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  • Pakistan’s big cities likely to get 5G coverage in 2023

    Pakistan’s big cities likely to get 5G coverage in 2023

    In 2023, Pakistan intends to launch 5G service in three of its major cities.

    The government has predicted that by 2025, 4 per cent of Pakistan’s internet users will be able to use 5G technology, while 65 per cent of the connections will be enabled on 4G technology, according to an official document of the Ministry of Information and Telecommunication (MOITT), a copy of which is available with WealthPK.

    According to The Nation, the Global System of Mobile Communications (GSMA) predicted that by the end of 2022, more than 50 per cent of consumers in Pakistan would have a 4G connection. Although accurate, these predictions are still three years behind the trend of the global average.

    Although Pakistan’s percentage of 4G connections is substantially lower than that of the rest of the area when compared to the global average, it is predicted to increase more quickly. The adoption of 5G is expected to increase starting in 2023, although it will still only represent a relatively small part of connections in the years that follow.

    Although mobile broadband in Pakistan is constantly expanding, there is still much space for improvement. Mobile penetration and subscription rates are rising steadily. Total mobile and mobile broadband (MBB) customers was at 195 million as of August 2022 and 123 million as of that same month.

    The penetration of mobile and MBB has reached 84 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively. Over the previous few years, MBB users have become a larger percentage of all mobile subscribers.

  • Dress according to cultural, national morals, wear undergarments: PIA

    Dress according to cultural, national morals, wear undergarments: PIA

    Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has made it compulsory for its air crew to wear undergarments. The airline has instructed its crew to wear undergarments while wearing plain clothes.

    The memo was sent to PIA General Manager Flight Services, Aamir Bashir.

    “It has been observed with great concern that a few cabin crew tend to dress casually while traveling intercity, staying in hotels and visiting various offices. Such dressing leaves a poor impression on the viewer and portrays a negative image of not only the individual but also of the organisation,” reads the internal memo of the airline.

    “The clothing worn by males and females should be in accordance with our cultural and national morals,” the guideline read.
    The supervision of flight attendant attire has been made necessary for grooming instructors and senior shift in-charges.

  • FBR must collect Rs120 billion in two days to meet monthly target of Rs684 billion

    To reach its monthly goal of Rs684 billion by the end of the current month, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) must collect approximately Rs120 billion in the final two days of September.

    The FBR’s preliminary revenue collection as of September 2022 was over Rs565 billion compared to the target of Rs684 billion, representing a shortfall of over Rs119 billion.

    To reach the monthly goal of Rs684 billion, the FBR needed to collect about Rs60 billion every day during the final two days of September 2022, according to Brecorder.

    The government would be forced to implement emergency collection measures, such as imposing a sales tax on petroleum items, if the FBR is unable to meet the monthly target of Rs684 billion. To avoid taking emergency revenue measures, the FBR has increased efforts to reach the desired revenue collection objective.

    The tax collecting system currently has a difficult task ahead of it: achieving the assigned revenue collection target of Rs684 billion in September 2022.

    In order to maximise revenue collection, tax authorities have developed a plan in conjunction with the chief commissioners of the LTOs and heads of MTUs.

    The final day to pay advance tax instalments was September 25, and the majority of the corporate sector had already paid their owed advance tax instalment by that date.

    The FBR examined the big tax offices’ and medium tax offices’ revenue results via the video link. The meeting also covered the potential reduction in income collection under a few heads as a result of the severe floods.

    In comparison to the target of Rs483 billion, the FBR had tentatively collected net revenue of Rs489 billion for August 2022, representing an increase of Rs6 billion.

    In comparison to the set revenue collection target of Rs926 billion during the first two months of July and August in 2022–2023, the FBR has collected Rs948 billion. The Board has so far surpassed the specified target in the current fiscal year 2022–2023 by Rs22 billion.

    The FBR collected net revenue of Rs489 billion during August 2022, exceeding the objective of Rs483 billion compared to Rs448 billion collected during the same period last year, according to provisional figures.

  • ‘You expect govt to provide condoms too?’, Indian officer snaps at girl asking for sanitary pads

    ‘You expect govt to provide condoms too?’, Indian officer snaps at girl asking for sanitary pads

    An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) IAS officer in India’s Bihar city is receiving criticism for giving a reply to a girl who asked if they can be provided with sanitary napkins.

    A video in which the IAS officer Harjot Kaur Bamhrah is purportedly seen and heard responding has gone viral on social media.
    “When the government is providing us school uniforms, scholarships and so many other things, why can’t it provide Whisper [a brand of sanitary pads] of ₹20-30?” asked the school girl from the IAS officer.

    “There is a need to change the mindset. Why [should] the government provide you everything free? Tomorrow you’ll say the government can provide jeans and why not some beautiful shoes thereafter? And eventually, at the time of family planning, you will expect government to provide Nirodh [brand of condom] too,” he replied

    When the student reminded her that people’s votes make the government, the officer snapped: “This is height of stupidity. Don’t vote, then. Become Pakistan. Do you vote for money and services?”

    Another student complained about a broken bathroom door at her school, to which the officer replied: “Tell me, do you have separate toilets at your home for males and females? If you keep asking for a lot of things at different places, how will it work?”

    The officer heads the state’s Women and Child Development Corporation, which organised the function on Tuesday in partnership with Unicef and other organisations.

  • Fact Check: Ranveer Singh set to replace Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Don 3’?

    Fact Check: Ranveer Singh set to replace Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Don 3’?

    Bollywood buffs created a frenzy on social media when director Farhan Akhtar revealed that he is working on the script for Don 3. However, there has been overwhelming speculation about the cast of the much-awaited film.

    As per Indian media, the third installment of the acclaimed franchise will have Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan in key roles with Ranveer Singh playing an extended cameo.

    Contrary to social media speculation, Singh will not be replacing SRK in the film but will be doing a special part to make the film even bigger.

    Amitabh Farhan Ranveer

    A source revealed to Filmfare, “Farhan had an ambitious idea of getting Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan together in the third installment. Interestingly, Bachchan was the lead in the original Don (1978). It had a different ending and showed the good-natured Vijay surviving and Don dying, while SRK’s version showed vice versa. Hence, it’s not clear whether or not Big B was supposed to play the role from the original version. However, Farhan definitely had thought of casting Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan in Don 3.”

    Amitabh Farhan Ranveer

    Farhan is currently crafting a special part for the Bajirao Mastani star who is currently the biggest young superstar in Bollywood. Well, the fans surely can’t wait for the official announcement of the film.

  • Need to know how to deal with misogyny? Just watch Sherry Rehman

    Need to know how to deal with misogyny? Just watch Sherry Rehman

    If you want a guide or need tips on how to deal with the misogyny that exists even in Pakistan’s Senate, you need to watch Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman. Here is she at her wittiest best.

    An incident took place in Senate Pakistan on Tuesday where the House Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani called Rehman the “Senate’s dadi (grandmother)” when he asked a house member to keep the questions specific so that Sherry Rehman can answer the questions.

    “I would advise you to only ask specific questions so that Sherry Rehman, who is the dadi of this House, can give you the right answers,” Sanjrani said, adding that members should keep the environment of the House calm.

    However, Rehman snapped back immediately and said: “Kyunke mei apki dadi lagti hoon, meri koshish ye hogi kay kisi ki dadageeri na ho“. (Because I am your grandmother, i will try to ensure that no one is bullied.)

    The Upper House then burst out with laughter.

    Following this, Senator Rehman shared a clip of the incident with a caption saying, “How to deal with misogyny 101 without giving it the oxygen it seeks”.

  • Malala Yousafzai is all set to produce Hollywood films

    Malala Yousafzai is all set to produce Hollywood films

    Pakistan’s youngest Nobel Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai is all set to produce Hollywood films after signing a three-film deal with Apple Inc, Variety magazine has revealed.

    Yousafzai is among creative leaders honoured for Variety’s 2022 Power of Women presented by Lifetime.

    Her production company Extracurricular has partnered with the indie studio A24 for a still-untitled feature documentary on the legendary “Haenyeo” society of fisherwomen, who live on South Korea’s Jeju Island.

    The second project is a scripted series based on Asha Lemmie’s coming-of-age novel “Fifty Words for Rain,” about a woman’s search for acceptance in post-World War II Japan

    The third is a feature film with “Don’t Look Up” director Adam McKay, based on Elaine Hsieh Chou’s book “Disorientation” — a satire about a college student’s revealing dissertation about a young poet.

    “What I hope to bring to the table are the voices of women of color and debut writers and Muslim directors and writers. I hope we can have a wide range of perspectives and that we challenge some of the stereotypes we hold in our societies. And I also hope that the content is entertaining and that people fall in love with the characters and have the best time together,” she said.

    She told the magazine that she has watched ‘Succession,’ ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘Severance,’ and pointed out that in those shows there were a lot of white men.

    “If we can watch those shows, then I think audiences should be able to watch shows that are made by people of colour, and produced and directed by people of colour, with people of colour in the lead. That is possible, and I’m gonna make it happen,” she avowed.

    Malala disclosed that her favourite TV shows include adult animated sitcom “Rick and Morty” and Netflix comedy “Sex Education”.

    Talking to the magazine, Yousafzai said that she doesn’t want to get into British politics.

    “This activism for girls’ education and gender equality is already a form of getting involved in politics. So I’m not sure if I’ll become the prime minister of a country.” Still, she adds, “We’ll see in the future”. After a beat, she said mischievously, “Maybe that is also a political answer”.

  • Govt to conduct forensic audit of Shehbaz, Imran audios: Sanaullah

    Govt to conduct forensic audit of Shehbaz, Imran audios: Sanaullah

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday said that the federal government will conduct a forensic audit of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehrek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s leaked audios.

    Sanaullah — during a press conference in Islamabad — said that if Khan’s audio is real, then he should be exposed before the nation. “Khan has created a narrative of an American conspiracy to mislead the nation and divide it,” he said.

    Criticising the PTI chief, the interior minister said that Khan has caused “Irreparable damage to Pakistan and destroyed the country’s economy and political culture.”

    “I will show students Imran Khan’s awful face,” said Sanaullah with reference to Khan’s recent appearance at a university, adding that this “political fitna” (political miscreant) has to end in a political way.

    Sanaullah also said that Khan’s political narrative will be exposed.

  • ‘Modi is not Manmohan Singh or even Vajpayee’: Bilawal Bhutto

    ‘Modi is not Manmohan Singh or even Vajpayee’: Bilawal Bhutto

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari once again talked about India being a different country now and said a lot has changed since 2010, pointing out that the current Indian Prime Minister, (PM) Narendra Modi, is not like his predecessors.

    In his address at Washington DC-based think-tank, Woodrow Wilson Centre, the minister stated, “This is a very different India, Modi is not [former PM] Manmohan Singh or even [former PM] Atal Bihari Vajpayee. We want a manageable and responsible relationship with India”, adding that he was not surprised by India’s reaction to the United States’ decision to give $450 million to upgrade Pakistan’s fleet of F-16 aircraft. “Obviously, Indians are going to be upset, let them be, kiya karein (what do we do)”, he said.

    Last week, prior to PM Shehbaz’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session Bilawal said that, “India today is a changed India and is no longer the secular country promised by its founding fathers for all its citizens.”

    While responding to a question from the audience at the Woodrow Wilson Centre that some sections of the media are reporting that the “US schooled Pakistan” on maintaining ties with India and China, Bilawal dismissed the reports, saying “He [US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ] is an incredible human being and can never talk in such tone.”

    ‘Everything else can wait’: Bilawal urges China and US to work together

    At the international forum, the minister also urged the two world powers to cooperate and not fight with each other.

    “Let me be absolutely clear. We will not overcome climate change, we will not save our planet, if China and the US do not work together on climate,” said Bhutto-Zardari

    “Everything else can wait. Every other conflict. Every other dispute. We will all fight among ourselves if there’s a planet left to fight over,” he added.

    Earlier, US Secretary Blinken said that he had urged Pakistan to engage China on some of the important issues of debt relief and restructuring so that Pakistan can more quickly recover from the floods

    Addressing these remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that Beijing is already providing assistance to the flood victims and urged that other nations also do “something real and beneficial, instead of passing unwarranted criticism against China-Pakistan cooperation”.

    It is pertinent to mention that US is so far the largest donor to flood relief and rehabilitation funds. Washington has provided about $56 million to Pakistan since July.

  • Pakistanis to face gas shortage in winter once again

    Pakistanis to face gas shortage in winter once again

    The government has warned of an impending gas crisis in the nation due to a dramatic reduction in gas supplies and a gradually growing imbalance between demand and supply.

    With each passing year, Pakistan’s gas reserves are declining by roughly 10 per cent annually in past years, according to DAWN.

    Officials from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) gathered to discuss the Petroleum Division’s annual report for 2019–20.

    We cannot purchase the gas, according to Petroleum Secretary Ali Raza Bhatti, who spoke to PAC about the state of the market. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, gas prices have risen everywhere. Gas prices had increased by about 4% at the time.

    According to Bhatti, Pakistan is considering purchasing gas from other nations as the prime minister just visited Qatar and held a private meeting where a request for extra cargoes was on the agenda.

    Nevertheless, the government is currently thinking about importing gas from friendly nations. Previously, the nation got its gas from Qatar, but now it wants to get supplies from other friendly countries to make up for the deficit.

    According to him, domestic consumers use the majority of the gas in Pakistan’s system, which is extensively subsidised by the government.

    Qatar is the most dependable provider, it should be noted. According to the petroleum secretary, Qatar has continued to provide Pakistan with LNG at a rate of $15 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down from the $60 per mmBtu it was previously charging from other nations, despite the market’s rising demand.

    Sui Northern was also asked to provide information on defaulters in the Gas Infrastructure Development System by the PAC, which was led by Noor Alam Khan.

    The committee instructed gas firms to take payment from late payers within seven days, and the government to cut off the defaulters’ connections right away.