Published by HarperCollins, 'Hostility: A Diplomat’s Diary on Pakistan-India Relations' by Abdul Basit will be released on 25 April on ThePrint's ‘SoftCover’.
লকডাউনে জমজমাট পাইকারি হাট | 1026133 | কালের কণ্ঠ kalerkantho.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kalerkantho.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
National
April 20, 2021
LAHORE: Ambassador (retd) Abdul Basit’s book “Hostility: A Diplomat’s Diary of Pakistan-India Relations” was launched at the Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest Online in conversation with Najam Sethi on Monday.
According to a press release, when asked by Najam Sethi about why he termed his appointment to New Delhi “sui generis”, Basit explained when he was Pakistan’s ambassador to Germany, he was called by then prime minister Nawaz Sharif and told to wrap up in Berlin as he was being appointed the foreign secretary. “I went back and made all my farewell calls, and then abruptly I was told that I was not going to be the foreign secretary,” stated Abdul Basit. “Obviously I could no longer stay in Berlin and so asked for a transfer, and was given New Delhi,” he noted. “I was hurt but New Delhi is usually a dream appointment and so I thought it was a compensation for the foreign secretaryship,’ explained Basit.
Basit s book on Pak-India relations launched thenews.com.pk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thenews.com.pk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
DAP demands doubling taxes on sugary drinks in Pakistan
Karachi
April 17, 2021
The Diabetic Association of Pakistan (DAP) has demanded of the authorities to double the taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in the coming budget, saying diabetes is growing at an alarming rate in Pakistan, which has the 4th highest burden of type 2 diabetes worldwide with more than 19 million cases.
“The Diabetic Association of Pakistan requests increasing the Federal Excise Duty from 11.5 per cent to 20 per cent on sugar- sweetened beverages (SSBs), which are, unfortunately, becoming an increasingly essential part of household food consumption with more than a 10 per cent point increase in the last few years along with a gradual increase in production and decrease in the price,” said Prof Abdul Basit, secretary general of DAP, in a letter to the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday.