Wednesday, 29 June 2022
ISLAMABAD, JUN 29: The Huawei ICT Competition 2021-2022 Global Final in Shenzhen drew to a close on June 25. This year marks the sixth Huawei ICT Competition, which included three competitions – Practice, Innovation and Industry – attracted 150,000 students from more than 2000 universities in 85 countries and regions around the world. After making it through the national and regional competitions, 130 teams from 43 countries and regions faced off in the global final, making this year's finals the largest yet. This year's participants were also the first to compete for a new series of Women in Tech Awards which have been designed to honor the outstanding talent displayed by the young women contestants in the Competition. A TECH4ALL Digital Inclusion Award was also presented during the awards ceremony, as part of Huawei's TECH4ALL Digital Inclusion Initiative.
2021-2022 Regional finals winners, Pakistan’s team one; Sateesh Kumar, Iqra Fatima, and Bhagchand Meghwar along with their instructor Dr. Faheem Khuhawar and team two; Hafiz Rizwan, Adnan Ali, and Mukhtar Memon along with their instructor participated in the practice competition. These students hail from Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Islamiya University Bahawalpur and UET Lahore.In the Innovation Competition, two further teams from Pakistan were nominated this year. Osman Ahsan Sheikh, Muhammad Abdullah Ahsan Sheikh, Aqsa Amir and their instructor Merai Syed represented team ‘Homevism’, comprised of students fromNUST. The second team, ‘Boltay Haroof’, from LUMS consisted of Umer Farooq, Tabish Rafiq, Areej Ahmed and their instructor Muhammad Saeed. After a hotly contested competition, in the Network category of the Practice competition, Pakistan Team One clinched the 1st prize, while Pakistan Team Two grabbed the 3rd prize. In the Innovation competition, Team Boltay Haroof won the 2nd prize, while Team Homevism were awarded the 3rd prize.
Huawei Enterprise's President of Global Partner Development and Sales Xiao Haijun spoke at the event about how indispensable ICT has become to our work and lives. As one of Huawei's key initiatives in talent cultivation, the Huawei ICT Competition is designed to help build an ecosystem that students around the world can use to bridge digital divides and accelerate global digital transformation by improving their ICT knowledge, skills, and innovation capabilities.
CEO Huawei Pakistan, Mr. Mark Meng stated, “Despite the lingering pandemic, this Huawei ICT Competition attracted more participants than before. The achievements and milestones Pakistan students and teachers have achieved reflects on the great vision and determination of Pakistan government towards ICT talent nurturing, innovation and technology adaptation.”
Dr. Faheem, proud mentor of Pakistan’s Team One stated, “This is nothing short of a privilege and honor for Pakistan, we highly appreciate and are thankful to Huawei for the continuous support throughout this journey that led to achieving this level of success. Their cooperative nature and professionalism to resolve issues that ICT academy instructors and students face from all over Pakistan are extremely noteworthy.”
Bhangchand Meghwar, who was born in Tharparkar, Sindh, exclaimed, “I come from a village where there aren’t a lot of resources on hand, being able to represent and win for Pakistan on such a prestigious platform has been nothing short of a dream come true.”
In the future, Huawei plans to continue building education, industry, and public talent ecosystems by establishing talent alliances, integrating talent standards, improving talent capabilities, and demonstrating talent value. Huawei has also announced plans to nurture 1 million certified ICT professionals by 2024 to improve the digital skills of society as a whole. This is intended to promote scientific and technological progress, industry development, and sustainable social and economic development.
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ISLAMABAD, JUN 29: Paymob, the leading omni-channel financial services platform in the MENAP region, signed an agreement with National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT) to facilitate digital payments in Pakistan and to secure payment transfers. Under the agreement, Paymob will enable digital payments for their merchants using the NIFT ePay payment platform which supports account, wallet, and card-based payments.
Paymob’s payment infrastructure enables SMEs to accept digital payments online and in-store whilst providing them better access to financial services. As an API integrator, Paymob’s gateway sits on merchants’ websites to facilitate payment capture. In addition to conventional bank cards, Paymob merchants will have access to mobile wallets, QR payments, bank card installment plans, and Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) options all of which serve to drive an increased volume of transactions and revenue.
Paymob plans to extend its Tap-on-Phone payment acceptance service to the Pakistan market. The company will also launch cards to enable B2B transactions for its merchants and build tools for merchants to better manage and grow their business.
NIFT was established in 1995 as a joint venture between six major Pakistani banks and entrepreneurs from the private sector. It is the leading Payment System Operator (PSO) in Pakistan for cheque clearing and is the country’s foremost Digital Payment Gateway, providing an electronic platform for clearing, processing, and switching electronic transactions in Pakistan under the brand name NIFT ePay.
Haidar Wahab, CEO of NIFT commented, “NIFT continues to play an important and proactive role in streamlining Pakistan’s payment system. As promoters of financial technology, NIFT is committed to delivering an efficient, secured, and convenient digital payment system in which our economic growth can further thrive. This new partnership with Paymob opens a range of exciting new possibilities for Pakistan’s payment infrastructure and puts it at the cutting edge of innovation in this space.”
Fawad Abdul Kader, Country Manager of Paymob in Pakistan mentioned, “We are proud to partner with NIFT ePay which will serve to drive ecommerce by making a variety of payment options available to merchants all across Pakistan. SMEs are the engines of growth in any economy and this partnership with NIFT ePay will serve to fuel that growth and drive revenue in today’s digital economy.”
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Tuesday, 28 June 2022
Islamabad, JUN 28: The Government of Japan today announced grant aid worth 313 million Japanese Yen (around 2.4 million USD) for the Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) program in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Mr. ISHII Kensuke, Charge d’ Affaires ad interim of Japan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Mr. Mian Asad Hayaud Din, Secretary of Ministry of Economic Affairs, have signed the Exchange of Notes (E/N) on this program. The Grant Agreement (G/A) for the aforementioned program was also signed between Mr. Adil Akbar Khan, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Economic Affairs and Mr. KINOSHITA Yasumitsu, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Pakistan Office.
JDS is designed to support social and economic development of the country by providing government officials to obtain Master’s or Doctoral degree in Japan in order to strengthen the administrative capacity of officials. The participants of JDS program who are involved in formulation and implementation of policies are expected to learn in partner universities in Japan and acquire knowledge of their specialties as well as the know-hows of how Japan became a country as it is today.
As JDS in Pakistan started from 2018 and has four batches in four consecutive years, the first phase concluded this year. This occasion celebrates the signing of the very first batch of the second phase of this program. For this batch, the maximum number of the slots for JDS participants in Pakistan is 17 seats for the Master’s degree and one seat for the Doctoral degree.
Mr. KINOSHITA while speaking at the event said "It is worth stating that Japan and Pakistan are celebrating 70 years of anniversary this year. We hope that JDS fellows as well as those 7,000 JICA training participants supported under Technical Cooperation Program will build broader human networks that will benefit both Pakistan and Japan in the long run. "
Mr. ISHII highlighted that "JDS scholarship is expected to contribute to strengthening the administrative capacities of government of Pakistan by providing the talented government officials with the opportunity to obtain the Master and Doctor of Philosophy degree, so that they can effectively lead the social and economic development of Pakistan. I hope this project would further contribute to strengthening the friendship between the two countries."
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Sunday, 26 June 2022
LAHORE, JUN 26: Fly Jinnah - another low-cost carrier joins Pakistan’s aviation industry. The airline is a joint venture between Air Arabia and Lakson Group. Fly Jinnah got the license from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority last year and will now soon start their operations in June 2022.
Sastaticket.pk welcomes Fly Jinnah and look forward to great times ahead.
Fly Jinnah is the fourth airline in Pakistan's aviation sector and will be operating with three leased A320s aircraft. With time, it has plans to expand its wings in the industry and touch new heights in the international market.
Currently, AirSial, Airblue, and PIA are successfully operating in the market. With the launch of another domestic carrier, we expect competitive airfares where customers will enjoy low prices and best services.
The airline has worked intensively on its cabin crew training and is focusing on customer service as their prime objective.This is the perfect time to make its mark in the industry as travel restrictions have now been lifted and people have started to travel more.
In addition, it will be a sigh of relief for the customers as a new entrant will provide more options and convenience in terms of time and monetary resources when it comes to domestic travel.
Sastaticket.pk welcomes the arrival of Fly Jinnah and expects that the airline will perform well in the near future and mark its name in the industry.
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Friday, 24 June 2022
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KARACHI, JUN 24: Pakistan’s financial capital, Karachi, has been ranked among the world’s most unlivable cities, according to an annual index released by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
The unit’s global livability index for the year 2022 ranks Karachi 168th in terms of livability among a total of 172 countries.
Every city is assigned a rating for relative comfort for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Scores are compiled and weighted to provide a score in the range 1-100, where 1 is considered intolerable and 100 is considered ideal.
Karachi has an overall score of 37.5, significantly lower than ideal. It has performed most poorly on the stability indicator, with a score of 20. The city has scored 33.3 on the healthcare indicator, 35.2 on culture and environment, 66.7 on education and 51.8 on infrastructure.
“Damascus (Syria) and Tripoli (Libya) continue to languish at the bottom of the list — along with Lagos (Nigeria) — as they face social unrest, terrorism and conflict,” the report said.
Karachi has been ranked among the least livable cities in previous years too. Last year, it ranked 134 of 140 cities in the index. In 2019 it ranked 136 out of 140. The 2020 report was not published.
Most of the top-ranked cities on the index are from western Europe and Canada, with the Austrian capital Vienna topping the list. The city has a perfect score of 100 on four out of five indicators, namely stability, healthcare, education and infrastructure. On the one remaining indicator of culture and environment, the city has a score of 96.3. Its overall score is 99.1.
The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv was excluded from the list due to Russia’s invasion. The conflict influenced rankings for the Russian cities of Moscow and St Petersburg. Both recorded a fall in scores owing to increased instability, censorship, imposition of Western sanctions and corporates withdrawing their operations from the country.
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Courtesy Dawn News
ISLAMABAD, JUN 24: Globally, Pakistan is at the 29th position on the basis of natural gas reserves. The total extractable potential is reported around 24 TCFT, however, 4 billion cubic feet (BCFT) is the daily gas production. Sindh has 124 gas fields and accounts for 63%.
The biggest field of natural gas is in the Sui region of Balochistan accounting for 6%. Country has proven reserves equivalent to 12.0 times its annual consumption.
This means it has about 12 years of gas left. As Pakistan is facing severe natural gas shortage for the last couple of years, it has started relying heavily on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), however, the government needs to explore other energy sources to save the environment as well as financial spending on the LNG import.
It was revealed during the findings of a gas monitor report presented by Dr. Amanullah Mahar, Director, and Center for Environmental Sciences, University of Sindh, Jamshoro.
The alarming situation for the country is that the supply of natural gas is declining day by day from domestic sources as the consumer need is continuously increasing. Since last decade the consumption of natural gas has increased resulting in the import of LNG. The biggest consumer of natural gas is the power sector followed by residential.
There are some gas losses between 11% - 14% due to illegal theft and other reasons. Initially, LNG was introduced to meet the supply gap but now it has a share of 25% of gas supply for LNG power plants in Pakistan. The spot prices have affected the purchasing strategy of LNG which is left up to 40% of supply, said by Dr Mahar while presenting his findings of the report.
He added that, “LNG, Fossil gas is a very high carbon intensive fuel and cannot be called “transition” fuel source to a cleaner energy system. Fossil gas (methane) can be leaked from the regasification, transport, and consumption and processing of it. After carbon dioxide (CO2), methane is the second most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas and responsible for 20% of worldwide atmospheric emissions.
The methane is 25 times more potent than CO2 at absorbing atmospheric heat. In addition, installation of gas pipelines and during the construction of gas infrastructure may leak methane gas into water supplies and the environment.
While presenting findings of another report on “Tabeer LNG Terminal: Socio-Economic & Environmental Analysis”, an independent environmental researcher Ms. Fatima Fasih presented her findings:
It has been almost 4 years since the ESIA of the Project was conducted, but in recent years, several environmental, social and economic conditions of the area have changed and the results of this report can no longer be considered relevant to the current time.
She added, “To continue with its current plans for establishing an end-to-end LNG Terminal, Tabeer Energy (Private) Limited must prepare an updated ESIA to take in consideration the changes in the environmental, social and economic conditions of the area.
This updated ESIA should include an estimate of the expected GHG emissions (Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3) for the company to accurately evaluate its carbon footprint and environmental impact.”
Ms. Fatima Fasih also added that: “Keeping the global LNG markets and their volatility in consideration, it is clear that LNG is no longer a financially-viable source of fuel.
Instead of focusing on short-term monetary gains and quick gains in energy for the economy, public and private institutions should focus on building stronger energy security within Pakistan and developing a greener economy through a just and equitable energy transition towards renewable energy.”
She added that “At present, solar and wind power have shown remarkable success in Pakistan from an economic perspective and should be invested in, to increase their ratios within the country’s energy mix and help the country transition towards a just and sustainable energy transition.
Thus far, the low contribution of renewables to Pakistan’s energy mix is due to a chronic lack of investment over time and policy-wise emphasis on developing coal and gas infrastructure from both public and private finance. The current energy crisis proves that this should change.
The Mitsubishi Corporation can invest in renewables, instead of pushing forward on LNG, which is no longer economically viable as a supplier and buyer.”
Mr. Iqbal Hyder Board, member of Indus Consortium and Executive Director Laar Humanitarian Development Program (LHDP), shared his concluding remarks saying: “Considering the current socio-economic status of the coastal communities that directly depend on the mangrove forests and the coastal region for their livelihoods and wellbeing, it is imperative to recognize that any additional construction and industrial operations is going to exacerbate the declining socio-economic conditions of the local communities.
The valuable indigenous knowledge for local fishing should also be recognized to rejuvenate the current worsening fishing populations. These coastal communities are a valuable economic asset, and must be given the right recognition, as well as the support to succeed and provide good living conditions for their generations to come.”
The report launch was organized by Indus Consortium, An Environmental Organization working on Environment, Climate Change and Just Energy Transition in Pakistan which was attended by representatives of academic institutions, member of GROW Green Network, which is an umbrella of environmental organizations of Pakistan working for the promotion of renewable energy, independent researchers, member of Renewable Energy coalition Pakistan and alliance for climate Justice and Clean energy.
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Thursday, 23 June 2022
Lahore, JUN 23: Huawei and its Tier-1 partner CMC achieved a notable milestone after building a Tier-3 Data Center facility in Evacuee Trust Property Board, Government of Pakistan. This state-of-the-art Data Center has been up and running after the formal inauguration held on Sunday by Mufti Abdul Shakoor, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony.
Chairman Evacuee Trust Board, Habib ur Rehman Gillani along with other Government dignitaries, Mr. Robin, MD Digital Power Huawei Pakistan, along with other members from the Huawei and CMC Team who were also present at the event.
This Data Center will be able to provide automation inside the board and give access to the properties that come under the supervision of the board to help monitor, safeguard, maintain and earn revenue in the times to come.
While talking to the media, the Federal Minister stated, “The newly-established data center will maintain all the ETPB properties and lands, record of leased land, and profits calculations.” He further noted that the Ministry for Religious Affairs aims to reduce hardships endured by the minorities through strict monitoring of evacuee lands with digitalization.
He held the opinion that in today’s world, digitalization is a must for speedy development. He lauded Huawei and the ETPB for establishing the data center, asserting that the entire department is being shifted to modern technology through digitalization.
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ISLAMABAD, JUN 23: Lifebuoy soap joined hands with Sehat Kahani; a leading telehealth provider to provide free doctor consultation across Pakistan at an exclusive signing ceremony held at Unilever Pakistan Head Office on 21st June 2022.This initiative stems from Lifebuoy’s lifelong purpose of saving lives by enabling and educating people on the importance of hygiene.
The vision of providing free health care access to every Pakistani is powered by insights that indicate that less than 50% of the country has access to health care. Recognizing the value that can be unlocked by addressing this challenge, Lifebuoy soap is working towards building a long-term infrastructure that enables free access to health care in collaboration with Sehat Kahani.
Sehat Kahani is a telemedicine platform that leverages technology to connect patients in need of affordable and convenient healthcare options, to an online network of doctors across various specializations.
Lifebuoy will be spreading awareness of this service through meaningful content on TV, digital and nationwide distribution of their packs with the helpline number printed on each pack. This helpline is free of cost and accessible across Pakistan 24/7 with consultation available in both local and regional languages.
Upon the subject matter, Director Beauty & Personal Care at Unilever Pakistan, Asima Haq, stated, “For years, Lifebuoy has been more than just a bar of soap- It is a lifesaving product, offering superior germ protection and spreading awareness on the importance of hand hygiene. During the pandemic, Lifebuoy was the first brand to lead the message of washing hand regularly with any soap. The brand also partnered with numerous organisations to spread its message to consumers. As the next step in this journey, Lifebuoy wants to enable access to good quality and affordable medical advice to millions across Pakistan. Currently, 50% of the population does not have access to doctors. With this partnership, Lifebuoy is fulfilling its promise and purpose of saving lives via providing free, 24/7 consultation with qualified doctors across Pakistan. This collaboration also enables female doctors who presently face limited career opportunities through flexible working models.”
Dr.Sara Saeed, CEO, Sehat Kahani also shared her views on the partnership, “Lifebuoy is a household and trusted name in Pakistan with a mission of improving healthcare ecosystem by improved hand hygiene. Having ourselves associated with them is an honor for us and we look forward to providing free doctor access across Pakistan through this partnership.”
Lifebuoy soap encourages people around the country to avail this service and support in raising awareness by sharing information about the service with their friends and family, or others who could benefit from the program.
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US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives, condemning violations of human rights and religious freedom in India and calling for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate India as a "country of particular concern", it emerged on Thursday.
The resolution, co-sponsored by lawmakers Rashida Talib and Juan Vargas, was submitted on Tuesday, according to the US Congress website. It based its arguments to declare India as a country of particular concern on the conclusions and findings of a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
The resolution
The text of the resolution, available on the US Congress website, highlighted that the USCIRF had called for designating India as a country of particular concern for 3 consecutive years.
Citing the USCIRF’s 2022 annual report, the resolution stated that in 2021, “the Indian government escalated its promotion and enforcement of policies — including those promoting a Hindu-nationalist agenda — that negatively affect Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and other religious minorities”.
According to the resolution, the report further said: “The government continued to systemise its ideological vision of a Hindu state at both the national and state levels through the use of both existing and new laws and structural changes hostile to the country’s religious minorities.”
Moreover, the resolution said, the report described the use of laws such as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Sedition Law in India as a means “to create an increasing climate of intimidation and fear in an effort to silence anyone speaking out against the government”.
The report also mentioned cases of the Indian government's “repression of religious minority leaders and voices for religious pluralism in India, including the Jesuit human rights defender Father Stan Swamy and the Muslim human rights advocate Khurram Parvez,” the resolution said, adding that the report also listed numerous examples of the Indian government "criminalising, harassing, and repressing interfaith couples and converts from Hinduism to Christianity or Islam".
In this connection, the report also highlighted the "severe risks of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Registry of Citizens for Indian Muslims, including the possibility of rendering millions stateless or subject to indefinite detention".
According to the resolution, the report said: "In 2021, numerous attacks were made on religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, and their neighbourhoods, businesses, homes, and houses of worship.
"Many of these incidents were violent, unprovoked, and/or encouraged or incited by government officials."
The USCIRF report further stated: “In 2021, mass protests continued against farm laws enacted in September 2020. Despite the widespread and diverse nature of the protests, efforts — including by government officials — were still made to discredit the protesters, especially Sikh protesters, as terrorists and religiously motivated separatists.”
The resolution said the report further cited a 2021 Oxfam India study which found that a third of Indian Muslims reported discriminatory treatment at hospitals during the surge of Covid in India.
"As of June 2022, USCIRF lists 45 Indian nationals on its Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims list, all of whom were listed for their detention," the resolution stated, adding that 35 of those 45 prisoners of conscience remain detained.
The resolution also referred to a 2021 report of the State Department, which was published on June 2, 2022.
The 'Report on International Religious Freedom' outlined numerous examples of violence and threats of violence against religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, in India throughout 2021, the resolution said.
It added that while launching the report during a press conference, Blinken said: "In India, the world’s largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, we’ve seen rising attacks on people and places of worship."
And at the same press conference, the resolution continued, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain said: “We are concerned with targeting of a number of religious communities in India, including Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindu Dalits, and indigenous communities as well."
On these grounds, the resolution concluded, the House condemned human rights violations and violations of international religious freedom in India, including those targeting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Adivasis, and other religious and cultural minorities.
It added that the House also expressed grave concern about the "worsening treatment" of religious minorities in India and called on Blinken to designate India as a "country of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act of, 1998.
The resolution has been referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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COURTESY DAWN NEWS
Islamabad/DOHA JUN 23: AAA Associates was one of the proud participants from Pakistan at the Largest Property Investment Event, the only property exhibition held this year in Doha, Qatar.
The Expo showcased a vast array of diverse real estate opportunities aimed at local, regional and international investors. The event was held at Cityscape Doha Exhibition & Convention Center.
Managing Director AAA Associates Lt. Col. Shahzad Ali Kiani (r) led the AAA Associates’ delegation at the Expo. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the AAA Associates’ stall on the occasion, which was officiated by Qatar’s Minister of Justice His Highness Sheikh Masoud bin Mohammed Al Ameri.
Speaking on the occasion, Managing Director AAA Associates Lt. Col. Shahzad Ali Kiani (r) stated, “It was an honour to represent Pakistan and AAA Associates at the Largest Property Investment Event in Qatar. The event brought together the industry's top professionals and provided a window to discuss new ideas and learn new insights from them.
Bilateral trade and investment opportunities will not only foster a tangible bond between the two countries but will also broaden their markets, boosting economic growth.”
Pakistan and Qatar have warm and cordial relations, as well as strong brotherly ties. They have an exceptionally close liaison and intend to expand cooperation in the economic, defence, and political sectors to ensure mutual economic growth. Pakistan has vast resources and enormous investment potential.
Pakistan's investment in Qatar is mainly in real estate, construction machinery and the technical services industry.
AAA Associates takes pride in presenting their projects at such an auspicious event that will allow investors from all over the world specially the Pakistani expats residing in Qatar to explore Pakistan's economic prospects in the Real Estate.
AAA Associates is one of the most trusted and rapidly expanding conglomerates in Real Estate Sector of Pakistan. Recently, they have launched one of their mega projects at Karachi Bahria Town as well.
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Catalog Name: Lawn Collection Vol. 3
Product Name: 3 Pc Suit Inspired By Anaya
Product Description: 3 Pc Beautiful Printed Suit
Product Details:
Fabric: Lawn
Front: Full Printed With Embroidered Neckline
Sleeves: Printed
Back Side: Printed
Trouser: Plain
Dupatta: Printed Chiffon
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