The Pakistan Cricket Board and the Sindh government have decided that the remaining Pakistan Super League(PSL) matches in Karachi will be held behind closed doors at the National Stadium. The decision comes hours after Pakistan’s coronavirus count reached 21, with a majority of those cases being reported in Sindh. The PCB said the precautionary decision has been made to better protect the health and safety of spectators, players, officials and the media.
Gas companies have asked OGRA to increase gas prices while Sui Northern Gas Company (SNGC) has asked for a 100% increase. According to the national regulator, the gas companies have asked for an increase in the 2020-21 financial year, which is next year. SNGC has asked for a Rs670.75 increase per MMBTU , taking their rate to Rs1,334.99 per MMBTU. This would result in a Rs290 billion burden on consumers.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested Jang Group and Geo TV owner Mir Shakilur Rehman in Lahore. A NAB spokesperson has confirmed the arrest. He has been arrested because he was reportedly given illegal concessions by Nawaz Sharif, the former Punjab CM, on 54 plots in Lahore’s Johar Town in 1986. NAB was conducting an inquiry against him in the case.
Pakistan’s 20th coronavirus case was confirmed on Wednesday in Skardu. The patient is a 14-year-old boy. The Gilgit-Baltistan Health Department said that the boy arrived home from Iran on March 5. He has been isolated. The federal health ministry has confirmed the case, which is the second in Gilgit-Baltistan. The patient is under treatment at City Hospital in Skardu.
A Chinese mobile manufacturing company in partnership with a Pakistani manufacturer plans to produce 49% of mobile phone parts in Pakistan in the next three years. It was announced by the Federal Economic Affairs Minister Hammad Azhar on Wednesday after meeting Transsion Tecno CEO Aamir Allawala on Wednesday. Transsion Tecno is a joint partnership between Transsion Holdings China and Tecno Pack Pakistan.
A Pakistan Air Force fighter jet crashed in Islamabad Wednesday morning during the rehearsals for the March 23 parade, the air force spokesperson confirmed. The PAF has identified the pilot as Wing Commander Nauman Akram. He did not survive the crash. The aircraft crashed near the Pakistan Museum of Natural History park, which is right next to the parade ground.
In a bid to help facilitate the people of Sialkot and Lahore as well as boost the economy, the 91.47-Km long motorway between these two cities is set to open for public on 30th March. As per sources, a total of Rs. 44 billion was spent on the motorway and it will help slash the travel time between the two cities to just 41 minutes.
Pakistan is planning to remove duties on many imported raw materials used by exporters, according to commerce and investment adviser to Pakistan’s prime minister, Abdul Razak Dawood. This will make them more regionally competitive and help the economy escape a recurring boom-bust cycle. Dawood mentioned that last year import duty was slashed on more than 1600 products and will further be eliminated in this year’s budget.
Swedish-born actor Max von Sydow, the Game of Thrones star, has died in France aged 90. Sydow’s seven-decade career saw him go from starring in iconic art-house movies by Ingmar Bergman to appearing in English-language hits including The Exorcist. Von Sydow took French citizenship in 2002 and renounced his Swedish nationality, but remains fondly remembered in his homeland.
PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah has assured that party founder Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan from London after a heart surgery, while his brother, Shehbaz Sharif, in March. Nawaz has been in London since October 2019 after he was granted an eight-week bail on medical grounds in the Al-Azizia reference. His brother and PML-N President, Shehbaz Sharif, is accompanying him.