Govt unveils supplementary finance bill in line with IMF's demands

Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin presents the much-awaited supplementary finance bill — termed by the Opposition as a "mini-budget" — in the National Assembly, as a pre-requisite to resume the $6 billion External Fund Facility (EFF) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The opposition staged a vehement protest and chanted slogans to prevent Shaukat Tarin from introducing the Finance Bill 2021 and SBP Amendment Bill in the House.

According to the finance ministry's proposal, the government will impose a tax on approximately 150 goods at a rate of 17%. Therefore, goods that were currently either completely exempt from General Sales Tax (GST) or being taxed at 5% to 12% rates would now be taxed at 17%.

The income tax rate on mobile phone calls is expected to increase from 10% to 15%.

Meanwhile, the GST rate on cars above 850cc will go up to 17% and the tax on the import of electric vehicles in CBU conditions will increase from 5% to 17%. Business to business transactions will go up from 16.9% to 17%.

Zero-rating available on supplies of raw materials for imported milk would be withdrawn and be taxed at 17%.

The supplies to duty-free shops will be taxed at 17%. As they will be taxed for the first time, there are no revenue estimates.

The finance bill also proposes that bread prepared in bakeries, restaurants, food chains and shops be taxed at a 17% rate.

The bill increases the tax collection target from Rs5,829 billion to Rs6,100 billion for the remaining financial year. The government has also reduced the development programmes by Rs200 billion.

The "mini-budget" was one of the conditions of the IMF which was to be met before January 12, 2022, in order to recover more than $1 billion in instalments from the Fund.

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had summoned a federal cabinet meeting to approve the Finance Bill, which was later to be presented in the National Assembly.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3EFo4j7

Coronavirus pandemic affected the educational activities the most IN 2021

The year 2021 cannot be considered a good educational year as the coronavirus pandemic affected the educational activities the most.

The year 2021 passed under the coronavirus regime which affected all the aspects of life including education. There was either 50% attendance or the educational institutions were closed overall. Education minister Sindh, Sardar Shah said that the education sector has been adversely affected; online classes can not compare physical classes.

The continuous rise in coronavirus cases by each passing day was the reason that metric and intermediate students could give only optional exams. Metric exams were conducted on the 5th of July whereas intermediate exams were delayed by 26th of July. This caused the results to be announced late eventually causing the new educational year to be started by a delay.

The educational minister stood firm on the stance that they will try their best to continue the educational year 2022 without any issues.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/32tcFG9

Pakistan reports 3 more corona deaths in 24 hours

Pakistan has reported 3 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 1,294,861. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 28,921 on Thursday. According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) 482 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

Punjab remains the worst-hit province in terms of deaths followed by Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Till now 13,066 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab, 7,666 in Sindh 5,927 in KP, 967 in Islamabad, 746 in Azad Kashmir, 363 in Balochistan, and 186 in GB.

Furthermore 481,381 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 444,862 in Punjab 181,334 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 108,565 in Islamabad, 34,660 in Azad Kashmir 33,630 in Balochistan and 10,429 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Pakistan has so far conducted 23,324,549 coronavirus tests and 50,662 in the last 24 hours. 1,255,931 patients have recovered in the country whereas 639 patients are in critical condition.

The COVID-19 positivity ratio was recorded at 0.95 percent.

So far, 95,159,489 people have received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine including 897,864 in last 24 hours. 68,508,472 citizens have been fully vaccinated while 1,002,233 received their second dose in last 24 hours.

The number of total administered doses has reached to 153,477,237 with 1,526,150 in the last 24 hours.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3zckeN2

Opposition lambasts govt over plan to table mini-budget in National Assembly

The opposition on Wednesday took the government to task over its plan to table the supplementary finance bill [mini-budget] in the National Assembly.

A day earlier, the federal cabinet had deferred the approval of the supplementary finance bill which was scheduled to be tabled in today's session.

Speaking on a point of order, PPP MNA Raja Pervez Ashraf said that everyone in the House as well as people from different walks of life were concerned over reports that the government was planning to introduce a money bill or a mini-budget.

"Inflation, unemployment and the shortage of gas and other commodities have already wreaked havoc on the people of the country. Now, if a mini-budget or money bill is in the offing, which would increase their difficulties, then everyone sitting in the House should resist the move," he said.

Taking the floor, PML-N's Khawaja Asif said that the country saw a "territorial surrender" on Dec 16, 1971 which it eventually recovered from.

"The country has come out of that disaster. [But] now we are going to surrender our economic sovereignty through the finance bill and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill 2021 which is much worse than what happened in 1971."

The PML-N leader claimed that the state bank had become a "local branch" of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He said that the SBP governor was disguised as a "viceroy", adding that Pakistan had become a "financial colony" of international institutions.

He vowed to oppose the SBP bill and the mini-budget, adding that there was a need to create a national consensus on both the issues. "Create national consensus on how we can get out of these issues. Things can't go on like this."

He said that today was the fourth day that the government was unable to complete quorum and claimed that it would again obtain votes through facilitators. He called on lawmakers to not surrender the country's economic sovereignty.

Concluding his speech, Asif said that the country's nuclear assets would be the next target. "After this, we will be stripped of our nuclear capabilities."

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri, who chaired today's session, told the lawmakers that so far, no such bill had been presented in the house. "You can debate on the bill when it is presented," he said.

When the deputy speaker gave the floor to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the opposition members pointed out the quorum and staged a walkout.

Suri then ordered a head count and declared that the quorum was complete. He gave the floor to the foreign minister for a second time, while members of the opposition returned to the house to participate in the proceedings.

During his speech, Qureshi assured the lawmakers that the government would protect the country's economic sovereignty.

He said that protecting the country's economic independence was the joint responsibility of the government and the parliament. However, the country's macro-economic indicators did not become alarming during the last three years, he said.

Commenting on the point raised by Asif about the country's nuclear assets, Qureshi said: "I want to say this on the floor of the house that there is, was and will remain a national consensus on credible minimum deterrence."

Talking about quorum, he accepted that it was the government's responsibility to fulfil it. He also urged the opposition to ensure the smooth functioning of the National Assembly, stating that pointing out quorum again and again was not in their benefit.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3Fz8YNg

Nawaz Sharif won't return, govt will bring him back: Fawad

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Tuesday said that the government will bring PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif back after the finalisation of an agreement with the UK government, as he ruled out the possibility of Nawaz's voluntary return to the country, The News reported Wednesday.

"We will bring back the PML-N leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif because he himself will never return,” Fawad said during a media briefing on the federal cabinet meeting held Tuesday which was presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier in the day.

The minister told the media that matters regarding Nawaz's return had been settled with Britain to "a great extent".

“We have been addressing the legal lacunas relating to the matter for the last two years. Rest assured, he will not return, but we will bring him back,” Fawad said emphatically.

About PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq's claim about Nawaz Sharif's return, he said that his statement caused a setback to Jati Umra [the residence of the Sharif family], wondering what he was talking about.

Fawad said the cabinet meeting approved formation of a joint investigation committee (JIT) to probe the murder of Nazim Jokhio.

He said the cabinet approved the National Security Policy (NSP) and the policy documents would be made public in 10 days. He pointed out that the economic strategy had also been included in the national security policy and that security could not be guaranteed if your economy was not strong.

The minister said that an important point of the policy was that if the common man was not protected, or he was not satisfied with his economic, social and legal status, then no policy would be successful; therefore it is economy-centric. He contended that the policy was started in 2014 and it was approved in 2021. In the past, the policy was not approved because there was no consensus.

He said that for the first time a government was in place which was capable of soliciting the views of all, and Imran Khan is a prime minister who is trusted by all.

The minister said that the policy also included the policies of internal security, food security and other ministries.

Fawad censures Fazl to give dates to topple PTI govt

He came down hard on the opposition and said Maulana Fazlur Rehman had been giving dates for three years against the government and recalled when the PTI came to power, the Maulana came to Islamabad in the first year of government with ‘leftovers’.

The minister said he thought he would overthrow the government, but had been giving a new date every three months; the media should bring out his statements of three years. He emphasised that the opposition was not capable of toppling the government, as it required leadership which they did not have.

“They are only issuing statements to appease their workers. Everybody knows that Imran Khan gave them [the] toughest time while in [the] Opposition,” he noted.

Fawad continued that there were daily-wage politicians in the Opposition and they earn their wages. He pointed out that after Rana Shamim's affidavit, it became clear how big a Sicilian mafia Nawaz Sharif & Company is.

“They want to get the cases decided in their favour by putting pressure on courts,” he added.

Regarding reports of a ‘mini budget’, the minister emphasised that it was not a mini budget but the government was making some financial adjustments.

“We have to go to IMF after what Nawaz Sharif and Zardari have done to Pakistan,” he added.

He advised the opposition to come up with an alternative to the “mini-budget” instead of merely issuing statements. He added that a bill in that regard would be passed in the current session and it had been initially discussed in the cabinet meeting.

There are reports the cabinet will meet again on Wednesday to further deliberate on the proposed ‘mini-budget’ and accord approval to it before being taken up in Parliament for consideration and adoption.

The minister said the cabinet meeting was briefed on urea production; agriculture has improved in the last two years, wheat, rice and sugarcane production has become historic, due to which purchase of vehicles, medicines and other items have increased.

He said that now there is a crisis of shortage of fertilizers, the price of fertilizers in the world market has increased by 12%, gas was supplied for urea production in Pakistan even in these two months when gas is not supplied to the urea plant.

Fawad claimed that Pakistan had the highest production of urea this year: At a time when the price of urea in the world market is more than 10,000, the price of urea in Pakistan is between Rs1,700 to 1,800. He added that urea was in short supply in many places due to hoarding and smuggling.

The cabinet, he noted, asked the Punjab government to stop stockpiling of urea, which would not reduce the price but would end the shortage.

The minister said that the appointment of Board of Directors of House Building Finance Company Limited has been approved on the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will include Shehzad Naqvi, Faiza Kapadia, Yasmeen Lari, Adnan Ali and Imran Ahad.

The forum has given in-principle approval to the draft for the Intermediate Board Coordination Commission to enhance the verification of documents, liaison and cooperation among all the boards of education. Likewise, an approval has been given to appoint Muhammad Asim as executive to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).

He said that Citizen Building F-9 Park was being converted into Gandhara Heritage and Culture Centre and the committee would be headed by the prime minister. He said that Ms Nazia Shaheen and Shabar Abbas had been demanded by the Italian government to be taken into custody for their alleged involvement in a murder in Italy: They will be sent back to Italy.

Fawad said that similarly the UAE had demanded taking Muhammad Usman into custody and action was being taken to send him to the UAE.

He said that on the recommendation of Lahore High Court, approval has been given to shift Banking Court No. 1 from Multan to Dera Ghazi Khan.

Fawad said that approval has been given to set up a 200 million gallon water plant in Gwadar, this is a CPEC project and it will enable the citizens of Gwadar to get clean water.

He said that Dr Shaista Zeeshan has been approved to be appointed as Executive Member National Medical Authority for four years and on the recommendation of Drug Regulatory Authority has been approved to change the composition of three drugs but there will be no change in their selling price.

The minister said that approximately Rs23 million worth of goods, including N95, safety shoes, and dresses, had been approved for Cuba to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

He said that the cabinet has sent the draft of Pakistan Planning and Management Bill 2021 to the committee on the recommendation of the Ministry of Planning.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3Ewhr2w

Opposition senators seek details of retired military officers' appointments in NADRA

Opposition leaders in the Senate on Wednesday sought details of retired military officials appointed at the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

The senators' demand came after the Ministry of Interior submitted a detailed answer in the Upper House of the Parliament, where it stated that none of the 13,997 employees of NADRA belong to the military — whether on service or retired.

Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, during a session of the Senate, said the ministry's response was incomplete and asked for a complete record of the military personnel who were appointed by NADRA after they retired from the army.

"The youth of the country are searching for jobs [...] but they cannot find any," the senator said, as he reiterated his demand of making the data of retired army officers appointed in NADRA available.

PML-N Senator Azam Nazir Tarar said that he had received information that retired military officers were working as directors and deputy directors at the database authority.

Extending Ahmed's questions, Tarar demanded the reason behind their appointment, when and how many were appointed, and whether they were given employment on the basis of merit or quota.

"What were the additional qualifications of the retired military personnel? The details of their assignments should also be provided," he added.

Responding to the queries, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan asked the senators to submit the questions afresh, so the Ministry of Interior could reply accordingly.

Ruckus over NSP; token walkout

Meanwhile, there was ruckus in the upper house of Parliament, as senators lashed out at the government for not presenting the National Security Policy (NSP) in the Senate.

"What sort of a policy is this that the parliament did not get a chance to debate over? The parliament has not even seen this policy," Senator Sherry Rehman said, chiding the government.

Leader of the House for the Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem said the NSP was presented to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, but the Opposition decided to boycott the session.

However, he noted that when "the men in uniform come to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security meeting, then the Opposition rushed to attend it".

In response, the Opposition members protested in front of the senate chairman's dias and then staged a token walkout. Later, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani was able to restore order to the house.

The National Security Committee (NSC) on Monday approved Pakistan’s first-ever National Security Policy (NSP) 2022-2026, and on Tuesday, it received the federal cabinet's nod as well.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3Ho9hLc

Bitcoin falls 6.1 percent to $47,607

Bitcoin dropped 6.13% to $47,606.92 on Tuesday, losing $3,111.19 from its previous close.

Bitcoin, the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, is down 31% from the year's high of $69,000 on Nov. 10.

Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, dropped 5.57 % to $3,812.6 on Tuesday, losing $224.8 from its previous close.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3EGLzrP