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According to the reports of a national daily, Secretary Electricity Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Zafar Mahmood Khan, and CEO Azad Pattan Power Private Limited, Li Xiaotao, signed the agreements on Tuesday to build a 700MW hydropower project on Jhelum River in Kashmir. Before this, the two parties had already signed other relevant agreements in July.

The project site is situated 90 kilometers from the capital city, Islamabad. Regarding the signing of the agreement, the Ministry of Energy said in a statement, “Today’s development will further pave the way for the achievement of the financial close of the project.”

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The hydropower project will have an estimated investment of more than $1.35 billion and is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The majority shareholders of the project are China Gezhouba Group and Laraib Group Pakistan. The consortium of lenders for this hydropower project includes China Development Bank, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Bank of China.

One of the targeted benefits of this project is the reduced dependence on imported fuel. This project will help the country to move towards cheaper and greener power generation.

Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) has also issued a letter of support to the project, which is a run-off-the-river scheme on River Jhelum, located at the dual boundary between districts Bagh and Rawalpindi. PPIB is also carrying out the Azad Pattan Project under the Policy for Power Generation Projects 2002.

According to the Ministry of Energy’s statement, the project will bring foreign direct investment and provide approximately 3,266 gigawatt-hour energy per year to the grid by 2027. It will also have spillover economic benefits, such as employment generation and business opportunities to related industries and the locals.

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The governments of Kashmir and Punjab will also earn significant revenue through taxes and fees. After the completion of construction work, tourism activities around the reservoir, along with water sports, and fishing will also prove to be revenue-generating avenues.

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On 9 December, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will officially launch Pakistan’s third private airline ‘AirSial’ at Sialkot.

As per media reports, PM Khan will also address a special ceremony at the Sialkot International Airport.

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It had been expected that AirSial would launch its flight operations in June 2020 but it delayed them due to the pandemic situation. However, the airline is now set to run its first flight in Pakistan by mid-December.

The Aviation Division had allowed AirSial to run its operations in Pakistan in 2017, following which the PM approved the issuance of an aviation license to AirSial while chairing a federal cabinet meeting.

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On 27 November, AirSial received the first of its three Airbus A320-200s that arrived from Arizona at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi. The airline has leased them from AerCap which is the biggest independent aircraft leasing company in the world.

Initially, the airline will only operate in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Sialkot, and Peshawar with three daily flights from Karachi to Lahore and Islamabad; three weekly flights to Sialkot; and four weekly flights to Peshawar. AirSial also plans to launch flights to international destinations but at a later time.

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Several districts of Karachi may undergo a temporary shortage of water from 3 December onwards due to repair work on the 54-inch water supply line originating at the Pipri reservoir.

The Managing Director of Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB), Asadullah Khan, said that the repair work to mend all the holes in the supply line will begin tomorrow.

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He said that the board will have to suspend the supply of water to Landhi, Korangi, Shah Faisal, Bin Qasim, Malir, Defence, National Refinery, and around Jinnah Terminal for at least 72 hours during the repairment process.

Khan remarked that the repaired line will save a large quantity of water as compared to the water that had been wasted.

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“The repair work of said line is inevitable now as the metropolis loses millions of gallons of water every year due to these defects,” he said.

These holes are also the main source of water theft by the tanker mafia.

Khan added that other areas that will be affected temporarily are PAF Korangi Creek, Karsaz, and the periphery.

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The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has written letters to big organizations, corporate entities, and financial institutions, including banks, to ensure the filing of income tax returns by their employees by December 8, 2020.

Sources familiar with the matter told ProPakistani that the Chief Commissioner, Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) Karachi, has written letters to 22 banks falling within the jurisdiction of the said LTO to ensure filing of income tax returns by their employees.

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The FBR’s awareness exercise is not limited to the banks but also organizations with large numbers of employees. FBR instructed the organizations to direct their employees to file their tax returns, which are due by December 8, 2020, for Tax Year 2020.

As per the letter, a large number of employees are not filing their annual income tax returns. They are under the impression that since there is at source deduction of income tax on their salaries, therefore filing of income tax return is not required. This is a misconception, which is against the provisions of the law.

Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) Karachi informed that an NGO – the Karsaz Education and Welfare Organisation – has partnered with it to help people file income tax returns free of charge. The letter of the Chief Commissioner LTO Karachi included the contact details of the organization, moreover informing that volunteers at KEWO would help employees file their tax returns for the 2019-2020 financial year without any charges.

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Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical, a Chinese medical company, has expressed keen interest in organizing clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan.

Developed in tandem with the Chinese Science Academy, Anhui pharma’s vaccine is the fifth Chinese vaccine that has entered the late-stage clinical trials.

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According to details, Anhui Biopharmaceutical has formally submitted its proposal to the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing.

In an official letter, the Chinese company has asked the Pakistani mission to facilitate it with the process of conducting the clinical trials of its Coronavirus vaccine candidate with the help of a local pharmaceutical company.

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The letter adds that Anhui Biopharmaceutical is hopeful that Pakistan’s embassy will also help it in expediting the clearance of its exported equipment from the customs officials in order to initiate the trials at the earliest.

Besides, two Chinese pharmaceuticals- Sinopharm and CanSino Biologics- are also currently holding late-stage clinical trials of the Coronavirus vaccines in Pakistan.

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Bloomberg has placed Pakistan at 27th position in the COVID Resilience Ranking, an index of countries that have handled the Coronavirus most effectively with the least amount of disruption to business and society.

According to the ranking, Pakistan has fared better in containing the Coronavirus outbreak than 28th placed UK, 34th placed India, and 40th placed Italy.

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New Zealand tops the ranking thanks to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s decisive action to impose a nationwide lockdown on 26 March before a single COVID-19 death was reported in the small island nation.

Besides New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Finland are the top 5 countries on the COVID Resilience Ranking.

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Bloomberg has compiled the COVID Resilience Ranking on the following indicators:

Growth in virus cases
Overall mortality rate
Testing capacity
Vaccine supply agreements with pharmaceutical companies
Capacity of the local healthcare system
Impact of lockdowns on the economy and citizens’ freedom of movement

Recently, the World Economic Forum (WEF) celebrated ‘Pakistan Strategy Day’ on 25 November in recognition of Pakistan’s efforts in successfully containing the viral outbreak.

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The Ministry of Railways has decided to regularize the contract employees of grade 11 to 15 in all the divisions appointed under the Prime Minister’s Assistance Package. The ministry has sought the details in this regard.

As per media reports, the Personnel Officers of all the divisions of Pakistan Railways have been directed to send the lists of the employees contracted in 2014 in different categories according to their qualifications.

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Upon compilation, these lists will be sent to the Finance Department, fulfilling the legal requirements for regularization. Details of funds will be released regarding their salaries.

Sources say that the regularization will take place in a phased manner. In the first phase, workers of grade 11 to 15 will be made permanent under PM’s package.

It may be recalled that hundreds of contractual employees were appointed in the railways as per their qualifications under the Prime Minister’s Assistance Package.

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These employees working under this package have long demanded regularization as their salaries are not paid on time due to lack of funds. Last year, the government even considered laying them off due to the financial constraints of the department.

Once regularized, they will also be entitled to all facilities and perks that are available to permanent employees of Pakistan Railways.

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