Defense

Planning Commission will make all efforts to combat coronavirus and will actively coordinate for necessary emergency funding from both the local and international sources to ward off any negative impacts of Coronavirus on livelihoods, jobs, especially the industry. DCPC Jahanzeb Khan said that the government is assessing the socio-economic impact of Coronavirus on the national economy with the aim to undertake timely interventions to safeguard the economy against the impending effects of Coronavirus. A special inter-ministerial and inter-provincial meeting for assessing the impact of Coronavirus pandemic on Pakistan’s economy was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Chairman Planning Commission (DCPC) Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan at Islamabad on Thursday. Representatives from the Planning Commission, various ministries and provinces including Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) participated to assess the expected impact on the national and provincial economies. A represen..

The government is finalizing a $600 million emergency package to deal with the Coronavirus outbreak across the country. This was stated by the federal minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar on Thursday. The minister tweeted, The minister said that emergency funds from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are also being made available for NDMA. This is in addition to funds already made available by finance division for immediate use by the authority. Reallocations from foreign-funded projects are also being diverted towards it. ALSO READ Jump in Pakistan’s COVID-19 Tally Continues as It Struggles to Fight the Pandemic “I would like to thank the People’s Republic of China for providing grant assistance of USD 4 million along with 300,000 medical face masks, 10 ventilators and other equipment. They have also undertaken to arrange for much greater number of ventilators”, Azhar added. The government has decided reallocation of non-utilized funds and to seeks fresh funds from multilate..

Pakistan reported its first two coronavirus deaths on March 18 Both deaths were reported from KP within hours Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan has risen to 453 Sindh has been affected the most with 245 confirmed cases so far Punjab has reported 78, Baluchistan 81, KP 23, AJK/GB 24, and Islamabad 2 cases Center and provinces continue to announce measures to curb the spread As the world scrambles to control the COVID-19 epidemic, Pakistan’s tally of confirmed coronavirus cases has also jumped to 453 with new cases coming in by the hour from all provinces. Both the center and provinces continue to ramp up their efforts to restrict the virus’ spread through strict measures that range from curtailing social and commercial activities to suspending bus and train services and imposing partial city lockdowns. A spike in local transmission was seen with Sindh alone reporting at least 40 verified cases of domestic spread. Among other measures, the Sindh government announced that th..

Foreign exchange reserves of the country have recorded a steep decline of $110 million as of March 13. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the reserve level of foreign exchange decreased to stand at $18.7 billion. The payment against loan repayment to various foreign agencies, Hajj expense and other related payments to foreign entities caused the depletion of reserves in nearly two weeks in March. Reserves held by the central bank stand at $12.6 billion whereas commercial banks maintain reserves of over $6 billion. The situation of foreign exchange reserves will continue to be volatile in the coming days as the country is likely to receive foreign assistance on various accounts including the funds to combat coronavirus across the country. Besides, the divestment trends in the government debt securities are likely to continue with an outflow of over $1.2 billion reported merely in the month of March, which is quite alarming. On the other hand, the equity market witnesse..

The government of Pakistan has launched an official website for coronavirus to provide authentic information and numbers on Coronavirus in Pakistan. The much necessary step comes in the wake of rampant rumors and misinformation on social platforms about coronavirus cases, deaths, and precautionary measures across Pakistan. Since the confirmation of the first case of coronavirus in Pakistan, we have witnessed people panicking over unauthentic information ranging from a countrywide lockdown to army spraying the length and breadth of the country via helicopters to disinfect the country. The launch of a web portal answering all questions and providing accurate numbers will surely sooth everyone’s nerves, not to mention give an easy way to sift fact from fiction. Named ‘Novel Coronavirus Interactive Dashboard’ the website has a clean and usable interface. At the very top, the website displays the dedicated national Coronavirus helpline number, 1166. The home page consists of a live tr..

Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast more rain in the coming days as another westerly wave is likely to enter in Pakistan on Friday, which will intensify on Sunday. Under the influence of this westerly wave, rains are expected in the country in the coming days. Here’s the forecast: Friday/Saturday – Isolated Rain Isolated rain thunderstorms with gusty winds (a few hailstorms) are expected in north Balochistan (Quetta, Zhob, Qilla Abdullah, Qila Saifullah, Pishin, Musa khail), Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (Chitral, Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Mardan, Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Waziristan, Mohmand, and Bajur), Islamabad and upper Punjab (Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Chakwal, Attock, Mianwali, and Khushab) on Friday/Saturday. Sunday to Tuesday – Widespread Rain Widespread rain thunderstorms with gusty winds (a few hailstorms) is expected in Balochistan on Sunday and Monday. Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Punjab on Monday and Tuesday. Widespread rain thunderstorm is expected in Kashmir and Gil..

One of the major items on Pakistan’s import bill are petroleum products and the government is working on a strategy to save $273 million (Rs. 43 billion) annually. They hope to decrease the prices of petrol or start a new mega project in the power sector with these and as per details, officials in the petroleum division have forwarded this plan to the PM. ALSO READ Toyota Yaris Will Bring These High-End Features in Pakistan The cost of petrol products is derived from the quality and the supplier premium, to increase savings, the latter can be amended. As per officials, around $3 per barrel can be saved this way and ships with larger storage capacity can be used instead of the current smaller storage ships. Another way to reduce the price by $1-$2 is by importing oil on a long-term govt. to govt. agreement and this way up to $136.5 million can be saved per annum. This is based on information that PSO annually brings in 45.5 million barrels and with the addition of govt. contracts, ..

Social media platforms have been flooded with fake news and misinformation following the Coronavirus outbreak across the globe. Recently, a message, linked with ISPR, was doing rounds on social networking platforms claiming that the army will spray pesticides via helicopters all over Pakistan at midnight. The fake message urged citizens not to head outside after midnight as the pesticides could bear detrimental effects on human health. ALSO READ Pakistan Army Successfully Test Fires Ra’ad 2 Cruise Missile [Video] Here is what the fake message read: Today, special military helicopters will spray pesticides against the Coronavirus in the skies all over the country, so you must stay indoors after midnight. When you hear the sounds of airplanes at night, it is for you to know that it is related to this matter (COVID-19). However, ISPR has officially rebutted the message. DG ISPR, Major General Babar Iftikhar, has clarified that the department did not issue any message regarding pest..