Outstanding dues payment Some days ahead of Eidul Fitr celebrations, the federal cabinet had reviewed
the somewhat burning issue of outstanding dues of the media. Federal Information Minister Senator
Shibli Faraz had presented a report in this regard. Prime Minister Imran Khan while presiding over the
cabinet meeting had directed the outstanding dues of the media should be paid before Eidul Fitr in
order to allay the financial problems of the media and to ensure that the services of the journalists and
workers are not terminated due to financial crisis. This was good thinking and appreciable goodwill
gesture towards the print and electronic media by the prime minister. However, most unfortunately, the
issue of outstanding dues payment of the freelance journalists and others including this scribe who had
been highlighting the achievements and the good work of the federal governments during last couple of
years on being commissioned to do so by Principal Information Officers (PIOs) of the Press Information
Department. PIOs have been coming and going, this issue is being raised from time to time but their
outstanding dues payment has not been made. They have not been paid what to say about being given
new assignments to supplement their meager incomes. This issue aso did not come up before the
federal cabinet as nobody seemed to be concerned about it. Cutting long bitter story short, the Prime
Minister, the Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister and the incumbent lady PIO are
emphatically requested to look into the issue of outstanding dues payment of freelance journalists and
others for their contributions and order for early payment. While the media dues ran into billions of
rupees, their outstanding dues are only few lakhs, please.M.Z.RifatSocio-economic impacts of Invisible
Enemy during it's first wave in PakistanOn Friday, the finance ministry informed the Senate that around
3 million jobs are expected to be lost in the initial wave of the coronavirus. The industrial sector is
expected to see 1 million layoffs while the service sector will see close to two million losing their jobs.
The finance ministry said that the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics estimated 18 million
jobs will be lost from the agricultural, services and industrial sectors collectively. Pakistan's economy
was in tatters even before the emergence of coronavirus, but the pandemic has added to the South
Asian country's economic woes. More than 100,000 people have tested positive for the virus. The
country has recorded a huge spike in COVID-19 cases since Prime Minister Imran Khan's government
lifted lockdown restrictions in mid-May. The finance ministry on Friday told the Upper House of the
Parliament that the percentage of people living in poverty would increase from 24.3 per cent to 33.5 per
cent. Similarly, the fiscal deficit is expected to rise from the initial target of 7.5 per cent to 9.4 per cent
of the Gross Domestic Product. It said exports will fall from USD 25 billion to USD 22 billion due to no
trade with the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the Middle East.
Remittances will also fall from USD 23 billion to USD 21 billion. Tax revenue also decreased from USD 29
billion to USD 24 billion, while the Federal Bureau of Revenue is expected to suffer a loss of USD 4 billion
to USD 5.5 billion between April and June. Amid the coronavirus crisis, the government is planning to
shed a number of state-run enterprises. Hammad Azhar, the minist r for industries and production, said
Friday the government has decided to privatise Pakistan Steel Mills in order to revive and steer it out of
losses. About 9,000 employees of the Steel Mills will be sacked in two phases after payment of their
dues and one-month salary, Azhar told media. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), an
NGO, said it was "horrified at reports that 9,300 plus Pakistan Steel Mills employees may be laid off."
"Both the government and ECC (Economic Coordination Council) have a moral responsibility to ensure
employees' long-term welfare when the labor sector is already under immense pressure as a result of
the COVID-19 crisis," the HRCP, which is a membership-based independent organisation, said in
statement. When Khan took power in 2018, Pakistans GDP growth was around 5.8%; now it is 1.9% and
is likely to decline further. The country's fiscal deficit is almost 10% and revenues have plummeted in the
past two years. "I do not see any chance of improvement," Shaikh told DW, adding that the global
economy is facing recession due to coronavirus. "All we can do is wait for the coronavirus vaccine and
the normalisation of economic activities around the globe." Salman Shah, a former finance minister and
current adviser to Punjab province's chief minister on economic affairs, admits "more than 20 million
people have lost their jobs" due to the health crisis. "Only 2.5% of GDP is being spent on providing social
safety to the working class, it should be 10% at least. We want to increase it but International Monetary
Fund's conditions don't allow us to do that," Shah underlined.
–Syed Tahir Rashdi