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PR
No. 253 The Prime Minister taking a notice of the news published in a local Newspaper dated 26th January, 2010 has directed the Pakistan Baitul Mal to provide necessary financial assistance for the treatment of the girl, Muskan d/o Ghafoor Khan of Swat, as she has been diagnosed a hole in her heart by the AFIC, Rawalpindi and her poor father is unable to pay the expenses for the treatment. **PMMO/Ahmad**
PR No. 254 Begum Arbab Noor Muhammad Khan passed away on 26th January, 2010. She was the wife of Arbab Noor Muhammad Khan, Chief of Mohammad, former Minister & Senator of Landi Arbab and the Mother of Arbab Muhammad Zahir, State Minister for Defence, Arbab Zahoor & Arbab Zahir. She was the mother-in-law of Syed Asif Shah, Member, Federal Public Service Commission. Her Namaz-e-Jinaza will be offered at 04:30 pm today at Village Landi Arbab, Peshawar.
PR No. 255 Tomato is available at very reasonable prices in the markets these days. The commodity can be preserved through very simple methods at homes and may be used over a period of time. You may please advise the householders to preserve/ freeze tomato and use it according to their needs. The message may serve a majority of the public and could prove to be beneficial for many. Please give the message to the audience through the special “Food Programme” or display through tickers of your esteem channel.
PR
No. 256 Terming the role played by the FATA Parliamentarians in the fight against the militancy as highly appreciable, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani asked them to closely follow various phases of development process in their respective areas. He was talking to a delegation of FATA MNAs who called on him at PM’s House here this afternoon. The Prime said generation of economic activities in these areas is possible only when the elected representatives make concerted efforts and spread awareness among the tribesmen. He reaffirmed the government firm committement for development in the FATA, to bring it at par with other areas of the country. The delegation members appreciated the government for its efforts in eradicating the militancy and offered their full support for the development activities. The delegation included MNAs, Mr. Zafar Beg Bhattani, Mr. Jawad Hussain, Mr. Shaukat Ullah, Mr. Muhammad Kamaran Khan and Mr, Sajid Hussain Turi. MNAs, Rana Tanveer Hussain and Rana Afzal Hussain also called on the Prime Minister separately at PM’s House today and briefed him on the status of ongoing development projects in their areas.
PR
No. 257 Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has directed the Ministry of Health to develop an effective Disease Surveillance System to ensure patient safety and minimize possibility of medical errors. The patient safety, he emphasized, should remain the focus of our health management system in the country. The Prime Minister gave his vision during a briefing by the Ministry of Health on the National Disease Surveillance Programme as well as progress on Prime Minister’s Initiative on Prevention and Control of Hepatitis at the PM’s House here this morning. The Prime Minister said that provision of training facilities, establishment of Centers of Excellence in major cities would not only be helpful in preventing the past mistakes but would also go a long way in eradication of diseases like Hepatitis from the country. He added that foreign donor agencies should be encouraged for their input to bring the healthcare in Pakistan to international standard. The Prime Minister reiterated that PPP government is committed to provide quality healthcare, particularly to the poor and the vulnerable segments of the society for which the required funds have been provided. He stressed upon the Ministry to improve the delivery of health services more efficiently. He asked the Ministry to work out a plan ensuring “access to a doctor” to all citizens. As regards the Prime Minister’s Initiative on Prevention and Control of Hepatitis, the Prime Minister said that he would personally chair meetings in this regard on a monthly basis in order to review the progress. He emphasized upon creating awareness among the masses about the details of Prime Minister’s Hepatitis Prevention and Control Initiatives which has been extended to district level in all the provinces as well as AJ&K and Gilgit Baltistan. He further directed for an effective monitoring system to evaluate the results and future needs in this context. The Prime Minister expressed his anguish over recent loss of a few precious lives in some medical institutions due to the negligence or erroneous treatment by doctors and paramedical staff causing public embarrassment for the whole medical community. He stressed the need to ensure patient safety in all the medical institutions. The Prime Minister stressed the need for adopting innovative but reliable methods to provide medical care to every nook and corner of the country. Earlier the meeting was informed that the pilot projects on Disease Surveillance Programme in all the provinces have been a success and could be expanded further. It was mentioned that the proposed system consists of two integrated modules that perform data collection, analysis and response generation functions. The disease surveillance component provides a uniform platform to collect, monitor and analyze data on key health indicators. Such a system forms a foundation that is easy to use and initiative for the front user but is based on time tested international healthcare standards. Deploying such a system will put Pakistan at par with more developed areas of the world leading to further opportunities in research and funding. A number of developing countries started an integrated Disease Surveillance Programme at the beginning of 21st century which is now well entrenched and functional at appropriate level in these countries. While briefing the meeting on the progress about the Prime Minister’s Initiative on Prevention and Control of Hepatitis, the Project Incharge mentioned that the burden on account of Hepatitis treatment has increased because of a number of reasons including environmental and hygienic conditions. However, the programme is progressing satisfactorily and all the concerned stakeholders including the provincial governments are being associated with the implementation. The meeting was attended by Minister for Health Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Parliamentary Secretary on Health Dr. Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto, Ms. Ghulam Bibi Bharwana MNA and Secretaries of Health and Planning & Development.
PR
No. 258 Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani asked the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to remain vigilant about the needs of the farmers in order to facilitate them in provision of inputs and water during the current ‘Rabi’ season. The Prime Minister expressed these views during a meeting with a delegation of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture headed by Mr. Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Minister for Food and Agriculture. The Prime Minister emphasized upon need for coordinated efforts between the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the concerned departments in the Provincial Governments. The meeting discussed matters relating to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture concerning water resources and efforts to ensure food security. The delegation also apprised the Prime Minister on the progress with regard to trilateral dialogue regarding food security, water resources and trade between Pakistan, Afghanistan and USA.
PR
No. 259 The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet met under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Finance, Mr. Shaukat Tarin at the PM Secretariat here today. The ECC approved the revised policy on Public Private Partnership (PPP) wherein the gaps and deficiencies of the earlier policy have been filled/removed. Salient features of the revised policy include: i. The revised PPP Policy clarifies the concept of Public Private Partnership which was missing in the previous policy and gives more detailed scope of the PPP Policy with its benefits and key objectives. ii. Role of different institutions have been further clarified by introducing a separate section on “Institutional Arrangements” in PPP Policy 2009. The role of MoF, IPDF, Planning Commission, Line Ministries and relevant departments at national, provincial and local levels has been defined in the section. iii. The revised policy, 2009 describes the overall framework for revenue and payments to concessionaries covering tariffs, unitary payments, government support in the shape of Viable Gap Funding (VGF) and long term funding through IPFF. iv. The revised policy provides an appropriate legal framework for PPP projects in the country. The legal framework being a part and parcel of the policy makes the private investors more secure and safe. This legal framework is missing in the existing policy. v. Simple and unambiguous processes/procedures are pre-requisite for successful PPP transactions. In the revised policy a description of approval process by relevant Public Sector PPP institution has been elaborately defined. vi. Risk sharing mechanism which was not described in the previous policy has now been covered in a detailed manner describing Risk Identification, Risk Allocation, Risk Mitigation and Guarantees. vii. The revised policy has further strengthened the unsolicited proposals. On the recommendation of Ministry of Information Technology, the ECC withdrew its earlier decision of December 6, 2006 regarding substitution/up-gradation of NTC fiber pair from 622 MBPS to 10 GBPS on DWDM through private investment. The ECC meeting was briefed on key economic indicators. It was informed that the overall CPI-based inflation registered decrease of 0.49 percent in December 2009 over November, 2009. The meeting was also informed that the stock of wheat as on January 18, 2010 amounted to 6.29 million tons as against 1.97 million tons in the same period last year, thereby showing a higher stock of about 4.32 million tons compared with last year. About the position of trade, the meeting was informed that trade deficit improved by 29.0 percent to $ 7.0 billion in July-December 2009-10 from $ 10.0 billion in the same period last year. Workers remittances amounted to $ 4,531.0 million in July-December 2009-10 as against $ 3,640.0 million, showing an increase of 25.0 percent over the same period last year. The foreign exchange reserves stood at $ 15.1 billion as on January 22, 2010- up from $ 6.4 billion on November 25, 2008. This reflects the impact of recent disbursement of $ 1.2 billion from the IMF and other inflows. The provisional FBR tax collection stood at Rs.579.5 billion on net basis during July-December 2009-10 as compared to Rs.553.8 billion in the same period last year, thereby posting an increase of 4.6 percent.
PR No. 260 Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour paid tribute to the veteran leader Khan Abdul Wali Khan for his extraordinary contribution for democracy in the country, on his death anniversary today. Remembering one of the towering political personalities of the country, he said “Abdul Wali Khan offered great sacrifices for the supremacy of parliament, strengthening of democracy and independence of judiciary”. In a statement on Tuesday, Bilour said that Abdul Wali Khan was a renowned leader against the British Raj, great politician, writer and historian. In his late teens, he became active in politics and joined Khudai Khidmatgar Movement. He contributed to Pakistan’s third Constitution, led protests for the restoration of democracy in the 1960s and 1980s, in his later years. The minister said Wali Khan was arrested and charged under the Frontier Crimes Regulations in 1943, at the height of the crackdown against the Quit India Movement. During the martial law crackdown against East Pakistan, the National Awami Party under Wali Khan was one of a handful of parties that protested the military operation. Wali Khan was a feudal lord but he was always aware that he belonged to a poor nation and should not live a life of luxury. He always led a simple life, wore khadar and travelled in lower class in trains. Throughout his life, he preached non-violence and fought for freedom from Britain. After independence of Pakistan, he struggled for democracy, provincial autonomy and basic human rights, Bilour said. He was a reformer and never hoodwinked people with false promises and always worked for his fellow human beings to spread love. He strictly followed the philosophy that non-violence engenders love and violence breeds hate. The great leader had based his political thought on integrity and progress of Pakistan, democracy, provincial autonomy, independence of judiciary, sovereign parliament, freedom of press and friendly relations with neighbouring countries. The minister prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul.
PR
No. 261 Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has expressed deep sorrow and grief over the sad demise of former MNA, Mr. Qamar Zaman Khagga. He asked his son, Abdul Qadir Gilani, MPA Punjab Assembly to visit the deceased family and offer condolences on his behalf. In his message of condolence, the Prime Minister prayed to Allah Almighty to bless the departed soul and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity.
PR
No. 262 The spokesman of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has clarified a reference in a section of press, appeared today alluding to obtaining of 135 licenses of prohibited bore by Federal Minister for Information, Mr. Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira. The said licenses were got issued by the Federal Minister for the applicants of his constituency for protection and self-defence purposes only in extremely deserving cases, spokesman said. The spokesman further said the Minister represents huge constituency of about 800,000 people and obliging genuine security concerns of some of his constituents is not out of place.
PR
No. 263 Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) inspection teams comprising of officers of the Authority, during January 19-21, 2010 conducted surprise inspections of the authorized distributors of LPG Marketing Companies, in the natural gas starved areas including AJK & Northern Areas and adjoining areas including Muzaffarabad, Mansehra, Abbotabad and major cities of Punjab, including Gujrat, Jhelum and Sialkot with the primary objective to ensure that the sale price of LPG cylinders is not exceeding the reasonable LPG price as determined by OGRA, and to also check the availability of LPG product. During these inspections, more than 45 authorized LPG distributors were inspected and it was observed that 28 were found involved in violation of conditions laid down by OGRA for the licensed LPG Marketing Companies. OGRA has taken serious notice of such activities causing inconvenience to the public and potential threat to safety and has decided that LPG Marketing Companies involved in such malpractices will be strictly dealt with in accordance with the Rules and the prevailing Law. AL/wh
PR
No. 264 The Spokesperson of the Presidency has contradicted media reports that Salman Farouqi Secretary General to the President is among those in the government, who hold dual nationality. The Spokesperson has termed the reports, appeared in a section of media as totally incorrect and baseless. Salman Farouqi Secretary General to the President is a Pakistani national and does not have nationality of any other country except that of Pakistan. Hence all such reports on his dual nationality are rejected, the spokesperson concluded. SAK/wh
PR
No. 265 The Federal Minister for Communications Dr. Arbab Alamgir Khan Khalil has said that all toll plazas on the Motorways will be auctioned through open bidding on 2 February in front of print and electronic media. He said that there is an urgent need to enhance revenue at Motorways toll plazas to supplement the national exchequer and to use these funds to provide facilities to travelers on the Motorways. He expressed these views while presiding over a high level meeting at the NHA Headquarters’ Auditorium. Also present in the meeting were the Minister of State for Communications Chaudhry Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, Federal Secretary Communications Sharif Ahmad Khan, Chairman NHA Chaudhry Altaf Ahmad, all Members and other high officials of NHA. Representatives from various private firms gave a detailed briefing to the federal minister on setting up recreation parks and other beautification measures on the lands along the Motorways. The federal minister on this occasion said that the communications sector plays a pivotal role in the national development therefore; every effort should be made for timely completion of all projects under communications. He said that a comprehensive and effective mechanism should be devised to enhance revenue at the toll plazas along the Motorways. During the meeting, it was told that the Motorways are generating revenue of Rs.11.1 million per Kilometer whereas, it incurs an expenditure of Rs. 7 million per kilometer therefore, there is an urgent need to increase toll at these plazas. Earlier, the Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Mehdi Shah had a special meeting with the Minister Communications Dr. Arbab Alamgir Khan at the Ministry of Communications. The federal minister while talking to the Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan said that it goes to the credit of the present government that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan have been given their political rights. The minister said that the government is paying special attention to the uplift of Gilgit-Baltistan and is working to upgrade national highways to strengthen road links with the neighboring Central Asian States. The Chief Minister Mehdi Shah congratulated the federal minister for their efforts for the uplift of communications’ and other sectors and assured the government of his full support in this endeavor of the federal government. NS/wh
PR
No. 266 Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has lauded the courage and gallantry of two Police Constables who laid their lives while encountering criminals in Peshawar today. The Prime Minister said that the government is fully committed to eliminate crime in all its forms. He said that it is the prime responsibility of the state to protect the life and property of the masses and directed the concerned authorities to keep a strong vigil upon such elements and deal them with an iron hand. The Prime Minister conveyed his heartfelt condolences and sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls. He also asked the provincial government to extend all possible assistance to the families of the deceased officials. PMMO/wh
PR
No. 267 Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Watto said on Tuesday that Lahore High Court has exonerated him from the Contempt of Court Case and the verdict of the court has established the supremacy of the law and justice. During the proceedings, the honorable court has maintained high moral values and very respectable attitude that is highly appreciable. AZ/wh
PR
No. 268
This was stated by the Federal Minister for Labour & Manpower, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah while addressing a public meeting after performing ground breaking ceremony of labour complex, in Taxila on Tuesday. The labour complex will consist on 30 acres of land which would comprise 1008 flats, boys and girls high school, community centre, commercial centre and 25 bedded hospital, 70 houses would also be allotted to heirs of those workers of Pakistan Ordnance Factories who laid down their lives in suicide blast on August 21, 2008.The complex would be completed with estimated cost of Rs. 2654 million in the period of five years. He said the Government is very keen to develop comprehensive labour laws and policy according to the international labour standards to ensure maximum labour welfare and create investment friendly environment in the country. The Minister said that the present government has taken various steps for the worker community of the country and land mark achievement is repeal of anti labours laws including controversial law of removal from service ordinance which has repeal by the parliament on Tuesday. The Minister said that labour ministry would soon open membership for all labour class under which any labour either working as truck driver, mechanic or daily wager can be registered Employees Old age Benefit Institution (EOBI) at the monthly subscription of Rs. 350 and he and his family would enjoy all the befits including free health, education facilities like industrial workers. He said that 35 high schools located in various labour colonies of the country would be up- graded to intermediate level. He further said that the present government has increased death grant from Rs. 1500 to 15 thousand, children stipend increased from Rs. 1500 to Rs 3500 and now children of the industrial workers can get free professional education in Pakistan and abroad. Every daughter of the worker can get dowry fund which has increased from 50 thousand to 70 thousand, he added. The Federal Minister said that pension of the industrial workers has increased from Rs 1500 to 2 thousand. While burn and trauma centers has been established at all big industrial cities across the country. He said that as per vision of Shaheed PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, 12 percent share has been given to the workers of 84 different state owned industrial units of the country.
Federal Minister of State for Defence, Sardar Saleem Haider, Federal
Minister of State for industries and Production, Dr Ayat Ullah Durrani,
President Peoples Workers Bureau Ch. Manzoor Ahmed also spoke on the
occasion
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