Technology

The government is all set to open formal broad-based consultation on the controversial “Citizen Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020”, following massive backlash from different segments of society, foreign social media companies as well as the United States. Approved by the federal cabinet on January 28, 2020, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication notified the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020, to ensure prevention of online content related to terrorism, extremism, hate speech, defamation, fake news, incitement to violence and national security. However, after facing severe criticism the government suspended the rules and decided to hold consultation with all stakeholders. A committee was constituted to start consultation process on the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020 comprising on Amir Azeem Bajwa, chairman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (convener), Eazaz Aslam Dar, additional secretary of Ministry of IT..

To respond and create awareness around COVID-19, Zong 4G, Pakistan’s leading telecommunication network has partnered with Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), which is at the forefront in Sindh in the battle against the pandemic. As a socially responsible entity, Zong 4G will now extend its network and communication services to relay authentic healthcare messages to the Pakistani public. As part of the partnership and to support the community at large, authentic healthcare text messages will be disseminated to approximately 4.5 million people in Pakistan by Zong 4G, helping the marginalized members of the society. Pakistan’s largest and widest 4G network of the country will work alongside SIUT to fight COVID-19 through this SMS based awareness campaign, which while educating the people, would also encourage them to donate generously to the hospital. “This partnership is geared to meet the priority of improving Covid-19 awareness in Pakistan, based on the principle..

Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken notice of the inflated prices of essential commodities despite the reduction in petroleum prices in the past few months. In a letter addressed to Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries of four provinces and Gilgit Baltistan, and also to his Adviser on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, the Prime Minister stressed that the benefit of price reduction of fuel should be passed on to the common man. The premier directed the concerned authorities at federal and provincial levels to take action in this regard. He also asked the National Price Monitoring Committee to monitor the prices of essential commodities on a weekly basis as already directed by the federal cabinet and devise a mechanism to bring down the prices of essential commodities. “The Prime Minister has desired that the Chief Ministers/Chief Secretaries of the provinces shall personally look into the matter and make every effort to ensure that the impact of the reduction of fuel pri..

CDWP has approved 7 projects worth Rs. 24 billion and recommended 1 projects worth Rs. 11.35 billion to ECNEC for consideration. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) meeting was chaired by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan. Secretary Planning Zafar Hasan, senior officials from Planning Commission and federal ministries/divisions also participated in the meeting while representatives from provincial governments participated through video conference. Projects related to Energy, Environment, Governance, and ICT were presented in the meeting. Three projects related to Energy presented in the meeting: Additional Sources of Supply to Jaranwala Road Grid station worth Rs. 5787.32 million. 30.4 MW Jagran-1 Hydropower project, District Neelum, AJK worth Rs. 4306.875 million. Strengthening, Up-gradation, and ISO certification of Karachi Laboratories Complex at HDIP Operations Officer, Karachi worth Rs 440.812 million. A project related to Environment titled ..

Domestic cement sales saw a decline of 38% to 2.27 million tons in May 2020 from 3.64 million tons in May 2019. The impact of the construction package announced by the government is yet to be seen. This is the third consecutive time that cement sales saw a double-digit monthly decline in the current fiscal year. The decline in cement sales was mainly due to the Holy month of Ramzan, Covid-19, and Eid holidays which slowed down the construction activities in the country. According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), cement sales were only 2.63 million tons in May 2020 for both export and local consumption against the sales of 4.12 million tons during the corresponding month of last fiscal year, which shows a decrease of 36.12 percent. According to a spokesperson of APCMA, “The cement sector has been in a dire state for the last few months. It posted a growth of 31% in domestic cement consumption in February this year and after that, the de..

Former Australian cricketer and renowned coach, Dean Jones, has said that Babar Azam needs guidance when it comes to leading the national side. The star batsman was recently made the captain of the ODI team, however, he’s been leading the T20I side after Sarfaraz Ahmed’s sacking. Jones worked with Babar in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where both are a part of Karachi Kings. Speaking on the subject in a YouTube video, the Aussie great said: I still think he needs a little bit of help with where he wants to go. I have had a few good talks with him about how I prepare for each team and he was a little blown away by the degree of analytics I get into. I gave him some good ideas. Hopefully, he took few of them on board. ALSO READ Former Cricketers Criticize Babar Azam Over His First Press Conference Although Jones admitted that Babar cannot be compared with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, he attributed it to the lack of consistency in Pakistan’s batting line up other than Babar. In ..

The COVID-19 crisis has affected many lives and disrupted all systems and institutions, including educational institutions, but the forced changes can be harnessed to bring about an increase in efficiency and quality of services at the Higher Education Commission (HEC). This was stated by Chairman HEC Tariq Banuri while addressing HEC’s all-staff meeting held online on Wednesday. HEC is committed to using the crisis in order to automate its process and systems, simplifying application procedures for universities, faculty members, and students, and moving towards greater efficiency. The Chairman directed all the HEC Divisions to take necessary steps for “re-engineering of all HEC operations and processes” as per the current requirements, ensuring transparency, clarity, and precision in them. He emphasized that all the lapses, in terms of quality in all HEC operations, must be identified and addressed. ALSO READ COMSATS University Removes Entry Test Requirement for Some BS Programs ..

The two established brands and producers of the electronic items and home appliances, Panasonic and PEL have entered into a partnership to capture the Pakistani market with the combined sales, after-sales, and distribution strategy starting for various models of air-conditions, which is in high demand these days. According to the joint official announcement, Panasonic Marketing Middle East and Africa (PMMAF) have announced its new collaboration in Pakistan with Pakistan Elektron Limited (PEL) after a joint market assessment. While specifics are being worked by their respective teams, both companies in principle have agreed to jointly offer a diverse range of premium and locally-fit products to better meet the unique needs of the Pakistani market. ALSO READ Xiaomi Launches Affordable Smart ACs The collaboration will kick start with the distribution of Panasonic’s latest line-up of air conditioner models and gradually aim to expand into other categories. The official notification ci..