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Iqbal unveils $3tr economic vision | The Express Tribune

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Iqbal unveils tr economic vision | The Express Tribune



LAHORE:

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday that the defence agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia was an important milestone, warmly welcomed across society, but stressed that lasting national security depended on economic strength.

Speaking to the media after chairing the first meeting of Members of the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Pakistan, he said Pakistan gained more recognition and respect globally after the Marka-e-Haq (battle of truth). “We have to move forward keeping in mind future plans and challenges,” he said.

He noted that CPEC Phase-II was formally launched during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to China. The next JCC meeting is scheduled for September 26 in Beijing, which he will attend. The minister said defence success could not last unless supported by a strong economy. “I believe the success of the Udaan Pakistan Project depends on the cooperation and role of engineers,” he remarked.

He stressed that Pakistan’s exports would rise through innovative production, industrial capacity, and modern technology. A stronger export economy, he said, required robust infrastructure, and engineers must deliver it. He added that engineers also played a central role in building a technology-based economy under e-Pakistan and in ensuring water and food security. He hoped the Federation of Engineers would play a vital role in climate action. Iqbal said Pakistan could not reverse climate change but could build resilience by reconstructing stronger infrastructure. “Hydraulic studies should be done to see how Pakistan’s water flows work and how floods can be avoided,” he suggested.

He linked high energy costs to circular debt created by inefficiencies and leakages. Engineers, he said, could fix these problems and help close a financial black hole consuming billions of rupees. “We can spend this money on education, health, and infrastructure in underdeveloped areas,” he argued.

Highlighting the global reliance on technology, he said engineers made it useful for human development. The planning ministry, he assured, would act as a bridge between government and the engineering profession. He invited skilled professionals at home and abroad to join Udaan Pakistan, a programme aligned with the aspirations of 240 million people.

He outlined two economic goals: to reach a $1 trillion economy by 2035 and $3 trillion by 2047. Pakistan’s young population, nearly 60% of the total, was central to economic planning. A national convention would soon be held with universities to launch the Pakistan 2047 Lab, he said. “Where Pakistan will be in 2047 should be identified by the young generation in whose hands the country will run,” he added. The Lab, part of Udaan Pakistan, would be inaugurated soon, with young professionals taking lead responsibility.

Referring to his recent visit to China, Iqbal said the private sector had signed agreements worth $8.5 billion, as 1,000 Pakistani and Chinese businesses had committed to joint ventures. “But if we do not provide a favourable environment, these investments will not produce results. If we allow chaos and unrest, which investor will come to Pakistan?” he warned.

He welcomed institutional unity in supporting national security and stability, saying economic development required peace. “It is equally important that we do not allow anyone to create chaos and uncertainty so that the seeds of development being sown can grow, bear fruit, and build a better future for the people of Pakistan,” he said.

Congratulating the engineering community on forming the Federation of Pakistani Engineering Institutions, Iqbal hoped it would become the country’s most powerful think tank. He said it could guide the government on development challenges by harnessing engineering manpower and talent.

The meeting was attended by a large number of engineers from across the country, including Engineer Amir Zameer Ahmed Khan, Engineer Muhammad Usman Farooq, Engineer Tahir Basharat Cheema, Engineer Sarosh Hashmat Lodhi, and Engineer Qasim Qureshi.



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Australia fuel crisis: Panic buying prompts PM to reassure nation over fuel supply

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Australia fuel crisis: Panic buying prompts PM to reassure nation over fuel supply



Anthony Albanese says nation’s supply remains “secure” amid reports of panic buying and shortages.



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Meta and YouTube found liable in social media addiction trial

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Meta and YouTube found liable in social media addiction trial



A woman has been awarded $6m in a verdict that could have implications for hundreds of other cases in the US.



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Target faces a new boycott over ICE response as retailer presses ahead with turnaround

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Target faces a new boycott over ICE response as retailer presses ahead with turnaround


A major teachers’ union is calling for its members to skip Target when buying back-to-school supplies, the latest twist in a series of boycotts that have targeted the big-box retailer as its turnaround shows signs of life, CNBC has learned.

The AFT, or American Federation of Teachers, passed a resolution Thursday that calls on its 1.8 million members and others to shop at local stores and not at Target, saying the company did not respond adequately to the surge of federal immigration enforcement in the retailer’s hometown of Minneapolis this winter. Federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during the operation.

The labor union, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, plans to urge a similar resolution at AFL-CIO’s convention in Minneapolis this summer and at conventions held by other organizations, including the NAACP and LULAC, AFT President Randi Weingarten said.

Target declined to comment specifically on the AFT’s resolution but said in a statement that it has “a longstanding commitment to strengthening the communities we serve,” including donating 5% of profits since the company’s founding and offering a discount to educators as part of a teacher appreciation program.

Target’s annual sales have declined for the past three years in a row, but the company’s new CEO Michael Fiddelke laid out an ambitious plan earlier this month to refresh its stores, add more enticing merchandise and return to sales growth. The retailer said it expects net sales to rise about 2% this fiscal year compared with the prior year and anticipates sales will grow every quarter.

It is unclear if and how much the AFT’s call for a back-to-school boycott could hurt Target, which is trying to win back customers. Earlier this month, Atlanta area pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant announced the end of a yearlong boycott of the company, called Target Fast, which had started because of the company’s rollback of major diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

At a press conference, Bryant said Target has demonstrated its commitment to the Black community with investments in Black businesses and donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Yet other activists leading a separate boycott, including former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, have said they continue to call for shoppers to steer clear of Target.

The AFT previously supported and participated in the Target boycott over its DEI rollback.

The retailer has attributed some of its sales losses to backlash to its DEI decision, along with other factors including company missteps with merchandise, a weaker store experience and softer discretionary spending.

At an investor meeting in Minneapolis in early March, Fiddelke stressed that it’s “a new chapter for Target.” He said the company is “doing the work to build connection with new guests, deepen relationships with existing guests and earn back trust with guests we’ve disappointed.”

In a separate email to Target employees earlier this month, Fiddelke highlighted how the retailer is putting its strategy into action, including through its move to cut prices on more than 3,000 items and the opening of its 2,000th store. He said Target has made progress with winning back trust, too, noting the end of the Target Fast boycott.

He said Target has had “ongoing conversations with the organizers” of the boycott, who have “acknowledged the meaningful contributions Target has made, and will continue to make, to the Black community.”

In an interview with CNBC, Weingarten said the AFT’s boycott is focused on what she called Target’s lack of response to the surge of aggressive and violent immigration enforcement in its own backyard. Weingarten said the AFT sent a letter to Target and met with Target staff to encourage them to speak up before the union moved to pass the resolution.

“Target was negotiating with our colleagues in the civil rights community for weeks and weeks and weeks,” she said. “They could have very easily dealt with both [concerns about DEI and immigration enforcement] and they chose not to.”

She said Target is “more worried about standing with the Trump administration than the communities that made them a profitable company.”

Fiddelke joined dozens of executives from Minnesota-based corporations in co-signing a letter in late January calling for an “immediate de-escalation” in the state after the fatal shooting of Pretti. However, the letter did not name the shooting victims Pretti or Good or call out the president, his immigration policies or federal agents.

Fiddelke also shared a video message with employees that more directly acknowledged current events, but stopped short of calling for ICE agents to leave the city or for accountability in the two shooting deaths.

Weingarten described the CEOs’ letter as “insulting” and said it “basically blamed both sides.”

She said the union, which includes many teachers, can have the greatest financial impact during the back-to-school shopping season this summer and fall. By passing the resolution now, she said, the AFT can get the word out to members and “give Target enough time to come back to its senses.”



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