Pay with Visa, fly with Qatar Airways and win FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 package

 

Get up to 12% savings on your Qatar Airways flight along with a chance to win a complimentary FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ package 

13 lucky winners will win a trip of a lifetime to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ 

The promotion will run for flights booked and travelled by 31st August 2022

ISLAMABAD, JUN 16: Qatar Airways passengers who are Visa cardholders in UAE, Kuwait and Oman, are being rewarded with the chance to win special savings and prizes, including a fantastic FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ package thanks to Visa and Qatar Airways. The package includes match tickets along with 3-4 nights of hotel accommodation in Qatar. Some of the packages offered as prizes include airline tickets to / from Qatar. In time for making travel plans for this summer, the promotion also gives Visa card holders up to 12% discount for flight tickets booked from Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, UAE and Pakistan.

The offer will be valid for online bookings completed through www.qatarairways.com using the promotional code VISA22, payment made with Visa cards and travel starting within the campaign period. The promotion will be offered for all Qatar Airways-operated destinations subject to certain exclusions. 

Qatar Airways VP Sales – Middle East, Levant, Caucasus and Pakistan, Mr. Dersenish Aresandiran, said: “The FIFA World Cup coming to Qatar this year is a major draw for passengers from all over the World. As the World’s Best Airline, we are delighted to be able to work with Visa to offer passengers the opportunity to join us here in Qatar for this extraordinary event.”

Madhur Mehra, Visa’s Head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring for MENA, said: “As travel continues to reopen post-pandemic, this promotion is a great way to reward Qatar Airways passengers when they use their Visa card to book their travel. We are delighted to partner with Qatar’s national carrier to enrich Visa cardholders’ payment experiences with chances to win once in a lifetime and unique prizes.”

Qatar Airways is providing incredible travel options during Summer 2022 with flights operating daily from the World’s Best Airport, Hamad International, to its global network with a huge number of leisure choices. Whether passengers are seeking summer vacations including tranquil beach gateways, energetic city breaks, bold adventure destinations or incredible family and friend escapes, there is something for everyone.

The airline is providing global connectivity from more than 150 gateways worldwide to some of the most desired vacation destinations, whilst offering unparalleled comfort and exceptional service on board to give passengers an unforgettable journey.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ in the latest World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. The airline’s hub, HIA, was recently recognised as the ‘Best Airport in the World 2021’, ranking at number one in the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2021.

In addition to this, Qatar Airways has become the first global airline in the world to achieve the prestigious 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating by Skytrax. This follows the success of Hamad International Airport (HIA) as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating. These awards provide assurance to passengers across the world that the airline’s health and safety standards are subject to the highest possible standards of professional, independent scrutiny and assessment. 

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ICRC organizes capacity building training for media on health issues

 

KARACHI, JUN 15: Considering media as the fourth pillar of a state due to its important role towards transferring information and opinion making, experts at a consultative workshop have called for capacity building of media persons especially on health issues including provision of emergency healthcare services.

Healthcare professionals, representatives from media regulators, media experts and academicians attended the consultative workshop which was organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), APPNA Institute of Public Health-Jinnah Sindh Medical University and Khyber Medical University.

Objective of the workshop, which was part of the ICRC’s Health Care in Danger (HCiD) initiative, was to develop training for journalists to promote ethical and responsible reporting on the issues related to healthcare in Pakistan. 

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Lubna Ansari-Baig, Chairperson AIPH-JSMU, said, “Various research studies have identified that irresponsible media reporting always hinders the provision of emergency healthcare services. There is a need to improve the standards of media reporting on health issues to counter misperceptions, promote factual reporting, and stop the gradual erosion of trust between healthcare providers and the public.”

The experts in the workshop deliberated in depth upon the problems pertaining to reporting on health matters in national media and provided their feedback to strengthen the content of the training. They also stressed upon the need for following up this exercise with hands-on trainings for journalists on ethical standards of reporting on health. 

Participating in the discussion, Secretary General of Pakistan Medical Association, Dr Qaisar Sajjad, said, “Healthcare workers are working in challenging circumstances, especially in emergency departments, to provide life-saving services. They need the support of media personnel to promote attitudes and behaviours among the general public that facilitate the provision of healthcare services”.

The representatives of media at the workshop voiced the needs of journalists and reporters specific to reporting on health care. They called for media persons’ capacity building and trainings to objectively report on the issues facing the healthcare sector. 

At the same time, they were also of the view that it’s important for healthcare workers to also enhance their communication skills to enable a clearer flow of information between the media and healthcare professionals, especially during disasters or emergencies.

Under the HCiD initiative, the ICRC has been working to make healthcare safer in Pakistan by promoting evidence-based initiatives in collaboration with diverse stakeholders including public health institutions, medical academia, healthcare authorities, and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society.

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Pakistani Teams Gear up for 6th Huawei ICT Competition Global Final

 

Islamabad, JUN 15: This marks the sixth iteration of the Huawei ICT Middle EastGlobal Competition in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. The competition is a Huawei annual ICT initiative, designed to nurture global ICT talent. On 23rd, December 2021, winners for the Middle East regional finals were announced and Pakistan’s team one won first prize of 20,000 USD. Not only so, the second prize was also grabbed by Pakistan’s team two. 150,000 students from 2000 universities located in 85 countries/regions have participated in the 6th iteration of thel competition. 

The competition, set to be hosted in Shenzhen and conducted online, consists of the opening ceremony, launch conference, closing ceremony, practice competition and the innovation competition. The practice competition focuses on the participants' knowledge and skills. It adopts the written exam and the lab exam, and the ranking is based on the exam score. It is divided into two tracks: network and cloud. 

The innovation competition focuses on the participants' comprehensive capabilities. The competition adopts the network evaluation mechanism. Participants are required to design works or solutions with commercial and social benefits by using new ICT such as AI, IoT, big data, and Cloud. 

2021-2022 Regional finals winners, Pakistan’s team; Sateesh Kumar, Iqra Fatima, and Bhagchand Meghwar along with their instructor Dr. Faheem Yar Khuhawar and team two; Hafiz Rizwan, Adnan Ali, and Mukhtar Memon along with their instructor will be participating in the practice competition.

 These students hail from Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Islamiya University Bahawalpur and, UET Lahore and Virtual University. 

In the Innovation Competition, two further teams from Pakistan will be competinghave been nominated this year. Osman Ahsan Sheikh, Muhammad Abdullah Ahsan Sheikh, Aqsa Amir and their instructor Merai Syed represent team ‘Homevism’, comprised of students from National Incubation Center, NUST. The second team from LUMS consist of Umer Farooq, Tabish Rafiq, Areej Ahmed and their instructor Muhammad Saeed from National Incubation Center, LUMS.

The ME Regional Winner team instructor Dr. Faheem Yar Khuhawar statement:”Back in 2017, I attended a short ICT training organized by Huawei to prepare instructors for ICT Academy to be established at various universities of Pakistan. Since then, i have been providing training to undergraduate and graduate student to getpromote Huawei’s Certification in Routing and Switching Track. InSince 2019 and in- 2020, Pakistaniour students came to the levelhave excelled in the  of Middle-East and Global Finals and won the competition. This year too, Pakistani studentsthey have secured won Huawei’s ICT Competition 2021—Middle East with first and second positionin the Middle East stage. It is a privilege and honor for Pakistan to earn the place into represent Pakistan in Huawei’s ICT Competition 2021 - Global Final happening in June, 2022.” 

The Global Finals set under the theme of ‘I. C. The Future Foreseeable’ and ‘I. C. The Future You at the Center’ is set to take place between the 17th and 19th of June. 

The competition has always been well received in Pakistan as it promotes innovation and creativity while serving as a link between the classroom and the professional workplace. By nurturing university students’ talent in Pakistan, it also contributes to increasing national ICT competitiveness while enhancing digital transformation efforts.

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مظلوم طبقات کے حقوق کے لیے تعصبات سے بالاتر رویے وقت کی اہم ضرورت ہیں: ماہرین

 

اسلام آباد: عالمی سطح پر مظلوم طبقات کو درپیش مسائل سے نمٹنے کے لیے تعصب سے بالاتر عالمگیر پالیسی وقت کی اہم ضرورت ہے، ان خیالات کا اظہار بین الاقوامی امور اورانسانی حقوق کے ماہرین نے عالمی اقتصادی فورم کے موقع پر پاکستان پویلین میں پاتھ فائنڈر گروپ آف کمپنیز اور مارٹن ڈاٶ گروپ کے باہمی اشتراک سے منعقدہ ایک مباحثے سے خطاب کرتے ہوٸے کیا۔ 

 پاکستان کی ممتاز ماہر تعلیم اور کراچی کونسل آن فارن ریلیشنز (KCFR) کی سینئر وائس چیئرمین ڈاکٹر ہما بقائی نے مباحثے کی ادارت کی جبکہ سیگل۔ایسوسی ایٹس کے صدر ڈاکٹر مارک سیگل، چیئرمین کانٹینیوٹی گلوبل جان بلیسیو اور میڈی ایٹرز گروپ کی سی ای او  ڈاکٹر سمیعہ خان بابر نے اپنے خیالات کا اظہار کیا۔ پاکستان کے ممتاز قانون دان انور منصور خان بعض ناگزیر وجوہات کی بناء پر بحث میں شریک نہیں ہو سکے تاہم ان کی تقریر ڈاکٹر سمیعہ خان بابر نے حاضرین کو پڑھ کر سنائی۔

مباحثے کا آغاز کرتے ہوئے ڈاکٹر ہما بقاٸی نے مظلوم کی اصطلاح کی وضاحت کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ دنیا بھر میں ہر بحران کے متاثرین کو مظلوم سمجھا جاتا ہے اور بلاشبہ ان بحرانوں کی اکثریت کے پیچھے جارحیت ایک بڑی وجہ ہے۔ ڈاکٹر بقاٸی نے غربت کو المی بحرانوں کی بڑی وجہ بھی قرار دیا۔

اس موقع پر ڈاکٹر سمیعہ خان بابر نے انور منصور خان کی تقریر بعنوان ’’ظلم امن و سلامتی کی خلاف ورزی کا باعث بنتا ہے‘‘ پڑھ کر سناٸی جس میں انہوں نے کشمیر اور یوکرین سمیت عالمی بحرانوں کی قانونی حیثیت پر روشنی ڈالی۔

انور منصور کا کہنا تھا کہ "اقوام متحدہ کے قیام کا بنیادی محرکآنے والی نسلوں کو جنگوں سے محفوظ بنانا تھا لیکن ماضی قریب میں ہم نے ویٹو پاور کے حامل مستقل ممبران میں سے ایک کی جانب سے یوکرین کے خلاف جارحیت دیکھی جو اس امر کی غماز ہے کہ اقوام متحدہ اپنے مقاصد کی تکمیل میں ناکام رہاہے"۔

انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ یمن کی جنگ میں چند طاقتوروں کی آشیرباد سے سعودی عرب ظلم۔کا بازار گرم کر رہاہے جبکہ لیبیا، عراق، کویت اور افغانستان میں تباہی اس جارحیت کی کچھ مثالیں ہیں جس سے عالمی امن کو درہم برہم کیا گیا۔ ایسا لگتا ہے کہ اقوام متحدہ کے ارکان نے ایسی جنگوں کو باقاعدہ اپنا لیا ہے۔

انور منصور خان نے تنازعہ کشمیر کا تذکرہ کرتے ہوئے اقوام متحدہ اور اس کے ارکان پرشدید تنقید کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ اقوام متحدہ کا بنیادی مقصد مظلوم اقوام کو ان کے حقوق تک رسائی دینا تھا لیکن یہ خواب کبھی حقیقت نہیں بن سکا۔ منصور کاکہناتھا کہ اقوام متحدہ کی سلامتی کونسل نے 1948 میں ایک قرارداد 47/1948 منظور کی تھی جس میں جموں و کشمیر کو پاکستان اور بھارت کے درمیان متنازعہ علاقہ قرار دیا گیا تھا اور بھارت کو یہ ذمہ داری سونپی گئی تھی کہ وہ اقوام متحدہ کے سیکرٹری جنرل کے نمائندے کو مکمل اختیارات کے تحت رائے شماری کا اہتمام کرنے میں ہرممکن مدد فراہم کرے۔ اس قرارداد میں جموں و کشمیر کے لوگوں کو اپنی قسمت کا فیصلہ خود کرنے کی ضمانت دی گٸی تھی لیکن بھارتی ہٹ دھرمی کے باعث ایسا نہیں ہو سکا۔

انور منصور نے بھارت کی جانب سے قرارداد کی کھلم کھلا خلاف ورزی پر اقوام متحدہ کی خاموشی پر سوال اٹھاتے ہوئے کہا کہ اقوام متحدہ کی سلامتی کونسل کی جانب سے 1948 سے لے کر اب تک متعدد بار قرارداد پر عمل درآمد کی یاد دہانی کرائی گئی لیکن بھارتی ہٹ دھرمی کی وجہ سے اس پر عملدرآمد نہیں ہو سکا۔

انور منصور نے کہا کہ اقوام متحدہ جموں و کشمیر کے لوگوں کے خلاف جاری مظالم کا براہ راست ذمہ دار ہے۔ اقوام متحدہ کے چارٹر کا حوالہ دیتے ہوئے انور منصور نے کہا کہ چارٹر کا ساتواں باب حملہ آور ممالک کے خلاف سخت کارروائی کی نشاندہی کرتا ہے لیکن دیکھا گیا ہے کہ اقوام متحدہ کی سلامتی کونسل کے مستقل ارکان اپنے ویٹو پاور کے ذریعے عالمی ادارے کو بلیک میل کرتے ہیں۔

انور منصور نےمطالبہ کیا کہ  اقوام متحدہ فوری طور پر مسئلہ کشمیر کا حل تلاش کرے بصورت دیگر ایٹمی ہتھیاروں سے لیس دونوں پڑوسیوں کے درمیان بڑھتی ہوئی کشیدگی نہ صرف امن کو درہم برہم کر سکتی ہے بلکہ جنگ کے نتیجے میں ایک بڑے بحران کو جنم ے سکتی ہے۔

اس موقع پرکشمیر کی صورتحال پر روشنی ڈالتے ہوئے ڈاکٹر ہما بقائی کاکہنا تھا کہ کشمیر دو ایٹمی ریاستوں کے درمیان ایک اہم تنازعہ ہے اور خطے میں شدید کشیدگی کے پیش نظر اس کا حل انتہائی ضروری ہے۔ ڈاکٹر ہما نے کہا کہ آرٹیکل 370 کے تحت جموں و کشمیر کو ہندوستانی علاقہ قرار دینے کے بعد وہاں کی آبادی کے تناسب کو تبدیل کرنے کی کوششیں کی جارہی ہیں اور ہندوؤں کو وادی میں آباد کیا جارہا ہے جو کہ بین الاقوامی قوانین کی سنگین خلاف ورزی ہے۔ ہما بقائی نے کہا کہ تنازعہ کشمیر کا حل پاکستان اور بھارت دونوں کے بہترین مفاد میں ہے کیونکہ دونوں ممالک اس سلسلے میں اپنی استطاعت سے زیادہ فوجی طاقت پر خرچ کر رہے ہیں۔ بقائی نے اپنے اختتامی بیان میں کہا، ’’جیسا کہ معروف ہندوستانی مصنفہ اروندھتی رائے نے کہا تھا کہ کشمیریوں کو ہندوستان سے آزادی کی ضرورت نہیں بلکہ ہندوستان کو کشمیر سے آزادی کی ضرورت ہے۔‘‘

ڈاکٹر ہما بقائی نے روس یوکرین جنگ کا ذکر کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ پاکستانی یوکرین کے عوام کی حالت زار کو بہتر طور پر سمجھ سکتے ہیں کیونکہ وہ گزشتہ 40 سالوں سے اپنے پڑوس میں افغان بحران کی عملی مثال دیکھ رہے ہیں۔

اس موقع پر بین الاقوامی شہرت یافتہ ماہر انسانی حقوق ڈاکٹر مارک سیگل کاکہناتھا کہ مظلوم طبقات کی آزادی کا خواب حقیقت پر مبنی نظر نہیں آتا۔ مارک سیگل نے حال ہی میں مالڈووا میں یوکرین کے متاثرین اور اس سے قبل افغان مہاجرین کے لیے اپنی خدمات کا حوالہ دیتے ہوئے کہا کہ "ان بحرانوں کے درمیان ہم اپنے تعصبات کو نظر انداز نہیں کرتے۔" سیگل نے کہا کہ دنیا یوکرین کے لوگوں کی حمایت میں سامنے آئی اور انہیں مظلوم قرار دیا لیکن ان مغربی لوگوں نے کبھی چیچنیا، جارجیا میں کیے گٸے مظالم پر یوں آواز نہیں اٹھاٸی۔ انسانی حقوق سے متعلق ایک کمیٹی کی کارروائی کا حوالہ دیتے ہوئے، سیگل نے انکشاف کیا کہ جب اس نے کمیٹی کی طرف سے کی جانے والی ترامیم کو اسلامی عقائد سے متصادم قرار دیتے ہوئے اعتراض کیا تو اسے فاشسٹ کے طور پر لیا گیا۔ انہوں نے دنیا بھر کے مظلوم لوگوں پر غلبہ پانے کے لیے مغربی طاقتوں کے رویے پر اپنے تحفظات کا اظہار کیا۔

اس موقع پر ڈاکٹر جان ڈی بلاسیو نے کہا کہ مظلوم عوام کی آزادی کا تصور بہت خوش کن ہے لیکن اسکی کامل تکمیل پریقین نہیں کیاجا سکتا ۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ دنیا تیزی سے بدل رہی ہے اور تنازعات کے حل میں بڑی کامیابیاں حاصل کی گئی ہیں۔ 

مباحثے کے اختتام پر ڈاکٹر ہما بقائی اور دیگر شرکا نے چیئرمین پاتھ فائنڈر گروپ آف کمپنیز اور کراچی کونسل آن فارن ریلیشنز اکرام سہگل اور ان کی ٹیم کو ایسے مکالموں کی مسلسل ترویج پر خراجبتحسین پیش کیا۔

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Freedom for Oppressed Must be Beyond Prejudices: Experts

 

Islamabad, JUN 14: A global policy beyond prejudice to deal with the issues being faced by the oppressed people is the need of the hour, stated international affairs experts during a panel discussion.

The panel discussion ‘Freedom of the Oppressed Classes was hosted by Pathfinder Group of Companies in collaboration with Martin Dow Group at Pakistan Pavilion on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. 

The session was presided over and moderated by Dr. Huma Baqai, Pakistan's eminent educationist and senior vice chairman of the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations (KCFR) while Dr Marc H. Siegel, President & CEO Siegel Associates, and Mr John DeBlasio, Chairman Continuity Global Solutions shared their views on this occasion. Prominent Pakistani lawyer Anwar Mansoor Khan could not attend the discussion due to some unavoidable reasons, however, his speech was read out to the audience by Dr. Samia Khan Babar.

Initiating the discussion, Dr. Huma elaborated on the term oppressed saying that victims of each crisis around the globe were considered oppressed and undoubtedly, aggression was one of the major reasons behind a majority of these crises. She also described poverty not only as a major source of oppression but also as a crisis itself. 

On this occasion, Dr. Samia Khan Babar read out the speech of Anwar Mansoor Khan titled ‘Oppression Leads to Breach of Peace and Security’ in which he shed light on the legal status of global humanitarian crises including Kashmir and Ukraine. 

“To save a succeeding generation from the wars was the main motivation for the creation of United Nations but in the recent past we witnessed one of the permanent members having veto power launch aggression against Ukraine,” Mansoor said.

He added, “The war of Yemen where Saudi Arabia with the blessings of powerful caused miseries and the destruction in Libya, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan were some examples of the aggression causing a breach of the world peace while it seemed that the members of the UN subscribed to such wars.”

Referring to the Kashmir dispute, Anwar Mansoor Khan slammed the United Nations and its members, saying that the main purpose of the United Nations was to give the oppressed nations access to their rights but it turned out to be a distant dream. 

Mansoor said that the UN Security Council in 1948 passed a resolution 47/1948 declaring Jammu & Kashmir as a disputed territory between Pakistan and India and the responsibility was given to India to arrange the plebiscite under a representative of the UN Secretary-General with full authority enabling the people of Jammu & Kashmir to decide their fate. 

Anwar Mansoor questioned the silence of the United Nations on the flagrant violation of the resolution by India, saying that the UN Security Council had been reminded of the implementation of the resolution several times since 1948, but it could not be implemented due to Indian bigotry. 

Anwar Mansoor said that the UN was directly responsible for the ongoing atrocities against the people of Jammu & Kashmir. Referring to the UN Charter, Anwar Mansoor said that Chapter VII of the Charter indicates strict action against the invading countries but it has been observed that the permanent members of the UN Security Council blackmail the world body through their veto power. 

He said that the United Nations should immediately find a solution to the Kashmir issue, otherwise the escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors could lead not only to a breach of peace but also to a major crisis in the wake of the war.

While shedding the light on the situation in Kashmir, Dr. Huma Baqai said that Kashmir was a key dispute between the two nuclear states and its resolution was crucial given severe tensions in the region. Dr. Huma said that after the declaration of Jammu and Kashmir as an Indian territory under Article 370, efforts were being made to change the proportion of the population there and Hindus were being resettled in the valley which was a serious violation of international law. 

Huma Baqai said that resolution to the Kashmir dispute was in the best interest of both Pakistan and India as both the countries were spending more on military powers than they could afford in this regard. “As well-known Indian writer Arundhati Roy said, it’s not the Kashmiris who need freedom from India, it's India that needs freedom from Kashmir,” Baqai said in her closing statement. 

Referring to the Russia-Ukraine war, Dr. Huma Baqai said that the Pakistanis could better understand the plight of the people of Ukraine because they had been seeing a practical example of the Afghan crisis in our neighborhood for the last 40 years.

On this occasion, Dr. Marc Siegel, an internationally renowned human rights activist, said that the dream of emancipation of the oppressed classes did not seem to be based on reality. Mark Siegel recently referred to his services to Ukrainian victims in Moldova and earlier to Afghan refugees, saying “in the midst of these crises we do not ignore our prejudices.” 

Siegel said that the world came out in support of Ukrainian people calling them oppressed, but these western people never saw it happening in Chechnya, Georgia, and other places. While referring to the proceedings of a committee on human rights, Siegel revealed that he was taken as a fascist when he when he objected the amendments made by the committee as contradictory to Islamic beliefs. He shared his reservations over the attitude of western powers for being dominant to oppressed people around the globe. 

On this occasion, Dr. John DeBlasio said that the idea of freedom for the oppressed people was very pleasing. He said that the world was changing rapidly and huge successes had been made in conflict resolutions. While concluding the session, Dr. Huma Baqai and other panelists paid their homage to Ikram Sehgal, Chairman Pathfinder Group of Companies and Karachi Council on Foreign Relations, and his team for their continued efforts to bring up such dialogues.  

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