February 16, 2022

Inaugural Ceremony of One Week Performance Evaluation Training Program 2022 for Civil Judges-cum-Magistrates (Batch-II)

Lahore, February 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):The inaugural ceremony of “One Week Performance Evaluation Training Program – 2022 for Civil Judges-cum-Magistrates (Batch-II)” was held in the Punjab Judicial Academy on 14th February, 2022 at 09:00 a.m., which was chaired by Mr. Ashtar Abbas, Director Administration, and PJA. Mr. Tariq Iftikhar Ahmad, Director Training (Distance Learning), PJA, Ch. Muhammad Siddique, Director Academics / Programme, PJA and Ms. Bushra Zaman, Director Research and Publications, PJA also participated the ceremony.

The proceedings were started with the recitation of the Holy Quran. Where after, Mr. Ashtar Abbas, Director Administration, Punjab Judicial Academy welcomed the participants and highlighted the salient features of training program. Thereafter, Ch. Muhammad Siddique, Director Academics / Programmes PJA briefly explained the importance of training program and gave its orientation. He also briefed the participants about the sequel of sessions and evaluation criteria.

For more information, contact:
Punjab Judicial Academy (PJA)
15 – Fane Road Lahore
Email: info@pja.gov.pk
PABX. No: 042-99214055-8
Website: https://pja.gov.pk/

February 16, 2022

IGP listens to complaints of citizens during Khuli Kacheri

Islamabad, February 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Muhammad Ahsan Younas has directed all police officials to resolve the public complaints on priority. During an `Open Court’ especially held on Tuesday with the purpose to listen issues of policemen and citizens, the IGP directed relevant police officials to resolve their issues and gave them timeframe for the purpose. The IGP while listening public complaints strictly directed all zonal officers to take immediate and strict action against land grabbers. “No one would be allowed to grab property of any citizen” he added.

Islamabad police chief said that it is our prime responsibility to provide protection to the lives and property of the citizens and resolve their problems on priority. He said that citizens at `Open Court’ should be behaved in a respectful manner and their trust on police department to be won through resolving their issues.

He said that interaction with people also ensures accountability of the policemen and they should address public complaints on merit by considering them their own issues. The IGP emphasized that positive image of policemen should be ensured before them through unbiased approach towards anyone. Police chief hoped that interaction during ‘open kutcheries’ would help to promote friendly policing. Such interaction with citizens are aimed to promote community policing, resolve the issues of people at their door steps through merit and curb activities of anti-social elements, he added.

For more information, contact:
Islamabad Police
Data centre H-11, Admin Block,
Police Head Quarter, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9258371 Ext (160)
Fax: +92-51-4443180
Email: webmaster@islamabadpolice.gov.pk
Website: https://islamabadpolice.gov.pk

February 16, 2022

SBP enhances agriculture credit limits to meet farmers input requirements

Karachi, February 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has enhanced the indicative credit limits for agriculture financing by banks to farmers to align the amount of financing with agriculture input requirements. The enhanced indicative credit limits for production and development loans of farm and non-farm sector will directly benefit agriculture borrowers, who will now be able to obtain more credit from banks and in turn enhance agriculture productivity through adequate use of inputs.

This will also enable banks to align the loan amounts with the actual requirements of farmers and resultantly enhance flow of agriculture credit. It is important to note that the indicative credit limits serve as a guideline for banks to assess the credit requirements of agriculture borrowers while sanctioning credit limits.

Banks may, however, make adjustments on the basis of prevailing market conditions, local prices of inputs, and repayment capacity of borrowers. The revised indicative credit limits will also facilitate provincial planning departments in estimating the total financial and credit requirements of respective provinces/regions for farm and non-farm sectors. For more details, please visit SBP website: https://www.sbp.org.pk/acd/2022/C1.htm

For more information, contact:
Chief Spokesman,
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)
Central Directorate
I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-111-727-111
Tel: +92-21-39212562
Fax: +92-21-39212433 – 39212436
Email: chief.spokesperson@sbp.org.pk
Website: www.sbp.org.pk

February 16, 2022

Prime Minister Launches SBP’s Free Raast Person-to-Person Instant Payments System

Karachi, February 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Honourable Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Imran Khan launched the second phase of Raast, called Person-to-Person instant payment system in a ceremony in Islamabad today. Raast, a flagship initiative of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is a payment system platform that enables various types of transactions among different stakeholders such as organizations, businesses and persons.

The objective of this initiative is to promote digitization and financial inclusion in the country. In the first phase of Raast, launched in January 2021, transactions from organizations to persons, generally referred to as Bulk Payments, was enabled. The second phase is designed to facilitate Person-to Person (P2P) transactions under Raast.

The Prime Minister congratulated Governor SBP Dr. Reza Baqir and his team for the successful completion of the second phase. He was addressing a gathering of Ministers, Presidents and CEOs of Banks, SBP officials and other distinguished guests at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad.

He appreciated that the newly launched system will enable ordinary people to execute digital payments instantly, securely, and conveniently without paying any fee and added that Raast will open doors of further innovation for the economy and particularly the financial sector.

He expressed his confidence that through digitization of the economy, the over 220 million population could be converted into an asset by ensuring their financial inclusion. Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr. Shaukat Tarin appreciated the SBP for the progress made in digitization and expressed his confidence that the forthcoming phases of Raast including payment to merchant will play an important role in facilitating the masses in their financial transaction thus increasing their valuable contribution in the economy.

Governor SBP Dr. Reza Baqir welcomed the Prime Minister on the launch event and expressed gratitude for his commitment and support to the SBP initiatives for promoting digitization and financial inclusion in the economy. Governor Baqir, while highlighting the key features of Raast, explained that individuals can use this platform in their transactions just like cash and they will not have to pay any fees or charges for using this payment system.

More importantly, Raast is secure and convenient and free of risks compared to cash. Raast is easy and simple to use as it allows connecting bank account to user’s mobile number, called Raast ID. The facility can be used on mobile apps and internet banking portals of banks. For those people who do not have a mobile phone or facility of internet banking, Raast P2P service is also available in bank branches.

To avail Raast, customers should check SBP’s Raast landing page to see if their bank is already offering Raast – currently more than 18 banks, processing majority of retail payment transactions, are offering Raast services and register one time for Raast in their bank’s mobile app, through internet banking or by visiting a bank branch.

Remaining banks are expected to be on boarded with Raast in the coming weeks. Customers may also see the following YouTube video tutorial on registering and using Raast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRZC0M1d-K0

Dr. Baqir explained that Raast is Pakistan’s first instant payment system established in accordance with the National Payment Systems Strategy, which was prepared by State Bank of Pakistan and launched by the President of the World Bank in 2019 when he visited Pakistan.

This project is a major initiative of State Bank of Pakistan, and with the launch of Raast, Pakistan is now in an exclusive list of countries who have these state of the art instant payment system. He assured that SBP is committed to launching more innovative features in Raast to further promote digitization and financial inclusion.

On SBP’s efforts to promote digitalization of payments and economy, Governor SBP highlighted that in January SBP issued digital bank licensing framework that provides flexible requirements to setup digital banks in Pakistan. For now, only five licenses for Digital Banks will be issued and interested parties can apply for a license until March 31, 2022. It may be noted that during fiscal year 2021, 1.2 billion transactions of USD500 billion value were processed through retail e-Banking channels. These transactions showed year-on-year growth of 30.6% in volume and 31.1% in value.

February 16, 2022

Meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication held

Islamabad, February 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication was held at the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Kauda Babar. Committee meeting was attended by Leader of the House, Senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem, Senator Sana Jamali, Senator Shahadat Awan, Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, Senator Afnanullah Khan, Senator Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan, Senator Seemee Ezdi, Senator Naseema Ehsan, Senator Rubina Khalid, Secretary Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Chairman PTA and officials from NITB.

At the outset, the National Information Technology Board Act 2022 approved by the National Assembly was reviewed. Officials from the Ministry of Information Technology and the NITB told the committee that the purpose of the proposed bill is to make the NITB an autonomous body so that the work of the institution can be further expedited and improved by removing obstacles.

Officials said that being a subsidiary, NITB often faces financial delays, which is hurting the fast-growing sector, especially IT. Senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem, Leader of the House in the Senate, asked what would be the effect of NITB’s autonomous status and how it would benefit the country.

Responding to this, the ministry officials said that NITB has been successfully providing quality IT services to the government of Pakistan including e-office, NCOC application and others. He further said that NITB was also working on human resource development. Before embarking on any project, one has to go through a long process to get PSDP grants which is not suitable for a field like IT.

Creating an autonomous body will eliminate unnecessary delays as well as improve the decision-making process. The chairman of the committee directed that the proposed bill would be reviewed clause by clause in the next meeting of the committee.

The ministry officials briefed the committee about Pakistani online freelancers and the issues faced by them. The committee meeting also reviewed in detail the steps taken by the Ministry for the processing of financial transactions / remittances of online freelancers in particular. Chairman Committee Senator Kauda Babar told the committee members that freelancers in Pakistan are generating millions of rupees in the country without any government support.

He further said that lower and middle class youth are associated with this sector. These young people can be the best source of valuable resources for the country with government support and encouragement. Ministry officials said that they are in constant touch with freelancers and other stakeholders and efforts are being made to solve the problems of youth. Procedures for local payment systems and international financial transactions are being worked out with SBP to improve the process of financial transactions and remittances.

He further said that the process of registration of freelancers has been started but due to lack of trust, freelancers have so far distanced themselves from the process of registration. We are trying to include these young people in the regular database through an awareness campaign informing them about the benefits of registration. The chairman of the committee said that these young people are our future and they should be given all possible help.

The Secretary Ministry of Information Technology informed the committee members that various training programs have been started in collaboration with the universities across the country to enhance the potential of the youth so that their capacity is further enhanced by preparing the graduates as per the requirements of the market. If freelancers are registered, they will be able to enjoy tax exemptions and other additional benefits.

The Chairman PTA while briefing the committee about his plan to sell new spectrum to telecom companies said that the identification of spectrum and related matters is the responsibility of the Frequency Allocation Board.

Spectrum has been auctioned five times in the past, which has provided valuable resources to the country. Senator Afnanullah Khan asked as to when is PTA going to launch 5G technology in Pakistan, to which the Chairman PTA said that the government intends to launch 5G in the country by 2023. Senator Afnanullah Khan asked about the talks with SpaceX and Starlink.

On which the Chairman PTA informed the committee that talks are underway with StarLink regarding the provision of cheap internet through satellite and StarLink has also registered a company in Pakistan with SECP. As soon as regulatory issues are settled, StarLink will launch its service, which will provide cheap internet access, especially to people living in remote areas.

For more information, contact:
Senate of Pakistan
H.No.7, Cat-II, G-8/2, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9204564534
Fax: +92-51-9205703
E-mail: senate@comsats.net.pk
Website: www.senate.gov.pk

February 16, 2022

Hiring Process on 3042 Positions in Health Departments in Final Stages

Lahore, February 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid met Chairman Punjab Public Service Commission Lt. Gen (retd) Malik Zafar Iqbal here on Monday. Present in the meeting were Special Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department Ajmal Bhatti and senior officials.

The Health Minister and Chairman PPSC discussed status of hiring’s in the health departments. The Health Minister said, “We have provided record employments on merit through Punjab Public Service Commission. We requested PPSC to expedite hiring’s on the positions of Senior Registrar Oncology, Women Medical Officers, Medical Officers, Male Charge nurse, female charge nurse and Senior Medical Officers.

There will be 3032 new hiring’s on positions of Sr. Registrar Oncology, WMO, MOs and male and female charge nurses and in most cases interview process has been completed. For 700 positions of Sr. Medical Officers positions, last date of application submission is 16th February.

Process is underway for hiring of four Senior Registrar Oncology, 500 Medical Officers, and 1000 Medical Officers, 83 charge nurses, 745 female charge nurses and 700 positions of Senior Medical Officers. As per vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan Employment opportunities are being created on merit and in honourable way.”

For more information, contact:
Directorate General Public Relations,
Government of the Punjab
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-9201390-86
Website: www.punjab.gov.pk

February 16, 2022

Anti-Corruption arrested Four People in a Crackdown against Corruption

Lahore, February 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab arrested four persons including a Patwari while conducting operations in Faisalabad, Layyah, and Toba Tek Singh against corrupt persons. Telling details, DG ACE Gohar Nafees said that Ashraf Ali was arrested by Anti-Corruption Faisalabad on the charge of illegally occupying the property of the citizen.

Ashraf Ali transferred the property of Mohammad Shafi in his name through forged documents against which action was taken at the request of Mohammad Arshad, the grandson of Mohammad Shafi. DG said that bribe-taker Patwari has also been arrested by Toba Tek Singh. As per details accused Abdul Wahid received Rs 22000 as a gratification to prepare a report assigned to the Patwari by Assistant Commissioner, Kamalia.

DG said Arshad Hussain and Mohammad Irfan have been arrested by anti-corruption for tampering with the records of government land in Layyah. Case No. 21/19 has been registered against the accused in Layyah police station. Both were involved in the preparation of the fake revenue record of TDA Land in Layyah. Bail petitions of both above named accused were rejected by Lahore High Court.

For more information, contact:
Directorate General Public Relations,
Government of the Punjab
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-9201390-86
Website: www.punjab.gov.pk

February 16, 2022

Provincial Higher Education and Cultural Ministers Sign MOU to Celebrate Cultural Day Befittingly

Lahore, February 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):Provincial Higher Education and Information Technology Minister Raja Yasir Hamayun said that Punjab is an ancient cultural center and is a rich province with regard to folk culture. He disclosed that we are making great endeavours to celebrate culture day in a befitting manner. A ceremony with regard to celebrating culture day will be organized in all colleges and universities across the province, HE ADDED.

He expressed these views in a MoU signing ceremony being held at Alhambra Lahore between Information and Culture Department and Higher Education Department. Provincial Higher Education Minister and Provincial Culture Minister Khayal Ahmed Kastro signed the MoU.

Secretary Information and Culture Raja Jehangir Anwar, Additional Secretary Culture Farhat Jabeen, Executive Director Alhambra Zulfiqar Zulfi and other cultural, literary organizations and heads of various institutions also participated in the ceremony. Provincial Culture Minister on this occasion remarked that on the direction of Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar, we are making vigorous preparations to celebrate cultural day in an impressive manner.

He maintained that like previous year, culture day would be celebrated officially and we would show to the world real colours of Punjabi culture. He vowed that it would be our endeavour to promote the culture of Punjab through mass media across the province. He emphasized that no nation can progress by holding its culture into oblivion.

For more information, contact:
Directorate General Public Relations,
Government of the Punjab
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-9201390-86
Website: www.punjab.gov.pk