Balloting of plots of the unique housing project of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), Park Enclave-II would be held here on Tuesday the 9th February, 2016 at Pak-China Friendship Centre at 11:00 A.M. To ensure execute the balloting of plots of Park Enclave-II, Chairman CDA, Maroof Afzal has constituted committee headed by the Member Finance, Waseem Ahmed Khan. The committee is comprises of Deputy Director General (Land and Estate), Director Estate Management-I (East), Director Law, Director Public Relations, Director Regional Planning and Deputy Director-II (Estate Management-I) as its member. The committee, during its review meeting, finalized all the arrangements made for transparent balloting of plots of Park Enclave-II. ...
February 6, 2016 at 2:52 pm | News Desk
President Society Watch Khalid Mehmood on Saturday said weaknesses in the structure of agriculture is keeping this sector fragile which is a threat to GDP growth rate. Masses continue to pay extra for food in the name of national interest which has not improved lives of the farmers but that of rural elite, he said. In a statement issued here today, he said that masses are forced to buy wheat at 40 percent inflated price as compare to rates in the international market while they pay 20 percent extra for rice and 30 percent additional money while buying milk. Khalid Mehmood said that despite getting heavy price the agriculture sector is in doldrums due to distortions which must be tacked to streamline things. He said that prices...
February 6, 2016 at 2:40 pm | News Desk
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has constituted several Panels of Experts to review Higher Education Institutions across the country, with an aim to ensure adherence of universities’ policies and practices to the defined Quality Assurance criteria and guidelines for Good Governance. Complying with the special directive of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, HEC has so far reviewed quality assurance and governance mechanism of 100 universities, both in public and private sector, while 50 more universities will be reviewed in the coming week. It is hoped that current phase of this whole review will be completed by the end of March 2016. The initiative will not only improve quality of teaching and research in th...
February 6, 2016 at 2:38 pm | News Desk
Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders and honorary Consul General of Ghana Shahid Rasheed Butt on Saturday said incumbent government has improved the economic situation which has bolstered the confidence of investors. Law and order situation has improved which has enhanced image of the country while bold steps aimed at reforms is being supported by the business community and the majority of the masses, he said. Talking to ambassadors and high commissioners of various countries and others during a recent reception, he said that Pakistan is progressing on fast pace and this country is becoming darling of the investors. Shahid Rasheed Butt said that business community unconditionally supports the right decision of the government t...
February 6, 2016 at 2:26 pm | News Desk
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff mission, led by Harald Finger, visited Dubai during January 26-February 4, 2016 to conduct discussions on the tenth review of Pakistan’s economic program supported by a three-year IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement (see Press Release No. 13/322). The staff team met with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Ashraf Wathra, and other senior officials. At the conclusion of the mission, Mr. Finger issued the following statement: “After constructive discussions, the mission and the Pakistani authorities have reached staff-level agreement on the completion of the tenth review under the EFF arrangement. The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Management...
February 6, 2016 at 2:13 pm | News Desk
ISLAMABAD, February 6: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has accorded its approval to the Licensed Persons (Obligations under voluntary winding up) Regulation 2016. The new regulations are in line with its efforts to strengthen the capital market and to safeguard the interest of investors. The Regulations prescribe the minimum requirements to be complied with by a licensed person prior to filing voluntary winding up petition. The requirements inter alia include settlement of investors’ claims and obtaining approval of the Commission. The new regulations are available on the SECP’s website www.secp.gov.pk .
February 6, 2016 at 12:22 pm | News Desk
Ufone, Pakistan’s premier telecom operator, is primed to launch a first of its kind product that will bring parents some much needed peace of mind – the UWatch. UWatch keeps families connected in the way they want to be without the need to buy a young child a smartphone. UWatch is a wearable mobile watch designed specifically for kids in order for parents to keep in touch with their loved ones. This watch provides two way voice calling functionality i.e. the parent can dial into the watch and also the child can dial from the watch to the parent’s mobile number. Additionally UWatch also provides real-time location capability via GSM/GPS positioning so that parents can be aware of their child’s location. UWatch is securely c...
February 6, 2016 at 12:01 pm | News Desk
Top management of Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) has made appointments on higher slots at hefty packages, which may spark controversy in coming days. According to officials, the hiring on top posts includes the chief financial officer and general manager security. They are said to be close relatives of the chairman board of directors and a member of the board. Now, officials said, the OGDC management is under pressure of the board chairman to appoint a blue-eyed boy as the external communication manager, but he had no relevant experience, which was in violation of the criteria set in the advertisement. The Pakistan Peoples Party has already come in for a lot of criticism for making questionable appointments during its tenur...
February 4, 2016 at 7:16 pm | News Desk
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund said on February 4 it had agreed to release a $497 million tranche for Pakistan after the latest review of a bailout package awarded in 2013, though the disbursement still requires IMF board approval. Once the latest disbursement is made the IMF will still have to release $1.1 billion of the total $6.7 billion loan agreed three years ago. IMF agrees to delay PIA sell-off for six months “After constructive discussions, the mission and the Pakistani authorities have reached stafflevel agreement on the completion of the tenth review under the EFF (Extended Fund Facility) arrangement,” the IMF said in a statement. Pakistan has shelved plans to privatise its power supply companies and wi...
February 4, 2016 at 7:08 pm | News Desk
ISLAMABAD: The defence ministry has expressed concern over the delay in release of the $350 million tranche of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) by the US Congress for want of a certification by the American defence secretary that Pakistani counter-terrorism operations were disrupting the Haqqani Network’s sanctuaries on its soil. “The issues of the decrease in Coalition Support Fund and the economic difficulties in dealing with the crises of North Waziristan’s internally displaced persons also came under discussion,” a defence ministry statement said, after a meeting between defence secretary, retired Lt Gen Muhammad Alam Khattak, and US Ambassador David Hale. Under the US National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for the fisc...
February 4, 2016 at 11:36 am | News Desk
Pakistan Rupee Exchange Rate