Pakistan to take up controversial Kishanganga Dam with World Bank

WASHINGTON: A four-member delegation from Pakistan headed by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali is due to visit Washington next week to apprise the top World Bank officials about Pakistan’s serious concern over the Kishanganga hydro power project that was inaugurated this week.Talking to media men at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said that the delegation will visit the capital from Monday through Wednesday during which it will hold high-level talks with the World Bank officials on the project.Pakistan has termed the inauguration of the project without the resolution of the dispute as a serious violation of the Indus Waters Treaty brokered by the World Bank in 1960 that governs the distribution and control of rivers between Pakistan and India.Ambassador Chaudhry expressed Pakistan’s serious concern over the project that has become operational and said that Islamabad had conveyed its strong opposition to the construction of the project to the World Bank but it had been ignored. India plans to undertake several such project in the disputed territory.He said that as the World Bank is a guarantor of the treaty, it has to play its role in addressing Pakistan’s concerns over the project that has been constructed on waters flowing into Pakistan and would seriously disrupt supplies vital for the country’s agriculture.India started the work on the 330 MW Kishanganga in 2009, but Pakistan took the issue to the International Court of Justice and also raised the issue with the World Bank.Ambassador Chaudhry said that the World Bank needs to intervene in the matter and it was the responsibility of the world body to fulfill its obligation being the guarantor of the international agreement.

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NSC endorses FATA?s merger with KPK

ISLAMABAD: The National Security Committee on Saturday while weighing all the pros and cons in detail endorsed that the merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where the administrative and judicial institutional structures and laws of the province would be introduced.The matter of FATA merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was discussed during the 23rd meeting of the National Security Committee held here at the Prime Minister’s House with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the chair.The prime minister apprised the meeting that his consultations on the issue with the leaders of other political parties in the parliament had reflected a broad consensus on the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The committee directed the ministries concerned to work out the constitutional, legal and administrative modalities for the merger in consultation with all parties in the parliament.The national security body also endorsed the provision of additional well-monitored development funds for the FATA region during next 10 years, with the stipulation that the funds would not be re-appropriated to any other area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Sartaj Aziz and the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan briefed the committee on reform proposals for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. The meeting reviewed the proposals from the perspective of their conformity with the aspirations of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.The committee decided for the retention of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Councils as advisory bodies.It also evolved consensus for the grant of a five-year tax holiday to Gilgit-Baltistan so as to create adequate incentives for the development of the region and bring it at par with other areas of Pakistan.The committee expressed satisfaction on the principle stand taken by Pakistan on Kashmir and Palestine, and its articulation at various world forums.The Ministry of Interior presented details of the measures it had formulated to liberalise the visa regime, in particular for tourists and businesspersons. Reviewing these proposals, the committee instructed the Interior Ministry to further refine its proposals and submit them for consideration in its next meeting.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefed the committee on the regional and global security situation. The body resolved that Pakistan would continue to play its role for peace and security in the region and beyond.The meeting was attended by Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Defence and Foreign Affairs Khurram Dastgir Khan, Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Miftah Ismail, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Inter Services Intelligence Director General ISI Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar and senior civil and military officials.

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´Nightmare´: Pakistan family mourn daughter killed in Texas shooting

Karachi, May 19-Abdul Aziz learned about the US school shooting in which his 17-year-old daughter was killed on CNN, with the story airing live as he broke his Ramadan fast thousands of miles away in Pakistan.In those chaotic first moments of confusion and terror he called his daughter Sabika Sheikh´s phone over and over. She did not answer."I kept calling her and sent her messages on WhatsApp. Never before had my daughter failed to reply," Aziz told AFP, fighting back tears at his home in the southern port city Karachi Saturday, just hours after he and his wife had their worst fears confirmed."We are still in a state of denial. It is like a nightmare," said Aziz. His wife sat nearby, visibly still shocked and seemingly unable to speak as friends and relatives tried to comfort her.Sheikh, an exchange student at the Santa Fe High School in Texas, was killed along with nine others after a heavily armed student opened fire on his classmates Friday.It was the latest school shooting to rock the US, and came just three months after the massacre in Parkland, Florida in which 17 people were killed, sparking an unprecedented grassroots, student-led gun control movement.In Pakistan, the Santa Fe shooting has unleashed an outpouring of sympathy and horror over the tragic murder of Sheikh, who had been in the US for 10 months and was just weeks away from coming home.Sheikh, whose father said she had always excelled in school, had nurtured dreams of serving in Pakistan´s foreign office.She had been due to return to Karachi in time for Eid al-Fitr, one of Islam´s most revered holidays, marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in which families come together and celebrate with days of feasting."She was coming back soon," her father said."There is a general impression that the life is safe and secure in America. But this is not the case."- ´Terrorism´ -The alleged gunman -- Dimitrios Pagourtzis, another student at the school who at 17 is the same age as Sheikh -- was later apprehended by police and is being held on capital murder charges, meaning he could face the death penalty.Police have yet to release details about a possible motive.It was the 22nd school shooting this year, according to US media reports, a disturbing statistic in a country where firearms are part of everyday life and there are more than 30,000 gun-related deaths annually.The news that a Pakistani exchange student was among the dead appeared to break through the now-routine outpouring of grief on social media after such killings, with US celebrities joining Pakistanis in expressing their sorrow"This little girl could´ve been my daughter. We must do more than just console the parents of these murdered kids," said American actress Mindy Kaling on Twitter, along with a picture of Sheikh in a post online.Some Pakistanis, for whom militant violence is all too familiar, branded the killing "terrorism"."My heart is crying for #SabikaSheikh we have lost our brightest asset because of terrorism," tweeted Malik Rohaina, from the southern Pakistani city of Hyderabad.Despite perennially rocky relations between Washington and Islamabad, the US has long been a favoured destination for Pakistani students studying abroad, with thousands enrolling in American schools every year.Even as he mourned the loss of his daughter, Aziz said he hoped the tragedy would not frighten fellow Pakistanis from following her lead."Such incidents should not make people lose heart... and one should not stop going to the US or UK or China or anywhere," said Aziz. "One must go for education undeterred."

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Fitrana fixed at Rs100 per head

KARACHI: The minimum amount of Fitrana and Roza Fidya has been fixed at Rs100 per person for the second consecutive year.This was announced by the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Mufti Muneeb ur Rehman in a statement on Saturday. According to the chairman, the head of a family is to pay at least Rs100, on behalf of each of his dependents, according to the price of wheat. With respect to oats, the Fitrana will be Rs240, and dates and raisins will be Rs1600 and Rs1920 respectively.Previously, the minimum amount for Sadqa-e-Fitr or Fitrana had also been set at Rs100 per head.The chairman had said that Islam obligates its followers to pay the required amount before offering the Eid prayers, so that the needy can also make timely use of that money.

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Bhikki Power Plant inaugurated

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has inaugurated the combined cycle of 1180 MW Bhikki Power Plant in Mandi Bahauddin. The Pakistan Muslim League-N President took to Twitter to term the completion of the project as a “milestone” before he headed to Bhikki to inaugurate the power plant.“Reaching Bhikki power plant shortly IA. Proj achieved a milestone as it has attained its combined cycle of 1180MW in just 32 months. Since the launch of its phase 1 in March’17, Bhikki has contributed a total of 3.1 billion units of affordable electricity to national grid so far!” stated his tweet on Saturday.During his speech at the inaugural ceremony, Sharif stated: "Projects including Bhikki Power plant and Haveli Bahadur Shah were initiated in 2016. And today, Bhikki has been completed whereas Bahadur Shah plant is almost complete."Speaking upon the searing issue of loadshedding in the country, the chief minister claimed: "After working tirelessly, there is no loadshedding during Ramazan this year. 10,000 MW electricity has been added to the national grid under the PML-N government."Acclaimed to be the latest, the most contemporary and vastly developed gas machinery in Pakistan, the 1180MW Bhikki Project is based on general electric 209HA combined cycle technology and has a gross capacity of 1180 Megawatts.As per reports, the total cost of the project is 770 million USD. The power plant is also said to have the lowest power generation cost, saving in EPC cost Rupees 39 billion.

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Govt, opposition finalize name of caretaker PM

ISLAMABAD: Government and opposition parties have reached a consensus on the nomination of caretaker Prime Minister, Geo reported on Saturday. The caretaker prime minister will take charge shortly after the government’s term comes to an end on May 31.   The channel quoted sources saying that a consultation session was held to finalize the names proposed for the top slot. In addition to the caretaker PM, two sides also held consultations about the nomination of chief ministers. In response to a question if the caretaker prime minister is from a smaller province, opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah said that answering the question would 'disclose everything.' Shah also said that there was no restriction on the gender of the candidate. It could be a male or female, he said. He further said it was not necessary that one of the candidates being discussed on the media was the one finalized for the position. "We are making efforts to reach a consensus on an uncontroversial candidate," he said. "The candidate's name will be announced after I meet the prime minister on Tuesday."    

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When It Comes To Sugary Snacks, We Want What We Can�€™t Have

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Quotations Required to Develop Management Information System (MIS)

Quotations Required to Develop Management Information System (MIS) (HelpAge International) - Islamabad

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Bilawal meets spiritual leader of Dargah Syed Hussain Shah Bukhari

QAMBAR-SHAHDADKOT: PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited the Dargah Hussainabad and met spiritual leader and custodian of Dargah Syed Hussain Shah Bukhari.According to a statement issued by the PPP on Saturday, Syed Hussain Shah Bukhari prayed for the chairman’s well-being and victory as well as the progress of the country.Earlier, he visited the mausoleum of martyrs at Garhi Khuda Bux on Saturday offered Fateha and showered rose petals at the Mazars of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and others. Yesterday, he attended and addressed an iftar dinner hosted by the people  of Larkana city at Jinnah Bagh. MNA Faryal Talpur, Aseefa Bhutto Zardar, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Suhail Anwar Siyal, Khursheed Junejo and other party leaders were also present.

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Operations Analyst (Colony WY) - Minerals Technologies Inc. - Colony, WY

They are part of a team that will maintain reliable. Interaction between sales and operations for process improvement projects. Minerals Technologies Inc....
From Minerals Technologies Inc. - Sat, 19 May 2018 01:29:06 GMT - View all Colony, WY jobs

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Loan Officer - Premier Home Mortgage - Sheridan, WY

The LO will be required to participate in educational opportunities and read current publications to obtain the minimum qualifications set forth by individual...
From Premier Home Mortgage - Wed, 16 May 2018 05:27:06 GMT - View all Sheridan, WY jobs

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