The provincial minister for industry and commerce, Mian Aslam Iqbal, announced the opening of the Auto Parts Technology Park in Quaid-e-Azam Business Park in Sheikhupura. The announcement was made during a meeting during which the performance of the PIEDMC was discussed. This technology park will include a design center, a training center, as well as a manufacturing and testing facility.
Punjab’s Schools Minister Murad Raas announced Tuesday to open a school for transgender students in Multan. Further, there is a plan to open more schools for transgender people in other parts of Punjab. Previously, we had ignored a whole community and never thought they would receive education or employment,” Murad Raas said. Adding that they made the decision after meeting with transgender community representatives.
According to The Economist’s Global Normalcy Index, Pakistan ranked third out of 50 countries. It aims to identify which countries have returned to their pre-pandemic levels by grading each one. The Economist’s “normalcy index” analyzes countries using eight indicators: time of day in the office, retail, traffic patterns, flights, cinema attendance, and retail use.
In the fiscal year 2021-22, Pakistan will sign trade agreements with Uzbekistan to explore more than $90 billion of export prospects in Central Asia. Prime Minister Khan will visit Uzbekistan between July 13 and 15 to sign transit and preferential trade agreements. Furthermore, Pakistan & Uzbekistan plan to establish several warehouses in Gwadar and Tashkent.
The Ministry of Climate Change plans to create 200,000 new green jobs by the end of 2021. Projects will be designed to support youth, women, and local communities. The ministry announced that the community in Sindh would participate in a project to create green jobs about Lake Manchar. The Dera Ismael Khan project also aims to create green jobs for residents through nature-based solutions.
On Sunday, Indian hackers temporarily hacked into the main site of the Sindh High Court (SHC), but the site was restored on Monday. The website (www.sindhhighcourt.gov.pk) was defaced and hacked by hackers aliased as “Indian Cyber Troops. The Registrar of the Sindh High Court was contacted for his comments on the matter. However, he did not pick up the phone.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has urged the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to take action against India for sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan. The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was determined to be responsible for Lahore’s Johar Town blast after an investigation. He said that evidence of Indian state-sponsored terrorism, unveiled by Islamabad last year, has been cleared.
Analysts and officials expect China and Russia to pursue influence in Afghanistan after the U.S. withdraws. Afghanistan, however, is considering the extension of the $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Beijing opposes the U.S. withdrawing too soon, as this will drag on the country’s uncertain situation even more.
Hundreds of companies worldwide were impacted by a mass ransomware attack late on Sunday. Hackers have demanded $70 million for the return of the data they are holding ransom, according to a posting on a dark web forum. Additionally, REvil, a Russian-linked cybercrime gang that ranks among the most prolific cyber extortionists, posted the demand on its blog.
Pakistan has found success in exports during FY2021 in comparison with FY2020. Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce, said that Pakistan also achieved an increase of 39 percent in export to the US. There was an increase of $1.45 billion in exports in FY2021 compared to FY2020, as exports counted $5.2 billion.