ISLAMABAD: (DNA) –  Ajmal Baloch, President All Pakistan Traders Association and Traders Action Committee Islamabad.  Secretary Khalid Mehmood Chaudhry, Malik Rabinwaz, Shehzad Abbasi, Abdul Rehman Siddiqui, Syed Altaf Hussain Shah, Yousuf Rajput, Chaudhry Aftab, Zafar Iqbal Gujjar, Chaudhry Ghaffar, Raja Khurram Niaz, Chaudhry Irfan, Raja Javed, Raja Shahid, Chaudhry Reyast Ali, Raja  Ambassador, Iftikhar Abbasi, Chaudhry Shafiq, Zahid Hussain, Muhammad Fayyaz and Mehboob Khan attended a meeting via video link.

The meeting approved proposals from businessmen for the federal budget.  Expressing his views on the occasion, Ajmal Baloch said that Finance Advisor Hafeez Sheikh has announced that the next budget will be tax free which is appreciated by the business community and it is a good government decision because in the last three months Pakistan  Has suffered a lot economically, the economy has shrunk, the business of traders is on the verge of collapse.

Under these circumstances, traders cannot afford any kind of tax.  Various packages were announced by the government but there was no benefit other than the concession given in the electricity bill.

The lockdown continues in the country and the government is warning that there will be more hardships in the future.  He urged the FBR officials not to think too harshly.

 
Khalid Mehmood Chaudhry, Secretary, Traders Action Committee, Islamabad, said that the FBR should accept the cases of total audit and withdraw the notices issued.

The decision to install point-of-sale devices on large business units should be postponed for the time being as the business is 60% closed.

He further said that the economy is shrinking and the economic situation will not improve in the future. In such cases, new taxpayers will not be found.

The FBR should prepare the budget in the light of existing sources of income.  If the guidelines of international organizations are followed, the ongoing storm of inflation in Pakistan will increase.  He demanded the government to make the suggestions made by the traders a part of the budget.

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 7 /DNA/ = The prevailing corona pandemic has strongly underpinned the significance and practicality of digital tools and mechanisms with telehealth being the most recognized one as health systems around the globe are under increasing stress. These changing trends in healthcare systems towards digital means have further underscored the need for knowledge, skill development and capacity building of telehealth providers.

Realizing this emerging demand, COMSATS has partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO), Pakistan, and the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination, Government of Pakistan, for training of doctors and paramedics involved in providing telehealth services relating to Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH).

Being held from 8^th June to 12^th June 2020, the first phase of the training will help build relevant capacity of the doctors in Pakistan working for maternal and child healthcare services, with the aim to aid the healthcare system suffering a major setback due to closure of regular OPDs in some areas of the country amid lockdown.

Master trainers from WHO shall train a number of participants including those from COMSATS Tele-clinics, Human Development Foundation (HDF) and Sehat Kahani, by using various demonstration tools and equipment.

Germany will change one of the cooperation directions in foreign policy and suspend active cooperation projects with a number of countries, the Deutsche Welle reported.

The Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) will undergo serious changes: the number of partner countries that Germany has previously assisted will be reduced from 85 to 60.In particular, Germany is expected to maintain broad economic cooperation only with Uzbekistan in Central Asia.

A final decision on the so-called BMZ-2030 reform has not yet been made. The ministry is still considering a concept that is expected to be approved this summer. Minister Gerd Müller explained the news by saying that Germany wants its support for the development of the countries to be “more effective and substantial”.

Closing projects in 25 countries under the BMZ-2030 is explained by the fact that some of these countries are no longer underdeveloped and do not need support, while others are failing to achieve positive results in the fight against corruption, human rights and governance.

According to the ministry, these changes do not necessarily mean that Germany is “no longer a partner state” with these countries – it is just a “change in the form of cooperation.”

However, according to the DW, the reform will effectively eliminate direct bilateral relations between Germany and more than 20 countries, mediated by two institutions – the GIZ International Development Association and the KfW State Development Bank.

The only partner of BMZ in Central Asia will be Uzbekistan.

“Our cooperation will be strengthened due to the progress made as a result of reforms over the past three years,” the ministry said.

It was noted that in 2019, BMZ agreed to support new projects in Tashkent to reform health care, small and medium enterprises and vocational education.

The ministry added that the projects launched in cooperation with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will be completed.

Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are also absent on the list. It was explained that “they have never been bilateral partners of BMZ, but were only involved in a number of regional projects.”

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (DNA)  – A Decree of the President “On Reforming Customs Administration and Improving the Activities of the State Customs Service of the Republic of Uzbekistan” was adopted.

According to the Decree, from 1 August 2020, organizations of railway transport in real time on a free basis will provide the customs authorities with information on the movement within the country of wagons and containers under customs control by integrating their information systems with the information systems of the customs authorities.

– From 1 September 2020, the One-stop-shop customs information system will be introduced at border customs posts.

From 1 November 2020:

– the time for completing a cargo customs declaration will be reduced from 3 days to 1 day depending on the level of risk;

– cases of customs escort of goods will be reduced, except for cases established by law, with an increase in the use of alternative types of customs control;

– the risk management system of the State Customs Committee will be implemented at the road border customs posts;

– in case of temporary importation of vehicles, the carrier will be given the opportunity in real time in electronic form, well in advance of the expiration of the return export period, to extend the temporary importation period and pay the due fee;

– in the customs regime “processing in the customs territory”, a methodology for identifying and assessing the rate of output of processed products will be developed by the business entity itself.

ISLAMABAD, June 7 : (DNA) –  Metallurgical Corporation of China LTD. (MCC), China’s largest steel structure producer sent Chinese technicians on a charter flight operated by Air China to Karachi.

According to a Gwadar Pro’s report on Sunday, the team of 78 Chinese technicians along with 1.7 tons of urgently-needed epidemic prevention supplies and treatment medicines, including medical masks, protective suits, infrared thermometers and glucometers was sent to ensure projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) proceed.

These Chinese staff had returned to China for Chinese New Year Holidays earlier this year and had become stuck due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the flight ban.

To prevent and control the epidemic, the company has taken a series of measures to ensure the smooth operation of the project.

Up to now, all of the Pakistani and Chinese employees are working in Saindak mining area in good health and normal life, the report added quoting MCC’s sources.