Tag: #ramazan

  • Rs 827.2 billion drawn from ATMs during Ramazan, Eid

    Rs 827.2 billion drawn from ATMs during Ramazan, Eid

    Around Rs 827.2 billion were reportedly drawn from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) during Ramazan and Eid holidays, through approximately 63.2 million transactions.

    Only on Eid, Rs137.8 billion were withdrawn through 11.6 million ATM transactions. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) collaborated with commercial banks to make ATM services available for people on holidays and other festivals.

    SBP formed a special team through which they monitored ATMs during Ramazan and Eid as there is a high demand for cash during these festivals.

    Besides, the banks also managed to sustain an average uptime of 96.5 percent which further improved to 98 percent during Eid-ul-Fitr holidays earlier this month. The special team performed nationwide operations on all banks through both on-site and off-site inspections and monitoring.

    During these holidays, only 500 complaints were received from the public and were immediately resolved. SBP praised the efforts of the banks to maintain the availability of services during these festivals.

    “SBP firmly resolves to keep facilitating the public and carrying out similar exercises in future as well to facilitate the general public at large,” read a statement from the bank.

  • Saudi Arabia will only allow vaccinated pilgrims to perform Umrah

    Saudi Arabia has announced that only people immunised against COVID-19 will be allowed to perform the year-round Umrah pilgrimage during the month of Ramzan.

    Al Jazeera, quoting the Saudi press agency, reported: “Immune persons who [have] received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine/immune person after 14 days of receiving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine / immune person who has recovered from the infection will [only] be allowed to perform Umrah.”

    It further said that “Umrah permits and visit permits for the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah will increase operational capacity during the month of Ramadan, which begins next week.”

    The holy sites, which draw millions of pilgrims every year, are a key revenue earner for Saudi Arabia, which hopes to welcome 30 million pilgrims to the Kingdom annually by 2030.

  • Ramzan to begin from April 14, announces MoST

    The Ministry of Science and Technology has announced that the holy month of Ramzan will commence on April 14 in Pakistan.

    “The moon of Ramzan, 1442 AH will be sighted on the evening of April 13, 2021,” said the ministry in a tweet. “The first of Ramzan will be on April 14, 2021. The moon will be clearly sighted in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi.”

    Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry also shared the announcement on social media.

    Chaudhry has been a vocal critic of the old-fashioned and outdated moon-sighting procedure, arguing that Pakistan should opt for science and technology to follow the moon cycle. He often clashed with the Ruet-e-Hilal committee on this.

    In December, last year the government appointed Moulana Abdul Khabir Azad as the new head of the committee replacing Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman.

  • People likely to get record Rs6.37 billion relief this Ramzan

    People are likely to get record relief this Ramzan as a Rs6.37 billion package has been proposed.

    According to reports, the Ministry of Industries & Production (MoIP) has proposed the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to approve the mega Ramzan relief package for 2021.

    Profit quoted sources at MoIP as saying that under the proposed relief package to be offered through utility stores network, the government would give a subsidy of around Rs40 per kilogramme on sugar, banaspati ghee and wheat flour. The ECC, which would be chaired by Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, is likely to approve the historic relief package soon, they added.

    As per an MoIP official, the average Ramzan relief package in the past 10 years ranged between Rs1.5 to Rs2.5 billion.

    “The relief package last year was Rs2.5 billion and the average savings for the consumers remained Rs10–Rs15 on various items. However, serious intervention will be required this year to control the prices of vegetable ghee and oil, sugar and even wheat flour,” he added.

    They said the relief package would include a reduction in prices of 14 essential items by 10pc to 15pc at utility stores, besides the sale of five items at subsidised rates.