ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 2: The president of the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) said a parliamentary committee on Thursday that the organization is developing a strategy to control the use of VPNs in Pakistan by blacklisting certain proxy networks and whitelisting others. PTA Chairman retired Maj General Hafeez ur Rehman stated that only whitelisted VPNs would operate in Pakistan when the policy is put into effect, with the others being stopped, while addressing a meeting of the Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat. Local internet users saw a sharp rise in the usage of VPNs in 2024. The majority have been using them…
Author: Mawadat Fatima
ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 2: The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Pakistan and China for cooperation in the manufacturing, new energy vehicle, textile, agricultural processing, pharmaceutical, and information technology sectors was approved by the federal cabinet on Friday, following the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement stating that the Ministry of Commerce initially proposed this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which seeks to strengthen trade cooperation between the two nations. The cabinet also approved the charter legislation for the National University of Modern Languages in Islamabad, which was recommended by the Ministry of…
ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 2: Prior to the reopening of schools in Sindh on August 15, Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah of Sindh instructed the education department to make sure that 4,453,686 textbooks are distributed by August 14. He underlined the significance of raising educational quality and expanding student enrollment at a discussion at the CM House. Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, emphasized at the meeting how important it is for schools to be ready for the new school year. This includes distributing textbooks and putting in place a thorough academic plan that includes mock and preliminary…
ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 2: The decision to impose raw material royalty rates at 6% of cement or clinker sales price ex-factory will come as a significant shock to cement manufacturing companies located in Punjab. The Punjab Mines & Mineral Department announced on Friday that the newly authorized royalty rates would take effect on July 1st, 2024. The brokerage house Topline Securities stated in a note that this notification will have an additional price impact of Rs. 50 per bag due to additional royalty. Prior to the notification’s circulation, royalty was Rs. 20 per bag, but it is now anticipated to increase…
ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 2: A new policy for Pakistani students enrolling to undergraduate medical and dentistry schools overseas has been announced by the Pakistan Medical and dentistry Council (PMDC), and it will take effect for the 2024–2025 academic year. The policy specifies a number of prerequisites that must be satisfied in order to be admitted to these overseas universities. According to the new PMDC policy, students must fulfill one of the following requirements in order to be admitted: Achieve at least 60% marks in FSC (Pre-Medical) from Pakistan. Obtain a minimum score of 550 in each subject of SAT-II. Pass…
ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 2: A pleasant break from the summer heat is being provided by the mild to heavy rains that are falling in Karachi at a number of locations, including II Chundrigar Road, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, Tower, and Guru Mandir. Karachi’s weather is expected to be gloomy and have light rain until the evening, according to the Met Department. Over the following five days, the weather is likely to be nice, while Sunday is predicted to bring more rain and thunderstorms. Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz said that from tomorrow, a new monsoon system will arrive in Karachi. This will be the…
ISLAMABAD. AUGUST 2: On Friday, the price of gold in Pakistan reached a new all-time high, continuing its record-breaking run. The Karachi Sarafa Association released statistics showing that the price of 10 grams increased by Rs. 2,057 to Rs. 220,593, while the price of gold (24 carats) increased by Rs. 2,400 per tola to Rs. 257,300. The rate that was achieved yesterday, at Rs. 254,900 per tola, was higher than the previous record of Rs. 254,000, which was set on July 18. It is important to note that the Sarafa Association was maintaining gold at a lower cost than international…
ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 2: For the transportation department and commercial vehicle industries, the Sindh government, together with Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, has launched a comprehensive digitalization and automation initiative. The objective of this program is to improve the system’s safety, transparency, and efficiency. The project includes the digitalization of Trans Karachi, the Provincial Transport Authority (PTA), the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), and the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA). According to reports from a meeting in Karachi led by Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, this process has already started. Minister Memon was provided with a comprehensive update on the status…
ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 2: Today at Finance Division, Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik was visited by Nicolas Galey, the French ambassador to Pakistan. In his assessment of Pakistan’s economic development, pervaiz Malik emphasized favorable developments that have been supported by recent international agency ratings, including rising foreign currency reserves, declining inflation, and a strong stock market. He listed the main ongoing reforms, such as the improvements in the energy sector, the privatization programs, and the reorganization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The digitalization program of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which is being carried out with assistance from…
ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 2: Turkmenistan and Pakistan have agreed to quicken the TAPI pipeline project’s development. Over a distance of 1,800 km (1,125 miles), the pipeline is anticipated to transport 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas annually from Galkynysh, the second-largest gas resource in the world, to the Indian city of Fazilka, which is close to the Pakistani border. Following a meeting between Minister of Petroleum Musadik Malik and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Cabinet of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredow, who was visiting Pakistan for two days, Radio Pakistan stated that “Pakistan and Turkmenistan have decided to accelerate work…