Media Tracking Report 22 June - 10 July, 2020

Education in

Uniform education system at primary level from next year: PM - DAWN Prime Minister appreciated Federal Education Minister for preparing a uniform education system which will be introduced across the country next year, replacing the current “apartheid education system”. He said for preparing the uniform education system, Mr Mahmood deserves appreciation. He added that the three education systems in the country; English medium, public schools and madrassas would be brought under one fold. For this, lengthy consultations with private schools and other stakeholders had been held.

Schools should reopen in September, education ministers decide - DAWN It was decided during the interprovincial education ministers’ virtual conference that educational institutions will be opened in the first week of September, provided there is permission from the Ministry of National Health Services and approval from the NCC, which had previously decided to keep schools closed until July 15. The sources said that while discussing examinations of professional groups, such as medical and engineering entry tests and religious boards’ exams, the participants proposed that they be held with special SOPs in place.

CPEC in Pakistan

Agreement for $1.5bn hydropower project signed - DAWN Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be a ‘game changer’ for the country. He has further lauded the hydropower project being commissioned under the CPEC. “Earlier, the CPEC was confined to road connectivity, but now other aspects of the corridor are being unfolded,” he added. A part of CPEC, with an investment of $1.5 billion, 700.7-megawatt Azad Pattan will not involve fuel import, thus enabling the country to move towards cheaper and greener power while generating local job opportunities. The project is located at River Jhelum and is expec­ted to be completed in 2026.

BRI moot lauds CPEC, seeks greater regional connectivity - Pakistan Today The Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) convened the first ever Non-Governmental Online Conference on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), of which CPEC is the flagship, which was attended by eight countries. The discussion touched upon the progress of BRI, its neutrality and transparency was stressed despite false claims of contention with India and other Western players, and claims of the debt trap. Senator Mushahid Hussain, in his opening remarks, termed BRI as the biggest and most significant Diplomatic and Developmental initiative of the 21st century.

Gwadar International Airport construction underway, confirms CPEC chairman - Express Tribune China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Chairman Asim Saleem Bajwa on Saturday said the Gwadar International Airport construction is underway. He reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to launching and completing all projects in Gwadar in line with Prime Minister Imran Khan's vision. Writing that the "Mega airport costing $230M will be a harbinger of development of Gwadar City".

IMF and Pakistan

IMF predicts economic recovery in Pakistan next year - DAWN A gradual recovery in Pakistan is expected in the fiscal year 2021 as the country’s economy reopens, says the “Policy Act­ions Taken by Countries” report released by the Inter­natio­nal Monetary Fund (IMF). It highlights the various steps Pakis­tan has taken since March to deal with the Covid-19 crisis including allowing ‘low-risk industries’ to restart operation and ‘small retail shops’ to reopen with newly developed Standard Operating Procedures, and lifting restrictions on domestic and international movements.

IMF lowers country’s growth forecast to 1pc - DAWN The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday lowered Pakistan’s growth forecast by half to one per cent for the next fiscal year as the global economy appears to have suffered greater setbacks following the Covid-19 pandemic and shows slower signs of recovery than previously anticipated. In April the IMF had estimated Pakistan’s GDP going negative 1.5pc in the fiscal year 2019-20 and a 2pc growth rate for FY2020-21 in its flagship World Economic Outlook (WEO). The Fund now revised its forecast to -0.4pc. However, it also revised downward its next year’s growth forecast to 1pc from 2pc in April update and the Pakistan government’s target of 2.1pc set for the next fiscal year.

Climate Change in Pakistan

Pakistan announces 15 national parks to protect green areas, create jobs - Gulf News Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced to create 15 national parks across the country under the ‘Protective Area Initiative’ to protect and enhance forest cover, create green jobs and address the threat of climate change. The initiative, which is part of the ‘Green Stimulus’ vision, aims to enhance the protected and conserved area to 15 percent to cover land area of over 7,300 sq. km, encompassing the mountains in the north to the scrub forests in the plains and a marine protected area in the southern part of the country. Almost 5,000 direct green jobs will be created for the youth in the initial phase of the project.

Pakistan's tree-planting push has a sweetener: more honey - Reuters Five years ago, authorities started planting millions of trees in eastern Pakistan’s Changa Manga Forest now there is a sweeter side-effect - with trees helping to boost the local bee population and honey production in the area. 3.5 million trees were planted on 6,000 acres (2,428 hectares) in Changa Manga, known as one of the world’s largest man-made forests, near the city of Lahore. Beekeepers in the plantation said they are now harvesting up to 70% more honey than before the greening project started in 2014, from 725 kg (1,600 pounds) in the fiscal year 2018-2019 to about 1,300 kg in 2019-2020, with a further rise in income expected over the next four to five years.

Country’s vulnerability to disasters rises as temperature to surge in North: Saudi study - The Nation The new research “Projections of Precipitation and Temperature over the South Asian Countries in CMIP6,” published in the journal Earth Systems and Environment in May 2020 based on the latest generation of global climate models (CMIP6) claimed that Pakistan as one of the worst affected needs to take “adaptation measures” to avert associated risks posed to its population, economy, water resources, agriculture and natural ecosystem. It said that the “Temperature is likely to increase by as much as 6 C over the northern regions of Pakistan in the next 80 years,, putting these regions at ‘particularly high risk’ to flooding from snow and glacier melting that would have severe repercussions for downstream habitats and livelihoods.

Pakistan signs $2.4bn agreement for 1,124MW Kohala Hydropower Project - Profit by Pakistan Today A tripartite agreement was signed between a Chinese company and the governments of Pakistan and China for the construction of the 1,124-megawatt (MW) Kohala Hydropower Project costing $2.4 billion. The Prime Minister said that the Kohala Hydropower Power Project was the biggest ever investment in Pakistan on a single project, and can potentially initiate a move towards clean energy and end Pakistan’s dependence on imported fuel.