Latest News from Pakistan News Express
Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar says the flow of country’s circular debt in the power sector has reduced significantly.
In a tweet on Friday, he said it has declined to thirteen billion rupees during the first two months of current fiscal year as compared to eighty six billion rupees in the corresponding period last year.
Source: Radio Pakistan
In an absurd development, the Punjab government has decided to ban employees of government colleges from using social networking platforms and speaking with media.
The ban has been imposed by the Directorate of Public Instructions (DPI) Colleges Punjab. It comes into effect immediately and will be applicable to all teachers and principals of government colleges across the province.
In the official notification issued in this regard, DPI has claimed that the use of social media platforms by the teachers and principals of public colleges is against the Punjab Government Service Rules (PGSR).
The notification mentioned that DPI has observed that they have been using social networking platforms to air their views on a wide range of topics that do not conform to official conduct enshrined in the PESR.
From disclosing the official information to disseminating the wrong or misleading information to the airing of political or sectarian views, the teachers and principals of government colleges have been found involved in a number of such acts.
Therefore, DPI has decided to impose a ban on them for using social media platforms and speaking with media outlets.
In case of violation of the stated directive, DPI will initiate disciplinary proceedings against the teachers and principals of government colleges under PGSR.
Under the PGSR, teachers and principals of public colleges are prohibited from speaking with media without obtaining prior permission from the government.
They are also banned from sharing official information and documents with unauthorized government servants, private employees, or members of the media.
They are also forbidden from giving any statement which could embarrass the provincial government on any public platform, TV program, or radio broadcast.
Teachers and principals of government colleges are also prohibited from sharing views that go against the national integrity and the provincial government or any of its decision.
They are barred also from expressing opinions that could compromise national security, harm friendly relations with other countries, derail public order, promote indecency, stir sectarian violence, or amount to contempt of court.
Source: Pro Pakistani
President Dr Arif Alvi has said early diagnosis of breast cancer is the best prevention of the disease.
Inaugurating the breast cancer awareness campaign in Islamabad on Friday evening, he said breast cancer is a curable disease and its early detection enhances chances of cure and recovery to 90 percent. He said women should spend at least five minutes on their self-examination to detect breast cancer so that timely treatment can be started.
The president also emphasized on breast feeding to infants to protect mothers from various kinds of diseases, including the breast cancer.
Speaking on the occasion, First Lady Begum Samina Alvi said talking about breast cancer is no more a taboo due to growing awareness amongst women about the disease. She urged the women and girls to spare five minutes a month for their self-examination to detect any cyst to prevent or cure breast cancer at any early stage. She said early detection of the breast cancer enhances chances of survival against the disease.
Begum Samina Alvi appreciated media’s role in creating awareness about the breast cancer.
Source: Radio Pakistan
Pakistan has submitted an action plan on human rights to the European Union for the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) review.
The country proposed an eight-point National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights (2021-26) at the GSP+ review currently underway in Brussels.
According to The Express Tribune, the plan is designed around 69 actions that deal with the implementation and strengthening of human rights legislation and financial transparency mechanisms.
The priority areas of the plan include financial transparency, corruption, and human rights standards in public procurement contracts; anti-discrimination, equal opportunity and inclusion; human rights due diligence; labour standards and the informal economy; child labour; forced or bonded labour; occupational health and safety; and access to remedy.
Sources said that the scheme, which will extend from 2016 to 2021, was approved in principle by the federal cabinet on 28 September.
The GSP plus is a trade program that removes or reduces import duties from products coming into the European Union (EU) from low-income countries.
In September, the EU proposed a new GSP scheme that ensured more scrutiny over whether countries are adhering to human rights and environmental conditions.
It introduced five new international conventions that countries under the GSP scheme will have to comply with. These address issues such as children’s rights, labor rights, and organized criminal activities.
The EU also added the possibility that it would withdraw GSP status for “serious and systematic violations” of its conventions.
The EU parliament passed a resolution a few months ago that raised concerns over Pakistan’s recent human rights violations, including blasphemy accusations and sectarian violence.
Pakistan’s current GSP plus status will stay in effect till December 2023 unless the EU approves an extension of the scheme.
Source: Pro Pakistani
The remittances inflows from overseas Pakistanis to their homeland stood at a level of $2.7 billion in the month of September 2021, maintaining the strong momentum and support of the country’s economy.
Cumulatively, at $8.0 billion, remittances grew by 12.5 percent during the first quarter of the fiscal year 2021-2022 over the same period last year. This is one of the highest ever inflows of remittances recorded in a single quarter.
This is the seventh consecutive month in which the inflows were recorded at around $2.7 billion on average.
The inflows of remittances increased by 16.9 percent on a year-on-year basis in September and went up by 0.5 percent on a month-on-month basis according to the State Bank of Pakistan.
The remittance inflows in September were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($691 million), the United Arab Emirates ($502 million), the United Kingdom ($370 million), and the United States ($245 million).
Proactive policy measures by the government and State Bank of Pakistan to incentivize the use of formal channels, curtailed cross-border travel in the face of the pandemic, altruistic transfers to Pakistan amid it, and orderly foreign exchange market conditions have positively contributed to the sustained improvement in remittance inflows since last year.
With $2.7 billion of inflows during September 2021, workers’ remittances continued their strong momentum and remained above $2 billion since June 2020.
The contribution of the remittances to maintain the balance of payment of the country is significant, particularly in the situation when Pakistan’s import bill continues to balloon, destabilizing the deficit of the current account.
Source: Pro Pakistani