ISLAMABAD: Minister for Industries Mian Manzoor Ahmed Watto has said that government has decided not allow sit-in at the Constitution Avenue, Islamabad and vowed to protect the life and property of the people. Addressing a news conference in Lahore on Saturday, he said federal and provincial governments are responsible to provide security to the people.

He said government has evolved mechanism not to allow the marchers to come to Islamabad and stop them wherever they are. He said in this connection government will not allow the state machinery to arrest women, weak and older people and treat them with honour and respect. The Minister said Punjab Chief Secretary and Additional Inspector General of Police have been assigned to work out modalities with Mian Nawaz Sharif, Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Imran Khan about their strategy of long march so that adequate security could be provided to them.

He said government will leave no stone unturned to provide security to the political leaders. He said PPP believes in reconciliation with all political parties and does not want confrontation with political forces. He said we want political resolution of the problem and promote democratic traditions.

He said the PML-N, PPP government in the Punjab was dismissed as a result of Supreme Court decision and PPP leadership expressed their regret with Shahbaz Sharif with a view that it will destabilize democracy. Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Muhammad Gondal said there is complete unity among President, Prime Minister and the government and they are running the affairs smoothly.

He said the government’s long march policy is that this problem should be resolved in a democratic method and all the decisions taken should reflect democracy. Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Syed Aseff Ahmed Ali said the government has no objection on the peaceful long march by the lawyers but he said the lawyers are being made instrument to achieve political motives. He said the deposed judges can not be reinstated without legislation.-SANA

ISLAMABAD: “Pakistan can learn a lot from the Korean experience that has translated the country in less than half a century into the fourth largest economy in Asia and 13th largest in the world.Samsung, Hyundai, Kia, LG and Daewoo, all from Korea, have become a familiar name in the household as well the industry”.

This was stated by Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, Federal Minister for Industries and Production while addressing a convocation ceremony at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Secretariat held to award degrees to Pakistani scholars who have completed MS Engineering degree in South Korea under HEC’s Engineering Scholarship Project from Hanyang University, the Mynogji University and the Seoul National University.

Begum Shehnaz Wazir Ali, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Sector and Chairperson, HEC and Mr. Shin UN, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Pakistan, Representatives of the Korean Universities, and dignitaries from academia, industrial sector and technical ministries were also present on the occasion.

The Minister said that Engineers are builders of the nation and it is encouraging that HEC is playing an important role to produce quality professionals in the country. This lot of well-educated engineers from the leading Universities of the Republic of Korea is just one ‘product’ of the Higher Education Commission.

“I am glad that HEC has taken the lead in establishing sustainable cooperation in the promotion of higher education. I could see an equal enthusiasm in the honored guests from the Hanyang University, the Mynogji University and the Seoul National University. The Government of Pakistan continues to give high priority to education including the higher education”

Congratulating the graduates, he hoped that they would be instrumental in attracting the leading Korean industries in Pakistan not only in the manufacturing and applied engineering sector but also in establishing their R&D centers in Pakistan.

He said that his Ministry would establish a joint forum with the HEC, where the technical expertise and skills of these foreign trained engineers can be shared for technical problems and up gradation issues faced by the industrial sector of Pakistan.

It is indeed, more satisfying for me that HEC has also ensured that every returning scholar from abroad or locally trained PhD scholars would have an appropriate placement in Pakistan through the dynamic job-portal of the Rozee.pk. I wish to congratulate Begum Shehnaz Wazir Ali saheba and her HEC team for this commendable feat.

Speaking on the occasion, Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali said that it is first convocation of its kind and a unique opportunity for the HEC. While congratulating the graduates, she said that without a strong base of engineers, our industry and production sector can not progress.

While referring to Korean progress, she said that it was only because of a special focus on industry as well as the higher education. She said that Physical Sciences, Engineering and Technology are priority areas where HEC has been trying to develop the human resource.

Mr. Shin Un congratulated the returned scholars for successful completion of their MS degrees.” I am really happy that senior Korean professors are themselves here to confer degrees to their Pakistani students. I hope that these scholars will effectively contribute to the socio-economic development of our brother country, Pakistan”, he said.

Dr. Sohail Naqvi, Executive Director, HEC said that modern economies of the world are knowledge based and if we want to compete in the comity of nations, we must focus on strengthening our human resources. He said that the HEC is also facilitating the higher educations institutions to become engines of socio-economic change.

“Since its inception, the Commission has awarded 1,237 foreign and 384 indigenous engineering scholarships. We hope that these returning scholars will strengthen Pakistan’s capacity regarding teaching and research, bringing it at par with the international standards” Till date, HEC has sent 159 engineers to the top six universities of South Korea where they are getting state-of-the-art education.

On the occasion, a Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between the HEC and Rozee.pk for development of exclusive job portal to facilitate appropriate job placement of HEC scholars. Through this portal, the scholars will be accessed by employers all across the country.-SANA

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Industries and Production Mian Manzoor Ahmed Watto Sunday said that Gwadar Port would be converted into Export Processing Zone. Chairing a high-level meeting on development of Gwadar Port, the minister said recommendations of the cabinet committee would shortly be sent to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Economic Coordination Committee for approval of the development projects for Gwadar and Balochistan.

Chief Minister of Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raeesani, Federal Secretary Industries Shahab Khawaja, Additional Chief Secretary Balochistan, Chairman Export Processing Zone and senior officers of Gwadar Port also attended the meeting. Mian Manzoor Ahmed Watto said that Gwadar Port would be the biggest port of the country where heavy ships will also be entertained.

He said this port will also be used for the import and export activities of Middle East, China and UAE while it will also be used for Tran’s shipment of goods for various countries. He further said that according to Gwadar Master Plan, the area of the port is 90,000 acres.

He said President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and federal government are preparing various development plans for the betterment of people of Balochistan. Watto said in future, the Gwadar Port would be one of the best ports of the world in future.-SANA

ISLAMABAD: Advisor to Prime Minister/Minister for Industries and Production, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo has said that the whole network of Utility Stores Corporation across the country would be computerized to enhance its performance. “The government would spend Rs.70.5 million on the computerization process to make the USC more efficient and enhance its efficiency as well as service delivery system,” Wattoo said while visiting various utility store outlets on GT Road.

He said that the government was determined to providing good quality daily use items on subsidized rates to facilitate poor and the low income people. Wattoo visited outlets in Manddra, Sohawa, Gujar Khan, Jehlum, Srai Alamgir and Gujrat to check the availability of the daily commodities as well as their prices, quality and quantity.

He was informed by the staff of the stores that the sale of these out-lets was doubled during the holy month due to Ramzan Package and quality items being provided at the stores. The sale of Manddra utility store was increased from Rs.3.7 million to Rs.70 million, in Gujar Khan it touched the figure of Rs.6.5 million, while in Jehlum the sale of the utility store reached up to Rs.7.6 million as compared to previous month’s sale of Rs.4 million.

On his inquiry, the customers expressed their satisfaction over the quality, availability and prices of the items, saying that the Ramzan Package announced by the government has been implemented in its letter and spirit. Wattoo assured the people that they will get these items on subsidized rates even after Eid adding that network of the stores would also be extended to facilitate maximum number of people.-SANA

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is strategically located at a regional hub with abundant land and natural resources, strong human resources, large and growing domestic market which offer tremendous investment opportunities to countries like Japan. This was said by Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, Advisor to the Prime Minister/Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives in a meeting with Ambassador of Japan Mr. Seiji Kojima who called on him on Wednesday. Read the full story

ISLAMABAD: Former Chief Minister Punjab and Member National Assembly Mian Manzoor Wattoo announced his joining of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the presence of PPP Co-Chairman Senator Asif Ali Zardari here on Thursday at a ceremony held at the at the Parliament Lodges. Manzoor Wattoo said that he had worked closely with the party as the Chief Minister of Punjab and believed that PPP was the only federal party in the country that had roots in the masses and was equally popular in all the four provinces. Read the full story