PAKISTAN AND ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK 50 YEARS OF PARTNERING FOR DEVELOPMENT. JULY 06, 2017 (2017-4)

The year 2016-2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-a milestone celebration for ADB and all its partners and stakeholders.

Pakistan is one of the founding members of ADB. ADB provided its first loan to Pakistan in 1968 to help the country fund the credit requirements of small and medium-scale industries. Since then, ADB has extended vital support to improve Pakistan's economy, reduce poverty and achieve development goals.

Pakistan and ADB have worked together to promote export, private sector efficiency, reform public sector management, financial market development, improve social protection, emergency assistance and prioritizing energy. A particular emphasis has been placed on promoting the welfare of women.

ADB has been one of Pakistan's largest and most steadfast development partners. As of 31 December 2016, ADB has provided more than $29.5 billion in loans, technical assistance, and grants to assist Pakistan achieve its development goals.

ADB: Through the Years.

In the 1970s, ADB stepped into the area of power generation and transmission, including supporting natural gas and hydropower projects. The Tarbela hydropower plant, one of Pakistan's largest, was originally supported by ADB in 1974 and has been extended in coordination with other development partners in subsequent decades. ADB also extended vital assistance for Mangla dam and Ghazi Barotha power plants.

After a resident mission was established in Islamabad, ADB focused its expertise and resources on supporting efforts to grow the economy through free enterprise, privatization, deregulation, and liberalization. This included promoting exports and bringing private sector efficiency into health care and education.

By the middle of the 1990s, ADB's work in Pakistan was focused on education, population welfare, public sector management reform, and government decentralization.

In the early 2000s, a new government put in place an economic reform program designed to build on efforts in the 1990s to open the economy through privatization and economic liberalization. The program, along with other factors, was a major boost to the economy.

From 2005 to 2012, Pakistan and ADB worked together to restore basic services and livelihood to millions of people devastated by 2005 earthquake in northern Pakistan, and subsequent floods in 2010 and 2011.

The period also marks projects to upgrade transmission and distribution networks, improve transport infrastructure and connectivity, agriculture and irrigations systems, livelihood development, and investment to boost social security of poorest and most vulnerable groups including women.

Between 2012 and 2015, ADB-supported projects in Pakistan helped build or upgrade 2,454 classrooms and train 656 teachers, benefiting 53,729 students. ADB's energy assistance resulted in an additional 0.113 megawatts (MW) of power generation, as well as the installation or upgrading of 729 km of distribution lines, providing electricity to about 92,443 households. In transportation, ADB helped build or upgrade 2,946 km of roads and highways that accommodated an average of 3,689,739 vehicle-kilometers daily during the first full year of operation.

ADB's water supply and sanitation programs have provided a total of 32,944 households with improved sanitation, and have installed or upgraded 1,075 km of water pipes, which now bring clean water to 192,698 households. ADB projects financed wastewater treatment plants with the capacity to handle a total of 570,000 cubic meters (m3) per day. And, under its rural development projects, there were 162,976 micro-finance loan accounts opened or end borrowers reached.

Through its regional cooperation and integration projects, ADB has facilitated the cross-border transport of 9,279,000 tons of cargo per year.

ADB & Pakistan: Stronger Together

ADB can reflect on its achievements in Pakistan with pride. Pakistan and ADB have built highways, rural roads, hydroelectric power plants, canals. schools, hospitals, financial markets, and other critical facilities that improve lives and help pull millions out of poverty.

Together with other development agencies, nongovernment organizations, and the private sector, ADB is committed to work to attract investment, create industries and jobs, and improve the quality of life of Pakistan citizens.

On Pakistan and ADB 50 Years of Partnering for Development, a Commemorative Postage Stamp of Rs. 8/- denomination is being issued by Pakistan Post on July 6, 2017.

MEN OF LETTERS SERIES MAJEED AMJAD (1914-1974) June 29, 2017 (2017-03)

Majeed Amjad enjoys a distinct position amongst the most celebrated Urdu poets of the 20th century. Critics have often regarded him as a "philosophical poet of depth and sensitivity". His poetry has been translated in several languages and his poem have been sung by many noted artists of Pakistan.

Amjad was born on June 29, 1914 in Jhang, a small town in the Pakistani province of Punjab into a reputable literary family and completed his initial education there. He then moved to Lahore and received his bachelor's degree in 1934 from Islamia College, Lahore. His first sustainable job as editor of a weekly journal Urooj ended in 1939. Thereafter, he qualified as inspector of civil supplies in the Department of Food and Agriculture in 1944 and served till his retirement in 1972. He lived in Sahiwal for the most part of his life. He died a lonely death on May 11, 1974. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto the then Prime Minister of Pakistan approved scholarship in recognition of his matchless poetic talent and the scholarship was received by his widow in 1974.

Amjad's first collection of poetry. Shab-e-Rafta, was published in 1958. This was published by Naya Idara in Lahore and was the only collection published in his lifetime even though he had written steadily throughout his life. After his death, the manuscripts of his unpublished poetry were preserved by Javed Qureshi who was then the Deputy Commissioner of Sahiwal. In 1976, Javed Qureshi and others published a second collection of his poetry titled "Shab-e-Rafta ke Baad". It was not until 1989 that the Urdu critic Khawaja Muhammad Zakariya edited and published a complete collection of his works called "Kuliyat-e-Majeed Amjad".

Amjad's life has been the subject of several biographical essays and even a full length biography. Critics such as Dr. Nasir Abbas Nayyar believes that Amjad influenced, more than any other poet, the 'nazm' (poem) written in Pakistan after the late sixties. In his book on the life and works of Amjad, Dr. Nayyar observes that Amjad gave importance to the neglected things in his surroundings and it was he who instilled aesthetics of locality in his poetry. He didn't sing paeans of grand narrative about a hollow world either. What he did was that he focused on the ordinary. His work covers varied themes like the tribulations of survival in the period between the two World Wars, colonization, Partition of the sub-continent, socio-economic disparity and so on.

Amjad bravely experimented with metrical forms and rhythms. His vocabulary was extremely diverse and universal. There is an earthiness in his verse, a sense of grounding with the here and now. The Slow and soothing lilt of his signature rhythmic style and choice of words reflective of the local culture. set his work apart from the rest.

Amjad's poetry is excessively subjective. It is rare to come across a poet who penned so many poems about his personal angst and failure, and who has such as a low opinion of himself. Some such melancholic poems include: 'Mere Khuda Mere Dil', 'Autograph', 'Nigah-e-Bazgashi and Munich'.

To his credit Amjad has the achicvement of introducing novel subjects previously unexplored through poetry. He wrote poems on environment conservation years before it became a fashionable topic. His innate sensitivity enabled him to empathise with trees, rivers, flowers, and birds in a manner that makes nature appear as an entity that is alive. Poems like 'Jalsah' and 'Kuch Din Pehle', for example, lament over cut trees and polluted highways.

Amjad was not an ideological poet affiliated with a particular group. He allowed none to use his poetry as a means of propagating their philosophy and even the Progressive Movement or 'Jadidiyat' of the 1960's didn't have a bearing on his style of work. Amjad's style was not steeped in symbolism, allusions and abstractions like the 'Jadid nazm' (modern poem). He tailored his own ideology of compassion and humanity and made his own distinctive path.

Amjad was known as a quiet and reticent personality whose introvent nature manifested no desire for self-marketing. His financial struggles, a difficult marriage; and negligible recognition of his work during his lifetime cast a sorrowful shadow over his entire life. Despite a very concise list of influential advocates of his literary talent that he had during his lifetime, Amjad's popularity has only increased ever since his death.

A number of thesis on Ph.D., M.Phil and M.A level highlighting different aspects of Majeed Amjad's life and literary achievements have been written in various universities of Pakistan. The details of research work done by various scholars on this unique poet are as follows:

Ø  Dr. Aamir Sohail                Bauhuddin Zakaria University     Ph.D.

Ø  Ummat-ul-Mateen         Quaid-i-Azam University               M.Phil

Ø  Tabinda Gul        Bauhuddin Zakaria University     M.A

Ø  Farid Kanwal      Punjab University            MA

Ø  Fozia Ashraf       Punjab University            MA

Ø  Tasneem Naz     Punjab University            MA

Ø  Nawazish Ali       Punjab University            MA

Ø  Mohammad Zubair Khalid            Punjab University            M.A

On Birth Anniversary of Majeed Amjad, a commemorative postage stamp of Rs. 8/- denomination is being issued by Pakistan Post on June 29. 2017

13th ECONOMIC COOPERATION ORGANIZATION (ECO) SUMMIT AT ISLAMABAD. MARCH 01, 2017 (2017-02)

Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was established in 1985 by Iran, Turkey and Pakistan, It succeeded Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), which was founded in 1964 to promote cooperation among the three Member States.

2. In 1992, the Organization welcomed in its fold, seven new Members, which in addition to Afghanistan included Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The Treaty of Izmir, signed in 1977 and subsequently amended in 1996, is the legal foundation of the Organization.

3. ECO aims at promoting sustainable economic development of Member States through trade and economic cooperation as well as mutual assistance in social, cultural, technical and scientific fields. Three long-term sectoral priorities of the Organization are: i) Development of transport and communication infrastructure, ii) Facilitation of trade and investment, iii) Effective use of the region's vast energy resources.

4. The Headquarters of ECO are located in Tehran. H.E. Ambassador Halil Ibrahim Akca (Turkish National) is the current Secretary General of Economic Cooperation Organization.

Institutional Framework

5. ECO consists of four principal organs, the Council of Ministers (COM), the Regional Planning Council (RPC), the Council of Permanent Representatives (CPR) and the Secretariat.

ECO Summit

6. Held biennially, ECO Summit of Heads of States/Governments of member States provides the Organization an overarching strategic guideline as well as political support. 12th ECO Summit was held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 16th October 2012.

7. Pakistan is hosting the 13th ECO summit in Islamabad on 1st March 2017, preceded by 22nd Council of Ministers Meeting (COMM) on 28th February 2017. The Council of Ministers meeting will be preceded by Senior Official Meeting (SOM) on 26 February 2017

Council of Ministers (COM)

8. The Council of Ministers (COM) is the highest policy and decision-making body of ECO and is composed of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States. It meets once a year by rotation, in the territories of the Member States.

Council of Permanent Representative (CPR)

9. The CPR is composed of Tehran based Ambassadors of Member States accredited to ECO. It meets once a month and oversees the working of the Secretariat and takes day to day decisions relating to the Organization on behalf of the COM.

Regional Planning Council

10. The Regional Planning Council (RPC) is composed of the Heads of Planning Organizations of Member States and meets at least once a year prior to the annual meeting of the Council of Ministers. It evolves basic strategies/policies and plans in accordance with the objectives and principles of regional cooperation laid down in the Treaty of Izmir, as well as policy guidelines of the Council of Ministers.

ECO Secretariat

11. The Secretariat is the implementing arm of the Organization. Under the supervision of the Secretary General, it carries out the policies and programmes finalized by the governing bodies, and reports back to them on its activities. Presently, there are 67 officials working in the Secretariat and out of them 14 belongs to Pakistan.

ECO Vision 2025

12. The ECO Vision 2025 envisages "ECO will pave the way to a territory of integrated and sustainable economies as well as free trade area achieved by highly educated societies and improved governance through enhanced cooperation". The new Vision focuses on sectoral priorities of the ECO including Trade, energy, transit and social welfare and environment. The Vision also incorporates an implementation framework.

ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA)

13. ECOTA is a major step towards realization of the Organization's goal of removal of trade barriers and establishment of a Free Trade Area in the ECO region. The Agreement was signed in Islamabad in July 2003 during the 2nd ECO Ministerial Meeting on Commerce and Foreign Trade and entered into force on 24th April, 2008. The member states are currently negotiating to operationalize this agreement.

Transit Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA)

14. TTFA is ECO's the basic document in the transport sector, providing background for a historical movement toward reduction of cost and acceleration of the transport services through harmonization and modernization of transit transport in the region.

15. TTFA is in force since 2006 with the ratification of the Parliaments of eight Member States: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkey.

On13th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit at Islamabad, the Commemorative Postage Stamps of Rs.8/- each denomination are being issued by Pakistan Post on March 01, 2017

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM FOR DEVELOPMENT. January 1, 2017 (2017-01)

 

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Pakistan has a great opportunity for the tourism development based on its spectacular natural landscapes and unique cultural heritage. Tourism is one economic activity that has the potential to bring considerable benefits to the nation. Tourism can be used as a vehicle to deliver socio-economic benefits directly to rural and remote areas.

Pakistan is the only country which is host to three of the world's biggest and most spectacular mountain ranges, the Himalaya, the Karakoram and the Hindukush which consists of several hundred peaks. The convergence of these three ranges at Jaglot, an area around 40km away from Gilgit is an exclusive geographical feature on the planet. Among a total of 14 peaks with more than 8000 metre height in the world, five are in Pakistan which are K-2. Gasherbrum-1, Gasherbrum-2, Broad Peak and Nanga Parbat. The said mountain ranges have 160 peaks above 7,000 metres and around 700 peaks above 6,000 metres that really attract the climbers from all over the world.

K-2:- K-2, also known as Mount Godwin-Austen or Chhogori is the second highest mountain in the world, after Mount Everest, at 8,611 metres (28251 ft) above sea level. It is located on the China-Pakistan border in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan.

K-2 is known as the Savage Mountain due to the extreme difficulty of ascent. It has the second-highest fatality rate among the eight thousanders. With around 300 successful summits and 77 fatalities, about one person dies on the mountain for every four who summit It is more difficult and hazardous to reach the peak of K-2 from the Chinese side, thus it is usually climed from Pakistan side. K-2 has never been claimed during winter.

Nanga Parbat:- Nanga Parbat (literally, Naked Mountain) is the ninth highest mountain in the world at 8,126 meters (26,660 ft) above sea level. It is the western anchor of the Himalayas around which the Indus river skirts into the plains of Pakistan. It is located in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan and is locally known as 'Deo Mir', 'Deo' meaning "huge' "Mir' meaning 'mountain".

Nanga Parbat one of the eight-thousanders, is an immense, dramatic peak rising far above its surrounding terrain, Nanga Parbat is also a notoriously difficult climb. Numerous mountaineering deaths in the mid and early 20th century lent it the nickname "killer mountain".

Nanga Parbat forms the western anchor of the Himalayan range and is the westernmost eight-thousander. It lies just south of the Indus River in the Diamer District of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. Not far to the north is the western end of the Karakoram range

Gasherbrum-l:- Gasherbrum-I also known as Hidden Peak or K-5, is the 11th highest mountain in the world at 8,080 metres (26,510 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Pakistan-Chinese border in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan and Xinjiang region of China.

Gasherbrum-I is part of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakoram region of the Himalaya. Gasherbrum is often claimed to mean "Shining Wall", presumably a reference to the highly visible face of the neighboring peak Gasherbrum IV, but in fact it comes from "rgasha" (beautiful) + "brum" (mountain) in Balti, hence it actually means "beautiful mountain". There are six Gasherbrum peaks and Gasherbrum-1 is one of them.

Broad Peak:- Board peak is the 12th highest mountain in the world at 8,051 meters (26414 ft) above sea level Broad peak is part of the Gasherbrum massif in Baltistan on the border of Pakistan and China. It is located in the Karakoram mountain rage about 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) from K-2. It has a summit over 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long.

The mountain has several summits: Broad Peak, Rocky Summit, Broad Peak Central, Broad Peak North, and Kharut Kangri.

The first ascent of Broad Peak was made between June 8 and 9, 1957 by Fritz wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, and Hermann Buhl of an Austrian expedition led by Marcus Schmuck.

A first attempt by the team was made on May 29, 1957 where Fritz winteresteller and Kurt Diemberger reached the forepeak (8,030 m). This was also accomplished without the aid of supplemental oxygen, high altitude porters nor base camp support.

In July 2013, a group of five Iranian climbers attempted to ascend through a new route from the southwestern face. Three of them-Aidin Bozorgi, Pouya Keivan, and Mojtaba Jarahi -ascended successfully but during descent all three of them were lost and declared dead.

To celebrate the International year of sustainable Tourism Development-2017 generate joint benefits through increased cooperation, networking and partnerships among sustainable tourism stakeholders number of activities have been planned which include but not limited to:-

·         Tourism awareness Seminars at different schools, colleges and universities

·         Tourism Workshops.

·         Tourism Convention.

·         Issuance of Commemorative Postage Stamps.

To Commemorate the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for the Development-2017 and to focus national and international attention on the vast potential for mountaineering that Pakistan has, the Pakistan Post bringing out a series of 4 postage stamps on this prestigious occasion, depicting the four famous above 8000 height peaks i.e., K-2. Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum-l and Broad Peak

On International Year of Sustainable for Tourism Development-2017, a set of Four Commemorative Postage Stamps of Rs. 10/-each denomination is being issued by Pakistan Post on January 1, 2017.

50 YEARS OF CRESCENT MODEL HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, LAHORE (1968-2018) December 26, 2018 (2018-13)

 

The founders of the Crescent Group established a Not for Profit Trust named the Crescent Educational Trust in the early 1960's to deliver high quality education to Pakistani youth. They were of the firm belief that good quality education is crucial for Pakistan's development into a first world country.

Four brothers, the founders of the Crescent Group, Mian Fazal Karim, Mian Muhammad Amin, Haji Muhammad Shafi, and Mian Muhammad Bashir donated funds to the Crescent Educational Trust, helping establish the Crescent Model Higher Secondary School (CMS). One of the brothers, Mian Muhammad Amin, was asked to lead this noble venture on behalf of the family.

Other leading personalities of Pakistani society, such as Chief Justice Muhammad Munir, Chief Justice Yaqoob Ali, Dr. Ameer ud Din, Finance Minister Dr. Mubashar Hassan, Chief Minister Sheikh Manzoor Elahi, and renowned journalists Mr. Hameed Nizami and Mr. Majeed Nizami joined hands with the founders to help in this noble cause.

They made valuable contributions with their experience and wisdom, which were instrumental in the success of the newly born Crescent Model Higher Secondary School which in a short span of time became a premier educational institution. A modern, high quality campus was designed by the renowned architect Arif Hasan, and was built under the expert supervision of Dr. Mubashar Hassan, former Finance Minister of Pakistan.

While the campus was still under construction, the first batch of students was accommodated in a two room facility in Gaddafi Stadium in 1968. The school shifted to its permanent campus in Shadman Colony in 1970.

The highest standards of education, a low fee structure, a well trained and dedicated faculty, and merit based, need blind admission policy have always been the hallmark of the Crescent Model Higher Secondary School. This policy opened the doors of this high quality school to brilliant Pakistani youngsters, enabling them to compete on equal footings with students belonging to more affluent families.

The school was fortunate to have Sheikh Muin ud Din and Ms. Jahan Ara Khan as principal and headmistress of the school in its early days. The institution benefited enormously from their dedication, sagacity and wisdom. They established an institutional ethos that helped in developing "Crescentarians" to become "Game Changers" for Pakistan in general, and their own families in particular. Over the last fifty years, our students have built careers in the fields of education, academia, architecture, business, finance, defence, engineering, public service, sports and many more.

With a rich history exceeding fifty years, the Crescent Model Higher Secondary School is the largest not for profit school in Pakistan. Our student body consists of 7,600 boys and girls pursuing education following either the Matriculation or the Senior Cambridge curriculum. We have a modern campus with three auditoriums, well designed classrooms, science and information technology laboratories, well maintained playgrounds, a modern swimming pool, and four gymnasiums. We have a finishing school for girls with foreign certified faculty, a teacher training center, a school of arts, and a school of music. We have exclusive arrangements for teaching of Qirat and Naat.

All these facilities enable us to provide education that helps individuals develop an economically stable life, a passion for gratitude, compassion, integrity and responsibility. An extensive range of opportunities and broad spectrum of curriculum provides the large student population at CMS with a broad knowledge sharing platform, enabling them to become well rounded responsible citizens.

As a whole, the school has been providing quality, affordable and accessible education to the community for over fifty years, preparing both men and women alike to experience economic growth and a purposeful life. With the "no child left behind" policy, the Crescent Model Higher Secondary School has graduated agents of positive change who have helped reduce inequities within our society. Our resolve is stronger than ever before to meet the challenges of these turbulent times, with confidence.

On 50 Years of Crescent Model Higher Secondary School, Lahore, a Commemorative Postage Stamp of Rs. 8/- denomination is being issued by Pakistan Post on December 26, 2018.