LAHORE: The outgoing US consul general, Yuriy Fedkiw, and the newly appointed Consul General Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau Friday called on Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif. During the meeting, matters pertaining to mutual interest, including promotion of bilateral relations, came under discussion. The chief minister paid tribute to the services of outgoing US consul general and expressed his good wishes for the newly appointed envoy. He said that bilateral ties between Pakistan and the US would be improved in the coming days. He said that Pakistan had achieved numerous successes in different sectors during the last four years and as a result, Pakistan was more secure, peaceful and developed than before. “It is heartening that Pakistan has achieved wonderful successes in war against terrorism and fanaticism,” he added. On the occasion, Yuriy Fedkiw said that Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif had worked very hard for the development and prosperity of the people. Separately, the chief minister Friday directed the Punjab health minister to immediately approach the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to help control the spread of dengue in Peshawar. The chief minister asked the minister and health secretary to extend their full cooperation to the KP government in this regard. “People living in KP are our brethren and we are ready to extend all-out support to them to effectively deal with the disease. We would be happy to provide support to our brothers there,” he added. Meanwhile, in his message of World Humanitarian Day, the chief minister said that it was the moral duty of every individual of the society to help ailing humanity. He said that the aim of observing World Humanitarian Day was to create awareness among the people about welfare activities and appreciating the services of relief workers and institutions. He appreciated the work of welfare organisations such as Edhi, Akhuwat and Kashf and others engaged in public welfare activities. He mentioned the services of late Abdu Sattar Edhi and Ruth Pfau. The day is observed every year on 19 August to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and to rally support for people affected by crises around the world. In yet another statement issued on Friday, the chief minister strongly condemned the incident of terrorism in Barcelona, Spain, and expressed deep sorrow over the loss of innocent lives in this incident. He extended his heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families and prayed for the early recovery of the injured. “Our sympathies are with the bereaved families and we express solidarity with the Spanish people as well as the bereaved families.” He said that terrorism was an international issue and coordinated efforts were required at the international level to eliminate it. Published in Daily Times, August 19th 2017.