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Scholar and preacher Allama Zameer Akhtar Naqvi passed away in Karachi on Sunday.
He reportedly suffered a heart attack and was shifted to the Aga Khan University Hospital Saturday night.
His body is being taken to the Ancholi Imambargah where his funeral prayers will be held.
Allama Naqvi was born on March 24, 1944 in India’s Lucknow.
He authored over 300 books in various fields, including literature, culture, religion, philosophy, logic, journalism, sociology, science, oratory, and language. He was also known for lectures he gave on topics such as science, philosophy and history.
He was the president of the Mir Anees Academy and editor-in-chief of quarterly magazine Al-Qalam.
Find out all you need to know about the incident here.
Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on August 13, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.
‘NAB Usman Buzdar se mutmayin nahi’
It is reported by daily Jang (13 august 2020) NAB was not satisfied with CM Punjab Usman Buzdar. Har sawal kay jawb mei pta nhi ,yad nhi ,bhool gya khty rahy….
‘Quaide Azam knew that August 14 was celebrated as Kashmir Day’
It is reported by daily Jang (13 august 2020) Famous Journalist Hamid Mir wrote in his column” according to British government documents Pakistan like India came into being on august 15 while quid-e –Azam knew that from 1931 to 1947 august 14 was celebrated as Kashmir day. Therefore quaid-e-Azam approved the celebrations of Independence Day on august 14 instead of august 15. “
‘Hukmarano ko apni muddat puri naa honay ka yaqeen hai’
It is reported by daily Jang (13 august 2020) Ameer Jamat-e-Islami siraj-ul-Haq said “ Lagta hai hukmarano ko apni mudat puri na hony ka yakeen hai isi liye wo ujlat aur afra tafri mei qadam utha raahy hain”
‘Usman Buzdar ki protocol ke baghair peshi siyasi mukhalifeen k liye sabaq hai’
It is reported by daily Express (13 august 2020) Information Minister Punjab Fayyaz-ul-Hassan chohan has termed the appearance of chief minister Punjab Usman Buzdar without protocol as a high example of observance of constitution. Usman Buzdar ki peshi mein shrapasnd, badayanat aur takhreebkar siyasi mukhalifeen k liye ummda sabaq hai”
The government is aiming $5 billion for export remittances through Information Technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITeS) in the next three years.
The target will be achieved by digitalising payment gateways, setting up broadband internet in unserved areas and by practising e-governance in Pakistan.
This was revealed in a meeting of Dr Ishrat Hussain, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms, and Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haq.
The advisor was informed that the ministry is taking steps to provide broadband services in the country through the IT Universal Service Fund, the services which promote the development of telecommunication services in un-served and under-served areas of the country.
The minister added that plans for laying fibre optic cable in remote areas and providing faster internet service are also underway.
The IT and ITeS export remittances comprising computer services and call centre services surged by 23.71 per cent to $1.230 billion in the fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 compared to $994.848 million during the same period last year (2018-19).
“After record export remittances through IT exports, the next target is $5 billion during the next three years”, said Haq. “A payment gateway and e-office projects will be completed soon”, Federal Minister for IT said.
Dr Ishrat Hussain said, “the important role of the Ministry of IT in the development of the country cannot be ignored. The Ministry of IT deserves congratulations on the significant increase in IT exports.”
Gallup Pakistan, a research organisation has performed research on the topic of laptops and tablets ownership in Pakistan.
It was discovered that only 7% of Pakistanis own a personal laptop, whereas 2% said that they have a tablet. Islamabad and urban Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have the highest ownership stats with 27% and 16% respectively.
The main goal of the survey was to study the effects of the pandemic and how it has impacted the ownership of smart devices since it has made them a necessity rather than a luxury.
The survey is conducted once every two years by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and it covers more than 24,000 households and over 115,000 respondents.
In a regional breakdown, Balochistan reports the lowest number with only 2% ownership stats. 5% of the people from Islamabad and Karachi own a tablet while provincially, urban Sindh and Punjab report the highest in this regard.
This further adds authenticity to the criticism raised by the country and many students about the lack of facilities available to continue their education through the ongoing pandemic.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government will not charge registration and licences fees in order to give a relief package of Rs77 million to the tourism industry.
According to reports, the KP Tourism Department has waived off registration fees for hotels and restaurants and license fees for travel agencies and tour operators for one year.
The decision is made due to the adverse economic impact of coronavirus on KP’s tourism industry.
The statement was issued by the KP Tourism Department after the decision was taken during a meeting of the provincial cabinet on July 21.
Businesses, hotels and restaurants that are not registered or they are new in the industry will also be exempted from paying license fees for one year.
Due to the coronavirus and ban on tourism has caused lose of Rs 12 billion to tourism industry.
For now, the KP government has banned tourist activities in the province until further notice. The decision has been taken in light of the instructions of the Department of Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Similarly, restaurants, rest houses and other tourist spots will also remain closed while seminars, conferences, sports and tourism activities in hotels will also be banned.
The provincial government has handed over 168 rest houses in KP to the Tourism Department intending to promote tourism in the province.
Out of the 168 rest houses, 55 were previously under the Communication and Works Department, 20 were under the Irrigation Department, 21 were under the local government, two were under Police and 70 were under the Forest Department.
The orders for the restoration of these rest houses were issued by the provincial government and after conducting a survey, all the rest houses have now been handed over to the Tourism and Sports Department.
The confrontation between China and the United States (US) will likely persist for the coming years. The Chinese and global manufacturers may move their factories from to Pakistan, said a renowned Canadian advisory firm BCA Research in its latest report.
Pakistan is anxiously expecting the benefits of relocating the Chinese industry to Pakistan, which will help increase exports. China had also expressed its willingness to relocate its industrial units to Pakistan last year.
According to the commerce and trade advisor Abdul Razak Dawood, “Pakistan has experienced significant improvement in 10 critical areas of regulation, and has improved its position from 136 to 108 in the Ease of Doing Business Index (EODB) rank last year. It shows the government’s commitment to improving the business environment.”
According to the BCA research firm, Pakistan will receive large financial inflows this year, 2020, probably more than $12 billion from multilateral and bilateral sources.
The research firm also stated that there will be more than enough for Pakistan to finance its current account deficit, which was at $11 billion over the past 12 months.
In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the payment of about $1.4 billion to Pakistan to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 shock. The World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have also pledged around $2.5 billion in assistance.
In April, G20 countries also awarded Pakistan a suspension of debt service payments, valued at $1.8 billion, which will be used to pay for Pakistan’s welfare programs.
In early July, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) received a $1 billion loan disbursement from China. This came after Beijing awarded Pakistan a $300 million loan last month.
The authorities plan to raise $1.5 billion through the issuance of Eurobonds over the next 12 months, said the report.
