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ECC approves tariff rationalization for K-Electric
RS 14 MILLION ALLOCATED FOR MEDIA COVERAGE OF RAMZAN PACKAGE
ISLAMABAD
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Shahzad Paracha
The Economic Coordination Committee has approved the Rs 5 billion Ramzan Relief Package for Utility Stores Corporation-2023, Profit learnt on Wednesday. The meeting of ECC was held under the committee chair, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The Ministry of Industries and Production submitted a summary on the relief package.
The ECC after discussion approved a hybrid model of Ramzan Relief Package (Targeted and Untargeted) consisting of 19 items. Sources said that the Ministry of Industries has allocated Rs 1.15 billion for targeted and Rs 3.84 billion for untargeted subsidies which will be given on vegetable ghee, tea, flour, sugar, milk, beverages, dates and gram flour.
Meanwhile, the government has also kept Rs 14 million for media coverage of the Ramzan package.
It is pertinent to note that the PTI government had allocated Rs 8.24 billion for USC in 2022.
The ECC also considered a summary tabled by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research regarding procurement price of the wheat crop 2022-23, and after a detailed discussion approved a uniform procurement price of Rs 3900/40 kg.
The ECC also considered a summary submitted by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs. It approved the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) board’s resolution regarding cleared consignments on monthly basis.
The Ministry of Energy ( Power Division ) submitted a summary on Uniform Tariff for K-Electric at par with XW DICSOS 2nd Quarter 2021-22. The ECC after discussion, approved tariff rationalization for K-electric by way of adjustments on the consumption of July 2022 to September 2022 and to recover from consumers from March 2023 to May 2023 respectively.
The ECC considered another summary of Ministry of Energy ( Power Division) on uniform tariff for KElectric at par with XW DISCOS 1st Quarter 2022-23 and allowed tariff rationalization by way of adjustments for K-electric on the consumption of Feb-23 to March-23 and to recover from consumers in March-2023 to April 2023 respectively.
The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) has received a donation from the family of slain journalist Arshad Sharif to establish an endowment fund. The fund will provide two perpetual free seats for journalism students who struggle to finance their education at the university in Islamabad, the institution said in a tweet. The endowment seats will serve as a tribute to Sharif’s contribution to the field of journalism and to keep the legacy of his work alive, it added. Long associated with the popular ARY News, he was a prominent figure in the field, known for his specialisation in investigative journalism and coverage of political events in the country.
Following the ouster of Imran Khan in a contentious confidence vote in April of last year, Sharif faced several trumped-up charges and moved first to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and later to Kenya where he was killed under mysterious circumstances by the police near the capital of Nairobi. In 2019, he was awarded the Pride of Performance award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to journalism.
country will witness bloodshed if sc’s order not complied with: rashid
rAWALpInDI Staff rePort
Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said on Wednesday if the Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict was not acted upon, it would lead to bloodshed in the country. The apex court has ordered the authorities to hold general elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 90 days after the dissolution of the assemblies as Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial had taken suo motu notice of the date for elections in the province. Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “Today is the most important day of Pakistan’s democracy as it will decide whether Pakistan attains social, political and economic stability or droops into the political divide. Political instability has moved the IMF into imposing four stringent conditions like that of 1998, Moody’s downgrading of Pakistan’s rating, and raising concerns of the country’s default”. In another tweet, he wrote, “Pakistan is becoming a big jail and death zone for the poor as they are dying of hunger.
Fauzia viqar named ombudsperson on women’s harassment
ISLAMABAD Staff rePort
Fauzia Viqar, a human rights activist, was sworn in as the new Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment at Workplace by President Dr. Arif Alvi on Wednesday at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. The ceremony was attended by senior government officials. Viqar was appointed by the president on Tuesday following the completion of the tenure of her predecessor Kashmala Tariq. Although Tariq’s fixed four-year term as ombudsperson, which began on February 19, 2018 ended on February 18, 2022, she continued to hold office even after her tenure had expired. Viqar’s appointment was made in accordance with Sections 3 and 21 of the Federal Ombudsman Institutional Reforms of 2013. The agency is an autonomous quasi-judicial statutory body responsible for protecting workers against harassment in the workplace. It is dedicated to creating a safe working environment that is free from harassment, abuse, intimidation, and discrimination.
tribute paid to Zakoora, taingpura martyrs in srinagar
MuZAffArABAD Staff rePort waiving off of all the charges of storage on the stuck-up containers/cargo held up at Karachi Port as a result of nonretirement of Letter of Credits (LCs) and remittances of foreign exchanges. The approval is subject to the condition that demurrage charges on each case beyond Rs 5 million will be waived off after getting certification from SBP. The committee further directed to submit a report on magnitude and amount of
Chairman Pasban-e-Hurriyat Uzair Ahmad Ghazali denounced on not bringing the Indian army soldiers to justice involved in Zakoora and Taingpura on 1st March 1990. In a statement issued here on Wednesday, he said that the Indian army soldiers brutally killed more than 50 innocent civilians in Zakoora and Taingpura areas of Srinagar 33 years before. He lamented that despite the passage of three decades, those involved in Zakoora and Taingpura massacres have not been brought to justice. Ghazali said that since 1990, the Indian government and its brutal forces have massacred innocent citizens in Jammu and Kashmir, in which hundreds of Kashmiri citizens were martyred. “The continuous silence of the countries, organizations and forums claiming human rights around the world on these brutal actions that took place in the occupied state has badly affected the confidence of the Kashmiri people”, he asserted.
The ECC also considered another summary of the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) and approved the proposal regarding enhancement of surcharge for financial year 24 to cover federal government obligations towards power producers. Further, these surcharges for FY 24 will also be applied to K-Electric consumers to maintain uniform tariff across the country.
