F.P. Report
ABBOTTABAD / ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday launched the Shuhada Package to support the families of the federal government officials martyred in the line of duty, comprising cash assistance, housing allowance as well as free education and medical treatment.
The prime minister, who visited the family of late Customs Inspector Syed Hasnain Ali Tirmizi, who was martyred in a firing incident in Dera Ismail Khan a few days ago, handed over a cheque under the Shuhada Package to the grieved family and assured his government’s all-out efforts for the security of the customs officials serving to purge the country of smuggling.
Offering Fateha for the martyred soul and sympathizing with the bereaved family, he said that the Shuhada Package, earlier announced by the Punjab government, had now been extended to the federal government and could be revised further considering the country’s financial position.
Under the package, the family members of a martyred sepoy would get Rs 10 million cash assistance and Rs 13.5 million housing allowance besides free education and medical treatment. The family of a martyred customs inspector would be entitled for a Rs15 million cash and Rs25 million housing allowance along with free education and medical facilities.
The package will also apply to civilian officials, police and law enforcement agencies, the prime minister said who was accompanied by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, PML-N leaders, and senior government officers. During interaction with the family members, the prime minister showed compassion and affection to the orphaned children and called them the “children of a hero” and his father the “father of a hero” of whom the whole nation felt proud.
The prime minister paid tribute to the late customs inspector who sacrificed his life while fighting against the smuggling and to save billions of dollars for the national economy.
He also lauded the patience and perseverance of the martyred customs inspector’s father and apprised him of his government’s ongoing efforts to curb smuggling, citing his multiple meetings on the subject. He said the Federal Board of Revenue, law enforcement agencies and interior ministry were in cohesion to curb the menace of smuggling through collaboration with the provincial institutions.
“The elimination of smuggling is as essential as the recovery of the national economy. Economic stability cannot be achieved without curbing the smuggling. This is my foremost responsibility as well as of my government,” he remarked. He also thanked Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir, KP government, provincial chief secretary, and Inspector General of KP Police for their support in the federal government’s endeavour against smuggling so that people could use their produce and the country could earn foreign exchange through exports by legal means.
“I want to tell the federal and provincial government representatives that smuggling is our common enemy and we have to fight this out… Let us pledge not to spare any effort to curb smuggling to save billions of dollars for the national economy. If we set this goal, Allah will grant us success otherwise, we will be questioned on the day of judgment,” the prime minister remarked.
The father of martyred Customs Inspector Hasnain Tirmizi thanked the prime minister for visiting and sympathizing with them. He told the prime minister that his son was inducted into the service just 22 months ago and added that he felt proud of him for opting to die with dignity while fighting for the country.
Govt committed to empower youth with modern tech, IT: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was committed to empower the youth equipping them with modern technology and imparting the latest vocational training.
He was speaking at an event organized by the Ministry of Information Technology on the occasion of International Girls in Information Communication Technology (ICT) Day, to recognize contribution of female entrepreneurs in the field. He said, “It is our hope and we expect that the youth will become entrepreneurs and open offices in cities like Karachi, Lahore and other places in Pakistan and other countries like Saudi Arabia, and information technology will become the biggest foreign exchange earner for Pakistan.”
He said, “We will make all investments required to achieve our goals in the field of information technology so that the youth can become bread earners for their families and foreign exchange earners for Pakistan.” He underlined the need for decreasing gender discrimination in the society, citing the example of Saudi Arabia where women were 40 percent of the workforce working in shopping malls, business houses, universities, and other places.
The prime minister said Pakistan was blessed with huge human resource in the shape of highly talented youth population of 15 to 30 years. The youth were a great asset of Pakistan and it was an opportunity and challenge to utilize the young population for the country’s progress, he remarked.
He said fintech was playing an important role in increasing gross domestic product (GDP) of countries in the region including the Gulf states as with its help people were opening bank accounts in minutes and fast business transactions were taking place without any delay. He said Pakistan would gain a bright future by utilizing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics.
Earlier he gave away awards to women entrepreneurs and freelancers for their contributions in the field of information technology. He expressed the hope that many more young entrepreneurs would emerge in the future and win laurels for the country.
PM for political commitment, adequate investment to achive goal of malaria-free world: As the world observes World Malaria Day, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif called for a vigorous political commitment and adequate investment strategies to reach the goal of a world free from the disease.
The prime minister, in a message on the Day, stressed the need to learn from each others’ experiences and support each others’ efforts in combating the disease. He said the theme for World Malaria Day 2024 was “Advancing health equity, gender equality and human rights” which was an undertaking to involve multiple stakeholders i.e. policy makers, donors, healthcare providers, community members from all walks of life in fight against malaria.
He said the research and academic institutions needed to flag scientific advances to both experts and the general public, international partners, companies and foundations to showcase their efforts and reflect on how to further scale up malaria control interventions. “The aim of Government of Pakistan, in this regard, is to get more people involved in the fight against the disease that affects more than 1 million Pakistanis every year,” he remarked.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said that despite the country’s achievements in malaria control, sustaining the gains still remains a challenge. “It is my belief that every individual has the right to live a healthy and prosperous life with dignity.
Everyone must have access to quality assured malaria testing and treatment facilities, free of cost, at their door steps,” he added.
The prime minister said that the Ministry of National Health Services and Coordination through Common Management Unit Malaria, National and international partners, provincial counterparts, NGOs and private stakeholders had significantly enhanced the free malaria testing and treatment facilities in the malaria endemic districts across the country.
He said that as the government strived to provide equitable health services to the citizens, the role of the private sector and the global partners wad appreciable. He called upon all partners, organizations, healthcare professionals, and individuals to unite in their efforts to end malaria. “We must work collaboratively to strengthen healthcare systems, increase access to quality diagnosis and treatment, and raise awareness about the importance of prevention and controlling measures of malaria,” the prime minister added.
PM seeks cooperation between Pakistan, Denmark in agriculture, energy sector: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with a delegation led by Chief Executive Officer of APM Terminals and Board Member AP Miller Mearsk Keith Svendsen and discussed matters related to business and investment.
During the meeting, Keith Svendsen expressed interest in the first green transhipment terminal of Pakistan to be built in Karachi. After the completion of the proposed project, large cargo ships can be anchored in the port of Karachi and the whole world will get easy access to Pakistani exports. With this project, cargo from all over the world will also reach the Central Asian states.
APM Terminal will also construct international level logistics storage facilities in Lahore, Tarnol and Peshawar and due to this project Pakistan will become the center of the region for logistics. With this project, Pakistan will also get an opportunity to increase value of its products, which will not only provide jobs to the people but also enhance economic growth.
