Day: June 4, 2022

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Punjab University ranking improved due to good governance: Vice Chancellor

Lahore, June 04, 2022 (PPI-OT):Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar has said that PU improved its international ranking manifold due to its model of good governance and for the first time in the last 40 years of Punjab University, all statutory bodies of the university have been made functional to ensure transparency. He was presiding over a meeting of Academic Council at Al Raazi Hall here on Friday. Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Saleem Mazhar, deans of various faculties and heads of departments participated in the event.

Addressing the meeting, Prof Niaz Ahmad said that the university has made unprecedented progress in academic, research and administrative fields. He said that that PU had improved its international ranking by 16 percent and in the upcoming QS ranking, there are high hopes of further improvement due to the policies of the administration. He said that in QS Asian ranking, PU has made a jump of 87 points and now it is declared 145th best university in Asia. He said that Nature Publishing had declared PU No 1 University in natural sciences in Pakistan.

He said that till 2018, no PU subject was internationally recognized and in 2022 QS subject-wise ranking, 15 subjects of PU have been ranked. He said that now PU had been ranked among world’s top 101-150 institutions in the subject of Petroleum Engineering and top 101-130 institutions in the subject of religious studies. He said that keeping in view national and academic requirements for the next 50 years, PU has been academically restructured and 67 new teaching and research institutions had been created while several departments had been upgraded.

He said that for the first time, PU had particularly promoted and encouraged those research projects which could resolve socio-economic problems of the country. He said that the university had made unprecedented appointments and promotions in these four years which have never been witnessed before. He said that for the first time in the recent 50-year history of PU, 8 meetings of the Senate have been organized in four years as per the requirement of the calendar while previously, a gap of 8 to 10 years can be seen between two meetings of the Senate.

To ensure a model of good governance, the university has been run through statutory bodies. The meeting approved various new programs in principal while approved upgradation of curriculum of various courses. The meeting also approved establishment of Women Development Centre. In the end of the meeting, Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Saleem Mazhar briefly reviewed progress made in the last four years and paid tribute to the services of Prof Niaz Ahmad.

For more information, contact:

Registrar,

University of the Punjab

Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore, Pakistan

Tel: +92-42-99231102

Fax: +92-42-99231103

E-Mail: registrar@pu.edu.pk

Website: http://pu.edu.pk/

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World Islamic Finance Forum 2022 on “Development of Islamic Finance Ecosystem for Global Prosperity” concludes

Karachi, June 04, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance (CEIF), IBA, Karachi organized a two-day conference World Islamic Finance Forum (WIFF) 2022 with the theme, “Development of Islamic Finance Ecosystem for Global Prosperity”. The conference was held at Movenpick Hotel, Karachi to discuss policy guidelines along with academic footprint in the field of Islamic Finance. The conference brought together regulatory authorities, researchers, renowned academicians, leading Islamic bankers, Shariah scholars and prominent personalities from local and global Islamic financial institutions.

The conference was held in academic collaboration with Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Qatar; INCEIF, Malaysia; and Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences (SDBS – LUMS); under the convenorship of Dr. Irum Saba, Associate Professor and Program Director, MS Islamic Banking and Finance, IBA; and Conference Co-Convenor, Mr. Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Director CEIF, IBA. The conference had over 70 local and international speakers from Malaysia, Maldives, Qatar, UAE, USA, UK, France, Turkey, Bahrain and Pakistan and was attended by around 450 participants while an online audience of around approximately 4.5 thousand participated while via live broadcast.

The highlight of the conference was the addresses by Dr. S Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director, IBA Karachi; Dr. Ishrat Husain, Chairman CEIF, IBA; Ms. Sima Kamil, Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan; Mr. Aamir Khan, Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan; Mr. Irfan Siddiqui, CEO Meezan Bank; Mr. Rizwan Husain, CEO, Salaam Takaful; Dr. Muhammad Imran, Head, Bank Alfalah Islamic; Mr. Yusuf Hussain, CEO, Faysal Bank Ltd; and a visionary address delivered by Mufti Shaikh Taqi Usmani. Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman also delivered keynote address on Day 1. Additional keynote addresses were delivered by Mr. Omar Mustafa Ansari, Secretary General, (AAOIFI), Bahrain; Ms. Sadia Khan, Commissioner, SECP; Mr. Mohammad Farrukh Raza, Chairman, AAOIFI Governance and Ethics Board, Group CEO, IFAAS; Dr. Ahmet F. Aysan, Professor and Program Coordinator of Islamic Finance and Economy, HBKU; and Syed Amir Ali, CEO, Bank Islami at the Day 2 of the conference.

The conference was addressed by His Excellency, Finance Minister of Pakistan, Dr. Miftah Ismail; and Acting Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, Dr. Murtaza Syed, who joined online to deliver their speeches. They appreciated the efforts of IBA CEIF and accepted the role of Islamic finance in expanding financial inclusion, and uplifting the social, economic and financial situations in communities locally and globally for attaining the envisaged goal of global prosperity.

The first session on ‘Implementing Industry vision’ was moderated by Mr. Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, with Syed Samar Hasnain, Executive Director, State Bank of Pakistan as the Session Chair. The panellists included Mr. Irfan Siddiqui; Mr. Junaid Ahmed, CEO, Dubai Islamic Bank, Pakistan; Mr. Yusuf Hussain; Syed Amir Ali; Mr. Muhammad Afaq Khan, President, MCB Islamic Bank; Mr. Khurram Hilal, CEO, Islamic Banking, Standard Chartered Bank, UAE; Mr. Rafe Haneef, CEO, GTB, CIMB Bank Berhad, Malaysia; Dr. Yahia Abdul Rahman, CEO, Lariba Banking Group, USA, CEO, Bank of Whittier, NA; and Dr. Muhammad Imran, Group Head Islamic Banking, Bank Alfalah.

The second session on ‘Trajectory of the Fintech Ecosystem’ was moderated by Mr. Ashar Nazim, CEO, Aion Digital and Mr. Ghulam Muhammad Abbasi, Director Islamic Banking, State Bank of Pakistan as the Session Chair. The panellists included Datuk Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, President, Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals, Malaysia; Mr. Mohammad Farrukh, Dr. Humayon Dar, Chairman, Cambridge – Edbiz Group of Companies; Mr. Rafe Haneef, Dr. Zeeshan Ahmed, Dean, Al Qadir University; and Dr. Rizwan Malik, Head, Standards Implementation and Strategic Developments AAOIFI, Bahrain.

The third session on ‘Game Changers for Islamic Capital Markets and Takaful’ was moderated by Mr. Muhammad Farhan ul Haq Usmani, Head of Shariah Audit and Advisory, Meezan Bank and Mr. Farrukh Khan, CEO and MD, Pakistan Stock Exchange as the Session Chair. The panellists included Muhammad Shoaib CFA, CEO, Al Meezan Investment Management Limited; Mr. Azeem Pirani, CEO, Pak-Qatar Family Takaful; Mufti Irshad Ahmad Aijaz, Chairman and Shari’ah Scholar Member, Shari’ah Advisory Committee, State Bank of Pakistan; Chairman Shari’ah Board, Salaam Takaful; Chairman Shari’ah Board, Bank Islami Pakistan Limited; Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin, Executive Director, International Shariah Research Academy (ISRA), Malaysia; and Syed Nayyar Hussain, Executive Director, Salaam Takaful Limited.

The fourth session on ‘Future of Islamic Finance’ was moderated and chaired by Mr. Omar Mustafa Ansari. The panellists included Dr. Imran Ashraf Usmani, Vice Chairman – Shari’ah Board, Meezan Bank Limited; Dr. Hatim El Tahir, Director Islamic Finance Group, Islamic Finance Knowledge Center Leader, Deloitte and Touche, Bahrain; Dr. Yahia Abdul Rahman; Mufti Abdullah Najeeb Siddiqui, Resident Shari’ah Board Member, AlBarakah Bank Pakistan Limited; Mr. Adnan Fasih, Group Head Islamic Banking, Habib Bank, AG Zurich; and Mr. Muhammad Nassir Saleem, Acting Head Islamic Banking, Habib Bank Limited.

The fifth session was conducted on ‘Islamic Finance Education: Past – Present – Future’ was moderated by Dr. Irum Saba and Prof. Dr. Necdet Sensoy, Director, Research Centre for Islamic Economics and Economic Systems, Istanbul Commerce University as the Session Chair. The panellists included Dr. Shafiullah Jan, Assistant Professor, Institute of Management Sciences; Dr. Syed Aun R. Rizvi, Associate Dean, Suleman Dawood School of Business, LUMS; Dr. Mohamed Eskandar Shah Mohd. Rasid, Associate Professor, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU); Prof. Dr. Rusni Hassan, Professor, Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, IIUM; Dr. Aishath Muneeza, Associate Professor, INCEIF; and Dr. Ahmet F. Aysan, Professor and Program Coordinator of Islamic Finance and Economy, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, College of Islamic Studies, Qatar Foundation.

The sixth session on ‘Expanding the Islamic Finance Horizon’ was moderated and chaired by Mr. Mohammad Farrukh Raza. The panellists included Muhammad Faisal Shaikh, Head Islamic Banking, Faysal Bank Limited; Mr. Rafe Haneef; Dr. Aishath Muneeza; Dr. Mohamed Eskandar Shah Mohd. Rasid; and Mr. Tanveer Farhan Mahmood, Head – Islamic Banking, UBL.

The concluding power session was held with the Islamic Finance Visionaries which consisted of panellists including Dr. Ishrat Husain, Mr. Irfan Siddiqui, Mr. Yousaf Husain, Mr. Junaid Ahmed, Dr. Muhammad Imran, Dr. Yahia Abdul Rahman, Mr. Omar Mustafa Ansari, and Prof. Dr. Rusni Hassan. The session was moderated by Mr. Ahmed Ali Siddiqui.

In addition to aforementioned sessions, 2 additional closed-door sessions were held on ‘Leveraging the modern technology to enhance and promote Islamic Finance’ and ‘Challenges faced by IFIs in Ensuring Shari’ah Compliance’. In the closed-door session arranged for Shariah Scholars, Prof. Dr. Akram Laldin, Executive Director, ISRA delivered his address and Mufti Irshad and Mufti Najeeb were speakers. The session was moderated by Dr. Irum Saba.

During this session, in the presence of 40 shariah scholars of Islamic finance industry, Dr. Irum Saba announced the launch of Shariah Scholar Forum in Pakistan which was another achievement of the conference. The conference further had 2 sessions during which 12 papers were selected out of the total papers submitted, chaired by Dr. Aishath Muneeza, and Dr. Mohamed Eskandar Shah Mohd. Rasid. The final achievement of the conference was the launch of Ishrat Husain Best Paper Award announced by Dr. Zaidi to honour the services of Dr. Ishrat in the development of Islamic Finance at IBA.

For more information, contact:

Executive, Communication and Public Affairs,

Institute of Business Administration Karachi (IBA)

Main Campus: University Road, Karachi – 75270, Pakistan

UAN: +92-21-111-422-422 (Ext. 269)

Fax: +92-21-99261508

Email: raza.lakhani@khi.iba.edu.pk

Website: https://www.iba.edu.pk

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LUMS Wins THE Asia 2022 in the Excellence and Innovation in the Arts Category

Lahore, June 04, 2022 (PPI-OT):LUMS has won the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards Asia 2022 in the Excellence and Innovation in the Arts category. A record number of 500 nominations were submitted. Earlier this year, the University was shortlisted for the Student Recruitment Campaign of the Year and Excellence and Innovation in the Arts categories.

Known as the ‘Oscars of higher education’ these awards recognise outstanding leadership and institutional performance and celebrate Asia’s higher education institutional excellence in all of its diversity. Dr. Nadhra Shahbaz Khan, Associate Professor and Director, Gurmani Centre for Languages and Literature and Dr. Murtaza Taj, Associate Professor, Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, are the architects of this award-winning project.

THE’s Chief Knowledge Officer, Phil Baty said “While we congratulate the 10 who won this year, everyone who reached the final stages deserves enormous credit for the work they did in 2021. Theirs are all fascinating and inspiring stories, and proof, if it were needed, that Asia’s universities are equipped with the vision, resources and will to rise to any task.”

The Excellence and Innovation in the Arts category recognises ‘the pioneering work that is taking place in universities to promote the arts’. Vice-Chancellor, LUMS, Dr. Arshad Ahmad said, “We are extremely proud of Drs Khan and Taj. The multidisciplinary nature of Sikhvirsa Pakistan is a proof of what collaborative work can achieve and exemplifies the University’s Learning without Borders’s philosophy”.

Sikhvirsa Pakistan is a project emerging from a year-long multidisciplinary collaboration between the History and Computer Science departments at LUMS. The first website of its kind in the region, it narrates a visual journey of Sikh culture and history by resurrecting Sikh-period artefacts in the iconic Lahore Fort’s Sikh Gallery through visual data.

This project has translated into an undergraduate history course entitled, HIST-2121: Digital Preservation and Historical Documentation. The course engaged students in the humanities, social sciences and pure sciences in learning to use cutting-edge software for documentation and publication.

Describing the initiative as “impactful and collaborative”, the judges said: “Through internal, multidisciplinary collaboration between the computer science and history departments, a new project has emerged – a new but not necessarily exclusive way of looking at and reading history.”

Delighted to receive the news of the award, Dr. Khan commented, “This is a very exciting and proud moment for me and my very small, four-member team. Collaborating with Dr. Taj for teaching a course on digitally documenting heritage sites, the sikhvirsa website, and another one that we are building for neglected pre-partition monuments of Lahore as well as other big and small projects are rich learning experiences.”

Talking about the project, Dr. Taj said, “Digital Heritage is an emerging idea that allows us to give a new life to the fading chapters of our history and culture. This project is a step forward in this direction. It not only informs us about the untold stories of objects from Sikh era, but also allows us to reimagine those times for years to come.”

For more information, contact:

Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

D.H.A. Lahore Cantt. 54792

Lahore, Pakistan

Tel: +92-42-35608000

Fax: +92-42-35725048

Website: www.lums.edu.pk

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Petrol, electricity, dollars, gas at the most expensive level in the history of Pakistan, this is the incompetence of the imported government: Moonis Elahi

Lahore, June 04, 2022 (PPI-OT):Former Federal Minister and senior leader of Pakistan Muslim League Moonis Elahi has termed the sharp rise in inflation as incompetence of the imported government. He said in his tweet that petrol is the most expensive in history, electricity is the most expensive in history, dollar is the most expensive in history, gas is the most expensive in history, the fastest increase in the speed of poverty, unemployment and inflation in Pakistan’s history. This is Shahbaz Speed! The people have rejected the imported government and imported inflation.

For more information, contact:

Mediacell, Pakistan Muslim League

30-C, Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi Road,

Gulberg-II, Lahore, Pakistan

Tel: +92-42-35878428

Fax: +92-42-35877329

Website: www.pmlmediacell.com

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US Baseball Coach visits Yousafzai Baseball Academy Swabi

Lahore, June 04, 2022 (PPI-OT):US baseball coach Randall Arms, who is on a visit to Pakistan, visited Yousafzai Baseball Academy in Swabi yesterday. He was accompanied by senior officials of Pakistan Federation Baseball on the occasion.

Syed Fakhar Ali Shah, President of Pakistan Federation Baseball, while talking to media said that Pakistan Baseball team is to participate in World Baseball Classic Qualifier which is scheduled in Panama in September this year. The best teams in the world have to participate in this event. To prepare the best team, the federation has set up a training camp for Pakistani pitchers and catchers in AJWA City, Gujranwala. To train the players, the federation has hired US baseball coach Randall Arms, who is providing the best training to the pitchers.

According to Syed Fakhar Shah, the federation has set up baseball academies in different cities of the country where the best training is given to the young players under the supervision of qualified coaches. There is also an academy in Swabi called Yousafzai Baseball Academy where senior and qualified Khyber Pakhtunkhwa coaches are training more than 200 players. Yesterday, a delegation of Pakistan Federation Baseball accompanied by US baseball coach Randall Arms visited the academy.

He was accompanied on the occasion by Pakistan Federation Baseball President Syed Fakhar Ali Shah, Vice President Dr Muhammad Hamood Lakhvi, Tahir Mahmood Treasurer, Musaddiq Hanif Head Coach Pakistan Team and International Baseball Player Tariq Nadeem. President of Yousafzai Baseball Academy Wisal Mohammad Khan, Coach Khalid Khan, Coach Asif Mushtaq and other dignitaries of the area welcomed the guests.

US coach Randall Arms was delighted to see more than two hundred players training in baseball academy. He said that these players have natural talent. With the best training, their talent can be further honed which will make these players shine for Pakistan in future international competitions.

On this occasion, the President of Pakistan Federation Baseball Syed Fakhar Ali Shah said that it is excellent to train so many young players in the academy. He hoped that these players would make Pakistan famous in future. He assured full cooperation of the federation for the betterment of the academy. Souvenirs and gifts were also distributed among the guests on the occasion.

For more information, contact:

Pakistan Federation Baseball

Punjab Stadium, Ferozepur Road,

Lahore, Pakistan

Tel. +92-42-353-41121

Fax + 92-42-357-11828

E-mail: pakistanfederationbaseball@hotmail.com

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IBA student wins Youth Icon Award at the 5th Camp Himalayas Peace Leadership program

Karachi, June 04, 2022 (PPI-OT):Syed Mujtaba Ali Ahsan, BSAF student, Delegation leader and Manager, IBA Sports Society, wins the Youth Icon Award while representing IBA at the 5th Camp Himalayas Peace Leadership program.

Camp Himalayas is a seven-day outdoor leadership program, organized by Youth Impact Pakistan and funded by the US embassy which trains students in various aspects of outdoor survival including, emotional intelligence, conflict management, survival in the wilderness, and mindfulness through shock therapy, guest speaker sessions and outdoor activities. Fifty-four students, including the IBA, represented thirty-two universities from five different regions and spoke seventeen languages.

IBA Sports Society representatives including, Syed Mujtaba Ali Ahsan and Urooba Izhar, Assistant Manager, led a delegation of 12 participants including themselves. The delegation comprised of Ahmed Tariq, Yumna Masood, Sneha Batra, Syed Bilal Fahim, Nafeesa Hassan, Mustafa Haq, Dawood Bashir, Tayyaba Zubair, Ali Iqbal and Faryal Tariq.

The Youth Icon Award is presented to the top 5 participants who demonstrate leadership skills, teamwork, time management, conflict management, decision making and problem solving. Mr. Abdul Samad Khan, CEO, Youth Impact Pakistan, presented the award to Mujtaba. We congratulate Syed Mujtaba Ali Ahsan and his team on this outstanding accomplishment and wish them tremendous success in their future endeavours.

For more information, contact:

Executive, Communication and Public Affairs,

Institute of Business Administration Karachi (IBA)

Main Campus: University Road, Karachi – 75270, Pakistan

UAN: +92-21-111-422-422 (Ext. 269)

Fax: +92-21-99261508

Email: raza.lakhani@khi.iba.edu.pk

Website: https://www.iba.edu.pk