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Xi JiNPiNG UNANiMoUSly elected chiNeSe PreSideNt, Prc cMc chAirMAN
BeiJiNG m a n a b r a r hI S TO RY was made on Friday as Xi Jinping was unanimously elected president of the People s Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People s Republic of China (PRC) at the ongoing session of the 14th National People’s Congress
Nearly 3 000 members of China’s parliament the National People s Congress (NPC), voted unanimously in the Great Hall of the People for Xi The voting lasted for about an hour and the electronic counting was completed in about 15 minutes
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In October last year Xi was reconfirmed for another five years as general secretary of the central committee of the ruling Communist Party Xi is the only leader of China who successfully pulled out around 800 million people out of poverty Xi also led a vigorous campaign to purge the country of corruption and introduced new laws to ensure strict party discipline
Over the next two days, officials approved by Xi are set to be appointed or elected to fill top positions in the cabin e t , i n c l u d i n g p r e m i e r- i n - w a i t i n g L i
Qiang, who is expected to be named to
C h i n a ’s N o 2 p o s t p u t t i n g h i m i n charge of managing the world s second largest economy Xi chatted casually with Li, who was seated to his left as delegates deposited voting slips into electronic ballot boxes
The election of state leaders by the par- liament comes three months after tough COVID-19 policies were dismantled Except for dozens of top leaders, all other delegates and staff wore masks
Xi will make a speech on Monday before the annual parliamentary session closes, as China faces multiple challenges
Earlier this week, Xi blamed the United States and the West for the difficulties faced by China s economy, remarks unusual from him for being directly at Washington
While the presidential role is largely ceremonial, Xi had already been reelected by the party to chair its central military commission and has started his third five-year term as the Chinese armed forces commander-in-chief The parliament also elected Zhao Leji 66 as the new parliament chair and Han Zheng, 68, as the new vice president Both are close aides of Xi and were
First Veterinar y and Animal Sciences Universit y of KP opened in Swat
SWaT s y e d s h a h a b u d d i n
The first “University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Swat” in the history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was formally inaugurated here on Friday by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives
Secretary Mukhtiar Ahmad Khan Regular classes will be launched in the university from Monday In this regard, a function was organized in Kanju Township
On the occasion, Vice Chancellor of University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Swat Prof Dr Umar
Siddique gave a detailed briefing regarding the university and said that in this university established by the former provincial government, adding that classes of DVM and DVS will be officially started from Monday with 30 and 40 students in each discipline
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Department, Mukhtiar Ahmad Khan said that today is a great day as the first Veterinary and Animal Sciences University of the province was on the land of Swat in the 75-year history of Pakistan Now youth of the area and province will study Livestock and Animal Sciences in their own province instead of Punjab and other big cities, he added He regretted that the KP province is self-sufficient in all respects, but unfortunately the avaibale resources were never utilized judiciously But today is a happy day as the first-ever Veterinary and Animal Sciences university has been established which has no parallel in the past 75-year history of Pakistan” he rejoiced “With the establishment of this university, the production of livestock will also increase here, but at the same time it will also develop the economy here” he said
The provincial secretary further said that his first priority was to run academia, government and industry together and in this regard all resources were being utilized adding that at the same time the provincial government would provide all kinds of facilities to farmers in KP He said that due to the economic situation, the pace of work on building of the university under construction at Ningolai area has affected but very soon this project will also be completed Initially we have established the university in Kanju Township and launched regular classes to save time of the youth” he claimed On the occasion DG Ejaz Ali Shah Khosro and District Director Livestock Dr Sarbalund Khan also spoke and highlighted importance of this university members of the previous team of party leaders at the Politburo Standing Committee
F e l i c i tat i o n s p o u r i n: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was among top leaders who extended felicitations to Xi Jinping on being re-elected as President of China In his message on Friday, the Prime Minister said the government and people of Pakistan congratulate President Xi Jinping on being elected as the President of China for the next five years He said the confidence of the Chinese people and parliament in President Xi Jinping is a recognition of his extraordinary leadership skills Shehbaz Sharif said President Xi Jinping has become a symbol of China s development and people’s prosperity
The PM said under the visionary leadership of President Xi Jinping, China is making remarkable achievements in every field, including education, health, agriculture, innovation, and technology
Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent a message to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, warmly congratulating him on his election as Chinese president
Putin said he would like to extend his warm congratulations to Xi on the occasion of his election as president of the People s Republic of China
The decision adopted by the National People’s Congress of China shows that Xi as the head of state enjoys high prestige and that the strategies he has formulated on promoting China s economic and social development and safeguarding China’s interests on the international stage have won the support of the Chinese people, Putin said Putin speaks highly of Xi’s contribution to strengthening the RussiaChina comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, expressing his firm belief that with joint efforts of both sides the Russia-China cooperation in various fields will continue to yield fruitful results
Kim Jong Un general secretary of the Workers Party of Korea and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) sent a message to Xi Jinping, congratulating him on his election as Chinese president on Friday Thongloun Sisoulith general secretary of the Lao People s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and Lao president, on Friday sent a message to Xi Jinping congratulating him on his election as Chinese president
Australia rejec ts India’s request seeking GI tag for basmati rice
U N L I K E T H E C A S E I N E U, PA K I S TA N D I D N OT CO N T E S T I N D I A' S A P P L I C AT I O N I N AU S T R A L I A iSLaMaBaD
The Australian government has rejected India s application for exclusive rights of Basmati rice on the grounds that it is not grown only in India
The development comes while the European Union (EU) remains undecided on a conflict between India and Pakistan over basmati’s Geographical Indication (GI) tag
According to officials the development in Australia will support Pakistan’s case in the EU wherein Islamabad has opposed the Indian application on the grounds that the rice variety is grown in both South Asian countries
A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and ensures good qualities or a reputation in the region A protected geographical indication does not entitle the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques that are used in the stan- dards for that indication
Sources informed Profit that unlike the case in EU, Pakistan did not contest the India’s application in Australia In fact Canberra itself rejected New Delhi s a p p l i c a t i o n k n o w i n g t h a t t h e rice is grown in both the neighb o r i n g c o u n t r i e s H o w e v e r India has reportedly moved the federal court of Australia in appeal against the decision
The trade dispute started back in 2019 when India filed the application for basmati’s name and logo Sources informed Profit that India has applied for the exclusive trade rights of basmati in over 20 countries where the best quality of rice is marketed
After the case in EU, Pakistan has also applied for exclusive GI Tag for Basmati in a number of countries like USA, Thailand, UK and others, they claimed adding that the applications may face opposition from India in the same way Pakistan did in EU
Pakistan registered Basmati as GI product after approval of
Petition urges British gov t to help end plight of Kashmiri women
LONDON s ta f f r e p o r t
As the international community observed Women s Day on Wednesday the British government was urged to intervene in order to end the plight of women in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir
(IIoJK) Fahim Kayani, president Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK led a delegation to 10 Downing Street in London to submit a petition calling on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to hold India accountable on the continued occupation of Kashmir
British Parliamentarians Jess Phillips Paul Bristow
Afzal Khan Tahir Ali Muhammad Yaseen Lord Qurban Hussain and Sam Tarry besides Councilor Muhammad Aslam who is deputy Leader Luton Borough Council; Rayla Javed vice president of the association of Muslim Lawyers UK; Rehana Ali, information secretary Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK; Sabba Ch student leader and human rights activist were part of the delegation
Earlier, while addressing the British parliament, MP Tahir said it was vital to talk about women in IIoJK “who are being subjected to rape domestic abuse kidnapping forced marriage and torture by Prime Minister Modi s extremist BJP-led government Addressing Sunak Ali asked: “Does the Prime Minister agree with me that the BJP government has exploited women through gender-based violence and does he agree that the UK government should be standing in solidarity with Kashmiri women?”
Sunak replied that Britain has led the way in preventing sexual violence in conflict regions the GI Law of the country It had registered its GI for basmati rice in 2020 after India had falsely claimed its produce of basmati rice to be original in an attempt to hinder Pakistan s trade in the EU
The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) was given the task of registering all the merchant profiles and trade routes and with the Intellectual Property Organisation (IPO)
In September 2020 India had applied for an exclusive GI tag for Basmati rice in the EU The EU had applauded India s application in its official journal, showing basmati rice as an Indian origin product asking if there was any opposition to the application within 90 days
To support its claim of exclusivity India in return referred to various reports and dictionaries to show that the basmati rice is of Indian origin and conveniently left out the part that the same rice is widely produced in Pakistan
Subsequently Pakistan, the second-largest exporter of basmati filed opposition against India s claim The main grounds for opposition were that both Pakistan and India produce basmati and therefore it was a joint product of both the countries
Sindh won’t accept census results if concerns not addressed: Memon karachi s ta f f r e p o r t
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has said that the provincial government has conveyed its reservations about the ongoing digital census to the federal government “If our reservations are not addressed we will not accept the census results, he said while addressing a press conference at the Sindh Archives Complex on Friday
Memon said that the Sindh government would like all political parties and civil society to have full confidence in the digital census Every single person living in the province including those living here illegally should be enumerated so that correct population figures are available with the government
“The data of digital census should also be shared with the Sindh government ” he demanded
Memon said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has publicly expressed the party s reservations about the digital census Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has also raised the matter with the federal government and at various other forums
At 10 Downing Street, the delegation while reminding the British government of its responsibility regarding Kashmir called on Sunak to voice concern over the plight of Kashmiri women and be their support “While facing the brunt of the turmoil stress related disorders have been taking their toll on women More than 5,000 patients per year, majority of them women, visit doctors for psychiatric diseases and worst part is that most of the victims don’t have financial resources to undergo treatment the petition read The British prime minister was also informed about how India repeatedly refuses to allow international aid from reaching IIOJK
New Delhi has halted operations of international groups including Red Cross and other aid and watch groups “It is therefore urged upon your office to kindly take up this issue with Indian authorities to at least allow any British aid group to work in the Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIoJK)”, the delegation told the British prime minister ’s office through the petition Addressing Sunak, the delegation wrote: It is also requested to your good self to press Indian authorities to allow international legal aid for Kashmiri political prisoners so that they can get justice
Pointing out that India has deployed one million military personnel in IIOJK the petition stated that the everyday actions of Indian forces violate the dignity of the Kashmiri women “Kashmiri women are survivors of world’s biggest sexist military that is Indian military ” it added
FM Bilawal meets President UNGA Korosi
iSLaMaBaD s ta f f r e p o r t
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met the President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Korosi in New York ahead of high-level meeting to commemorate the International Day to Combat Islamophobia
Co-convened by the General Assembly president and the foreign minister the meeting will discuss ways and means to deal with growing Islamophobia
The ceremony regarding Islamophobia will be held at the General Assembly Hall on Wednesday
The ceremony is being organized by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as the President of the Ministerial Council of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation along with the President of the United Nations General Assembly
The two leaders also discussed the upcoming UN Water Conference 2023
Foreign Minister assured the UNGA President of Pakistan s full cooperation as water is an issue of supreme importance to his country
The water conference will take place at UN Headquarters in New York from 22nd of this month
