Category: Pakistan

Tank (Muhammad Yasir) For the first time, in the history of South Waziristan, a batch of 863 Levies and Khasadars passed out after getting basic police training from the Frontier Corps (FC) South. This force will perform its duties as police and will maintain law and order in various parts of South Waziristan.

A grand ceremony was arranged at Manzai where the IG FC South Maj. Gen. Umar Bashir was the chief guest. RPO Dera Ismaiel Khan, DPO Wana, Tank and South Waziristan Division, DC Wana, AC Wana and Tank along with a large number of Maliks and Mashraans of Mehsood and Betini tribes witnessed the passing out ceremony.

The ceremony kicked off with recitation of the Holy Qur’an after which the chief guest inspected the parade. Later the chief guest took oath from the force and distributed certificates and prizes among the best performers.

While talking to the audiences, the chief guest said, “Today is indeed a big day for Pakistan for which I would like to congratulate the whole nation. The world has seen that the Pak Army, with the support of its nation, has brought back peace into this region, the region which was once the worst ever war zone. Establishing a police system in these areas depicts that the sacrifices of the entire nation have played a pivotal role towards this well-earned stability throughout the region.

Later the audiences witnessed the march past of the force and received applause. The force also displayed its skill of martial arts, judo karate, patrolling and Quick Response Force.

It is pertinent to mention here that FC South was designated to establish a police force in the Southern region which empowered the levies and khasadars with basic police training at Angoor Adda, Wana, DIKhan and Tank.

For more than 90 days, this force was given extensive training to use the latest weapons, maintaining law and order and to counter potential terrorist ambushes.

It was learnt that the FC South has facilitated establishing a number of police stations at various locations in South Waziristan. Some buildings are under construction thus to establish an effective and well-coordinated police system throughout the Southern region.

Wana: Locals along with Pak Army have laid their lives to attain peace in the region. We, jointly, have played our part, it is now over to the youth to play its role toward prosperity of Pakistan.This was said by IG FC South Maj. Gen. Umar Bashir during the Annual Prize Distribution Ceremony of Cadet College Wana. IG maintained that the provision of state-of-the-art educational and co-curricular facilities for the youth is one of our top-most priorities because youth is the future of Pakistan.

He urged the youth to do their best to get education from such institutions and play their pivotal role for the opulence of our country. The IG hoped that Pakistan would soon be reaching new milestones because of the youth of the Waziristan region. It is pertinent to mention here that the graduates of this institute, since its inception in 2011, are now the part of mainstream educational, health and security institutions. 60 in armed forces, 58 in different medical colleges, 70 in different engineering universities while around 195 graduates are serving in government and private institutions all around Pakistan.

Year 2020, like previous years, also went successful for the Cadet College Wana in terms of educational performance. Five students of the college clinched third, fourth, sixth and tenth positions in HSSC examinations of the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Islamabad. Out of total 101 students, 96 passed with A+ while remaining 5 passed with A grades. Not to forget, the cadets of the Cadet College Wana collectively grabbed third position in the All Pakistan Bilingual Declamation Contest being held at PAF Academy Risalpur in 2018/19 where 150 educational institutions participated from all over Pakistan. The IG distributed certificates, trophies, medals and other prizes among the best performers.

Prior to the ceremony, the IG was given Guard of Honor by the cadets upon his arrival. Later the IG inaugurated a state-of-art auditorium at the college premises which has been named over a historical personality Musa Nika.

Celebrating   Eight   Years   of   Shaping   the   Future   of Journalism; AGAHI Awards Recognizes 43 Journalists for Excellence and Media Ethics.

ShapingtheFutureofJournalismbyStrengtheningAccountabilityandContentDiversity.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan’s most prestigious and sought-after journalism  recognition, the AGAHI Awards, recognizes 43 journalists for media excellence and ethics. The AGAHI Awards in its Eighth year received thousands of submissions in more than 40 categories from across

the country. A jury of national and international experts, development specialists, academicians,  and  media  professionals,  evaluated  the  submissions  made  by journalists from print, television, radio, and the online media.

The  AGAHI  Awards  are  the  annual  event  in  Pakistan  to  benchmark  journalism excellence   in   Pakistan,   recognizing   courage   and   commitment   showcasing outstanding contributions of journalists from across the country. Over the years, the  winners  have  produced  work,  often  in  the  face  of  political  and  economic pressures  sustaining  public  trust  in  the  media  impacting  the  lives  of  people  all over the country.

The  AGAHI  Awards  aim  to  encourage  fact-based,  data-driven  news  reporting and investigative journalism in Pakistan. The AGAHI Awards celebrate content centric to human interest and impact driven journalism in the country.

Leading   opinion-makers,   field   reporters,   senior   journalists,   policymakers, ambassadors,    diplomats,    public    policy    experts,    academicians,    leading professionals  from  the  media  industry  and  representatives  from  think  tanks attended the award ceremony.

Puruesh Chaudhary, President AGAHI and the co-founder of the AGAHI Awards in her keynote address said, “the AGAHI Awards is a commitment to promote ethical   journalistic   practices   for   safeguarding   public   interest.   The   Awards encourage  journalists  to  use  the  AGAHI  Awards  evaluation  criteria,  to  gauge their  content  to  be  unbiased,  balanced,  and  accountable.  This  year  we  have seen the dramatic rise on the use of technology in education, health, information communications;  however,  we  need  to  equally  reflect  on  the  importance  of human  expression  and  media  freedom,  both  fundamentally  critical  to  our collective evolution.

Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer, Mishal Pakistan and co-founder, AGAHI Awards,  shared  his  vision  for  creating  the  awards  and  said  “the  media  in Pakistan is transitioning from passive consumption to an interactive model, this transition  is  not  only  confronting  media  sustainability  but  also  creativity  and skillset challenges as well. This change is also exposing media to be exploitedby both the state and non-state actors for information laundering. We must collectively ensure the journalists and content creators have freedom and independence to work in an environment that supports fairness, truth and accountability in Pakistan.”

Speaking  on  the  occasion,  Moonis  Abdullah  Alvi,  Chief  Executive  Officer,  K-Electric,  said,  “Journalists  are information  guardians.  It  is  because  of  their  efforts  that  people  can  learn  about  the  world  around  them.  I remember reading news stories as a young executive and imagining the events unfolding in my own mind as I read on. That is the power of journalism. To inform, educate and empower the mind. It is an honor for KE to be part of the Agahi Awards. We look forward to supporting and recognizing the efforts of Pakistan’s journalistic community even more in the future.”

Project will enable critical care specialists to provide virtual advice to public and private intensive care units (ICUs) across Pakistan

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) With support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Health Services Academy, the Ministry of Health and Health Department & Government of Balochistan, Sehat Kahani has inaugurated the first of its kind Tele-ICU project in Balochistan.

The Tele-ICU project will enable critical care specialists to provide virtual advice to public and private intensive care units (ICUs) across Pakistan. This project aims to increase the capacity of healthcare providers working in public and private ICUs across the country. Currently there exists only a limited number of Critical Care Consultants in Pakistan; this intervention will allow improved patient care, particularly for those residing in far-flung areas where healthcare systems are inadequate. This project is an effort to build a more equitable and resilient society and contribute to improving the lives of the people of Pakistan.

The event was inaugurated by Mr. Hayat Kakar (Special Secretary, Health Department, Government of Balochistan), Mr. Zulfiqar Durrani (Head of Office, UNDP Sub-Office Balochistan), Dr. Rasheed Ahmed (Humanitarian Programme Analyst UNFPA), Ms. Farkhanda Aslam (IDSP Representative) and, Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram (Co-Founder and CEO Sehat Kahani).

Sehat Kahani will provide the required training for up to 500 doctors and 500 nurses across ten hospitals in Balochistan, including areas like Pishin, Killa Saifullah, Sibbi, Jaffarabad, Khuzdar, Loralai. To kick-off the training, Sehat Kahani will work with Sheikh Khalifa Medical Complex Quetta and FJ Hospital Quetta.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Zulfiqar Durrani, Head of Office, UNDP Sub-Office Balochistan said, ‘The Tele ICU project is a new and innovative initiative which can help address some of the healthcare challenges of Balochistan. Keeping in view the area of the province (44 percent of Pakistan), provision of health services in far-flung areas of Balochistan has always been a struggle for the government. We hope that this pilot initiative will pave way for expanding telemedicine approach in the province through Government of Balochistan’s resources.’

Dr. Rasheed Ahmed, UNFPA , said, “UNFPA Pakistan continues to support innovations such as tele-health that aims to improve sexual and reproductive health and GBV services, particularly in reaching out to the communities living the farthest behind.  He appreciated Sehat Kahani’s  COVID 19 related initiative in  connecting ICU specialists to health care providers and junior staff offering services to community in general and women and girls in particular and who are in need of assistance and are living in remote areas.  He further added that any telehealth related innovation will contribute to improve health related knowledge management, e-learning and remote monitoring.’

Mr. Hayat Kakar, Special Secretary, Health Department, Government of Balochistan, said, “Health Department, Govt. of Balochistan is glad to be a part of this Tele-ICU initiative. Tele-ICU helps in providing a high-quality intensive care to patients in rural as well urban areas. Our critical care solutions provide the actionable information you may need for early patient intervention, allowing you to leverage scarce resources and deliver high-quality care to patients efficiently.”

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Top leaders from across the public and private sector gathered at a press conference on Thursday, to discuss the future of jobs in Pakistan, in light of the World Economic Forum Report.

Present at the event were, Parwaaz co-chairs, Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari (SAPM Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development), Muhammad Aurangzeb, President & CEO HBL, Ghias Khan, President & CEO Engro Corporation, Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan and Chairman Telenor Microfinance Bank as well as top business leaders including, Monis Rahman, CEO & Founder Naseeb Networks, Asif Peer, CEO Systems Limited, Ehsan Saya, Managing Director Daraz.pk and Jawad Khan, CEO PSDF.

In a monumental step, Pakistan has been featured in the ‘Future of Jobs’ Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for the first time. The Pakistan Chapter showcases jobs and skills of the future, highlighting Pakistani employers’ perspective on new job roles and skills that require attention and investment in Pakistan in the age of technology and automation. In its 2020 edition, the Report features in-depth information on 15 global industries and 26 advanced and emerging countries.

Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) serves as the secretariat for WEF’s (National Accelerator on Closing the Skills Gap in Pakistan – ‘Parwaaz’). Parwaaz brought Pakistan into the global conversation on skills and the future of work by facilitating an extensive employers’ based survey conducted with over 50 top Pakistani companies and business leaders across 6 priority sectors. The profile on Pakistan provides a detailed snapshot of the future readiness of the workforce in the country.

The Report also features CEO PSDF, Jawad Khan as a Global Expert on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on New Agenda on Education & Work.

The Report insights reveal that in Pakistan, of the over 82 Million working age population, 50% on average have requisite digital skills, 51% have business relevant skills, and almost 55% have acquired education with business relevance. While this looks promising for an emerging country, large challenges remain with 31% youth not featured in employment, education, or training, and 55% of working age population in vulnerable employment.

The results of the Pakistan survey do however have room for ‘measured optimism’; technology adoption especially in the areas of E-commerce, Big Data Analytics and Cloud Computing is high (91% of the companies surveyed).

Pakistani companies are focusing on cultivating employability skills in the domain of Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Creativity and Leadership, in tandem with emerging skills in the global market.

 

The ‘Future of Jobs’ Report highlights the unique economic challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, while technology driven job creation still surpassing job redundancy over the next five years, the rate of growth in the jobs of tomorrow is reducing.                             

This results in a ‘renewed urgency’ to take proactive decisions towards reskilling and upskilling youth workforce.  In the absence of proactive efforts, job market inequality is likely to worsen due to the combined effect of technology and the pandemic recession.

The need of the hour is then public-private collaboration at the global and national level, at an unprecedented scale and speed to create socio-economic systems that are more fair, equitable and sustainable.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) ASSITEJ Pakistan has been running Next Generation, a theater residency program of ASSITEJ International since past two years. We hosted two NGs in the past in Pakistan where young theater artists from 20 countries participated so far. We had planned 3rd NG in 2020, but had to call off last minute due to Covid-19 outbreak.

We are hosting an Online Next Generation Program for 2020. It brings 19 emerging artists together from 9 countries to share, exchange, learn and present. The program has a virtual showcase of projects and works, online discussion sessions, development of collaborative performances and online performance showcase.

19 young performers from 9 countries (USA, Sri Lanka, Germany, Australia, Iran, Philippine, Namibia, Russia, Pakistan) are working together as part of the Online Next Generation program.

The online program ran for 3 days from 13-15 November 2020. It has some closed sessions among the participants, and some public sessions were broadcasted live. The first live session has the short presentation of the theater for young audience projects from all participants, basically a showcase opportunity to see how theater is working in 9 different countries during Covid-19. It also offered artists to see each other’s work and think about ways to collaborate.

The second day discussion session titled “Performing Arts in Digital Space, Opportunities and Challenges” was conducted to share experience on how performance arts is evolving with increased digital access and especially during Covid-19 lockdowns in various countries. The last discussion session focused on thinking about ways to collaborate among the network for the betterment of theater for young audience.

The participants were divided into three groups, and also prepared improvised virtual performance. They prepared the performance script on Zoom and the theater pieces were performed live on Facebook.

She Loves Tech 2020 inspires thousands in Pakistan through targeting

women led tech startups

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The first round of She Loves Tech Pakistan finale took place on 6th November 2020 with the support of HBL and UNDP.  During the first round, seven finalist startups pitched their ideas in the presence of a strong group of judges. These finalists included The Red Code by Sara Khan, Live Natural by Areeba Zahra, Shama-e-Zindagi by Eesha Babar, Doch by Deedar Mengal, Rinder by Sarah Ashraf, AgriTech by Komal Memon, and Aagah Initiative by Haya Ansari.

The second round was held on 7th November 2020 where APRUS Technologies by Hira Irshad, ScaryAmmi by Ayesha Nasir, Nayab’sRogue by Sayeda Nayab, Mobiliti by Bisma Ejaz, HomeMediq by Saira Siddiqui, Technoknowledge by Romana Rafi, Alif by ArujKhaliq and Love for Data by Maira Ata presented their ideas for startup projects.

APRUS Technologies by Hira Irshad won She Loves Tech 2020 competition in Pakistan while the runners-up include HomeMediq by Saira Siddiqui and Mobiliti by Bisma Ejaz. Sadaffe Abid and all the judges congratulated all the participants and encouraged them to continue to work on their business model & refine it.

The world’s largest startup competition was held in ten different cities of Pakistan including Sukkur, Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta, Gilgit Baltistan and completed its eight virtual rounds while shortlisting finalists and inspiring thousands of women, girls and youth across the country. CIRCLE, a social enterprise working on women’s empowerment through technology, entrepreneurship and leadership development brought She Loves Tech back to Pakistan for the fourth time with the support of HBL and UNDP. HBL’s engagement demonstrates the Bank’s strong commitment to advancing women in technology and promoting gender diversity. Further UNDP has supported to advance its goal of youth development.

Over 250 applications were received for the She Loves Tech Pakistan 2020 competition through strategic partnerships including ecosystem, outreach and academic partners.  Over 60 startups pitched in the local rounds and 15 startups were shortlisted for the She Loves Tech Pakistan 2020 finals from across the country. She Loves Tech Pakistan 2020 takes pride as the world’s largest platform for the female-led startups bringing 30+ countries together this year.

This competition was designed with the idea to bring female-led startups on the front and showcase startups that are using technology to solve the country’s pressing challenges. The final began with an opening speech by Sadaffe Abid, CEO and founder of CIRCLE who remarked that “She Loves Tech has become a movement now rather than only a competition. It is bigger than an individual or an organization as the entire universe supports this initiative which has the vision to build inclusive societies enabling women and girls.”

Sadaffe Abid further added, “With the progress of the women led startups, pressing problems will be solved, jobs will be created and Pakistan will prosper.” Followed by these inspiring words, the Co-founder of She Loves Tech Leanne Robers highlighted, “I am so excited for the future of Pakistan as we have innovative female-led startups that will definitely make a difference.” She also appreciated all of the Finalists saying that it takes great courage to come to the stage and present the ideas of your startups. “All it takes is a first step to make a difference”, said Leanne Robers.

Sagheer Mufti, the COO of HBL congratulated all the She Loves Tech Pakistan Finalists saying that no matter who is declared the winner of this competition, all of the participants are winners as they are significantly contributing towards the development of the country. He remarked that HBL strongly believes in building a diverse and inclusive work culture.

Dr. Sania Nishtar also graced this big event and expressed her pleasure for witnessing numerous enthusiastic female-led startups making their way to entrepreneurship. She said, “I have always held this view that if a country doesn’t make the way for half of its population to participate fully in economic life, and if a country doesn’t systematically invest in empowering women, then it loses half of its potential right away.” Dr. Sania also emphasized on three points that include changing our mindsets, changes in working conditions and the environment, and to mandate specific policy action to support women. She added that it is inspiring to see the potential of women of Pakistan making the dots meet between empowerment and going into digitization.

The cash prize for She Loves Tech Pakistan 2020 competition winner will be awarded by Unilever. Speaking about the world’s largest competition, Syed Fawad, Director Strategy and Digital Transformation from Unilever Pakistan expressed his pleasure in supporting the women led startups that are using technology as it is a great enabler. He also remarked that Unilever has always encouraged women’s empowerment and believes in such initiatives.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The Institute for Art and Culture (IAC) conducted the one day training workshop at Gurdwara Sucha Sauda Sahib, Farooqabad, Shiekhupura for UNESCO’s project “Protection and Promotion of Cultural Heritage of Punjab through Sustainable Tourism and Economic Growth”.

The aim of the workshop (third in the series) was to develop an Integrated Site Management Plan and Capacity Building for Sustainable Tourism Management of Selected Sikh Sites in Punjab such as Gurdwara Sucha Sauda Sahib, Farooqabad, Shiekhupura District and Gurdwara Rohri Sahib, Eminabad, Gujranwala district. In continuation of the previous two capacity building workshops aimed at the same theme, the closing workshop was based on site visit and community outreach.

The participants arrived at Gurdwara Sucha Sauda Sahib, Farooqabad. Followed by the recitation of the Quran, Prof Sajida Haider Vandal (Vice Chancellor, IAC) gave a welcome note to the participants and the community members who joined the event. Later, remarks about the workshop and the importance of promoting sustainable cultural heritage were shared by Mr Liaquat Ali Rizvi (Community Representative) as well as Prof. Pervaiz Vandal (National Team Coordinator and Pro Vice Chancellor, IAC).

Mr Iqbal Qaiser (Professor, IAC) introduced the community with the current intervention. Mr Asghar Joiya (Deputy Commisioner, Shiekhupura), the chief guest of the ceremony shared his views on the program and commented “ I am very happy that this project has been carried out and commended by IAC for which clearly shows their dedication towards preserving and protecting the local culture and heritage of Farooqabad.”

Ms Amina Ali (Project Officer, UNESCO) shared her enthusiasm with the crowd by acknowledging the importance of sustainable cultural heritage and tourism. This was followed by presentations about the Community in Eminabad. Furthermore, presentations on the heritage impact assessment of the proposed Baghs around the Gurdwara sites were shared by Mr Naveed Ahmed and Mr Azhar Abbas.

Closing remarks on the preservation of Sikh Heritage were given by Ms Prn Kaur and Prof Kalyan Singh.