Military leadership vows to defeat terrorists and abettors
The Pakistan Army leadership in a meeting at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday vowed that terrorists and their abettors would be “defeated at all costs”, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. It also discussed the “ongoing security situation along the Line of Control, Working Boundary and eastern border”, the ISPR said. Terrorists and their abettors will be defeated at all costs,” the statement added. [The] determined Kashmiris shall succeed,” the army leadership said. According to the ISPR, the meeting also expressed its satisfaction at the progress in the Afghan peace process and efforts made for regional peace and stability.
Source:Pakistan Today
January 05, 2021 14:03 UTC
Stocks close flat after volatile session
KARACHI: Putting an end to its winning streak, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed a volatile session on Tuesday flat, with the indices changing directions throughout the day in search of a clear direction. “The market saw selling pressure right from the start, primarily due overnight decline in crude oil prices as well as profit booking in power, oil & gas marketing and fertilizer stocks,” a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd read. The overall market volumes increased from 540.79 million shares in the previous session to 581.55 million shares (+8pc). Hum Network Ltd (HUMNL +4.67pc), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL +7.49pc) and TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG +3.51pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 68.81 million, 58.16 million and 31.05 million shares, respectively. Sectors that dragged the benchmark index lower included oil & gas exploration (-169.62 points), power generation & distribution (-85.14 points) and oil & gas marketing (-52.07 points).
Source:Pakistan Today
January 05, 2021 13:41 UTC
Cement despatches up 15.6pc in H1FY21
In the southern region, domestic cement despatches grew 14pc to 3.381m tonnes in July-Dec FY21 from 2.966m tonnes in the same period last fiscal. Meanwhile, as per APCMA’s monthly data, local cement despatches increased to 4.154m tonnes in December 2020, as compared to 3.536m tonnes in December 2019, depicting a jump of 17.47pc. In the northern region, domestic cement despatches stood 17.09pc higher at 3.471m tonnes in December 2020 from 2.964m tonnes in December 2019. In the southern region, domestic cement despatches rose 19.47pc to 682,854 tonnes in December 2020 from 571,558 tonnes in December 2019. The APCMA spokesman said that the rising trend of coal, electricity and diesel prices are also hurting the cement sector.
Source:Pakistan Today
January 05, 2021 12:22 UTC
Sustained gas supply ensuring export momentum: APTMA Punjab
LAHORE: Sustained supply of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) has helped maintain the momentum of enhanced exports with the textile industry working at full capacity at present. Earlier, in November 2020, textile exports had surged by 9pc as compared to November 2019. According to Nasir, Pakistan’s textile sector is currently in the mode of rapid expansion to meet increased orders and demands. He said it is essential to sustain this momentum, which he hoped would be facilitated by the upcoming Textile Policy. He said there have been isolated cases of low gas pressure and supply problems on mixed feeders; however, APTMA has taken up these issues with the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd. (SNGPL) management that has assured the association of all-possible assistance in removing bottlenecks.
Source:Pakistan Today
January 05, 2021 11:03 UTC
SC orders immediate restoration of Karak temple
The country’s top court has directed the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) chairman to immediately visit the site of the destroyed Hindu temple in southern Karak district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and begin its reconstruction. The historic temple had stopped offering religious service after the 1947 partition when all local Hindu families migrated to India. However, four years ago, the unfrequented temple was handed over to the Hindu community on the Supreme Court’s order. According to reports, local clerics were not happy with the handover of the temple to the Hindu community. “There is a lot of corruption in K-P’s ETPB,” Vankwani said.
Source:The Express Tribune
January 05, 2021 10:35 UTC
Tencent-backed Kuaishou Tech coming to Pakistan
KARACHI: With Sensor Tower ranking SnackVideo in the top ten Google Play Store apps in the “Video Players & Editors” for Pakistan since mid-December 2020, parent company Kuaishou Technology is actively recruiting content moderators in the country. The company hopes that by directly dealing with talent agencies, it can enforce content guidelines and avoid the app bans faced by the likes of TikTok and Bigo in Pakistan. The company hopes to hire a team in Pakistan to coordinate influencer marketing campaigns between advertisers and talent agencies registered with the Chinese video-sharing mobile app. Sources at executive recruitment firms said that Kuaishou Technology is considering launching a reseller programme aimed at a multi-channel network (MCN). As predicted by Profit, as the SMCC market in Pakistan heats up, the ecosystem will need an MCN.
Source:Pakistan Today
January 05, 2021 09:45 UTC
Cement despatches grow by 16pc in H1FY21
Region wise, during July-December, local cement despatches in the north region grew 16.21pc to 20.228m tonnes as compared to 17.406m tonnes in the corresponding period last year. Meanwhile, during December, local cement despatches increased to 4.154m tonnes as compared to 3.536m tonnes in December 2019, depicting a jump of 17.47pc. In the north region, domestic cement despatches stood 17.09pc higher at 3.471m tonnes during December from 2.964m tonnes in December 2019. In the south region, domestic cement despatches rose by 19.47pc to 682,854 tonnes during December from 571,558 tonnes in December 2019. The APCMA spokesman said that the rising trend of coal, electricity and diesel prices are also hurting the cement sector.
Source:Pakistan Today
January 05, 2021 09:11 UTC
Man kills neighbour's dog in Lahore's DHA
PHOTO: EXPRESSA man was booked on Tuesday for killing his neighbour's dog on New Year's eve in DHA, Lahore. The accused, identified as Ahmed Umer Saqib, is said to have fired at the dog thrice. The dog's owner, Hijab Akhtar, maintains in the FIR that, "Ahmed Umer Saqib shot our 9 year old pitbull domestic dog 3 times with a rifle on his back. The accused told us a lie that the dog was trying to attack his daughter when he has no daughter." Akhtar maintained that the dog was shot outside the accused's gate and his body was thrown in an empty plot.
Source:The Express Tribune
January 05, 2021 08:37 UTC
The tale of CIEC’s remiss functioning
In addition to that, claims against the department also allege various irregularities in its formation of committees for the classification of Sindh’s private universities. It is to be noted that the second term of Charter Inspection and Evaluation Committee Head Dr Qadeer Rajput, is coming to an end sometime around mid-January. It may be recalled that the Charter Inspection and Evaluation Committee was set up in 2002. Later, it also adopted the process of inspecting and ranking private universities across the province. More importantly, according to the committee’s 2002 ordinance, only vicechancellors of certain public universities were allowed to be members of the body.
Source:The Express Tribune
January 05, 2021 05:26 UTC
Glad tidings: Ban on illegal bird hunting expanded
In a bid to preserve biodiversity and enhance safety measures for the endangered species, the Punjab Wildlife Department has decided to place a ban on the hunting of 10 species of birds. The department has decided to include these birds in the Third Schedule of the Punjab Wildlife Act. Under the Schedule, hunting of these birds or keeping them as a pet without a license would result in imprisonment and fine. The letter said the use of the PCP airguns for hunting of birds has increased drastically in the recent times. In his letter, Munir had recommended a complete ban on the use of these airguns for bird hunting across the country.
Source:The Express Tribune
January 05, 2021 05:03 UTC
Two decapitated bodies found in sack
The decapitated bodies of two youth were found in sacks in Chichawatni on Monday. After the decapitated bodies were discovered, the family members of the victims blocked the Chichawatni bypass road and protested against police negligence. As per details available with The Express Tribune, the heirs of the slain protested at Chichawatni bypass. This is not the only incident of sack packed bodies found in the province. The victim’s body was found in a sack outside her house.
Source:The Express Tribune
January 05, 2021 04:30 UTC
Pakistan embraces digitalisation in 2020
While 2020 can be termed a hazardous year for most sectors of the economy, it has been phenomenal for steering digitalisation and giving a boost to e-commerce in Pakistan. An industry source, heading an e-commerce-based start-up, termed 2020 the year in which the pace of digitalisation accelerated and people skewed more towards adopting digital solutions in Pakistan. Digital payments and e-commerceThough stakeholders agree that e-commerce thrived in 2020, they lament that the rise in digital payments was way below expectations. He detailed that digital payments were an alternative to cash and Pakistan failed to lift digital payments because they were mostly done through banks and the consumer base of commercial banks in Pakistan was limited. In addition, he stressed that there was a severe need for digital wallets in Pakistan as they helped raise digital payments.
Source:The Express Tribune
January 05, 2021 03:21 UTC
Human Rights in Kashmir
Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, on Monday asked the International community and Human Rights organisations to take notice of the Human Rights violation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The Minister called upon the United Nations, International Human Rights Agencies including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as women organisations including the International Women Caucuses to take action of the issue. Addressing a press conference here with the family members of imprisoned Kashmiri freedom fighter, Asiya Andrabi she said India under the Modi Government has continued and expanded violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Presently, Mazari said, Fehmida Sufi and Naheeda Nasreen were in Rihar Jail along with Asiya Andrabi. Article 76 further stipulated that women should be confined in separate quarters and should be under the direct supervision of women, she said.
Source:Pakistan Today
January 04, 2021 18:16 UTC
FBR appoints focal person to resolve cases worth Rs647bn in Sindh
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has appointed a focal person for early resolution of 5,160 cases worth Rs647 billion lying pending in the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR)-Karachi from 2016 to 2020. Sources said that Chief Commissioner Large Taxpayer Unit-Karachi Badruddin Ahmad Quraishi had written a letter to the chairman of the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue-Islamabad with regard to nominating a focal person for cooperation regarding pending cases in adjudicating ATIR Karachi. Consequently, the additional commissioner (headquarter) of LTU-Karachi has been nominated as focal person to coordinate as well as facilitate the resolution of pending issues therein. Sources disclosed that the majority of cases pending for adjudication at ATIR Karachi branch have not been fixed for hearing as yet. They informed that an amount of Rs453 billion was involved in some 4,251 cases related to income tax, Rs182 billion in 902 sales tax cases and Rs64billion in matters pertaining to federal excise duty (FED).
Source:Pakistan Today
January 04, 2021 18:11 UTC
PTCL awarded Rs3bn contracts to provide connectivity to interior Sindh
ISLAMABAD: The Universal Service Fund (USF) has awarded contracts for two Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) projects, worth approximately Rs3 billion, to Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL). The announcement for contracts, aimed at providing connectivity in Ghotki, Kashmore, Sukkur and Khairpur districts of interior Sindh, was made at a ceremony held at Karachi Governor House on Monday. Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, who was the chief guest of the ceremony, inaugurated the projects alongside Federal IT and Telecommunication Minister Syed Aminul Haque. The contracts were signed by USF CEO Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary and PTCL Acting CEO and Group Chief Financial Officer Nadeem Khan. Senior officials from the Sindh government, Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, USF and PTCL were also present on the occasion.
Source:Pakistan Today
January 04, 2021 17:52 UTC