Daily Times

President Dr Arif Alvi Wednesday said that Pakistan highly valued its relations with Kenya and wanted to further increase the bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, economy and defence for the mutual benefits.

He also underlined the need for enhanced engagements at high political and military levels to further boost mutual cooperation.

The president was talking to visiting Chief of Defence Forces of Kenya, General Robert Kariuki Kibochi, who called on him at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Talking to the visiting dignitary, the president said that Pakistan had initiated ‘’Look Africa Policy’’, under which Kenya was deemed as an important East-African country and desired to develop close relations with Kenya in the fields of political, economic and defence.

He said Pakistan’s contributions towards African stability were exemplary as the Pakistan army was the highest contributor of troops in UN Missions for Africa.

He apprised General Robert Kariuki Kibochi about the potential of defence industry of Pakistan and emphasised the need for exchanging defence delegations to explore areas of interest.

The president highlighted that the successful handling of Covid-19 pandemic by Pakistan spoke volumes of the excellent discipline shown by the Pakistani nation.

General Robert Kariuki Kibochi appreciated the capability of the defence industry of Pakistan and professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces, particularly their role in maintaining peace and security in Africa.

He underscored the need for increasing cooperation in the area of military training between the two countries and also called for increasing military-to-military cooperation as both countries had huge potential to expand cooperation in the field of defence.

Awareness on job quota

President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday stressed the need for creating awareness about the reserved seats of women and minorities in public jobs, saying it would encourage their participation in national development.

The president expressed these views as Chairman Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) Captain (retired) Zahid Saeed presented him the performance reports of 2018 and 2019.

In a meeting held here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the president was given a briefing on FPSC with the focus on availability of vacant posts for minorities.

It was highlighted that the 98 posts under FPSC, which had been reserved for minorities, were vacant at present.

Dr Alvi emphasized on finding out the reasons for vacant posts in coordination with relevant departments.

The president was apprised that in 2018, the FPSC received 741,000 applications for 3,200 posts, while in 2019, the number of applications touched 800,000 against 3,600 posts.

It was told that the interviews of candidates from Gilgit Baltistan would be conducted at their local stations.

On the recruitment process of FPSC, the president stressed ensuring transparency and adoption of scientific means.

Transparency in examination, he said, could be ensured by increasing the portion of objective questions.