Pak PM bans red carpets at official events
Islamabad, March 31: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has banned the use of red carpets at government events, reserving them exclusively for diplomatic receptions, as part of austerity measures to cut down unnecessary expenditures in the cash-strapped nation. Sharif expressed annoyance over the use of red carpets during the visits of federal ministers and senior authorities at government functions. According to the Cabinet Division, a ban has been imposed on the use of red carpet on the prime minister’s directives. According to a notification issued by the Cabinet division, the prime minister has instructed that the red carpet will not be used for federal ministers and government figures at official events in the future. However, it could be used as a protocol only for foreign diplomats, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The decision to ban red carpets is more than just a symbolic gesture. It represents a tangible effort to curb unnecessary expenditures and redirect resources to more critical areas of governance. By eliminating the use of red carpets, the government aims to save funds and promote a more responsible and prudent approach to public finances. (PTI)
SL allowed fair investigation of 2019 bombings
Colombo, March 31: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the government has allowed a free and fair investigation for the independent execution of justice in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, as Christians across the country held the Easter Sunday services in a calm atmosphere but under tight security. The churches across Sri Lanka were placed under a security blanket on Sunday, police said. In 2019, over 270 people, including 11 Indians, were killed when suicide bombers belonging to the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat linked to ISIS carried out a series of blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on the Easter Sunday. Although thousands of suspects have been held since then no one has been tried in court to date. The catholic church in the Buddhist-majority country remains unhappy over the investigations which they have branded as a political cover-up to protect the powerful. President Wickremesinghe, the then-prime minister, in his Easter Sunday message, stressed that the government had allowed free and fair investigation for the independent execution of justice. (PTI)
Nepal, India to promote Sanskrit
Kathmandu, March 31: Nepalese and Indian Sanskrit scholars have proposed to organise an International Sanskrit Conference every year and set up a study centre to conduct research and arrange publication of Sanskrit scriptures, especially the manuscripts found in the Himalayan nation. Adopting a five-point resolution at the end of a three-day Nepal-India International Sanskrit Conclave in Kathmandu, the participants also adopted a resolution to provide support for the development of gurukuls in Nepal with the collaboration of Maharshi Sandipani Veda Vidya Pratisthan, Ujjain. (PTI)
