Posts of some secretaries upgraded

LAHORE: Following the recent promotion of some administrative secretaries and commissioners posted in the province, the Punjab government has upgraded their slots to grade 21.

The offices of the secretaries of finance, school education, women development departments and the commissioners of Rawalpindi and DG Khan have also been upgraded. Finance Secretary Hamid Yaqub Sheikh, Women Development Department Secretary Iram Bokhari, School Education Secretary Zafar Iqbal Shaikh will continue on the current positions as their posts have been upgraded.

Moreover, DG Khan Commissioner Tahir Khursheed and Lahore Commissioner Dr Mujtaba Paracha and Rawalpindi Division Commissioner Jodat Ayaz have also been allowed to continue on the current posting. Meanwhile, Afshan Kiran Imtiaz has been posted as Provincial Consumer Protection Council director.

UVAS: A two-day International Fisheries & Aquaculture Conference on “Emerging Trends for Sustainable Exploitation of Aquatic Resources” organised by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore has recommended formulation of a ‘fisheries and aquaculture policy’ for the development of this emerging sector in the country.

The Department of Fisheries & Aquaculture of UVAS in collaboration with UVAS-Industry Liaison Working Group, Punjab Fisheries Department and Pakistan Fishery Development Board arranged the conference and expo, which concluded here on Thursday evening.

The conference also recommended strengthening extension services, promotion of cage fish culture shrimp culture, trout farming, introduction of high value potential fish species, development of cold chain and processing plants with model markets, use of barren and saline public and private lands for fish farming and introduction of various degree programmes in fisheries and aquaculture as well as environment protection and climate change in all the universities of the country.

Vice Chancellor University of Baltistan, Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan Prof Dr Naeem Khan presided over the concluding ceremony. He along with UVAS Vice-Chancellor Meritorious Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha distributed shields and certificates among the organisers.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Naeem Khan said: “We are at the verge of evolution of ‘’blue revolution’’ in the country. Universities are supposed to lead through quality research, technology and education,” He also sought UVAS help in the training of paraveterisarians of Baltistan region.

UVAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Pasha said that fisheries and aquaculture has enormous potential for growth and ‘we have to cap that potential through national and international collaborations, public-private partnership, value-addition and processing’.

He also appreciated the organisers for conducting such a successful conference having participation from over a dozen countries. He said that UVAS is always open to collaborations and strongly supports promotion of fisheries and aquaculture.

Japanese team: A delegation representing the Japanese gloves industry has shown keen interest in exploring and launching their business in the leather market of Punjab. The interest was shown by the delegation of Japan Gloves Industry Association (JGIA) led by the CEO of a company, Mr Seiji Tomokuni. The delegates visited Punjab Board of Investment and Trade here on Thursday. During a meeting with the government officials, the Japanese delegates said that it was their first visit to Pakistan and they were happy to witness the hospitality extended to them by all the organisations they visited.

Conference: The five-day “PU International Conference on Gravitation and Cosmology” concluded at Al-Raazi Hall of Punjab University here on Thursday. The conference, dedicated to Stephen Hawking’s (1942-2018) 50 years of his PhD, was organised by Punjab University Department of Mathematics, Group of Gravitation and Cosmology from January 27-31 in collaboration with the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy, Higher Education Commission, Pakistan and Universe-An Open Access MPDI Journal.