Posts Tagged ‘Islamabad’
Written by admin on 11 July 2011
Islamabad, July 11 (IANS) The government is focused on political and economic empowerment of women, said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Gilani said: ‘The empowerment of women will establish their social status and bring about a change to facilitate the process of development in the country.’
He said the elected women representatives have an important role to play in promoting and evaluating policies of the government as well as their party, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
Regarding various government initiatives for women, Gilani said that the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus in the National Assembly of Pakistan and the Federal Commission on the Status of Women have played a useful role in highlighting the issues concerning women in Pakistan.
Pakistan has a population of over 170 million.
Acknowledging the role of women, the prime minister said that women constitute 51 percent of the population in Pakistan and their active role is vital to stabilise democratic system.
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Written by admin on 11 July 2011
Islamabad, July 11 (IANS) The government’s efforts to check population growth need to be supplemented by the civil society, said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
In a message on World Population Day being observed Monday, Gilani said: ‘The day, under the auspices of the United Nations, draws our attention to the challenges of escalating population and its impact on socio-economic structures.’
Pakistan has a population of over 170 million.
Gilani said the day highlights the need for concerted global effort to stem increasing population through greater political commitment, policy reform, injection of more resources and creation of awareness among people, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.
According to the UN, three billion people out of total world population are below 25 years of age. This can be a bane as well as a boon depending upon how the world responds to this challenge, the prime minister added.
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Written by admin on 10 July 2011
Islamabad, July 10 (IANS) A Pakistani court hearing the Benazir Bhutto murder case has rejected the details of the properties and assets of former president Pervez Musharraf – declared a fugitive in the case – and ordered a new and complete list to be drawn up, a media report said Sunday.
Rawalpindi special anti-terrorist court judge Shahid Rafiq, hearing the petition of Islamabad-Rawalpindi district administration for attaching Musharraf’s property, declared the details submitted as ‘incomplete’, the Urdu daily Jang reported Sunday.
The judge ordered the authorities to submit a revised list by July 23.
In the details submitted before the court, it was said Musharraf owned a country villa built on five acres of land in Chak Shahzad, Park Road in Islamabad.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), probing the case, came to know from the State Bank of Pakistan that Musharraf operated 15 accounts in six banks with a total of (Pakistani) Rs.8 crore.
The state prosecutor said that they had written to the revenue boards in all the four provinces seeking details of any property held by Musharraf.
A letter had been sent to the army’s adjutant general for information as well as the Defence Housing Authority but no reply had been received despite a reminder.
The court had June 11 reissued an arrest warrant against Musharraf on the request of the FIA.
On the request for confiscation of Musharraf’s property, the court has asked for all details of the former president’s property.
On May 30, an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan had declared Musharraf a ‘proclaimed offender’ or fugitive for failing to cooperate in the probe into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
Bhutto was Pakistan’s first and only woman prime minister. She was in office for two terms 1988-1990 and 1993-1996.
She was assassinated in December 2007, after attending a rally of her Pakistan Peoples Party in Rawalpindi, two weeks before the scheduled general election of 2008.
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Written by admin on 10 July 2011
Islamabad, July 10 (IANS) Pakistan’s Urdu press and electronic media need more editorial control unless they want to meet the fate of the News of the World, a daily said Sunday.
The British Sunday paper is accused of hacking into phones of crime victims, celebrities and politicians.
A Daily Times editorial said: ‘Pakistan’s English press is by and large not sensationalist or sleazy. However, there are exceptions where opinion is masqueraded as news, which blurs the distinction between the two.
‘The Urdu press … is certainly more unrestrained in sensationalising news and has a prurient interest in scandals, gossip and unsubstantiated reports.’
It said while the state-owned PTV never indulged in sensationalist journalism, the new electronic media is ‘another story altogether’.
‘There is hardly any editorial control over private TV channels’ contents, and in their race for breaking news and ratings, most news channels run unverified stories and offer no apology if proved wrong,’ it said.
‘Talk shows have descended into fish markets rather than being a forum for reasoned debate.’
It cautioned that the Pakistani media ‘should not turn itself into something like NOTW (News of the World)’.
‘If our media wants to adequately fulfil its role, it has to distance itself from power and develop a sense of responsibility. Wrong practices must stop.
‘Our readers and viewers deserve honest reporting and not yellow journalism.’
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Written by admin on 10 July 2011
Islamabad, July 10 (IANS) Pakistan is working on a new policy for the petroleum sector after it failed to attract investments for the exploration of oil and gas.
Petroleum Minister Asim Hussain said a draft of the policy is nearly ready.
‘It will offer better incentives to exploration and production companies and attract more foreign investment in the sector,’ Dawn quoted the minister as saying.
Hussain said the previous policy formulated in 2007 offered less attractive incentives.
‘Accelerating the exploration and development programme to reverse the decline in crude oil production and increase domestic gas production and supply is necessary,’ the minister added.
A petroleum ministry official said that Pakistan produces four BCFD (billion cubic feet daily) of gas.
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Written by admin on 10 July 2011
Islamabad, July 10 (IANS) Pakistan could exploit the global nuclear energy market as it possesses nuclear scientists and technology, an expert here has warned.
South Asian Strategic Stability Institute director general Maria Sultan said the country needed to develop a peaceful nuclear programme with enhanced safety measures to tide over the energy shortage, reported the Daily Times.
Maria Sultan was speaking at a meeting on ‘Future of Pakistan’s Nuclear Programme and Nuclear World Order’ Saturday.
She said Pakistan has a significant role to play in the new nuclear order.
She said Pakistan could exploit the $3 trillion nuclear exports market in the Middle East.
Pakistan’s third nuclear power plant, Chashma-2, become operational in May this year.
The first nuclear power reactor started in 1971 near Karachi and the second in Punjab in May 2000.
Maria said that nuclear energy was the only option for various countries to meet their energy needs,Pakistan can capture that market by sharing its expertise and services.
On the US-India nuclear deal, she said that the deal had caused structural decay to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It also destabilized the strategic stability of South Asia.
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