Pakistan

PM visiting Turkey to express solidarity with quake-hit nation

Published

10 months ago

Farwa

PM visiting Turkey to express sorrow over deaths.
Turkish ambassador bid farewell to PM.
No country alone can deal with such huge devastation, says PM.

LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday reached Turkey to express solidarity and support with the Turkish people as they reel from the massive earthquake that has killed more than 36,000 people.

Turkish ambassador Mehmet Pacaci bid adieu to the premier as he departed from the Lahore Airport and he was welcomed by the Turkish officials at Ankara Esenboğa Airport.

Before departure, PM Shehbaz in a tweet said, “I am leaving for Turkiye with a message of unwavering solidarity and support for our Turkish brothers and sisters from the people and government of Pakistan.”

“True to the spirit of one nation living in two states, we consider their loss as ours,” he said.

Natural disasters as the earthquake in Türkiye & Syria are beyond the capacity of any single government to handle. No country, howsoever resourceful, can deal with devastation of this magnitude. It is time the world came forward & extended support to the suffering humanity. https://t.co/L1PA8NoSY4
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) February 16, 2023

During his two-day stay in Ankara, the prime minister will meet President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan to personally convey heartfelt condolences on behalf of the entire Pakistani nation over the loss of lives and the widespread damage.

In another tweet, the premier while expressing his grief over the massive losses noted that no matter how resourceful the country is, it cannot fight such devastation without any help.

He stated: “Natural disasters as the earthquake in [Turkey and] Syria are beyond the capacity of any single government to handle. No country, howsoever resourceful, can deal with devastation of this magnitude. It is time the world came forward [and] extended support to the suffering humanity.”

The prime minister will reiterate Pakistan’s firm commitment to stand by the Turkish people during difficult times and to continue extending all possible support to the ongoing relief effort.

The prime minister will also visit earthquake-affected areas in southern Turkey, and interact with the Pakistani search and rescue teams deployed in the area as well as survivors of the earthquake.

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in southern Turkey, the prime minister had spoken with President Erdogan on February 6 and assured him of all possible assistance for the rescue and relief effort.

All available resources have been fully mobilised to help the Turkish people and the prime minister is personally overseeing the relief effort.

Pakistan and Turkiye enjoy deep fraternal ties. The two countries have resolutely stood by each other during every trial and tribulation.

It should be noted on February 7, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb had announced that Shehbaz Shehbaz will be travelling to Turkey to condole President Erdogan on the devastating earthquake that hit the country.

Taking to Twitter, the minister wrote: “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will leave for Ankara tomorrow morning, he will express his condolences to the Turkish president and to the people of Turkey over the destruction caused by the earthquake and the loss of life.”

وزیراعظم شہباز شریف کل صبح انقرہ روانہ ہوں گے، وہ صدر اردوان سے زلزلے کی تباہی، جانی نقصان پر افسوس اور تعزیت،ترکیہ کے عوام سے یک جہتی کریں گے۔ وزیراعظم کے دورہ ترکیہ کی وجہ سے جمعرات 9 فروری کو بلائی گئی اے پی سی مؤخر کی جا رہی ہے، اتحادیوں کی مشاورت سے نئی تاریخ کا اعلان ہوگا
— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) February 7, 2023

However, the trip was cancelled back then.

Pakistan

Sindh schools winter vacations from Dec 22

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Thursday announced the winter vacation schedule for public and private educational institutions across the province.

According to a notification issued by the Sindh School, Education, and Literacy Department, the educational institutions in the province will observe winter vacation from December 22 to 31.

“In pursuance of decisions taken in the steering committee meeting, all public and private educational institutions under the administrative control of School Education and Literacy Department Government of Sindh shall remain closed w.e.f 22-12,023 to 31-12,023 for Winter Vacation.”

Sindh schools winter vacations from Dec 22

After the winter break, the educational institutions will reopen on Friday (January 1, 2024).

Meanwhile, the new academic year in the public and private schools across Sindh will commence on April 15, 2024, and August 1, 2024, in the colleges.

The matriculation and intermediate exams will be started from the last week of May 2024, while the results will be announced on July 31 and the second week of August, respectively.

Pakistan

COAS Gen Asim Munir meets Kuwaiti crown prince

Published

4 days ago

Farwa

PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to meet Kuwaiti crown prince today.
Both army chief and PM are in Kuwait on official visit.
PM Office says multiple MoUs expected to be signed during visit.

Army chief General Asim Munir on Tuesday met Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as part of his official visit to the gulf country, reported Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

The meeting was also attended by Caretaker Law Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam, Pakistan Ambassador to Kuwait Malik Mohammad Farooq and other members of the delegation.

Meanwhile, PM Kakar has also arrived in Kuwait City after concluding the UAE visit and is expected to meet the crown prince today, the PM Office said on Wednesday.

The premier will also meet his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Ahmed Al-Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

The PM office said that a number of memorandum of understanding (MoUs) will be signed for mutual cooperation in various sectors including manpower, information technology, minerals and mining, food security, energy and defence.

In UAE, Pakistan signed several MoUs worth multi-billion dollars in a range of areas on Monday to boost economic and strategic cooperation between the two countries, PM Kakar said.

The prime minister said with the signing of the MoUs, the bilateral economic and strategic relations had entered into a new era of bilateral cooperation.

Congratulating the people of Pakistan and the UAE, he said the foundation of friendship with Pakistan which was laid by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in the 1970s, had been taken forward by his son Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to a new era.

PM Kakar expressed the hope that the MoUs that were signed by the two countries would turn into tangible projects very soon.

Pakistan

Haj 2024: Pakistanis to get ‘free SIMs with internet’

Published

5 days ago

Farwa

Caretaker Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony Aneeq Ahmed said Tuesday that the government would provide free-of-cost mobile SIMs with roaming internet packages to Pakistanis performing Haj in 2024.

In conversation with a private news channel, the caretaker minister said abayas would also be given to female pilgrims, having a Pakistani flag on the backside, and 13kg suitcases would be given to all.

The minister called the reduction of around Rs100,000 in the Haj cost a “historic step” taken by the caretaker government, noting that a further Rs50,000 would be slashed and the amount would be refunded to the people in their accounts.

He said a new mobile application has been designed to assist pilgrims, which will provide navigation support and enable constant communication between pilgrims and relevant officials.

Initially available in English and Urdu, the application will later incorporate various regional languages, he said, adding, that the app would also provide digital training programmes to every pilgrim.

The minister also disclosed a project that Haj ministry, with the collaboration of the education ministry, has planned to convert city mosques into schools to enroll out-of-school children where the mosques’ imams would play a leading role.

The minister said that mosques will play their role as community centers in every city areas, adding that imams will resolve community issues as well after offering prayers.

He said that haj ministry is taking all four provinces on board and enhancing the connectivity of mosques.

While describing another project, the minister said that his ministry with the collaboration of the health ministry has another project in the works, in which medical clinics will also be part of mosques.