Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday appointed Dr Mukhtar Ahmed as the chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Geo News reported.
According to the details available, Ahmed has been appointed for two years.
He has served as the HEC chairman before while Ahmed also held the office of the HEC executive director previously.
“The prime minister has seen and, while considering the recommendations of the Search Committee, has been pleased to approve the appointment of Prof Dr Mukhtar Ahmed out of the panel proposed,” the statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office read.
The notification also mentioned that the terms and conditions of appointment of Dr Ahmed shall be settled separately.
Furthermore, the premier directed that necessary action shall be taken accordingly.
Karachi [Pakistan] July 28th, 2022 – The Young Leadership Conference on developmental and leadership skills is about to conclude on high notes where lots of inquisitive individuals got themselves flourished with strategic skills, knowledge and new experiences. The conference has only one day remaining but yet it has a lot to serve to the participants.
With this year’s theme “Pehchaan” our honorable speakers had already addressed from “Realization & Personal Leadership” to “History, Politics & Religion” where we aim to embark on a journey of finding ourselves and pushing ourselves to unlearn the complexities, focused on how to be set free from the chains of stereotypes and taboos. We also explored how art is regardless and plays a significant role in bringing people together and how to avail opportunities whenever there is a problem.
YLC’ 2022 – the agenda of day 05 was “Rethink – History, Politics & Religion” the objective of the day was to encourage participants to reflect on these particular issues while having a thorough understanding and exploration that will further empower them with a constructive approach while Shireen Naqvi served her duties as the day champ!
After the participants were given the time to get ready and have breakfast and day brief by Shireen Naqvi, the fifth day started with a session by Moiz Khan on How Factual is the History where he defined the majority of people think of history as “a collection of facts about the past” or making claims about the past based on what people at the time recorded but what history is actually all about. Since we are more likely to have sources written by “winners” designed to highlight why they were heroic in their victories. Sometimes what we hear or read is not entirely factual; the biasness needs to be recognized to escape the trap we are setting for ourselves.
The day champ Shireen Naqvi then in her session Formation of Narratives – Construction and Deconstruction engaged participants in an activity that makes them understand what narratives are, how they are formed and how they can be deconstructed
Followed by a session Tameer se Takmeel Tak conducted by Javed Jabbar where he explainedwe often argue or disagree over why Pakistan was founded or what the Quaid’s Pakistan was like, but is this argument still valid today? Or the conversation right now should be more practical. The reality is, Pakistan does exist, and we all call it home. Now it’s up to us to decide if we want to continue living the way we already do or find some common ground to live together peacefully and develop as a nation.
Later, Ali Hameed in his sessionClash of Civilizations & Pakistani Youth explained that The Clash of Civilizations is a theory that claims that in the post-Cold War world, conflicts will mostly arise from people’s cultural and religious identities and how we as responsible individuals might overcome this conflict without contributing to it.
An immensely addressed session on Create Your Own Island was conducted by notable speakersShandana Gulzar and Faizan Arafat where they briefed participants that we frequently criticize the situation we find ourselves in and occasionally wish we had the power to make changes. They asked participants to design their own island. Through this simulation, they hope to teach them about global politics, the formation of nations, and the formation and maintenance of alliances during difficult times.
Maalik Khaskhely conducted the last session of the day on Turning Activism into Action where he briefed that for every nation to grow, it is very crucial that rather than only identifying the problems and issues they must work on solutions. He further discussed how to take personal responsibility and turn activism into action.
The productive day of the conference concluded with Qawali night where participants were seen enjoying the amazing performance of Hamza Akram Qawal before bidding farewell to YLC!
The event has been sponsored by many notable organizations; Peek Freanz (EBM), FNF, J, DKT, Ibex, Habib Metro Bank, KIA Motors, KFC, Bookmyspot, Raagistan, Hubco, KAPCO, MSS, Catalyst, Amwaj, Torque, Nucleus, upstairs, carving, Alif, SoLf, Torque,while Jang Press, Geo, The News and Suno FM 89.4 will be performing their duties as official media partners and official radio partners respectively.
Lahore: Zameen.com – Pakistan’s largest real estate enterprise recently signed a Digital Marketing Agreement with House Building Finance Company Limited, Pakistan’s oldest housing finance institution.
This partnership will enable HBFC and Zameen.com customers in getting housing finance for purchase and construction of their properties across Pakistan.
The partnership between Zameen.com and HBFC was celebrated during a recent ceremony in Lahore at Zameen.com’s Head Office.
Zameen.com’s senior leadership including Senior Director Sales Central Mr. ShujaUllah Khan, Director Sales Mr. Muhammad Hasan, Manager Corporate Business and Banking Mr. Muhammad Umar Farooq, and Assistant Manager Corporate Business and Banking Ms. Zaira Javed along with HBFC Group Head – Business & Operations, Mr. Faisal Murad and Unit Head – Corporate Communication & Media Relations, Syeda Zauwia Riaz were also present.
Speaking on the occasion, Zameen.com’s Senior Director Sales ShujaUllah Khan said, “Zameen.com is committed to the development of Pakistan’s real estate sector. Millions of customers visit our platform for their home buying and renovation needs. Addition of HBFC to our list of partners would enable our customers to benefit from the schemes of HBFC and realize their dream of home ownership”
Commenting on the occasion, Zameen.com’s Director Sales Muhammad Hasan said, “The agreement would make it convenient for people to avail HBFC’s housing finance facility. Using housing finance facility, customers can build or purchase their dream home anywhere in Pakistan and become homeowners.”
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Faisal Murad, GH- Business & Operations said, “This strategic alliance between HBFC and Zameen.com shows our commitment towards facilitating Pakistanis in constructing and purchasing their dream homes at affordable rates and at their convenience.”
Karachi [Pakistan] July 28th, 2022 – The Young Leadership Conference on developmental and leadership skills is on its high measures in terms of flourishing the individuals and eager learners will still get themselves fruitful with knowledge and experience till 28th July 2022 at Dreamworld Resort, Karachi. The conference is about to enter its concluding phase where participants will have more avenues to explore.
With this year’s theme “Pehchaan” our honorable speakers had initially talked about “Realization & Personal Leadership” followed by “Reconstruction & Developmental Leadership” and then “Rejoicing Art & Culture” where we aim to embark on a journey of finding ourselves and pushing ourselves to unlearn the complexities, focused on building a conversation on personal development and how to be set free from the chains of stereotypes and taboos. We also explored how art is regardless and beyond paintings and drawings, it is a way of bringing people together and moving beyond their differences as they build a deeper connection.
YLC’ 2022 – the agenda of day 04 was “Revive – Enterprise and Employment” moderated by Waqar Ali as the day champ! The participants were engaged in an activity in which they had to prepare their own breakfast with limited resources and had to sell it to different teams, after this session the day started on a high note with a session by Shabbar Zaidi on the Current Economic Crisis from the Opportunistic Eye where he defined in times of crisis we instantly think of downfall, we think of inflation and cut downs. However, when there is a problem there is always an even bigger opportunity. In this session participants learned how to view a crisis through an opportunistic lens, to not give up hope but rather to find the silver lining and take action.
Followed by an immensely focused segment on Professional Excellence from the Eyes of Masters where notable speakers like Roofi Jamil, Mazhar Valjee and Sibtain Jiwani enlightened us that we frequently head and see our youth complaining about the lack of job opportunities and lack of assistance for their startup businesses, but is this truly the case? The expert panel went through great details about what is required to succeed in your career. The section exclusively covered the resources that can assist participants in launching their professional careers.
After a tea break, Arsal Fahim honored us with his session on Money Matters: Money Matters where he explained unlike the first world economies, the youth in Pakistan are often not concerned and consequently not well equipped to make smart financial decisions. To develop financial literacy, a facilitator conducted a simulation, Money Matters, in which teams were allotted individual profiles and corresponding budgets. They were presented with multiple scenarios to practice budgeting, investing their money and witnessing the outcomes of their decisions to make them more comfortable making financial decisions.
A chain of breakout sessions was conducted on Business Communications Unzip, Rich Vs Wealthy, Brand Yourself and Freelancing by Faizan Arafat, Ammar Sabzwari, Arsal Fahim and Saad Bakhtiar respectively.
After the second tea time coaching by the partners, Segment speaker Kamran Rizvi graced his session on Investing in Relationships where he highlighted the importance of building and maintaining long-lasting relationships in the industry and brushing up on the participants’ networking skills.
Later Shireen Naqvi & Team YLC conducted a session on Hunger Banquet where participants were invited to attend a meal where they learned about world hunger and poverty. What they didn’t know before the meal is that they were going to be placed in randomly assigned groups to perform certain assignments.
Day Champ Waqar Ali concluded the day with a very in-depth conversation in which he highlighted how one should own themselves and should never let anything down their guards. He further talked about “Shukr” and “Sabr”. The session was named “Kun-Faya-Kun” which participants thoroughly enjoyed and ended the day with lots of love, hugs and well wishes!
The event has been sponsored by many notable organizations; Peek Freanz (EBM), FNF, J, DKT, Ibex, Habib Metro Bank, KIA Motors, KFC, Bookmyspot, Raagistan, Hubco, KAPCO, MSS, Catalyst, Amwaj, Torque, Nucleus, upstairs, carving, Alif, SoLf, Torque,while Jang Press, Geo, The News and Suno FM 89.4 will be performing their duties as official media partners and official radio partners respectively.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah Wednesday approved the construction of the Korangi Crossing Bridge and Hub Canal rehabilitation projects, directing the local government department to complete both projects within a year.
The chief minister issued these directives while presiding over a meeting to review different projects planned to be launched in the city at the CM House.
“The existing causeway submerges during monsoon seasons, therefore, the people of Korangi and Malir face serious problems,” he said, adding that with the construction of a bridge, 28% of the population of Korangi and Malir would be facilitated.
The CM directed the local government to complete it within a year and start its work on a top-priority basis. “I would provide you funds, just go into tendering,” he said.
CM Murad also greenlighted the Jam Sadiq Bridge project and directed the Planning and Development Department to prepare a scheme to overhaul it. “The launching of the Hub Canal Project would be financed by the government to be completed within a year,” he added.
Karachi [Pakistan] July 27th, 2022 – An event on mastery of Developmental Leadership skills is still live where inquisitive individuals getting themselves flourished with each day passing. The Young Leadership conference will be live till 28th July 2022 at Dreamworld Resort, Karachi. The conference is about to enter its day 04 where participants will have more avenues to explore regarding the conference.
With this year’s theme “Pehchaan” our honorable speakers initially talked about “Realization & Personal Leadership” followed by “Reconstruction & Developmental Leadership” where we aim to embark on a journey of finding ourselves and pushing ourselves to unlearn the complexities, focused on building a conversation on personal development and how to be set free from the chains of stereotypes and taboos.
YLC’ 2022 – the agenda of day 03 was “Rejoice – Art, Culture & Diversity” moderated by Arsal Faheem as the day champ! After the participants were given the time to get ready and have breakfast, the third day started on a high note with a keynote session by Yousuf Bashir Qureshi on Art Is Regardless where he defined what art is, beyond paintings and drawings, to be a broader sense of expression of ideas and belief. It is a way of bringing people together and moving beyond their differences as they build a deeper connection.
Day champ Arsal Fahim then honored the segment on What is Fashion? How it is connected with Arts – Finding your own where he briefed about the goal of the simulation, which is divided into five stages, is to understand how one can use their attire to express their unique identity without fear or shame.
Followed by a panel discussion by Kamran Rizvi and Zabaad Anwar. Afterward, a tea break was conducted with one on one coaching and interaction in which our partners who joined us at the conference coached the Participants with their own experiences followed by the segment explaining Simulation on Evolving Pechaan from 1930 to 2022. This simulation was conducted by Arsal Fahim in which participants had to list down different fashion trends from 1930 to 2022.
After the lunch, a panel discussion was moderated by Kamran Rizvi and Participants on Diversity and Inclusion. In this panel, we had our specially-abled participants as our guests. They discuss how society has made it difficult for them to survive in this society and how they feel left out or behind because of our societal norms and taboos. They also discussed how far they’ve come along and have made their importance in the world.
A 90 minutes’ activity was conducted by J. – Unlearn Your Fashion, it’s a simulation that is divided into 4 stages. It focuses on redefining the fashion sense among the participants emphasizing that Shalwar Kameez is also a fashion apparel and can be worn as a formal dress. Below are the four stages as briefed:
Stage 01: Participants were asked multiple questions about traditional fashion and were asked to write answers over a sticky note making them reflect on the basics of Fashion and how is it personalized to every individual too.
Stage 02: In this stage participants were given different situations and scenarios and were asked to design a cultural outfit for that.
Stage 03: Participants got a hands-on experience where they were provided with a display of J. outfits displayed to them. Participants had to pick a combination as per their will and one member of the group has to wear it on and get dressed to showcase it. The one with the maximum audience votes got the hamper.
Stage 04: Closing the entire experience, the day champ/facilitator conducted a panel discussion with the representatives of J., the conversation was around the connection between culture and apparel and what needs to be unlearned about fashion and other topics were explored as well.
After the second tea time coaching by the partners, Segment speaker Waqar Ali graced his session with an outdoor activity The Privilege Walk where he raised awareness on various forms of privilege, team-building and encourage a higher level of understanding towards others and their circumstances.
Since this day was all about arts and culture, YLC also celebrated different cultures. Participants got ready in their cultural attires and represented their own culture!
Activity moderator Haider Jamil conducted his segment Drum Circle where he explained that art therapy is a technique rooted in the idea that creative expression can foster mental wellbeing. Art allows one to develop self-awareness, practice self-expression and strengthen communication.
The productive day of the conference concluded with participants enjoying the rain, music and some new learnings added in their skills set.
The event has been sponsored by many notable organizations; Peek Freanz (EBM), FNF, J, DKT, Ibex, Habib Metro Bank, KIA Motors, KFC, Bookmyspot, Raagistan, Hubco, KAPCO, MSS, Catalyst, Amwaj, Torque, Nucleus, upstairs, carving, Alif, SoLf, Torque,while Jang Press, Geo, The News and Suno FM 89.4 will be performing their duties as official media partners and official radio partners respectively.
Multan: Zameen.com, Pakistan’s largest real estate enterprise, successfully organized a 3-day property sales event in the city of saints and received a tremendous response. The event was attended by a large number of people.
The event showcased 10+ premium real estate projects, which are already popular among property buyers and investors of Multan.
These promising ventures included Downtown Rumanza, N-One tower, Boulevard Heights, Golf View Rumanza, Highland Villas, De Orion Mall, Etihad Garden, Platinum Homes, Business Hub, and Warble Mall.
In addition, the event also showcased Zameen Aurum and Zameen Opal – projects that have been developed by Zameen’s sister concern; Zameen Developments. It must be noted that the projects on display are exclusively sold and marketed by Zameen.com.
Speaking to the media, Zameen.com Senior Director Sales (Central) ShujaUllah Khan stated that the main objective of these events is to bring the finest property projects with high potential for profits under one roof, and to the attention of the interested investors.
He went on to say that the company has earned its reputation by presenting the best and most trustworthy projects to the public.
Director Project Sales (Central) Muzaffar Majeed said that Zameen.com has contributed credible efforts in the field of project sales and to the national real estate sector, by extension.
He added that by attending the event with such enthusiastic interest, the residents of Multan have expressed their trust in Zameen.com and the investment opportunities available in South Punjab.
Speaking at the event, Zameen.com Regional Sale Manager Multan Rana Farukh Nadeem said that all the projects on display are verified and 100% safe for investment.
He added that the real estate sector of Multan is in a booming phase and that Zameen.com is working hard to materialize its potential.
Meta and Zindagi Trust are collaborating to launch a broad-based awareness and stakeholder engagement campaign to curb the spread of harmful content related to child safety in online space. Under the arrangement, a series of policy roundtables will be organised with local CSOs and policy stakeholders working in the areas of both digital safety and child rights. The partnering institutions will also carry forward their on-going campaign to raise awareness regarding actions individual social media users can take to curb the spread of content depicting abuse or violence against children across cyberspace.
The first of the series of three roundtables was held this week at one of the Zindagi Trust Schools in Karachi. These roundtables are expected to provide a conducive platform for meaningful engagement amongst local organisations to give recommendations to Meta as well as key government agencies including, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR), National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) and other important industry stakeholders to tackle the sensitive issues pertaining to child safety in Pakistan.
The prime objective of this program is to raise awareness on the harms of sharing such content and the importance of reporting through existing mechanisms and methods of reporting malicious content on social media. The campaign uses informative videos to educate social media users about reporting inappropriate content through proper channels instead of sharing it on social media, which can cause further harm to young victims.
Sharing his thoughts regarding the campaign, Founder and President – Zindagi Trust, Shehzad Roy said: “Whenever I used to encounter disturbing content, my first instinct was to share it so it could help find the perpetrator. However, I have realised that the content can be distressing for many viewers, is illegal, and is a breach of privacy of the victims. We want to push for justice for victims and advocate for safer digital spaces instead of sensationalising traumatic events. Zindagi Trust takes pride in being a vocal advocate of policy level change for children’s safety and education. We rely on the support of government institutions and social media companies like Meta to help us achieve our goals.”
Sarim Aziz, Director Public Policy, South Asia-Meta said, “We have a zero tolerance policy for content related to child exploitation and abuse. We use latest ground breaking technology to prevent, detect and remove content related to child abuse and violence. Since this is a highly sensitive matter, we take a comprehensive approach to keep our family of apps free of such malicious content and continue to collaborate with local authorities, rights bodies and relevant stakeholders to Report such content, and not share it, as sharing – even to raise awareness, further traumatises victims,by sharing evidence of their ordeal. Instead the content should be reported in app or through proper channels so that the government agencies can move against those responsible.”
Meta and Zindagi Trust launched their collaborative effort for online child safety last year. This year the scope of the arrangement is being expanded to scale its impact nationwide.
YLC’ 2022 – the agenda of day 02 was “Reconstruct – Developmental Leadership” moderated by Umair Jaliawala as the day champ! After the participants were given the time to get ready and have breakfast, the second day started with a healthy exercise of meditation to encourage the participants to adopt a habit of morning meditation. This practice can be a life-altering experience in the most constructive way as it helps a person to be patient, be present and have control over their thoughts.
Day 2 was sponsored by English Biscuit Manufacturers (EBM), Founding Partner of Young Leaders Conference. EBM has been promoting YLC’s endeavors ever since it became the platform’s founding partner in 2003. Keeping in line with its legacy, EBM has sponsored this year’s second day!
EBM stands tall in terms of its support for the Young Leaders Conference as we aim to educate and involve the youth in meaningful discussions.
Justice Nasira Iqbal honored the segment on Developing Pakistan Justice. In this session, she addressed what a developing Pakistan looks like, and identified what areas we must focus on and what attitudes we must maintain.
Followed by an immensely focused Panel discussin on Breaking Stereotypes where notable speakers like Birgit Lamm, Nisha Rao, Bilal Hassan and Zafeer Khan enlightened us that we are often guilty of associating certain roles and responsibilities with a specific gender as a result of reinforcing gender-based stereotypes. This session taught participants that regardless of the sex they were born with, every person is equal, experiences the same things, and is equally capable.
After this, a sponsored activity by EBM was conducted in which the participants had to create an. #MeriPehchaanSuperHai to dig deeper into who they are as individuals and what they represent as a community. In this 2-hour activity, participants are to create a 90 seconds video compilation on the theme ‘’ What makes my Pehchaan Super’ EBM and team YLC will then decide 3 winners for the Prize designed by EBM and will be announced at the Conference.
Later, Dr Amjad Saqib conducted a session on How Developmental & Sustainable Ideas Are Born where he explained how individuals must be observant of their surroundings, learn to identify problems and be vigilant in finding a solution rather than waiting for someone else to come to the rescue, making the case that the most successful business ideas are the ones that fixed the problems and add value.
Then a tea break was conducted with one on one coaching and interaction in which our partners who joined us at the conference coached the Participants with their own experience followed by the segment moderator session on Unlearn Problems & Relearn Solutions – The Process to Design Developmental Ideas by Umair Jaliawala.
After the lunch sessions on Self-defense, Stress Management and First Aid Awareness were conducted by Amir J Khan, Munira Safdar in her session Developmental Drama talked about the significance of developmental drama skills and how one can express and advocate their goal for societal change in an effective way rather than just providing entertainment only.
Our Dilemmas – Hypocrisy, Double Standards, & Un-synced Behaviors were depicted by a powerful performance by ZAHRSSS to help us realize the negative effect these practices have on our development as a society and understanding of self-responsibility in this matter.
After all this, Waqar Ali concluded the day with Extra corp segment in which participants were blindfolded, few of them were hand tied and half’s legs were tied up, they were asked to have their dinner in this situation only. Through this session the participants realized the power of gratefulness and how one should always be thankful for all the blessings we are blessed with. There are people out there who are differently abled, there are people who can’t see, can’t listen, can’t walk properly and we are, crying over things that aren’t event relevant to live a life. This session made everyone realized how we should never judge anyone who are specially-abled
The event has been sponsored by many notable organizations; Peek Freanz (EBM), KIA, FNF, J, DKT, Ibex, Habib Metro Bank, KIA Motors, KFC, Bookmyspot, Raagistan, Hubco, KAPCO, MSS, Catalyst, Amwaj, Torque, Nucleus, upstairs, carving, Alif, SoLf, Torque,while Jang Press, Geo, The News and Suno FM 89.4 will be performing their duties as official media partners and official radio partners respectively.
ISLAMABAD, Jul 24 (APP): The four-member delegation of Pakistan led by the Federal Minister of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination Abdul Qadir Patel has arrived in Washington D.C. to participate in the first-ever Pak-US Health Dialogue.
Ambassador Masood Khan and other officials of the Pakistan Embassy will be joining the delegation, says a fax message received here from Washington D.C. on Sunday.
According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of National Health Services, the United States will be hosting the delegation at the US State Department on July 25, 2022.
Both sides will be carrying out discussions all day on a comprehensive agenda to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the health sector, he added.
He said that the Health Ministry officials and experts from Pakistan will also be participating virtually in different sessions.
The participants will be discussing important issues in the seven sessions of the health dialogue including establishing a Pakistani Center for Disease Control (CDC), global health security, childhood immunizations, COVID-19 engagement, regulatory engagements, maternal and child health, and non-communicable diseases.
The Health Dialogue is an example of the close ties between the United States and Pakistan and a befitting way to celebrate the important milestone of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between both countries. Solid progress is expected from the dialogue.
Musawar Ali 