Category: Karachi

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Agreement inked for establishment of National Reference Laboratory for Department of Plant Protection


Karachi: Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Industries and Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain on Monday witnessed the signing of an agreement regarding establishment of National Reference Laboratory for Department of Plant Protection (NRL- DPP).



The agreement was inked between the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi and Federal Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS and R) at HEJRIC ICCBS KU.



The NRL- DPP will be established under the umbrella of IAC at HEJ ICCBS through the financial support of the MNFS and R while the Director ICCBS will be the sole administrative authority of the NRL-DPP.



The Federal Secretary Food Security Wasim Ajmal Chaudhry, Federal Secretary Industries and Production Captain Saif Anjum, Director General Plant Protection Waqas Alam and other notables also attended the signing ceremony.



Vice Chancellor University of Karachi Prof. Dr. Khalid Iraqi, former federal minister Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman and Director ICCBS Dr. Farzana Shaheen were also present.



Under the agreement, the HEJ will provide testing facilities on a commercial basis for pesticide residue and related analysis through IAC.



The NRL-DPP shall serve as a national facility for quality check of samples against pesticide residue and related testings and shall meet the demand of emerging challenges in food and drug testing through new and innovative method development.



A Technical Evaluation Committee of NRL-DPP shall be constituted initially for five years for monitoring of overall progress of the project.



The committee will continue regular meetings every year to assess the progress of the NRL-DPP. The committee will continue or be reconstituted every year for five years with the permission of the Board of Governors of ICCBS and MNFS and R.



Technical staff shall be nominees of ICCBS for a period of five-year tenure which may be extendable. All technical and non-technical staff will be hired as per government rules.



The hiring and firing remain under administrative control of the Director ICCBS and the staff is treated as employees of the ICCBS for administration and discipline.



In the future, H.E.J. will work for accreditation of the MNFS and R NRL-DPP. The MNFS and R will be responsible for the expenditure of the entire accreditation process.



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City admin takes notice about profiteering of edible items

Karachi: The city administration on Monday took notice of complaints regarding the rising prices of eggs and chicken in the city.

In a meeting presided over by Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi, it was decided that deputy commissioners will strictly enforce official prices of essential commodities including the prices of eggs and chicken, and take action against shopkeepers who violate these prices the government fixed prices .

The commissioner directed all deputy commissioners to continue and intensify their campaigns against shopkeepers who violate government fixed prices of essential commodities.

The meeting also discussed the causes of rising egg and chicken prices and decided that the deputy commissioner of the central district, in consultation with the Bureau of Supply and relevant stakeholders, will propose measures to address the issue.

Furthermore, the meeting decided that all assistant commissioners will make special efforts to strictly enforce prices of eggs, chicken, lentils, and roti and naan, and take action against shopkeepers who violate the official prices.

The meeting also discussed traffic issues and problems faced by citizens due to bachat baazars.

Deputy commissioners briefed the meeting on the issues arising from bachat bazaars violating SOPs required to enforce for bachat bazaars.in their respective districts.

The meeting further decided to take action against bachat bazaars that are causing traffic issues and violating rules. All deputy commissioners will ensure that these bazaars follow the rules.

The meeting considered the cancellation of permits for those operating without authorized agency approval or violating required SOPs

Deputy Commissioner East Abrar Jaffar informed the meeting that the administration of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Time Square bachat bazaar and Allah Din bachat bazaar have been warned to take measures to address the traffic chaos caused by their bazaars.

The bazaars administration has assured the district administration that they will improve arrangements and ensure compliance with SOPs.

Additionally, Deputy Commissioner Korangi Asif Korai briefed that notices have been issued to bachaat bazaars violating SOPS and running without an unauthorized authority in Korangi.

The deputy commissioners were asked to provide a list of unauthorized bachat bazaars or bazaars violating the SOPs in their respective districts to the commissioner,to decide the action based on the deputy commissioners' reports.

Assistant Commissioner General Hazeem Bangwar presented a report on the ongoing actions against shopkeepers in the meeting.

The deputy commissioners presented reports on actions taken against shopkeepers in their respective districts over the last week from 30th of December to January 5.

Deputy Commissioner South Altaf Sario informed that 175 shopkeepers were taken action against in the South district, resulting in fines exceeding Rs 12 lac from December 30 to January 5.

Similarly, Deputy Commissioner Central Taha Saleem reported fines exceeding Rs 2 lac against 62 shopkeepers, while Deputy Commissioner West Ahmed Ali Siddiqui reported fines of Rs 1 lac against 32 shopkeepers.

Deputy Commissioner East Abrar Jaffar reported action against 81 shopkeepers, resulting in fines of Rs 7 lac 57 thousand Additional Deputy Commissioner Korangi Asif Korai reported that fines exceeding Rs 3 lac were imposed on 87 shopkeepers in the Korangi district.

The meeting was attended by all deputy commissioners, Additional Commissioner-I Ghulam Mehdi Shah, Assistant Commissioner General Hazeem Bangwar, officers of the Bureau of Supply, Chairman Market Committee Ali Zamaan Jokhio, and others. All assistant commissioners participated via video link.

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PML-N to start membership campaign for reinvigorating party in Sindh: Ahsan Iqbal


Karachi: The Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Monday stated that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is all set to start a membership campaign in Sindh to reinvigorate the party at grass root level in the province.



The minister who is also the secretary general of PML-N, expressed the views while addressing the party workers during a visit of PML-N House Karachi and later holding a press conference.



He said that the PML-N had a significant political following in Sindh and the party during each of its tenure in government indiscriminately served the people of Sindh with land mark development projects and welfare initiatives.



The party leadership was aiming at organizing the PML-N at provincial, district and even at union council level in Sindh to strengthen the party at grass root level, he said and informed that the party organization in Sindh under the leadership of provincial president Basheer Memon was tasked to take the membership campaign in every nook and corner of the province and organize the party at the UC level.



After completion of the membership campaign, a workers’ convention of the party will be convened, he said and added that, he as the party secretary general will monitor the entire process and also conduct monthly visits of Karachi to develop close coordination with the party workers on regular basis.



Ahsan Iqbal said that PML-N, during its past governments, restored peace in Karachi, rooted out the menace of dacoits in rural areas, gifted the first mass transit project of Sindh to Karachi, started mass water supply K-IV project and taken several initiatives for economic and industrial growth and resolving the basic issues of citizens.



He said that Karachi-Hyderabad and Multan- Sukkur sections of the motorway were constructed by PML-N and the incumbent government was working to start the Sukkur-Hyderabad section of motorway at the earliest.



He urged the party workers to spread the PML-N’s narrative of development and stability of the homeland and performance to the masses, strengthen party organization as well as its linkage with the people.



He expressed hope that PML-N on basis of its performance and with tireless efforts of the party workers will be able to achieve the best results in Sindh in upcoming general elections.



Highlighting the recently announced initiative of ‘Uran Pakistan’ he said that objectives of the project are reinforcing foundations of sustainable growth through enhancing exports, economic stabilization, creation of employment opportunities, modernizing education system, and revitalizing the agriculture sector.



The Uran Pakistan sets our national priorities with focus on fast track growth of exports, realizing the vision of E-Pakistan by establishing digital infrastructure and capacity building, promoting environmental resilience by developing agriculture and water resources, improving energy sector, creating employment and further rising the standards of education, health and social protection.



The minister, responding to a query about the PIA, said that the PTI government had played havoc with the national airline but due to consistent efforts of the present government PIA has been able to resume its flights to European Union while air connectivity with UK is also expected to be cleared soon.



Ahsan Iqbal on a media query said that all the state institutions have realization that national solidarity and joint efforts were required to steer the country out of economic crisis and establish peace and stability.



On another query he said that policy of reconciliation for national development and Charter of Democracy are the foundations of coalition with Pakistan Peoples Party while an effective coordination mechanism for engagement with coalition partners also exists to resolve the arising issues.



On a question regarding construction of six irrigation canals, the federal minister categorically said that constitution of Pakistan contains a comprehensive mechanism for equitable distribution of water resources among the federating units which ensures that every province get its due share of water.



Some elements were spreading baseless propaganda on the issue to mislead the masses, he said and added that no province can take water from share of the other one and the allocated share of all the provinces will be ensured at any cost.



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Sialkot clinch thrilling one-wicket win to bag Quaid Trophy title

Karachi: Sialkot beat Peshawar by a solitary wicket in a thrilling contest on Sunday, the day four of the five-day final, at the UBL Sports Complex, Karachi to bag their third Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title. Sialkot did not lose a single match in the tournament with their eight matches yielding five wins and three draws.

Chasing 173 to win, Sialkot were 59-5 in 15 overs at the beginning of day four. They completed the chase in 46.2 overs with skipper Amad Butt starring with a match-winning half-century and Shahzaib Bhatti (32 not out) hitting the winning runs, which came off a boundary.

Skipper Amad anchored the chase with poise as he notched 65 runs off 94 balls hitting nine fours and one six during his stay on the crease. After Sialkot lost wicketkeeper-batter Afzal Manzoor with scorecard reading 69-6, Amad partnered with Shahzaib for a crucial 48-run seventh-wicket to take their team out of dire straits.

Sajid Khan castled Amad to bring Peshawar back to the game but Shahzaib stuck around to finish the game with 51-ball 32 inclusive of four boundaries. Shoaib Akhtar Jnr departed in the 46th over with one run required to win and one wicket left for Sialkot before the sealed the game in next over.

For Peshawar Niaz Khan picked up four wickets while Mohammad Amir Khan returned figures of 3-60. Israrullah and Sajid Khan dismissed one batter each.

Scores in brief

Final - Day 4 of 5 - Sialkot Region beat Peshawar Region by one wicket at the UBL Sports Complex, Karachi

Peshawar 258 all out, 80.1 overs (Zubair Khan 47, Nabi Gul 44, Maaz Sadaqat 32, Mehran Ibrahim 31, Niaz Khan 31, Sajid Khan 23; Amad Butt 4-51, Ali Raza 3-62, Shoaib Akhtar Jr 2-60) and 159 all out, 59.5 overs (Maaz Sadaqat 57, Mehran Ibrahim 32; Ali Raza 7-48, Amad Butt 2-66)

Sialkot 245 all out, 85 overs (Mohsin Riaz 57, Mohammad Huraira 55, Shahzaib Bhatti 40, Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti 26; Niaz Khan 5-61, Mohammad Amir Khan 3-38) and 176-9, 46.2 overs (Amad Butt 65, Shahzaib Bhatti 32 not out; Niaz Khan 4-61, Mohammad Amir Khan 3-60)

Player of the match - Amad Butt (Sialkot) - 4-51 and 2-66 and 10 and 65

Best batter of the tournament - Azan Awais (Sialkot) - 844 runs in eight matches

Best bowler of the tournament - Musa Khan (Islamabad) - 38 wickets in five matches

Best wicketkeeper of the tournament - Afzal Manzoor (Sialkot) - 39 dismissals in eight matches

Player of the tournament - Niaz Khan (Peshawar) - 39 wickets in eight matches.

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World must fulfill its promises to Kashmiri people in IIOJK: Bilawal

Karachi: The Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in his message on Kashmiris' Right to Self-Determination Day, highlighted the suffering of the people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and said it is not just a regional issue but a grave test of humanity's conscience.

He voiced deep disappointment at the global community's persistent silence over the relentless atrocities faced by the Kashmiri people.

Bilawal emphasized that the world community must fulfill its promises to the Kashmiri people in IIOJK and ensure the realization of their inalienable rights. He reiterated that the right to self-determination is a fundamental principle enshrined in international law and promised to the people of Kashmir through United Nations resolutions.

The PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid tribute to the unyielding resolve of the people of occupied Kashmir, who have steadfastly endured decades of oppression while standing firm in their demand for dignity, justice, and freedom. 'Today, we stand shoulder to shoulder with our resilient Kashmiri brothers and sisters who have faced relentless Indian oppression. Your sacrifices will not go in vain. The Pakistan Peoples Party has always been at the forefront of defending the Kashmir cause and will continue to raise its voice for your rights on every platform,' he asserted.

He reaffirmed his commitment to extending unwavering political, moral, and diplomatic support to the oppressed people of occupied Kashmir until their freedom is achieved. "On this day, we renew our pledge to amplify your voice with greater resolve and defend your cause. Together, we will ensure that the dream of a peaceful, free Kashmir, liberated from Indian occupation, becomes a reality."

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Murtaza Wahab terms individuals rendered services to Karachi as asset

Karachi: Mayor Karachi, Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Sunday said that individuals who have rendered services to the city are our asset. The martyrs from the city wardens and fire brigades, who sacrificed their lives to protect the lives and property of citizens, are our pride. The purpose of awarding them the Tamgha-e-Karachi is to pay tribute to their services.

He expressed these views while addressing the ceremony where citizens who rendered services to Karachi were awarded the Tamgha-e-Karachi.

The event was attended by Deputy Mayor Karachi Salman Abdullah Murad, Deputy Parliamentary Leader Dil Muhammad, Jumman Darwan, Municipal Commissioner Afzal Zaidi, elected representatives, and departmental heads and officers of KMC.

Murtaza Wahab said that the hero of today's ceremony is not me, but those who made sacrifices. He added that the decision to honor the personalities and martyrs who served Karachi was made by the members of the City Council, and today, the first event was organized by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.

This event would be held every year on January 5th to acknowledge the contributions of those who have played a role in making this city greater, Mayor said.

He said that development projects were underway in all seven districts of Karachi, and 2025 will be the year of Karachi's development.

Later on, Mayor Karachi presented the Tamgha-e-Karachi to distinguished personalities and martyrs of Karachi.