Category: Information Technology

The cabinet has approved the establishment of the Special Technology Zone on 120 acres of land in Islamabad.

Briefing media about the decision of the Federal Cabinet, which met in Islamabad today with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Syed Shibli Faraz, said that the cabinet also approved the deployment of Frontier Constabulary (FC) in Gilgit Baltistan for three years. He said FC would be deployed in the Forest, Wildlife, and Environment departments of GB to ensure the protection of natural beauty.

Syed Shibli Faraz said the cabinet approved the release of Rs. 219.30 million to the Ministry of Health to operationalize the recently constructed Isolation Hospital and Infections Treatment Center in Islamabad.

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The Minister said that the cabinet was briefed regarding the continuation of the anti-encroachment drive in the Federal Capital. He said that illegal structures will be removed within six months.

He said that the meeting was also updated about the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country. He said that with the blessing of Almighty Allah, Pakistan has become self-sufficient in manufacturing Corona related equipment.

The Information Minister said that the cabinet also discussed the disinformation network, recently unearthed by the European Union, against Pakistan to hit our economy, institutions and spread chaos in the country. He said that, unfortunately, Pakistan Democratic Movement is carrying forward the Indian agenda for creating disinformation about Pakistan. He further said that the government is seriously taking notice of all these things. He said the opposition is either intentionally or unintentionally pursuing the Indian agenda.

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Speaking on the occasion, SAPM on Petroleum Division, Nadeem Babar, said that the cabinet also discussed the gas situation in the country. He said that the government has made arrangements of importing 12 cargoes of LNG to meet the energy requirements of the next month. He assured that there would be no planned load-shedding of gas for export, domestic, and commercial sectors.

Nadeem Babar said that despite the delay of 18 months caused by the Sindh Government, we completed the construction of a 17-kilometer long gas pipeline on the 24th of this month. He said this would improve the gas situation in the country.

Regarding the letter written by the Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, to Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding giving Sindh’s gas to other provinces, Nadeem Babar said that the Sindh Government is deliberately distorting facts. The SAPM said that he had briefed all the chief ministers, including Murad Ali Shah, during the Council of Common Interest meeting held in June this year that only 100 million cubic feet of Sindh’s gas are being used outside the province.

He said that ever since the PTI has come to power, it was decided to prioritize the people of Sindh for the gas produced in their province.

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Answering a question, Nadeem Babar replied that uninterrupted gas supply is being provided to the export sector as per the decision of ECC.

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The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has indiscriminately issued electronically generated notices to thousands of taxpayers for the verification of movable or immovable properties, including un-declared or under-reported immovable properties.

Tax consultants and tax advisers told ProPakistani that the FBR’s Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) system issued notices under section 176 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001. The last date for filing of revised wealth statements is December 31, 2020.

The notices have been issued to the taxpayers, who are regularly filing their income tax returns. However, their declared information does not match the data collected by the FBR from various external and third-party sources.

Another leading expert told ProPakistani that FBR has provided an opportunity for the taxpayers to explain the discrepancies in their returns. The FBR is empowered to issue the notice under section 122 (Amendment of assessments) of section 122B of the Income Tax ordinance. In this case, the FBR will have to pass an order for imposing tax or amendment in returns, leaving no option for the taxpayers.

The existing notices only require the taxpayers to explain the discrepancy to the tax department and avoid litigation. The notices cannot be termed as ‘bias’ because these are not manual notices but computer-generated notices by the system.

Under section 176, the tax department can issue a notice to anyone to obtain information or evidence. The Commissioner may, by notice in writing, require any person, whether or not liable for tax, to furnish any information relevant to any tax leviable. The notices have directed the taxpayers to explain the reason for not declaring the property and also revise the wealth statement and wealth reconciliation statement by December 31, 2020.

These notices are computer generated and mainly based on withholding tax data and transactions. The system has detected cases of withholding tax deductions at the time of registry or transfer of properties and issued notices to the buyers of such properties.

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They said that such notices are not of concealment or tax evasion but to submit the relevant information to the FBR.

In most cases, notices have been issued if the property is declared in one past year, but data skipped in any other subsequent year at the time of filing of return. In other cases, the property specified in the notices has not been purchased by the concerned taxpayer who received the notice. There are cases where notices have been served even when the tax has been paid on DC Value, but the actual value of the property has been declared in the income tax return due to mismanagement of data, tax advisers informed.

The system has also picked cases for issuance of notices where there is a mismatch of information, or the declared value of the property is not matching with the information available with the FBR.

Taxpayers are advised not to panic and simply inform the department about the factual status of the property in question.

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Tax experts further stated that in the first phase, the taxpayer has to disclose his/her un-declared or under-valued immovable property. However, later he/she must have to explain the source of investment in the said property.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (Minister of State) on Revenue, Dr. Waqar Masood, has repeatedly said that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was fully committed to utilizing data of 100 million persons received from mobile phone companies; of 7.4 million persons whose withholding taxes were being deducted but they were not filing returns; data from electricity and gas companies, and data on return filers declaring below taxable income with actual withholding tax deductions of huge amounts, for increasing government revenue.

The FBR has asked its IT Wing and officials utilizing technology and maintaining the database, to check from the withholding tax record that whether withholding tax has been deducted from these one million persons having no taxable income. There are almost 0.24 to 0.26 million persons who are getting Rs. 14 billion to Rs. 20 billion worth withholding tax deducted.

Waqar Masood stated,

On average, it has been worked out that around Rs. 60, 000 withholding tax is being paid by each person within the population of 0.24 to 0.26 million persons. If a person is getting Rs. 60, 000 worth withholding tax deducted, which is 10 percent, we can safely conclude from this data that he is making an expenditure of around 0.6 million, and if a person is making an expenditure of Rs. 0.6 million and our taxable income is Rs. 0.4 million, this clearly reflects that the person’s income is much higher for a person making expenditure of Rs. 0.6 million.

6.4 million persons are having NTNs, who are legally bound to file their annual income tax returns under the law. There are 3.7 million persons, who are registered but are not filing their income tax returns. It is their legal obligation to file their income tax returns, he said.

“The third initiative is that we have our own database and data of other federal and provincial government departments engaged in public dealings such as land records, and registration of vehicles. All these departments have now started sharing data of the purchase and sale of immovable properties, and registration of new cars with the FBR,” he added.

He further stated,

The FBR found that 8.9 million withholding has been deducted during the last three years. On average, we have received returns of around 1.5 million persons only during the last three years. If we minus 1.5 from 8.5, we are left with 7.4 million people. It is mandatory for these 7.4 million people (whose record of withholding is available) to also file their income tax returns with the FBR, but they are not filing their returns.

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Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Tuesday, signed a joint appeal in the name of the World Bank for investing around $4.8 billion in the rail link among Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan.

Under this project, Pakistan and Uzbekistan will be connected by rail link through Afghanistan. Later on, other Central Asian countries, such as Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, would also be able to join the proposed rail link. This project will enable cargo service between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan.

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Federal Minister for Railways, Azam Khan Swati, Advisor on Trade and Investment, Abdul Razzaq Dawood, Foreign Secretary, Sohail Mahmood, and Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Muhammad Azam, were also present on this occasion.

Presidents of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan had already signed the trilateral joint appeal to World Bank. The rail link would play a significant role in the progress and prosperity of these countries.

In this regard, the three countries will appeal to the President of the World Bank for $4.8 billion for financing. The World Bank authorities are already on board in response to this appeal.

Meanwhile, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, on Tuesday, discussed the Trans Afghan Rail Project. The project would connect Pakistan and Uzbekistan via Afghanistan. Other Central Asian countries can also join the project later on.

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A delegation of Uzbekistan, led by the Uzbek Minister for Transport, Makhamov Ilkhom, First Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Kudratov Laziz, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sidiqov Furqat, and Charge d`Affairs of Uzbekistan to Pakistan, Tashmatov Sadulla, called on the Federal Minister for Railways, Azam Khan Swati, on Tuesday.

The dignitaries highlighted the matters of mutual interest of the two countries and the cargo train service during the meeting, said a statement issued by the Ministry of Railways.

This railway link will be crucial to the economic development of the three countries, CARs, and would help in strengthening the regional ties.

The funds raised under the joint appeal will see to the laying of a 573-km railway line. This shortest economic track would run from Peshawar to Kabul and from Kabul to Uzbekistan via Mazar-e-Sharif.

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On this shortest and economically attractive route, 27 stations, 912 artificial constructions, and seven tunnels will be established to facilitate cargo movement. On this occasion, Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati vowed to strengthen the economy through joint venture and regional connectivity. The project will also obliterate terrorism from the region, he further added.

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Finja, Pakistan’s leading digital lending platform, announced today that it has closed $9 Million of a $10 Million Series A1 financing round.

This latest round brings in new investor ICU Ventures, with all previous institutional investors participating again including BeeNext, Vostok Emerging Finance, Quona Capital, and Gray MacKenzie Engineering Services (a Descon company).

Under the terms of the financing, the company has the flexibility to raise an additional $1 Million as a part of this round.

Finja subsidiaries operate under dual licensing regimes of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for its lending and digital payments businesses. With this first-of-its-kind support from both regulators, Finja has forged digital partnerships with banks, FMCGs, distributors, kiryana stores and small businesses.

The company has clocked over Rs. 100 Billion in transactional volume with its assets under management growing in excess of 110% during the pandemic year.

Supported by the credit books of its partner banks, Finja has disbursed over 50,000 unsecured digitally scored Islamic and conventional loans to businesses and salaried individuals. Small business and consumer lending represent a Rs. 10 Trillion (USD $60 Billion) market in Pakistan of which less than 4% is currently penetrated. As a result of this sector being neglected, small businesses have largely struggled to grow due to the unavailability of capital.

‘‘With this new capital injection along with our strong partnerships with SECP, SBP, banks, FMCGs, distributors and so many other parts of the supply chain and payment ecosystem, we are fully equipped and supported by the industry to rapidly scale to create unprecedented impact,” said Qasif Shahid, Finja’s Co-Founder and CEO.

Finja’s Co-Founder and Chairman Monis Rahman added, “We are excited to scale our efforts to help small businesses and consumers reach their goals with dignity. We are grateful for the support of some of the world’s best fintech funds which have invested in Pakistan for the first time through Finja.”

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Earning a national team Test cap is one of the significant milestones in any cricketers career. Receiving the Test cap is a matter of immense pride, and any cricketer in the world would dream of wearing it regularly.

However, to the joy of one supporter, on the fourth day of the first Test match between Pakistan and New Zealand, leg spinner Yasir Shah tossed his Test cap to the spectator at Mount Maunganui.

The fan was left speechless, and his bewildered reaction was caught on the camera. The heartwarming moment went viral on social media.

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Watch the video below:

There’s happy, there’s really happy and then there’s this spectator after Yasir Shah gave him his Test cap ? #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/WrL5wWcpbW

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 29, 2020

Social media users had mixed reactions to this gesture by Yasir Shah. Some appreciated the kind gesture, while others believed that “a Test cap should not be given out so cheaply.”

Simple things can mean so much !!! As a cricket fanatic I can feel that fans joy and the goodwill that was spread in those few moments. Given the bad publicity at beginning of the tour, moments like this will be broadcast and NZ public will connect with it. Well done Yasir ??

— Dynamo Duke (@duke_dynamo) December 29, 2020

What a lovely gesture, look at the smile on his face, he's absolutely chuffed? #spreadpositivity #SpreadLoveAndLoveWillSpread

— Amira (@FAVPTI) December 29, 2020

New Zealand all-rounder, Jimmy Neesham, who is known for his witty tweets was left speechless:

Surely not ? https://t.co/DuQP3jbTp6

— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) December 29, 2020

However, some were not happy with Yasir’s actions:

@dohagames just see this stupid man… I think pcb should take strict action against him as only test cricketers are allowed to wear this cap… these caps are not made to distribute like this… this is serious ….

— Shahid Shah (@shahidtrimzi) December 29, 2020

Generous yes… but in the middle of a game? https://t.co/E88txJ8okD

— Rick Eyre on cricket (@rickeyrecricket) December 29, 2020

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Yasir Shah and Lionel Messi comparisons are inevitable:

We sometimes get the feeling he looks like Leo Messi! ?

— SportRadioAS (@SportRadioAS1) December 29, 2020

What do you think? Should Yasir have given away his Test cap? Write your thoughts in the comments section below!

The post Yasir Shah Wins the Internet After Gifting His Test Cap to a Kiwi Fan [Video] appeared first on .

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The federal government will review an ‘Employment Generation and Empowerment’ framework comprising the ‘Naya Mazdoor’ initiative for the working class.

The dynamic framework will provide an all-encompassing solution for six key areas of workforce development in Pakistan – development, employment, empowerment, welfare, reforms, and the implementation of labour laws.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has also shown interest in the initiative for future collaborations.

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Pakistan ranks eighth on the list of countries with the highest prevalence of modern slavery, and 134th with a total score of 56.17 on the UN’s Global Sustainable Development Goals Index. The framework will help Pakistan in achieving nine of the 17 goals.

The government had previously announced a job creation target of 10 million but Pakistan has the potential to surpass this by making sustainable investments in workforce development along with smart data analysis.

The federal and provincial governments will collaborate to utilize the full potential of Pakistan’s workforce to boost economic activity, increase remittances, and attract investments.

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According to the proposed plan, local and international firms will be allowed to establish operations in Pakistan with readily-available and skilled manpower.

Digital disruptions and transformation will be used as stimuli to create a system to connect various government bodies to the workforce and enhance e-governance in the country.

Naya Mazdoor will include skill mapping, geo-mapping, up-skilling for domestic and international employment, data mining to boost employment generation, prevention of tax evasion to boost revenue, technical skills training, and the development of labour-related institutions across Pakistan.

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Fog continues to engulf the central and southern parts of Punjab at night as the Motorway Police yesterday was again forced to shut down three important motorways of the province.

According to details, Motorway M3 was closed from Lahore to Abdul Hakeem last night due to zero visibility.

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Meanwhile, Motorway M4 was also shut down from Pindi Bhattian to Shamkot.

Both Khanewal to Multan and Sialkot Motorways also remained closed last night.

Travelers said that the closure of motorways caused them extreme inconvenience as they remained stranded on the road for the most part of the night.

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A spokesperson for Motorway Police requested the travelers to avoid unnecessary travel at night.

He instructed the travelers to use fog lights and observe a considerable distance between other vehicles in case traveling becomes absolutely necessary.

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