Author: dailybalochistantimes.com

Islamabad: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Wednesday held a warm and productive one-on-one with Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Foreign Minister of the State of Kuwait, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting, the two leaders reviewed the full spectrum of Pakistan-Kuwait bilateral relations and reaffirmed their shared commitment to further strengthening the longstanding brotherly partnership.

They also held in-depth discussions on regional and international developments, with particular focus on the evolving situation in the Middle East.

Islamabad: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights Wednesday called for adopting a uniform minimum marriage age across the country and directed the Ministry of Human Rights to strengthen coordination among relevant ministries and departments to effectively address social issues that are affecting the society.

The committee, which met at Parliament House under the chairpersonship of MNA Asiya Naz Tanoli, also appreciated the Ministry of Human Rights for successfully organizing the 9th OIC Ministerial Conference on Women in Islamabad, saying the event would contribute to promoting women’s socio-economic empowerment, digital inclusion and political participation.

Expressing concern over different minimum marriage ages prescribed under federal and provincial laws, the committee directed the Ministry of Human Rights to take concrete measures, in consultation with all provinces, to make the marriage age uniform across the country.

The committee also voiced concern over what it described as the poor performance of ministries and departments responsible for addressing social evils, attributing the situation to inadequate coordination among institutions. It observed that many policies remained confined to paper with little implementation at the grassroots level.

The committee directed the Ministry of Human Rights to establish effective coordination among all relevant ministries and departments to curb social issues, including rape, harassment, child abuse, drug abuse and begging. It also asked the ministry to launch a comprehensive media awareness campaign highlighting the services it provides to improve public awareness and enhance institutional performance.

Earlier, officials briefed the committee on the performance of the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) and the Child Protection Institute (CPI), highlighting challenges faced by the organizations. They sought the committee’s support for increased budgetary allocations and recruitment against vacant posts to improve service delivery.

The meeting was attended by MNAs Danyal Chaudhary, Shamsher Ali Mazari, Zeb Jaffar, Tamkeen Akhtar Niazi, Dr. Nelson Azeem, Sehar Kamran, Shahida Rehmani, Naveed Aamir, Sabheen Ghoury (via Zoom), Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, and senior officials of the Ministry of Human Rights and its attached departments.

Islamabad: Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE), Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Wednesday announced the results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Part I and Part II First Annual Examination 2026, with an overall pass percentage of 59.77 per cent in SSC-I and 91.33 per cent in SSC-II.

The results were officially declared during a ceremony attended by Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training as the chief guest alongwith academicians, position holders, their parents, principals and Board officials.

The Board Chairman Prof Dr Ikram Ali Malik briefed participants on the key features of the examination and the Board’s performance.

Addressing the ceremony, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui congratulated the successful candidates and urged them to continue striving for excellence and contribute to the country’s progress through hard work and dedication.

According to the Board, overall 150,077 including regular and Ex/private candidates were enrolled in SSC-I, of whom 88,646 passed, resulting in an overall pass percentage of 59.77.

Whereas overall 141,653 candidates appeared in SSC-II of whom 128,070 passed the exam with percentage stands at 91.33.

The FBISE said the results are available on its official website, through SMS and have also been communicated to candidates through SMS.

Islamabad: Pakistan’s border management received a boost as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) took over new equipment and three transport vans from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) under a four-year project funded by the Government of Japan.

The support includes modern systems for 21 FIA operational points, three international airports, and training programs for more than 150 FIA officers and over 200 officials and partners.

The handover ceremony was held at FIA Headquarters in Islamabad and was attended by Japan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Akamatsu Shuichi, IOM Pakistan Chief of Mission Mio Sato, FIA Director General Dr. Usman Anwar, and representatives of the Embassy of Japan, IOM, and FIA.

The project aims to strengthen Pakistan’s border management system, improve migration governance, and support efforts against human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants.

The equipment includes biometric devices, IT systems, surveillance tools, communication equipment, security systems, and solar-powered solutions. These resources will be used at 21 FIA locations across the country. Support was also provided to the FIA National Command and Control Centre at headquarters to improve intelligence sharing and coordination against transnational crimes, including human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and cybercrime.

Three transport vans were also handed over for deployment at Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore international airports. The vehicles will help provide safe transport and reception for returning migrants.

As part of the project, the FIA Training Academy was upgraded in March 2026 with improved IT facilities, security systems, and renovated training areas. The academy trains around 1,000 officers every year, and the new facilities are expected to strengthen future training.

The initiative also focused on capacity building. More than 150 FIA officers received training on rights-based border management, investigation methods, and document and biometric verification. A group of FIA master trainers, including women officers, was also prepared to continue training within the department.

In addition, more than 200 participants, including FIA officials, provincial police officers, and civil society representatives, attended training on identifying and assisting victims of trafficking and migrant smuggling. Women made up more than half of the participants.

FIA Director General Dr. Usman Anwar said the partnership had strengthened Pakistan’s ability to improve border management and coordinated action against transnational crime.

Ambassador Akamatsu Shuichi said Japan would continue supporting border management systems that protect both national security and human dignity. IOM Pakistan Chief of Mission Mio Sato said the project had strengthened institutions and systems that would support Pakistan’s future border management needs.

The ceremony concluded with IOM and FIA thanking the Government of Japan for its continued support and reaffirming their commitment to improving migration governance in Pakistan.

Islamabad: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Foreign Minister of the State of Kuwait on Wednesday co-chaired delegation-level talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and reviewed the entire spectrum bilateral relations to further strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, energy, labour, agriculture, information technology, health, mining and minerals, defence, and the broader economic partnership.

During the meeting, they agreed to further institutionalise bilateral cooperation through enhanced linkages and regular high-level exchanges, a press release issued by the Foreign Office said.

The two sides also reaffirmed their commitment to close coordination and cooperation at multilateral forums on issues of mutual interest.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister thanked the Government and people of Pakistan for the warm welcome and gracious hospitality extended to him and his delegation. He also expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s support to Kuwait during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The deputy prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s deep commitment to its longstanding brotherly relations with Kuwait and underscored desire to further expand the mutually beneficial partnership across all areas of cooperation.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international developments of mutual interest, including the situation in the Middle East and Palestine. The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister also appreciated Pakistan’s constructive role in promoting regional peace and stability.