Budget 2018-19

  TS Tirumurti, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, said when West Pakistan unleashed genocide on East Pakistan, India hosted millions of refugees and saved them from the massacre. Underlining India’s commitment to the humanitarian protection of refugees, TS Tirumurti, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, on Tuesday said when West  Pakistan  unleashed genocide on East Pakistan, India hosted millions of refugees and saved them from the massacre. Speaking at the UNSC briefing by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Tirumurti said, “In contemporary history, India’s hospitality, and assistance for refugee communities from the neighbouring countries is well recorded and appreciated. Be it the Tibetans or our brothers and sisters from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,  Afghanistan  and Myanmar, India has always responded with compassion and understanding. When West Pakistan unleashed genocide on East Pakistan, India hosted milli...

The directives will allow direct entry of fully vaccinated expatriates without the need to spend 14 days in transit outside their countries before entering the Kingdom Saudi Arabia has announced that it will lift a travel ban on expats from six countries including India and Pakistan that was introduced to contain the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The directives will allow direct entry of fully vaccinated expatriates without the need to spend 14 days in transit outside their countries before entering the Kingdom, Arab News reported.  Saudi Arabia ‘s Ministry of Interior issued the directive saying that changes will commence at 1 am on December 1. The English-language newspaper said that expats arriving from these countries must spend five days in quarantine regardless of their Coronavirus vaccination status outside the Kingdom. Earlier in February, the direct entry ban was imposed due to a global spike in Covid-19 caThe ban covered Lebanon, UAE, Egypt, Turkey, the U...

  He said that due to lack of resources the government had little to spend on the welfare of the masses Pakistan Prime Minister  Imran Khan  said on Tuesday that the rising foreign debts coupled with low tax recovery had become a “national security” issue because government did not have enough resources to spend on people’s welfare. Our biggest problem is that we don’t have enough money to run our country due to which we have to borrow loans, Khan said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Track and Trace System (TTS) of the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) for the sugar industry in Islamabad. He said that due to lack of resources the government had little to spend on the welfare of the masses. Khan said that the rising foreign debts and low tax revenue had become an issue of “national security”. He lamented that the prevailing culture of not paying taxes was a legacy of the colonial period when people disliked to pay taxes as their money was not spent on them… Re...

  Air pollution is estimated to cost the global economy upwards of $2.9 trillion per year due to fossil fuel emissions alone Air pollution continues to present one of the world’s biggest health hazards to people everywhere, contri­buting to about 7 million premature deaths annually. 600,000 of these deaths are children. Compounding this staggering health crisis, air pollution is estimated to cost the global economy upwards of $2.9 trillion per year due to fossil fuel emissions alone, while also contrib­uting to a range of severe environmental probl­ems. Air quality is determined by the levels of air pollut­ants PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. In 2020, India had 46 of the world’s 100 most polluted cities, followed by China (42), Pakistan (6), Bangladesh (4), Indonesia (1), and Thailand (1), according to air quality tracker IQAir. All these cities had a PM2.5 air-quality rating of over 50. Nine out of the top 10 most polluted cities are in I...

  Qureshi said Pakistan was pursuing imperatives of geo-economics and was determined to make the country a hub of trade, investment, and finance Pakistan’s Foreign Minister  Shah Mahmood Qureshi  said on Monday that his country wanted to deepen its longstanding ties with the United States. Qureshi made the remarks during his meeting with Congressman Gregory Meeks, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representative (HFAC), and Congressman Ami Bera, Chairman of the Asia Subcommittee of the HFAC, who called on him. Welcoming the Congressmen to Pakistan, Qureshi said that  Pakistan  valued its longstanding relationship with the US and wanted to further deepen and widen this relationship, according to a statement issued by Foreign Office. He emphasised that Pakistan was pursuing imperatives of geo-economics and was determined to make the country a hub of trade, investment, and finance. He invited US companies to invest in Pakistan’s IT and Healt...

  Rawat said history is witness to the fact that whenever a country neglects its armed forces, the external powers are quick to exploit it. The territorial ambitions of China and Pakistan require the Indian armed forces to remain alert and deployed along disputed borders and coastal areas round the year, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat said on Sunday. The CDS stated this while delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture at All India Radio. “The quintessential visionary that  Sardar Patel  was, he had assertively voiced the need of an independent Tibet as a buffer state between India and China, as can be found in his correspondence with the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,” he said. Rawat said history is witness to the fact that whenever a country neglects its armed forces, the external powers are quick to exploit it. In the 1950s, India overlooked this important lesson of history and allowed the security apparatus to drift and the Chinese shook the c...

  Pakistan’s western front continues to remain unstable and it fishing in troubled waters of Afghanistan, General M M Naravane said Pakistan’s western front continues to remain unstable and it fishing in troubled waters of  Afghanistan  is going to come and bite it in the future, Army Chief General M M Naravane said on Thursday. Without naming Pakistan, he said the infiltration bids and terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir have increased during the last two and half months and these “activities” are being sponsored by “our western neighbour”. When asked at a defence conclave if Pakistan can now concentrate more of its assets towards India as it sees its western front with Afghanistan under its control, Naravane replied: “I think it is too early to draw that conclusion.” “I think their western front is equally if not more unstable. I think it is going to come and bite them, whatever they have been fishing in the troubled waters. It is going to bite them and they will rea...

  Last month, Fitch Ratings revised down its forecasts for the Pakistani rupee for both this year and next due to a variety of factors Pakistan’s rupee hit a record low on Monday of 173.20 in intra-day trading against the dollar before closing at 172.78, below the previous close of 171.18, after reports of a failure of talks with the International Monetary Fund, traders said. The government’s finance ministry on Monday dismissed reports by local media over the weekend that talks from October 4 to 15 for the release of a $1 billion loan tranche were inconclusive. “Negotiations between Pakistan and IMF are moving forward positively. No timeframe was set at any stage for the conclusion of the talks,” the finance ministry said. In June, a similar round of talks between the two sides had failed. Last month, Fitch Ratings revised down its forecasts for the  Pakistan Economy  for both this year and next due to a variety of factors, including an increased flow of US dollars into ...

  Pakistan does get more than half its LNG under long-term contracts, which provides some protection against the volatile spot market Pakistan only started importing liquefied natural gas six years ago, but its growing dependence on the super-chilled fuel is starting to turn into a nightmare. The surge in global gas prices due to shortages in Europe has pushed Asian LNG to records for the time of year. That’s forced Pakistan to pay the most ever for spot shipments to top up supply under long-term contracts, or even forgo them altogether. The shortfall means the nation will “definitely” suffer power outages over the winter, Iqbal Z. Ahmed, the chairman of  Pakistan GasPort , which owns and operates one of the nation’s import terminals, said in an interview. “It will hit exports, industry and general morale more than anything else. Electricity is not a luxury.” Pakistan’s Ministry of Energy did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The energy crisis playing out from the ...

  Pakistan has seen 35 attacks that left at least 52 civilians dead in August, the highest since February 2017, according to data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal Deadly terrorist attacks in  Pakistan  have increased to the highest level in over four years as U.S. troops left Afghanistan and the Taliban took power, a sign of growing instability in the region that could hurt business and investments. Pakistan has seen 35 attacks that left at least 52 civilians dead in August, the highest since February 2017, according to data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal. Most of the violence has been attributed to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an offshoot of the Afghan militant group that has been encouraged by developments next door. The Pakistani militant group “has been emboldened further by what happened in Afghanistan,” Umar Karim, a visiting fellow at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said over the phone. “The terrorist group had already been ...

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the international community must engage with the Taliban and “incentivise” them on issues such as women’s rights and an inclusive Afghan government Pakistan Prime Minister  Imran Khan  has said the international community must engage with the Taliban and “incentivise” them on issues such as women’s rights and an inclusive Afghan government to prevent the conflict-torn nation from ending up in chaos. Speaking to CNN from his private Bani Gala residence in Islamabad on Wednesday, Khan said that Afghanistan was on a historic crossroads. He asserted that the best way forward for peace and stability in the war-torn country is to engage with the Taliban, which seized Kabul last month. “The Taliban hold all of Afghanistan and if they can sort of now work towards an inclusive government, get all the factions together,   Afghanistan   could have peace after 40 years,” he said. “But if it goes wrong (in Afghanistan), and which is wha...

  Efforts on to resume operations at Kabul airport Afghan crisis:  Taliban and Afghan rebels loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud claimed heavy casualties in heavy fighting in the Panjshir Valley, with some media reports suggesting 13 Taliban fighters were ambushed on Thursday. Panjshir is the last Afghan province resisting rule by the Taliban, which took control of the country two weeks ago by overthrowing the Western-backed government as the US and other foreign troops withdrew after 20 years. According to certain media reports, more than 300 fighters from both sides lost their lives during the fighting over the past few days, as the Northern Resistance Front refused to give up despite being surrounded by the Taliban from all sides. “We started operations after negotiations with the local armed group failed,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Taliban fighters had entered Panjshir and taken control of some territory, he said. “They (the enemy)...

  In the aftermath of the  Taliban  regaining power in Afghanistan, a former senior American diploma Nikki Haley t has said there is a need to closely watch China In the aftermath of the Taliban regaining power in Afghanistan, a former senior American diplomat has said there is a need to closely watch China as it is making a move to take over the Bagram air force base that was controlled by the United States for nearly two decades. America’s former envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley told Fox News on Wednesday that it is time that President Joe Biden’s administration reaches out to its key friends and allies like India, Japan and Australia and assure them that the US will have their back. The first thing you should do is immediately start connecting with our allies, whether it’s Taiwan, whether it’s Ukraine, whether it’s Israel, whether it’s India, Australia, Japan, all of them, and reassure them that we will have their back and that we need them as well,  Nikki ...

  Pakistan’s Balochistan province, battered by a harsh winter, a locust invasion, COVID-19, and drought-like conditions, faces a food emergency for about 500,000 people, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday Pakistan ‘s Balochistan province, battered by a harsh winter, a locust invasion, COVID-19, and drought-like conditions, faces a food emergency for about 500,000 people, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday. “An estimated 500,000 people are facing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity while another 100,000 people require immediate life-saving assistance. The dry spell and reduced water availability are destroying crops and threatening the survival of livestock which are the main livelihood and food source for many families in the affected areas,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. Meteorologists forecast drought-like conditions through the end of the year for southwestern Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan. “Low rainfall during Octobe...

  A total of 360 Indians, who were stranded in Pakistan due to Covid-19 induced restrictions, returned via the Attari-Wagah border, officials said on Monday A total of 360 Indians, who were stranded in Pakistan due to COVID-19 induced restrictions, returned via the Attari-Wagah border, officials said on Monday. While speaking to ANI, Protocol Officer (Police) Arunpal Singh said, “360 Indians and 50 No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) visa holders, who were stranded in Pakistan due to COVID restrictions, returned via Attari-Wagah border yesterday.” Liyaqat Ali, a resident of Baramulla, at the  Attari-Wagah border  near Amritsar told ANI, “I went to Pakistan in December last year to meet my maternal uncle and got stuck due to COVID-induced restrictions…. I am happy to be back home after 6 months.” People were seen carrying huge suitcases and bags and arranging them inside the vehicle. Last year, on December 29, 2020, a total of 137 people who had arrived in India before...

  Pakistan’s textile sector is “disappointed” by the government’s decision to not allow the import of Indian cotton and has said that buying cotton from the neighbouring country is the need of the hour Pakistan’s textile sector is “disappointed” by the government’s decision to not allow the import of Indian cotton and has said that buying cotton from the neighbouring country is the need of the hour to avert big loss to textile exports.Pakistan Apparel Forum chairman Jawed Bilwani on Thursday said the rejection by the country’s cabinet of the Economic Coordination Committee’s (ECC) proposal would convey a negative message to foreign buyers as the cotton yarn was not available in the country, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported. The textile export sector has been continuously demanding duty-free import of cotton yarn from all over the world, including India, to avert any big loss to textile exports.Pakistan’s federal cabinet on Thursday back-tracked on the Economic Coordination Co...

  Pakistan launched a five-day anti-polio vaccination drive on Monday, despite challenges by the deepening third wave of the coronavirus across the country. Pakistan launched a five-day anti-polio vaccination drive on Monday, despite challenges by the deepening third wave of the coronavirus across the country.Around 285,000 frontline workers, respecting COVID-19 safety protocols, will go door-to-door in all 156 districts across Pakistan to give polio drops, according to an official statementIt said that over 40 million children under the age of five will be given anti-polio vaccine during the campaign that aims to raise the immunity of children that remain at risk of the crippling disease. It is an absolute must that all our eligible children stay protected against vaccine preventable diseases including polioIt’s every Pakistani’s national duty to ensure that your own children, as well as those around you, are administered polio vaccine without fail, said Dr. Faisal Sultan, the Spe...

  Prime Minister Imran Khan led-government on Sunday increased the price of petrol by up to Pakistani Rupees 2.70 per litre Prime Minister Imran Khan led-government on Sunday increased the price of petrol by up to Pakistani Rupees 2.70 per litre. “The federal government increased the price of petrol by up to Rs 2.70 per litre for the next 15 days of February 2021,” ARY News reported citing Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance. Prime Minister Imran Khan approved Rs 2.70 per litre increase on petrol and Rs 2.88 per litre on diesel. Meanwhile, the price of kerosene oil is increased up to Rs 3.54 per litre while the rate of light diesel was jacked up to Rs 3 per litre. According to ARY News, the new petroleum prices from February 1 will be – petrol: Rs 111.90, diesel: Rs 116.07, kerosene oil: Rs 80.19, and light diesel: Rs 79.23…

  Imran Khan took to Twitter to respond to Indian media reports of an exchange on the WhatsApp messaging service between popular Indian TV anchor Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta Pakistan’s prime minister reacted angrily Monday to media reports of a text exchange between an Indian TV anchor and a former media industry executive that suggests a 2019 Indian airstrike inside Pakistan was designed to boost Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chances for re-election. Imran Khan took to Twitter to respond to Indian media reports of an exchange on the WhatsApp messaging service between popular Indian TV anchor Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta, the former head of a TV rating company. The purported text exchange three days before the airstrike indicates Goswami had prior knowledge of the attack and that it was designed to drum up support for Modi in his re-election bid in pending parliamentary elections. Goswami, a firebrand anchor who is Indian Republic TV’s co-owner and editor in chie...

  She further said that this disease does not go away by wearing masks, and has to be thrown out Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday likened the novel coronavirus to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and Prime Minister Imran Khan. “The disease called COVID-19 came to the world recently, but it had already spread in Pakistan in 2018,” she said while addressing a public gathering in Gupis, Gilgit-Baltistan, reported Geo News. She further said that this disease does not go away by wearing masks, and has to be thrown out. The PML-N vice-president, who is on a seven-day election campaign ahead of the Gilgit-Baltistan elections scheduled for the coming Sunday, said it “pained her to take the name of a person like Imran”. She added that Khan and his party of ‘turncoats’ is the name of the disease spreading through Pakistan today, and added the  Imran Khan  does not deserve the stature of Prime Minister’s Office. “The solutio...