Wednesday, 2 March 2022
RAWALPINDI, MAR 2: Ashes-winning Australia will face unfamiliar conditions, heavy security and unpredictable, but talented, opponents when they begin their first Test in Pakistan for 24 years on Friday.
Having landed in Islamabad just three days ago to be immediately engulfed in “head of state-level security”, the Australians have had little time to acclimatise to conditions in Rawalpindi, where the first Test will be played.
But they may like what they see as they practise, with a pitch often more conducive to seam bowling than the more typical spinners' wickets more usually found across Pakistan.
In three Tests played in Rawalpindi since Pakistan were allowed to host matches again in 2019, 10 years on from the fatal terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore, fast bowlers have snapped up 52 wickets with spinners only bagging 21.
Australia captain Pat Cummins, fresh from leading his side to a 4-0 Ashes drubbing of England in his first series in charge, admitted it would be all new to his players.
“You know most international players — and conditions — but this series comes with a few more unknowns than perhaps normally, so it's going to be interesting and challenging,” said Cummins.
“I have a big belief in making sure our own game is in order. We must think that we are in great form since the Ashes and look at that, rather than on the opposition.”
The Australian will not have encountered some of Pakistan's players before.
Spinners Nauman Ali and Sajid Khan have come in to replace leg-spinner Yasir Shah and fast bowler Mohammad Abbas, who both starred in Pakistan's 1-0 win over Australia in the United Arab Emirates in 2018.
“I think the one thing with the Pakistan team is that they have some young guys who come and shine straight away so it's a new challenge,” said Cummins.
Teen sensation
Australia have not won an away Test series since their tour of New Zealand in 2016, but have an experienced line-up capable of adapting to conditions.
Opener David Warner and the prolific Steve Smith have scored 15,368 runs between them in 173 Tests, more than the Pakistan top seven batsmen's combined 13,120.
They also have the top-ranked Test batsman Marnus Labuschagne plus the in-form duo of Pakistan-born Usman Khawaja and Travis Head, who both plundered two centuries in the Ashes.
Cummins leads a world-class pace attack alongside left-armer Mitchell Starc and the fit-again Josh Hazlewood.
They are complemented by Australia's greatest off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who passed 400 Test wickets in the Ashes and has taken 95 of those in Asia.
Pakistan's batting will heavily rely on the talented trio of veteran Azhar Ali, skipper Babar Azam and in-form Mohammad Rizwan.
But their opening pair of Abdullah Shafique, who has played two Tests, with either Shan Masood or Imam-ul-Haq, looks vulnerable.
Pakistan will miss the injured duo of pace bowler Hasan Ali and fast-bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf, while another quick Haris Rauf has tested positive for Covid.
It means teen sensation Naseem Shah — who became the youngest bowler to take a hat-trick at 16 years and 359 days at the same venue against Bangladesh two years ago — will share new ball duties with Shaheen Shah Afridi.
With Covid cases on the wane, the ground will be full to capacity with fervent home support — the first three days are sold out.
“It's the first Test between the two countries in 20-odd years, so it's a special moment and we as players feel privileged to be part and I hope that fans come and make noise,” said Cummins.
The second Test is in Karachi beginning on March 12 and the and third in Lahore from March 21.
Pakistan squad: (from) Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood, Naseem Shah
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Mark Steketee, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
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Courtesy Dawn News
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Forum highlights the right path for operations transformation working with carriers and industry leaders in the Middle East region
ISLAMABAD, MAR 2: Huawei hosted a high-profile Operations Transformation Forum for leading Middle East carriers on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The Forum aimed to create a platform for close communication with carriers and industry partners to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices to continuously create value for service providers and help carriers accelerate digital transformation.
With the advent of the digital economy, 5G, new digital services, and digital operations transformation are becoming important factors for carriers' business success. In addition, there are challenges in service monetization, user experience management and O&M.
In attendance were senior Huawei executives, including Steven Yi, President of Huawei Middle East and Bill Tang, President of Huawei Global Technical Service Department.
Additionally, more than 15 telecom carriers and industry partners in the Middle East were present at the Forum to discuss new digital services and digital operations transformation.
Bill Tang, President of Huawei Global Technical Service Department, shared Huawei Service and Software strategies.
He said, "Based on carrier's transformation trend, Huawei provides carriers with three transformation journeys in 2022: Convergent & Intelligent Digital Service, Data-driven Ultimate Experience, and Intelligent Predictive O&M."
JazzCash, Omantel and STC shared their digital operations transformation strategies and best practices.
Ahmed Shahab Nasir, CTO, JazzCash Pakistan, said, "We will continue to focus on building a robust payment ecosystem, and products drive continuous development."
Dr. Ali Al Hashmi, General Manager of Networks at Omantel, added, "Customer experience-driven 5G precision marketing and closed-loop network issues are the most critical to 5G commercial success."
Khalid Attia, consultant of STC CCEx Program, Saudi Arabia, believes, "STC has entered the deep-water area of experience transformation. It is evolving to convergent data-driven smart operations through enterprise-level metrics throughout the CCEX lifecycle."
Industry partners such as TM Forum, Ernst & Young, Roland Beger, and Analysys Mason were also at hand to share their expert opinion on industry trends and transformation.
Aaron Boasman, Vice President, AI & Customer Experience, TM Forum, said, "The operator's priority should be to enhance the customer experience and prove its commercial value."
Jose-Luis Garcia, Lead of Global Telco Solution and EMEIA Tech Sector, EY, said, “The rollout of 5G technology has pushed the telecom CXOs to rethink their investment strategies and focus more toward upgrading network and technology platforms.
Given MENA is at the helm of 5G revolution and is expected to account for 10% of total mobile subscriptions by 2025, the operators are impelled to commence OSS/BSS overhaul to monetize 5G effectively.”
Kushal Shah, Senior Partner Middle East, Roland Berger, added, “COVID-19 impact on customer demand, technology advancements, and improved regulatory conditions have led to a substantial increase in the number of fintech startups in MENA.”
Jacky Zhou, Vice President, Marketing & Solution, Huawei, closed the Forum. He said, "Operational transformation is an important foundation for business success.
At the same time, aligning with the planning, construction, maintenance and optimization process, using digital platform tools to strengthen market and network side capabilities, developing digital business, and improving revenue, efficiency and user experience are the common perceptions of the direction of digital transformation.
Huawei hopes to become a trusted partner of operators in digital operations transformation and continue to contribute to the commercial success of operators."
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KARACHI, MAR 2: The remote-work world that we embraced at the height of the pandemic has evolved with blended, hybrid environments now taking centre stage.
This will define the post-pandemic business landscape, according to Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index (WTI).“The best of both worlds” is what employees surveyed in the WTI are after: 73 percent want flexible remote-work options to continue, while, at the same time, 67 percent are craving more in-person time with their teams.
WTI figures show that 46 percent of the globally surveyed employees were considering leaving their current employer because they can work from home. In the EMEA region, this figure, although lower at 36 percent, is still significant.
As such, a company’s approach to hybrid working will define “who stays and who goes,” the index notes.
What’s the sentiment in Pakistan? Last year, news outlet Nikkei Asia reported that emerging nations such as Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh have a strong presence in the global remote-work market.
In fact, the article notes that, in 2020, workers from these countries made up over 80 percent of the remote workforce.
With economies reopening after pandemic-induced lockdowns, companies will be able to implement an effective hybrid workspace, having had equal success operating exclusively in-person and exclusively online.
The importance of balancing the two comes down to employee wellbeing – offering the flexibility of remote work alongside the collaborative, social aspect of seeing colleagues in person.
Just like the rest of the business world, we’re learning as we roll out these hybrid-enabling changes. On what we’ve learnt, Nicole Herskowitz, Microsoft Teams General Manager, highlights that hybrid meetings have been a game-changer for shaping a successful work environment.
For Microsoft, Herskowitz shares that following the “ABC” practice on Teams-based meetings has been key. The ‘A’ is for Audio, because having the right tech to give everyone an equal opportunity to be heard clearly is a cornerstone of inclusive collaboration.
The ‘B’ is for Bring Your Own Device (turning on your camera but muting your mic). ‘C’ is about Collaboration; specifically, about assigning a facilitator to streamline interactions between virtual and in-office meeting attendees.
As the WTI highlighted, enabling successful hybrid working will mean reimagining office space and investing in supporting technology.
Microsoft has innovated on the technology front with new Teams Rooms features to better manage the messy middle.
There’s a Front Row layout where the video gallery is at the bottom of the screen, spread out horizontally.. The Surface Hub capabilities in Teams Rooms have also been enhanced to offer more ways to collaborate seamlessly.
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UNITED NATIONS, MAR 2: Pakistan allowed its turn to pass as the UN General Assembly on Tuesday continued to debate a resolution demanding immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
In Washington, the US State Department urged journalists not to “focus on individual specific countries” when they asked questions about India’s abstentions.
On Friday, India did not vote on a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Russian invasion.
Two days later, India abstained again when the Security Council voted to convene an emergency special session of the 193-member General Assembly to debate the crisis.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken telephoned his Indian counterpart and urged him to back US efforts in the United Nations and other international platforms.
Pakistan, which is trying not to take sides on this issue, stayed away from both sessions. As a UN member, Pakistan can participate in the UNGA debate, which entered its second day on Tuesday, but so far it has avoided doing so.
Indications are that Pakistan wants to avoid getting involved in the dispute which places it in an uncomfortable position. Pakistan is a traditional US ally, which once provided Washington a corridor to reach out to China.
Relations between the two countries, however, have strained recently, as the United States grew closer to India, which now has a key role in the US efforts to contain China.
China is Pakistan’s closest ally which supports Islamabad on key issues on various international fora, such as the United Nations and the FATF.
Diplomatic observers in Washington claim that China also played a key role in arranging Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Russia last week.
The observers argue that Pakistan is gradually orbiting out of the American influence and getting closer to both China and Russia, a claim Islamabad rejects as incorrect.
Pakistan says it wants to maintain close ties with both China and the United States and apparently that’s why it does not want to get involved in the Ukrainian dispute.
The United Arab Emirates had also abstained from voting on both occasions.
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Courtesy Dawn News
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Geneva, MAR 2: Shireen Mazari, Federal Minister for Human Rights, met with the Foreign Minister of Palestine, Riad Al Maliki.
During the meeting, both leaders discussed ways in which cooperation may be carried forward.
Mazari assured Palestine Foreign Minister of Pakistan's continuing commitment and unflinching support for the Palestinian cause.
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Tuesday, 1 March 2022
ISLAMABAD, MAR 1: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday emphasised the importance of industrialisation for Pakistan as he announced an industrial package just a day after slashing petrol and power prices as part of relief measures for the public.
Addressing a ceremony in Lahore during his day-long visit, the premier reflected on his time in government, saying the first thing his party should have done after coming into power was to encourage industrialisation.
“The biggest thing I should have done on the very first day [in office] was announced the package that I have given to the business community today,” he said.
No country could progress by selling vegetables and wheat, he said, adding that Pakistan had been progressing rapidly 50 years ago but “nationalisation took us on a different trajectory and we never recovered” as he lamented that the past governments were “divorced from the direction they should have been on”.
Industrial package features:
- Incentives for investing in small and medium industries
- Incentives for restoring, investing in sick units
- Overseas Pakistanis to get five-year tax holiday when investing in the country
- Tax rate will be decreased by widening the tax base
- No questions will be asked for investments in the industrial sector
The prime minister said the previous governments had been against wealth creation and devised policies that were against profit-making, which he termed as a “socialist mindset”.
“We had decided at the start to focus on industrialistion, [especially] the export-oriented industry. But, I see now the amnesty we gave … we should not have given an open amnesty, we should have [instead] directed it towards industry.”
He noted that the dollar crisis keeps on recurring if a country’s exports do not increase. “Whenever our economy started growing [in the past], there would be a dollar deficit and we would have to go to the IMF (International Monetary Fund). There was no long-term planning,” he rued.
The premier shared the aspects of the incumbent government’s industrial policy, which he said would divert the “money lying in plots and not being productively used” in investment in the country’s industries, ending unnecessary checks and creating ease for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and incentivising investment in ‘sick’ industries.
Overseas Pakistanis
Calling overseas Pakistanis the country’s “biggest asset”, the prime minister said he understood the obstacles they faced in investing in Pakistan. There was a lack of contract enforcement and overseas Pakistanis were “ruined” by courts if they approached them. Overseas Pakistanis would buy land but it would be taken over by land grabbers, he said.
“So we took action against land grabbers. We have set up courts for overseas Pakistanis and now we are inviting them [to invest] — they will have a five-year tax holiday, no questions asked. And if they do a joint venture with any Pakistani company, then both will get a 5-year tax holiday. The goal is to attract investment,” he said.
He said that remittances had also risen to record levels after they were incentivised.
“As their trust increases that they can invest their capital in industry, this country will take off industry-wise. Successful Pakistani businessmen [overseas] will bring their money here. They have skills and money. They just need confidence and incentives.”
IT sector
The premier said that his government should have given the information technology sector an amnesty at the start of its term. “Look at how [the IT sector in] India has grown. They have exports of $40 billion annually and ours … even after export grew 70 per cent is not even $4bn.”
He lamented that the government had treated IT “like any other industry”, noting that for the first time in Pakistan, both IT companies as well as freelancers have been incentivised “completely”.
He added that the government needed to hold boot camps and change the syllabus at the university level.
“For an independent and honourable foreign policy, it is necessary that the country is standing on its feet. When a country is going around with hands [asking] for aid, participating in others’ wars and making a foreign policy that is against the interests of its citizens because it is not standing on its own feet, the world does not respect it,” he said.
“Let us make clear what our direction is: We have to industrialise Pakistan, give all sorts of incentives, remove all sorts of obstacles for small and medium industries and give every sort of facility to overseas Pakistanis.”
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Courtesy Dawn News
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Helsinki, MAR 1: Nokia will stop deliveries to Russia to comply with sanctions imposed on the country following the invasion on Ukraine, the Finnish network equipment maker said on Tuesday.
“This is a complex situation which is evolving rapidly and we continue to assess it”, the company, which supplies MTS, Vimpelcom, Megafon and Tele2 in Russia.
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KARACHI, MAR 1: Karachi is set to host another high-profile international sporting event with the Karachi Open Squash Championship taking place from 15 – 19 March 2022.
The main draws for the 2022 Karachi Open Squash Championship see former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad and France’s Enora Villard heading the men’s and women’s draws, respectively.
The male event is a PSA World Tour Bronze tournament, while the female competition is a PSA Challenger Tour 20 tournament.
Former World Champion Gawad leads the men’s draw and will be looking to claim his first title since 2019. The Egyptian will face the winner of home favourite Asim Khan and England’s Declan James in his first match of the tournament as he receives a bye in round one.
World No.16 Youssef Soliman from Egypt is the number two seed. Soliman, a recent quarter finalist at the Houston Open, will open his account against the winner of Spain’s Bernat Jaume and event wildcard Muhammad Ashab Irfan from Pakistan.
Pakistan’s best chance of a home winner comes in the form of World No.44 Tayyab Aslam. The nation’s No.1 will face up and coming Egyptian Yahya Elnawasany in his first-round match. The pair last met at the Egyptian Open in September, with the Egyptian winning 3-1 in 38 minutes to level the head-to-head record at 1-1.
France’s Enora Villard is number one seed for the female event. The French No.4 recently lost out to Georgina Kennedy from England in the last 16 of the Cleveland Classic and will be looking to improve on that performance in Karachi. Villard will play either Pakistan’s Zaynab Khan or New Zealand’s Kaitlyn Watts in her opening match of the event.
England’s Lucy Beecroft is one to watch in the event. The World No.62 won two events in 2021 and will be determined to add to that tally in 2022. Beecroft receives a bye in round one but will face either wildcard Anam Mustafa Aziz or Serbia’s Jelena Dutina in round two.
No.3 seed Marie Stephan is entering the Challenger 20 event full of confidence as the 25-year-old recently captured her first French Nationals title, beating Enora Villard in the final. Stephan will play Pakistan’s Amna Fayyaz or Malaysia’s Yee Xin Ying for a place in the quarter finals.
Pakistan Rangers Sindh will collaborate with the event organisers for providing fool proof security arrangements to all participants.
Chairman Sindh Squash Association and Emeritus President of World Squash Federation Jahangir Khan Said “The Sindh Squash Association is delighted to host the Karachi Open Squash Championship 2022. We are excited to collaborate with the ARY group who have always been huge supporters of sports in the country.
“We are all very excited to showcase Pakistan’s hospitality to a number of talented international squash players and I look forward to welcoming them in Karachi this March.”
Chairman AKD Group Aqeel Karim Dhedhi Said, "The business community of Karachi is proud to support Pakistan's resurgence in sports. The Karachi Open Squash Championship, and other events in the pipeline under the ACE Games umbrella, will have our full support as we aim to promote Pakistan as a sports destination and build Pakistan's own sporting heroes."
ARY Digital Founder and CEO Salman Iqbal Said “I am delighted that we are partnering with the Sindh Squash Association and the business community of Pakistan to bring this star-studded squash event to Pakistan.
Pakistan has hosted a number of international cricket events in the last few years and the Karachi Open Squash Championship will be a great addition to the country’s sports industry. I am confident that with world-class TV coverage on A Sports, Pakistan’s first HD sports channel, and a memorable event, we will be able to further raise the profile of Pakistan as a sports destination.
“Our vision with ACE Games is to promote sports in Pakistan and provide avenues for our youth to train themselves so that they can bring laurels for Pakistan and I hope that all stakeholders will continue to support us in our efforts.”
Karachi Open Squash Championship 2022: Men’s Draw
[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) [Bye]
Asim Khan (PAK) v [9/16] Declan James (ENG)
[9/16] Greg Lobban (SCO) v Henry Leung (HKG)
[6] Todd Harrity (USA) [Bye]
[7] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) [Bye]
Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) v [9/16] Edmon Lopez (ESP)
[9/16] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) v [WC] Noor Zaman (PAK)
[3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) [Bye]
[4] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) [Bye]
Faraz Khan (USA) v [9/16] Alan Clyne (SCO)
[9/16] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) v Mazen Gamal (EGY)
[8] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) [Bye]
[5] Shahjahan Khan (USA) [Bye]
Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) v [9/16] Tayyab Aslam (PAK)
[9/16] Bernat Jaume (ESP) v [WC] Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK)
[2] Youssef Soliman (EGY) [Bye]
Karachi Open Squash Championship 2022: Women’s Draw
[1] Enora Villard [Bye]
Zaynab Khan (PAK) v [9/16] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL)
[9/16] NadeenKotb (EGY) v Sofía Mateos (ESP)
[5] Nadia Pfister (SUI) [Bye]
[6] Georgia Adderley (SCO) [Bye]
Lea Barbeau (FRA) v [9/16] Chan Yiwen (MAS)
[9/16] Amna Fayyaz (PAK) v Yee Xin Ying (MAS)
[3] Marie Stephan (FRA) [Bye]
[4] Ka Yi Lee (HKG) [Bye]
Sarah Cardwell (AUS) v [9/16] Anna Kimberley (ENG)
[9/16] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) v Rana Ismail (EGY)
[7] Menna Hamed (EGY) [Bye]
[8] Lucy Beecroft (ENG) [Bye]
[WC] Anam Mustafa Aziz (PAK) v [9/16] Jelena Dutina (SRB)
[9/16] Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) v [WC] Mariam Malik (PAK)
[2] Menna Nasser (EGY) [Bye]
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Monday, 28 February 2022
ISLAMABAD, FEB 28: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Embassy of Republic of Uzbekistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan cordially invite you to the Inauguration Ceremony of the Exhibition, “Uzbekistan National Dress & Fabric” on 2nd March 2022 at the Exhibition Hall of Pakistan-China Friendship Center, Garden Avenue, Shakarparian Road, Islamabad.
The exhibition is being facilitated by Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad.
H.E Fawad Chaudhry, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting of Islamic Republic of Pakistan & Dr. Sardar Umurzakov, Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan will grace the occasion as chief guest.
For the first time in Pakistan a vibrant display of Textiles and Fashion of Uzbekistan will be exhibited, don’t miss the opportunity and do visit the exhibition!
The inauguration ceremony will take place at 1500 hrs on 2nd March 2022, and the exhibition will be continued for two weeks at the Exhibition Hall of Pakistan-China Friendship Center, Islamabad.
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ISLAMABAD, FEB 28: A Conference on “Myth of Indian Secular Democracy: Human Rights Violations and Rise of Saffron Tide under BJP” was jointly organized by Press Information Department (PID), Federal Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of Pakistan & Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad at Information Service Academy, Islamabad.
The Conference commenced with speech by Ashfaq Ahmed Gondal, Former Federal Secretary Information and Broadcasting & Vice President (Federal Region), Center for Global &Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad.
He stated that it is impossible for other communities to live safely and comfortably in India. From the beginning, it is very clear that India has been a fascist Government.
It is not Bharat or India, it is only Hindustan, a land for Hindus. We can see what is happening in Kashmir and no one is bothered about the atrocities being committed by India in Kashmir.
He stated that the atrocities are continued in India and still they claim to be the largest democratic and secular state of the world.
Ambassador Afrasiab Mehdi Hashmi Qureshi, Former Ambassador of Pakistan to Bangladesh and New Zealand presented speech on “Minority Crisis in India and False Façade of Secularism: Questioning the Status Quo”. He stated that Hindutva ideology has always been there in India and now it has been further escalated due to Hindu fundamentalists.
India has its own difficulties and challenges and today, the nationalist Indians are worried about its future. India has always been divided into different states and groups. International media is silent about the Kashmir issue. It claims RSS as nationalist movement which is completely false and untrue. It has always been a fundamentalist party. According to RSS ideology, Muslims are hissing snakes. Furthermore, he stated that Hindu fundamentalism is not a temporary ideology, it is a permanent phenomenon.
Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, Professor, School of Politics and International Relations (SPIR), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad presented speech on “BJP-RAW nexus: Detrimental to Peace and Stability in South Asia and Beyond”. He stated that any intelligence agency is at the complete disposal of the ruling Government. The ideology of RAW and BJP is aggressive which after convergence is the reason for instability in the region. BJP’s manifesto is based on Hindutva philosophy. He discussed that BJP become popular in 1982, when it used anti- Pakistan slogans while campaigning. 5th generation and hybrid warfare is important in this regard and asymmetrical warfare tactics are being used. He stated that India is targeting our economic projects. The neighbors of India have also suffered as it always tried to imposed its hegemony at the borders.
Sahibzada Sultan Ahmad Ali, Dewan of Junagadh State and Chairman MUSLIM Institute presented speech on “Indian occupation of Junagadh &Manavadar—Acts of Blatant Aggression by India”. He highlighted three major aspects of history. He discussed that before partition, princely states had the right to determine their independence. However, India did blatant violations of sovereignty by using coercive means and forcefully annexed those states. He also discussed Indian illegal actions in Junagardh, including human rights violations, riots and hindering food supply chain. He stated that there is a need to build correct narrative by understanding actual historical events and facts.
Advocate Jamal Aziz, Advocate High Court and Executive Director, Research Society of International Law presented speech on “Stark violation of human and minority rights in India: Assessing obligations under International Law”. He discussed complex legal aspects related to Kashmir under Indian atrocities. It is important to discuss the role of international law in narrative building. It is significant to use national law to secure our own goals. He stated that there is a need to build our “one” domestic narrative and reach out to international organizations. He suggested that there is a need to develop our own capacities to eradicate vulnerability in order to tackle Indian hostile propaganda under the International law.
Mr. Tariq Malik, Information Technology & Cyber Security Expert & Head of Program, IT & Cyber Security, Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS),Islamabad gave a detailed presentation on ‘’Fifth-Generation Warfare and EU disinformation lab revelations: Uncovering India’s hostile agenda.’’ He explained the concept of hybrid warfare and mentioned various aspects. He stated that India is using different techniques to change mindset of our youth. He also discussed National Security from Technology Perspective. In 21st century, except few, every war is a technology-based conflict, it does not have clear battles lines that who is attacking who and where. There is also lack of realization that we are under attack. He discussed the report “Indian Chronicles”. The main objective is to create fake news specially about human rights in Pakistan and use of Members of the European Parliament in favor of India and against Pakistan. He suggested that we must formulate a cohesive national response to this form of threat. The responsibility lies with the policy makers and all elements of National Power. With a change of paradigm Grey-Zone Hybrid warfare is the future of warfare. Thus, we in Pakistan must embrace this reality and prepare at all levels of policy, doctrine, strategy and pro-active strategy.
Dr. Muhammad Khan, Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad presented speech on ‘’India’s flawed policies and discrimination towards Non-Hindu Community: Analyzing the Sikh Uprising and Khalistan Movement.’’ He stated that the ruling BJP has been officially following Hindutva as its ideology for decades. Through a massive campaign against Muslim, the majority minority group in India, forming over 16% of total population, Indian Muslim are discriminated, humiliated and forced to convert in Hinduism or else, leave India. He stated that the time has proved that founding father of India were indeed the architect of today’s Hindu India. PM Modi and BJP only get the credit of implementing the agenda of their forefathers. India’s flawed policies and discriminations towards Non-Hindu Communities is directly threatening the regional peace which may have global ramifications.
The Conference was attended by approximately 120 participants and was moderated by Ms. Laraib Fatima Hassan, Coordination & Communication Executive, CGSS.
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ISLAMABAD, Feb 28: Madam Naoko WADA, spouse of Ambassador of Japan celebrated the changing of seasons with ladies of diplomatic missions on the occasion of "Hina Matsuri (dolls festival)" and "Hanami(cherry blossom viewing)" at the Ambassador’s residence.
"Hina Matsuri" is celebrated on the 3rd of March. Japanese families with young girls celebrate this festival by displaying dolls, wishing for their sound growth, health and happiness.
"Hanami" is the Japanese traditional custom to enjoy the ephemeral beauty of flowers, especially cherry blossom in spring. These traditions began more than one thousand years ago in Japan.
The event started with an informative lecture regarding the Japanese culture relating to "Hina Matsuri" and "Hanami" which was followed by lunch under the cherry blossoms specially cooked for this occasion by the Japanese professional chef.
They also celebrated the Emperor's birthday which is on the 23rd of February.
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