Tech and Telecom

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday directed concerned authorities to introduce a separate visa category for people associated with CPEC projects and remove obstacles for issuing long-term visas to foreign investors, especially Chinese investors. The premier chaired a review meeting on the progress of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and promotion of investment in the country, during which he directed the Home Ministry to submit a summary to the federal cabinet regarding the provision of all possible incentives to the investors. ALSO READ Imran Khan to Launch Ehsaas Mobile Saving Wallets The PM stated that Pakistan and China’s strategic…

Sindh government has decided to postpone the reopening of all public and private educational institutions indefinitely. The provincial government has taken this decision in view of the resurgence of COVID-19 infection across the province. ALSO READ PCB to Arrange Chartered Flight for Sri Lankan PSL Stars According to Sindh’s Education Minister, Saeed Ghani, all public and private educational institutions in the province will remain closed until further orders due to the prevailing Coronavirus situation in the province. He said that only 50% of the teaching staff will be allowed to visit the campuses in accordance with the SOPs issued by…

Finance Minister, Shaukat Tarin, has said that the government will aim to increase revenue with the upcoming budget without increasing taxation and burdening the electricity consumers with higher tariffs. The Finance Minister made the statement while announcing that the new budget will be announced in June for the fiscal year 2021-2022. During a virtual press conference, Tarin said, “The government would neither increase electricity tariff nor burden existing taxpayers. It would achieve an increase in tax revenue of Rs. 1 trillion through alternative means to reach close to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) requirement of Rs. 5.9 trillion in tax…

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued the Tourism Promotion and Regional Integration (TPRI) license to a newly launched private airline, North Air to boost tourism in the northern areas of the country. According to the details issued by CAA, North Air will conduct flight operations in Gilgit, Skardu, Chitral, and Gwadar. ALSO READ Sixty More Passengers from UAE Test Positive at Peshawar Airport The routes on which the airline will conduct flight operations initially are: Islamabad-Gilgit Islamabad-Skardu Islamabad-Chitral Islamabad-Gwadar The airline’s head office will be set up at the New Islamabad International Airport Meanwhile, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) recently…

The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) appointed its new chief on Monday. According to the notifications that it submitted to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), Hatem Mohamad Bamatraf has been voted in as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) by the Board of Directors of the PTCL. Another notification submitted to PSX detailed, “We have to inform you that Matthew Wilsher has/have ceased to be the Chief Executive of the Company w.e.f. 2021-05-23 and Mr. Hatem Mohamad Bamatraf has/have been appointed as Chief Executive”. ALSO READ SBP Clarifies Rumors of Row With National Accounts Committee Wilsher had been appointed on 20…

The Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Sahibzada Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, has clarified a recent announcement made by the Saudi government about the upcoming Hajj. Qadri released a video statement in this regard and discussed the logistical proceedings for the Hajj in July 2021. ALSO READ Kashmir Premier League Will Promote Young Talent: President Arif Alvi In response to the uncertainty that followed the announcement, Sahibzada Noor-ul-Haq Qadri explained that the pilgrim count was an official recommendation of the Saudi Ministry of Health that had been made in consideration of the pandemic situation worldwide. It states that only 15,000 to…

Overall, 84 percent of Pakistani households are food secure, 14 percent reported moderate food insecurity, and two percent reported severe food insecurity as revealed by the Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) Survey of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The survey showed that Balochistan has the highest prevalence of moderate and severe insecurity at 23 percent, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had the lowest of the same at 14 percent. It also showed that during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the same module had been used by PBS in a special survey for the evaluation of its socio-economic impact, and…

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will be arranging a chartered flight to fly Sri Lankan players to Lahore for the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The players will then board from Lahore to United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 26 May via a chartered flight. ALSO READ PSL Teams to Draft Additional Players Due to COVID-19 Earlier, PCB had requested Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to allow Sri Lankan players to enter Pakistan despite a ban on entry from the country due to the COVID-19 situation. CAA announced that special permission has been granted to the PCB to fly the…

One of the non-diplomat staff of the Indian High Commission (IHC) infected with the deadly Indian variant of COVID-19 has entered Pakistan as a result of the negligence of Indian authorities. According to details, Ms. Manju, 32, who hails from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, crossed into Pakistan on Saturday through the Wagha border along with 12 other members of the non-diplomat staff of the IHC. ALSO READ Bahrain Also Suspends Travel From Pakistan While speaking with a local news outlet about the development, the spokesperson for Foreign Office, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhary, said that Pakistani border authorities allowed the members of the IHC…

The Kingdom of Bahrain has suspended the entry of travelers from red list countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal for an indefinite period starting from Monday (today), 24 May 2021. According to Bahrain’s Civil Aviation Affairs, the decision has been taken in line with the Government Executive Committee directives and on the recommendations of the National Medical Taskforce for Combatting COVID-19. ALSO READ Canada Likely to Extend Flight Ban on Pakistan and India The order excludes Bahraini citizens and residency visa holders from these countries, however, they will still have to show an approved negative COVID-19 PCR…