Tag: Tania Aidrus

  • KYA BOLA? (Jul 30): ‘Sciencedaan Fawad Chaudhry’ to ‘Imran Khan k aglay 6 maah ki ahmeeyat’

    KYA BOLA? (Jul 30): ‘Sciencedaan Fawad Chaudhry’ to ‘Imran Khan k aglay 6 maah ki ahmeeyat’

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on July 30, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    ‘Sciencedaan Fawad Chaudhry’

    It was reported by Daily Jang that Ruete Hilal [Moon-Sighting] Committee Chairman Mufti Muneebur Rehman has said, “Fawad Chaudhry ko calendar banaa kr denay walay humaray members hain. Hum 25 saal se Ruet chalaa rahay hain, Fawad Chaudhary kahaan se sciencedaan aa gaye?”

    The statement comes days after yet another war of words erupted between the cleric and the science and technology minister over moon-sighting, this time for the Islamic month of Zil Hajj.

    ‘Tania Aidrus aur Zafar Mirza’

    According to Daily Jang, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said, “Wazire Azam shayad Zafar Mirza k kaam say mutmayin nahi thay. Dono isteefo’n ka dual nationality se koi taaluq nahi tha.”

    A day earlier, special assistant to the prime minister on health, Dr Zafar Mirza, and on digital Pakistan, Tania Aidrus, had announced having submitted their resignations, saying it was over criticism following the assets and dual nationality report of PM’s aides. Pundits had, however, hinted at possible trouble in Islamabad and said that there was more to the resignations.

    ‘Imran Khan k aglay 6 maah ki ahmeeyat’

    Senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir, in his column for Daily Jang, has said,“Imran Khan ne 2 saal tou jaisay taisay mukamal kr liye lekin Eid k bad inka asal imtehaan shuru honay wala hai. Agly 6 maah in k liye aham hain aur buhat mushkil bhi… yeh 6 maah nikal gaye to Imran Khan k liye paanch saal mukammal krna asaan hojayega.”

  • Imran’s aides succumb to criticism

    Imran’s aides succumb to criticism

    — While Tania Aidrus has resigned amid criticism for holding dual nationality, Dr Zafar Mirza has stepped down over ‘negative discussion about the role of SAPMs’

    Dr Zafar Mirza and Tania Aidrus, special assistants to the prime minister (SAPM) on health and e-governance, respectively, stepped down from their posts on Wednesday.

    The resignations come days after the Cabinet Division made public the details of the assets and dual nationalities of 20 advisers and special assistants, rocking the country’s political landscape.

    In a tweet, Aidrus, the head of the much-touted Digital Pakistan Vision initiative, cited recent criticism levelled against her and the government due to her dual nationality as the reason behind her decision to resign.

    “[The] criticism levied towards the state as a consequence of my citizenship status is clouding the purpose of Digital Pakistan,” she said, adding that she was resigning “in the greater public interest”.

    In the resignation letter, Aidrus stated that she had returned to Pakistan with the “singular intent to contribute and develop the vision of a Digital Pakistan”.

    “I always was and shall be a Pakistani,” she wrote, adding that “it is unfortunate that a Pakistani’s desire to serve Pakistan is clouded by such [dual nationality] issues”.

    While the letter points to criticism on Aidrus’ foreign nationality being the chief reason for her resignation, reports say that the former Google executive was in fact forced to resign.

    READ: What we know about Tana Aidrus’s resignation

    Meanwhile, Mirza also took to Twitter to announce stepping down.

    He said that he had come to Pakistan on the personal invitation of the premier after leaving the World Health Organization (WHO).

    “I worked hard and honestly. It was a privilege to serve Pakistan. I am satisfied that I leave at a time when COVID-19 has declined in Pakistan as a result of a grand national effort,” Mirza said.

    He added that he had made the decision over the “negative discussion about the role of SAPMs and criticism of the government”.

    “Pakistani people deserve better healthcare. I have worked sincerely to contribute to this cause. Pakistan will Inshallah emerge out of COVID-19 with a stronger healthcare system.”

    While PM Imran has not yet accepted the resignations, rumour has it that another aide of his will shortly be resigning.

  • Everything we know about Tania Aidrus’s resignation

    Everything we know about Tania Aidrus’s resignation

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus has resigned from her post amid growing criticism for holding dual citizenship.

    “Growing criticism is a distraction to my ability to execute on the long-term vision for a Digital Pakistan. It is unfortunate that a Pakistani’s desire to serve Pakistan is clouded by such issues,” said Tania, who holds Canadian and Singaporean nationality, in her resignation letter.

    Furthermore, she stated that her Canadian nationality was a consequence of her birth and “not an acquisition of choice”.

    TANIA & TAREEN:

    According to media reports, appointments of Tania and Khurram Jamali, who formerly worked under Tania at Google, was facilitated by Jahangir Khan Tareen.

    In April 2020 when the sugar scandal rose its ugly head and a subsequent probe into it led to the damning report that said Tareen prioritised his sugar mills over national interest, PM Imran Khan was disillusioned.

    This led to a rift between the premier and Tareen, who, according to reports, are no longer on talking terms.

    While Tareen has left the country for the time being and does not hold any direct or indirect power in the government, people cannot help drawing links between the rift and Tania’s resignation.

    DIGITAL PAKISTAN INITIATIVE AND DIGITAL PAKISTAN FOUNDATION CONFLICT:

    Despite the existence of Digital Pakistan Initiative, Tania formed a nonprofit organisation called Digital Pakistan Foundation to attract foreign expatriates and talent to facilitate the digitisation process in Pakistan.

    According to Tania, the government’s Digital Pakistan Initiative had no Federal Budget assigned to it, neither was it under the ambit of the Ministry of Information Technology (IT) or Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), leaving it stalled and dry.

    However, reports say, Shabahat Ali Shah, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the National IT Board (NITB), and Tania were not getting along well since day one.

    Both Shah and Tania were working for the IT Ministry and there had been an overlap of their work, leading to turf wars.

    Taking advantage of Tania’s vulnerability, Shah allegedly want her sacked as the SAPM. To that end, the Digital Pakistan Foundation scandal was reportedly intentionally hyped up and leaked to a journalist, whose thread about the scandal was later picked up by various media outlets.

    Meanwhile, Tania says she will continue serving in Pakistan through public and private initiatives and will always be available for the cause of ‘Naya Pakistan’.

  • IBM to launch Open P-TECH in Pakistan for Youth’s capacity building

    IBM to launch Open P-TECH in Pakistan for Youth’s capacity building

    IBM is launching Open P-TECH in Pakistan to help develop talent and equip them with technical and professional proficiency in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Cybersecurity, Cloud, etc to enabling our workforce, Tania Aidrus has tweeted.

    Open P-TECH was launched by the American tech giant, IBM and it aims to equip people of different countries with skills in tech-related fields like Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cyber Security, Design Thinking, and Professional Skills.

    “The P-TECH offers industry-recognised tools and digital badges on emerging technologies and professional competencies that are in demand across industries,” says the P-TECH website.

    The platform will help students across Pakistan in obtaining much-needed exposure, knowledge and skills before they enter the job market.

    Students will be able to showcase their skills and gain e-badges and the likes, attracting potential employers and selection committees at universities.

    Teachers will also have access to projects and lesson plans for their students, making it easier for them to teach as well as equipping them with many technical and professional skills.

    “Open P-TECH is a great place to start your career exploration and begin building skills that will help you become well-positioned for a fulfilling career!”

  • Sehatmand Pakistan: Govt’s new chat system to inform people about coronavirus

    Sehatmand Pakistan: Govt’s new chat system to inform people about coronavirus

    The government has launched a new chat system to provide basic information on the new coronavirus — COVID-19 –, Tania Aidrus tweeted.

    The chat system named ‘Pakistan Government Official Corona Chatbot’ can be accessed through the Facebook page of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination.

    A chatbot is an auto-generated message that a user receives from a digital media platform.

    This new digital media service can answer all basic questions regarding coronavirus. Moreover, it can guide you about the preventive measures that should be taken to reduce the risks of contracting the virus, and suggest you see your nearest facility for screening if you are experiencing any of the virus symptoms.

    For more information, Facebook users can visit the page of Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Islamabad.

    https://www.facebook.com/NHSRCOfficial/?epa=SEARCH_BOX
  • Citizen Protection Rules 2020 suspended

    Citizen Protection Rules 2020 suspended

    Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020 suspended when more than 100 rights organisations and individuals boycott consultation with government, DAWN reported.

    The right groups in a statement said that the government had refused to elaborate on the legal status of the rules, so “any consultation is merely token to deflect criticism and not a genuine exercise to seek input.”

    According to the report, when Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Amir Azeem Bajwa was approached to seek clarification, he said: “The rules are expected to be improved/amended suitably at the end of the consultation process. Implementation of [existing] rules has been suspended.”

    This Monday, the PTA chairman-led committee that the IT minister formed following the premier’s instruction from consultation with stakeholders. Additional Secretary of IT Eazaz Aslam Dar, Digital Pakistan head Tania Aidrus and the focal person on digital media Dr Arslan Khalid are committee members.

    On the contrary, the Federal Minister for human rights Dr shireen Mazari and barrister Ali Zafar are also expected to be a part of the process.

    According to the press release of PTA, the committee decides to initiate an open consultation with all stakeholders including civil society, human and digital rights groups.

    PTA further added that a questionnaire seeking input from all stakeholders shall be posted on its official website.

    PM’s focal person on digital media Arslan Khalid said all proceedings would be “inclusive” and done in a “transparent” manner. “The rules have not been implemented. Prime Minis­ter Imran Khan has clearly instructed for robust and broad-based consultations before any rules can be put into place,” he told Dawn.

  • PTI-MQM alliance hanging in balance because of Google’s Tania Aidrus: report

    PTI-MQM alliance hanging in balance because of Google’s Tania Aidrus: report

    Future of the coalition government in centre hangs in balance ever since the resignation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui as the federal minister for information technology and telecommunication, which reportedly came because of former Google executive, Tania Aidrus.

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led federal government on Sunday suffered a severe blow as Siddiqui of MQM-P — an ally of the PTI — announced his decision to leave the federal cabinet over “unfulfilled promises” on part of the ruling party.

    Amid speculations over the fate of the ruling party that is in power owing to the support of its allies, reports have claimed that Siddiqui’s resignation came because he “was extremely unhappy with his ministry due to continuous intervention by Aidrus”.

    Aidrus had resigned from Google for Pakistan and is currently heading Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s Digital Vision programme in the country.

    According to The News, while PTI has strongly rejected the allegations leveled against Aidrus, and sources in the ruling party have said that she is acting within the rules and regulations; people close to Siddiqui have said he felt like a stranger in his ministry while Aidrus had started holding meetings with the premier and heads of other institutions directly.

    “Besides that, she also issued directions to institutions responsible for running the affairs of the ministry and Federal Secretary Shoaib Siddiqui had complained about it to the minister several times in this regard.”

  • ‘I already love her,’ say Twitterati about former Google exec leading ‘Digital Pakistan’ campaign

    ‘I already love her,’ say Twitterati about former Google exec leading ‘Digital Pakistan’ campaign

    A senior Pakistani executive of Google, Tania Aidrus quit her position at the tech giant to lead Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ‘Digital Pakistan’ initiative. Her decision to serve the country has won the hearts of Pakistanis who took to Twitter to thank her for her efforts.

    https://twitter.com/NeelumMunirKhan/status/1202569193964654592?s=20

    According to reports, Tania arrived in Pakistan from Singapore to offer her services to the country’s digitalisation programme.

    Tania was the Chief of Staff and Head of Strategic Initiatives on the Next Billion Users (NBU) team at Google which is focused on building new products and services that are aimed at addressing the emerging trends and needs of users in growth markets.

    Prior to this, Tania was a leader in the Global Business Organisation at Google in the US and then in Singapore where she was the Country Manager for South Asia Frontier Markets at Google focused on expanding the Internet ecosystem, increasing product adoption amongst consumers and businesses and accelerating innovation.

    Before being part of Google, Tania co-founded a mobile health diagnosis company called ClickDiagnostics which was focused on connecting rural patients in emerging markets to doctors globally. She also spent a portion of her career consulting for Fortune 500 companies and the US Government at Booz Allen Hamilton.

    Tania holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BSc from Brandeis University.

    PM Imran Khan inaugurated the ‘Digital Pakistan’ campaign on Thursday. The campaign was executed by the Ministry of Information Technology (MoIT), who were tasked with digitising all correspondence between the government offices. They were given only three months to complete the task.

    According to a statement, Digital Pakistan is a comprehensive plan which will help the country in competing in the digital market globally and will also create jobs and ease for the people of Pakistan.

    Earlier in September, senior PTI leader Jahangir Tareen had announced the government had engaged a senior former Google executive to help revamp its payment system and set into motion the digitisation initiative.

    He said the government had persuaded the Google executive, who was in Singapore, to lead the project from Pakistan, after a lot of effort and headhunting.

    “She is leaving Google. In fact, she has left it and she is moving to Pakistan and will lead the digitisation initiative,” Tareen had said.