Tag: (PDP)

Karachi, June 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):Expressing serious concerns over hacking of tree in Karachi, Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor said Tuesday that reducing tree cover in the megacity would worsen affects of climate change for the Karachiites. Regretting recent cutting of thousands of trees along the route of Red Line rapid bus transit (RBT) in Karachi, he suggested in a statement that aggressive urban forestry in the megacity should be ensured to cope with rising temperatures due to climate change.

He said the megacity lacks proper tree cover and illegal occupation of parks and open space has gave the megacity a look of concrete jungle. He said illegal slums are spreading fast in Karachi as the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and other entities entasked to remove illegal settlements are turning the blind eye to this menace after getting huge bribes. Giving example, he said a land just in front of NED and Karachi University on main University Road earmarked for park is converted into illegal slum due to patronage of corrupt civic agencies.

Shakoor said similarly along up track of M-9 from Suhrab Goth to bus terminal has been encroached upon slum dwellers, vehicle mechanic and transporters. He said not only these two sites but hundreds of such other places in Karachi should be got vacated from squatters and converted into parks and green urban jungles.

He said the government of Sindh had announced to develop urban forests along the Layari and Malir rivers but solid work in this regard is not being witnessed. He said it is high time that the rain-fed rivers as well drainage Nullahs on the megacity should be lined with shaddy trees as they are ideal places for urban forestry due to presence of subsoil water.

Altaf Shakoor said that the apex court has already ordered to get vacated all parks, playgrounds and amenity plots from illegal occupation but the land mafia patronized by police, KMC and Sindh government is still enjoying impunity. He said land grabbing is the most lucrative business in the megacity and the corrupt government officials are patronizing it.

He said there was a plan to develop park on the Kati Pahari and surrounding hills of North Nazimabad but this hilly area is still barren. He said if the KMC and concerned DMC take serious effort this hilly area could be made a greener and pleasant looking shady area.

Shakoor said the megacity has already witnessed deadly heat waves but the government is not ready to learn any lesson from the past. He said after a little lived zeal about urban forestry in Karachi after such incidents there comes a prolonged lull, apatgy and inaction. He said both KMC and Sindh government has departments dedicated to tree plantation but their performance is not up to the mark.

He said though the megacity is densely populated but its long beach lines stretched from Mubarak Village to Bin Qasim port is an ideal place for developing dense mangrove forests and palm trees. He said M-9, National Highway, RCD highway and other major and minor roads and arteries of Karachi have ample space for planting hundreds of thousands trees. He said Pakistan Railways, cantonment board and DHA could also plants a large number of trees over their respective areas. He said ideally each and every street of the megacity could be tree-lined if the Karachiites show their sense of duty to serve their neighbourhoods. He said the concept of community tree planting sadly lacks in our megacity.

Altaf Shakoor urged Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who himself is fond of urban forestry concept, to entask the Sindh government’s forest department and City Administrator Murtaza Wahab to launch a special drive to dot all neighbourhoods of Karachi with lust green urban forests on the pattern of New York to proy the megacity with badly needed green cover so that it could better cope with harsh climate change and rising temperatures.

For more information, contact:

Press Secretary,

Pasban Democratic Party (PDP)

Pasban Central Secretariat

Office # 9, Five Star Center,

Block 11, University Road, Opp. Ibne Sina Hospital,

Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi

Tel: +92-21-34024480-81

Cell: +92-322-2212434

Email: pasban.ppick@gmail.com

Website: www.pasban.org

Karachi, June 06, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor said on Monday that redoubled efforts must be taken to keep Balochistan stay in mainstream politics. He said in a statement that a lukewarm interest of voters and political parties in recent local government polls in Balochistan is a troubling phenomenon that shows that this province is losing its interest in democracy process. He said the voters of Balochistan overall expressed a sort of no confidence over political parties as more independent candidates emerged as winners than the candidates fielded by political parties.

He said that Balochistan is a serious concern and it gets more and more isolated when people like Imran Khan gets in power with convince of establishment. He said only a genuine democracy can save it, when people of Balochistan and not the Sardars of BAAP are empowered. He said that looking at the results of local bodies’ polls is extremely alarming. While we celebrated victory of Jamaat-e-Islami supported candidates in Gwadar, the rest of Balochistan showed no interest in these elections where almost half the candidates were elected unopposed while there were even no candidates for hundreds of the seats.

He said where even elections were held the winners got elected with just about a hundred or so votes. This shows that people of Balochistan are losing faith in elections so what is left for the next generation of this province. He said that all political parties must gear up their activities in Balochistan. He said the federal and provincial governments should increase their budgetary allocations for this backward province.

He said new industrial zones should be established in Balochistan and the halted progress of Gwadar should be restarted. He said a network of roads, schools and hospitals should be laid in the length and breadth of Balochistan. He said in presence of militant elements if the people of Balochistan remained away from the democratic and political process the results would not be welcome.

For more information, contact:

Press Secretary,

Pasban Democratic Party (PDP)

Pasban Central Secretariat

Office # 9, Five Star Center,

Block 11, University Road, Opp. Ibne Sina Hospital,

Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi

Tel: +92-21-34024480-81

Cell: +92-322-2212434

Email: pasban.ppick@gmail.com

Website: www.pasban.org

Karachi, May 28, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor has said that job creation is the sure way to stabilize economy of the country and the government must give this crucial task a very serious focus. He said Pakistan is a fortunate country with a huge youth population but at the same time it is also unfortunate that a vast majority of our youth are jobless.

He said if the government manages to introduce policies aimed at creating employment including self employment opportunities for these young people our economy would surely stand on its own two feet. He said Pakistan has a huge potential to absorb its immense available manpower in both industry and agriculture, and all it needs is to correct the direction of our policymakers.

Shakoor said Pakistan being an agricultural country is today forced to import wheat, cotton, cooking oil, tea and other edibles. He said despite having a long coastal belt we have failed to grow palm oil trees on commercial basis and besides having proper climate in hilly areas we have failed to establish tea gardens.

He said if we only make the country self-sufficient in cooking oil and tea, billions of rupees of the national exchequer could be saved. He said we are wasting precious water in flood irrigation methods that could be saved if we adopt drip irrigation methods. He said the country is going to water deficiency but the government is still sitting idle. He said is time to introduce a water emergency to stop turning the country into a desert land in near future.

The PDP chairman said all available resources should be allocated to erect water reservoirs. He said this is also necessary to cope with stoppage of river water flows to Pakistan by India which he termed water terrorism. He said our industrial sector is left orphaned by successive governments. He said we are still importing products that could be easily made locally.

He said automobiles, agricultural equipment, construction machinery, cell phones, computers and solar energy gadgets could be easily made locally and their import should be banned or heavily taxes to encourage local production. He said we should be a nation of manufacturers instead of being the nation of vendors of foreign made goods. He said right and prudent policies at governmental level are required in this regard.

Shakoor said that the megacity Karachi is the mother of job creation for Pakistan, but the port city goes badly neglected at both provincial and federal government level. He said the civic infrastructure of the megacity is in the shambles and its citizens are deprived of modern urban facilities which are creating frustration.

He said public transport sector of Karachi is the worst in whole world. He said no any other megacity of the world still goes with such a poor public transport system. He said Karachiites still depend on motorcycle rickshaws and old junk-class minibuses. He said the federal government gave the megacity Green Line RBT but its critical second phase from Mazar-e-Quaid to Meriwether Tower is still in limbo.

He asked why this crucial phase of this lifeline rapid bus transit (RBT) is being delayed; what are the reasons of snail paced work on this project. He said Karachiites smell a rate and the government need to launch a probe in this matter. He said better commuting system is directly related to increased economic activities and thus better job creation.

He said the RBT systems announced by the government of Sindh are still to see the daylight. Altaf Shakoor said for creating job opportunities in also needs to give a very serious attention to technical education and vocational training. He said it is a lingering demand of his party that every district of Pakistan must have a technical university to educate and train our youth of vocations with a high demand in job market.

He said our academic and industrial sectors are not going in tandem; this is why our universities and colleges are teaching old and outdated syllabus that he no practical value in active job market. He said our Higher Education Commission and federal and provincial educational departments are divorced to reality and living in fool’s paradise. They must wake up from their deep slumber and introduce market-based degrees and courses with a sole focus to job creation.

He said the government should make two industrial corridors along Karachi-Hyderabad and Karachi-Keti Bunder highways on priority basis to pave a way for industrial revolution. He said our fish harbours are in a pathetic shape that provides jobs and earnings to our fishing community and fish industry labour. He asked why Korangi Fish Harbour is not functioning for decades. He said boosting our fisheries sector would also create hundreds of thousands new jobs.

He said similarly Pakistan Steel Mills and Machine Tool Factory were also closed down under a well-planned conspiracy to rob Karachi youths from jobs. He said these huge industrial complexes should be revived on emergency basis. Altaf Shakoor said the country is once again going to IMF for getting the noose of debt trap further tightened around its neck.

He said foreign loans are a deadly trap that makes independent nations Sri Lankas. He said our economic salvation is not in foreign loans but in job creation. He said now when three major political parties of the country and ‘institutions’ are on one page there should be no reason why the nation is not put on the way to progress and prosperity that solely hinges on job creation and job supply strategies.

For more information, contact:
Press Secretary,
Pasban Democratic Party (PDP)
Pasban Central Secretariat
Office # 9, Five Star Center,
Block 11, University Road, Opp. Ibne Sina Hospital,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-34024480-81
Cell: +92-322-2212434
Email: pasban.ppick@gmail.com
Website: www.pasban.org

Karachi, May 21, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday warmly welcomed the announcement of the Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, to remove 17 percent general sales tax (GST) on solar panels and strongly demanded to manufacture solar panels locally under imports substitution program on war footing basis.

PDP Chairman Altaf Shakoor said in a statement that his party has already demanded that policies should be made to ensure that Pakistan goes solar, as salvage of our economy, as well as, securing future of our coming generations is linked to renewable energy.

He appreciated that the prime minister has stressed the need for a compulsory solar geyser policy for every household. He said that the Prime Minister is right when he says that currently, Pakistan’s oil import bill stood at $20bn, which could only be reduced by promoting green energy.

The country has huge potential of alternative energy resources in Sindh and Balochistan areas as well as Bahawalpur. Altaf Shakoor said that banning import of luxury goods would save our economy and help bridging yawing current account, as well as, trade deficit. He said after costly foreign loans, huge oil import bill is another major factor devouring our foreign exchange reserves. He said it would take decades to come out of the foreign debt trap, but going solar could provide some relief in shape of lesser oil imports.

He said it would also reduce skyrocketing bills of domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural electricity consumers. He said solar run tube-wells and solar-run desalination plants could bring a green revolution in Pakistan. He said going solar would also help cutting emission of green house gases and mitigate harmful environmental changes.

He congratulated the Karachi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and industrialists of the mega city for convincing the premier to abolish GST on solar panels and added that the next big task it how to manufacture the solar panels and accessories locally. He said presently Pakistan imports solar panels from China and huge foreign exchange is spent on it.

He said our industrial base is strong enough to manufacture the solar panels in our own country. He also sought a role of Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) in this regard. He said the PEC is a prestigious forum of Pakistani engineers but it is playing the role of a silent spectator when it is matter of engineering innovations and introduction of modern engineering manufacturing locally. He said India is making their own cars but Pakistan is still just a vehicle assembling country.

He said we should now make our own products instead of assembling and packaging foreign goods. He said why not we are focusing on technology transfer and technology development. He said our engineering universities are teaching outdated syllabus and they don’t promote technology research and development and start-up culture among students. He demanded overhauling the higher education system in Pakistan and bring modern changes to meet prevailing and future market requirements instead of teaching students about decades old outdated theoties, technologies and concepts.

Altaf Shakoor said that reducing imports is not just agenda of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, but it is national agenda. This should be the agenda of all political parties of Pakistan. He said we have one hundred and one topics for politicking but for God’s sake economy should be spared from political mudslinging. He said solidarity of Pakistan is above all political considerations. He said this is an economic emergency and all political actors should a mature, responsible and patriotic attitude in this regard.

For more information, contact:
Press Secretary,
Pasban Democratic Party (PDP)
Pasban Central Secretariat
Office # 9, Five Star Center,
Block 11, University Road, Opp. Ibne Sina Hospital,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-34024480-81
Cell: +92-322-2212434
Email: pasban.ppick@gmail.com
Website: www.pasban.org

Karachi, May 09, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor on Monday demanded of the government to accelerate pace of work on the second phase of Green Line from Mazar-e-Quaid to Meriwether Tower so as to facilitate Karachi commuters.

He said in a statement that public transport system in Karachi has been neglected for decades and the city commuters face a lot of difficulties in traveling. He said the city needs thousands of wide-bodied buses and a vibrant Karachi Circular Railway KCR, but so far, the commuters of the mega city are content to travel in overcrowded smoke-emitting minibuses and motorcycle rickshaws. He said by any standard Karachi is the most backward megacity in the world in terms of public transport facilities.

In 2016 former Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif laid the foundation stone of the green line metro bus system. Now its is called Green Line BRT System. However, this important commuting system faced inordinate delays and still its second phase from Numaish to Tower is pending.

The snail paces progress on the second phase of Green Line BRT is frustrating the Karachiites and it seems that it would take longer times to get this important scheme completed if the federal and provincial governments failed to give it topmost priority.

Shakoor said the Orange Line BRT of Sindh government has also been facing prolonged delays; however, new provincial transport minister Sharjeel Memon has announced to complete it soon. He hoped that the government of Sindh would fulfill this promise to win the hearts and minds of Karachiites. He said similarly, Red Lines BRT also needs greater focus of the government so that the megacity’s public transport problems could be mitigated to some extent.

He demanded of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to give special attention to the Green Line that is the flagship project of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Shakoor said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is well-known for his ability to successfully launch and finish development projects and it is high time that he use his leadership potential to solve the public transport problem of Karachi by expediting the Green Line BRT.

He said similarly Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah is also committed to make Karachi a modern megacity in true letter and spirit. He hoped that the federal and provincial governments would join hands to ensure early completion of the second phase of the Green Line BRT on priority.

For more information, contact:
Press Secretary,
Pasban Democratic Party (PDP)
Pasban Central Secretariat
Office # 9, Five Star Center,
Block 11, University Road, Opp. Ibne Sina Hospital,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-34024480-81
Cell: +92-322-2212434
Email: pasban.ppick@gmail.com
Website: www.pasban.org

Karachi, May 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party PDP Chairman Altaf Shakoor Saturday demanded of the government to introduce start-up culture in universities so that fresh graduates could be encouraged to start their own businesses instead of waiting for government job.

In a statement, he said: “Joblessness is rising with every passing day. Every year hundreds of thousands of students graduate but majority of them could not find jobs.” He said if we introduce start-up culture in our varsities and higher education centers we can successfully induct our fresh graduates in market. He said with opening their own start-ups these youth could earn a decent living and instead of becoming a burden on their families could happily support them besides playing their due in the nation building process.

He said a startup culture is a workplace environment that values creative problem solving, open communication and a flat hierarchy. In a corporate culture, core values are typically informed by the identity of the company, including its mission statement, products and customer service. In startup cultures, these core values tend to reflect the personalities and ethos of the people who worked for the business in the early days. Because new businesses must adapt quickly to internal and external market pressures in order to survive, a startup culture also promotes business agility and adaptability as being key virtues.

Altaf Shakoor said that start-ups are important drivers of job creation in any economy. He said there are many examples of the countries that attained huge progress and prosperity after training their young generation to open their own start-ups. He said that there could be no two options that job creation should be at the top of the development agenda, for policy makers as well as for social partners and civil society. This is because labour is more than a factor of production; it is an essential element of any development process, of well-being and social cohesion.

He said labour is the main asset of people; the type of work people hold is one of the most powerful determinants of well-being, as, over their lifetime, most people spend a substantial part of their time at work. Moreover, it is an essential factor of production for firms of all types and sizes. Even in high-tech manufacturing firms, workers bring new skills and competencies to enhance the organization of production or to improve the quality and variety of products.

Altaf Shakoor said that start-ups education and training is an integral part of colleges and universities in the developed countries. He said in these countries in many colleges, education is more likely to lead graduates to launch successful startups. Students who attend these schools could be immersed in a pre-startup culture that rewards non-traditional thinking. They could be developing a startup mindset or connecting to an entrepreneurial network of people.

He said that the governments at federal and provincial level should give liberal grants and incentives for introducing start-up culture in colleges and universities. He said the Higher Education Commission (HEC) should make rules to make mandatory for every student to start his own micro start-up before applying for a degree after graduating. He said now is the time to teach our younger generation to focus on their own businesses instead of running after scarce government jobs.

For more information, contact:
Press Secretary,
Pasban Democratic Party (PDP)
Pasban Central Secretariat
Office # 9, Five Star Center,
Block 11, University Road, Opp. Ibne Sina Hospital,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-34024480-81
Cell: +92-322-2212434
Email: pasban.ppick@gmail.com
Website: www.pasban.org