Bilawal Bhutto Zardari felicitates Christians

Karachi: Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has felicitated the Christians in Pakistan on the eve of Christmas and said it was time for festivity, celebration and rejoicing.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in his message on the occasion of Christmas also called for promoting interfaith dialogue and harmony among people belonging to different religions.

Stressing upon the need for dialogue and understanding, Chairman PPP said, “It is also a reminder to all of us of the teachings of Jesus Christ (May Allah be pleased with him) who spread the message of love, forgiveness and brotherhood among the people without any prejudice and discrimination.”

He said the festive occasion of Christmas also highlights the character, sacrifices, teachings and valuable contributions of Jesus Christ for the moral and spiritual betterment of humanity.

He also underlined the need for implementing the teachings of the great religions in individual and collective lives.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reiterated the pledge that Pakistan People’s Party will continue to uphold the right of the Christians, indeed of all minorities, to be treated as equal citizens of the state and allowed to partake in its development on an equal footing.

Bilawal said that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the Constitution of 1973 had given complete religious guarantees, economic, political, and social freedoms to the minorities, he said adding, “They are equal and proud citizens of Pakistan who have played their commendable role in the development of the country.”

He called upon everyone to pledge that they will collectively struggle for the betterment of society and welfare of the people of Pakistan.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also reiterated the commitment of Pakistan People’s Party to continue to fight along with our Christian brothers and sisters for the rights of all minorities and deprived people in the country for establishing a liberal and pluralistic society in Pakistan.

For more information, contact:
Haji Ahmed Malik
Principal Information Officer
Press Information Department (PID)
Tel: +9251 925 2323 and +9251 925 2324
Fax: +9251 925 2325 and +9251 925 2326
Email: piopid@gmail.com

Secretary Higher Education, Punjab University Jehlum Campus Management Committee visit Jehlum Campus

Karachi: Secretary Higher Education Punjab Dr Ijaz Munir and a delegation of Punjab University Jehlum Campus Management Committee visited the Jehlum Campus here on Saturday. The members of the delegation included Registrar Prof Dr Muhammad Akhtar, Additional Registrar Jehlum Campus Muhammad Akram Chaudhry, Director Planning and Development Tariq Majeed Qureshi, Project Director Sheikh Muhammad Ali and Resident Officer-II Malik Muhammad Zaheer.

Local officers briefed Secretary Higher Education and Punjab University team about the ongoing work at the campus. It was decided after the briefing that report of joint inspection team would be sent to Higher Education Department till Monday, December 26, 2011. Moreover, buildings of sessions court, canteen, utility building, mosque, judicial lockup, residential blocks, civil court and security post will also be handed over to the Punjab University till Monday, January 2, 2012.

Secretary Higher Education issued necessary instructions for the earliest completion of work in this regard. Punjab University Technical Team pointed out some defects in the building and demanded for early necessary repair work.

For more information, contact:
Registrar
Punjab University
Tel: +9242 9923 1102
Fax: +9242 9923 1103
Email: registrar@pu.edu.pk

Quaid-i-Azam’s motto be followed to pay homage to him: Dr Ebad

Karachi: The best way to pay homage to the Father of the Nation is to follow his motto of Unity, Faith and Discipline. This was stated by Sindh Governor, Dr Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan, in his message on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He said that by following these principles we can make the country strong, developed and prosperous.

The Governor in his message said that from day one Quaid-i-Azam was against injustice and violence. He said that the Quaid not only deplored injustice and violence at every stage he also took practical steps for their eradication. Dr Ebad said that during the Pakistan Movement and after the creation of a homeland for the Muslims of the sub-continent Quaid-i-Azam abhorred the politics of violence and preached the supremacy of the law.

He said that the Father of the Nation believed that supremacy of law was the peaceful way for the realisation of justice.

The Governor said that the Quaid always stressed the need of unity, cohesion and promotion of the spirit of brotherhood.

He said that we should follow the path determined by Quaid-i-Azam as this leads to our betterment as well as the development of the country.

For more information, contact:
Syed Wajahat Ali
Press Secretary
Governor Sindh
Tel: +9221 920 1217 and 9201201

Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association concerned about the decreasing trend of Pakistan’s garment exports

Karachi: Acting Chairman, Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA), Mr. Bilal Mulla has expressed grave concern about the decreasing trend of Pakistan’s garment exports. In his statement to the press, he stated that exports of garments in the first five months of FY2011-12 are down about 9% and if the same trend continued, we can expect to see overall decline of approx. 17-20% this fiscal year.

Mr. Mulla spelled several internal reasons for this decline, besides the external factors. According to him, continuously declining law and order situation in the country, followed by lingering energy shortages which has virtually crippled the industry, are the prime reasons for this decline. Besides the above, negative perceptions about Pakistan and high financial costs are adding fuel to the fire.

Because of the deteriorating law and order situation and the shortage of electricity and gas, factories are unable to in-time deliver whatever limited orders they managed to procure from their foreign buyers. If we are fortunate enough to have no strikes happening during the week, we are crippled by electricity load-shedding or gas shortage, which reduces our work week to only 3-4 days. Due to gas shortages, mills cannot process our fabric in time and the sewing units simply cannot guarantee on time deliveries of export shipments. With this productivity level we cannot compete with Bangladesh let alone India or China.

He also disapproved the negative image of Pakistan created by the electronic media. Even the smallest of news are sensationalized without doing the background check which has created a very negative of our country in the minds of our buyers. Whenever our buyers hear or read anything bad happening here, they call us asking whether their deliveries will be effected because of this news and we are always giving clarifications to them for one thing or another. As we are not able confirm them delivery dates with surety, we are never in a position to ask them for future orders.

Besides the above, high financial costs are making it impossible for us to approach banks for our working capital needs. We simply cannot target big orders because these would require extensive working capital, hence we have no other option but to take smaller order which we can finance through our own pockets as with the borrowing cost is simply too high. Although Pakistan’s economy is not financed through bank borrowings, therefore there is no concrete basis for State Bank of Pakistan to keep the interest rates so high which deters to corporate sector to approach banks for their financing needs.

For more information, contact:
Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA)
18-A Shaheen View Building, Block-VI, P.E.C.H.S., Shahra-e-Faisal Karachi-75400, Pakistan
Tel: +9221 3454 9073, +9221 3454 7912
Fax: +9221 3453 9669
Email: info@prgmea.org
Web: www.prgmea.org