PFOWA annual Bazar 2016

PFOWA annual Bazar 2016
Dr. Jassim Taqui

Islamabad- November  27 , 2016: The President of the Pakistan Foreign Office Women's Association Mrs. Najia Aizaz Ahmad and its members organized PFOWA Annual Bazaar 2016 under the slogan: TOGETHER WE HELP in collaboration with the Diplomatic Corps. The function was held on Sunday, November 27,2016 at the Foreign Office Lawn, Islamabad.

A large number of diplomats, their families, elites of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi were in attendance. There was a festive mood in the function. The civil society and culture lovers also organized musical event throughout the day.
A large number of stalls of diversified items were displayed in addition of cuisines of almost all  global nations.

The camera of Al-Bab spotted some defiant moments in the function:

US Embassy welcomes new COAS

US Embassy welcomes new COAS
Al-Bab Report

The US Embassy in Islamabad issued today the following statements welcoming the appointment of COAS:

We welcome Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s appointment of Lieutenant General Qamar Javed Bajwa as the new Chief of Army Staff.  We look forward to continuing our work with Pakistan’s elected leaders, with Lieutenant General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and with the Pakistani military to advance our shared counterinsurgency and counterterrorism goals for Pakistan and the region, and to enable Pakistani authorities to honor their pledge to prevent the use of Pakistan’s soil for terrorist attacks against its neighbors.

Our congratulations to Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Raheel and his family upon the conclusion of his three-year appointment.  General Raheel has been a respected partner throughout his tenure as Army Chief.  We appreciate his leadership in combatting terrorism in Pakistan and across the region, and his support for Pakistani civilian governance and institutions.  He has demonstrated an impressive commitment to the peace, security, and well-being of the Pakistani people.

We congratulate the new Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Committee Lt Gen Zubair Hayat and recognize the dedicated service of General Rashad Mahmood

American Curator Vicky Clark and Pakistani Art Community Exchange Ideas

American Curator Vicky Clark and Pakistani Art Community Exchange Ideas

Al-Bab Report

Islamabad – November 26, 2016: American art curator and writer Vicky Clark discussed American and Pakistani art traditions with local artists, teachers, and students during a November 15-25 visit to Islamabad and Lahore. 

The U.S. Embassy partnered with the Kuch Khaas Centre for Arts, Culture, and Dialogue to arrange Dr. Clark's lectures at the Beaconhouse School, COMSATS University, IQRA University, and the National College of Arts, Lahore as well as engagements with local artists. 

“Kuch Khaas is best known for its dedication to the arts and its deep commitment to building bridges through cultural exchange.  Our ethos is to cultivate relationships and artistic exchange which mutually benefit communities and strengthen our understanding of different cultures, thereby enriching our collective global contemporary experience,” said Kuch Khaas CEO Michelle Tania Butt.  “We would like to thank Dr. Vicky Clark for sharing her passion and knowledge with local artists and students.  The exchanges will hopefully open new avenues for collaborations between American and Pakistani art institutions and individuals.”

Dr. Clark also participated in the November 18 opening of a U.S. Embassy-funded exhibition of Pakistani art at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts.

“I am so grateful to meet with so many talented and inspiring Pakistani artists and students,” Dr. Clark said.  “The individuals I met in Lahore and Islamabad have introduced me to new artistic concepts and traditions.  Exchanges like this provide opportunities for future collaborations and the exchange of ideas and art.”

The American Embassy is committed to funding arts programing in Pakistan because exchanging artistic traditions enriches both countries while engaging, educating, and inspiring new artists’ ideas. 

Mansur Aye and minimal lines paintings

Mansur Aye and minimal lines paintings

Jassim Taqui

An exhibition of EXCEPTIONAL CHEMICAL PAINTINGS by Mansur Aye opened on Friday, 25 November 2016. The paintings are made by a unique methodology that he discovered during experimentation. The painter Mansur Aye would first apply a light chemical fluid to remove or wash colors on a printed page of magazine or on a photograph with brush and/or cloth. This prepared the background of painting. Then he would use a black marker or a pointer pen to draw the figure over it to complete the composition in his masterly style of minimal lines.

An art lover and collector, MNA Dr. Shireen Mazari inaugurated the exhibition on Friday 25 November 2016 at 5:00 pm

The exhibition will continue till 04 Dec, 11 am to 7 pm

Rafi, Mansur Aye demonstrated this technique to the Indian artist F N Souza, when he visited Karachi for his exhibition at the Indus Gallery, who later presented it internationally.

Recently, more than 40 chemical paintings have been discovered with a close friend of Mansur Aye, that have never been exhibited before. These have been composed over beautiful scenes of Hawaii, California, New Zealand and Italy amongst other places.

The following are the paintings exhibited in Gallery 6:

UNODC organises its first ever Public Private Partnership Conference on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling

UNODC organizes its first ever Public Private Partnership Conference on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling

Al-Bab Report

ISLAMABAD, 24 November 2016: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has arranged the first-ever public-private conference on human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The conference has been arranged in collaboration with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan.

This conference was organized with the growing influx of irregular migration from Pakistan in mind and forms a part of the UNODC’s continued support for the Government of Pakistan in addressing these and related challenges.

A number of senior government officials, law enforcement officers, members of civil society, multinational organizations, NGOs, media and other UN agencies attended the conference in order to share their organizational perspectives on how to develop common solutions in the struggle to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

By holding this landmark event with multi-stakeholders, the UNODC aims to identify the role each organization can play in raising public awareness on the dangers associated with these illegal activities.

The conference was opened with remarks from the UNODC’s Pakistan Country Representative, Mr. Cesar Guedes. He welcomed the participants and expressed appreciation to civil society members, representatives from multinational companies and both government and UN officials for their understanding of this issue’s urgency. Mr. Guedes emphasized the need for immediate attention from the private sector to assist multilateral efforts in meeting the challenge of human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

The Additional Director of General Immigration from the FIA, Mr. Walid Zia, also spoke about the importance of the issue while sharing the significant challenges that Pakistan faces in this area.  Mr. Zia shared his firm commitment to deal with the issue and stated that the government is fully committed to meeting its international obligations by developing effective solutions to contribute to the global fight against this scourge.

Afterward, the importance of public-private partnerships in raising public awareness was discussed with the participants. This discussion was aided by the screening of a short documentary, highlighting the current challenges related to the subject.

Many participants expressed support for regular dialogue between private and public partners in order to facilitate the informal exchange of information and experiences in combating this criminal enterprise. In addition, the participants encouraged private organizations to assist government institutions in raising awareness and they urged the FIA to publish more in-depth information related to the subject on its website so that it may be more easily accessible to both private actors and the public at large.

Based on the positive results of this conference, the UNODC aims to conduct a national awareness raising campaign in collaboration with both public and private stakeholders beginning in early 2017. The conference itself was made possible by financial support from the Government of Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection, in addition to the US State Department.

UNESCO and Creative Entrepreneurs

UNESCO and Creative Entrepreneurs
Al-Bab Report

Islamabad: Policy makers and creative entrepreneurs in Pakistan’s metropolitan cities of Karachi and Peshawar are starting to formulate cultural policies to strengthen their creative industries.

As part of the country-wide awareness raising process, UNESCO Islamabad organized a high-level conference on creative economy and sustainable development based on the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions today in Islamabad.

The total exports of cultural goods from Pakistan have increased over the years from the US $60 million in 2004 to the US $437 million in 2013, according to a recent UNESCO UIS report on the“Globalization of Cultural Trade”, and now experts and creative entrepreneurs are looking at ways to build on this success.

Ms. Vibeke Jensen, UNESCO Representative to Pakistan in her opening remarks said that connectivity in Pakistan via mobile phone grew from 13 million in 2014 –the first year Pakistan had 3G and 4G connectivity-- to over 26 million in 2016. With more than 67% of Pakistan’s population under the age of 30 and a growing middle class, this mobile digital revolution is an opportunity for the country to leap the digital divide with other nations and develop its domestic market for diverse creative goods and services.

The conference also highlighted the importance of public interventions. “If smart investment and appropriate public interventions are made for the creative sector and also in the fields of communication, broadcasting, infrastructure, education, regional development, the creative sector could be further strengthened for the benefit of all, and Pakistan's robust and competitive, future-focussed, 21st century, creative economy will emerge, projecting a dynamic image of Pakistan across the world,” said Ms. Jensen. 

The conference brought together over 30 young Pakistani creative entrepreneurs. Many of them are already successful entrepreneurs, while others are just starting off. They represent a bright, innovative and promising force for Pakistan’s socio-economic development.

Ms. Fouzia Saeed, Executive Director, Lok Virsa, while addressing the audience extended her gratitude to UNESCO for organizing a series of consultations and workshops on culture and creative sector. UNESCO is enjoying credible relations with the government of Pakistan and providing such platforms, can help the government to devise a strategy on culture. She stressed that culture and the creative sector should not be a hobby but rather a part of the creative economy which could generate livelihoods. She said that the honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, has promised to announce a cultural policy for Pakistan. She said that Pakistan has had a diverse culture spreading over the years shaping civilization, religion, languages, which need further transformation. She said that Lok Virsa is a vibrant platform that is providing opportunities to different communities to celebrate their cultural events.

The conference was led by UNESCO’s International Expert, Andrew Senior who underlined that the digital technology has changed the world since 2005, the year the Convention was adopted. He underlined today’s conference provided platforms for creative entrepreneurs and policy makers to exchange aspirations and discuss needs and challenges to encourage changes in policies to meet their needs.

The conference concluded with the creation of a network of young creative entrepreneurs of Pakistan who are committed to establishing a partnership with various stakeholders to promote the creative sector in Pakistan. A resolution was also presented by the entrepreneurs during the conference:

Thank you to CKU, UNESCO and the Government of Pakistan for giving us the opportunity to get together under the project “UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions”. We, the creative entrepreneurs commit to staying together and work to advocate for the rectification of the convention. To continue to network among ourselves and other stakeholders to find new ways of developing policies and creating projects to allow creative business to flourish in Pakistan. We would like to request the Government to recognize, promote and facilitate the creative entrepreneurs through specific policymaking and reform, special measures, and targeted long-term inclusive planning. We stay committed to serving as ambassadors of the country on creative forums both nationally and internationally.

The workshop was organized under a project funded by the Danish Development Cooperation Agency (CKU) to raise awareness about UNESCO’s 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the importance of developing policies for the creative sector. The 2005 Convention is an international treaty that recognizes the distinctive nature of culture as an important contributor to economic and social development. It’s hoped that Pakistan will also soon ratify the 2005 Convention following this process to bolster creative industries across the country.

South Asia Health Atlas Provides Evidence on the Urgency to Reach the Most Disadvantaged Children in the Region

South Asia Health Atlas Provides Evidence on the Urgency to Reach the Most Disadvantaged Children in the Region

Al-Bab Report

KATHMANDU, 24 November 2016 – UNICEF in South Asia is releasing a new South Asia Health Atlas to highlight the importance of two major health problems: tackling newborn deaths and ensuring children are fully immunized in the region. Using the relatively under-used, innovative technique of ring mapping, the Atlas shows deprivations and underlying contributing factors of immunization and newborn deaths across and within countries in the region.

Despite making remarkable progress in decreasing the number of newborn deaths by half from 1990 to 2015, South Asia has the highest number of newborn deaths (more than 1 million in 2015) in the world. Furthermore, 1 in 7 children in South Asia is under-immunised with most living in Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan.

“UNICEF strongly believes that no child should die of preventable causes and that all children, no matter where they live or what their circumstances are, have the right to survive and thrive. However, the reality is huge inequities exist in South Asia and not enough women and their newborns benefit from quality care. Also, there are significant disparities in immunization coverage that has contributed to 5 million under-immunised children in the region,” said Jean Gough, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia.

The South Asia Health Atlas reveals that challenges relating to newborn health, and also to under-immunisation remain in the region. Mapping offers a quick and accessible insight into these problems and possible associations, for example, between adolescent birth rates and newborn deaths; immunization and under- five deaths; and how countries with the highest newborn death rates struggle with financing the health system. 

The Atlas also highlights the usefulness of geospatial mapping for policy making, especially in today’s world where policy makers are flooded with information and data. This Atlas aims to help them prioritize and make evidence-based decisions in allocating resources to the neediest in the region.

The UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia added, “This Atlas reminds us that unless we accelerate progress on newborn deaths, South Asia will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target by 2030.  We must ensure that countries in South Asia recommit to saving children and newborns through policies and fiscal plans that address the priority issues, such as immunization and newborn health, with a focus on the poorest.”

Gen Raheel Sharif: The World Hero

 Gen Raheel Sharif: The World Hero

Dr. Jassim Taqui

Yes, Gen. Raheel Sharif is not a merely Pakistan’s or regional hero. Indeed, his 3-year long war on terror in Waziristan, Khyber, FATA and all over Pakistan has made him the world hero.

Pakistan is situated in a highly fragile region surrounded by 5 nuclear powers namely, Russia, China, USA (embedded deep in Afghanistan), India and Pakistan. The remnant of Al-Qaeda, Taliban and IS (Khorasan Chapter) are planning to hit nuclear facilities of these countries. To make it worst, the Indian RAW combined with NDS of Afghanistan and Iranian intelligence agencies to terrorize Balochistan. The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on record that his intelligence agencies were involved in terrorist operations all over Pakistan.

Thus, by fighting and flushing out terrorist outfits in Pakistan, Gen. Raheel Sharif is protecting the world community from a potential disastrous danger.

The Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (NS), bitter from the rising popularity of Gen. Raheel Sharif, falsely claimed that he ordered Zarb-e-Azab. Far from that. Nawaz Sharif was involved in negotiation with the TTP terrorists when the top generals met in the GHQ and decided to wage this war against terrorists stating that it was necessary for the survival of the State of Pakistan. All and sundry know the story very well. Hence, NS lies stand exposed.

National Food Security and Nutrition Strategic Review

National Food Security and Nutrition Strategic Review
Dr. Jassim Taqui

A one- day seminar on Food Security and Nutrition Strategic Review was held by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) - Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) Pakistan at Crystal Hall, Marriott Hotel, Islamabad on Wednesday, 23 November 2o16 (09:00 AM – 04:30 PM).

The technical team of IPRI and AJK and the National Advisory Committee studied the " Review". A large number of experts and strategists from KP, Baluchistan and Karachi participated in a lively debate. It included some daring criticism and new proposals.

Al-Bab followed the debate by videos:

Revive Pak historic relations with Oman

Revive Pak historic relations with Oman

Dr. Jassim Taqui

While the Omanese Charge d’ Affairs Waleed Issa Ali Al Zadjali and members of the Omani Embassy in Islamabad celebrated the 46th National Day of the Sultanate of Oman, one would remember  how the bilateral relations started. It was a dreamy start. The visionary Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said sent his uncle Shabib bin Said Al Said to be the first Omani Ambassador to Pakistan. I have the honor of working under his dynamic and kind leadership though at the time (1971-1972) I was at the peak of my teen. It was a twist of destiny. I was born on November 23, just two days before the movement of November 21.

The Former Prime Minister Z A Bhutto used to be a friend of Shabib. The ties were at the peak. Once, Gen. Zia ul Haq toppled Bhutto in July 1975 and later executed him in April 1979, the bilateral relations started to suffer. The series of military coups and the unending power struggle between the civil and military Establishments put the strong Pak-Omani ties at the back burner.

Unfortunately, the Foreign Office lacks the basics on the Middle East. Historically, Pakistan and Oman were very close since the reign of Zanzibar. The ties peaked when Oman agreed to sell Gwadar to Pakistan on September 8 1958. Gwadar turned to be the launching pad of CPEC. One would wonder .Why the PML (N) government failed to continue Gen. Musharraf’s policy of involving the Sultanate of Oman in this strategic project, which all strategists viewed as “Game Changer”.

Furthermore, Al Said traces itself to Al Azad, the Qahtani who hailed from Yemen and migrated north after the destruction of the Marib Dam.  The historians view Al Azdites as “the kings of Arabs” as seen in a number of inscriptions from the sixth century. Thus Oman’s influenced in the Arab Peninsula is paramount. Why, then, our Foreign Office failed to combine with the Sultanate of Oman to normalize ties with our Saudi and UAE brethren who are disenchanted following PML (N) failed to honor its commitment of sending troops to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia and other GCC states?

Why did the Foreign Office fail to contact Muscat to mediate with India especially when Yousef bin Alawi Abdullah has emerged in the regional and international arena to be the most credible mediator?

Even the American knocked the doors of Yousef to mediate with the belligerent factions of Yemen. The Americans sought Yousef’s help when all mediators failed.

صدام حسين يأمر بإغتصاب خطيبة ضابط بعثي أمامه في السجن وتقطيعه إرباً + فيديو