Significance of Diamer-Bhasha dam highlighted

By Masood Sattar Khan

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Pakistan's newly posted Ambassador to China, Moin-ul-Haq has highlighted the importance of construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam which is expected to bring about across the board benefits in socio-economic sectors of the country. 

The Ambassador in his twitter account highlighted the significance of the project apparently following the publication of an article in ‘The Global Times’ acclaimed as one of the most popular English newspapers in China. 

"The key project is yet another concrete example of close Pak-China Friendship" the Ambassador reckoned. 

The newspaper article titled ‘China aids construction of Pakistan’s ‘Three Gorges Dam’ despite pandemic’ had pointed out that despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, China and Pakistan were stepping up efforts on committed projects focusing on cooperation in industrial development, agriculture and the improvement of people's livelihoods. 

The Diamer-Bhasha Dam and Power Project, also referred to as the ‘Three Gorges Project’ joined a long list of bilateral cooperation efforts between the two countries. 

“As a country with an agricultural population accounting for about 60 percent of its total population and agriculture accounting for more than 20 percent of its GDP, the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam remained of great strategic significance for improving Pakistan's water security and sustainable development and it has therefore been supported by successive governments,” Wang Zhihua, economic and commercial minister counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, told the Global Times. 

"The Diamer-Bhasha Dam and Power Project, being the third largest dam in Pakistan, will achieve multipurpose objectives. It will increase the water storage capacity of Pakistan from 30 to 48 days. The people of Pakistan are grateful to China, which has once again decided to help Pakistan secure and ensure its strategic water security in the 21st century," Syed Hasan Javed, director of the Chinese Studies Center of Excellence at the National University of Science and Technology in Islamabad (NUST), remarked. 

The dam is scheduled to be completed by 2029. During the construction 16,500 jobs will be directly created.

Shahbaz Sharif escapes shoe attack in Lahore

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif escaped a shoe attack at the South Asia Labour Conference, a private TV channel reported on Thursday.

The police arrested the attacker who threw a shoe at the chief minister but missed his target. However, Shahbaz showed no reaction to the incident and remained calm on the stage. Later on, he ordered the release of the attacker, named Imdad Ali, working in a private Sindhi television.

Earlier, the security staff had arrested the attacker to investigate if he did it himself or any other power was behind the incident. The chief minister said that he and his government believes in freedom of expression and difference of opinion.

Before throwing the show, the attacker raised slogans against the expected restrictions on a news channel. He told journalists that he was not ashamed of his act. He said that he flushed out his anger by throwing shoe. The journalists also condemned the incident, and said the attacker should have registered his anger in a separate meeting with the chief minister. (DailyTimes)

Actor Sarwat Gilani Is Engaged To Fahad Mirza

Actors Sarwat Gilani and Fahad Mirza are engaged to be married. Resuscitating the concept of true love, Gilani told The Express Tribune how she was fated to reunite with the man who she met a decade ago. What has often been dismissed as idealistic, the couple’s story depicts the notion that love conquers all.

The couple, who exchanged rings on October 11 this year, celebrated their union with an intimate gathering of around 70 on the roof-top garden of her residence. In an up-close and personal interview, a happy and love-struck Gilani flaunted her diamond ring with a twinkle in her eyes. While Gilani wore an Amna Aqeel outfit on her engagement day with hair and make-up done by Natasha’s Salon, Mirza sported a white boski shalwar kameez from Moosajees.

On the question of how and where she met Mirza, Gilani smilingly proclaimed, “We met 10 years ago, in the year 2003 to be precise. We liked each other then but I was busy acquiring a degree in Communication Design from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, and he was studying at Dow Medical College, pursuing his plans of becoming a surgeon.”

Explaining how grueling student life can be, she said, “Those days were tough as far as studying and getting the degree were concerned… Aur amma abba ki koshish thi ke hum graduate kerlain!” she remarked jokingly.

“Today, however, it [our story] has unfolded to be very filmi” she said. “Some time back, I was performing in a stage play Dhaani and Fahad came to watch it. Later, he texted me and said that he saw the play. That’s how we got in touch with each other for the first time after really long,” she exclaimed.

“Initially, I thought we both must be at different stages in life. People would joke about us being together but we used to laugh it off. And it just so happened that in the process of proving them wrong, we proved them right by falling in love, again!”

As the resilient Gilani begins a new chapter in her life, she doesn’t shy away from shedding light on her past, where she was married and got divorced a couple of years thereafter. She was briefly married to Omer Saleem, the brother of TV personality Ali Saleem. “I got married as a rebound. When you are vulnerable, nothing seems reasonable. You try to satisfy your heart and prove your point. That didn’t work out for me. I thought the love was merely a four-letter word. Also, when you are heartbroken, you lose faith in love. But life goes on and you realise, as you grow up, that being in love doesn’t mean you can’t be practical. You can be both at the same time.”

After her marriage didn’t work, she found solace in acting and painting. “I focused on my work, primarily on these two art forms. I was bouncing between these two loves of mine… I took refuge in them,” she said. Today, as her life takes another favourable turn, she is happier than ever and has given a special place to Mirza in her life.

When asked why Mirza is the one for her, she smiled and said, “Well, there have been actors and other people who have been interested but something or the other just wouldn’t click. I wanted commitment; I am strictly a one-man woman.” She went on to say, “With Fahad, there was familiarity, an association… and our family wanted us to consider it. Also, there was an established comfort level between our families. I have found Fahad to be a sincere person. With others, I wasn’t too sure but with Fahad, it seemed like it was written in stone.” Acknowledging how supportive Mirza has been, she said, “Whenever I tire down, he encourages me to strive and quotes Rumi to boost my will.”

With a wedding that is planned for summer 2014 followed by a honeymoon in Istanbul, Gilani looks thrilled about tying the knot. She hopes that the couple will have “a very exciting journey” but that one must know that it’s not all fun and games. “One should know when to give in and when to give up. Family must always be the priority” is the talented actor’s mantra.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2013.

Karachi operation watching only govt's interests: Farooq Sattar

MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar has said that Sindh government is launching operation in the city for its vested interests.

While talking to the media at Lahore Airport, he said that everybody knows about the dens of terrorists.

Law enforcement agencies must exterminate all the secret hideouts of terrorists who have nothing to do with the peace of the country; rather their aims are to horrify citizens in the name of so-called slogans and manifestos of justice.

He contended that all stake holders and political parties should make endeavours to make the military operation in Karachi successful, adding that this job can’t be made successful without cooperation and coordination of the MQM which is real representative of people in the metropolis.

He said that the MQM offered cooperation in this regard but the Sindh government is taking the issue with irresolution.

It seems that the MQM is being targeted as it had demanded an operation against terrorists without discrimination.

Sattar urged upon Sindh government to take measures for dispelling such an impression of politicized targeted operation in the city.

He said his party was never consulted about the targeted actions, adding that had the govt sought cooperation from all political parties, the targeted action would have been a success from the very beginning.

He alleged that the ongoing Karachi operation was not directed against criminals, as every single child of Karachi knew where the crime dens were across the city.

(FP Report)

5 year girl sexually assaulted in Lahore

Unidentified men sexually assaulted a five-year-old girl in Lahore, Local TV reported.

After the assault, they dumped the minor girl outside Ganga Ram hospital and managed to flee.

DSM Dr Asif said the ill-fated girl was still unconscious, adding she need surgery, however, pediatric surgery facility was not available at Ganga Ram hospital.

He said the girl was being shifted to Children Hospital.(FP Report)

Karachi Central jail under threat, alleged terrorists shifted

Five alleged terrorists belonging to different outlawed organisations including Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, were shifted to different prisons in rural Sindh due to security concerns. According to jail officials, the decision was taken due to reports that terrorist organisations plan to attack Central Jail Karachi and free their members. The inmates who were shifted includ Mohammad Abdullah aka Taimur, son of Riaz Shahid; Waseem Barodi, son of Sami Ahmed; Hafiz Qasim Abdul Rasheed, Mohammad Shafiq alias Bashir and Inamullah.(DailyTimes)

Cheque distribution at CM House: Harmful drinking water served,10 women fall unconscious

At least 10 women, belonging to the families of the victims who lost their lives in Karachi’s Abbas Town bombing, fell unconscious when they were served harmful drinking water during an event to distribute cheques at Sindh Chief Minister House here on Tuesday. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah was scheduled to distribute compensatory cheques among the families that lost their homes and loved ones in the bombing that killed 51 people and injured over 140 others. 

The women who were seated in the front rows asked the event organisers for water. Around 10 women fell unconscious after drinking the water served to them. Later, when to news come to the surface, the CM House’s spokesman said that the water served by the caterers in event was harmful for health. He, however, said that only two people including a woman and a man fell unconscious after drinking the water. Meanwhile, nine people were shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi in the early hours of Tuesday when they fell unconscious after a toxic gas filled a house located on Mauripir road.(FP)