The Punjab government plans to establish Asia’s largest forest in Lahore. The Horticulture Authority (PHA) and various divisions of government have partnered to plant Miyawaki saplings at 51 locations across the city. In addition, 1.1 million saplings have already been planted by the provincial government. Officials will plant 500,000 more saplings and eleven Miyawaki forests across various areas in Lahore during the monsoon.
The government is preparing a new five-year auto policy that will encourage the production of low-cost cars and increase auto exports. Commercial vehicles have experienced a significant price drop, making them more affordable. The local vehicle’s GST is reportedly going from 17 to 12%. The government also reduces the price of small cars (850cc) by Rs. 105,000 and Rs. 146,000 for 1000cc ones.
PM Imran Khan says he won’t use protocol for private functions in order to save taxpayers money. On Tuesday, the Prime Minister tweeted he was also looking into the protocol and security provided to ministers, governors, PTI chief ministers, and other officials. Furthermore, he said a comprehensive policy would be decided by the next federal cabinet meeting.
An international standard airport will be built in Skardu to meet the needs of international tourists and promote tourism. The government intends to build an all-weather international airport in Skardu and to upgrade existing airports in Skardu and Gilgit. Furthermore, the Prime Minister has strictly ordered that all airports connected to tourism remain open throughout the year.
In Islamabad, police have arrested Usman Mirza, the man identified in a video that circulated yesterday as assaulting a couple. He is seen verbally abusing, threatening, and beating the couple. Video of the violence against the man and the woman went viral on social media. A few hours later, Islamabad police arrested the suspect, registered an FIR, and started legal proceedings.
Government officials face backlash after sending the Domestic Violence Protection and Prevention Bill 2021 to the Council of Islamic Ideology for review. The majority of the public opposes this move since no woman is included in the Council of Islamic Ideology. Many complained that the Domestic Violence Bill mostly affects women, so how do all men get to decide on it?
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.
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.