Faisal Mumtaz Rathore

Bilal, you have made the nation proud. I feel so proud of you that I wish to hug you right now. You are an inspiration for my kids and we all salute you. May Allah (SWT) give you the strength to overcome the enemies of our nation. God bless you, hero. Out of the night that covers me Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.

نادانی اور لالچ آپ کو ملک دشمن ایجنسیوں کے جال میں پھنسا سکتی ہیں۔ اپنے اور اپنی قوم کے دشمنوں سے چوکنّا رہیں اور انہیں کسی قیمت پر ایسی معلومات فراہم نہ کریں جسے وہ مستقبل کی جنگوں میں ٹارگٹنگ کیلیئے استعمال کریں۔ ہماری افواج کی نقل و حرکت اور تنصیبات کو خفیہ رکھنے میں ہماری قومی سلامتی پنہاں ہے۔ اسے ہرگز دانستہ یا غیر دانستہ طور پر عیاں مت کریں۔ لوگوں سے تعلقات اور سوشل میڈیا کے استعمال میں انتہائی محتاط رہنا ہم سب کا فرض ہے۔

Heartfelt thanks to my family, friends, political colleagues, and people from across Pakistan and AJK for the wonderful birthday messages and prayers received through various platforms throughout the day. Your kindness reflects the deep bond we share and continues to inspire me every day. I am deeply grateful for this affection and trust, which further strengthens my resolve to serve with honesty, dedication, and humility. I pray for the determination to remain worthy of this confidence.

Alhamdulillah, a project conceived a decade ago has finally seen the light of day under my government today. What remained stalled for years has, with renewed focus and resolve, been taken from paper to practice — a reminder that intent at the top, backed by committed teamwork, can turn long-pending plans into tangible outcomes. I am grateful to LG&RD Minister Amir Yasin, Secretary Irshad Qureshi, Chief Secretary Khushal Khan and their teams for their untiring efforts in steering this project to execution. Their dedication reflects what becomes possible when direction is clear and execution is pursued with purpose. A decade of delay underscores the cost of inaction, but today’s milestone shows that with determined will, coordinated effort and a results-driven approach, we can make a real difference — and deliver what the people rightfully expect.

Today, in a detailed discussion with Qaumi Paigham-e-Amal Committee, I was extremely pleased to witness unity and harmony among ulema, scholars and elders from different faiths and schools of thought. During the meeting we discussed the need for maintaining cohesion and making collective efforts to foil evil designs of our enemies who consistently look for opportunities to sow seeds of discord in our society. We also pledged to work together for national unity, peace, and development.

𝗔𝗝𝗞 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗥𝘀𝟯𝟰.𝟴𝟱𝗯𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 Time is short, and we must deliver more within it. That is why I have consistently stressed the need to fast-track development processes, with bottlenecks addressed on priority. dawn.com/news/1989669/a…

Alhamdolillah 🇵🇰

Had a productive and heartwarming meeting with Chief Minister Punjab, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, in Lahore yesterday, during which we fondly recalled the longstanding friendship between our fathers, (late) Mumtaz Hussain Rathore and Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, whose legacy continues to inspire us. I deeply appreciate her people-centric initiatives and commitment to improved governance in Punjab. I am particularly grateful for her positive response regarding the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants settled in Punjab and the improvement of road infrastructure linking Azad Jammu and Kashmir with Punjab. Together, we remain committed to the welfare and progress of our people.

Complete sense of security among all citizens holds paramount importance in every progressive society. I visited Punjab Safe Cities Authority to get an in-depth look at how surveillance and safety protocols are being maintained to eradicate crime in Punjab. Insha Allah we will replicate such projects in Azad Jammu & Kashmir to ensure our cities and towns remain safe as ever.

دیارِ عشق میں اپنا مقام پیدا کر
نیا زمانہ، نئے صبح و شام پیدا کر خدا اگر دلِ فطرت شناس دے تجھ کو
سکوتِ لالہ و گل سے کلام پیدا کر (علامہ اقبال کے مزار پر حاضری)

Today is the martyrdom anniversary of our Quaid Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who ensured our survival in a hostile world. Watching a neighboring civilization put under sanctions for almost 50 years before being invaded illegally, should make us bow our heads in gratitude to the Almighty for giving our Quaid the vision to make Pakistan unconquerable.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧. Around 4 million to 5 million Pakistanis (including Kashmiris) work in Gulf countries. Due to disruptions and closure of businesses in those countries, foreign remittances are taking a hit impacting the currency reserves. Crude oil prices are consolidating much above $105 (up from $60 before the start of war), also draining our foreign reserves. In terms of supply chain disruptions, it’s not just petroleum, but also a lot of other raw materials that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Crude oil alone has dozens of byproducts which are used in various industries for manufacturing of several consumer products. Exports will also be negatively impacted. This is where the exorbitant subsidy on electricity and flour is going to bite us even harder. How do we provide relief to our people when even our development budget is already run over by the subsidized electricity bills? My government is in the process of imposing austerity measures on all our departments and functionaries. That’s important but not enough to provide relief to the common man. The age-old slogan of ‘government cutting its expenditure’ is not a cure-all formula. Responsible nations don’t jeopardize their future over momentary and frivolous benefits. A misguided movement started by agents of chaos is costing us dearly and crippling our capacity to launch major development projects and provide relief to those hit hard by extraordinary events such as this unexpected inflationary storm. Conservation, persistence and patience are needed more than ever to battle this crisis. Let’s think smart and do all we can to weather this storm. dawn.com/news/1987962/f…

We have decided to reform our education sector and an education package is being unveiled as a first step in this direction. Sectoral reforms, improvement in academic standards and restructuring along modern lines underpin our reforms package. Through expansion of educational facilities in remote and underdeveloped areas, improvements in school infrastructure and provision of equal learning opportunities we aim to equip our youth with modern and quality education. At the same time we are taking steps to expand our industrial base and include new segments to the industrial portfolio so that no avenue for growth is left untapped. Building and upgrading infrastructure to enable industrialization is critical to provide ease of business so that Azad Jammu and Kashmir prospers. dawn.com/news/1987409/a…

When it comes to Pakistan's economy, security and prosperity, there's nothing that separates us. We are all together to make Pakistan strong on all fronts.

Another proof that our political and military leadership is going all out to create an environment for dialogue and bring peace to the region.

Iran lost its top leadership on Day 1. Not to forget more than 100 schoolgirls who had nothing to do with the war. Since then the invading forces have fallen in a quagmire which deepens every day while the whole region remains at a precipice as a result of Iran's counterstrikes. Iran's superior asymmetrical military strategy has shocked the world. In order to persuade the Iranians for any real negotiations, the invaders should've announced a unilateral ceasefire as a starter. There's a need to build back some lost credibility after Iran was attacked twice during 'negotiations' in less than a year. Pakistan is doing all it can to extinguish the fire in its neighborhood which has engulfed its friendly nations. This fire is crushing the global economy is even raising the suspicions over things spiraling into a WW3. Along with Türkiye and Egypt, Pakistan's posturing can benefit everyone who desires peace. However there's a lot of water that's still not under the bridge. Which is why confidence building measures are needed to bring Iran to the table. Then there are troublemakers who don't want peace and seek further escalation instead of building bridges. Provoking Iran is their modus operandi that has to stop now. Pakistan's efforts to bring any party to the table cannot bear fruit unless the counterparty shows goodwill. Even if humanity survives this crisis, the hits taken by the global economy (broken supply chains) are too severe for all nation to keep sailing smoothly. We may see food shortages (there's going to be a lack of ingredients for making fertilizers), scarcity of energy resources (prohibitive costs, power failures, empty fuel tanks), and a total collapse of financial systems in some countries of the Global South. God help us all. Further destruction can be avoided, but disruption is going to haunt us for a long time. The next 3 days are going to be crucial in deciding the fate of our economies and our world. Let's hope sanity prevails.

درختوں کی بےدریخ کٹائی جہاں ایک قانونی مسئلہ ہے، وہیں معاشرتی اور سماجی سوچ کا مسئلہ بھی ہے۔ باشعور معاشرے ہر معاملے پر چور/سپاہی کھیلنے کی بجائے انفرادی اور اجتماعی طور پر ذمہ داری لیتے ہیں۔ یقیناً یہ کسی غیر ملکی ایجنسی کی سازش نہیں، بلکہ ہم میں سے ہی کوئی ہے جو یوں جنگلات کو برباد کررہا ہے۔ میں متعلقہ حکام کو ضرور ہدایات دونگا لیکن ہمیں بھی مہذب دنیا کی طرح خود اپنے ہاتھوں اپنے اثاثے برباد نہ کرنے کی سوچ پیدا کرنی ہوگی اور جنگلات سمیت تمام قومی اثاثوں کی حفاظت کے لیئےہر علاقے کی کمیونٹی کو اپنا کردار ادا کرنا ہوگا۔