PESHAWAR, Jan 03 (APP): A single-member bench comprising Justice Ejaz Khan of Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday reserved the verdict on the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) petition challenging its single-bench ruling on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) electoral ‘bat’ symbol and intra-party polls.
From Election Commission of Pakistan, the lawyer Sikander Bashir Mohmand and PTI’s legal team comprising Advocates Shah Faisal Uthmankhel and Qazi Anwar appeared in the courtroom.
The ECP had filed a review petition in the high court against its December 26 decision which had suspended the ECP’s order and restored the party’s ‘bat’ symbol till a final decision on the matter.
The ECP, in its order, had declared PTI’s intra-party polls “illegal” and seized its election symbol of the ‘bat’ symbol. Following its order, the PTI approached the PHC seeking restoration of its party symbol ahead of the general elections slated for February 8.
In its petition, the ECP then requested the court to review the PTI’s intra-party elections and its decision related to the election symbol.
A day earlier, the court heard the arguments of the ECP’s counsel and then adjourned the hearing till today (Wednesday).
PHC reserves verdict on ECP plea against PTI’s election symbol
Threat alert issued to JUIF leader Maulana Asad Mahmood
PESHAWAR, Jan 03 (APP):The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have issued a security advisory and threat alert to former Federal Minister for Communications Maulana Asad Mahmood asking him to remain on high alert and keep his movement limited.
The advisory notice available with this agency said that there were reports of possible terrorist attack on Maulana Asad or his residence and advised him to avoid public gatherings and unnecessary travel besides keeping his movement secret and limited.
It further asked the JUIF leader and son of Mualana Fazl ur Rehman to intimate the administration and police before travelling to any place and also put his security squad on high alert to avoid any untoward incident.
Old enmity claims life
SARGODHA, Jan 03 (APP): A man was killed by his rivals over old dispute here under the jurisdiction of Midh Ranjha police station on Wednesday.
Police spokesperson said that Manazir Javed (48) was returning home after attending funeral when Imran (41) killed him after opening fire at him near Sultan Pur.
Police concerned and Rescue 1122 teams reached the spot, shifted the body to hospital for legal formalities.
12 criminals arrested
Countrywide 10,000 ‘E-Rozgar Centers’ for freelancers to be initiated from January 11: Minister
ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (APP):Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Dr. Umar Saif Wednesday disclosed that the government would initiate a project to establish 10,000 countrywide E-Rozgar centers equipped with the latest facilities to facilitate freelancers and start-ups from January 11.
This historic initiative was aimed to address the current challenge faced by approximately 1.5 million freelancers who lacked suitable workspaces, he mentioned while speaking in an exclusive interview with a Private news channel.
The freelancers equipped with the tools and environment to thrive in the digital landscape is need of the hour, he further added.
He explained that the establishment of joint e-centers will increase investment in the country and create new employment opportunities.
Dr Umar also urged the youth to become entrepreneurs as they could easily earn more stipends per month through E-Rozgar.
Replying to a question, the minister said from January 7 another project would be initiated to introduce a standardized test for IT graduates through the Higher Education Commission to gauge their skills and offer them internships after passing the
test.
“Those who pass the test will be given a mandatory internship in the IT industry. Pakistani universities produce around 75,000 IT graduates every year, out of which, only 3,000 are eligible to be employed by IT companies,” he added.
He also expressed hope that IT exports will increase to $4 billion after the State Bank of Pakistan allowed the IT companies to retain 50% of their receipts in dollar accounts.
“We wanted to empower the youth of the country with info-tech skills and that it was making all-out efforts for the purpose”, he added.
“IT and Telecom is working on all those projects that will create employment opportunities in the country for youngsters in the future,” he mentioned.
The ministry is trying its best to move Pakistan forward in the field of education through the provision of IT skills and empowering skilled manpower in IT industries, he said.
PTDC to hold big ‘Tourism Education Conference’ next month, State-of art health facilities for tourists soon: MD
ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (APP):The Managing Director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Aftab-Ur-Rehman Rana Wednesday said that Pakistan has been making sustained efforts to boost tourism in the country, seeking a rise in footfall of both domestic and international tourists, after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Talking to PTV news channel, he said PTDC in next month of February would hold a ‘Tourism Education conference’ where we will focus on introducing tourism as a subject in schools and establish more tourism academies to aware our youth for responsible tourists.
He said that PTDC is introducing an awareness drive through social media and electronic media platforms on ‘Responsible tourist’ where we will engage our key stakeholders within the school ecosystem to ensure the success of this transformative initiative.
Talking about another project, PTDC MD said that the department with the coordination of the health ministry also identified five to six hospitals in various cities of the country for ensuring quality health facilities to tourists, adding, that we are focusing on the health wellness of tourists where they will get best surgery, transplant, Yoga and other medical treatments.
He said that our objective is to promote local tourism by educating tourists, adding, that PTDC also introducing a ‘National Calender of Events’ soon where tourist can easily plan their holiday trips, adding, Pakistan has a lot of potential to attract a huge number of foreign tourists and expatriate Pakistanis to explore and witness the country’s culture, religious tourism, eco-tourism, and Sikh heritage.
To another question, he said that the number of foreign tourists who arrived in Pakistan in the year 2023 is a 115 percent increase in foreign tourists, adding, PTDC had also launched a new website for online booking of hotels and motels, adding that people have started to contact PTDC hotels and motels for advanced booking of rooms to avoid rush.
Pakistan’s hospitality is known for its warmth and generosity, which will create more welcoming environment for tourists in the coming days, he added.
Pakistan also improving its infrastructure, including airports, roads, and public transportation, to make it easier for tourists to travel within the country, he mentioned.
Pakistan will offer more effective tourism opportunities to international audiences through targeted marketing campaigns and partnerships with travel agencies and tour operators, MD highlighted.
“We are introducing a project in which we will streamline our visa policies to make it easier for tourists to obtain visas and travel to the country”, he concluded.
98 held for encroachment in Karkhano market
PESHAWAR, Jan 03 (APP):As per the direction of Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Dr. Zahidullah, the traffic police carried out operations against encroachment in the renowned Karkhano market and held 98 persons.
The traffic police also took legal action against owners of 80 motorcycles over violation of the no parking zone. The CTO warned that the operations against the encroachment mafia would continue adding that there would be no leniency against the mafias.
Mainly cold, dry weather to prevail in KP
PESHAWAR, Jan 03 (APP):The Regional Meteorological Center Peshawar on Wednesday predicted that mainly cold and dry weather is expected in most districts of the province, while very cold in upper districts and hilly areas.
It said that dense foggy conditions are expected over Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, Peshawar, Swabi and D.I. Khan districts as well as over Motorway (M1) / Highways at night and early in the morning. The public are advised to be cautious during travelling.
During the last 24 hours cold and dry weather prevailed over most districts of the province while dense foggy conditions prevailed over plain areas. Rainfall recorded (in mm) during the last 24 hours at different stations of KPK was nil.
The maximum and minimum temperatures recorded in centigrade at different stations of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were Peshawar 18/04, Chitral 18/-02, Timergara 19/01, Dir 20/-02, Mirkhani 20/00, Kalam 15/-06, Drosh 16/02, Saidu Sharif 19/01, Pattan 23/11, Malam Jabba 12/00, Takht Bhai 16/03, Kakul 18/02, Balakot 20/01, Parachinar 14/00, Bannu 18/06, Cherat 10/06, DI Khan City 19/02.
The lowest temperatures recorded in the province was -06°c in Kalam and -04°C in Tirah valley of Khyber district.
Fiscal deficit curtailed at 0.8% of GDP, primary surplus improves
ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (APP): Owing to consolidated measures implemented by the government, the fiscal deficit has been curtailed to 0.8 percent of GDP during the first four months of the current fiscal year, according to latest report of the finance ministry.
“Fiscal side highlights the successful implementation of consolidation measures in the first four months of FY2024, leading to a significant rise in total revenue receipts that outpaced the growth in expenditures,” according to Monthly Economic Update and Outlook for December 2023.
Consequently, the fiscal deficit has been curtailed to 0.8 percent of GDP, the report says, adding the primary surplus continued to improve owing to contained growth in non-markup spending and was recorded at Rs.1429.7 billion (1.4 percent of GDP) during July-October FY2024 from Rs.136.2 billion, 0.2 percent of GDP last year.
The breakup data shows that the fiscal deficit was recorded at Rs.861.7 billion during the period under review compared to deficit of Rs.1265.8 billion during the same period of last year, which was 1.5 percent of GDP.
Meanwhile, the net federal revenue receipts increased to Rs.2806.6 billion in July-October FY2024 from Rs.1316.8 billion last year. The sharp rise in revenues has been largely attributed to considerable improvement in non-tax revenues that grew by more than 300 percent during the period under review.
In absolute terms, it increased to Rs. 1586.5 billion against Rs. 346.4 billion last year. This growth in non-tax collection has been observed across all major heads, indicating a broad-based increase.
Similarly, receipts from FBR tax collections grew by 29 percent to Rs.2748.4 billion against Rs.2138.7 billion last year. The net provisional FBR tax collection maintained its momentum with 29.6 percent growth to reach Rs.3484.7 billion during July-November FY2024 from Rs.2688.4 billion last year.
Within total, domestic tax revenues grew by 32 percent driven primarily by a 62.8 percent surge in FED and a 42.2 percent rise in direct taxes.
The total expenditures grew by 35 percent to stand at Rs.3706.7 billion during July-October FY2024 against Rs.2737.2 billion last year.
Within total, current spending grew by 44 percent mainly due to a significant rise in markup payments that increased by 63 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year, while non-markup spending witnessed a restricted growth of 19 percent on account of the government’s cautious expenditure management strategy.
Dacoit held during police encounter
MULTAN, Jan 03 (APP):A dacoit wanted to police in various cases including robbery, dacoity and others was arrested in injured condition during a police encounter near Pul Jhakdri Sikandri Minor last night.
According to a spokesperson for police, Muzaffarabad police received information that three unknown armed robbers snatched a motorcycle from a citizen near Muzaffarabad bridge and fled towards Sikandri Nullah.
SHO Muzaffarabad Aslam Masih along with his team cordoned off the area and tried to stop three motorcyclists. The suspects started firing at the police. In retaliation, two outlaws managed to escape while one accused was arrested in injured condition who was injured by the firing of his accomplices.
The arrested accused was identified as Muhammad Daniyal alias tiger s/o Ghulam Murtaza resident of Suraj Miani. The area has been cordoned off and raids were being conducted to arrest the absconding accused.
The injured bandit was shifted to Nishtar Hospital.
The case has been registered with the Muzaffarabad police station.