Eight PAF officers promoted to rank of Air Vice Marshal

islamabad staff report

Eight officers of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Thursday were promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal (AVM).

The promoted Air Officers included Air Vice Marshal Imran Qadir, Air Vice Marshal Ghazanfar Latif, Air Vice Marshal Shahryar Khan, Air Vice Marshal Nauman Waheed, Air Vice Marshal Mehr Yar Saqib Niazi, Air Vice Marshal Abuzar Khan, Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Asif Aslam and Air Vice Marshal Ghulam Shabbir.

Air Vice Marshal Imran Qadir was commissioned in GD (P) Branch of Pakistan Air Force in June, 1992 and received the coveted Sword of Honour. During his career, he has served as Chief Test Pilot of JF-17 program, commanded an Operational Conversion Unit, Support Wing and served as Commandant Combat Support, PAF Airmen Academy Korangi Creek.

He has served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Training-Officers) and is currently holding the prestigious office of Advisor to Chief of the Air Staff for Operations, Audit and Evaluation Cell at Air Headquarters, Islamabad. He holds a Master’s degree in War Studies and is a recipient of Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military).

Air Vice Marshal Ghazanfar Latif was commissioned in GD(P) Branch of

Pakistan Air Force in May, 1993. During his illustrious career, he has commanded a Fighter Squadron, a Flying Wing and an Operational Air Base. He has served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) and Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Safety) at Air Headquarters, Islamabad. He is a graduate of National Defence University and holds a Master’s degree in War Studies. He is a recipient of Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-i-Basalat.

Air Vice Marshal Shahryar Khan was commissioned in GD(P) Branch of Pakistan Air Force in May, 1993. During his career, he has commanded a Fighter Squadron, a Flying Wing, Military Training Wing and an Operational Air Base. He has also performed his duties as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans) at Air Headquarters, Islamabad.

The Air Officer has also served as Personal Staff Offi- cer to Chief of the Air Staff and Senior Air Staff Officer at Regional Air Command. He holds a Master’s degree in National Security and War Studies. He is also a graduate of Advanced Staff and War College and Royal College of Defence Studies, UK. The Air Officer is a recipient of Sitarai-Imtiaz (Military). ing it, as it will only deepen the pain and result in a more difficult renegotiation in the future. Restructuring commercial debt is important for securing debt relief from official creditors and doesn't necessarily lead to the loss of financing from international financial institutions.

Air Vice Marshal Nauman Waheed was commissioned in GD(P) Branch of Pakistan Air Force in May, 1993. During his career, he has commanded a Support Wing, a Fighter Squadron and an Operational Air Base. He has served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans) and Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operational Research & Analysis) at Air Headquarters, Islamabad. He holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from National Defence University and has also served as Directing Staff at this prestigious institution. He is a recipient of Sitarai-Imtiaz (Military).

To read the full article visit www.dawn.com

Pakistan fastest growing app market with 35.4% increase in downloads

islamabad news desk

According to a report by Data Darbar, a private market intelligence platform, Pakistan was the fastest growing apps market in the world in 2022, with a 35.4% increase in app downloads compared to the previous year. This growth rate was almost three times that of China, which was the next country on the list. Despite being ninth in terms of absolute downloads, Pakistan ranked sixth globally in terms of hours spent on mobile apps, which were 161 billion hours in 2022.

The report stated that while Pakistan was second to Indonesia in terms of the number of active apps by local publishers, very few of these apps made it to the top charts in terms of traction and usage. WhatsApp Business was the most downloaded app, followed by Snapchat and WhatsApp Messenger, while Easypaisa was the most downloaded local app, followed by Jazz and Jazz Cash.

Overall, the report highlights Pakistan's growing potential as a thriving app market, despite being ranked ninth in absolute terms. The increase in app downloads and usage reflects the country's increasing adoption of technology, which will continue to drive growth in the sector in the coming years.

To read the full report visit insights.datadarbar.io

LADIESFUND Sustainability Luncheon at British Deputy High Commission

Karachi: Dawood Global Foundation held the 7th LaDiESFUND Sustainability Luncheon at British Deputy high commission Karachi where corporates and businesses were awarded for their commitment to UNSDG and women businesses trained in aligning with UNSDG, with trainers and speakers from UNiDO and UNDP including Peter hurst from the UK, Qasar Wasique ahmad from UNiDO Pakistan, and rida amjad Mirza and hameeda Kaleem from UNDP. Some businesses awarded include National Foods, hOM, EY, Glow & Lovely, Toni & Guy, and training was done of women professionals, SMEs, home chefs, and a handful of rural women. 10 LaDiESFUND Women of inspiration 2023 were also awarded and then mentored the guests. These women included Nargis rehman, Sharmila Farooqui, Shaniera akram, Dr. ishrat Lindblad, Naz Khan, hena Sadeq, Nighat Misbah, Dr. Mahnaz Shah, Niilofur Farrukh and Frieha altaf. LaDiESFUND President Tara Uzra Dawood welcomed guests, saying, "LaDiESFUND stands for women with economic power and voice and of course, impact and today we take that a step further strengthening that to sustainability and aligning women businesses and acknowledging corporates who are committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and in particular: UNSG Goal 5: Gender Equality." pr

Bank Alfalah kept growth trajectory in 2022

islamabad: The Board of Directors of Bank alfalah Limited (BaFL), in its meeting held on February 2, 2023, approved the Bank’s financial results for year ended December 31, 2022. The Bank posted profit after tax growth of 28.1% compared to last year, standing at rs. 18.206 billion. This translates into earnings per share (EPS) of rs. 10.27 (2021: rs. 8.00). The exceptional performance of our team in executing the strategy and diversified product suite, resulted in Bank alfalah achieving an impressive deposit growth of 30.5% in 2022 which brought the deposit base to rs. 1.487 trillion. The Bank’s gross advances reached rs. 765.693 billion, showing a growth of 9.5%. Despite challenging market fundamentals, the bank’s credit performance was strong across all segments and products. Our non-performing loans ratio stood at 4.0% due to some prudent classifications whereas nonperforming loans remain fully covered with coverage at 107.6%, including general provisions. Moreover, the Bank, in light of uncertain economic conditions, has taken a general provision against the high-risk and flood impacted credit portfolio, which is economically vulnerable. pr