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AIIB appreciates govt’s reforms, economic policies

By
Muhammad Ashraf Wani
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Chief Economist of Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), Erik Berglof during a call on meeting with Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 7 (APP): Chief Economist of Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), Erik Berglof here on Tuesday appreciated the economic policies and reforms of the present government for social uplift of the masses.

During a call on meeting with Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Berglof highlighted the role of AIIB in infrastructure development projects and investment in Pakistan and discussed future cooperation in development projects especially eco- friendly and climate resilience.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Finance, Tariq Bajwa, SAPM on Revenue, Tariq Mehmood Pasha and senior officers from finance division participated in the meeting, according to press statement issued by the finance ministry.

On the occasion, Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar shared with Erik Berglof the current economic outlook of the country.
He apprised him about the economic policies and reforms of the government for sustainable economic development and social uplift of the poor segment of society.

He said that despite economic challenges, the government was determined to set the things in right direction and put the economy on positive trajectory.

He also apprised about the economic losses due to the devastated floods in Pakistan and rehabilitation and reconstruction in the flood affected areas.

The minister expressed gratitude to Erik Berglof, Chief Economist AIIB for his support to Pakistan.

Pakistan’s rescue team with relief assistance leaves for quake-hit Turkiye

By
NNPS Desk
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Pakistan's rescue team with relief assistance leaves for quake-hit Turkiye

ISLAMABAD, Feb 07 (APP): A 51-member team from Pakistan on Tuesday morning left for Turkiye to participate in rescue and relief activities in the areas affected by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that caused widespread destruction.

“A 51-member Rescue Team has just left for #Turkiye via #PIA flight PK707 from #Lahore along with their 7 tons of special rescue equipment.

They will be on the ground soon as part of @GovtofPakistan’s contributions to rescue efforts. Hearts & prayers to #earthquakeinturkey victims,” a PIA spokesman said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, in a press statement, he said the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) operated flights to Istanbul (Turkiye) daily which would be available for dispatching rescue and relief assistance.

The PIA administration has also made the delivery of relief goods free of charge on humanitarian grounds for Turkiye and Syria, the spokesman said.

The relief assistance can be delivered to PIA’s cargo terminals through National Disaster Management Authority.

He said the national flag carrier had always been at the forefront during emergencies for relief assistance and vowed that PIA would extend all possible services to bring back the quake-affected Pakistans to the homeland if needed.

Railways earns Rs28 billion in six months despite flood devastation

By
NNPS Desk
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Railways to complete rehabilitation work on Quetta-Bostan track soon

ISLAMABAD, Feb 7 (APP): Pakistan Railways has earned significant revenue of Rs 28.263 billion during the last six months from July to December 2022 from its regular operations despite closures of train operations during flood devastation.

“The expenditure in the same period was Rs. 52.990 billion, out of the total expenditure, whereas 35 percent of it was related to pensions and 33 percent to salaries of the department,” said an official document available with APP.

In the same period, July-December, 2022, Pakistan Railways received a subsidy of Rs. 21.750 billion as a grant in aid from the federal government. However, the net deficit for the period July-December was Rs. 2.977 billion, it said.

Pakistan Railways is trying its level best to transform itself into a profitable organization despite financial constraints. The department in this regard has developed a two-pronged action plan that included concentration on core activities and emphasis on revenue generation through non-core activities.

Pakistan Railways has been serving the nation since independence. There have been decades of neglect when it comes to investment in railway infrastructure and rolling stock. This neglect has adversely impacted the financial need of the department.

The document said during the first half of the current financial year 2022-23 brought more bad news for the department as the unprecedented floods due to climate change played havoc with the already dilapidated infrastructure.

It not only resulted in revenue loss for Pakistan Railways as train operations remained suspended for more than 35 days but it also put a further burden on the department in terms of restoration of Railway traffic from its meagre resources.

About the concentration on core activities, it said that Pakistan Railways has prepared a business plan in January 2023 to increase its revenue and reduce expenditure through improved governance. The plan is being implemented in letter and spirit.

The recent initiatives towards digitization in form of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Railway Automated Booking and Travel Assistance (RABTA) also aim to increase efficiency and reduced the revenue expenditure gap.

The department has restarted its premium train service Green Line from January 2023 and the train consists of new Chinese coaches imported recently equipped with infotainment services like LEDs, Wi-Fi and public address systems.

Pakistan Railways is also importing 230 passenger coaches from China, out of these 46 coaches have arrived from China while the rest of the coaches would be assembled in the country through Transfer of Technology (ToT).

Regarding the emphasis on revenue generation through non-core activities, it said that Pakistan Railways recently presented a business plan to the Supreme Court and successfully pleaded before the court to allow the department to utilize its land for the generation of economic activities and thereby ensure revenue for itself.

Some other avenues are also being explored to improve the revenue potential of the department which included the business potential through the laying of optical fibre cable along the railway tracks and branding of trains and stations.
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Dualisation of Karachi-Chaman highway (N-25) to be completed soon, Senate told

By
NNPS Desk
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Dualisation of Karachi-Chaman highway (N-25) to be completed soon, Senate told

ISLAMABAD, Feb 07 (APP): Minister of State for Law and Justice Shahadat Awan on Tuesday said the dualisation of the 790 km long Karachi to Quetta and Chaman highway would be completed in three phases to overcome the alarming number of accidents.

Replying to the calling attention notice, moved by Senator Danesh Kumar, he said the dualisation of the highway was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on April 23, 2022. The same road connects Afghanistan via Chaman.

The said seven checkpoints have been set up along with the highway by National Highway Authority (NHA) to avoid overspeeding and other violations.

The number of check posts is being enhanced for effective monitoring. The highway would be completed soon.

He said the current government feels road projects among other initiates are a need of the hour and is taking several measures to ensure such projects are completed in their tenure.

The construction of new and extension of existing highways would not only pave the way for the socio-economic uplift of far-flung areas but also have positive impacts on the economy of the entire region.

Earlier, speaking on Calling Attention Notice, Senator Danesh Kumar said the Karachi Chaman highway, a single road, has so far devoured over 5,000 lives of innocent travellers as accidents are galore on the road. There is no checking mechanism of checking over speeding.

Dar expresses sympathy with Turkiye over earthquake losses

By
NNPS Desk
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ISLAMABAD, Feb 7 (APP):Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Tuesday expressed heartfelt condolence with Turkish leadership and people over human and material losses due to earthquake in Türkiye.

In a tweet, the minister said government and people of Pakistan were standing with Turkish brethren in this hour of distress.

“ Heartfelt condolences & sympathies to H.E.President @RTErdogan, Fin Minister @NureddinNebati & brethren of Türkiye on human & material losses due to unfortunate & deadly earthquake in Türkiye. Govt & people of Pakistan are standing by our brethren in this hour of distress” he tweeted.

Prices of 20 medicines slashed in January: Senate told

By
NNPS Desk
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ISLAMABAD, Feb 07 (APP):Minister of State for Law and Justice Shahadat Awan on Tuesday informed the Senate that the Ministry of National Health and Regulation notified a decrease in prices of 20 essential medicines on January 13, 2023.

Responding to a Calling Attention Notice raised by Prof Dr Mehr Taj Roghani about the increase in prices of medicines, medical instruments and vaccines in the country, the minister said that the federal minister for National Health Abdul Qadir Patel should be appreciated for providing relief to the people.

He said that the country’s witnessed a continuous increase in the prices of medicines during the period of 2018 to 2022 before the inception of the incumbent government.

He went on to say that after the Cabinet meeting, nine percent hike was made in the prices of 464 medicines in 2018 and 94 medicines in 2020 while prices of eight medicines were enhanced in 2021.

The minister said that pharmaceutical companies have also requested that if raw materials for medicines were not released, it might face problems.

Earlier, raising the Calling Attention Notice, Dr Mehra Taj pointed out the non-availability of drugs besides skyrocketing prices of it.

Meanwhile, the House rejected the adjournment motion of Mohsin Aziz about the deteriorating economy, the lowest level of foreign reserves and continuous inflation. Some 25 senators voted against it while 19 supported it.

NARC trains 800 wheat growers on modern techniques

By
NNPS Desk
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NARC trains 800 wheat growers on modern techniques

ISLAMABAD, Feb 7 (APP):National Agriculture Research Center (NARC) has imparted training to over 800 wheat growers across the crop producing areas in the country to enhance their per-acre output during the current Rabi season and make them more competitive in local markets besides increasing their income.

So far, the center has organized 10 training secessions in different areas of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Azad Kasmir and the growers were trained on efficient crop management practices including water, fertilizers and use of different pesticides.

Besides, they were also trained for weeds managements in order to ensure maximum per-acre output by controlling the weeds, said National Coordinator Wheat of National Agriculture Center Dr Sikander Khan.

While talking to APP here on Tuesday, he said that the NARC under its National Wheat Program had conducted these training secessions in Gujarat, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan divisions of Punjab, adding that farmers of Mirpur Azad Kashmir, Attock, Kallar Syedan and Hazro were provided trained on crop management.

In order to achieve higher per-acre wheat output during the current season, he said that NARC had evolved a strategy to impart training to farmers and other field extension workers and conducted about 17 training programs and trained about 21,000 farmers across the country.

Meanwhile, the training program from wheat growers of Balochistan Province including Jafarabad and Jhal Magsi districts would also be organized to enhance the farm output of these areas, he said adding that 200 demonstration plants were also established at different location to demonstrate high-yielding seeds varieties.

Meanwhile, over 5,000 bags of certified high-yielding seed verities of wheat seeds were also provided to growers that would help multiply the certified seed production and ensure the provision of high-yielding, diseases, hit and drought-resilient seeds.

It is worth mentioning here that wheat sowing across the crop-sowing country has witnessed an encouraging trend, which was attributed to incentives introduced by the government, particularly aftermaths of catastrophic floods and rains during the last moonsoon season.

Rain with snowfall expected in western, upper parts on 9-10 Feb

By
NNPS Desk
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Snowfall

ISLAMABAD, Feb 07 (APP): Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast rain-wind/thunderstorm with snowfall over the hills in western and upper parts on Thursday and Friday.

A westerly wave was likely to enter the country on February 08 (night) and likely to grip upper parts on 09th and may persist over northern areas till February 10.

Under the influence of this weather system, rain-wind/thunderstorm and snowfall over the hills with few moderate to isolated heavy falls are expected in Murree, Galliyat, Kashmir (Neelum valley, Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Hattian, Bagh, Haveli, Sudhanoti, Kotli, Bhimber, Mirpur), Gilgit-Baltistan (Diamir, Astore, Ghizer, Skardu, Hunza, Gilgit, Ghanche, Shigar), Chitral, Dir, Swat, Manshera, Kohistan, Shangla, Buner, Haripur and Abbottabad from February 08-10.

Rain-wind/thunderstorm with isolated hailstorm is expected in Islamabad, Potohar region, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Kasur, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Khushab, Mianwali, Sargodha, Karak, Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, Buner, Bajaur, Kurram, Waziristan, Kohat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan from February 09 till February 10 (morning).

Light to moderate rain-wind/thunderstorm with snowfall over the hills is expected in Quetta, Zhob, Barkhan, Harnai, Qila Saifullah, Qillah Abdullah, Chaman and Pishin on February 08 (night) and February 09.

About the possible impacts, moderate to isolated heavy snowfall may disrupt and cause closure of roads in Murree, Galiyat, Naran, Kaghan, Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Shangla, Astore, Hunza, Skardu, Neelum valley, Bagh, Poonch and Haveli from February 08 (evening/night) to February 10.

The possibility of landslides in Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Murree, Galiyat, Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan cannot be ruled out during the forecast period.

Tourists are advised to remain more cautious during the spell.

Rain will be beneficial for the standing crops particularly in Barani areas of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

All concerned authorities are advised to remain “alert” to avoid any untoward situation during the forecast period.

Nation stands by Govt, Forces to exterminate terrorism: President

By
NNPS Desk
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0
Nation stands by Govt, Forces to exterminate terrorism: President

PESHAWAR, Feb 07 (APP):President Dr Arif Alvi, referring to tragic blast incident at Police Lines, Tuesday expressed the resolve to exterminate terrorism as the Government and Armed Forces had full support of the entire nation.

He expressed these views during a visit to the Lady Reading Hospital where he enquired after health of injured persons of Police Lines’ mosque blast. Caretaker Chief Minister, Muhammad Azam Khan also accompanied him.

The President said the nation, Security Forces did combat terrorism in an unprecedented manner and they would once again collectively fight the menace.

He talked to the doctors and hospital administration about the well-being of the injured. He expressed solidarity with families of martyrs and prayed for the early recovery of injured persons.

Dr Arif Alvi also enquired after the health of an injured woman and condoled martyrdom of her family members.

The President noted with satisfaction the appropriate medical treatment to the injured of the blast at Lady Reading Hospital. He lauded the doctors and LRH administration for ensuring prompt and quality treatment to the blast victims.

He said he had to wait for the visit in order to avoid any obstruction in the relief and rescue activities.

Dr Arif Alvi said the nation stood with families of the martyrs and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured persons.

The President appreciated the announcement by government to provide Rs two million to heirs of each martyred and Rs 0.5 million for each injured person.

Nepalese envoy urges Pakistani businessmen to translate goodwill into economic cooperation

By
Abdul Hanan
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0
Nepalese envoy urges Pakistani businessmen to translate goodwill into economic cooperation

ISLAMABAD, Feb 7 (APP):Ambassador of Nepal, Tapas Adhikari has urged Pakistani business community to translate the goodwill of the two friendly countries into economic cooperation and enhanced interactions.

“Nepal and Pakistan are enjoying excellent bilateral relations based on friendship, mutual trust and cooperation,” he said while talking to Chamber President Mohammad Tariq Yousuf and office bearers of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said a news release issued by the Embassy of Nepal in Pakistan.

He said that the government of Nepal has devised economic policies to attract foreign direct investment that could be useful for Pakistani businesses to promote trade and investment.

The Nepalese envoy said, “As neighboring country, both Nepal and Pakistan have similar cultural and social backgrounds and shared that the Chamber has great role to mobilize the entrepreneurs and businessmen.”

He urged that Pakistani businessmen to visit Nepal to explore business opportunity. He said that Nepal was a hub of tourism in South Asia and it had an excellent hospitality industry.

He urged Pakistanis to visit Nepal with friends and family for their business, official or family holidays to enjoy Nepali hospitality, food, culture and other tourism activities.

The President of Chamber and members appreciated the visit and information on business opportunities in Nepal.

They expressed their eagerness to work with the Embassy to strengthen economic relations between Nepal and Pakistan.

They assured that they will make a program to visit Nepal to explore business opportunities and to interact with Nepali businesspersons and assured full cooperation of Chamber to the Nepal Embassy in promoting Nepal-Pakistan economic relations.

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