CSOs ask govt to fulfil promise of creating Rs10b population fund
July 6, 2021
ISLAMABAD: The coalition of 19 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on population calls upon the federal government to abide by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) decision of creating a Rs10 billion population fund, says a press release on Monday.
The CCI has endorsed a plan of action for achieving population stabilisation. The current budget has only allocated Rs1 billion against the original stipulated amount. The population fund has been created to fund the expansion of Lady Health Workers (LHWs); support innovative initiatives to improve access to family planning services and for procuring contraceptives. The provincial governments are required to match 50% amount of additional allocations for procurement of contraceptives and for increase in LHWs for 100% coverage for doorstep services.
Expensive calls
July 5, 2021
The government’s decision to tax mobile phone calls has puzzled almost everyone. The telecom industry has said that the proposed taxes on mobile calls over five minutes will affect prepaid customers that enjoy various low-cost bundles. Because of the recently announced taxes, a five-minute phone call will cost around Rs2.72 instead of the previous Rs1.97. The 75 paisa tax is in addition to the 19.5 percent federal excise duty for a voice call. This means that a user will now be charged 40 percent additional taxes if the voice call exceeds five minutes.
As per industry experts, telecom taxes are irrationally high in Pakistan. According to a Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) report, Pakistan is considered to be among the highest taxed telecom markets in the world. The current government has disappointed a large number of people, and it seems that it isn’t interested in facilitating them.
Zartaj Gul hints at including gender lens in climate change policy
July 2, 2021
Islamabad : Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul Wazir has said that climate change is not a gender-neutral phenomenon and a gap between Climate Change policies and gender issues still exists that needs to be redressed properly.
Ms. Gul was speaking at the report launch Climate-induced migration among women: stories from Muzaffargarh and Tharparkar districts of Pakistan organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here Thursday. Ms. Gul said that we need to acknowledge that the struggle that women face during the climate crisis is different from those that are faced by men.
Gender-responsive climate action urged
ISLAMABAD:
Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul has said that a gap between climate change policies and gender issues still exists that needs to be addressed appropriately.
She was speaking at the launch of a study titled “Climate-induced migration among women: stories from Muzaffargarh and Tharparkar districts, Pakistan” held under the auspices of Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on Thursday.
“We need to acknowledge that the troubles that women face during the climate action are different from those that are faced by men so the level of struggle to cope with climate issues between genders is different,” the minister said.
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