Category: Pakistan

NUT Desk- LAHORE: As decided, the millers stopped grinding of wheat on Thursday, suspended wheat flour supplies to the market and promised to continue strike for Friday (today) as well an act that could create a gap of over 70,000 tonnes in the supply chain.

According to the millers, their units roughly grind 20,000 tonnes in Punjab and another 15,000 tonnes in the rest of Pakistan. The market may not feel the pinch immediately as the supply contains enough quantity to sustain demand for two to three days.

`However, the pressure would start building up by Monday, warns a miller from the city.

The mills, he said, stopped wheat flour washing on Wednesday and did not grind anything on Thursday. Both days would cost the market around 70,000 tones. Then there is Sunday a day after, which means deñcit of another 35,000 tones.

Cumulatively, over 100,000 tones of supply gap would be created in next four days that would start biting the market at the beginning of the next week, he warns.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), which was in touch with the government to solve the tax issues, called a press conference on Thursday afternoon but hurriedly postponed it.

According to insiders, the government had assured the millers of resolution of issues (withdrawal of both general sales tax on bran and increase in turn-over tax) after the passage of the budget.

Islamabad (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) is broadcasting a program series from more than 30 Medium Wave and FM 101 radio stations of Radio Pakistan to educate masses regarding its key thematic areas besides celebrating successful initiatives for poverty reduction and sustainable development in the country. The programme series titled ‘Roshan Raahaein’ spans six special episodes and will feature senior executives of the organization as well as programme beneficiaries from across Pakistan. 

Broadcasting from 25^th June to 30^th June, the radio series aims to re-emphasize PPAF’s role as a leading contributor to poverty reduction, educate listeners on impact of social and economic inclusion, and share inspirational stories of PPAF beneficiaries to inspire further community participation. The series will also highlight how PPAF fosters inclusion through its work and enables communities to uptake innovative solutions for sustainable socio-economic development and improving the quality of life.

‘Roshan Raahaein’ series features senior executives of Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), Mr. Irshad Khan Abbasi, Ms. Munazza Ali, Mr. Mohammad Waseem, Mr. Kashan Najeeb, Ms. Lubna Nisar, Mr. Nafees Ahmed Khan, Mr. Tahir Malik, Mr. Farid Sabir and Ms. Raabiya Babar to provide overview of specific projects and components of PPAF each day, followed by interviews of the project beneficiaries. Some of the projects covered in the series are Ehsaas Amdan and Ehsaas Interest Free Loan program, Program for Poverty Reduction (PPR), Livelihood Support and Promotion of Small Community Infrastructure Program (LACIP), Building Resilience to Disasters & Climate Change (BRDCC), Hydropower and Renewable Energy Project (HRE), Revitalizing Youth Enterprise (RYE), and projects of PWDs; and how these interventions have positively impacted progress and development of the target communities.

Speaking about the initiative, Raabiya Babar, Senior Manager Communications & Media at Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) said: “The radio series will help us create awareness regarding PPAF’s work and accentuate our role in the socioeconomic enablement of marginalized communities in Pakistan.  We want to reach out to more and more households and create sustainable solutions for uplifting target communities through community participation, skill enhancement and creating resiliency against challenges. We hope that the success stories shared by our beneficiaries will help us inspire more support and participation in our programs at the community level.”

Each episode of ‘Roshan Raahaein’ series is 20 minutes long and will be broadcast at 4:30 PM on Radio Pakistan and FM 101 channels while listeners will also be able to access the episodes on PPAF’s Soundcloud channel.

LAHORE: The Punjab government’s Services Wing, S&GAD, has notified posting/transfer order of PAS and PMS officers as per following details:

 

ISLAMABAD: Hate crimes and violence against Muslims have steadily increased in India since PM Modi assumed office and now International experts on genocidal violence warned that India is preparing for a “genocide” of 200 million Muslims in India, The muslim times reported on Thursday. It was puzzling that Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week spoke up for values enshrined in healthier democracies. Addressing the G7 leaders in Cornwall in a virtual appearance from Delhi on June 13, Mr. Modi described India as a natural ally of the group. He saw himself as the G7’s partner in “defending democracy, freedom of thought and liberty from a host of threats stemming from authoritarianism, terrorism, violent extremism and economic coercion”. As Modi spoke,it stated. The police in Uttar Pradesh under the watch of his handpicked chief minister were framing charges of conspiracy to stir communal violence against leading media figures critical of the BJP’s polarising politics. The RSS mouthpiece Organiser described the journalists as propagandists, but the RSF stood firm against the “absurd” charges. The RSF being a respected body to protect journalists – from recalcitrant states among other detractors – was clear that mischief was afoot. It urged the Uttar Pradesh police “to immediately withdraw the absurd charges, including criminal conspiracy”. The charges were framed against three journalists for tweeting about a video of an elderly Muslim man being beaten up by other men. A mob of Hindu extremist in Uttar Pradesh has lynched and brutally beaten an elderly Muslim man Abdul Samad. He was forced to chant Hindu war cry ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ Attackers cut off his beard and also showed him a video of other Muslims being attacked. In 2019, 49 prominent celebrities had written to PM Modi, expressing concern that `Jai Shri Ram` had become a war cry. Several incidents of Hindu extremist groups forcing minorities to chant, Jai Shree Ram have been reported in the recent past. The journalists, the RSF noted, were accused of conducting a “criminal conspiracy” although all they did was post tweets about a video showing an elderly man identified as a Muslim being badly beaten in Ghaziabad by several other men. The claim that the men shaved his beard and forced him to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’, a Hindu chant that has become a rallying cry for religious extremists, is being contested. The RSS paper claimed the video was faked to help an opposition party. Before the three journalists named in the FIR tweeted about the video, which went viral on the evening of June 13, it was widely shared and commented on by India’s leading media outlets, including, according to RSF, The Times of India.

FAISALABAD: The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) has launched a crackdown on defaulters for recovery of dues and decided to detach their connections after June 30.A spokesman for the agency on Thursday said action would be taken against major defaulters and in every sub-division, special teams had been constituted besides giving them task to detach connections of defaulters. Managing Director Wasa would supervise the crackdown which would continue till recovery of 100 per cent dues.

 

LAHORE: A metro bus was damaged when a fire erupted in it due to a short circuit near Yadgar on Thursday. The incident occurred when a fleet of buses was heading for Shahdara. On information, the Rescue 1122 teams reached the spot and extinguished the fire. However, no casualty was reported in the incident. When contacted, an official of the Punjab Masstransit Authority told media that a preliminary report suggested that the incident took place due to a spark in a wire of air conditioner installed at the bus. However, he added that further investigation was underway.