Category: Information Technology

An Australia-based Pakistani computer scientist, Shazia Sadiq, has been recognized for innovative STEM research by the prestigious Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE).

ATSE has recognized Shazia for her work which focuses on developing solutions for Business Information Systems to more effectively process information, significantly improving business process management, governance, and risk and compliance data.

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Presently, Shazia is a computer science professor at the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, University of Queensland.

In 1989, Shazia received an MSc degree in computer science from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. She completed her MS in computer science from the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand, in 1993.

She then moved to Australia and earned a Ph.D. in information systems from the University of Queensland in 2002.

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Shazia is also the deputy chairperson of the National Committee on Information and Communication Sciences of the Australian Academy of Science.

She had also served as the vice-president of the Asia Pacific Chapter of IQ International – the International Association of Information and Data Quality.

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Pakistan’s leading commercial bank, HBL, has announced the digitization of its Personal Loans to facilitate customers through a swift digital application and disbursal process. This major development is in continuation of the role HBL is playing to revolutionize the financial services landscape in Pakistan.

With the HBL Mobile app, a customer can easily apply and get their personal loan application approved within a minute, and get instant disbursements into their accounts. This allows them to go on and purchase a phone, laptop, smartwatch, TV, anything else they might need, without even having to visit the bank or submitting any paperwork.

HBL Digitizes Personal Loans
Previously the idea of loans brought forth thoughts and associations that orbited massive debt, endless paperwork, inevitable borrowing of large sums of money to cater to weddings, medical bills for a critical illness, and education. HBL’s Personal Loan service is quickly vaporizing the former identity that loans had, now being seen as instant solutions to the needs people have in the 21st century.

The bank is aiming to shape a frictionless digital future where people no longer have to wait or ignore their priorities while making life instant, convenient, and paperless. HBL looks forward to more revolutionary solutions like HBL Personal Loan via HBL Mobile that continues to support today’s digitized world.

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Pakistan team has suffered another setback on their tour of New Zealand as three more squad members have tested positive for COVID-19 in the third round of testing.

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New Zealand health ministry has confirmed that three more positive cases have been reported back but they are still investigating if the cases were historic. The total tally of positive cases has climbed up to 10. Out of the 10 positive cases, two were deemed historic and were allowed to rejoin the squad.

“Day 6 swabs were taken yesterday from the 46 members of the Pakistan cricket squad in Christchurch who to date have returned negative test results for COVID-19,” New Zealand Health Ministry spokesperson said.

“Of those, 42 have subsequently returned a further negative test result. Three are under investigation to determine whether they are historical cases, and one test result is pending,” the spokesperson added.

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6 Pakistani players were tested positive on the first day of their arrival and one more tested positive in the second round of testing.

Pakistan team has been spending the time in an isolation facility according to the directives of the New Zealand government and still haven’t been able to train due to the unfortunate circumstances.

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Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has announced that the MDCAT results will be out in 9-10 days, according to reports. More than 125,000 students reportedly took the MDCAT tests on Sunday, out of which 138 students contracted the coronavirus.

The PMC Vice President, Ali Raza, dismissed reports of mismanagement at exam centers, confirming at a presser that he personally visited designated testing venues in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Other Commission representatives reviewed prior arrangements at respective exam centers across the country, receiving zero complaints related to pandemic SOPs.

I asked the students about COVID-19 SOPs implementation and syllabus and they said they were satisfied with the PMC’s measures. They are hopeful of good results.

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Commenting on the recent Peshawar paper leak, Ali Raza commended the PMC for taking prompt action. He reportedly discredited the authenticity of the leaked papers, deeming them fake.

Even we [PMC] did not have the paper. The law enforcement agencies (LEAs) were informed and asked to apprehend the culprits.

The Commission is currently working on a new information system that will distribute relevant information to concerned individuals in real-time, according to sources close to the PMC.

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Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis, Syed Zulfi Bukhari, said that the slump in visa issuance from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is due to an economic slowdown in the Gulf market.

“If we continue to send Pakistanis to the UAE anyway, you’ll see them posting videos on social media and saying, ‘I’m sleeping on the street. There is no place to live, no job.’ So we are trying to save Pakistanis from this situation,” Bukhari said on a TV channel.

He advocated that criticism of the UAE on TV and social media for temporarily blocking visas for Pakistanis is uncalled for.

“The word ‘ban’ is very insulting. The UAE has never used it, and there really is no such thing,” he stressed.

Bukhari explained that workers, including Pakistanis laid off during COVID-19 registered on Virtual Labor Market Database, are given priority.

According to him, highly skilled labor, such as doctors, engineers, and architects, are still being issued a 10-year golden visa.

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He lashed out at people who unduly criticized a ‘brotherly Muslim country’ for a non-issue, saying that the current visa blockade must not be called a ban.

The SAPM said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has established excellent foreign relations with Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Turkey, England, and Malaysia. The world is waiting for the pandemic to end, which will restore business activities in the Gulf countries.

Bukhari noted Pakistanis abroad have been least affected by the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak. He quoted the statistics shared by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis to say that we sent more than 970,000 Pakistanis abroad in 18 months. Out of those, only 80,000 to 100,000 ex-pats lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is very less as compared to 100 other countries.

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The SAPM credited Pakistan’s foreign policy for this success. “Thanks to our good relations, the people of these countries have laid off fewer Pakistanis,” he asserted.

Zulfi Bukhari mentioned that many important events are to be held in the Gulf countries in the near future, such as the Dubai Expo, the Football World Cup in Qatar, and new development projects in Saudi Arabia. The government aims to send maximum labor force for these activities.

“Pakistanis want jobs. But the wrong kind of propaganda will not make our allies feel good,” he concluded.

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has appointed 50 local women to serve Umrah pilgrims and worshippers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi media has reported.

The escort service called ‘Mutawafah’ will assist elderly female pilgrims, guide them to different places inside the mosque, and drive their carts around the holy site. They will also guide pilgrims regarding the safety measures against COVID-19.

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The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has also introduced a Smartphone app for pilgrims to help them make reservations for the electric and ordinary carts that are used for the Umrah rituals.

KSA has reopened its holy places for Umrah pilgrimage amid extensive health precautions following a seven-month suspension due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

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Last month, Saudi authorities had announced a full-scale revival of the Umrah pilgrimage in three stages. In the first phase, only 6,000 local citizens were allowed to perform Umrah each day. In the second phase, which started on 5 November, 10,000 foreign pilgrims were divided into groups and welcomed to the holy sites every week. The third phase that is subject to a victory over COVID-19 will see the normalization of Umrah activities.

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According to a research estimate, one in every ten Pakistani women is susceptible to developing breast cancer. With over 90,000 diagnoses each year, of which around 40,000 patients pass away, Pakistan annually reports its highest rate of breast cancer in Asia.

These statistics were shared by speakers at the webinar titled ‘Breast Cancer Awareness: Give Hope, Save Lives’ organized by the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS).

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A sitting consultant at the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Samina Naeem, spoke at the event and called for an end to all the taboos that have masked the issue of breast cancer.

Retired Ambassador, Fauzia Nasreen, stressed the importance of taking measures to overcome instances of the lack of knowledge, facilities, family support, and the fear related to cancer in society. She emphasized the importance of having timely access to medical care.

Dr. Farheen Raza from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) highlighted the need for community-based health education, group discussions, and public awareness programs to tackle breast cancer. She discussed the establishment of a one-stop breast cancer clinic aimed solely at addressing the financial, cultural, mental, and physical needs of women.

She also stated that the Federal Breast Cancer Screening Test at PIMS offers free-of-cost mammographies.

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Being a survivor, Dr. Fauzia Cheema highlighted problems related to the treatment of breast cancer, in addition to its social and psychological consequences.

In the concluding remarks, the COMSATS representative, Dr. Azeema Fareed, stressed the importance of the awareness of the disease among both women and men because men are part of the family and equally contribute towards women’s recovery.

There are currently a number of awareness seminars scheduled on virtual platforms in Pakistan.

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