Month: June 2020

When the Margalla Hills National Park was conceived, its aim was to protect the natural heritage in and around Islamabad.  Only a few minutes from the nation’s seat of power ,the Margallas offer a breathtaking view of the twin cities and beyond. Daman-e-koh, the aptly named recreational area has long been a getaway spot for families, rich and poor and the young and the old.  While the middle class and those with lesser means still find their way to Daman-e-koh, the elites over the past decade have found a new…

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KARACHI: Metropolises across the world reported improved air quality and decreased noise pollution during lockdowns prompted by the coronavirus. As people were forced inside their houses awaiting the threat of the virus to be contained, cities witnessed clearer skies and a respite from the usual cacophony. Karachi was no different. The port city experienced improved air quality and an up to 40 per cent decrease in noise pollution during the lockdown. This was disclosed during a dialogue with environmental experts held in the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency’s (SEPA) complex on the…

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan, while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet on Tuesday, endorsed an out-of-the-box proposal for dealing with the locust threat in the country under which people would be given financial incentives for catching locusts and encouraged to sell these insects to poultry farmers who could use them as poultry feed at a rate of Rs15 per kilogram. The cabinet also decided to form an inter-ministerial committee to present recommendations to the government regarding the role of regulators in the light of the sugar inquiry commission…

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ISLAMABAD: The Petroleum Division is cognizant of the “artificial” shortage of POL products that is being created in the country by “opportunist” OMCs and petrol dealers, the spokesperson said and added that the Petroleum Division emphatically states that there is sufficient quantity of petrol stocks in the country. “Additional production by refineries as well as planned imports is on schedule to meet the monthly needs. It is unfortunate that some OMCs and/or their dealers have resorted to such methods for profit maximization that are having an adverse impact on the…

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With fiscal deficit estimated at around 9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year, the govern-ment is struggling to put the IMF programme back on track as the Fund expects a tight freeze on all non-debt servicing expenditures through the next federal budget. Sources told Dawn that the IMF had sought to contain pri-mazy deficit to -0.4pc of GDP while authorities were still fight-ing for its target to be set at -1.2pc of GDP. How the two sides bridge the gap would become clear after the economic team…

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