Category: Education

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The Women in Finance Society of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Pakistan, in partnership with FTAC, organised an intensive training programme ‘Women in Business – Making Pakistan Prosperous’ for aspiring women entrepreneurs and finance professionals in Lahore.

Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI), Technology Incubation Centre KICS, UET and Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WCCI) also collaborated in the event and were represented by their senior leadership.

Begum Perveen Sarwar, Vice Chair, Sarwar Foundation and the wife of Governor Punjab, Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar was the Chief Guest and in her speech she emphasised on the importance of enhancing women’s participation in economic development.

Other notable speakers at the event included Sajjeed Aslam, Head of ACCA Pakistan, Ammara Latif, Assistant Finance Manager, China Road & Bridge Corporation, Dr Asma, Executive Committee Member, Pakistan Golf Federation, Dr Iqbal Qureshi, Senior Vice President, PCJCCI, Maryam Zafar, CEO, FTAC & Member, ACCA Pakistan Women in Finance Society, Fiza Imran, Chair, ACCA Pakistan Women in Finance Society and Farhan Riaz, Programme Manager, TICK, UET.

In his speech, Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan said, “ACCA was established specifically to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds, based solely on their ability. Opportunity and diversity are two of our core values that continue to guide our work today. We believe that it’s every organisation’s responsibility to support diversity and to review and revise the way they support and open up opportunities to women – and indeed all other under-represented groups. Pakistan’s economy can never flourish without ensuring participation of women in the economic activity.”

The event was attended by a large number of aspiring women entrepreneurs and finance professionals who were trained in digital marketing, product development & diversification, sales techniques and business models by the leading industry experts. 

 

Benazir Bhutto encountered unique problems of being a woman in politics, says Mark Siegel in an exclusive interview given to SouthAsia Magazine for its April 2019 issue. The interview is part of the magazine’s cover story on the PPP which has appeared in its April 2019 issue, titled ‘Is the Party Losing the Pulse?’

In the interview, Mark Siegel talks about his long association with the PPP and Benazir Bhutto. He refers to one particular meeting which Benazir Bhutto and Hillary Clinton had when they met in the Oval Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in May, 1998. He believes the meeting has never been reported before.  Hillary Clinton was the First Lady then. Mark Siegel was Benazir Bhutto’s note-taker on that occasion while Bruce Reidel of the U.S. National Security Council took notes for Hillary Clinton. Siegel says that while the meeting was scheduled for 30 minutes, it lasted for 90 minutes.  To Siegel, it was a long, candid and startling conversation between the two extraordinary women who both were painful victims of the politics of personal destruction.  Much of the conversation, he says, was about the special difficulties they faced as women in politics and government.

In reply to a question about Benazir Bhutto’s personality as a leader, Mark Siegel says “Benazir was like her name – unique, one of a kind. Her private persona was a bit different than her public one. She was, first of all, a kind and gentle person. And she was funny, really funny. But of course, she was also very cautious and sometimes fragile, which was not surprising in light of her family’s history. There was always an obvious vulnerability. She was very close to her father and was devastated by his death and the circumstances of his death. She never really recovered from that.”

 

Mark Siegel says in the interview that he is a lover of Pakistan and its image is worth building for its 200 million people. He says Pakistan’s international image has no relationship to reality as it is labeled a terrorist state when it actually has been the worst victim of terrorism in the world. He says Pakistan is viewed as undeveloped and unsophisticated when its technology is the finest in the world and its people are hard working.

 

About Bilawal Bhutto, Mark Siegel says he’s absolutely certain that he is fully committed to both democracy and dramatic economic modernization and equalization and he has surrounded himself with a cadre of young leaders who someday will lead Pakistan into a very bright future.

In his opinion, somehow Pakistan is viewed as the militant instigator against India while the world is blissfully unaware that the source of tension, the occupation of the Muslim principality of Kashmir, was mandated by the United Nations to be settled by self-determination and free elections under a UN resolution which India has blocked for 70 years.

Siegel believes that political instability and dictatorship have further muddled Pakistan’s image, while the full story is of a people that have taken heroic steps, against all odds, to build a democracy.  He says the image of Pakistan is worth building for the PPP and other political forces that believe in a democratic future.

Asked how can the PPP make their basic philosophy of catering to the poor man more relevant in today’s world, Mark Siegel says the PPP was, is and will always be a liberal, social democratic party whose universal platform is directed towards income equalization and opportunity to all strata of society, not just to the power elite. He especially mentions Senator Sherry Rehman and says she is a dynamic fighter for human rights and economic reforms and says she is doing a great job in the Senate.

Mark says the new Pakistan deserves a successor generation of young political leaders who can simultaneously address problems that have held Pakistan back, like the failure of the rich to pay taxes and the impact that this has had on stifling education and opportunity in its cities and villages. The PPP, he says, is shaping a successor generation of new, talented, technological leaders generated by an increasingly democratic party structure. He says that though change is often difficult, but change is happening in the PPP.

A full version of the interview is available online at: www.southasia.com.pk / http://www.southasia.com.pk/sa-0419/mark-siegel-interview.html

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The International Public Sector Accounting Conference, hosted by ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), was successfully held in Prague, Czech Republic. The two-day annual conference focused on the sustainability of public sector accounting and attracted hundreds of public sector professionals from the public sector including Zamir Ahmad, Deputy Auditor General, Pakistan.

The sustainable development of infrastructure was one of the important topics at the conference. The conference also included the launch of a flagship new report from ACCA on bridging the infrastructure gap’.

The sustainability themed event covered a number of broad and inter-related subjects including, sustainable development of infrastructure financing, effective public financial management and implementation of international standards, the role of professional accountants in combating fraud, corruption and serious organized crime, financial innovation in the public domain in the digital age and the role of the supreme audit institutions in safeguarding the sustainable development of the public sector.

The conference attracted a number of leaders from the accounting sector, including John Manzoni, Chief Executive of the UK Civil Service, Tomas Muller Marques-Berger, Chair of the Accountancy Europe public sector panel and four Auditor Generals/ Deputy Auditor Generals – from Jamaica, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tanzania.

Helen Brand, Chief Executive, ACCA said, “We are pleased to note that the guests who participated in the conference included outstanding speakers from all over the world and shared the latest developments in public finance management for the participants. The expectations for public service quality are getting higher and higher, and the financial constraints faced by the public sector are increasing. This meeting actively demonstrates how professional accountants should play a central role in driving change and improving accountability to ensure public sector financial management can meet future development needs.”

Speaking of the conference, Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan said, “The public sector is facing intense challenges – from increasing scrutiny on spending, to constrained funding to the challenges of delivering high quality services in an increasingly digital world. Professional accountants serving in the public sector play a central role in tackling fraud, corruption and serious organised crime. Ethical behaviour is fundamental in this sector, and so this was a timely event to assess best practices and learn from an interconnected global network of public sector finance professionals and policy makers. We have more than 64,000 ACCA members and students around the world working in the public sector helping build the public sector accounting profession that the world needs.”

 

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)  The Jinnah Society in conjunction with Lightstone Publishers Limited, launched the fourth edition of “The Jinnah Anthology”. The recent edition like the other three has been compiled and edited by Liaquat Merchant and Professor Sharif al Mujahid.

Unlike most other books on the Quaid, which are either biographies, histories, records, or recollections, the contents of ‘The Jinnah Anthology’ are uniquely varied. There is something of interest and value for everyone – the scholar as well as the student, the historian and the general reader. Adding to the value of the book is the fact that some of the material has never been published before, and much, if published, was heretofore inaccessible to the general reader – if not because of the specialized nature of the original publication, then the sheer time span or variety of sources. The previous editions have often been referred to as the best reference books on Jinnah in Pakistan. 

In his welcome address, Liaquat Merchant S.I. President, The Jinnah Society said that in order to understand the reasons behind the creation of Pakistan and why the idea of Pakistan will never die, one has to cross the bridge which is “Jinnah”. Some people have criticized Jinnah’s ‘Two Nation Theory’ and his struggle for the creation of a separate Muslim homeland. It must be remembered that Jinnah convinced the Minority Muslim Community in India that they were, in fact a Nation. With the emergence of Pakistan as an independent Nation, the Muslims got over British exploitation and Hindu domination. The new Nation gave the Muslims an opportunity to freely practice and propagate their religious faith. Jinnah wanted the Muslims to achieve Political and Economic independence. While the former is a fact, the latter remains a much-desired necessity. The Jinnah Society has been propagating the principles, ideals and vision of Mr. Jinnah as a Nation building exercise and in the hope of development of leadership in the role model of Jinnah – a Leader respected for his private honor and public integrity. This is why the demand for “Jinnah’s Pakistan” is almost unanimous in the media and across the political divide.

On this occasion, Sikandar Hayat, Professor of History, FC College Lahore and the author of the book ‘The Charismatic Leader Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the Creation of Pakistan’ said that the idea should be to make the Anthology appeal not only to the general public, average educated readers, … but also to a specialized, scholarly audience, comprising teachers, researchers, and postgraduate students working on Modern South Asia, both at home and abroad…. This Anthology cannot, and should not, be taken as a coffee table book, for, in my opinion, it is not! It’s serious work.’

Guest speaker Yasser Latif Hamdani, Advocate High Court, Visiting Fellow (Harvard Law School) & Member of The Honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inn said that “Everyone talks about the kind of state Jinnah wanted. What no one talks about is what he would not have wanted. He would not want a Pakistan where any citizen is discriminated against on the basis of faith. He would not have wanted a Pakistan where anyone is made to feel like a second-class citizen or where the state would determine matters of the faith for its people. He would not have wanted a state where unelected state institutions ride roughshod over elected institutions and the will of the people.” Yasser Latif Hamdani is also the author of the book ‘Jinnah, Myth and Reality’.

In his address, Abdul Basit, Former High Commissioner of Pakistan to India said that “Quaid e Azam succeeded in creating Pakistan but we as a nation failed to live up to his ideals. Fundamentally speaking what we need to do is to bridge democracy and knowledge deficits; break the economic gridlock; and work towards promoting cultural harmony. We must have a well-integrated plan and willingness to implement it. Half-hearted measures will take us nowhere. We cannot realistically expect to build a strong and prosperous Pakistan by giving short shrift to Quaid’s vision. It’s time to revert to him and address both our internal and external challenges with strategic thinking and tactical sleight of hand.”

In her closing remarks, Ameena Saiyid OBE, S.I and Secretary General, The Jinnah Society said that ‘The Jinnah Anthology’ 4th edition is a critical source of information on someone who is above controversy and worthy of emulating.  Jinnah is a perfect role model for our youth, who need to study him deeply. Only independent research, a careful examination of the diverse opinions of him, and a search for the real Jinnah and not the one ‘created’ or ‘imagined’ by other people’s vested interests and ideologies can dispel the many myths that surround him. The Jinnah Anthology brings out the real Jinnah- Pakistanis have been looking for. It will also constitute an excellent reference book on the Founder of Pakistan.

The contents of the 4^th edition of ‘The Jinnah Anthology include rare photographs, personal recollections of contemporaries of the Quaid with Princess Abida Sultaan of Bhopal, Sahabzada Yaqub Ali Khan, Begun Shaista lkramullah, Yusuf Haroon, Syed Hashim Raza, Justice Z. A. Chana, Sharifuddin Pirzada and Ata Rabbani. S. M. Burke gives a historian’s perspective of Jinnah. There are impressions given by Beverly Nichols, Lady Wavell, Aga Khan III, and Edgar Snow; and a study with additional articles by Liaquat Merchant, who is the Quaid’s grand-nephew and president of the Jinnah Society and co-author and editor Professor Sharif al Mujahid. Akbar S. Ahmed writes about what he calls Jinnah’s ‘Gettysburg Address’, and Stanley Wolpert presents a new tribute. There are excerpts from various speeches and statements of Jinnah, shorter quotes from him, as well as the famous quote of Wolpert about him. The book reproduces The Times (London) obituary of Jinnah, Jinnah’s will, and telling portions of high court judgments (on the case related to property instituted after the death of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah) pertaining to Mr Jinnah’s personal faith and sectarian beliefs.

The Jinnah Society was established on 23rd April 1997 at Karachi and has completed 20 years of existence in Pakistan. The main objective of the Society is to propagate the principles, ideals and vision of Quaid-e-Azam as a nation building exercise and in the development of democratic leadership in the role model of Mr. Jinnah.

 

In Pakistan, the unemployment rate estimates the number of people effectively searching for an occupation as a level of the work compelling. Unemployment Rate in Pakistan stayed unaltered at 5.90 percent in 2017 from 5.90 percent in 2016. Unemployment Rate in Pakistan found the middle value of 5.49 percent from 1985 until 2017, achieving an unsurpassed high rate of 7.80 percent in 2002 and a record low of 3.10 percent in 1987.

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The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is known for

its feature of being 24 hours throughout its 11 days event

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) For the first time in Pakistan, the World’s Biggest Book Sale – the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is coming to Lahore this April! Be ready to experience a staggering collection of more than one million brand-new English language books at an astonishing 50% – 90% discount. Doors will open at 9.00am on April 19, 2019 and close at 11.59pm on April 29, 2019. Taking place at Hall 3, Lahore Expo Centre, the entrance to the sale will be free.

The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is known for enjoyable, round-the-clock book shopping and this event will be the first chance for Pakistanis to experience a 24-hour book sale. If you are keen to be one of the first people in the country to enter the Sale, passes to the Sale’s VIP Day will be up for grabs soon via contests on the Big Bad Wolf’s Book Sale’s social media pages. The VIP Day gives pass holders, the opportunity to enter the Sale one day before its official opening to general public on April 18 to hunt for their favourite books.

“Our vision of bringing The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale to Lahore will soon be a reality,” said Andrew Yap, Founder of the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale. He further added, “The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale Lahore aims to promote a culture of reading through affordable brand new books and there is a clear demand for such books in this region. By making millions of high-quality, English books accessible, we aim to ignite imaginations, foster creative thinking and help empower the future generations of Pakistan.”

Following official data from UNESCO, the literacy rate in Pakistan amongst the population aged 15 years and older has steadily increased, from nearly 25% in 1980 to almost 60% in 2018. Such a growing generation of young and literate youth will certainly find a potential opportunity at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale Lahore 2019 to enjoy easy and affordable access to a wide range of world class literature.

The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is the biggest book sale in the World, successfully attracting hundreds of thousands of book lovers, occasional readers, students, families and avid shoppers around the World. The book sale also offers generous discounts to delighted book lovers. Readers can find bestsellers, fiction, romance, crime, thriller, non-fiction, novels, business books, art and design titles, cookbooks, and many more.

Parents will be pleased to know that there is also an assortment of children’s books, including storybooks, activity books, board books, colouring books, picture books, and interactive books.

The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is also Asia’s exclusive seller of the Little Hippo Augmented Reality (AR) books. Using cutting-edge AR technology to revolutionise reading for the next generation, children are able to read, play and learn through the Little Hippo AR books. The Little Hippo AR books or commonly known as magic books come to life as the character speak, dance and sing getting children more excited to read and learn. Find a range of classic children’s stories such as Cinderella, Little Red Ridding Hood, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

“There will be a lot of books at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale Lahore and everyone is invited to come and experience it for themselves” said Awais Akhtar Butt, Director of Big Book Private Limited, organisers of the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale Lahore 2019.

Founded in 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale has been to multiple cities in the last decade, including Dubai, Jakarta, Manila, Cebu, Colombo, Bangkok and Taipei. Lahore’s very own Big Bad Wolf Book Sale will reflect its commitment to its mission: ‘Changing the World One Book at a Time’. Readers of all interests, financial status or age groups can expect to find bestsellers, novels, business books, art and design titles, cookbooks and a wide range of children’s books from augmented reality to activity books.

Social Platforms

Fans can stay up to date on the latest Big Bad Wolf Book Sale Lahore 2019 news, giveaways and more via the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale’s dedicated social media pages and website:

• Facebook: bbwbookspakistan
• Instagram: BigBadWolfBooks_PK
• Website: bigbadwolfbooks.com

 

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Nearly 39 percent of Pakistanis live in multi-dimensional poverty, according to UNDP’s 2016 report. To combat this issue, The Hunar Foundation (THF) is conducting vocational training for young men and women from underprivileged communities, thereby empowering them with technical and vocational skills to become financially independent.

Engro Vopak is extending support to The Hunar Foundation (THF) by sponsoring a Women’s Trade for THF Campus in Korangi. A cheque hand over ceremony took place on 26th March 2019 at THF’s Delhi Mercantile Society Technical Institute in Karachi, with Mr. Jahangir Piracha, C.E.O Engro Vopak, and Mr. Mehdi Hasnain, C.E.O of The Hunar Foundation, presiding over this this auspicious event.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Helen Brand OBE, Chief Executive, ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) visited the National Incubation Center (NIC) in Islamabad, Pakistan’s largest technology incubation centre, and was briefed on how the incubation centres run by NIC support and nurture innovation and technology enablement & transformation in the country.

Zouhair Khaliq, Member of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on IT & Telecom and Co-Founder & Partner, TeamUp, Parvez Abbasi, Project Director, NIC and other senior representatives of NIC shared an overview of the growing startup ecosystem in Pakistan and the role NIC is playing with the help of global organisations such as ACCA Pakistan. Helen assured that ACCA will continue to work with NIC in supporting the entrepreneurship in the country and highlighted that the ACCA members can play a big role in improving the success rate of startups at NIC by providing guidance on financially viable business models, business forms & structures and long-term sustainability.   

During her interaction with budding entrepreneurs at NIC, Helen advised, “It is equally important to work on the financial plan and seek advice of qualified professionals in the early stages of your business venture to ensure its viability, scalability and profitability.”

Helen was accompanied by the senior management of ACCA Pakistan, including Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan and Assad Hameed Khan, head of business development at ACCA.  

After listening to different startups and their journey of successes and challenges, Sajjeed highlighted the support which is available for young businesses through ACCA’s global network of employers, business professionals and thought leaders. He encouraged the startup owners to leverage the ACCA and NIC collaboration for access to ACCA’s valuable resources and expertise developed in Pakistan to foster innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

Helen Brand OBE is in Pakistan to attend the third edition of Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit. Powered by ACCA’s award-winning Professional Insights and featuring business leaders and luminaries from around the world, ACCA has joined the summit as a Knowledge Partner.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Aman Tech recently held an industry-wide, technical skills career fair to connect skilled youth with potential employers. The list of VVIPS invitees included industry partners and grant partners including USAID, which, in particular, has played a significant role in making this event possible. USAID and Aman Tech particularly share a history of working together in Pakistan to boost private sector development.

This exciting one-of-its-kind, mega event was open to the public. Last year’s event attracted over 6,000 individuals from across the city, a large percentage of whom were offered jobs by more than thirty mainstream companies. The event drew a similar level of participation this year with 8,000 attendees and guests. It differed from other events by providing attendees ease of access to increased networking and employment opportunities.

Mr. Mujahid Khan, CEO Aman Tech said, “With over 60% of the population comprising of the youth, there is an increased need to provide avenues that enable them to contribute actively towards Pakistan’s economy. Aman Tech is one such initiative where we impart skills to young men and women, and also provide employment opportunities for their economic upliftment as well as that of their families and communities.”

The provision of skilled workforce to meet the growing industrial needs of a nation is critical for the economic development and growth of the industry. To meet this demand, Aman Tech was established in 2011, becoming one of the largest private vocational training institutes in Pakistan. It arms youth with competitive technical skills and abilities, economically and socially empowering them. So far, it has provided over 13,900 aggregate certifications, and has an impressive placement rate of 65%. The constantly growing industrial sector of Pakistan has created a steady demand for an increasing number of skilled technicians to join the labour force which Aman Tech fulfils.

Aman Tech trains students in various different trades, making them market-ready in 6 months. Workshops are built to provide students with hands-on experience in various trades, including analysing, isolating, and fixing problems in vehicles, refrigerators, air conditioners, wiring and circuitry. The alignment between the Industry and the City & Guilds UK accredited curriculum is a winning feature of the institute, so that its output is captured into the workforce soon after the students graduate.