Islamabad: Considering the food crisis and prevailing situation of Afghanistan, the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet Friday approved the summary presented by the Ministry of Commerce, allowing the export of selected commodities to the neighbouring country in Pakistani currency by adding them in the list of items at Para-7(1) of the Export Policy Order, 2020.

Fruits, vegetables, cement, salt and dry fruits were also included in the list of export items, while the ECC removed the 45% regulatory duty on the import of pine nuts from Afghanistan.

The forum also approved technical supplementary grants of Rs5 billion for the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives for conducting the 7th Population and Housing Census.

The ECC meeting here, which was virtually presided over by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin, also approved Rs4 billion under the Pakistan Raises Revenue Programme (PRRP) for the financial year 2021-22 for Federal Board of Revenue.

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Federal Minister for Water Resources Chaudhry Moonis Elahi, federal secretaries and senior officers attended the meeting, a Finance Ministry press release said.

The ECC also approved Rs 78.5 million for the projects of ICT (Islamabad Capital Territory) Administration, by Interior Ministry.

The meeting gave its approval for amounts of Rs 60 million and Rs3 million (equivalent to $17,133.06) for the Interior Ministry within the sanctioned budgets for purchase of spare parts for helicopters maintained by HQs Frontier Corps Balochistan North and HQs Frontier Corps Khuber Pakhtunkhwa (North) respectively.

It approved re-allocation of Rs 226.8 million surrendered funds for the year 2021-22 under Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme (SAP) in favour of Interior Division for further release to the ICT Administration.

The meeting gave its consent for rupee cover of $65 million (equivalent to Rs 11,960 million) to the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination, committed by Islamic Development Bank, to utilize the IsDB loan under “IVAC Covid-19 Vaccine Support for Pakistan”.

The committee, while noting the growth in exports, approved another summary of the Commerce Ministry to enhance the quota limit for export of samples to $25,000 or 0.1% of actual export proceeds during the last financial year in US dollars per exporter per annum, by amending relevant paras of the Export Policy Order, 2020.

The ECC approved a Commerce Ministry’s proposal of removal of 45 percent regulatory duty on the import of Chilghoza from Afghanistan as the tariff reduction would encourage the legal import of unprocessed Chilghoza for processing in the country for export and would also be instrumental in creation of jobs in the far flung areas of border regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and economically backward areas of Balochistan.

The committee approved a proposal submitted by the Finance Division for engaging the services of third party to carry out the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) functions of the Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP). The M & E responsibilities were entrusted to Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), which due to its legal status had not been able to undertake the task.

The ECC discussed and approved the Finance Division’s summary for resolving the issue of reversal of Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) unspent grant funds under amendment to MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with proposal to establish a new Credit Guarantee Company (CGC) having 56% shareholding of FCDO through Karandaaz (unspent funds) and 44 percent shareholding of Government of Pakistan, with mandate of issuance of credit guarantees against financing in the SME (Small & Medium Enterprises) sector.

The committee after deliberation and considering the depth of Pakistan’s relationship with China, and as a goodwill gesture on government level, approved the proposal of the Ministry of Water Resources for compensation package of $11.6 million for the affected Chinese nationals of Dasu Hydropower Project incident.

The ECC allowed the operations of SNGPL based plants (Fatima Fertilizer (Sheikhupura plant ) and Agritech) for a further two months post January, i.e., February- March at gas rate of Rs. 839/MMBTU on a summary of Ministry of Industries and Production to meet the Urea fertilizer requirement for remaining Rabi Season 2021-22.

It approved a summary tabled by Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication for the constitution of Advisory Committee headed by the Finance Minister for the release of IMT/5G spectrum.

The ECC also approved the draft Policy Directive of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organization) Act 1996 for renewal of Cellular License of Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited (PMCL/Jazz). It was presented by the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication.

SOURCE: APP

The Taliban killed eight resistance fighters from a national opposition group in a firefight in the north of Afghanistan, police said on Friday.

Since storming back to power in August the Taliban have flatly denied facing organised resistance, but the gun battle on Thursday night may demonstrate that armed opposition is building against their hardline rule.

Fighters from the National Resistance Front (NRF), a group led by the son of legendary late anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, fought Taliban forces in Balkh province.

Eight NRF fighters were killed in a “direct clash” with the Taliban, provincial police spokesman Asif Waziri told reporters in an audio message.

Waziri said Taliban forces also seized ammunition and machine guns from the NRF fighters. An NRF spokesman was yet to respond to a request for comment from AFP.

The fighting comes less than two weeks after Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi held talks with Ahmad Massoud, the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, in Tehran.

After that summit an official for the resistance faction said the NRF and Taliban remained on “separate pages” with no prospect of reconciliation.

Massoud's NRF forces were the last to hold out against the Taliban takeover last year, retreating to the Panjshir Valley which fell in September, weeks after government troops capitulated.

The Panjshir Valley is famed as the site of resistance to Soviet forces in the 1980s and the Taliban in the late 1990s, during their first stint in power.

Its most revered figure is Ahmad Shah Massoud, known as the “Lion of Panjshir”, who was assassinated by Al Qaeda in 2001, two days before the 9/11 attacks.

His son has since picked up the mantle and there have been reports of his efforts to organise a resistance with other exiled Afghan leaders, which Taliban authorities had so far denied.

The Taliban have also faced resistance from the regional chapter of the militant Islamic State group, IS-Khorasan, an extremist group which aims to create a global caliphate.

SOURCE: AFP

In a horrible discovery, the dead body of a man – surrounded by at least 124 snakes – was found inside a house in Maryland, United States. 

The Independent reported that the incident took place in Charles Countyof Maryland. The snakes, some of which were identified to be venomous, were kept inside cages when police reached the man’s home at around 6pm on Wednesday, the Charles County sheriff’s office said.

Police said that the man had kept the snakes, some of which were venomous, inside a cage in his house. 

One of the deceased man's neighbours, after not seeing him for a day, had gone to check in on him. 

The neighbour told the police that he peeped into the house through a window after no one answered the door and saw the man, 49, lying on the floor unconscious. 

He then decided to call 911 for help. When emergency services arrived and examined the man, he was found to be dead.

Police added that the cause of death is yet to be determined, adding that "no obvious signs of foul play have been found so far."

“Inside the house, more than 100 venomous and non-venomous snakes of different varieties were discovered in tanks situated on racks,” the Charles County Sheriff’s Office said, per the report.

The man had kept different types of snakes in his house, including pythons, rattlesnakes, cobras and black mambas, police said, adding that animal control officials were examining the snakes.

The chief animal control officer of the county told police that they had "not encountered an incident like this in more than 30 years of experience."

“Charles County Animal Control is coordinating rescue efforts relating to the reptiles with assistance from reptile experts from North Carolina and Virginia,” the police said.

It should be noted that Maryland's law prohibits people from keeping snakes as pets.