Tuesday, 26 October, 2021 I 19 Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1443 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XII No 117 I 48 Pages I Lahore Edition
Green InItIatIve SummIt: Pm urGeS world to GIve clImate chanGe ImPortance for SurvIval
P
News Desk
RIMe Minister Imran Khan on Monday urged the world to give climate change more importance. The premier highlighted the steps taken by Pakistan on this front and warned of consequences if immediate action fails to take place. “I hope that all of us collectively take this challenge much more seriously than what we have done so far,” the premier said while addressing the opening ceremony of Middle east Green Initiative Summit in Riyadh. The PM pointed out that just 10 per cent of the world’s countries were responsible for emissions causing environmental damage. “And unfortunately, we (Pakistan) are among the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change,” he said, sharing with other participants that over the past 10 years, the country had faced “152 extreme weather events … which had triggered an economic loss of over $3.8 billion”. He went on to state that Pakistan’s future climate adaption costs were estimated at between $6bn
and $14bn. “So, we decided that before the world takes any action, we, as a country, for our own survival, must [do] whatever is in our reach,” he said. The PM stated that Pakistan would shift 60pc of all its energy production to clean sources by 2030. Additionally, the government planned to shift
30pc of all transport was to electric vehicles by 2030 and the country had committed not to initiate any new coal projects. “We have already shelved 2,400 megawatts of coals projects [and] replaced them with 3,700 megawatts of hydroelectricity,” he said. He added that his government
had also focused on nature-based initiatives, primarily the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami project. “We have already planted 2.5bn [trees] ” of the 10bn target, he said. He added that “In the process, we have also provided green jobs — jobs that are related to improving our environment,” he said, adding that 85,000 jobs had been created in this area and the number was expected to rise to 200,000 by next year. The PM went on to reveal that the World Bank had ranked Pakistan as the top country for using development finance for climate-friendly initiatives and gave examples of green bonds, blue bonds, nature bonds and a mechanism devised by the government for the transition to clean energy. While calling the climate change “one of the biggest crises” the world faced today, the premier stated that the problem was visible 20 years ago, but unfortunately, the world failed to realize the consequences. The PM concluded by highlighting that glaciers were melting at a rapid pace due to climate change and as a result, Pakistan and several other countries were at risk of facing water scarcity which needs to be taken care of.
coronavIruS In
PakIStan
CONFIRMED CASES:
1,269,234 LAST UPDATED AT 6:52 AM ON OCTOBER 25, 2021
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
NEW CASES:
9
698
RECOVERED:
DEATHS:
1,216,908 28,386 SINDH:
PUNJAB:
467,814
439,171
KPK:
BALOCHISTAN:
177,519 AJK/GB:
33,196 ISLAMABAD:
34,441 / 10,383
106,710
MORE INSIDE
Bizenjo resigns from position of Balochistan Assembly speaker QUeTTA Staff RepoRt
Pakistan desires to maintain bilateral ties with Canada: COAS News Desk Canadian High Commissioner Wendy Gilmour Monday called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Islamabad. Speaking on the occasion, the COAS said Pakistan desires to maintain the tradition of bilateral engagement and wish for long term and multi-domain enduring relationship with Canada, said an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) media release. During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, bilateral cooperation in various fields, overall regional situation and peace and stability in Afghanistan were discussed. The COAS reiterated that there is a need for global convergence on Afghanistan to avoid humanitarian crisis together with coordinated efforts for economic uplift of the Afghan people. The visiting dignitar y appreciated Pakistan’s role in Afghan situation including successful evacuation operations and pledged to keep working for better relations between the two countries. Last week, NATO Senior Civil Representative Stefano Pontecorvo had called on Gen Qamar to discuss issues related to mutual concerns, particularly the situation in Afghanistan.
Balochistan Assembly Speaker Abdul Quddus Bizenjo stepped down from his office Monday and submitted his resignation to the secretariat. “I, Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, hereby, tender my resignation from the office of speaker, provincial assembly of Balochistan on Monday,” said a handwritten resignation letter addressed to the Balochistan governor. As per the letter, the speaker stepped down from his post in accordance with Article 53 and Article 127 of the Constitution. The development comes a day after the chief minister, Jam Kamal Khan, resigned hours ahead of a vote of no-confidence against him in the assembly. Khan had been facing criticism from the opposition as well as some members of his own Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) over the past few months. 16 members of opposition parties, who also claimed the support of some members of the ruling party, had submitted the no-confidence motion against Khan last month. Bizenjo, then speaker of the House, had fixed October 25 (Monday) for the vote. Khan was accused of governing poorly, including doing little to counter soaring unemployment. He was also criticised for approving a budget that his opponents said would further deepen poverty in the province. Khan rejected the charges as unfounded. Bizenjo belongs to the Awaran district of Balochistan and was elected on a Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) ticket during general elections in 2013, and on a BAP seat in the 2018 elections.
Speaking in the House Monday, BAP lawmaker Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran — who had tabled the motion — said Bizenjo will be the leader of the House in days to come. “I had already said I won’t rest until the removal of Khan as the chief minister,” he told the legislature. He also claimed he was offered Rs200 million in return for giving up on the demand of Khan’s resignation. “I was threatened with dire consequences after I rejected the offer.” Bizenjo remained chief minister of the resource-rich province between January and May 2018 after he succeeded in toppling the government of Nawab Sanaullah Zehri during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government through a no-trust vote. Meanwhile, speaking to media outside the assembly, Saleh Sardar Bhootani, another BAP lawmaker, said a few names were under consideration for nomination to the office. He stressed that consultation on the matter was important with allied parties and not just a single party. Bhootani said his party would strive to make the change visible for which all endeavours were being made. The ‘missing’ MPAs: Last week, opposition members had claimed that three female and one male MPAs had gone missing because they had signed the no-confidence motion against Jam Kamal. The four MPAs had gone missing on the day when the angry group with the support of the opposition parties tabled the no-confidence motion in the Balochistan Assembly on Oct 20. They later surfaced in Islamabad, claiming there had been no foul play. The MPAs, Akbar Askani, Bushra Rind, Laila Tareen and Mahjabeen Sheran, returned to Quetta in the official plane of the Balochistan government.
Rasheed vows to fulfil commitments made with TLP STORY ON BACK PAGE
Not a good time to talk about improving relations with India: Imran STORY ON PAGE 02
SC directs Karachi commissioner to demolish Nasla Tower within a week STORY ON PAGE 03
Pakistan, Bangladesh agree to strengthen ties STORY ON BACK PAGE IN TODAY S ISSUE
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