Askari Bank in China

ISLAMABAD (PR): Askari Bank held a corporate dinner at a local hotel to celebrate the launch of Askari Bank’s representative office in Beijing, China. Ambassador Charge d’affairs, People’s Republic of China, Zhou Lijian was chief guest at the occasion. The event was also attended by CPEC Project Director Major General (r) Zahir Shah, country representatives of Chinese organizations and Askari Bank President Syed M. Husaini. Speaking at the occasion, Husaini said, “For more than two decades, Askari Bank has been actively facilitating Chinese companies operating in Pakistan. Keeping the recent China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in sight, Askari Bank has geared all its resources to ensure that we play a significant role in supporting this great initiative. As such, we have secured permission from the Government of China to open a representative office in Beijing. This office will help facilitate foreign trade business and develop close liaison with our correspondent banks in China.”

Easypay service to make online shopping safer
ISLAMABAD (PR): Committed to delivering a secure and convenient online shopping experience to the country’s booming internet population; Easypay has launched the Pakistan’s first Escrow Buyer Protection service to further secure online shopping. A large number of Pakistani customers are still wary when it comes to making online purchases. The lack of trust remains as one of the main reasons why the Pakistani e-commerce market works primarily on Cash-on-Delivery (CoD). Customers’ reservations range from the authenticity of merchants, product genuineness and condition; to the time it takes their orders to reach them. However, CoD has its own risks as a customer is not handed over the product(s) unless the cash payment is made to the courier representative.

Aimed at building trust and customer confidence, with Easypay Buyer Protection customers will be now able to prepay with confidence for all their online purchases. Buyer Protection withholds payment from the merchant until the customer has received the product and communicated their satisfaction with the purchase.

In case the customer faces any issue with his purchase, for instance the product is not as advertised, or is damaged, they can raise a dispute with Easypay. Easypay Buyer Protection gives customers the right to a refund or replacement when items fail to match the information given prior to purchase.
The buyer simply has to submit a dispute form (dispatched with the shipment) along with detailed description of the problem and supporting evidence (images/video) to Easypay within 7 days from the date the shipment was received. This initiates the first phase of dispute resolution whereby the merchant and customer are given an opportunity to resolve the issue amongst themselves within the next 7 days. If the dispute remains unresolved, the next phase of resolution is initiated wherein the Easypay dispute resolution committee shall assess the dispute details and supporting evidence and give a final decision in either party’s favor.

TCF takes over management of 89 schools
LAHORE (PR): The Citizens Foundation (TCF) has taken over management responsibility for 89 government schools across Pakistan in order to help improve the quality of education, school administration and enrolment of out-of-school children. This move follows a series of strategic partnerships between TCF and key public education stakeholders in the Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments. After signing MOUs with Pakistan Railways (1 school), KPK Ministry of Education (5 schools) and Sindh Education Foundation (3 schools), TCF’s most significant public-private partnership venture is the recent takeover of 80 government schools under an agreement with the Punjab Education Foundation and the Govt of Punjab.
“Having established more than 1,000 school units in urban slums and rural communities across Pakistan, The Citizens Foundation has now resolved to magnify its impact from the 165,000 students currently enrolled to reach 1.5 million learners through organic growth as well as strategic innovation. As a key element of this strategy, TCF will expand its partnership with all provincial governments and apply its cost efficient model of education to improve the functioning of many more struggling public schools,” said TCF’s CEO, Syed Asaad Ayub Ahmad.

Bank Alfalah, Daraz.pk join hands
KARACHI (PR): Bank Alfalah, in collaboration with Daraz.pk, launched Pakistan’s first ever shoppable online fashion event. Aimed at bridging the gap between high-end fashion and everyday consumers in Pakistan, this groundbreaking initiative will significantly help the industry by not only providing the fashion fraternity with an online platform to grow, but also promoting accessibility to their customers.
Unlike other conventional fashion events, the Bank AlfalahDaraz Fashion Week has been made accessible to consumers who can live stream the show and buy any product straight away with a simple click of the mouse.
Gathering such aspirational designers as FeehaJamshed, Deepak Perwani, TenaDurrani, Zara Shahjahan, Amir Adnan, and leading retail store Generation, the show features exclusive collections on the leading e-commerce platform at incredible price points that are much lower than what one would expect for such big brands.
Hamza Bokhari, winner of the Bank Alfalah Rising Talent Award at PFDC Bridal Week 2015, will also showcase his collection at the Bank Alfalah - Daraz Fashion Week alongside the aforementioned fashion heavyweights of the country. Now a name synonymous for supporting young talent in fashion, BankAlfalah Rising Talent Programme has been providing young fashion students and designers an opportunity to transform their ambitions into success. Through this partnership with Daraz.pk, Bank Alfalah aims to provide its Rising Talent in fashion an opportunity to expand their entrepreneurial ventures and play their part in the country’s socio-economic growth.
“We are not only pleased to be part of this first-of-its-kind fashion event in Pakistan, but we are also proud of the fact thatour Rising Talent,HamzaBokhari,is showcasing his collection alongside Pakistan’s fashion mavens,” said Atif Bajwa, President & CEO at Bank Alfalah at the show’s launch. “Bank Alfalah has been supporting young talent in fashion,however, this partnership with Daraz.pk goes beyond that objective to help designers sell their products directly to consumers through the use of technology.” he added.

HOMEC wins COTHM cooking competition
LAHORE (PR): The students of College of Home Economics, Gulberg Lahore won the 1st prize in a grand cooking competition organized by COTHM (College of Tourism and Hotel Management) and international Halal conference exhibition. Students from twelve different universities displayed their culinary expertise at the event.

Remembering Anna Molka Ahmed
LAHORE (PR): SCE in collaboration with THAAP is working for the growth of purposeful education on one hand and for strengthening of creative arts, digital sector and film/video on other.
THAAP and the SCE have set up an archive as one of the resource centers. Within this capacity, amongst the first few acquisitions are documents that belong to Prof Anna Molka Ahmed, one of the pioneering artists of Pakistan and an eminent educationist. To share these recently acquired archives with the public, a selection of Anna Molka’s prints, her lecture notes on aesthetics and art, along with some of her photographs are being put up for viewing on 21st April 2016.

NBF Book Ambassador

LAHORE (PR): National Book Foundation has selected Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri as “NBF Book Ambassador 2016” in recognition of his services for the promotion of education, research, book culture, literature, linguistic and social harmony.

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