malala Yousafzai, when she was in Pakistan… A drama was designed and created to make her way to Europe (London).

Malala Yousafzai recent remarks against building a relationship or marriage highly disappointing for the whole Muslim world.

How a Muslim girl can deliver such statement about marriage, it is not possible at all and it is unable to digest for the entire Muslim world.

I believe that what Malala said about marriage.. behind it, there could be multiple reasons.

Reason 1: By forcing, there is a definite possibility that someone might have forced her to pass away statement about marriage that 'If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers, why can’t it just be a partnership?

Reason 2: Due to offering huge amount of money with all luxurious lifestyle and facilities, there is a definite possibility that someone might have offered her big amount of money for passing remarks against marriage.

Reason 3: Lack of her spirituality level, it could also be the reason due to which she had spoken against marriage because still, Malala is not a big aged experienced lady.

What can happen in future, Why we need to be stay alert?

After Malala’s statement about men and women for just living together without signing marriage (NIKAH) papers the western powers who forced her for passing these remarks now they will step up to the plan B.

In plan B, those western powers which are backing Malala and her statement they will now gradually transform Malala’s remarks into a story for composition.

These stories in the form of Drama Serials will be telecast on Pakistan’s TV Channels to destroy our Muslim values and culture but off course it will not happen overnight, it will obviously, take time to settle things up.

Drama serials especially in Pakistan society have big influence on people. It is the source of changing people mindset by giving them a chance of watching stories repeatedly on TV.

In future, Malala’s Statement will be given the shape of Drama’s to be telecast on various platforms for making that culture of “No need to sign marriage (Nikah) papers for men and women, Just live together”, as we see these trends all over European countries.

The main goal of Malala’s remarks is to introduce “We are not married, we are just living together” culture in Pakistan to damage the family system of Muslims in Pakistan.

Closing Remarks:

This is quite simple if you want to save your young generation derailing from the path of spirituality you must keep away from watching stories and drama serials like this that put negative impact on their mind.

Lastly, wanna say that keep open your eye’s and stay alert about what’s happening around you to stand solid on the path of “Emaan” and “spirituality”.

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ISLAMABAD, JUN 24: MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan on Thursday expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the bomb blast which occurred at Johar Town in Lahore on June 23rd, leaving numbers of people dead and injured.

In his condolence message, the Ambassador conveyed his heartfelt grief and sympathies to the bereaved families and wished for a speedy recovery of the injured.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the government, the people of Pakistan, and the families of those who have lost their dear ones in the tragic incident.

Please accept our deepest condolences, and we wish for a quick recovery of the injured”, said the Ambassador.

The Ambassador prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls and wished for the bereaving families to bear this irreparable loss with fortitude and equanimity.

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• Extreme Commerce and Dukan.pk collaborate to empower people to achieve self-sufficiency through e-commerce and digital skills

ISLAMABAD, JUN 24: 82.20% enterprises in Pakistan are facing a cash flow shortage in the COVID-19 period. This puts a serious challenge for starting a business in Pakistan.

Although Pakistan ranks at 72 among 190 countries on starting a business on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report 2020, the new dynamics demand a new approach for the micro, small and medium enterprises.

This gap has been filled by the two leading enterprises in Pakistan by joining hands, with a common goal of empowering the people of Pakistan to achieve self-sufficiency through e-commerce and digital skills, Dukan.pk has partnered with Extreme Commerce to help local businesses sell online.

Extreme Commerce is the largest online selling community of Pakistan with approximately 700,000 members.

It has trained and helped thousands of people to sell online in the ecommerce platform and generate over $100 million in sales through Amazon, eBay, and other platforms.

The partnership will look into the possibilities to capacitate businesses for online payments as well. 72.29% enterprises in Pakistan reported cash as the major payment method. 59.74% Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in Pakistan reported bank transfer method, 24.24% used personal cheque to make payments, 22.08% online payment method, 13.85% debit or credit cards, 6.49% money orders, and 4.33% used mobile payment methods.

The government plans to digitize cash on delivery (CoD) payments above PKR 10000 by the year 2022, and all CoD payments will be replaced with online payments by the year 2029.

Extreme Commerce’s Founder and CEO, Sunny Ali said, “It is heartening to see the emergence of local platforms like Dukan.pk to help sellers reach their customers. We are proud to partner with the leader in this space.”

He further said, “this partnership will allow anyone with a smartphone to gain e-commerce selling skills and equip them with easy-to-use technology, enabling web store creation, online payments, and delivery management.”

There are currently over 5 Million micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) in Pakistan that are eager to join the e-commerce revolution but lack the technical know-how.

Monis Rahman, founder and CEO of Dukan.pk, while reiterating his commitment to uplift small local businesses said, “Dukan’s mission is to let anyone with a smartphone sell online in under one minute.

Our partnership with Extreme Commerce will help accelerate this mission by complementing our platform with high quality e-commerce training for local sellers.”

Pakistan has an approx. 3.2 million SMEs. SMEs constitute nearly 90% of all the enterprises in Pakistan; employ 80% of the non-agricultural labor force; and their share in the annual GDP is 40%, approximately. However, unlike large enterprises in the formal sector, a small and medium enterprise is constrained by financial and other resources. This inherent characteristic of an SME makes it imperative that there should be a mechanism through which it may get support in different functions of business including technical upgradation, marketing, financial and human resource training & development.

To build a knowledge platform that can enable new thinking and innovation for the SME E Commerce approach, Extreme Commerce has already signed an agreement with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) as well. Extreme Commerce is also working with academic and research institutions across Pakistan and beyond.

Dukan.pk is a new revolutionary and free of cost E-Commerce App. Through this each store will get its own personalized URL.

There are 9 different payment methods with hassle-free stock purchase, sales report, inventory management and order history. Led by a team of industry veterans, Dukan has been able to create over 40,000 online stores, growing 350% monthly by average.

It provides local sellers with a free, easy, and effective platform to set up their web stores and sell online.

Extreme Commerce is Pakistan’s first EdTech start up with a sole focus on skills development and capacity building within the ecommerce and digital arena. Founded in 2017, it is the largest community of its kind in Pakistan, with well over 735,000 members to date and with over 100+ courses and income streams to choose from. We estimate that by 2025, our community will be 1 million strong, generating well over $1 billion in inward remittance for Pakistan.

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ISLAMABAD, JUN 23 – Three new varieties of sugar-free mangoes with four to six percent sugar levels have been introduced in Pakistani markets for diabetics.

A Pakistani mango expert conducted scientific modifications of mangoes at a private agriculture farm in Tando Allahyar, Sindh, and produced three varieties of sugar-free mangoes.

The M H Panhwar Farms conducted research on and scientifically modified mangoes for five years. The resultant mango varieties have been named Sonaro, Glenn, and Keitt, and are available in the local markets.

The availability of sugar-free mangoes is a relief for diabetics because most of the calories in mangoes come from sugar.

M H Panhwar’s nephew and a mango expert, Ghulam Sarwar, revealed that the former had been an expert in organic farming and had authored a wide range of research articles and manuals on fruits.

He said, “The government of Pakistan had conferred Sitara-e-Imtiaz on Mr. Panhwar for his research related to fruits including mangoes and bananas. After his death, I continued his work and carried out modification after importing different genres of mangoes to test its growth in this atmosphere and soil”.

Sarwar explained, This project is being run on a personal basis and we are not taking any assistance from the government departments. I just want to introduce these varieties on the national and international levels. We think about national interests but not [using this project] for gaining profits for us.

“The Keitt variety has the lowest sugar level up to 4.7 percent, while Sonaro and Glenn have sugar levels up to 5.6 percent and six percent respectively,” he stated.

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COURTESY propakistani

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ISLAMABAD, JUN 23: AAA Associates has signed Imran Abbas, a renowned showbiz celebrity as their brand ambassador. AAA is a famous business group of twin cities and the actor is all set to be the face of the upcoming campaigns of the company.

Imran Abbas is a leading actor who has also worked earlier with the brand when he appeared in the first ever TVC of AAA - a star-studded affair where Imran Abbas featured alongside other top celebrities of Pakistan.

Imran Abbas shared his views by saying, “I’ve been associated with AAA for quite some time now and I have also been a part of their social welfare cause like the recent joint venture with JDC to provide Free Meal Mobile services in Islamabad.

I feel honored to be the Brand Ambassador of AAA, as the company upholds an acclaimed image in the industry by offering state-of-the-art leisure facilities, unique architectural structures, customized investment plans, and solutions for diverse clients, ranging from small to large investors.

It is a matter of great pride to be associated with the AAA who surely is a trendsetter in offering integrated single-source solutions for all real estate needs of their customers.”

The achievements of the renowned actor, Imran Abbas are known to all. He has made Pakistan proud through his contributions to promote the country on both national and international platforms. Recently, he has been selected by the Government of Turkey as the goodwill ambassador from Pakistan to visit Tanzanian and African countries along with other leading Turkish actors to provide water, food, education and other basic necessities of life to the people of these countries.

Recently the actor has faced the controversy of a fallacious marriage scandal on internet with his co-star. Earlier also, a YouTube channel had spread rumors that Imran Abbas and Ushna Shah had married and now the same channel is claiming that the actor has tied the knot with his co-star Urwa Hocane.

The rumor apparently came after the duo was seen crooning to a song on the set of their ongoing project. However, AAA Associates strongly condemns baseless and false news and this time around, Imran Abbas has also taken a firm stance to denounce such attacks which are only aimed to defame actors.

The MD of AAA Associates, Lt.Col (Retd) Shahzad Ali Kiani expressed, “We are so excited to have Imran Abbas as our Brand Ambassador for our upcoming projects.

This joint venture will be a valued addition to our Group of Companies as we embark on the journey in diverse fields like Technology, Real Estate, Construction and Marketing.”

The Chairman of AAA Associates, Mr. Shiekh Fawad Bashir shared his thoughts by saying, “AAA Associate is all set out to lead the Real estate business in Pakistan, so we wanted a leading celebrity like Imran Abbas who can exuberate the same energy and enthusiasm that is manifested by our organization itself.

With the addition of Imran Abbas, I’m confident that AAA Associate will achieve new heights of fame as he truly represents the image of our company.”

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WASHINGTON, JUN 23: A senior US senator, Lindsey Graham, on Tuesday described American President Joe Biden’s reluctance to reach out to Prime Minister Imran Khan as ‘stunning,” and warned that ignoring Pakistan while withdrawing from Afghanistan could lead to a disaster.

“Stunning to hear that President Biden hasn’t reached out to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan regarding the US-Pakistan relationship and Afghanistan,” the South Carolina Republican wrote on his Twitter.

Senator Graham, who supports continued US engagement with Kabul and Islamabad, reminded President Biden that his planned withdrawal from Afghanistan requires Pakistan’s cooperation.

“How do we expect our withdrawal from Afghanistan to be effective without coordinating with Pakistan? Clearly the Biden Administration believes that our problems in Afghanistan are behind us,” he wrote.

The Republican lawmaker who also influenced the Trump administration’s Afghan policies warned that the Biden administration’s “decision to withdraw all forces and not stay engaged with Pakistan is a major disaster in the making, even worse than the blunder in Iraq.”

President Biden’s reluctance to engage with Pakistani leaders was highlighted in an interview the prime minister gave to an American television channel earlier this week when the interviewer asked him if he had spoken to Mr. Biden since he took office. “No, I have not,” the prime minister said.

“Is there a reason for that?” the interviewer asked. “Whenever he has time, he can speak to me. But now, clearly, he has other priorities,” the prime minister said.

Pakistan’s key role in a post-withdrawal Afghanistan echoed at several recent hearings in the US Congress as well. At one of these hearings, lawmakers also referred to a recent statement by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, stating that Pakistan will now play a decisive role in determining Afghanistan’s future and the United States will only have a minor role now in the country after the troop pullout.

Congressman Ted Lieu, a 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.”

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COURTESY dawn news

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ABU DHABI: Peshawar Zalmi have produced a dominant display and thrashed Islamabad United in the second Eliminator by eight wickets to secure a place in the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

After being asked to bat first, United had a poor beginning and at one stage were reduced to 110 for the loss of eight wickets.

However, a record 62-run partnership between Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim helped the side in posting a competitive total of 174 for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 20 overs.

Hasan finished the innings with the top score of 45 off just 16 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes.

For Peshawar, captain Wahab Riaz and right-arm pacer Umaid Asif claimed two wickets each.

In reply, Zalmi lost veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal in the first over.

However, a 126-run partnership for the second wicket between Hazratullah Zazai and Jonathan Wells eased the side to a comfortable win in the 17th over at the expense of just two wickets.

The left-hander finished with 66 off 44 balls with the help of six fours and four sixes. Wells, who was playing his maiden PSL game, scored a brilliant 55 not out off just 43 balls, which included six fours and three sixes.

Malik also played a handy cameo of 32 not out off just 10 balls, which included five fours and a six.

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COURTESY Samaa

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ISLAMABAD, JUN 22: (Raja Furqan Ahmed) - Pakistani tech startup RemoteBase which recently raised $1.4 million from Silicon Valley investors is redefining the recruitment process in Pakistan through its latest virtual event, RemoteBase HireFest which will take place on 26th June. Usually, employers take a few weeks to finalise new hires in their company but this Pakistani startup has shortened the time to 4 hours with no need for candidates to physically go to their offices! As a fully remote company, RemoteBase offers all of its employees to work from home so that they can fully focus on their career rather than wasting time and money on transport.

RemoteBase also provides complete flexibility for employees to choose the timing of their work providing them with a greater work-life balance.

Commenting on the development, US Billionaire and one of RemoteBase’s investors, Tim Draper said: "I'm amazed by what RemoteBase has achieved in such a short time and how innovative they have been with their growth strategy.” Tim added: ”I wish Qasim and Talha the best for the Hirefest. They have been successfully adding top talent to the company over the last few months and the Hirefest will just add fuel to the fire."

In an exclusive conversation with (news outlet), the founder of RemoteBase, Qasim Asad Salam said: “Enabling our employees to work remotely has greatly benefitted our company. Some female employees found it hard to physically come to the office every day.

There is also immense talent in the rural areas of Pakistan which didn’t have access to tech companies but with remote working, we’re getting close to eradicating this problem.” According to Qasim, such hiring events have seldom been held in the history of Pakistan which offered a job on the same day, that too without any physical interview.

RemoteBase aims to hire over 200 engineers in the next 12 months and in its first HireFest, it aims to tap into the top Pakistani talent and enable them to work for some of the most innovative companies in the world. Pakistan’s top software developers are expected to compete in RemoteBase HireFest which also offers cash bonuses of up to 50,000 rupees for the top candidates.

Speaking from San Francisco, Qasim further added that RemoteBase offers a chance for its employees to directly work with and get exposure to some of the most innovative companies in Silicon Valley, where the top leadership of RemoteBase is now based. “Many of our employees are currently doing projects with some of the biggest companies in the world, including some of the most innovative Silicon Valley startups.

The experience and training they get whilst working with those companies are invaluable and inevitably improves the skill set of Pakistan’s top talent,” Talha Masood, the Chief Technology Officer of RemoteBase said. Talha said that RemoteBase HireFest represents the inclusive and remote nature of the company which acts as an equal opportunity employer.

“We’ve hired few software developers from all across Pakistan and I can confidently say that some of the talents in remote areas are at par with the big cities like Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad,” Qasim said in an exclusive conversation with (news outlet). Wajahat Zia, who works for RemoteBase remotely from Multan said: "Working remotely has provided me the luxury of giving more time to my family, growing at my own pace and putting in more effort to my work." Over a thousand candidates are expected to participate in RemoteBase HireFest, a first of its kind virtual hiring event.

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Munaza Kazmi

Saladin the name that needs no introduction. The greatest of the warriors, the keeper of faith, the defender of Jerusalem, Sultan Saladin Ayyubi.

He was the man who unified the Arab and Muslim world for the holy cause, he with the grace of Almighty saved the Medina from the evil of infidels.

Although he died hundreds of years before, but the soil of Muslim land gives birth to him after each period for uniting the Muslim world to stand against the all wrongs of infidelity and for empowering the nations.

Pakistan, a South Asian country, a land once lush and beautiful inhabited by people with amazing intellect and skills, thawed by the tales of extremism, corruption which made its image as a horrified old black and white movie, and mostly known as a lonely planet.

However, the country shed its old torn clothes and emerged as a twinkling star from the darkest of mountains under the charismatic leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Imran Khan, born October 5, 1952, Lahore, Pakistani cricket player, politician, writer, philanthropist, and Prime Minister of Pakistan who became a national hero by leading Pakistan’s national team to a World Cricket Cup victory in 1992 and later entered politics as a critic of government corruption in Pakistan.

Here I relate him with Sultan Saladin since Sultan was the one who united the Arab and Muslim world to regain Jerusalem so here is our Imran Khan who’s striving hard to improve the image of Pakistan in the global community, also struggling towards the unity of the Muslim community not in Pakistan but around the world and not ignoring the Palestine cause.

The very next day of Palestine massacre Imran Khan had met the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and called for the OIC to take a stand on it and raise the issue in the UN.

His call for unity with King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia that "we should raise our voice regarding the injustice against Palestinians and what happened in Al Aqsa.

In the scenario of Pakistan Imran Khan’s voice like Saladin echoes in every corner that “He will never let his nation let down”. For youth Khan have initiated different empowering projects and scholarships which are helping in shaping Niya Pakistan.

In the time of early COVID, Khan have aided the community with a stipend in the flagship of the “Prime Minister Fund”. Early he has launched a project under the name of “EhsasProgram” for helping the poor community in the way that they become self-sufficient. Moreover, the fame of “Shokat Khanum Cancer Hospital” is a lot much familiar.

Imran Khan came with change, change of politics, change of the old norms with a new colour of transformation.

He is transforming Pakistan, to say the province of Gilgit-Baltistan, making the transportation and communication channels improved, digital library, safeguarding of eco-diversity and a lot more.

Khan is also known by people as Tsunami Khan reasoning his ruling of plantation of 10 billion trees that’s why Pakistan hosted World Environmental Day this year, according to the eye-witness he has transformed much weather and condition of the KPK which was his first spot.

More to say our Prime Minister had outdone the black and white picture of Pakistan by giving it a new colour of emergent Tourism, Pakistan came in the 2020 Best Holiday Destination then the recent royal visit from Cambridge, these all accompany in making a colourful and brighter picture of Pakistan.

People are coming and going back with a suitcase full of memories of hospitality and amazing tales to tell, much thanks to our today’s Saladin.

It is true that Pakistan is facing difficulties but as said by Almighty verily, that, along with every hardship is relief”. I believe if we forget about Punjabi, Sindhi, Pathan, Balochi or Kashmiri and stand together as Pakistani who could stand in front of us, in front of the league of Saladin.

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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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ISLAMABAD, JUN 21: Ambassador of Japan Kuninori Matsuda met Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz in Islamabad, on Monday.

During the meeting, both leaders exchanged views on further enhancing bilateral cooperation in multiple sectors.

Matters relating to science and technology also came under discussion.

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