Haris Rauf tests positive for Covid ahead of first Test against Australia

Pakistan suffered another setback when fast bowler Haris Rauf tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the first Test against Australia on Friday.

A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesperson said that Rauf had tested positive for the coronavirus after he underwent a rapid antigen test.

He said more details would be shared in due course of time. Meanwhile, the PCB said Rauf was in isolation.

The fast bowler was in contention to make his Test debut in his hometown, Rawalpindi, after Hasan Ali and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf were ruled out of the first Test due to injuries they picked up in the Pakistan Super League last week.

In his absence, one of the reserve fast bowlers, Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah, are in contention to face Australia alongside Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Wasim (junior).

It is after nearly a quarter of a century that the Australian side is visiting Pakistan.

They last played in Pakistan in 1998, winning the three-Test series 1-0 and blanking the hosts in the three one-day internationals.

PM's relief 'package for middle-class' is part of strategy, no election stunt: Fawad Chaudhry

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday rejected the opposition's claim that the relief package announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan a day earlier was an attempt to woo voters ahead of the 2023 general elections, insisting that the move was a part of the government's strategy to roll out relief measures for different segments in phases.

Chaudhry passed these remarks during a media talk in Lahore today when asked to comment on the opposition terming the prime minister's package as an "election stunt".

The premier had on Monday stunned his critics when he announced a "relief package" for the inflation-hit citizens of Pakistan, reducing the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs10 per litre and electricity by Rs5 per unit with a pledge that they would not be increased until the next federal budget.

Responding to a query during an interaction with the media today, Chaudhry clarified that the relief package would not be financed through any loan. "We just made adjustments to our existing budget to facilitate our middle class. Previously, we had given targeted subsidies to extremely poor segment."

The minister said the affluent segment will also contribute to the relief package, adding that the Finance Ministry will hold a press conference, detailing financial adjustments made to the current budget to provide relief to the public.

When asked whether the government was feeling the heat of the PPP's ongoing long march, Chaudhry said Bilawal must go through the "videos of previous long marches held by (late) Benazir Bhutto to learn how such rallies are conducted".

He said the reality of such protests would become clear in three months. "We first want them to get tired by holding this march, then we will make our next move," he told journalists.

To another question about PTI's ties with its allies in the government, the minister said the prime minister was in close contact with PML-Q's Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.

"We will soon meet PML-Q and MQM," he said, claiming that "some friends" from the PML-N and the PPP friends who were fed up with their party leadership had also contacted the PTI.

Earlier, he recounted the challenges faced by the incumbent government, including Covid-19, Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, and global inflation faced by the PTI government after it took power.

Seems PM misguided about PECA ordinance: IHC

slamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah took exception on Tuesday to the remarks made by Prime Minister Imran Khan in support of the controversial PECA ordinance, saying it seemed like the prime minister had been misguided about the law.

During the hearing of a petition filed against the ordinance by the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) president, the IHC CJ said, “From the speech made by the prime minister, it was apparent that he was misguided.”

Justice Minallah said that anti-defamation laws already existed in Pakistan independent of the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). The CJ said that in Pakistan, however, laws are implemented to target the critics.

The high court also barred the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from acting against anyone without following the proper arrest protocols.

The IHC also clubbed the application filed by the LHCBA with other petitions against PECA being heard by the same bench, and fixed the case's hearing for March 10.

In its plea, the LHCBA president said the application raised new points in the case. It said the FIA could not take action in matters that were private in nature. It added that even Islam allowed the freedom of expression.

 

The remarks by the IHC judge came a day after the prime minister defended the PECA ordinance, saying that the amendments were brought because “social media was filled with filth such as child pornography”.

According to PM Imran, the content being shared on social media was causing a threat to the institution of family. He had regretted that even he was not being spared, recalling that a few years ago a journalist had reported that his wife had left him and that he had done something illegal at his Bani Gala residence.

Lamenting that he had filed a case but hasn’t got relief in three years, he had said the same journalist had now written that his wife has left the house. “If this can happen with the country’s prime minister ... imagine what would happen to the rest of the people,” he had wondered.

Shocking as it may seem, Imran had revealed that the same journalist was locked up and beaten for three days when he wrote about former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s corruption during the PML-N government.

The prime minister had charged that there were journalists who were spreading filth in exchange for money, adding that the good journalists had no issue with PECA and would want fake news to be eliminated.

Imran recalled that three leading newspapers had carried stories, stating that the selection of AJK’s PM was based on some magic and movement of stars. He had said one couldn’t even think about saying such things under democracy in any other country.

PM Imran Khan announces 5-year tax relief for overseas investors

Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced a five-year tax exemption for overseas investors to bolster investment in Pakistan.

He made the announcement during a gathering in Lahore to announce an industrial package to promote business activities in the country.

Addressing the ceremony, the premier said that countries progress from industrial development. “No country can become great without a manufacturing base and industrial growth,” he said.

“A country develops when there is wealth creation, without it they cannot move forward,” he said, adding that when a government forms policies against profit-making, it halts the development of industries and reduces investment opportunities.

He further explained when industries earn profit, other investors get attracted to that particular sector.

PM Imran Khan said that earlier such policies were made which were unfavourable for industrial growth, due to which the country’s exports stopped increasing as there was no long-term plan in place.

“Pakistan never paid attention towards the export sector; whenever we faced a shortage of the US dollar we approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” he lamented.

Sharing details of the package, the premier said that the growth of small and medium industries have been focused on, for which the government has introduced a policy and is creating facilities for the sector's growth.

Speaking about the five-year tax exemption for foreign investors, the premier said that if they invest in the industries of Pakistan, our country will develop further.

“Facilities will be given to overseas Pakistanis who face difficulties investing in the country,” he said, citing an example that whenever overseas Pakistanis purchase land in Pakistan it has been illegally occupied as they are not personally around to look after their property.

‘I should have announced an amnesty earlier’

During his address, he highlighted the issue of the rising current account deficit.

“The biggest challenge that we face is of a current account deficit which is triggered due to stagnant exports,” he said.

Pakistan’s current account deficit — the gap between the country’s higher foreign expenditure and low income — widened to a 13-year high of $2.6 billion in January 2022 in the wake of a surge in import payments due to rising commodity prices in the international market.

This was the highest-ever monthly current account deficit. The last time the figure was this high was back in October 2008 when it was $2.03bn.

PM Imran Khan admitted that he should have announced an amnesty for the industries as soon as he was sworn as the prime minister back in 2018.

Expressing hope in the IT sector, he said that the most rapid growth will be seen in this sector; however, he regretted that we treat the sector like normal industries.

“We are trying to make the country self-sufficient and the business community will play a major role in doing so,” he said.

Earlier, during a meeting with Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, the premier directed him to take effective measures for the provision of maximum relief and ensure the delivery of quality services to the people of Punjab.

PM Imran Khan further instructed Buzdar to protect the rights, lives and property of people and to take stern action against encroachers, hoarders and miscreant elements in society.

During the meeting, the premier was briefed about developmental projects being carried out across the province.

Prime Minister Imran Khan Meets CM Punjab Usman Buzdar

Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed to take effective measures for the provision of maximum relief and ensuring the delivery of quality services to common man in Punjab.

He was talking with Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, who called on him in Lahore on Tuesday.

Imran Khan also instructed to protect the rights, lives and property of people and to take stern action against the encroachers, hoarders and miscreant elements in the society.

During the meeting the Prime Minister was briefed about developmental projects being carried out across the province.

TikTok Increases Maximum Video Length to 10 Minutes

TikTok on Monday began letting users upload videos as long as 10 minutes, ramping up the young platform´s challenge to veteran titan YouTube. TikTok, owned by ByteDance in China, launched with a one-minute limit on uploaded videos, but bumped the cap to three minutes last year.

"Today we are happy to start rolling out the ability to upload videos up to 10 minutes long," TikTok said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"We hope this will further stimulate the creativity of our creators around the world."

TikTok more than tripling the length of videos comes as YouTube and Facebook-parent Meta strive to counter the rival with short-form content options and incentives to creators whose posts draw audiences.

"YouTube is still ahead of TikTok in terms of time spent, but its not immune to the ´TikTok effect´," Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg told AFP.

"The gap in time spent between the two platforms is narrow, and longer videos could help TikTok catch up in terms of both eyeballs and engagement."

Longer videos could also enable TikTok creators make more money and boost the platforms advertising business, the analyst added.

YouTube recently laid out goals for this year that included making the lives of creators easier and boosting a popular format that rivals TikTok.

The video-sharing platform is investing in short-form and live video, along with tools to help creators make money and produce fresh content, according to chief product officer Neal Mohan.

"YouTube creators are the heart and soul of the platform," Mohan said in a blog post.

"To give them every opportunity possible, we´ll continue to invest across our multiple formats."

Short-form content like the video snippets that are a winning ingredient at TikTok are incredibly popular. YouTube´s take on the concept, called "Shorts," has logged more than five trillion all-time views, according to Mohan.

 

Pakistan reports more 5 deaths in last 24 hours

Amid a continuous decline in the new COVID-19 cases in the country, Pakistan's daily case count remained below the 1,000 mark for the third consecutive day, the National Command and Operation Centre's (NCOC) data showed Tuesday morning.

The national COVID-19 body said it conducted 37,566 diagnostic tests for coronavirus during the last 24 hours, of which only 861 came back positive.

The fresh cases placed Pakistan's COVID-19 positivity ratio at 2.29% and the overall case count at 1,510,221.

Meanwhile, the daily death toll shot up to 18 again in a single day after falling to only five deaths Monday morning.

The new additions pushed the country's total coronavirus deaths to 30,196.

Moreover, 489 people suffering from COVID-19 recovered overnight, taking the active cases down to 37,087. However, 988 patients are still in critical care units.