iran, us reach prisoner swap deal

DUbAI R e u t e R S

Iran and the United States have reached an agreement to exchange prisoners Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told state TV on Sunday adding that he hoped the exchange would take place soon Regarding the issue of prisoner swaps between Iran and the US we have reached an agreement in the recent days and if everything goes well on the US side, I think we will witness a prisoner exchange in a short period, Amirabdollahian said On our part everything is ready, while the US is currently working on the final technical coordination ” One of several Americans held in Iran is Siamak Namazi, a businessman with dual US-Iranian citizenship, who was sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in prison for spying and cooperating with the US government Emad Sharghi an Iranian-American businessman was first arrested in 2018 when he was working for a tech investment company is also jailed in Iran as is Iranian-American environmentalist Morad Tahbaz who also holds British citizenship Iranian sources told Reuters that two regional countries were involved in the series of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington for the release of prisoners For years Tehran has sought the release of more than a dozen Iranians in the United States, including seven Iranian-American dual nationals, two Iranians with permanent US residency and four Iranian citizens with no legal status in the United States through communication and dialogue through peaceful ways and diplomatic instruments

Prince Faisal also added that the Kingdom hopes to open a new chapter with Iran and to enhance the prospects of cooperation in a way that positively impacts the strengthening of security and stability, and the advancement of development and prosperity, not only for Saudi Arabia and Iran but in the region as a whole

The Saudi minister while talking about the Iranian nuclear programme stated that Iran s continued development of its nuclear capabilities is undoubtedly a concern for the kingdom and the Saudi government repeats its call for the Gulf region and the Middle East to be free of weapons of mass destruction He went on to mention that Saudi Arabia calls on Iran to commit to its nu- clear obligations and increase its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) We will continue to work with allies and friends in order to ensure this Faisal bin Farhan highlighted Underlining the Chinese mediation b e t w e e n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s , t h e S a u d i P r i n c e s a i d : C h i n a h a s p o s i t i v e r e l at i o n s w i t h b o t h p a r t i e s , w h i c h c o nt r i b u t e d t o a l i g n i n g v i e w s a n d highlighting the legitimate concerns of the Kingdom ” He also expressed his hopes for China as a promoter of peace and cooperation between both parties by saying the Kingdom hopes that China s mediation of the agreement will contribute to enhancing coexistence and shared security in the Middle East and improve neighbourly relationships between the countries

S hadab named c aptain as Pakistan announce squad for Afghanistan T20 series

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced a 15-member squad for a three-match T20 series against Afghanistan with all-rounder Shadab Khan picked to lead the side in the absence of full-time skipper Babar Azam who has been rested PCB Managing Committee head Najam Sethi and Chief Selector Haroon Rashid made the announcement saying that the squad was finalised keeping in view the team s future plans Squad included Shadab Khan (captain) Abdullah Shafique Azam Khan Faheem Ashraf Iftikhar Ahmed Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan P a k i s t a n c a p t a i n B a b a r A z a m , a l o n g with Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi have b e e n r e s t e d w h i l e A s i f A l i H a i d e r A l i

us panel slams Modi’s actions in gujarat

WASHINGTON ag e n c e S

After a recent screening of a BBC documentary, India: The Modi Question, panelists have urged the US media to hold Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi accountable for the 2002 massacre in Gujarat The documentary was screened at the National Press Club (NPC) Washington this week and the audience included representatives of various US media outlets

M o h a m m a d H a s n a i n a n d K h u s h d i l S h a h h a v e b e e n d r o p p e d T h e s e n i n e p l a y e r s w e r e p a r t o f t h e P a k i s t a n s q u a d t h a t r e a c h e d t h e f i n a l o f t h e I C C M e n ’s T 2 0

World Cup 2022 in Australia

The three-match series will be played between March 24 and 27 in Sharjah Afghanistan have played Pakistan in three T20 Internationals and four ODIs in multinational events without any win so far but this will be the first bilateral series between the two countries

The documentary covers the 2002 riots and mass killings of Muslims in India s Gujarat state and their aftermath The panel included people who have firsthand connections to the events and they called for news media in the US to expose the key role of Mr Modi Gujarat state government leader at the time in making it happen, an NPC statement said The panel also included an eyewitness to the massacre and family member, as well as the daughter of a police whistleblower and was moderated by the NPC’s Press Freedom Team Chair Rachel Oswald According to the NPC, the film shows BBC reports on the scene and interviews with the British foreign secretary at the time Jack Straw describing an internal Foreign Office report telling of at least 2 000 murders of Muslims that Mr Straw called hallmarks of ethnic cleansing Sanjiv Bhatt a senior Gujarat police official who took part in meetings after the riots broke out tells interviewers that police were ordered by Mr Modi to do nothing for three days until the violence subsided in testimony to an Indian Supreme Court investigation in 2011 The NPC report pointed out that Mr Bhatt was later prosecuted in 2018 for an old accusation and was serving a life sentence Imran Dawood, an eye witness to the riots was one of the panel members discussing the documentary He said the rioters carried out “targeted attacks on Muslims,” using “the same tactics as in Nazi Germany ” Aakashi Bhatt daughter of jailed whistleblower Bhatt told the participants that many of India’s institutions including the media and judiciary are subverted from top to bottom and used by the regime to do its dirty work

Chinese Premier Li Qiang outlines government ’s priorities

bEIJING S ta f f R e p o R t

Outlining the priorities of the government Chinese Premier Li

Qiang on Monday pledged to focus on adhering to a peoplecentered development approach promoting high-quality development and deepening reform and opening-up

The new Chinese premier met the press after the closing of the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress, the country’s national legislature, here at Beijing

Li vowed to implement the important decisions and plans made at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) which has laid out the country s development plans for the next five years and beyond

The government will make solid efforts on every piece of work concerning the people s livelihood, Li said, noting that the ultimate aim of the CPC and the government is to improve peo- ple s well-being

Most people do not keep their eyes on GDP growth all the time, Li said, explaining that what they care more about are the things that concern their everyday lives, such as housing, employment, income education medical services and environment “Therefore the government must always plan and carry out its work in light of what the people feel and act according to the people s aspirations

The premier said that the focus of the country s development work is shifting from providing for people s basic needs to improving people s quality of life

As the world’s second-largest economy, China has made great progress in economic and social development but its development is still imbalanced and inadequate he pointed out “Any aggregate volume when divided by the 1 4 billion population will become a small per capita figure he said In general we should fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, work to create a new pattern of development, and focus on promoting high-quality development,” he said

For the purpose, Li highlighted the need for enhancing scientific innovation capacity modernizing the industrial system and continuing the transition towards green development

Li added that deepening reform and opening-up is essential for advancing Chinese modernization and achieving the country s Second Centenary Goal

Noting that this year marks the 45th anniversary of reform and opening-up in China, the advent of which impacted not only China but the whole world, Li said China will open wider to the world and welcomes investors from across the globe Full conFidence in economy: Li voiced full confidence in the country s economy but stressed that redoubled efforts are required to meet China s 2023

GDP growth target of around 5 percent

Li said China s economic performance over the first two months of 2023 has shown that the economy is stabilizing and some international organizations have also revised up their growth projections The premier also told reporters that China’s demographic dividends have not disappeared and talent dividend is gradually taking shape China will continue to pursue an employment-first strategy and increase government support to boost job creation, Li pledged In particular, support will be heightened in terms of employment services and technical training, while multiple steps will be taken to stabilize and expand employment ”

A record high of 11 58 million college graduates are entering work force this year the premier said adding that from a development perspective it is a good thing because young people can inject energy and vitality into the society

President/CEO) Acting ZTBL Zahid Hussain acknowledges performance of Head Media Services Inamullah here at ZTBL Head Office pr

Polic y makers, Industrial Exper ts D isc uss Loc alisation for Growth at National Polic y D ialogue

Karachi: K-Electric Limited, in collaboration with Nutshell Group jointly hosted a National Policy Dialogue on Localisation for growth at a local hotel in Karachi The dialogue addressed the urgent need to explore options for indigenisation and sourcing materials from local avenues for Pakistan to build a resilient economy As the world s 4th most populous country, Pakistan s reliance on imported fuels for its energy needs tends to pose a hurdle for consistent economic growth against commodity shocks Founder & CEO, Nutshell Group, Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, welcomed the guests and reiterated the dire need for Pakistan to prioritize work on the Charter of Business to enable local businesses to enhance impact through local empowerment The Dialogue was well attended by the public, private stakeholders and government figures including Senator Dr Musadik Malik Minister of State, Ministry of Energy, Mr Khurram Dastagir Federal Minister for Power, Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori, representing the Government and elaborating on public initiatives Dr Malik s address focused on the need to understand the ground realities as well as the potential and why localization is not a demand but a need He felt that instead of relying only on one-time solutions we should strive for a strong indigenous footprint We can only become competitive on a global scale when we achieve a local edge When we talk about localization we must develop clusters where several economic activities are taking place in one geographic area