RAWALPINDI: The General Post Office (GPO) on Monday celebrated World Post Day with a commitment to further improve postal services.

Postmaster General Northern Punjab Circle Rawalpindi Rana Mohammad Ikhlag was the chief guest on the occasion. Of ficials of Pakistan Post, philatelists and students from schools and colleges attended the event. An exhibition of commemorative stamps was also arranged.

The post stamps displayed at the GPO are from 1942 to 2017. Some of the philatelists also told students the history of the stamps.

A documentary on the Pakistan Post was screened afterwards and students visited the various counters in the GPO where senior of ficials briefed them about the various services offeredincluding savings, express post centre, pension payments, delivery of mail and the philatelic bureau.

A flag hoisting ceremony was held at the GPO as well. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Ikhlag said the Pakistan Post was focusing on bettering services for customers, especially traders and the industrial community.

He said customers in all industries arebecoming more demanding in the age of information technology.

GPO Rawalpindi Chief Postmaster Dr Najeebur Rehman read out a message from Director General of Univeral Postal Union (UPU) Bishar A. Hussein which said: `The main purpose of World Post Day is to raise awareness of the [post`s] role in everyone`s lives as well as its contribution to global social and economic development`.

`With countries stepping up efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we should not forget that the postal sector is enabler of inclusive development and an essential component of the global economy in remotest and the most populated areas of our planet alike, it remains a key platform for delivering public services, he said in the message.

He said UPU is also celebrating young people who have kept their habit of writing even in the age of new technology.

This year`s winner of the UPU International Letter Writing completion is 14-year-old Eva Giorano Palacios from Togi, who wrote a poignant letter to the secretary general of the United from Palacios the Nations Antonio Guterres, calling for increased efforts to help poor counties abolish old practices which persist because of a lack of socioeconomic development.