Official Blog Of Press Information Department

Courtesy:-   Malik Muhammad Ashraf Informal economies are considered a barrier to inclusive growth and exclude a majority of people from accessing opportunities of productive growth in the economic realm, depriving them of entitlement at work because of their informal status. In comparison, workers engaged in formal, registered, tax-compliant businesses and units are legally covered for social protection. The undocumented economy or the informal economy also hinders proper economic planning for socio-economic development.

Courtesy:-   Malik Muhammad Ashraf The existence of informal economies is a debilitating phenomenon wherever they thrive as they are considered barriers to inclusive growth and exclude the majority of people from accessing opportunities of productive growth in the economic realm and deprive them of entitlement at work because of their informal status. In comparison, the workers engaged in formal registered, tax compliant businesses and units are legally covered for social protection. The undocumented economy or the informal economy also hinders proper economic planning for socio-economic development. The growing influence of the informal economy, especially in developing countries, has created great concern and is a big challenge for political and economic managers.

Courtesy: -   Malik Muhammad Ashraf RELATIONS between Pakistan and India unfortunately witnessed a nosedive during Modi’s first tenure as Prime Minister and before the general election in India the two nuclear powers almost came to the brink of war in the backdrop of Pulwama incident. That possibility was averted by sagacious restraint shown by Pakistan. It not only released the Indian pilot immediately after his capture but also sought the involvement of the international community in defusing the volatile situation which confirmed Pakistan’s credentials as a peace loving nation in spite of having a matching strength to retaliate against any aggression as it demonstrated during the short-lived confrontation.

Courtesy:- Editorial Records upon records tumbled as Pakistan completed a whitewash in a five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. The 5-0 triumph is Pakistan’s seventh, and a third against Zimbabwe. Others include two against Bangladesh and one each against New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Courtesy:-   Waqar Ahmed The CPEC route provides immense opportunities to CARs, a region that entered the world after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, to expand trade with Pakistan and also go through China for trade expansion.  In the context of geo-strategic situation in the region, CPEC offers an alternative solution to link up Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, which directly border China, as well as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, to the route, thus ruling out reliance on the traditional perception that all roads from Pakistan into the Central Asia go through Kabul or Wakhan strip.

Two significant events happened earlier this week. The first was Khawaja Asif’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi after participating in SCO Council of Foreign Ministers moot. The second was CPEC Summit 2018 where Prime Minister (PM), Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, representatives of all provincial governments and other official reiterated the benefits of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that Pakistan can secure for itself. One thing that is common in both events: Islamabad suggesting its dependency on China for economic and strategic gains from now onwards.

Courtesy:   EDITORIAL Addressing the Boao Forum in China's Hainan province, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has pointed out that regional connectivity, open trade and increased economic growth are the key to promoting tolerance and deny space to extremism and that Pakistan is partnering with China to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity through enhanced connectivity. Describing development and security as intrinsically indivisible, the prime minister reportedly said: "Only by spreading the dividends of open trade and shared innovation will we be able to promote tolerance and amity and deny space to extremism." According to him, the China-Pakistan-Afghanistan trilateral framework is aimed at achieving these very objectives while connectivity remains the cornerstone of Pakistan's plans.

Courtesy:   Editorial The Boao Forum for Asia in the Chinese province of Hainan is often touted as Asia’s answer to the World Economic Forum at Davos. The three-day forum, which concluded on Wednesday, was an opportunity for China to demonstrate its soft power. Most of the speeches at the Boao Forum touched on the One Belt, One Road initiative by which China is expanding its economic reach throughout Asia. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi devoted much of his speech at the opening ceremony to speak of the benefits of OBOR, particularly the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He pointed out how under CPEC Pakistan has added 10,000MW to the country’s national grid, created thousands of new jobs and developed the Gwadar Port, all of which contributed to the economy growing at 6 percent in the current fiscal year. President Xi Jinping was similarly effusive about Pakistan in his meeting with Abbasi on the sidelines of the forum. Once again, the focus was primarily economic wi...

Courtesy:-  Editorial AS India continues to use brutal methods to crush dissent in occupied Kashmir, it is clear that the Kashmiri people have rejected fear and are bravely confronting New Delhi’s harsh tactics to speak up for their rights. Some 20 people have been killed in acts of violence in the held valley since Sunday — at least 17 by Indian forces.

Courtesy:  Editorial AWAY from the negative publicity this country often receives is the heartening news that nine Pakistanis are on the annual ‘30 Under 30’ Forbes Asia list that showcases the achievements of young people who have come up with ground-breaking answers to global challenges. Be it poverty, lack of access to education and healthcare, improving women’s rights, or environmental change, Asia’s millennials are finding innovative and sustainable solutions. Spanning a region that contains 60pc of the world’s population, the Asia list, published on Tuesday, features 300 individuals from 24 countries. With 30 honorees in each of the 10 categories — the arts, technology, social entrepreneurship, healthcare, science, media, and more — these innovators are tackling issues of concern to their generation.

Courtesy :   PSL 2018 finale: Karachi gets breakthrough The prospects of international cricket in Karachi, the country's economic hub and financial centre, have certainly received a major boost following the successful holding of the final match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2018 on Sunday. An estimated 40,000 people thronged the mega city's National Stadium to watch the last match of PSL 2018 Twenty20 league between Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United in an atmosphere characterized by non-stop gaiety of cricket fans belonging to all age groups. No doubt, the PSL 2018 finale, which former Pakistan cricket team captain Misbahul Haq's Islamabad United won by three wickets, will certainly add to Karachi's investment prospects. There is also no doubt about the fact that stringent measures were in place to ensure peace and security. Karachiites' incredible response to the presence of national and international cricketers in their midst sent a strong message across th...

Courtesy:  The News The third edition of the Pakistan Super League promises to be the biggest one yet, with the Multan Sultans becoming the sixth franchise to join the T20 competition and three games scheduled to be held in Pakistan. Most intriguingly, the final will be played in Karachi – the first international match to be played in the city since 2009. Once again there will be a gluttony of international stars for cricket fans to feast on, with Brendon McCullum, Kevin Pietersen, Imran Tahir and Kieron Pollard among those signed up by the franchises. Among the favourites for the tournament will be the Quetta Gladiators, finalists in the first two tournaments, and the efficient Islamabad United. For cricket fans in Dubai, Sharjah, Lahore and Karachi, the PSL promises to be a rare treat of high-quality action. The run-up to the tournament was marred by the usual bureaucratic in-fighting, lawsuit threats and chaos. But, as is always the case with cricket and Pakistan, once the...

Courtesy:-   Malik Muhammad Ashraf The World Economic Forum (WEF) provides a global platform where leaders from across the world gather annually to take stock of the global trends in the economic sphere, assess their impact on the world and individual economies and chart out strategies for the future economic management of the global economy.

Courtesy:   Malik Muhammad Ashraf Former US ambassador to Pakistan Richardson G Olson in a recent article has presented a very realistic review of the ground realities concerning conflict in Afghanistan, fluctuations in Pak-US relations, the Indian factor and what would have been the best possible way to arrest the nose-dive in relations between the two countries.

Courtesy:-   Malik Muhammad Ashraf President Mamoon Hussain inaugurated the sixty-fourth session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Islamabad on 9th of October. The four day event is being attended by representatives of all 22 countries in WHO’s Mediterranean region, Director General WHO, Regional Director for Eastern Mediterranean and more than 250 public health leaders and eminent global health experts.

Courtesy:-  Dr Noman Ahmed TODAY marks the 200th birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. His invaluable contributions towards the Muslim renaissance in the subcontinent are well acknowledged — particularly his founding of Aligarh Muslim University, which trained generations of youth from the late 19th century onwards. The university’s students are seen as having played a major role in propagating the All-India Muslim League’s core message throughout the subcontinent. This voluntary electioneering campaign turned the voters’ opinion in favour of the Pakistan scheme.

Courtesy:-  Dr Ahmad Rashid Malik The CPEC projects are not promoting corruption in Pakistan. They are clean, spotless, full transparency, honesty, and sincerity. They are transparent as there exists zero tolerance for corruption in these projects. Both the government of Pakistan and China upheld their unwavering commitment to CPEC projects.

Courtesy:-    Marvi Memon BISP has made commendable progress under the PML-N government during the last four years highlighting the commitment of the government to the poor and vulnerable of the country. The budget allocation for BISP that was Rs 70 billion in 2013 jumped to Rs 121 billion in 2017. The quarterly stipend increased from Rs 3000/quarter in 2013 to Rs 4834 in 2016. BISP has made itself the pride of Pakistan and a role model for international social safety nets winning Pakistan recognition internationally thereby contributing to institution building and poverty alleviation in Pakistan.

Courtesy:-   Malik Muhammad Ashraf Preparing a  budget  and selling it to the public, more so to political opponents, is an arduous undertaking even in the most affluent and developed countries, particularly when it comes to new tax proposals and measures aimed at keeping the corporate sector in good stead to spur economic growth. Besides generating much-needed revenue for the government, taxes also affect the people – changing their economic situation. This makes taxes an unpopular proposition. So every segment of the society tries to look at the  budget  from its own perspective and so there is always a mixed reaction on the  budget s presented by the governments. The exercise is even more excruciating in third world countries like Pakistan that are facing financial constraints. Therefore, not surprisingly the  budget  for 2017-18 presented by the PML-N government has also spurred a debate about who benefits and who loses as a result of ...

Courtesy:-  Malik M Ashraf The Transparency International in its fourth consecutive annual report has indicated fall in corruption index in Pakistan. Since 2013 corruption has declined by 19 points with biggest nosedive of nine points during 2016. According to the report Pakistan has achieved the distinction of being number two state in South Asia in regards to tackling corruption. That indeed is matter of great pride for the country as well as the incumbent government, which has made credible efforts to eliminate avenues of corruption in the higher echelons of the government and different tiers of the government machinery.