Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

Prince Karim Aga Khan, thespiritual leader of Ismaili community, was given a warm send-off today at Chaklala airbase. Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Northern Areas, States and Frontier Regions, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao seen off the distinguished guest. During his three days stay in Pakistan, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan held meetings with President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafar Ullah Khan Jamali, Chairman Senate, Ministers of Finance, Privatization and Education besides meeting with staff of Aga Khan Development Network in Pakistan.

Prince Karim Agha Khan arrived in Pakistan here at Chaklala air base on Friday.Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Northern Areas, States Frontier region, Aftab Ahmed Sherpao received the distinguished guest.
During his three-day visit in Pakistan, Prince Agha is schedule to call on President and Prime Minister of Pakistan besides meeting the Chairman of the Senate and other Federal ministers.
He would also review various projects of Agha Khan Development Network in this regard.
Prince Agha Khan meets President Musharraf

The two most serious contenders for the privatisation of Pakistan?s Habib Bank Ltd are the consortium of Supreme Council and Qatar National Bank and the Aga Khan Fund, it has been learnt.Some 19 buyers have conveyed their interest to the Privatisation Commission for the acquisition of the management stake in Habib Bank, insiders have said.

The government is spending around Rs3.6 billion on the provision of educational as well as nutritional facilities to girl child under the Tawana Pakistan Programme (TPP).The TPP is being run in about 650 schools in the poverty- stricken areas and aims at providing about 0.5 million girls with access to education in about 5,300 primary schools in rural areas.

President General Pervez Musharraf will discuss bilateral, regional and international issues besides exploring avenues to increase economic and trade ties with French leaders during his forthcoming three-day visit.
The President who is on a four-country official visit will arrive in Paris on July 2. He will hold talks with his French counterpart Jacque Chirac soon after his arrival. He would meet with French Parliamentarians of both houses. The Foreign Minister of France Dominique de Vilepin will host a dinner for the President and his delegation in the evening.

The ministry of overseas Pakistanis will launch two training programmes for nurses so that they could avail job opportunities abroad.Sources in the ministry told this reporter that the programmes would be launched in Islamabad and Karachi to impart training to 3,500 nurses. They said during the training, the nurses would be provided boarding and lodging facilities, besides a monthly stipend of Rs5,000.
The nurses will also attend language classes in the National University of Modern Languages, they added.

Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf today arrived in Paris on a two-day visit.

According to The News, he is scheduled to meet French President Zhak Chirak at luncheon and also to meet Prince Karim Aga Khan.

At his arrival Lee airport, he was welcomed by officials of French Foreign Ministry. The formal reception ceremony of President Musharraf will be held at French Presidential Palace.

Sources said President Musharraf, besides issues of economic cooperation, would take up issue defence cooperation also.

President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Friday that Pakistan stands for peaceful settlement of all issues with India, including the core issue of Kashmir, and is ready to enter a dialogue.'We seek peaceful resolution of all disputes and differences, especially the core dispute over Jammu and Kashmir. We, on our part, will demonstrate all our seriousness,' he stated at a banquet he hosted in honour of Prince Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual head of the Ismaili community.
Musharraf said Pakistan has made consistent overtures for a better climate of relations with India.

Syed Hassan Raza, Assistant professor in University of Agriculture, Faisalabad attended the 1st World Mountain Forum held in Chambery, France last month. Representing Pakistan he exchanged views with numerous actors of mountainous areas development around the world.

..........The 1st World Mountain Forum gathered researchers and policy makers from all over the world from Nepalese to Bolivians.

Syed Hassan Raza, Assistant professor in University of Agriculture, Faisalabad attended the 1st World Mountain Forum held in Chambery, France last month. Representing Pakistan he exchanged views with numerous actors of mountainous areas development around the world.

..........The 1st World Mountain Forum gathered researchers and policy makers from all over the world from Nepalese to Bolivians.

It has been decided by Overseas Pakistanis Foundation to train Pakistani nurses according to international standards that they may be in a better position to compete in international job market.A meeting took place between Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Mian Abdul Sattar Laleka and President Agha Khan University Hospital, Dr Shams Qasim Lakha here, says an official release here Sunday.

The European Commission (EC) has approved Euro 20 million (approximately Rs. 1,280 million) grant for Pakistan's educational development, to be undertaken by Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan (AKFP) over the next five years.The grant mainly aims at improving access, quality and sustainability of education for in-school and out-of-school children, with increased gender equity and the participation of communities in the Northern Areas and Chitral (NAC), a highly placed source said here MOnday.

Ambassador and Head of the European Commission Delegation in Pakistan, Ilkka Uusitalo, will visit Sakardu, Hunza Gilgit and Chitral from June 11 to 14. During his visit he will inspect and review the EU-sponsored projects in these areas. Uusitalo would be meeting the Chief Secretary of Northern Areas, Secretary Education of Northern Areas and the District Nazim of Chitral.Last month, the EU approved a grant of Rs. 1.28 billion to support Aga Khan Foundation's Northern Pakistan Education Project (NPEP).

The European Commission (EC) has approved euro 71 million for Pakistan to develop a three-year National Indicative Programme (NIP) in the education sector.
Prior to its approval by the EC, which is the executive arm of the European Union (EU), the NIP was endorsed by the Government of Pakistan and the EU member states.

The finance minister, Mr Shaukat Aziz, left for Algiers and Paris last night for talks with Islamic Development Bank and Paris Club leaders on economic assistance to Pakistan. In Algiers, the minister will attend the meeting of the Board of Governors of Islamic Development Bank, which is being attended by the finance ministers of Islamic countries. Mr Shaukat Aziz is likely to raise with the Islamic finance ministers the issue of rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan after the completion of the current American military action.

Pakistan's second largest commercial bank, Habib Bank has been handed over to Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.
An agreement was signed in Islamabad this afternoon by the Privatisation Commission and the Fund for transfer of management of the bank.
Aga Khan Fund had given the highest bid of over 22 billion rupees in December last year for acquiring 51% strategic stake and acquiring management control in the Bank.

Prime Minister Jamali would be hosting a luncheon in the honour of Ismaili Spiritual leader Prince Karim Aga Khan today (Wednesday) at the Prime Minister House.
Influential political personalities have also been invited to the luncheon.

Prince Aga Khan will also attend a dinner hosted by President Gen Musharraf on the very night.

The Aga Khan after reaching the provincial capital, Karachi on December 5, will attend the annual convocation of the Aga Khan University on December 6.

President, Khushhali Bank, Ghalib Nishtar has said the Bank would continue to generate 100,000 clients each year and by the year 2010 it aims to create about one million clients.He expressed these views while addressing a seminar on 'Current Issues in Microfinance,' organised by Pakistan Microfinance Network in cooperation with Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan through Social Institutions Development Programme funded by Canadian International Development Agency here Saturday.

The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) will be presented as a case study in poverty reduction before the international conference on poverty to be held at Shanghai, China, next month.
This was disclosed during a discussion which was convened at the World Bank office here on Monday as a preamble to the Shanghai Conference. Country director John Wall presided over the discussion.

Prince Karim Aha Khan, the spiritual leader of Ismailis, called on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz at Prime Minister?s House on Sunday and the two discussed the regional and international situation.The prime minister told the Aga Khan that his government wanted him to invest in Pakistan as there was great potential for investment in tourism in the country.