Day: October 25, 2021

Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the private sectors of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to take full advantage of the close and cordial relations between the two countries by realizing the untapped potential in the spheres of trade, business, and investment.

Addressing the Saudi-Pakistan Investment Forum hosted by Saudi Minister of Investment Engr. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih on Monday, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of engaging the private sectors to fortify the economic relationship.

The event was attended by a large number of Saudi investors and businessmen, key Pakistani business leaders, investors from the Pakistani diaspora, and stakeholders from Pakistan’s private sector based in the Kingdom.

The leading Saudi firms including SABIC, ACWA Power, Ma’aden, SALIC, Al-Zamil Group, Al-Bawani Group, and Riyad Bank attended the Forum and affirmed their resolve to build deeper business engagement with Pakistan.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Pakistan offered a strong and large consumer market of over 220 million, with an ever-expanding middle class. He highlighted that the Government of Pakistan followed liberal and investor-friendly policies. He underlined that the government was committed to providing an enabling environment to strengthen the investor-friendly dispensation in the country.

Highlighting the significance of Pakistan as a gateway to the Asian markets and beyond, the Prime Minister underlined that the geostrategic position offered Pakistan distinctive opportunities to stimulate intra-region trade by building regional connectivity on modern lines. To realize that potential, the Prime Minister underscored the historic shift in Pakistan’s strategic focus from geo-politics to geo-economics.

He stressed Pakistan’s proximity to the two biggest markets, noting that Pakistan had excellent relations with China and that there could be further economic dividends if the unresolved dispute of Jammu & Kashmir was peacefully resolved with India.

Reaffirming Pakistan’s longstanding, deep fraternal relations with Saudi Arabia, the Prime Minister underscored the reverence Pakistanis had for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and expressed gratitude for Saudi Arabia’s support to Pakistan at every juncture.

The Prime Minister thanked Engr. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih for his invaluable role in successfully organizing the Investment Forum. He also warmly welcomed the investors to the Forum and expressed the hope that tangible outcomes would be achieved for the benefit of the two countries.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin, and Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar also spoke at the event. Separate presentations were made on the investment opportunities in Pakistan in the housing and hydropower sectors.

In his keynote address, the Saudi Minister underscored the longstanding relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. He reiterated the resolve to further deepen bilateral trade, investment, and business links.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi focused on Pakistan’s shift from geopolitics to geoeconomics.

Adviser on Finance Shaukat Tarin highlighted the economic resurgence of Pakistan, while the Minister for Energy outlined the vast opportunities in the key sectors like energy, agriculture, and livestock.

The participants of the Forum were informed that all sectors of Pakistan’s economy were open for foreign investment without any restrictions on remitting capital, profits, and dividends. Elaborating on the opportunities, the Prime Minister elucidated that the country had tremendous opportunities for foreign investors in particular in renewable energy, food and agriculture, infrastructure development, housing, health, and tourism sectors. The Prime Minister especially highlighted the Ravi City and Central Business District projects.

The participants were assured of the Government of Pakistan’s support for their investment and business endeavors in Pakistan. The Forum was also preceded by the inaugural meeting of the Pakistan-Saudi Business Council.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has given its nod to two mega projects worth Rs. 345.626 billion. The projects have been recommended to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration.

The CDWP meeting was presided over by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan. Secretary Planning, Hamid Yaqoob Sheikh, senior officials from Planning Commission and Federal Ministries and Divisions also participated in the meeting along with representatives from Provincial Governments through video conferences.

According to details, the meeting floated a project titled, “Implementation of Universal Health Coverage under Health Insurance Program in Punjab”, worth Rs. 332,844.878 million to ECNEC. The main objective of the program includes insurance scheme coverage for 100% population of Punjab for its permanent residents as per CNICs issued by NADRA. The scheme will provide cashless, in-patient healthcare – secondary and priority care services – through an open enrolment policy. There will be no limit to family size. The health insurance program is a hospitalization scheme wherein daycare admission will also be covered. The household members will be able to avail following health covers:

i. To access the secondary care hospitalization component including maternity benefits

ii. A priority care component is limited and the excess of loss coverage is on top of secondary healthcare coverage.

Moreover, the second project approved by CDWP was related to Higher Education Commission (HEC). The project, “Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) – Revised”, worth Rs. 12,782 million, is a 60-month initiative that aims to support research excellence in strategic sectors of the economy, improve teaching and learning, and strengthen governance in the higher education sector. The project focuses on the areas which severely complicate long-term sectoral and institutional planning, monitoring, and accountability of equitable participation for students from disadvantaged backgrounds; poor quality of teaching and research conditions (including inadequate and irrelevant research, and limited links between higher education institutions and the industrial and services sectors of the economy); and below-par institutional governance and management, especially lack the Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS).

It is to note that the challenges mentioned are particularly exacerbated for affiliated colleges. The project covers technical assistance for higher education policy development and capacity building through partnerships, in addition to regulation and funding of the higher education sector; project management monitoring and evaluation; and the Higher Education Data Repository and Data-Driven Services.

Deputy Chairman Planning Commission directed the officials concerned to ensure the completion of these projects within their specific timelines.

Source: Pro Pakistani

President Dr. Arif Alvi has ordered the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLICP) to pay death insurance claims to the widows of two different insurance policyholders.

He upheld the orders of the Wafaqi Mohtasib to pay the death insurance claims to the widows of policyholders in two separate cases and rejected the representations of SLICP in this regard.

According to the details, Nagina Fatima’s late husband had purchased a non-medical life insurance policy for Rs. 1 million and paid an annual premium amounting to Rs. 54,890 on 31 December 2018. After his death in February 2019, the widow, being the nominee of the deceased policyholder, approached the SLICP for the payment of the death insurance claim.

The SLICP repudiated her insurance claim without issuing her any notice, thereafter, the widow approached the office of the Wafaqi Mohtasib for the redressal of her grievance. Similarly, the husband of Rehana Kosar had purchased a policy for Rs. 410,000, and after paying an annual premium in July 2019, he died. Kosar’s claim was also rejected without issuing any notice to her, after which she approached the Wafaqi Mohtasib to seek justice.

Subsequently, Wafaqi Mohtasib, in both the cases, passed the orders directing SLICP to redress the grievances of the complainants by paying them death insurance claims, taking disciplinary actions against the delinquent officers/officials under the relevant laws, and reporting compliance or intimate the reasons for not doing so within 30 days in terms of the Article 11(2) of P.O. 1 of 1983. SLICP, thereafter, filed appeals to the President assailing the orders of the Wafaqi Mohtasib.

While rejecting the representation of SLICP, the President noted that under Article 32 of the Establishment of the Office of Wafaqi Mohtasib Order 1983, read with Section 14 of the Federal Ombudsmen Institutional Reforms Act 2013, any person aggrieved by the order of the Mohtasib may file a representation within 30 days before the Honourable President. He stated that in both cases, the orders of the Mohtasib were forwarded to the agency on 26 May 2021, whereas both the instant representations of SLICP were fielded on 07 July 2021.

The President observed that the extant law didn’t empower the condonation of delay to entertain a representation, which is time-barred, adding that it is liable to be rejected out rightly as incompetent and time-barred. He remarked that the agency did not challenge the declarations made by the deceased policyholders about their good state of health and treated the insurance policies as “good risk” and a valid contract from the date of issuance of policies till their deaths for all intents and purposes.

He ordered to stop the agency to assail the policy after the death of policyholders as the agency repudiated the claim without issuing any notices and without providing the complainants with the opportunity of being heard.

The President, in his decision, wrote that the agency did not fulfill the requirements of natural justice, which is one of the most sacred principles, and its violation is always considered enough to vitiate even the most solemn proceeding.

“Therefore, the representation is rejected as it is time-barred and the Agency must consider the matter further, redress the grievance of the complainants by paying them death insurance claims, take disciplinary actions against delinquent officers under relevant laws and report compliance within 30 days”, he ordered.

Source: Pro Pakistani