Hascol acquires 20 new
retail outlets at motorway
KARACHI (PR): Hascol Petroleum Limited has entered into an agreement with Motorway Operations and Rehabilitation Engineering (Private) Limited, a subsidiary of FWO, to take legal possession of 20 retail outlets located at M-2, Lahore-Islamabad Motorway. The inauguration ceremony of the first of these outlets was held at Chakri Service Station, South Bound recently. Director General FWO was the chief guest on the occasion.


 which was also attended by Chief Operating Officer-MORE along with Saleem Butt, COO & Executive Director, General Manager Marketing, General Manager Operations and Media Communication Manager of Hascol Petroleum Limited.

UBL new regional office
KARACHI (PR): A ceremony to mark the ground breaking of the new UBL Lahore regional office was recently held. The chief guest at the event was Sir Mohammed Anwar Pervez, OBE HPk, Chairman UBL who officially performed the ground breaking of UBL’s new regional office by unveiling a commemorative plaque. This event was heralded as a reinforcement of UBL’s commitment towards providing its stakeholders state of the art premises offering a multitude of services and facilities. Sir Anwar Pervez said, “UBL and its Board of Directors are firmly committed to investing in the bank and bringing it at par with international standards & practices in all aspects”.
Wajahat Husain, President & CEO UBL, stated, “The UBL Gulberg Regional Office is one of the bank’s newest structures. It will incorporate all the amenities and facilities that any technologically advanced and state of the art office structures should offer. It will be one of the most contemporary buildings in the country – an addition to the bank’s expanding landmark buildings portfolio across the country.”
The ground breaking ceremony was attended by the Directors of UBL including Wajahat Husain, President & CEO, UBL, Zameer Mohammed Choudrey, Rizwan Pervez, Amin Uddin, Arshad Ahmad Mir, Zaheer Sajjad, Khalid Ahmed Sherwani and Haider Choudrey . Other senior executives of the bank were also present at the occasion.

PECL posts PBT of Rs16.6m

LAHORE (PR): The management of Pakistan Engineering Company Limited, Lahore presented its accounts for the nine months ended on March 31, 2015 in its Board of Directors meeting held the other day. The period ended with a net sale of Rs. 452.2 million, gross profit of Rs. 67.7 million and profit before tax of Rs. 16.6 million. Earning per share was Rs. 1.60 for the period under review. It was quite encouraging to note that after 4 years of consecutive losses, the Company was again back on the track and improving in term of productivity, efficiency, and profitability.
The company has orders in hand worth Rs. 1.472 billion and working under intensive competition especially from Chinese. PECO is the only approved supplier of 500/220 KV towers in the country and presently fulfilling the requirements of WAPDA/ DISCO’s on very competitive rates. Country has scarce foreign exchange reserves and efforts are made to save it, from in house supplies to WAPDA/ DISCO’s.

 PECO is providing employment to almost 500 people and contributing in national economy.
With the concerted efforts of the Management and guidance by the Board the Company’s state of affairs is improving in every sphere.

PITAD study

LAHORE (PR): Tax regime and provisions coupled with flaws in existing policies must be addressed if authorities are serious in supporting the industrial and manufacturing progress and aimed at sustainable economic growth in the years to come. Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development (PITAD) in its recent study has proposed many remedies for stronger economic growth while opposing import of used cars as it has caused great losses to local auto industry which is called mother of all the industries and feeding millions of households.

Ground breaking ceremony of Taba Centre on May 2
LAHORE (PR): The ground breaking ceremony of TABA Center for Coordination & Development (TCCD) will be held on May 2, 2015 at AR Cottages Service Lane Ring Road near NETSOL Lahore Cantt. For this purpose, Naim un Naseer Welfare Trust has procured 23 marlas land.
It is worth mentioning that TABA project was launched some three years ago at Lahore University of Management Sciences to bridge and organize efforts of committed and selfless social sector organizations for maximizing and harmonizing response to have collective impact in all sectors. It is sole efforts of TABA that has introduced a new trend by bringing people/organizations (presently with 100 partners) together devoting their lives, blood and souls in service of humanity and above all Pakistan. So far a number of initiatives have been taken for providing quality services on ground with the concerted efforts of its Central Coordination Committee.

Pfizer holds summit

KARACHI (PR): Pfizer Pakistan conducted a large scale Pneumococcal Disease (PD) Expert Summit in order to create awareness about the disease burden and its prevention. The Summit aimed to effectively communicate the latest developments in the prevention of pneumonia and it’s complications to the local healthcare professionals by bringing together national experts from across the country. The summit turned out to be a precursor for the World Immunization Week, the global awareness event with the theme of ‘Closing the Immunization Gap’.
During the course of the Summit, it was highlighted that vaccination can be a safe and effective option to help prevent pneumonia and its complications. Also it is advisable for people who are planning to perform Haj or Umrah to get themselves vaccinated against pneumonia.
“Pneumonia is still a major public health issue for a country like Pakistan, for which the treatment is often costly and needlessly uncomfortable,” said Prof. Sajid Maqbool, one of the leading consultants of the country.
He further pointed out that “Vaccines are only considered essential in children, a mindset which needs to be changed. However it is a known fact that the disease like pneumonia is common in extremities of age, people who are less than 5 years or greater than 50 years of age are at increased risk of catching pneumonia. Especially people who are suffering from diabetes, asthma, chronic lungs, hearts and kidney disease can be a very easy victim of this disease”.
In the summit, a lot of emphasis was put on active adult immunization especially for high risk patients who fall prey to pneumonia and its complications. One of the leading pulmonologists of the country, Prof. Zafar Hussain Iqbal stressed that “Chronic respiratory diseases (COPD and asthma) affect millions of individuals worldwide and the global burden is projected to increase markedly. Such patients face an increased risk for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD)”.
World Immunization Week 2015 is celebrated around the world from April 24 to 30 and in its anticipation; the World Health Organization has called for renewed efforts to get progress back on course with routine immunization to reduce the disease burden of vaccine preventable diseases globally.

LBF brings one of most prestigious art events
LAHORE (PR): The Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) is scheduled to make its first public release with the opening of Rashid Rana’s project My East is Your West, at Liberty Market on May 5th, 2015. “My East is Your West” Lahore/Venice project is a collaborative effort between Rashid Rana/Gujral foundation and the Lahore Biennale Foundation. Rashid Rana is one of Pakistan’s leading contemporary artists, a pioneer in Pakistani art showcasing this first large-scale public project of its kind in the region.
Rashid Rana’s works are featured in this year’s Venice Biennale, one of the most prestigious art events of the world.


Part of these works in Venice will feature a room with a video projection of live feed from a mirrored space in Liberty Market. Audiences in Venice will be able to see and interact with publics in Lahore. The artist’s room in Lahore, an exactly replicated space, will similarly allow viewers to witness the Venice audience through another live feed. The project will thus break barriers between these two publics across the globe, through just a simple room.
The LBF is a non-profit, multidisciplinary organization that seeks to engage with the arts through discursive dialogue, critical thinking and public engagement in order to reclaim a place for the arts in Pakistan’s national discourse and establish a conversation that spans across nations.  LBF is providing support to Rana’s project from Pakistan, by offering a window into Venice for audiences in Lahore. The organization will be assisting with parallel programs and launch in Lahore, corresponding with audiences in Venice.
The partnership between LBF and Rashid Rana’s project fits neatly as both seek to engage the publics in art, initiating an alternative dialogue in the region and expanding possibilities for artists, whilst also questioning the position of the arts as an institution.   
LBF gives special recognition to HBL and its team for an outstanding partnership to enable and realize art in public spaces through their objective of enabling dreams.