Pakistan News update
News-Update
NEWS UPDATE
Taliban negotiations: PM to discuss Afghan peace in Qatar
Feb 5th
Foreign minister expected to accompany prime minister. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will travel to Qatar next week to talk with officials from the Gulf Arab state on the Afghan reconciliation process. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
ISLAMABAD: International relations can be baffling: A country that has nothing to do with an issue is playing host to its solution.
Arguably one of the most prosperous countries in the world, Qatar has fast become the centre for the endgame of one of the most impoverished and battered – Afghanistan.
This trend will continue with the visit of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani next week to talk with More >
Senate elections: MQM presses PPP for more seats
Feb 5th
PML-Q is also pushing the ruling party for an ambitious quota for the upper house polls. PML-Q is also pushing the ruling party for an ambitious quota for the upper house polls.
ISLAMABAD:There is a price to pay for coalition politics, and, sooner or later, the pound of flesh will be sought.
Like the rest of the smaller partners in the ruling alliance, Muttahida Qaumi Movement is also pressing the Pakistan Peoples Party for an ambitious share in the upcoming Senate elections.
With less than a month left for the Senate elections, scheduled for March 2, bickering on seat allocations within the More >
Lives of miners at risk as government turns a blind eye to safety violations
Feb 5th
Despite regular training conducted by the mineral dept, safety rules are rarely enforced. A view of the mine in which 11 people died when they were trapped underneath a heavy mass of rock last Thursday. PHOTO: FILE
ABBOTABAD:Lives of hundreds of mine workers is at risk as the mineral department and contractors have failed to ensure mandatory occupational safety in mines in Abbottabad district, The Express Tribune observed on Sunday.
According to an estimate, over 5000 workers are engaged in extracting minerals like gypsum, talc, chromite, coal and phosphate from mines in Hazara division. But almost all the mines lack safety measures More >
As it snows, people turn to Murree
Feb 5th
Traffic snarls give tourists on the way headaches, many choose to stay inside. A man uses an umbrella to keep rainwater out of a windshield-deprived, under-repair pick up in Islamabad (left); a photographer who was taking pictures of tourists with Santa in Murree (right). PHOTOS: MUHAMMAD JAVAID, REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:A chill ran through the twin cities as it continued to rain for the second day on Saturday, with Murree the choice for many.
The rain started on Friday morning, and continued till the filing of this report on Saturday evening. Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director General Dr Arif Mehmood said that 13mm More >
Stress laid on social entrepreneurship to help poor
Feb 5th
Entrepreneurs for public-private ventures as charity alone won’t solve problems. AFP is a global non-profit venture capital fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to address problems of water, healthcare, housing, agriculture, energy and education by raising philanthropic capital and investing in social enterprises. PHOTO: CREATIVE COMMONS
KARACHI:Socialism has failed, capitalism is under stress and the only way to get out of the current morass is to come up with self-sustaining business models for those segments of society that the free-market economy has failed to serve, Acumen Fund Pakistan (AFP) board chair Zaffar Khan said while addressing AFP’s annual community gathering on More >
CNG industry seeks withdrawal of infrastructure tax
Feb 5th
Dealers are paying the cess in the range of Rs47 to Rs84 per mmbtu. Dealers are paying the cess in the range of Rs47 to Rs84 per mmbtu. DESIGN: JAMAL KHURSHID
ISLAMABAD: Encouraged by National Assembly’s resolution against increase in oil prices, the compressed natural gas (CNG) dealers have asked the government to withdraw the infrastructure development cess — a type of tax — on CNG, as the industry is already paying high gas prices compared to other consumers.
The demand came after the NA adopted a resolution on Thursday, pressing the government to withdraw the recent increase in petroleum product prices More >
Pakistan achieving excellence against all odds
Feb 5th
Annual Engro Excellence Awards will honour those people who serve as inspiration to us all, writes Dr Ishrat Hussain. Former SBP Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain says only nations that recognise their heroes can hope to succeed.
Pakistan as a nation, without a doubt, can be considered one of the bravest. The situation in the country refuses to improve, plagued with issues ranging from poverty, illiteracy, political uncertainty to distrust amongst our international peers and even natural disasters, but we, as a people, continue to fight. We, as a people, continue to move forward.
It is these attempts to improve our situations, More >
Denying smuggling, official says dry ports help boost exports
Feb 5th
Sialkot dry port handles 75 per cent of exports from the city. Sialkot dry port handles 75 per cent of exports from the city.
SIALKOT:Dispelling widespread perception among businesspeople, the Sialkot Dry Port Trust chairman says that dry ports are not a source of smuggling rather they provide great help in increasing exports of the country.
“It is just a perception that dry ports are involved in smuggling whereas the reality is entirely different,” said Sialkot Dry Port Trust Chairman Muhammad Ishaque Butt in an interview with The Express Tribune at his office.
“The belief was so strong that at one time the More >
People urged to make safe investments for old age
Feb 5th
Speakers suggest why mutual funds are better than other options. “Pakistan is not a welfare state. Everyone should make safe investments for his post-retirement life,” Azim said.
KARACHI: People should plan for their post-retirement lives to avoid financial problems in old age, Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan (Mufap) Chairman Imran Azim said while addressing a seminar on “Mutual funds and voluntary pension funds: An efficient way to save” at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) House on Friday.
The seminar was organised by Mufap and the Central Depository Company of Pakistan (CDC), a public limited company which handles More >
