Pakistan Today

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Health Services has announced that the coronavirus vaccine will be available in Pakistan by March 2021. Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, while talking to a local news station, said that the government has finalised the procedure for procurement of the vaccine. Dr Faisal Sultan said under the proposed plan, vaccine...

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday grilled Capital Development Authority (CDA) for failing to award compensation to the people from whom it had acquired land for development purposes. "Land belonging to their forefathers had been snatched from the people and they were still being pushed from pillar to post for compensation," remarked Chief Justice Athar Minallah. "Everyone should feel ashamed. It...

ISLAMABAD: The government's 'subsidies cell', under the supervision of Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenue Waqar Masood, has estimated to save around 500 billion under its targeted subsidies action plan, sources revealed on Thursday. Sources said that the cell has undertaken extensive exercise to assess the financial burden of subsidies on the national exchequer. Presently, the government is providing subsidies...

MANILA: Economic activity in developing Asia is forecast to contract by 0.4pc this year before picking up to 6.8pc in 2021, as the region moves toward recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released on Thursday. The new growth forecast, presented in a regular supplement to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020...

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet, while ratifying the proposed natural gas load management plan for the ongoing winter season, has directed that no new gas connection may be allowed to industrial units where grid connectivity was available for power generation. According to sources, the federal cabinet, in its meeting held on 8th December, had ratified the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE)'s...

KARACHI: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has notified new standard operating procedures (SOPs) for international passengers, chartered and private aircraft flights to Pakistan. The new SOPs have been divided in three categories; A, B and C, by the aviation authority, according to a notification issued by the CAA. Japan, Finland, Namibia and Malawi are among the countries removed from the...

ISLAMABAD: The government has tightened the monitoring of investors of National Savings in order to comply with conditions of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and prevent transactions related to money laundering and terror financing. As per details, the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) has prepared a comprehensive plan to examine the customers and issued instructions to all its regional...

PESHAWAR: Construction work on the Chitral Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has been completed, whereas the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zone Development Management Company (KPEZDMC) have invited interested parties to apply for plots to set up industrial units before December 30th. This announcement was made by Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Regional Office Coordinator Sartaj Ahmad Khan and...

HERAT: An Iranian goods train carrying tonnes of agricultural products chugged into a western Afghan province Thursday as the two countries marked the opening of their first shared railway network. The train route so far links the Iranian city of Khaf with the Afghan town of Rozanak about 150 kilometres (95 miles) away, but is scheduled to be expanded to reach...

'PIA had recently lowered domestic fares by 30pc, but no relief was given to the people of GB'

WM Holding Company, a cannabis technology company which operates the online US platform Weedmaps where users find and rate marijuana sellers, said on Thursday it has agreed to go public through a merger with Silver Spike Acquisition Corp. The deal to take Weedmaps public, which values the company at around $1.5 billion, is a rare example of a business focused...

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) endured another volatile session on Thursday, with investors adopting a cautious approach amid political uncertainty. Global equity markets showed a mixed performance, whereas crude oil prices moved north from the previous close; WTI crude price rising 1.10pc to $46.03 while Brent crude price appreciating 1.21pc to $49.45. "Despite a negative start to proceedings, the market managed...

The government has set targets to introduce 20 per cent renewable energy by 2025, and 30pc by end of 2030. This was shared by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Petroleum (SAPM) Nadeem Babar during a meeting with United Kingdom High Commissioner in Pakistan Dr Christian Turner  at the Petroleum Division on Thursday. The SAPM was briefing the British official about...

KARACHI: The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank rose $188 million on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. On December 4, forex reserves held by SBP were recorded at $13,298.5 million, as against $13,110.9 million in the previous week. Overall, liquid foreign reserves held by the country, including net reserves...

The government has stopped the sale of prize bonds of Rs25,000 denomination with immediate effect, while those in possession can be cashed or replaced with other bonds by May 31, 2021, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) stated on Thursday. The Finance Ministry had already issued instructions in this regard a day earlier. As per the SBP, "People who have Rs25,000 bonds...