Official Blog Of Press Information Department

Courtesy:- Malik Muhammad Ashraf To keep the campaign on track and continue it uninterrupted, the government must provide foolproof security to the polio workers The coldblooded murders of the polio field workers in Karachi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are yet another ranting demonstration of the bestiality and perverted philosophy of the enemies of Pakistan to achieve their pernicious objectives by all means. After their attacks on military targets, acts of terrorism in different cities of Pakistan and having failed in their attempts to sap the morale of the government and people of Pakistan in standing up to their dastardly acts, they have now diverted their attention to soft and unsuspecting targets to scare and brutalise Pakistani society. Like the attack on Malala, the killing of the polio workers has left Pakistani civil society distraught and the world at large bewilderingly stunned. World leaders, WHO, UNICEF and the UN Secretary General have strongly castigated the antics of

Courtesy:- Wajid Shamsul Hasan Just five days before Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s fifth anniversary of martyrdom (Dec 27) yet another high profile secular politician— KPK’s Senior Minister Bashir Balour— was assassinated by the terrorists. Today Pakistan stands at a critical juncture. It is confronted with a battle for survival and the nation shall have to get tough to face the tougher challenges.

Courtesy:- Farzana Raja All the challenges that the nation is facing today demand us to further understand the message, guiding principles and the vision of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. It is imperative to reshape the priorities to create a forward looking and progressive modern democracy as it was dreamt by our great leader. The nation needs to strive more to become a genuine democratic society as humanitarian democratic values were the conviction of our great political thinker and a matchless nation-builder. While looking back in the history, we can find the extraordinary characteristics of Quaid-i-Azam as an inspirational leader as well as an ardent and devout leader for whom, the welfare of the masses was prime objective of his movement. Personally, the Quaid not only followed a highly disciplined life but exhibited a spotless character, thus able to lead the nation towards unity, faith and discipline.

Courtesy:- S RAHMAN If one were to evaluate the performance of the PPP-led government on the economic front, one would be amazed at the achievements of the present dispensation which, one believes, no other political party in power could have been able to achieve had it been faced with the same set of extreme difficulties and obstacles that the PPP regime has been encountering throughout its term in office.

Courtesy:- Air Cdre Khalid Iqbal (R) Monday, December 24, 2012 - It was cathartic to interact with the Kashmiri leadership from the IHK. APHC delegation, led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, comprised of living icons of the longest political struggle in post World War II era. Team was representative of at least three generations of Kashmiri leadership. Each one of the seven members had at least one near and dear one martyred during the decades long struggle. Right from the moment this delegation reached Pakistan, each and every segment of the society received them with overwhelming enthusiasm. The kind of reception given to them was a genuine display of love and affection for the Kashmiri people, their leadership and their just cause; which is as dear to every Pakistani as to the Kashmiris themselves. All sectors of society cutting across political, ethnic and sectarian divides passionately welcomed the guests, which is reflective of national consensus about the cause of Kashmir.

Courtesy:- Malik Muhammad Ashraf In the backdrop of yet another hic-up in relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan following an attack on Afghan spy chief and Hamid Karazai pointing an accusing finger towards Pakistan, the trilateral summit between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey has proved to be a whiff of fresh air. Afghan President also acknowledged this fact by saying that the trilateral arrangement was proving fruitful in bettering their relations. The moderating influence of Turkey in lowering the heat between Afghanistan and Pakistan is a good augury for keeping the relations between the two countries on the right track and promoting the process of talks on the ways and means to end armed conflict in Afghanistan.

Courtesy:-  S M Hali  Bangladesh is a sovereign country and has every right to award anyone of its choice for contributing to its “liberation”, whether they are Indians, Americans, Russians, French, Australian, British, Swedes, Sri Lankans, Nepalese or Bhutanese. Conferring the awards 41 years later is Bangladesh’s internal matter, but twisting historical facts to embarrass Pakistan necessitates comment.

Courtesy:- S Rahman Is Transparency Int’l transparent?Does the use of suffix ‘international’ confer the right on an organisation of Pakistani origin, like The Transparency International (TI), to launch a self-destruction campaign which, even if not proved right, possesses considerable potential of damaging the country’s image in an interdependent world?Obviously, every conscientious Pakistani will condemn TI’s self-ignominy campaign that is even otherwise based on perceptions and not on actual acts of corruption.

Courtesy:- Malik Muhammad Ashraf The Universal Human Rights Day was celebrated throughout the world including Pakistan on December 10, 2012 to reaffirm the commitment to uphold and respect the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on the same day in 1948. The day came at a time when Pakistan has been elected as a member of the Human Rights Council of the UN with the support of 171 countries out of 191 members, which in a way is an endorsement of the human rights situation in the country. Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf addressing a function held in Islamabad to commemorate the day, while pointing out to this recognition at the global level, recounted the measures that the government has taken to improve the human rights situation in Pakistan, especially in regards to the rights of minorities, women’s emancipation and gender equality, which are beyond any reproach.

Courtesy:- : Malik Muhammad Ashraf Exactly a month after the world observed Malala Day, under the auspices of the United Nations, to pay tribute to the 14-year old girl’s courage and commitment to the cause of education, a conference jointly organised by Unesco and Pakistan in Paris has taken a concrete and laudable step by establishing a global fund called “Malala Fund for Girls’ Right to Education”. It is aimed at raising billions of dollars to ensure that all girls worldwide go to school by 2015 that is in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In quick succession, the two international events have given tremendous boost to Pakistan’s image as a progressive democratic entity, besides reflecting the intense desire of the international community to help it fight the forces of darkness.

Courtesy:- S Rahman Building up a graceful image of Pakistan has been the hallmark of PPP-led government’s foreign policy as its leaders have been quite successful in presenting the country’s case to the world at large, with firm faith in our destiny that now seems to be in sight as a result of this devotion and commitment. The same patriotism and conviction was witnessed during the recent visit by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira to Bishkek, Kyrgyztan, where he had gone to attend the 11th Heads of Governments Council Meeting of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization).

Courtesy:- S Rahman Building up a graceful image of Pakistan has been the hallmark of PPP-led government’s foreign policy as its leaders have been quite successful in presenting the country’s case to the world at large, with firm faith in our destiny that now seems to be in sight as a result of this devotion and commitment. The same patriotism and conviction was witnessed during the recent visit by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira to Bishkek, Kyrgyztan, where he had gone to attend the 11th Heads of Governments Council Meeting of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization).

Courtesy:- Malik Muhammad Ashraf  Minorities in Pakistan In the wake of recent reports about demolition of a Hindu temple in Karachi and desecration of a graveyard in Lahore belonging to a minority community, Chairman PPP Bilawal Zardari Bhutto in a statement has urged the political parties, religious outfits and organisations of the civil society to rise up to save what he called Jinnah’s Pakistan. Taking strong exception to these incidents, he said if such occurrences continued unabated and unchecked it could threaten the very existence of Pakistan. One can hardly take issues with his observations which express a genuine concern over the state of affairs in regards to the treatment being meted out to the minorities and the pummeling of their rights as a consequence of the emergence of religious extremism and culture of intolerance in the society, an off-shoot of the snowballing fanaticism in contravention of the vision of the Quaid, the commitment of the architects of the Pakista

Courtesy:-  S M Hali  In this age of terrorism, war and conflict, media persons, comprising both print and electronic, are exposed to unprecedented dangers because they take calculated risks. Some pay with their lives while others receive serious injuries and at times are maimed forever. Some are targeted deliberately while others simply are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Courtesy:-  Malik Muhammad Ashraf The Lahore High Court (LHC) decision to ask the federal government to construct Kalabagh Dam has reignited the controversy on the issue, which had almost died down after nearly two decades long arguments for and against the project. Out of the four provinces, three of them, namely Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, have been vehemently opposing the venture and their assemblies have also passed resolutions endorsing the positions taken by the provincial governments, who were of the considered view that the construction of the dam will cause far greater damage to their economies and the ecosystems than the supposed benefits that will accrue from it.