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  • PIA escapes financial losses in Airbus A320 crash

    PIA escapes financial losses in Airbus A320 crash

    KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has escaped from any financial loss as a result of Airbus A-320 that was crashed on May 22, 2020 a claimed 97 lives, according to annual result for the period ended December 31, 2020.

    According to the report, the Airbus A-320 was crashed in an accident on May 22, 2020. The said aircraft was included in the fixed assets of the company as right of use asset (RoUA) in accordance with IFRS 16 ‘Leases’.

    “The management determined that there is no significant financial exposure to the company as a result of the above incident as the above aircraft was on dry lease from GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS),” according to the report.

    “As per the agreement, insurance for the aircraft was claimed out by the company, however, the settlement of the insurance amount will be directly between the insurance company and GECAS with no significant financial exposure to the company,” it added.

    Accordingly, the company has derecognized the RoUA and its corresponding lease liability amounting to Rs155.77 million and Rs329.62 million respectively and the remaining balance (a gain of Rs173.85 million) is credited to statement of profit or loss on termination of lease, the report said.

    “Furthermore, the company [PIA] has obtained passenger and third party liability insurance under which all the affected families and third parties on ground were eligible a compensation from the insurance company and the company is not liable for an further claims,” it added.

    The background of the unfortunate accident revealed that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK 8303 was a scheduled domestic flight from Alama Iqbal International Airport Lahore to Jinnah International Airport Karachi.

    On May 22, 2020, the Airbus A320 in use crashed in Model Colony, a densely populated residential area of Karachi a few kilometers from the runway, while on a second approach after a failed landing.

    Of the 91 passengers and eight crew on board the aircraft (99 total on board, 91 lost their lives and two passengers survived with injuries.

    Eight people on the ground were also injured in the accident, one of them later succumb to her injuries. The PIA management expressed deep sorrow and grief over tragic incident and stand firmly with the families of the deceased passengers.

    Immediately, Emergency Response Center (ERC) and Station Emergency Coordination Room (SECR) were activated and Emergency Response Planning (ERP) Volunteer as well as PIA scouts were deployed to provide all possible assistance to the grieving families.

  • Payment of benevolent grant to be made through valid bank account

    Payment of benevolent grant to be made through valid bank account

    ISLAMABAD: The payment of benevolent grant and group insurance fund would be made through only valid account opened at concerned branch of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), a statement said on Monday.

    All those beneficiaries who are taking benevolent grant from the Federal Employees Benevolent and Group Insurance Fund (FEB & GIF) are hereby informed that in order to ease out the difficulties being faced by the beneficiaries, while drawing benevolent grant from National Bank of Pakistan, the BoT, FEB & GIF has decided that w.e.f. 1″ July, 2021 the amount of the monthly Benevolent Grant will be paid to the beneficiaries through valid account nos. to be opened with the concerned branches of the National Bank of Pakistan instead of cash payment.

    All the beneficiaries of monthly benevolent grant are hereby requested to open a Bank Account with the concerned Branch of the National Bank of Pakistan on or before 31.5.2021, if they have not opened yet.

    After opening the account the same may be communicated to FEB & GIF through bank as per following format: Benevolent GrantCase No. (copy of blue color payment order card including CNIC of the beneficiary may also be attached) CNIC of Employee Name of Beneficiary CNIC of Beneficiary Account No. of Beneficiary (10- digits Account No.) Name of Branch of NBP with Code (4- digits code) Amount of Monthly grant (Rs.) Date & amount of last payment made by NBP.

  • SBP directs banks to open EKBNS Fund Account

    SBP directs banks to open EKBNS Fund Account

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued instructions for opening accounts for raising funds through donations / contributions for Prime Minister’s Ehsaas Koye Bhooka Na Soye initiative.

    The SBP said that the Finance Division, Government of Pakistan, had notified establishment of the subject Fund under the Prime Minister’s Ehsaas Koye Bhooka Na Soye initiative, to eliminate hunger in the country by providing meals to the people in need, especially those at risk of, or experiencing hunger.

    In this regard, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is pleased to announce opening of “Ehsaas: Koye Bhooka Na Soye (EKBNS) Fund Account-2021”, for raising funds through donations/contributions from general public to support the above initiative. All the commercial banks and field office of SBP Banking Services Corporation shall open the account of the Fund and shall receive donations/contributions in cash, through cheques, and through Alternate Delivery Channels (ADCs), at all their branches across the country.

    Donors shall be provided multiple options for making donation/contribution to the Fund as described below:-

    a. Counters of the banks

    All commercial banks in Pakistan and field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation shall collect donations at their counters across their branch network in Pakistan. The donors may deposit their donations at any branch of the above banks. The daily donation/contribution collected by the commercial shall be settled on aggregate basis with the SBP, through Pakistan Real-time Settlement System (PRISM) via MT-103.

    b. Crossed Cheques Drop Box Facility

    Due to COVID-19 pandemic situation, banks shall also make available at their branches, the drop box facility enabling the donors to drop crossed cheques in the name of the fund. The banks shall, accordingly debit the customer’s account and transfer the proceeds to the Fund’s account at SBP through PRISM. The banks are advised to ensure that the drop box facility is fully operational and prominent notices or banners are placed in all such branches that the donors can drop the crossed cheques in the name of the Fund.

    c. Alternate Delivery Channels ( ADCs)

    The banks shall allow their respective customers to make donations/contributions through internet banking, Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) and other Alternate Delivery Channels (ADC). For the purpose, commercial banks shall prominently display the IBAN of the Fund at their websites and ATMs screens and send the same to their clients through SMS alerts. The amount collected through ADCs shall be settled with SBP through PRISM on aggregate basis, once in a day.

    The banks shall keep the detail files of settlement of donations collected through mechanism specified in a, b and c above (i.e. name of donor and amount of his/her donation/contribution) in their record for subsequent verification and reference.

  • President signs Pakistan Single Window Act

    President signs Pakistan Single Window Act

    ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi on Friday signed the Pakistan Single Window Act, 2021, a statement said.

    Under the Pakistan Single Window Act, an independent institution having a Governing Council and Secretariat, would be established for the facilitation of national and international trade.

    The new law will provide a coordinated one-window system to facilitate exports, imports and transit trade.

    Establishment of an independent institution besides reducing the cost of doing business will also help ease cross border trade and transportation of goods.

    The institution will also help in timely processing of data and bring about improvement in the provision of quality services.

    The President also signed Senate Secretariat Services (Amendment), Act 2021.

    Under the Senate Secretariat Services (Amendment) Act 2021, signed into law by the President under article 75 of the Constitution, the BS-17 appointments in Senate Secretariat will be made through the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC).

    However, the Senate Secretariat would be authorized to make appointments in BS-1 to BS-16.

    Direct appointments in BS-18 in Senate Secretariat have been done away with. The absorption of officers, posted in Senate Secretariat on deputation, has also been prohibited under the new law.

  • USC to announce special discount package for Ramazan

    USC to announce special discount package for Ramazan

    In an effort to provide relief to the public during the holy month of Ramazan, the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) is set to unveil a special discount package starting from April 1, 2021.

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  • Pakistan starts coronavirus vaccination

    Pakistan starts coronavirus vaccination

    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday launched the vaccination against the coronavirus. The vaccination will be initially for health workers.

    The prime minister advised the people to strictly adhere to the SOPs to stop its spread.

    He said the vaccination would be judiciously distributed across all the provinces. He was appreciative of China for providing the 0.5 million doses of vaccine.

    Earlier, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiative Asad Umar said that the COVID-19 vaccination drive in the federal capital will start Tuesday in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    In his tweet, the minister who is also Chairman National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) for Corona said the Corona vaccination campaign in all the provincial capitals would start from February 3, 2021.

    Umar added that the front line health workers would receive the doses of vaccine on priority.

    On Monday, Pakistan received first batch of Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Sinopharm.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Dr Faisal Sultan received the consignment of 500,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine as a special Pakistan Air Force (PAF) plane with the first tranche of Sinopharm vaccine landed here.

  • ECC approves continuation of general subsidy through Utility Stores

    ECC approves continuation of general subsidy through Utility Stores

    ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, in its meeting on Thursday, approved the continuation of general subsidies on five essential items provided to consumers through the Utility Stores Corporation (USC).

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  • Pakistan stops manual processing of visa applications

    Pakistan stops manual processing of visa applications

    ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan has decided to stop manual processing of visa cases from January 01, 2021, a statement said on Tuesday.

    Therefore, all visa applications are required to be processed through online visa portal only at the following web address: www.visa.nadra.gov.pk

    The High of Commission of Pakistan, London and Consulates General of Pakistan in Birmingham, Bradford, Glasgow and Manchester will not entertain any manual visa application from February 01, 2021, it added.

  • Housing loan: SBP launches complaint resolution portal

    Housing loan: SBP launches complaint resolution portal

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched a compliant resolution portal in order to resolve complaints of potential customers under Markup Subsidy Scheme for affordable housing initiated by the government.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting of National Coordination Committee on Housing, Construction and Development (NCCHCD) in Islamabad on Thursday.

    Governor State Bank, Dr. Reza Baqir, presented key features of an online complaint resolution mechanism developed by the SBP to resolve complaints of potential customers under Government’s Markup Subsidy Scheme for affordable housing.

    The prime minister appreciated the development of a user friendly and comprehensive complaint resolution mechanism to assist common persons who would like to borrow under this Scheme.

    The complaint resolution mechanism comprises an IT based portal supported by a comprehensive network of State Bank and commercial bank staff to take care of problems faced by applicants of low cost and affordable housing finance.

    The IT portal has been made live for registration of complaints. This major initiative will help financially excluded low and middle-income segments who often find it difficult to access the formal financial sector, which is a key goal of the SBP.

    The system will help in resolving complaints within a predefined timeline with proper escalation mechanism.

    The potential customers can already access existing systems and procedures of banks for resolution of their complaints. The complaint resolution mechanism developed by State Bank is a move to improve effectiveness and transparency in complaint redressal process.

    In line with Government’s vision of making housing finance affordable, State Bank has, on October 12, 2020, issued Government’s Mark-up Subsidy for Housing Finance to facilitate provision of subsidized finance to low and middle-income individuals.

    The features of Markup Subsidy Facility can be seen at https://www.sbp.org.pk/smefd/circulars/2020/C11.htm.

    The State Bank is making efforts with the support of banking industry to ensure that the benefits of the markup subsidy scheme reaches targeted customers of banks who currently do not own a house.

    On the advice of State Bank of Pakistan, the banks have designated around 50% of their branches for provision of financing under this facility. With this, more than 7,700 branches of banks across the country have been designated to process financing of approaching customers under this scheme, while rest of the branches in the network will act as referral points for the designated branches.

    With the launch of portal, customers can now register their concerns by simply putting minimum details on the online service portal accessible at https://servicedesk.sbp.org.pk/.

    A short video is also available on this portal to explain how complaints may be lodged and followed up. In case applicants face difficulties in using this portal or need further clarification they are welcome to visit the offices of SBP BSC in 15 major cities where special Help Desks are available to guide and assist, list of offices is available at https://www.sbp.org.pk/sbp_bsc/FieldOff.asp.

    In order to facilitate resolution of complaints received under the Markup Subsidy Service Portal, State Bank has created a network of regional focal persons in State Bank BSC regional offices. The banks have also nominated their regional focal persons across the regions in the country where State Bank offices are present.

    To ensure the complaint resolution mechanism resolves issues in a timely manner, it is going to be monitored at the highest level within the State Bank. Low cost housing finance customers are encouraged to record their complaints if they experience any difficulty in their loan application with commercial banks.

  • Hunger may jeopardize food security, economic uplift in Pakistan: report

    Hunger may jeopardize food security, economic uplift in Pakistan: report

    ISLAMABAD: Among countries in the developing world, Pakistan faces one of the most severe crises of malnutrition, which is the fundamental cause of child morbidity and mortality.

    Pakistan ranks 88th out of 107 countries in the Global Hunger Index while food security and nutrition crisis is expected to worsen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic because country has a serious hunger level.

    These are the finding of the “2020 Global Hunger Index & Strategy for Stakeholders’ Engagement on Food and Nutrition Security 2021– 2025 report launched in Islamabad this week by Alliance 2015 — a strategic network of leading eight European non-government and non-profit organizations engaged in humanitarian and development actions in Pakistan and the world.

    The report highlights that the worsening food and nutrition security situation retarded human and economic development and carried the risk of jeopardizing national security if it was not tackled well by government, private sector, civil society, media, public, communities, academia and research institutions, the report pointed out.

    “The time to act is now, individually, and collectively,” the report has warned. The report also identifies key stakeholders and roles they can play in averting this crisis besides laying out stakeholders’ engagement goals and objectives in the next five years.

    The COVID-19 pandemic has further aggravated the food and nutrition security situation in Pakistan. Travel restrictions and limitations on the movement of essential goods including food and agricultural inputs, protracted loss of income and rise in prices have already negatively impacted millions of Pakistanis.

    The IMF has predicted a sharp reversal in the declining poverty rates, with 40 percent of the population below the poverty line after the spread of COVID-19.

    Moreover, 17 million children under the age of five are missing routine vaccinations, leaving them unprotected and more vulnerable to health risks posed by COVID-19 outbreak.

    The report highlights that globally, far too many individuals are suffering from hunger: nearly 690 million people are undernourished; 144 million children suffer from stunting, a sign of chronic under-nutrition; 47 million children suffer from wasting, a sign of acute under-nutrition; and in 2018, 5.3 million children died before their fifth birthdays, in many cases as a result of under-nutrition.

    Although hunger worldwide has gradually declined since 2000, in many places progress is too slow and hunger remains severe.

    Furthermore, these places are highly vulnerable to a worsening of food and nutrition insecurity caused by the overlapping health, economic and environmental crises of 2020.

    To better respond to, and indeed to prevent, the report highlight that complex emergencies, multilateral institutions, governments, communities and individuals should use the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises to build safe, resilient food systems.

    They should review food, health, and economic systems through a One Health lens to chart a path to environmental recovery by investing in sustainable food production, distribution and consumption.

    The report warned that beyond 2030, still other actions will be important such as working towards a circular food economy that recycles nutrients and materials, regenerates natural systems and eliminates waste and pollution.

    An alarming 37 percent of the population in Pakistan is classified as food insecure; meaning that they do not “have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preference for an active and healthy life,” according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.

    The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of globalized food systems characterized by increasing dependence on food imports by low- and middle-income countries, underinvestment in local farmers, farmer associations and smallholder-oriented value chains, increasing rates of diet-related non-communicable disease.

    Inadequate emergency responses are disrupting local food systems and fail to support local producers. COVID-19 containment measures—enforced without a clear declaration that agricultural and food services are essential—have contributed to food insecurity in many countries.