Day: July 15, 2026

Islamabad: Member of National Assembly and the Convener of the Pakistan-Bosnia and Herzegovina Parliamentary Friendship Group, Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan, met with a visiting delegation led by Minister of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr Sevlid Hurtic at the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, Parliament House, Islamabad.

Welcoming the delegation, Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan highlighted the longstanding and friendly relations between Pakistan and Bosnia and Herzegovina, founded on mutual respect, shared values, and historic solidarity.

She recalled Pakistan’s steadfast support for Bosnia and Herzegovina and expressed confidence that strengthened parliamentary engagement would further deepen bilateral ties.

She emphasized enhanced cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, education, and people-to-people exchanges, while reaffirming Pakistan’s support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European integration.

Paying tribute to the victims of the Srebrenica Genocide, she reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to justice, accountability, and preventing such tragedies from recurring.

Dr Sevlid Hurtic thanked the Convener for the warm welcome and appreciated Pakistan’s enduring support and friendship.

He emphasized the importance of translating strong political goodwill into practical cooperation through parliamentary exchanges, economic collaboration, business linkages, tourism, education, and human rights.

The meeting concluded with both sides reaffirming their commitment to further strengthening Pakistan-Bosnia and Herzegovina relations through closer parliamentary cooperation and expanded collaboration in areas of mutual interest.

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar said on Tuesday that the government firmly believed in independent, responsible and strong print media in the country.

During a meeting with a delegation of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), led by its President Kazim Khan, the minister assured that the consultation process with all relevant stakeholders would continue to resolve the structural and financial issues hindering the newspaper industry.

The minister also agreed on the need to introduce comprehensive reforms to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) system.

He emphasized that it was the need of the hour to align the ABC system with modern requirements, making it both effective and transparent.

The minister pledged that necessary reforms in the ABC, the prompt payment of outstanding dues to media houses, and matters relating to news agencies would be addressed on a priority.

He added that all possible cooperation would be extended to resolve the legitimate grievances of journalistic organizations.

The CPNE delegation took the opportunity to congratulate the newly appointed Principal Information Officer (PIO), Raisa Adil, on officially assuming her responsibilities.

The delegation expressed optimism that under her leadership, mutual cooperation between the Ministry of Information and the newspaper industry would be further strengthened.

Furthermore, the delegation praised the services of the outgoing PIO, Mubashir Hassan, and extended their best wishes for his future endeavors.

Federal Secretary for Information and Broadcasting, Ashfaq Ahmad Khalil, was also present during the meeting.

Islamabad: Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare of Bangladesh Dr. A. Z. M. Zahid Hossain called on Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

During the meeting, the deputy prime minister welcomed Dr. Hossain to Pakistan for the 9th OIC Ministerial Conference on Women held in Islamabad.

He appreciated Bangladesh’s participation in the Conference and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to advancing cooperation on women’s empowerment within the OIC framework and beyond.

Recalling his visit to Dhaka last August, DPM Dar also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations and underscored its readiness to expand cooperation across diverse fields of mutual interest.

The two leaders exchanged views on enhancing bilateral cooperation in trade, education, social welfare, and people-to-people contacts.

Islamabad: The Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, on Tuesday called for the immediate operationalization of the Quran Recycling Plant at the Islamabad Hajj Camp, emphasizing that the facility should be made fully functional at the earliest to ensure the respectful and dignified disposal of Quranic pages.

The minister expressed these views while chairing a meeting to review preparations for the 51st International Seerat-un-Nabi (PBUH) Conference.

Addressing the meeting, the Federal Minister said that the 51st International Seerat-un-Nabi (PBUH) Conference would be organized on a grand scale during the upcoming month of Rabi-ul-Awwal.

He said that the Ministry of Religious Affairs had the honour of organizing this important and blessed conference, which would play an important role in enlightening the younger generation about Islamic teachings and Seerat-e-Tayyaba (PBUH).

He said that prominent scholars, religious leaders, delegates, and dignitaries from across Pakistan and various countries would participate in the conference, which would help promote the message of Seerat-un-Nabi (PBUH) at the international level.

Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Mirza Ali Mehsud and other senior officials also attended the meeting and briefed the minister on the administrative arrangements for the conference.

Meanwhile, the Federal Minister expressed satisfaction over the digitalization process for Hajj 2027 and directed the concerned authorities to make the process more effective.

Islamabad: The Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works, chaired by Senator Nasir Mehmood, on Tuesday conducted an official oversight visit to review the under-construction Islamabad Model Jail located in Sector H-16.

The visit included a comprehensive briefing by Asmat Shrif, Member Building of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), on the master plan and physical progress of the project, which spans Ninety acres of land.

The Committee expressed severe reservations regarding the project’s prolonged delays, noting that construction originally commenced on May 8, 2017, and was now projected to reach completion by July 31, at an escalated cost of PKR 7,399.12 million.

A major point of contention arose when Committee Member Senator Naseema Ehsan strongly highlighted the complete omission of dedicated women’s barracks, essential infant care facilities, and schooling for the children of female inmates in the original plans. While the Committee was informed that women’s facilities were relegated to a future “Phase 2” because they were not initially included, the members expressed profound concern and rejected this exclusion, demanding immediate integration of humanitarian and human rights provisions for women and their infants.

In response to these findings, the Committee directed the CDA to submit a detailed, comprehensive inquiry report explaining why the CDA administration abruptly halted construction works back in 2018. Furthermore, to closely monitor progress and prevent further delays, the Committee directed the CDA management to submit a weekly progress report on active work in process.

Senators Husna Bano, Khalida Ateeb, Hadiyat Ullah khan, Muhammad Aslam Abro, Abdul Shakor Khan, Jan Muhammad and Naseema Ehsan, along with senior senior officials of CDA were also present on the occasion.

Islamabad: Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday expressed confidence that Pakistan would achieve the World Health Organization (WHO) Maturity Level 3 (ML-3) by April 2027, paving the way for easier access to pharmaceutical markets in around 160 countries.

He made the remarks during a meeting with the WHO Representative in Pakistan, where the progress of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) towards achieving WHO ML-3 status was reviewed.

The minister appreciated the WHO’s technical support, describing it as vital to Pakistan’s efforts to attain ML-3 recognition.

He announced that a high-level meeting with the chief ministers of all provinces would be held in the coming days to review progress, stressing that effective coordination between the federation and provinces would be further strengthened.

Mustafa Kamal reiterated that achieving ML-3 would significantly boost Pakistan’s pharmaceutical exports and enhance the global competitiveness.

The WHO representative lauded the minister’s leadership and commitment to ongoing health sector reforms, describing the federal cabinet’s approval of Pakistan’s first-ever National Vaccine Policy as a historic milestone for the country’s healthcare system.