Shehri TV – Pakistan News, Current Affairs, Entertainment

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) Akbar Ali Khan, son of the distinguished Engr Zakir Ali Khan, has been elected as the President of the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association (AMUOBA), thereby assuming the position of Chancellor at Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET). He succeeds Jawaid Anwar as the university’s fourth Chancellor. SSUET was established in 1993 under the leadership of its founding Chancellor, Engr Z A Nizami. Following his passing in 2013, the role was subsequently held by Engr Adil Usman and Jawaid Anwar. Akbar Ali Khan now takes over this prestigious position, continuing his family’s legacy of service to the institution. The AMUOBA elections, held after a decade, witnessed the Zakir Ali Khan Panel securing victory over the Alig United Panel with a margin of 158 to 130 votes. Following his election, Akbar Ali Khan chaired the first Executive Committee meeting of AMUOBA, during which key office bearers we...

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) Shoaib Adil, General Manager of Railways’ Welfare and Special Initiatives and President Pakistan Railways Sports Board, has described sports as world’s most powerful moral and social power whose utility and importance has always been in every era since the ancient eras.  He made these observations on the eve of Railways annual sports gala which start from June 4 at the Railways Sports Complex located in Lahore’s Garhi Shahu. He pointed out that while food, work and comfort were the necessities of life, sports were like a pillar which guaranteed the strength and stability of life. “In every part of the world, people of all ages, gender and all status of life have been participating in sports whether collectively or individually,” he stressed.  Shoaib Adil observed that in today’s era, while mobile phone or the smartphone was the source of wide relations and acquisition of knowledge, it had affected the human health ...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) The President of the National Library Association (NLA), Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, was lavishly praised by the dignitaries in their speeches during the World Book & Copyright Day event held at the Junagadh Lawn on May 21.  Prof Farhat Hussain Khan, Chairperson, Library & Information Science department, University of Karachi, Syed Khalid Mahmood, Advisor, NLA, Ijaz Hamdani, President, Sindh College Librarians Association, and Aftab Farooqui, Founder, Citizen Library Liaison Association, were among the speakers in the ceremony.  All the worthy speakers applauded the efforts of President Muzaffar Ali Shah for making the NLA one of the most efficient entities which was organizing events after events for the benefit of the librarians’ community.  The NLA Advisor, in particular, highlighted the strenuous endeavours of the President who was braving all odds to accomplish his cherished goals.  “Let’s...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi   (Pakistan News & Features Services) The National Library Association (NLA) has continued making strides during the past year and their key officials could be seen on the move trying to make things happen for their community of librarians.  The NLA President, Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, and its Secretary, Anwar Hussain, had a detailed session on May 12 with the Association’s Information Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, who is working as the Chief Librarian at the Sindh High Court in Karachi.  The NLA officials discussed the plans to organize more activities in the coming months and their subsequent coverage in the conventional and social media. They assessed the possibilities of broadcasting their events live on Facebook in future to enhance their outreach.  Meanwhile the Association’s Overseas Coordinator, Younis Hashmi, has reached Canada where, upon arrival at the Pearson International Airport, Toronto, he was warmly received by the engi...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi   (Pakistan News & Features Services) A seminar ‘Role of Libraries in Women Empowerment’ is being organized by Literary Committee of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) with the collaboration of National Library Association (NLA) and Rotary Club of Karachi Darakhshan (RCKD) at the KPC Auditorium on March 26.  Syeda Shehla Raza, Deputy Speaker, Sindh Assembly, will be the keynote speaker while the seminar will also be addressed by Munazza Abidi, Senior Vice President, NLA, Farheen Mahmood, Vice President, NLA, Asma Hassan, motivational speaker and author, Dr Aftab Imam, District Governor, Rotary International, and Jahangir Moghul, Charter President, RCKD.  The session, to be held from 3 to 5 pm, will be moderated by A H Khanzada, former Secretary, currently heading the KPC’s Literary Committee, and he will be assisted by Syed Khalid Mahmood, Advisor, NLA, and President, RCKD.  The seminar is being held as a part of the International Women’s ...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) The office-bearers of the National Library Association (NLA) held a meeting in Karachi on the Pakistan Day (March 23) to discuss matters relating to their ongoing and future projects.  The meeting was presided over by the NLA Advisor, Syed Khalid Mahmood, and attended by Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah (President), Munazza Abidi (Senior Vice President), Farheen Mahmood (Vice President), Anwar Hussain (Secretary General), Hira Yaseen (Joint Secretary) and Muhammad Ibrahim (Information Secretary).  “The basic purpose of the meeting was to review the reports of our previous programmes besides deliberating on the events to be organized in near future. Such brainstorming sessions are a part and parcel of our strategic plan as we move forward to accomplishing our cherished goals,” the NLA President remarked.

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) The National Library Association (NLA) and the University of Karachi’s Library & Information Science department will be organizing a seminar titled ‘Books are Forever’ next month, it was decided in their joint meeting held at the campus on January 17.  The NLA was represented in the meeting by its Advisor, Syed Khalid Mahmood, President, Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, Secretary General, Anwar Hussain, Treasurer, Nasir Nayab, Joint Secretary, Hira Yaseen, and Munazza Abidi, Member, Executive Committee, while the university’s Library & Information Science department contingent comprised of its chairperson, Prof Dr Farhat Hussain Khan and the faculty members Dr Rafat Parveen Siddiqui (Assistant Professor), Dr Naveed-e-Sahar (Assistant Professor), Dr Waseem Zia (Assistant Professor) and Rashid Ali (Lecturer).  It was mutually agreed that the seminar will either be held on February 17 or February 22, depending o...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) The National Library Association (NLA) celebrated the grand success of its participation in the 16th Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) which was staged by the Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association (PPBA) at the Karachi Expo Centre from December 30 to January 3.  The Executive Committee of the NLA met in Karachi on January 8 in which, besides discussing the successful participation in the recently held KIBF, deliberated on projects planned to be organized during the current year.  The NLA Advisor, Syed Khalid Mahmood, was flanked by their President, Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, Secretary General, Anwar Hussain, Information Secretary, Younis Hashmi, and Executive Committee member, Syed Sultan Ali, as they jointly cut a cake on the occasion as mark of celebration for the KIBF glory. “It’s indeed a historic moment and we want to make it count. The NLA has received tremendous boost by having its stall a...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) Although the National Library Association (NLA) has been participating in the Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) since its year of inception in 2017, it was for the first time that they set up their own stall in the marquee event, organized by the Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association (PPBA).  It may be recalled that Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah and Anwar Hussain, working as librarians at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) respectively, had co-founded the NLA in 2017. They drew inspiration and strength from Prof Anwar Ahmad Zai, a high-profile government officer in education sector, who volunteered to be the Association’s Advisor.  While the response from their fellow working librarians at various institutions was lukewarm, the duo of Muzaffar and Anwar worked tirelessly and selflessly under the guidance of the Professor who facilitated their entry...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) The National Library Association (NLA) and the Sindh College Libraries Association (SCLA) joined hands in recognizing the recently promoted senior librarians in a ceremony organized during the 16th Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) which concluded at the Karachi Expo Centre on January 3.  Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, a former chairperson of the Library & Information Science department of the University of Karachi, presided over the ceremony in which senior librarians, having been promoted to Grade 19, were presented shields.  Speaking on the occasion, he congratulated the batch of senior librarians on having earned promotion from the provincial government after continued hard work over the years. He advised them to work proactively for the cause of the profession.  Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, President, NLA, commended the newly promoted librarians and welcomed them to the KIBF where the long qu...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi   (Pakistan News & Features Services) Corruption and mismanagement at the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KW&SB) seem to have become so rampant and the menace was only to grow further to the extent of being irreversible if most drastic action was not initiated to overcome it.  The situation in this public utility organization is reported to have reached its present stage due to malpractices carried out at the behest of the various political parties who desired to have their maximum possible control at this organization as they considered it a goose delivering golden eggs.  A number of official documents containing disgusting material verified the growing concerns about the ruining of this particular organization which enjoyed good reputation in the past in the absence of political interventions.  One of documents showed the name of one Aijaz Kazmi, a Superintending Engineer (BS-19), in his last quarter of service, getting himse...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi   (Pakistan News & Features Services) The participants at a policy dialogue organized by the Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development advocated for a teaching license can help certify that a teacher has the skills and knowledge needed for effective classroom practice. The dialogue aimed to raise awareness, gather evidence and make technical recommendations on the possibility of introducing a teaching license in Pakistan. Such a certification can serve to enhance teaching quality and, subsequently, students’ learning.  A teaching license can also raise the professional status of teachers and open new employment opportunities for them locally as well as abroad.  One of the keynote speakers, Dr Linda Darling-Hammond, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, drew upon the history of the medical profession to highlight the long struggle that it underwent before it arrived at its current state. Likewise, she felt...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi  (Pakistan News & Features Services) A delegation of the National Library Association (NLA) visited the Junadagh Library & Resource Centre, located near National Stadium in Karachi, which is set to be formally inaugurated with fanfare early next month. It’s a project of the Junagadh State Muslim Federation (JSMF).  The NLA contingent comprising of its President, Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, Advisor, Syed Khalid Mahmood, Joint Secretary, Hira Yaseen, Information Secretary, Younis Hashmi and its members Abu Bakr Ghori and Syeda Najma Sultana held a meeting with the JSMF Secretary, Abdul Aziz Arab, on November 20 in which matters of mutual interest came up for discussion.  The NLA officials assured the support of the Association to the JSMF in their endevours of setting up the Junadagh Library & Resource Centre at their premises which was ready for inauguration on December 4 in an impressive ceremony in which the Sindh Education Minister ...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi   (Pakistan News & Features Services) Movies remain a massive value creator. Global box office revenues were reported to have totaled $42 billion in 2019, an all-time high, contributing almost one-third of the estimated $136 billion in the value of worldwide movie production and distribution. Hollywood supports more than two million jobs and 400,000 American businesses; British film and TV are worth around £60 million each day to the UK economy.  The coronavirus pandemic has upended the content pipeline, halting film production and closing cinemas. Film production has restarted in some countries and the industry has adopted remote-work protocols where possible. But the virus creates uncertainty, and the biggest short-term risk seems to be consumers’ dwindling confidence in physical venues.  Bibi Hajra Arbab, currently working at one of the largest media companies of the world, has completed her masters from San Francisco State University ...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi   (Pakistan News & Features Services) As part of preparations for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, a film series Voices from the Roof of the World (VRW) has been launched on TV and online.  A joint initiative by the Aga Khan Development Network agencies, Aga Khan University, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Aga Khan Foundation and University of Central Asia, the 10-episode first season has been produced by filmmakers from Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and India.  The series focuses on the climate crisis in the earth’s highest mountain region from the Pamirs to the Himalayan Mountains. Home to 240 million people and countless rare and endangered species, these mountains are also the largest depository of ice outside the polar ice caps, providing water to a quarter of the world's population. “With VRW support and tutelage, these filmmakers have captured poignant personal stories of people and cultures ...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi  (Pakistan News & Features Services) The National Library Association (NLA) paid glowing tributes to the Chairperson of the Library & Information Science department, University of Karachi, Prof Dr Farhat Hussain Khan, and his immediate predecessor, Prof Dr Munira Nasreen, who retired from service just a few months ago.  Speaking on behalf of the NLA, its Advisor, Syed Khalid Mahmood, in his speech, highlighted the role of library teachers, particularly professors, in producing an able lot of professional librarians, serving various organizations in both public as well as private sectors.  The NLA Advisor congratulated Prof Dr Munira Nasreen on completing her tenure successfully at the University of Karachi, while he expected Prof Dr Farhat Hussain to earn more laurels for the department with his proactive approach.  Prof Dr Farhat Hussain, who presided over the ceremony, graciously acknowledged the role of library activists who w...

  By Naeem-ul-Haq in USA (Pakistan News & Features Services) Although the battle in the middle didn’t reflect this kind of total supremacy for the home side but lady luck continued smiling on Pakistan all along and they managed to whip South Africa 2-0 in the two-Test series and followed it up with 2-1 victory in the three-match series of Twenty20 Internationals.  Both the Test matches were keenly contested and while South Africa’s big guns, notably skipper Quinton de Cock and his predecessor Faf du Plessis, failed consistently with the bat, Pakistan rallied through their tail-enders to undo the good work of the South African bowlers who continued to be troubling and testing the local batsmen.  Already the big news has broken from South Africa with du Plessis having announced his retirement from Test cricket. He didn’t mention it but it’s obvious that his miserable failure in the Pakistan series was the reason of his sudden decision to hang his boots. He had not looke...

  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) Pakistan has too few diabetes specialists to treat the nearly 19.4 million people suffering from the disease according to the experts who spoke at a seminar at the Aga Khan University (AKU) held to announce the launch of a six-month certificate course in diabetes that seeks to expand access to the knowledge and skills needed to treat and manage the disease. The course, set to begin from January 2021, will offer the most updated and evidence-based knowledge to manage patients. The country has only one specialist, also known as an endocrinologist, for every 200,000 diabetes patients, according to Pakistan Endocrine Society. Similar shortfalls in training and awareness of diabetes are present at all levels of our healthcare system, speakers added.  The current deficits in managing the illness, which has no symptoms, mean that many patients often seek care when they are suffering from advanced complications from the ...

  By Masood Sattar Khan (Pakistan News & Features Services) Pakistani movie ‘Parwaaz Hai Junoon’ has been premiered successfully in China, having earned praise from the Chinese movie lovers. It’s for first time in the 45 years when a Pakistani film has been screened on Chinese cinema houses.  The film had attracted a lot of attention in China even before its premiere as leading institutions like Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University and Southwest University participated in its promotion.  According to reports, as many as 57 universities launched online campaigns to advertise the film. In addition, a large number of celebrities spontaneously promoted the film as the Chinese netizens expressed their delight at having watched the movie.  A delegation of Chinese journalists visited the Capital Cinema, SDDYY, the largest cinema in China with a history of 70 years.  The head of marketing for S...

  By Masood Sattar Khan (Pakistan News & Features Services) Prime Minister Imran Khan has declared that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a transformational project and reiterated Pakistan’s strong commitment for timely completion of the CPEC projects.  The Prime Minister expressed these views when he met the newly appointed Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong, at Islamabad on November 11. “The Prime Minister congratulated the Ambassador on his appointment and extended best wishes for a fruitful term,” the statement issued by PM Office noted.  The premier also accentuated the significance of special economic zones (SEZs), relocation of industry, and improved productivity in agriculture sector.  The Chinese envoy on the occasion expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Imran Khan and reassured China’s support in completion of CPEC projects and enhancement in industrialization and agricultural sector in Pakistan.