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  • Experts highlight importance of female education

    Experts highlight importance of female education

    ISLAMABAD: Highlighting the importance of female education and the role it plays in country’s development, experts stressed on the role of academia, civil society and government towards making education compulsory for all and remove the bottlenecks in the implementation of Article 25A of the Constitution of Pakistan.

    Special emphasis was laid on eliminating discrimination against girls towards provision of their basic right.

    These thoughts were expressed by experts during National Conference on Girls Right to Education, organized by Awaz CDS Pakistan here.

    Chairperson National Commission on the Rights of Children (NCRC) Afshan Tahseen, emphasized on the need of developing national and provincial education policies that will benefit the whole country. She highlighted how government can monitor the enforcement and administration of current legislation and assess and solve the bottlenecks concerning equity and quality in imparting educational for all. Lack of Implementation of Article25A is central to all challenges being faced by children and youth in our country, she highlighted.

    Ali Kamal Chief SDGs Planning Commission of Pakistan, talked about current status of SDG-4 in the country and informed the factors hindering the implementation of Article 25 A. He said that, girls constitute the majority of Out of School Children (OOSC) population. He further said that SDG-4 is enabler to achieve all other 16-SDGs.

    Speakers at the conference appreciated Awaz CDS for providing such platforms to develop and monitor national and provincial education policies that will benefit all students, providing a valuable forum to share information and strategies to improve educational equity, advocating for girls education and related issues, and monitoring the work of government on education policies and programs.

    Convener at Parliamentary Research Group and Chief Executive, Vision 2047, Zafarullah Khan said that, there is a need to identify the reasons affecting education in the country. He said that Pakistan is a developing country and is far away from achieving the national and international educational targets. There are many stumbling factors in this regard like lack of educational funds; poor school facilities; poor management; absence of schools; unavailability of teachers; patriarchy and lack of awareness about the importance of education.

    Chief Executive Awaz CDS Pakistan, Mohammad Zia ur Rehman said that “more than one decade has passed when Article25A was passed by the Parliament of Pakistan whereas its implementation so weak that nothing has been witnessed beyond commitment. we demand Government to establish an effective tracking and reporting system to capture the gender specific expenditures of education system for better policy making”.

    He further said that to ensure education for every out-of-school girl in Pakistan by 2030, the provision of stipend / monetary incentive and nutritional support is necessary. He demanded to assign an identical e-identity number to every OOS girl specific with an identification of the target population and its location alongwith appropriate legislation to end child marriages.

    Malala Education Champion Marium Amjad Khan said that 3.3% of girls in Pakistan are married off under the age of 15 while 18.3% of girls married off are under the age of 18, so early marriage is a big barrier in girls secondary education besides number of other social and economic reasons. We should start with changing the mindset of people.

    There were panel discussions and various sessions in the conference in which speakers shared their knowledge and suggestions.

    During the session on “Policy to Action progress on Education”, speakers shared their thoughts and insights regarding Girls Right to Quality Secondary Education. Executive Director Bedari (Punjab), Anbreen Ajaib, Executive Director Mechanism for Rational Change (Balochistan), Sumera Mehboob, Executive Director- Pakistan Youth Change Advocates (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Areebah Shahid, National Coordinator Pakistan coalition for Education, Zehra Kaneez and Programs Director-AzCorp Entertainment (Sindh), Madiha Rehman shared situation from their respective provinces and provided the audience with the whole scenario of education system in Pakistan.

    This session was followed by sessions on “Development agenda and role of donor support”. Munazza Gillani Country Director Sightsavers International focused on inclusive and accessible  education. Sadie Hussain from ACTED shared solutions to ensure No Girl Leave Behind. Mahwish Afridi from Hashoo Foundation shared Tech Education Schools in the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Zeeshan Noel from UNWOMEN focused on addressing patriarchal challenges to address girls education in Pakistan. A large number of representatives from government, academia, civil society, policy makers and educationists attended the event.

  • Pakistan introduces automated system for withholding tax payments

    Pakistan introduces automated system for withholding tax payments

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has introduced an automated system for real-time payment for withholding tax. The system has been introduced through the Finance Act, 2022 by making amendment to the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the apex tax collecting agency of Pakistan, issued Income Tax Circular No. 15 of 2022/2023 to explain important amendments introduced through the Finance Act, 2022 to the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

    READ MORE: Tax imposed on foreign payments made by exchange companies

    The FBR said that currently, withholding agents are required to collect and deduct tax at the time of making payment and deposit the same in government treasury within the prescribed time period.

    Similarly, withholding agents are required to file quarterly and annual withholding statements which consumes time and resources of taxpayers leading to increased compliance cost.

    Moreover, certain large withholding tax agents like banks, DISCOs, TELCOs, Government institutions etc. are still depositing tax through a single payment receipt for multiple taxpayers.

    READ MORE: Minimum tax for commercial importers enhanced: FBR

    “In order to streamline withholding tax collection and deduction mechanism, enabling provision for the placement of a fully automated system by the name Synchronized Withholding Administration and Payment System (SWAPS) has been introduced under section 164A of the Ordinance,” the FBR said.

    A withholding agent notified under section 164A will be called a SWAPS agent.

    The notified SWAPS agent will be integrated with Board and withholding tax will be deposited in government treasury on real time basis simultaneously at the time of making third party payment processed through SWAPS by the SWAPS agent.

    READ MORE: Tax through electricity connections on retailers, service providers

    It will also result in auto populated withholding statements thereby saving time and reducing cost of compliance for the business.

    SWAPS Payment Receipt (SPR) will be generated upon deposit of tax in this manner which will be a valid document for the purpose of claiming credit against tax payable under the provisions of this Ordinance.

    In case if a notified SWAPS agent fails to integrate with the Board in the manner prescribed, the said agent will not be eligible for credit under Part X of Chapter III of the Ordinance and exemption under any of the provisions of the Ordinance.

    READ MORE: FBR explains income tax on export of services

    All other provisions of the Ordinance not specifically dealt with in newly inserted section 164A will mutatis mutandis apply on a notified SWAPS agent.

    Corresponding changes have been made in section 164 of the Ordinance.

  • Pakistan’s population to double in 30 years: British High Commissioner

    Pakistan’s population to double in 30 years: British High Commissioner

    ISLAMABAD: British High Commissioner Christian Turner has said the population of Pakistan is going to double during next 30 years.

    (more…)
  • Fitch revises Pakistan’s outlook to negative

    Fitch revises Pakistan’s outlook to negative

    HONG KONG: Fitch Ratings on Monday revised Pakistan’s Outlook to Negative from Stable, while affirming its Long-Term Foreign-Currency (LTFC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B-‘.

    (more…)
  • Civil societies welcome Pakistan for attending UN HLPF

    Civil societies welcome Pakistan for attending UN HLPF

    ISLAMABAD: The civil society of Pakistan appreciated the government’s presentation of voluntary national review (VNR) at the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York.

    The civil society organizations (CSOs) on Friday pointed out addressing the reported regressions and stagnation on critical goals.

    It said that several concerns still exist on critical sustainable development goals (SDG) priorities in the absence of policy coherence, efficient implementation and review mechanisms.

    READ MORE: Need stressed on integrated approach for SDGs

    These concerns were expressed in a joint statement of representatives from a number of CSOs including Pakistan Development Alliance, Parliamentarians Commission for Human Rights, AwazCDS-Pakistan, Sightsavers Pakistan, Malala Fund UK, Save The Children, Umang Champions, The Brook International, UGOOD, PCE, PODA, HomeNet Pakistan, Roots for Equality, Karachi Research Institute and LifeSavers.

    Pakistan is attending the UN HLPF (July 5-15) in New York under the auspices of ECOSOC under the theme “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

    The HLPF also reviewed in-depth SDGs on quality education, gender equality, life below water, life on land, and partnerships for the goals.

    READ MORE: Fiscal reforms to help Pakistan generate funding to meet SDGs targets: IMF official

    During the session, representatives of 44 countries carried out voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of their implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

    The CSOs, while pointing out over 22 million children are out of school, called for holistic planning, equitable financing, and stronger political will to enhance the educational outcomes prioritizing the millions left behind.

    At least 4-6 per cent of GDP or 20-25 per cent of public expenditure must be ensured to protect peoples’ fundamental right to education, as per Article 25A, they suggested.

    READ MORE: SBP launches report on SDGs from banking perspective

    They were of the view that the gender equality requires multi-sectoral gender-sensitive planning based on comprehensive vulnerability assessment for achieving gender-responsive social protection, health and education outcomes, protection from violence and disasters, and protection of right to inheritance, employability and political participation.

    For the protection of civic spaces and democratic accountability, they emphasized for CSOs’ meaningful inclusion across agenda-setting and planning processes to avoid tokenistic representation.

    The resolved that the civil society needs a world that is considerate of our collective concerns upholding the ideals we all believe in.

  • Pakistan enforces austerity measures to save public money

    Pakistan enforces austerity measures to save public money

    KARACHI: Pakistan government has enforced austerity measures for the fiscal year 2022/2023 for saving public money and create space for development expenditures.

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday circulated a notification of the ministry of finance related to austerity measures.

    READ MORE: Pakistan’s forex reserves drop to $15.61 billion

    According to the finance ministry that the federal cabinet in a meeting held recently approved the austerity measures.

    The federal government enforced the following austerity measures:

    1. There shall be complete ban on:

    READ MORE: SBP’s monetary policy tightening appropriate: IMF

    (i) Purchase of all types of vehicles from current and development budget except utility vehicles such as ambulances, busses for educational institutions, solid waste vehicles, etc.;

    (ii) Creation of new posts except those required for development projects;

    (iii) Treatment abroad at government expenses;

    (iv) Appointment of contingent paid / daily wages staff except for development projects;

    (v) Purchase of office furniture except for development projects;

    (vi) Purchase of machinery and equipment including air conditioners, microwave, fridge, photocopier, etc.;

    (vii) Official visits abroad by government functionaries where the Pakistan government funding is involved except obligator visits;

    READ MORE: US calls for strengthening bilateral trade with Pakistan

    (viii) Official lunches/dinners/hi-tea except for foreign delegations;

    (ix) Periodical, magazines, newspapers, etc.

    2. Principal Accounting Officers shall ensure that:

    (i) Consumption of utilities shall be reduced by 10 per cent;

    (ii) Existing entitlement for petroleum products for government functionaries should be reduced by 30 per cent;

    (iii) Avoidable travel should be curtailed by promoting use of Zoom / video links;

    (iv) Vacant / redundant / non-productive posts should be abolished.

    READ MORE: Gas price hike report baseless: Musadiq Malik

    3. In addition to above, federal government has further decided that:

    (i) The use of petroleum products by vehicles of ministries would be slashed by 40 per cent and security vehicles of cabinet members would be reduced by 50 per cent;

    (ii) VVIP cavalcades’ expenses would be reduced without compromising security.

    The federal government urged the provincial government should also adopt such austerity measures.

  • Limited resources affected from overpopulation

    Limited resources affected from overpopulation

    ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan on Tuesday discussed about the need to manage population growth to ensure provision of better human health, economic stability and social life of people.

    The recent data reveals that Pakistan is the 5th most populous country in the world, despite only being the 33rd largest in size.

    READ MORE: NITL declares dividends for funds in FY22

    While its huge population is constantly eating up national resources threatening the national life especially provision of sufficient healthcare as well as quality education, job opportunities, climate change, depleting water resources and even our national security.

    The government ministers showed concerns over the constant population growth and the resources which are quickly running out on the reference of the World Population Day on July 11, 2022.

    The Minister for Federal Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel said on the occasion that, “overpopulation always eats up national resources hindering the national prosperity. There is a misconception that family planning is meant to control child birth. In fact, this initiative was launched to ensure better health of mother and child.”

    READ MORE: Engro Polymer collaborates for industry-academia linkage program  

    Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal discussed, about 60 per cent population in Pakistan is below the age of 30, who want to have better education and reasonable employment. However, with available resources in the country, perfect education facilities and jobs availability is a difficult task but we can improve it with practical measures.

    Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation Shazia Marri, termed the overpopulation a major concern for development planning in Pakistan.

    She said, “If we maintain a balance between national population and resources it would ensure better health of people especially of mother and child.”

    READ MORE: ITMinds, Pak Qater enter into outsourcing arrangement

    She further said that “the data shows that maternal mortality ratio in Pakistan stands at 186 deaths per 100,000 live births. The need for family planning is staggeringly high in Pakistan.”

    She also said that the grassroots challenges are present such as misperceptions, lack of trained health staff, communication gap between the partners, and others.

    To make a real difference in this area and normalize family planning amongst the masses, we need to design and execute behavior change campaigns through use of media tools that reach out to everyone across the board, including rural and most marginalized communities.

    As part of the efforts to raise awareness about the importance of adopting family planning measures, KhairKhwah (campaign name means well-wisher) launched an advocacy campaign on the World Population Day with testimonial videos of government officials. These video testimonials directly speak out to the population of Pakistan on the link between overpopulation and problems facing Pakistan such as economic crisis, unemployment, healthcare etc. and encourage people to adopt family planning measures.

    READ MORE: SECP’s company registration goes up to 169,919 till May 2022

    At the same time, this campaign aims to mobilize the government officials and engage them to make commitments to address this growing issue.

    Names of Officials:

    Names of stakeholders:

    Dr Arif Alvi, President of Pakistan.

    Ahsan Iqbal

    Abdul Qadir Patel

    Dr Zaeem Zia

    Shazia Fatima Khuwaja

    Ali Jan Khan

    Dr. Zaher Gul

    Shazia Marri

    Taimur Khan Jhagra

    Riaz Hussain Pirzada

  • Karachi Chamber demands declaring rain emergency

    Karachi Chamber demands declaring rain emergency

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has demanded the government of declaring an emergency after human and financial losses in the city during torrential rains in past few days.

    READ MORE: KCCI demands release of stuck up containers

    KCCI President Muhammad Idrees in statement urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take immediate measures to prevent further human and financial losses in the city as more rains had been predicted.

    Idrees lamented the present situation in Karachi after heavy downpour especially during the past 24 hours. He said the provincial and local authorities had failed to relief and take measures to control the flooding like situation.

    READ MORE: KCCI demands implementation of Riba free banking

    “The city collects about 70 per cent revenue for the national exchequer. But the present situation has created insecurity amongst the people of the metropolis,” he said.

    “The Wall Street of Pakistan i.e. I. I. Chundrigar Road is completely vanished due to flooding. Besides, the old city area were also showing disaster everywhere,” he added.

    The KCCI President urged the Prime Minister to announce compensation to the losses and also grant duty and tax relief for the business community.

    READ MORE: KCCI appeals rescuing small traders in Catch-22 situation

    He pointed out that there was no allocation in the budget 2022/2023 for the financial hub. He further pointed out that the previous government had allocated around Rs1.1 trillion for the city but no development project was seen.

    Idrees demanded the federal government to take control of the city and provide maximum relief to avoid further losses in expected rains.

    READ MORE: Energy price hike jolts trade, industry: Businessmen Panel

  • US calls for strengthening bilateral trade with Pakistan

    US calls for strengthening bilateral trade with Pakistan

    KARACHI: US Special Representative for commercial and business affairs Dilawar Syed has visited Pakistan to strengthen trade ties between the two countries.

    Syed visited Karachi July 6-9 as part of a visit to Pakistan that also included stops in Islamabad, Lahore, and Sialkot. 

    In Karachi, Special Representative Syed met with government officials, industry leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and business journalists to further strengthen the economic partnership and bilateral trade between Pakistan and the United States. 

    “I am pleased to be in Karachi, a dynamic and diverse financial and commercial hub,” said Special Representative Syed. “I am in Pakistan to reaffirm the U.S. government’s commitment to building our economic ties and to explore ways to expand trade and investment between our two countries. Our economic ties are decades long and I’m excited to focus on this relationship as we are celebrating 75 years of relations between the United States and Pakistan.”

    During his visit to Karachi, Special Representative Syed met with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, Minister of Climate Change Sherry Rehman, Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin ul Haque, Minister of Maritime Affairs Faisal Subzwari, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh Cabinet Members, and municipal and provincial officials to discuss how the United States and Pakistan can continue to work together to facilitate broad-based, equitable, and sustainable economic growth for both nations. Special Representative Syed also met with Acting Director of the State Bank of Pakistan Dr. Murtaza Syed and other state bank officials about financial inclusion for women and underserved communities and the importance of improving Pakistan’s business climate for U.S. companies and investors to spur greater economic growth.

    Special Representative Syed met with numerous industry leaders to explore how to increase Pakistan’s trade balance in critical areas that will provide benefits to both Pakistanis and Americans. 

    They discussed how the government and private sector can work together to promote a better investment climate in Pakistan and increase women’s economic empowerment, sustainability, workforce development, and corporate social responsibility. Currently, the United States is Pakistan’s largest single country export market and one of the largest sources of foreign investment. U.S. companies and their local affiliates are among Pakistan’s largest employers, with roughly 80 U.S. companies directly employing more than 120,000 Pakistanis. Special Representative Syed also visited Gatron Novatex, a company with strong trade relations with the United States, where he learned more about their recently launched electronic vehicle Ecodost and recycling initiatives.

    One of the highlights of Special Representative Syed’s time in Karachi was a visit to the National Incubation Center Karachi (NICK) at NED University where he participated in a panel discussion about promoting U.S.-Pakistan innovation and investment. 

    While at NICK, Special Representative Syed discussed how the United States and Pakistan can cooperate to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem. “The United States believes that a strong, prosperous, democratic Pakistan is vitally important for the region,” Special Representative Syed noted. “Entrepreneurship, gender equity in all sectors, and education and capacity-building opportunities are key ingredients to reaching that goal.”

  • Pakistan records 33.66% rise in prices of essential items

    Pakistan records 33.66% rise in prices of essential items

    KARACHI: Pakistan has recorded a massive increase of 33.66 per cent in prices of essential items by week ended July 06, 2022 when compared with same week last year, according to official data released on Friday.

    Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said that the inflation based on Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) recorded 33.66 per cent increase on YoY basis for week ended July 06, 2022.

    READ MORE: Petroleum prices in Pakistan push inflation 13-year high

    According to the bureau, the year on year trend depicts an increase of 33.66 per cent, Diesel (141.46 per cent), Petrol (119.61 per cent), Onions (101.98 per cent), Pulse Masoor (88.16 per cent), Vegetable Ghee 1 Kg (83.03 per cent), Cooking Oil 5 litre (79.29 per cent), Mustard Oil (77.60 per cent), Vegetable Ghee 2.5 Kg (74.87 per cent), Washing Soap (57.43 per cent), Gents Sponge Chappal (52.21 per cent), Pulse Gram (51.80 per cent), LPG (49.11 per cent), Tomatoes (44.71 per cent), Garlic (43.23 per cent) and Chicken (41.09 per cent).

    READ MORE: New prices of petroleum products in Pakistan from July 01, 2022

    While major decrease observed in the prices of Chillies Powdered (43.42 per cent), Sugar (12.57 per cent), Pulse Moong (3.23 per cent) and Gur (2.57 per cent).

    The SPI for the week ended on July 6, 2022 recorded an increase of 1.32 per cent. Increase observed in the prices of food items, Garlic (5.06 per cent), Potatoes (2.57 per cent), Vegetable Ghee 2.5 Kg (1.64 per cent), Cooked Daal (1.50 per cent), Wheat Flour (1.46 per cent), Pulse Gram (1.32 per cent), Tea Prepared (1.09 per cent) and Pulse Masoor (1.02 per cent), nonfood items Petrol (6.36 per cent), Diesel (5.06 per cent) and LPG (2.33 per cent), with joint impact of (0.85 per cent) into the overall SPI for combined group of (1.32 per cent).

    READ MORE: Average inflation estimated up to 12% in FY22

    On the other hand, decrease observed in the prices of Tomatoes (5.12 per cent), Onions (1.03 per cent), Mustard Oil (0.70 per cent), Bananas (0.43 per cent) and Pulse Mash (0.12 per cent).

    During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 30 (58.82 per cent) items increased, 05 (9.81 per cent) items decreased and 16 (31.37 per cent) items remained stable.

    READ MORE: SBP jacks up policy rate by 6.75% to 13.75%