Markets that depend on Chinese imports are running out of supplies as production in China hasn’t resumed due to coronavirus fears.
Electronics importers in Pakistan are concerned since most of the supplies they imported from China are almost finished. This includes mobile phone hardware, accessories and spare electronic parts.
The market has responded to the lessening supplies by raising prices. LCD screens for mobile phones that cost between Rs900 and Rs1,000 now cost Rs1,800. Supplies are also running out.
A 30% price hike has been recorded for mobile accessories but so far, there are enough supplies for a month.
A notification by New Asia International Electronic & Digital City, said the delay was “in order to ensure the health and life safety of merchants and customers”.
Many business-to-business dealers are concerned as supplies were to resume on February 22, which they say would have lightened the demand pressure. Instead, they received messages from their suppliers in China saying that the goods would be delayed indefinitely.
One of the importers said, “I think we will not get any supplies now until March 6. That, too, if we are lucky.”
He facilitates all types of imports, including garments, jewelry and electronics. He said that even now the production units in China have not reopened as coronavirus fears are rampant.
“People are still concerned and production units are empty in China as the virus has not been contained,” he said.
He also said that a phone brand with a customer base in Pakistan has totally run out of its phones since all its assembly units are in China.
A Pakistani expat, who works as a salesman in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has won a 2020 model of the luxury Bentley Bentayga V8 worth millions of rupees in the Dubai Duty Free (DDF) raffle draw.
According to Gulf News, Anjum Ashraf of Karachi won the luxury vehicle worth millions (Dh1 million or Rs45 million) at the DDF draw held on Tuesday, February 18.
His winning ticket number 1676 was picked from the series 1747, announced DDF — the company responsible for the duty-free operations at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport.
Ashraf earns Dh7,000 (around Rs300,000) as a salesman. Needless to say that he is excited with the win. “I still cannot believe it,” he happily shared.
In a similar bid, an Indian man named Jagdish Ramnani, 42, became the latest million dollar winner at the DDF draw along with Nazeerunnisa Fazal Mohammad, 37, hailing from Hyderabad who won an Aprilla Dorsoduro 900 (motorbike).
Mohammad, who is currently working as a software engineer, has been regularly buying the DDF tickets and she bought her winning ticket on January 10 online.
“I have been trying my luck for the million dollar series, hopefully it will be soon,” she said.
Karachi Police have released a traffic plan for Pakistan Super League (PSL) cricket matches scheduled to be played at the National Stadium today.
For those heading to the National Stadium to watch their favourite players in the ground, they can park their vehicles at the parking spots after showing their tickets and CNIC.
Parking lots and routes
Those coming from central and west districts such as Liaquatabad No 10 can use Hassan Square, take a left at University Road and park their vehicles at Expo Centre. From there, audience will be taken to the stadium via a shuttle bus.
Those travelling from Malir and East districts can use Safoora and NIPA while those coming from Sohrab Goth via Gulshan Chowrangi can use Gulshan Chowrangi, take a left at University Road, AG Sindh U-Turn, then again University Road and park their vehicles. From there they will be shifted to the area adjacent to Expo Centre through a shuttle bus
Those travelling from East and Malir districts coming from Drigh Road via Shahrah-e-Faisal can use Drigh Road, take a right turn at Rashid Minhas Road, left turn to Millennium Mall and park their automobiles at the Gharib Nawaz Football Stadium near Millennium Mall. From there they will be shifted to Bahria University adjacent the National Stadium via shuttle bus.
People coming from South, City, West and Korangi/Defence districts and areas via Shahrah-e-Faisal can use Sharah-e-Faisal, Shahrah-e-Quaideen, Allah Wali Chowrangi, Society Light Signal, PP Chowrangi, University Road, Hassan Square, Baitul Mukaram U-turn, Expo Centre Gate 1 and then park their vehicles at Rana Liaquat Ali Khan Girls College from where they will go out from the Expo Centre Gate No 2 of the stadium or Shahrah-e-Faisal, Drigh Road, Rashid Minhas, NIPA, University Road to Expo Centre’s Gate No.1.
Those travelling from Central and West districts coming from Nazimabad and Liaquatabad No10 can use Hassan Square, take a left towards University Road, Baitul Mukaram U-turn, Expo Centre Gate 1 and park their vehicles at the Expo Centre, KDA Club and China Ground from where they will go out from Expo Centre’s Gate No 2 for the stadium.
Diversions
Karsaz: Traffic coming from Nursery shall not be allowed to proceed to Habib Ibrahim Rehmat ullah Road towards Stadium (Sir Shah Suleman Road). These vehicles will be diverted towards Drigh Road, Sharea Faisal, left turn Rashid Minhas Road, Millennium to NIPA.
Millennium: Traffic from Rashid Minhas Road shall not be permitted to proceed towards the stadium.
These vehicles will be diverted towards NIPA, Askari-IV (Millennium), Drigh Road to Shahrah-e-Faisal or Millennium, NIPA to Safoora Chowrangi or NIPA to Gulshan Chowrangi to Sohrab Goth.
New Town Chowrangi: From University Road, all kinds of traffic will not be allowed to proceed to Stadium Road from New Town Chowrangi turning. Traffic will be diverted towards Jail, Shaheed-e-Millat or straight towards PP Chowrangi. Public coming from Aga Khan Hospital and Liaquat National Hospital will be allowed from the New Town PS side.
University Road, Shaheed-e-Millat Road and Rashid Minhas Road will remain open for traffic. All commuters from Central, East, Malir, South and West can use the Lyari Expressway’s both sides from Mirza Adam Khan Chowk, Mauripur Road up to Sohrab Goth.
Heavy traffic
Heavy traffic will not be allowed from Sohrab Goth to Nipa, Liquatabad No 10 to Hassan Square, Peoples Chowrangi towards University road.
Traffic coming from Shahar-e-Faisal shall not be permitted to proceed towards Stadium.
These vehicles will be diverted towards NIPA, Askari-IV (Millennium), Drigh Road to Shara-e-Faisal or Millennium, NIPA to Safora Chowrangi or NIPA to Gulshan Chowrangi to Sohrab Goth.
Vehicles entering from University Road shall not be permitted to proceed towards Stadium Road from New Town Chowrangi turning and it will be diverted towards Jail Road, Shaheed-e-Millat or straight to Peoples Chowrangi.
Traffic coming to Aga Khan Hospital, Liaquat National Hospital will be allowed from New Town PS.
Pakistan has been declared the world’s most affordable country to live in, while Bangladesh is the most expensive country in South Asia and Switzerland the most expensive in the world.
CEOWORLD — one of the world’s leading business magazines for high-level executive professionals and business leaders — has declared Pakistan the world’s most affordable country to live in, followed by Afghanistan, India, Syria, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tunisia, Dhaka Tribune reported.
Source: CEOWORLD
Meanwhile, European countries were prominent on the list of most expensive ones. Of the top 20 nations, nine were in Europe, five in Asia, one in North America and Africa each, two in the Caribbean and two in Oceania.
Norway ranks second in the list of the world’s most expensive countries to live in, followed by Iceland, Japan, Denmark, Bahamas, Luxembourg, Israel, Singapore and South Korea.
A little further down in the list, there is the United States (US) at the 20th position, the United Kingdom (UK) at 27th, Saudi Arabia at 57th and Russia at 82nd.
The rankings are based on five major metrics — cost of living, rent, groceries, eating out and purchasing power. To identify the world’s most and least expensive countries to live in, the magazine collected and reviewed data from dozens of studies, numbers of consumer price index, cost of living index and numerous national and international media reports.
The data was then compiled into an index, using the notoriously expensive city of New York City (NYC) as a benchmark. New York was given an index score of 100. So a country with a score higher than 100 is more expensive than New York, while below signals less expensive.
IMF’s new report “Women in the Labour force: The role of fiscal policies” highlights an average of 2pc rise of the female workforce in Pakistan and 1pc decrease in India, DAWN reported.
According to the IMF’s staff report, women in most countries do not have the same opportunities to participate in economic activities as men have. This gender inequality has reduced to a good extent, but the average of female labour participation is below the male rate.
Globally, about on-quarter of countries experienced a decline in female force participation. Countries such as India and Sri Lanka facing an average annual decrease of one per cent between 1990 and 2018, whereas Pakistan, Peru and Spain experienced an average annual increase of 2pc.
The report also says “Many countries have adopted fiscal policy measures to promote gender equality since the mid-1980s. Countries use tax and expenditure policies to address gender inequality and the advancement of women in areas such as education and economic empowerment. Fruthermore, in 2018, at least 80 countries have used gender-responsive fiscal policy interventions to reduce gender inequality.
Women’s economic empowerment is the key to growth and productivity. Greater participation of women in the labour force also brings greater diversity that can foster new ideas for production and management, boosting aggregate productivity.
The 8th Lahore Literary Festival is going to be in full swing from Friday Feb 21st to Sunday Feb 23rd. This year’s schedule seems particularly promising with the inclusion of Nobel Prize Winner for Literature, Orhan Pamuk who has a massive fan following in Pakistan. They also include book launches, and notable personalities like Middle East expert and author, Vali Nasr, Nigerian writer Oyinkan Braithwaite, and Mughal historian Audrey Truschke.
The Current’s picks for the sessions are:
“I’m most excited to meet Orhan Pamuk and get a chance to get my collection of Pamuk books signed by him. He’s a beautiful writer, his books are complicated but rewarding, tales of human nature, love, murder and how our culture defines us. He will be the star attraction this year at the LLF and I will definitely be attending the opening ceremony on Friday morning.
I’m also looking forward to the launch of HalaGula children’s books. The session is on Saturday at 2:45PM-3:45PM and is the launch of new children’s books in Urdu. There isn’t anything fun and exciting in children’s reading available in Urdu, so this will be a welcome addition – Marium Chaudhry, Founder
The Herald, one of Pakistan’s oldest magazines has recently discontinued
A session with journalists Tehmina Ahmed and Talat Aslam will be coming together with ex-HRCP chairman Dr I A Rehman — none of whom ever shied away from raising their voices even against military dictatorships — discuss the latest rough patch media industry in Pakistan has hit under PTI rule. Moderated by Razeshta Sethna, former Senior Assitant Editor of the Herald, the panel is titled ‘Speaking Truth to Power’, the panel is likely to discuss the recently ceased Herald and Newsline. I’m also going to be attending ‘Hum Dekheingay’ . In this session, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, poet Zehra Nigah and historian Nomanul Haq will discuss with moderator Salman Akram Raja how Marxist poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s writings are transcending borders and languages to fire people’s movements, as recently seen in India – Abdullah Zafar, Political Editor
I am interested in ‘Bigotry Brigade: Where is India headed?’ which will be on 4PM-5PM on Saturday. This session will be quite interesting. All the panelists are excellent, especially historian, Audrey Truschke, who has written a book on Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, which negates the Indian narrative of an evil Muslim ruler. I am interested in India’s descent into extremism as it is quite disheartening to see a secular country like India with a population of more than a billion people turn to Hindutva – Mehmal Sarfraz, Co-Founder
’55 Lawrence Road: Memories of a Jewish Family that left Pakistan in 1973′ is an intriguing title for a session. I am expecting the session will revolve around how Jewish families lived in Pakistan well after partition and why and how they migrated out of the country. I am particularly interested to know how they lived and how active their synagogues were as most of them in Pakistan are no longer active. The session is at 1:30-2:30 on Saturday and has famous architect, Nayyar Ali Dada, Pakistani-born journalist, Hazel Kahan and Pakistani film director Shireen Pasha – Saman Shafiq, Entertainment Editor
I’ts not just that our founder, Marium is a part of this session but ‘Digital Trumps Print?’ will be a session where print and T.V. journalists will discuss the challenges of change that come with the digital media transformation of Pakistan. It will be interesting to see old school journalists like Arif Nizami and Samaa’s owner Zafar Siddiqi talk about what digital media means to them at a time of slit-throat competition. The session is on Sunday from 11:15am-12:15am – Fahad Malik, Data and Tech Sub-Editor
Mahira Khan will be attending the LLF on Sunday
It will be illuminating for me to be a part of the session ‘ Pakistan’s brave new cinema’ where two renowned women of Pakistan, actress Mahira Khan and journalist Fifi Haroon, will discuss the future of cinema and how it can create awareness on sensitive issues in the country. The session is on Sunday from 2:45PM-3:45PM – Urooj Ali, Lifestyle Sub-Editor
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is here for a four-day visit to Pakistan.
Guterres landed in Islamabad on Sunday. Talking to the media he said that “One of the main purposes of my visit is to spotlight the real Pakistan with all its possibility and potential.”
The UN chief spoke at an international press conference titled 40 years of Afghan Refugees Presence in Pakistan: A New Partnership for Solidarity, where he praised Pakistan for being the world’s second-largest refugee-hosting country.
He also met Mahira Khan, who was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador in November and is working with the UN Refugee Agency. Guterres took to twitter and thanked Mahira Khan and all Pakistanis for their support.
As we mark 40 years of Pakistan’s solidarity with Afghan refugees, it was a pleasure to meet @Refugees Goodwill Ambassador @TheMahiraKhan
Khan retweeted Guterres and wrote: “It was a pleasure meeting you as well. Looking forward to a lot more work alongside my fellow Pakistanis and @Refugees @antonioguterres.”
Before the appointment, Khan visited Afghan refugees in Peshawar in 2018 as part of a high-profile UN delegation. She has also spoken up for the needs of more than 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
Pakistan has witnessed an increase in remittances — money transferred back home by expats — inflows in recent years, a recent report by Moody’s — America’s biggest business and financial services company — has revealed.
While an increase in remittances is good for any country’s household finances, according to the World Bank (WB), Pakistan is the seventh-largest recipient of remittances globally.
This inflow reached $21 billion, or 6.8% of the country’s GDP in 2018-19.
During fiscal years 2012-19, remittances grew by 9%. Majority of inflows coming from Gulf Cooperation Council countries added up to make 54% of total remittances in 2019, while the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK) and Malaysia stood at 16%, 16% and 7%, respectively.
Such growth benefits Pakistani banks by providing a stable and low-cost deposit base (the deposit that could be used for long-term lending).
Moody’s expects further growth in remittances because of Pakistani authorities’ focus on remittances and digitisation, which will further reduce the cost of repatriating funds.
American singer and musician Jaafar Jackson is currently in Pakistan on his first visit and is blown away by the hospitality.
In an interview, Jackson shared that he is visiting Pakistan with China-Pakistan Investment Corporation and its founding board member, Zeeshan Shah.
He said that he visited two universities in Islamabad. Sharing his experience he said: “It was incredible interacting with the students. They were all so kind, talented and I love how passionate they are with what they are doing.”
The singer said that it “feels incredible” to be here in Pakistan.
“Everyone in the country has been so kind, welcoming and sweet. So, it means a lot to me and I look forward to coming back here, doing a show and interacting with more people. I have enjoyed every second of my trip,” he said.
Jaafar is the second youngest son of legendary singer Jermaine Jackson and is the King of Pop, Michael Jackson’s nephew. His last single Got Me Singing was a hit with 5.2 million views on YouTube.
He also shared that he has been working on an album which will release in the summer.
Weddings in Pakistan are known to be extravagant affairs, often stretching over weeks. To limit the costs of the ceremony, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly adopted legislation almost two years ago.
The bill titled ‘KP Marriage Functions (Prohibition of Ostentatious Displays and Wasteful Expenses)‘ was passed in February 2018 but 24 months later, the province is still trying to implement the law that puts a limit on wedding spending.
The law imposed a ban on the decoration of houses, streets, and marriage halls across the province. It directs that the sound of the loudspeaker should be limited to indoor with many other restrictions.
The law also tells the rules for the menu, limiting it to one dish only. Punjab already has a law which ensures one dish at marriage halls.
Under the law, anyone who breaks or fails to obey the law shall be accountable to pay a fine of not less than Rs200,000 and an imprisonment term not exceeding two months.
Similarly, depriving a bride of her wedding gifts could also be troublesome for the groom and his family. Violators could face a fine of Rs200,000 and a sentence of three months. The law also restricts the payment of dowry to the groom’s family.
