Credible News from Pakistan!
Twenty-nine more deaths due to Coronavirus and 955 positive cases of the infection have been reported in the country during the last twenty-four hours.
According to the statistics issued by National Command and Operation Centre, 45,557 tests were conducted yesterday while positivity ratio remained two point fourteen percent.
Source: Radio Pakistan
Superior University took another proud victory home by positioning at the victory stand in the ‘HEC Sports General Trophy 2020-2021’.
Among 236 universities participating from across Pakistan, students of Superior University have reached a victory stand in both girls’ and boys’ sports categories. The Superior boys were already on the victory stand for the last five years and the girls also made it by winning two gold medals, one for the high jump and one for the long jump.
Mian Amir Mehmood, Chairman Punjab Group of Colleges hosted the event. Federal Minister for Education & Professional Training in Pakistan; Mian Shafqat Mehmood participated as the Chief Guest, Dr. Shaista Sohail, Executive Director of Higher Education of Pakistan also participated in the event. Mr. Mudassar Kamran, Registrar Superior University received the prize money on behalf of Prof. Dr. Sumaira Rehman, Rector Superior University.
Dr. Sumaira Rehman is the lady who has aligned the co-curricular and extracurricular activities of students at Superior University with emotionally intelligent opportunities for their personal and professional success. She has empowered women and brought them into the limelight.
Addressing the audience, the Minister for Education, Mian Shafqat Mehmood emphasized the importance of sports and co-curricular activities for students’ personality development along with the implementation of a Single National Curriculum across Pakistan.
Mian Amir Mehmood shed light on a very important factor that the public sector universities in Pakistan collect funds of over PKR 640 million from students for holding sports events. While the day’s results show that students from the private sector have rocked the victory stand by winning 70 percent of the sports competitions in which winners from the Superior University were prominent. He also demanded the Prime Minister of Pakistan to launch a probe into the utilization of government funds being provided to public universities for sports development in comparison with practical sports contributions of the public universities.
Winners from Superior University said, that they’re truly following the vision of Rector Superior University Dr. Sumaira Rehman by being outstanding in every platform, either in academics, research, entrepreneurship, or sports. They said Superior University is effectively and efficiently contributing by providing funds and resources to the sports teams of the University.
Source: Pro Pakistani
The action against unvaccinated people across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is continuing.
In Peshawar, the teams of the health department vaccinated twenty-two commuters on spot at various terminals of Bus Rapid Transit.
In Mardan, the teams of district administration arrested seventeen shopkeepers for non-vaccination and sealed eighteen shops.
In Charsadda and Nowshera districts, several shopkeepers were also arrested besides sealing fifteen shops due to violation of Covid.
Source: Radio Pakistan
Pakistan has suffered a huge blow ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup as their explosive middle-order batter, Sohaib Maqsood has been ruled out of the mega event due to a back injury. Sohaib suffered a back injury during Southern Punjab’s encounter against Northern in the ongoing 2021 National T20 Cup.
Sohaib was recently recalled to Pakistan’s T20 setup after a sublime run of form in domestic cricket in the past year. He was named player of the tournament in the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and scored heavily in the previous edition of the National T20 Cup and Pakistan One Day Cup.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that Sohaib will not be a part of the T20 World Cup squad and the announcement of his replacement is expected to be announced soon. It is expected that one of Azam Khan or veteran middle-order batter, Shoaib Malik will make their way into the squad in place of Sohaib.
PCB has already made three changes to their initial 2021 T20 World Cup squad with former captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, and Haider Ali coming into the squad at the expense of Azam Khan, Khushdil Shah, and Mohammad Hasnain.
The deadline to announce the official 15-man squad for the tournament is 10 October as set by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Source: Pro Pakistani
Pakistan’s first High Definition (HD) sports channel, ‘A Sports’ is set to be launched on 16 October. A Sports is the initiative of ARY Digital Network, which is owned by Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings’ owner, Salman Iqbal.
Former Pakistan captain, Wasim Akram, has been announced as the President of the TV channel. Akram said that he is delighted to be a part of the channel and expressed his gratitude to Salman Iqbal for giving him this opportunity. Akram added that Pakistan’s first HD sports channel is an exciting development in sports and media for the country.
Pakistan cricket fans will be able to enjoy the upcoming 2021 T20 World Cup in HD as A Sports has secured the broadcasting rights for the mega event. The tournament is set to commence on 17 October with the first round of the competition set to be played in Oman and UAE.
Pakistan’s first match of the tournament will be played against arch-rivals India in the Super 12s round encounter on 24 October at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Men in Green will then face New Zealand in a high-octane clash on 26 October at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
All the matches of the T20 World Cup will be broadcasted on the latest channel in HD quality.
Source: Pro Pakistani
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain says government is taking steps for the development and prosperity of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking to President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mahmood in Islamabad today (Saturday), he said steps are also being taken for promotion of tourism in the region.
The Minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan is taking special interest in the development of Azad Kashmir and the welfare of the people of the region.
Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said Mirpur-Mangla road is about to complete which will resolve the travelling issue of the area.
He said plans to link the two-lane road from Lilla to Jhelum with Azad Kashmir via Mangla are also under consideration, which will usher in a new era of communication with Kashmir.
The project will limit the journey from Kashmir to Islamabad to one hour and will also boost tourism activities in the area.
The Minister said voice of Kashmiri people will be heard all over the world by launching regular PTV broadcasts in Azad Kashmir.
Source: Radio Pakistan
The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) has approved the summary submitted by the Power Division, seeking restructuring of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) with a changed nomenclature, i.e., Power Planning and Monitoring Company (PPMC). The restructuring plan will be implemented by 31 December 2021.
The CCoE meeting was held in Islamabad, with Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar, in the chair, on Friday.
The CCoE discussed the summary and approved the proposals of the Power Division.
The major proposals included:
A change of the nomenclature of PEPCO to PPMC
Human resource functions to be delegated to respective companies
The restructured company will continue to charge a fee to DISCOs, GENCOs, and NTDC
The company will approach Development Finance Institutions and Multi-lateral Agencies to solicit support for capacity building
The composition of the Board of Directors of the company will be changed and the restructuring plan will be implemented by 31 December 2021
The new human resource will be hired for the company forthwith
The CCoE also approved the summary of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs on a report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Establishment of New Terminals. The CCoE discussed the report in detail and approved the allocation of pipeline capacity. The Chair directed the authorities concerned to expedite the work on setting up new LNG terminals.
The CCoE also discussed the summary submitted by the Power Division on policy direction for the operation of RLNG plants out of merit. The Minister of Energy will have a meeting with OGRA (Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority) and NEPRA (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority) on the operational problems arising due to the import of RLNG. The solutions and the proposed way forward will be shared in the next CCoE meeting.
The CCoE reviewed the Circular Debt Report of August 2021 submitted by the Power Division, while appreciating the fact that the increase in circular debt during the last 12 months was only Rs. 57 billion, which showed a sharp reduction in comparison to Rs. 450 billion per year in the previous government tenure.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Finance, Minister of Energy, Minister for Maritime Affairs, Advisor to PM on Commerce & Industries, Special Assistant to PM on CPEC, and representatives of regulatory authorities and senior officials of Ministries/Divisions.
Source: Pro Pakistani
SBP has launched a dedicated landing webpage for promoting housing and construction finance on its website. The page contains extensive information on housing and construction finance and Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG), the government’s flagship markup subsidy scheme for affordable and low-cost housing finance.
The webpage provides information on various measures taken by SBP to promote housing and construction finance such as issuance of separate Prudential Regulations for housing finance, the establishment of a high-level Steering Committee, allocation of mandatory targets for housing and construction finance, incentives and penalties, and market facilitation.
Moreover, a dedicated webpage for MPMG, https://www.sbp.org.pk/MPMG/index.html, is also available to facilitate the potential applicants who intend to avail housing finance under MPMG. The MPMG page covers information about the scheme comprehensively including eligibility criteria, the tenor of the loan, the maximum amount of loan, markup rates to be charged, the maximum list of documents required, and the subsidy being provided by the government.
Through this page, potential applicants can also access websites of participating banks directly wherein loan application forms under various categories are available. An installment repayment schedule of the loans and an installment calculator are also available on this webpage.
The webpage also shares monthly data of housing and construction finance extended by the banks. Progress made under MPMG in terms of the latest statistics including data of amount applied, approved, and disbursed under MPMG on monthly basis is also available on the MPMG webpage.
Visitors will also be able to view the testimonials of the actual borrowers who have availed of subsidized housing finance under MPMG by visiting the website. It is expected that this dedicated webpage will facilitate the visitors by providing them actionable information, guidance, and support they require for easy access to financing under MPMG.
Source: Pro Pakistani