Day: July 14, 2026

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday expressed displeasure over the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency’s (NCCIA) failure to submit a reply in petitions filed by 43 contract employees seeking regularization of their services.

Justice Muhammad Azam Khan heard the petitions filed by Aamir Sohail Anjum and 42 other NCCIA employees in Grade 16 and above. The petitioners appeared before the court along with their counsel, while the NCCIA failed to file its response despite earlier directions.

Expressing dissatisfaction, Justice Azam Khan warned the agency to submit its reply before the next hearing or risk a decision being announced on the basis of the available record.

“You must file your reply by the next hearing. The court also has to decide the matter,” the judge observed, adding that if no response was submitted, the court would proceed to decide the case. The court also extended its earlier interim order restraining the NCCIA from taking disciplinary action against the petitioners. The hearing was adjourned until July 24.

Islamabad: The Ninth Ministerial Conference on Women of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Monday adopted the Islamabad Declaration, reaffirming member states’ commitment to advancing the socio-economic and political empowerment of women and girls while launching a new initiative to promote women’s digital inclusion across the Muslim world.

According to the Islamabad Declaration, available on the official OIC website, participating ministers and heads of delegation pledged to strengthen policies and institutional mechanisms to ensure women’s meaningful participation in political, economic, and public life across OIC member states.

The declaration encouraged member states to remove barriers to women’s education and employment, expand access to quality education, vocational training, and leadership development, and strengthen women’s economic empowerment through improved access to employment, finance, entrepreneurship support, and social protection systems.

It also called for promoting inclusive financial systems, including Islamic finance, microfinance, and digital financial services, while urging greater support for women-led small and medium-sized enterprises through improved access to capital, innovation, and trade opportunities.

The declaration emphasised the importance of women’s participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies. It urged member states to bridge the digital gender divide by expanding affordable digital infrastructure, connectivity, access to devices, and digital literacy programmes, particularly in rural areas.

The conference also launched the Islamabad Initiative on Women’s Digital Inclusion, a voluntary OIC platform aimed at promoting digital literacy, digital entrepreneurship, STEM education, artificial intelligence skills, cybersecurity awareness, and equitable access to digital technologies for women and girls across OIC member states. It invited interested member states, OIC institutions, and development partners to support the initiative through training programmes, scholarships, mentorship, and the exchange of expertise and best practices.

The declaration further urged member states to strengthen measures against all forms of violence against women and girls, including cyber harassment, online abuse, exploitation, and technology-facilitated threats, while calling for enhanced cooperation to combat Islamophobia, xenophobia, discrimination, and hate speech targeting Muslim women and girls.

It reaffirmed solidarity with the women and girls of Palestine and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), calling on the international community to provide legal, humanitarian, economic, educational, and psychosocial support to alleviate their suffering.

The declaration concluded by reaffirming that empowering women and girls through education, skills development, leadership, and economic participation is essential for the progress, resilience, and prosperity of OIC societies. It also expressed appreciation to the Government of Pakistan for hosting the conference and thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for his patronage.

The conference also adopted an omnibus resolution.

OIC Assistant Secretary-General Ambassador Dr Tarig Ali Bakheet while delivering concluding remarks said the deliberations reflected the collective determination of OIC member states to advance the status of women as a key pillar of sustainable development and the prosperity of the Muslim Ummah.

He welcomed the adoption of the omnibus resolution, describing it as an important milestone that reflected the shared vision of member states and provided a comprehensive roadmap for strengthening cooperation, promoting women’s empowerment, and addressing the evolving challenges facing women across the Islamic world.

“I commend the spirit of consensus and cooperation that has guided the adoption of this important resolution,” he said.

Dr Bakheet said the real measure of success would not lie in the resolutions adopted but in the collective commitment to implement them effectively and achieve measurable outcomes.

He urged member states, OIC institutions, international partners, and other relevant stakeholders to work closely to ensure the effective implementation of the conference’s resolutions and recommendations.

He said sustained cooperation, coordinated action, and the sharing of successful experiences among member states would help transform shared commitments into meaningful improvements in the lives of women and girls.

Congratulating Pakistan on assuming the chairmanship of the Ministerial Conference on Women, Dr Bakheet expressed confidence that the country would successfully guide the implementation of the conference’s decisions.

He reaffirmed the OIC General Secretariat’s commitment to working closely with Pakistan, the OIC Women Development Organization, relevant OIC institutions, and member states to maintain the momentum generated by the conference and translate it into concrete achievements.

Dr Bakheet prayed for greater unity among OIC member states and called for continued joint efforts to promote the dignity, empowerment, and well-being of women across the Muslim world.

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Human Rights Azam Nazeer Tarar on Monday said the 9th OIC Ministerial Conference on Women reflected the collective commitment of OIC member states to advancing the rights and empowerment of women.

Addressing the closing session of the 9th OIC Ministerial Conference on Women in Islamabad, he said it was a privilege for Pakistan to host the important gathering. He said around 125 distinguished delegates from OIC member states, observer states, and institutions participated in the conference.

Tarar said the delegates’ active engagement and valuable contributions enriched the discussions and demonstrated a shared resolve to promote the socio-economic and political empowerment of women across the Muslim world. He said Islamabad had served as a platform for meaningful dialogue, mutual learning, and collective action, adding that the conference reaffirmed the importance of placing women at the center of policymaking and decision-making.

The minister appreciated the strong participation and leadership of women throughout the conference, saying their expertise and commitment had strengthened the deliberations and reinforced the need for greater inclusion of women in public life.

Tarar expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Human Rights, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their efforts in successfully organising the conference. He also commended the event management team for its dedication and hard work over several weeks.

Tarar further thanked the OIC General Secretariat, the Women Development Organization, the Women Consultative Council, partner organisations, experts, and all participating delegations for their constructive engagement and valuable contributions.

Islamabad: Artificial intelligence (AI) should be integrated into institutional systems through ethical governance rather than being viewed merely as an individual productivity tool, said speakers at the launch of a series of books on AI and Technology Governance.

The books-launch event organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) was held here on Monday.

The books, titled as: ‘Artificial Intelligence Ethics: A Maturity Assessment Framework’, ‘Artificial Intelligence Implementation Guide: Transforming to AI Using AI4mation’, and ‘Artificial Intelligence and the University in the Global South: Transforming to Meet the Challenge’ were authored by Azhar Zia-ur-Rehman.

Presenting his work, Azhar Zia ur Rehman said he had first introduced the concept of technology governance. He further said the European Union’s AI Act underscored the growing importance of ethics in AI because of the technology’s transformative nature. His latest work, he explained, consolidates global knowledge on AI governance and proposes a comprehensive framework consisting of 1,941 measurable governance activities.

He said organizations could translate these activities into key performance indicators and evaluate their institutional maturity using internationally recognized ISO 33001 and ISO 33002 standards. By assigning maturity scores to each activity, organizations could systematically assess and strengthen their AI governance capabilities.

His latest book outlines a detailed 16-step methodology for institutionalizing AI by reviewing organizational processes, identifying automation opportunities, assessing AI use cases and evaluating their benefits and risks. He stressed that successful AI institutionalization begins with understanding existing organizational processes before introducing automation and AI applications.

Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, SDPI Executive Director, said Azhar Zia ur Rehman is an internationally recognized researcher, consultant and expert on management systems, who had emerged as an authority on AI governance. He said the author had pioneered three high-quality books on the subject and had been assisting governments and organizations worldwide in preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and AI adoption.

Dr Suleri emphasized the responsible use of AI within think tanks and research organizations. He underlined that evidence-based policy institutions must lead by example in adopting ethical AI practices while safeguarding research integrity.

Dr. Sajid Amin Javed, SDPI Deputy Executive Director (Research), said AI was rapidly becoming the fifth and perhaps the most important pillar influencing productivity, economic policy and development outcomes. He noted that discussions in Pakistan largely revolved around how individuals use AI, whereas the more important question was whether organizations and institutions were prepared to integrate AI into their existing systems.

He stressed that the real potential of AI would be realized only when governments, industries and businesses developed institutional capacity to incorporate AI into their operations. Ethical and responsible use of AI, he said, would determine whether technology contributed positively to governance and development.

Dr. Javed added that universities and young professionals urgently needed guidance on responsible AI use, noting that educational institutions across the world were still struggling to define acceptable AI practices. He cited examples of universities discouraging AI-generated work while simultaneously recognizing that AI had become an unavoidable reality requiring clear ethical frameworks.

Dr Zafar Ullah Koreshi, Chief Executive and Director of Solved Engineering Technologies Limited, said AI represented an entirely new experience for older generations while today’s youths had grown up alongside digital technologies. Reflecting on his own career, he recalled introducing Mechatronics Engineering at Air University, whose graduates were now serving across Pakistan.

Dr. Koreshi said the author’s work appropriately began with the historical evolution of universities, including ancient learning centres such as Taxila, before explaining industrial revolutions and AI. He argued that despite rapid technological advances, human intelligence remained superior to AI.

He maintained that the principal challenge facing universities was no longer whether AI should be used, but how it should be governed in an era where information and AI-generated outputs were abundant. He praised the book’s discussion on university governance, pedagogy and institutional management in the AI era.

Dr. Koreshi warned that AI effectiveness depended heavily on sound data management and governance systems. He criticized the commercialization of higher education, saying excessive focus on profits in some private universities had compromised educational quality and values.

He further cautioned against the unchecked replacement of human decision-making with machines, highlighting risks including reinforcement of societal biases, weakening of critical thinking, creation of misleading knowledge and growing environmental pressures from energy- and water-intensive AI data centres.

Zainab Naeem, Head of Ecological Sustainability and Circular Economy at SDPI, said AI has significantly improved organizational efficiency and commended the author’s work in codifying AI ethics into a practical governance framework.

While emphasizing that AI must remain human-led, she noted that technological innovation should also promote environmental sustainability through water- and energy-efficient mechanisms as AI systems continue to expand.

Later, during the interactive session, Azhar Zia ur Rehman said AI represented a new paradigm that would fundamentally reshape expectations of students, universities, governments and industries alike. All these stakeholders, he argued, would need to redefine their roles in preparing graduates for the AI age.

He emphasized that AI should be viewed as a tool similar to earlier technological innovations such as electric typewriters and computers, rather than as a replacement for human judgment. Human oversight, he said, must remain integral to every critical AI-assisted decision.

Islamabad: Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister (DPM/FM), Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Monday met Candidate for the position of United Nations Secretary-General, Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett and reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering support for the central role of the UN in international affairs.

During the interaction, the deputy prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s longstanding commitment to multilateralism and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

He underscored the need to ensure respect for international law and treaties, and to faithfully implement UN Security Council resolutions, especially in the context of the long-standing Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the situation in Palestine. The DPM/FM also called for necessary steps to adapt the UN to emerging global challenges, as well as to address the needs of the developing countries.

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Human Rights, Azam Nazeer Tarar on Monday announced that Pakistan has assumed the chairmanship of the OIC Ministerial Conference on Women for the next two years.

Addressing a press conference after the conclusion of the 9th OIC Ministerial Conference on Women here, the minister said the chairmanship had been formally transferred to Pakistan, reflecting the confidence of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states on the country.

Tarar thanked the OIC General Secretariat, member states, partner countries, ministers, ministers of state, heads of delegation, and other representatives for their active participation, which helped make the two-day conference a success.

He said the conference adopted the outcomes of its deliberations during the closing session, with member states reaffirming their commitment to promoting the economic, political, and social empowerment of women across the Muslim world.

The minister said participants resolved to ensure that women were fully included in the development process, enabling them to contribute alongside men to building balanced, prosperous, and inclusive societies. Highlighting the importance of technology, Tarar said dedicated sessions focused on the opportunities and challenges of the digital age.

He said member states pledged to utilize all available resources to equip women with modern skills and technologies, enabling them to transform their achievements into success stories and contribute to their families, communities, and national economies.

The minister expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Human Rights team, led by the secretary, parliamentary secretary, and officials of the Ministry of Law and Justice, for their dedicated efforts in organising the conference.

He also acknowledged the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, the foreign secretary, and the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting and Information Technology, saying all institutions had worked together over the past several months to ensure the event’s success.

Tarar extended special thanks to Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, for his leadership and patronage throughout the conference and congratulated the people of Pakistan on successfully hosting the high-level international event.

He said Pakistan’s assumption of the OIC chairmanship on women’s affairs presented an important opportunity to work closely with member states to develop stronger policy frameworks for the welfare, development, and future of women across the Islamic world.

The minister expressed confidence that through collective efforts and collaboration, women across OIC member states would continue to play an increasingly important role alongside men in the progress and prosperity of their countries and the wider Muslim world.