Category: General Business News

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said Tuesday that Chinese authorities have shown a willingness to invest in the mining sector in Pakistan.

During a meeting to review the progress over the 11th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting scheduled to be held at the end of October, the minister said, “the Chinese are ready to set up a working group on the mining sector, therefore we must give them some tangible proposals.”

While directing the concerned ministry to make a tangible proposal in this regard, he stressed upon the ministries to make a concrete plan rather than a business-as-usual approach.

The minister directed the Power Division to expedite the approval process of energy policy for Gilgit Baltistan (GB) so that already agreed projects for GB could be pushed forward.

He further directed that the development and production facility of solar panels for domestic use as well as export may be considered for inclusion in the agenda of the meeting.

During a meeting, a representative from Information Technology Ministry informed the minister that both Pakistan and China have decided to set up six sub-working groups on communication technology infrastructure, application innovation, policy and regulation, HR development, cyber security, and radio spectrum regulation.

The meeting noted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be visiting China later this week. 11th JCC will have significance since the incumbent government has already revived CPEC projects which remained neglected during the last four years of PTI’s tenure, observed the participants.

During the meeting, several projects in various sectors like energy, transport, Information Technology, socio-economic development, industrial cooperation, science and technology, transport infrastructure, and international cooperation were discussed. The respective ministries shared their deliverable proposals of projects after conducting their Joint Working Groups (JWGs) which would now be taken up in JCC with the Chinese authorities.

It was proposed that the Pak-China Technology Business Forum will be formally established during the JCC meeting. The minister also directed the concerned ministries to focus on the long-term plans as well so projects could be operationalized.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary Planning Commission, Secretary of Communication, Executive Director China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and representatives from various ministries.

Source: Pro Pakistan

Sindh government launched Emergency service Rescue 1122 from Karachi today (Tuesday).

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah inaugurated the service.

The service is aimed at providing immediate medical aid to people and shifting them to hospitals in emergencies.

Initially, fifty ambulances have been provided for the service which will be increased to 230 across the province.

The service will be initiated in other Divisions and districts in the second Phase.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Building further on its ongoing drive for a secure digital platform for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Chairman FBR and Secretary Revenue Division, Asim Ahmad inaugurated Security Operations Centre (SOC) this morning at FBR Headquarters, Islamabad.

SOC is a state-of-the-art center designed for prevention, detection, and incident response against cybersecurity attacks on the FBR IT network.

This most modern digital intervention has been made operational round-the-clock (24x7x365).

It is powered by the world’s leading automated solutions and tools for cybersecurity incident monitoring, inspection for malware and ransomware attacks, data backup/recovery solutions, software vulnerabilities scanning, IT infrastructure penetration testing, and performance monitoring.

It is pertinent to mention that these multiple security controls have already been implemented at FBR with sophisticated firewalls, intrusion detection systems, security orchestration and response capability, email threats security, database security, web browser security and end-user security awareness.

Member-IT FBR Dr Ashfaq Ahmad Tunio and Sardar Umar, Secretary IT FBR, briefed the Chairman FBR about its key features and functions.

He informed that within a short span of 4-5 months, nine different world-class security technology solutions have been procured and implemented or are nearing implementation. This robust and high-tech defence-in-depth architecture is a watershed initiative which has inbuilt monitoring mechanisms within the SOC. This has significantly uplifted the security posture of the data and IT network of FBR, he further explained.

The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) FBR Kamran Meer, further briefed that a roadmap has been created to implement various other security technology solutions in the coming months to attain a truly world-class posture for FBR in accordance with international best practices, within an overarching Information Security Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) framework.

He also reiterated that the occurrence of cyber-attacks was a norm in heavily IT-enabled organizations such as FBR and the most effective approach to cyber defence was to establish a strong program where cyber risk assessments, risk mitigations, SOC operations, and rapid incident response were conducted in repetitive cycles 24x7x365 with oversight and support for resources provided by the highest levels of management.

While commending the outstanding work done by Member IT and his team, Chairman FBR appreciated the digital intervention as a much-needed facility to firewall the repository of high-value data of taxpayers. He expressed his unflinching resolve to further upgrade the IT infrastructure of FBR in line with the global best practices.

He also hoped that all the Field Formations of FBR will soon be connected with this centralised SOC to implement a similar security regime in letter and spirit.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Funds for several major projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) have not been released in the current fiscal year, and on the other hand, fund were not utilized despite being released for certain projects.

According to sources, funds were allocated for the New Gwadar International Airport, Faisalabad-Khanewal Motorway, and the Kala Shah Kaku-Lahore Highway Project.

However, the amount of Rs 1.14 billion allocated for the New Gwadar International Airport for the current fiscal year was not released.

For the Faisalabad-Khanewal Motorway, an amount of Rs. 100 million was released but not a single rupee was spent. Similarly, an amount of Rs 10 million was released for the Kala Shah Kaku-Lahore Highway Project, but no money was spent, sources said.

Moreover, the Rajanpur-DG Khan Highway along with the DG Khan-DI Khan 245 km road also did not see any progress. Likewise, the Khyber Pass Economic Corridor, with financial support from the World Bank, did not make progress. Sources said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Islamabad-Raikot Project failed to acquire land, and work on the Gilgit-Shandur Road also could not begin.

Sources said that no work was done on the Khuzdar–Kuchlak Section of the National Highway (N-25) despite the allocation of funds. The Financial Inclusion & Infrastructure Project of the Ministry of Finance also did not see any progress despite the allocation of funds, sources said.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum, Senator Mohammad Abdul Qadir, expressed his reservations on the mounting circular debt, which currently stands at Rs. 1500 billion while chairing a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum.

Senator Mohammad Abdul Qadir inquired as to what is the criteria for fixing gas prices and their distribution.

He was of the view that Domestic consumers should be given the top priority in that regard. Domestic users should be charged at affordable rates and industrial units as per the sector concerned.

The compressed Natural Gas (CNG) sector should be allowed to import gas on its own to reduce the burden on the government. Gas distribution should be prioritized sector-wise, he added. He also said that direct subsidy to the fertilizer industry is not sustainable.

The Chairman stressed the need to find a permanent solution to the recurring problem of circular debt.

The Committee also deliberated on the problems faced by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) regarding gas supply.

President KCCI briefed the Committee about the grievances of industrialists, which includes the non-availability of gas for the industrial sector for the last four months.

Chairman Committee Qadir opined that the major cause behind the current economic deterioration is a gap between import and export value, and to bring down this trade deficit, we need to give incentives and boost our local Industries. He further requested the Minister of State for Petroleum Division, Senator Musadik Masood Malik, to pay attention to the concerns of Karachi Industrialists and come up with appropriate solutions.

The Committee also discussed the relevant rules, which allow the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to mix High Octane Blending Component (HOBC97). Senator Musadik Masood Malik told the Committee that the ministry only regularizes those products, which are utilized by the masses on a large scale, like RON 92 and HOBC97, does not fall in this category. Senator Mohammad Abdul Qadir advised the ministry to at least check the authenticity of this new product.

While deliberating on the issue of the Explosive Department binding people to lease their properties to particular OMCs for business. The spokesperson of the Explosive Department told the Committee that there is no such binding on a person, and Explosive Department only grants licenses for petrol pumps to oil marketing companies. The Chairman stressed that the objective should be to create ease for businessmen, not hurdles.

The Committee considered the Public Petition on the issue of meter tampering and overbilling referred by Honourable Chairman Senate. Chairman Committee pronounced that the services of an independent third party should be hired, which will help the authority in the detection of theft through scientific means.

The meeting was attended by Senator Fida Muhammad, Senator Engr. Rukhsana Zuberi, Senator Afnan Ullah Khan, Senator Shamim Afridi, Senator Saifullah Abro, Senator Musadik Masood Malik, Secretary for Ministry of Petroleum, Chairman Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Masroor Khan, Members of KCCI and other senior officers of the Ministry of Petroleum and Sui Southern Gas Company as well.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Minister for Information Technology Amin-ul- Haque says exports of information technology sector have crossed two point two-five billion dollars.

Addressing a ceremony in Lahore on Monday, he said all facilities are being provided for start-ups in the country.

Amin-ul- Haque said that the Ministry of Information Technology is taking effective measures to persuade various local and foreign companies for start-ups in Pakistan. He informed that a five percent increase has been witnessed for investment in start-ups.

Source: Radio Pakistan