Bank of China becomes operational in Pakistan, first branch in Karachi

The Bank of China (BoC) became operational in Pakistan as it inaugurated its first branch in Karachi on Tuesday.

Emphasising that it was "a great honour" for the bank to be launched in Pakistan, BoC Chairman Chen Siqing noted that the Karachi branch was its first in South Asia.

The Dawn quoted him as saying that the bank would strengthen the "brotherly relations" between the two countries in the financial sector.

Siqing also highlighted that the bank could help Pakistan effectively reap the benefits of Beijing's economic prosperity.

Welcoming the bank to Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa, said that the increased diversity of foreign banks would increase the country's economic resilience.

He also expressed hope that Pakistan would learn from BoC's expertise in the small and medium enterprises sector.

Speaking during the launch, Acting Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Zhao Lijian said that the opening of the bank "marked the confidence of the Chinese corporate sector in Pakistan's economic situation."

President Mamnoon Hussain, who was also present on the occasion, expressed confidence that the newly-launched bank will help accelerate infrastructure development and overall economic growth of the country.
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These cities from our neighbourhood are the world's worst for living

Pakistan's Karachi city and Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka have been named among the least liveable cities of the world, says a survey.

According to Global Liveability Report compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Karachi maintains its 134th rank in the listing of 140 cities, only managing to fare better than Port Moresby, Dhaka, Tripoli, Lagos and Damascus.

The survey says that Melbourne is the most liveable city in the world, followed by Austrian capital Vienna and Canada's Vancouver in the second and third place respectively.

However, no Indian city was ranked in the top ten or bottom ten in the most liveable city ranking.

The ranking is based on the qualitative and quantitative factors falling broadly in the categories of stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

The survey only includes cities which people might want to live in or visit. Therefore, it excludes cities like Kabul or Baghdad, where conflict is ongoing.

However, cities like Damascus, which were in the near past relatively unstable, have been included.

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Karachi: 13-yr old girl, 10 others injured in Pak Independence day gunfire

At least 11 people were wounded due to aerial firing during Independence Day celebration in Karachi on the night between Sunday and Monday.

According to reports, the gun-fire celebrations injured included women and children.

A stray bullet wounded a 13-year-old girl Maryam in Soldier Bazaar area, while a woman was injured in aerial firing near ICI Bridge, reports Dunya News.

Aerial firing in Light House area injured a man named Umair, while Yameen was wounded in Sarafa Bazaar area of Khara Dar.

At least seven more people were injured in incidents of aerial firing in Azam Basti, Lines Aera, Landhi, Mahmoodabad, Defence, Aysha Manzil and Numaish Chowrangi.

The wounded persons were shifted to various hospitals of the city.
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Flights resume at Islamabad airport after 38-hour internet disruption

Flight operations at Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport were restored on Sunday after a 38-hour-long disruption caused by a fault in international submarine internet cable systems, which has since been repaired.

Internet services have been restored across the country after a 38-hour-long disruption caused by a fault in the India-Middle East-Western Europe (I-ME-WE) submarine cable that caused consumers and businesses across Pakistan to experience major internet disruptions, with many customers complaining of slow browsing speeds, a Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) representative said.

The disruption in the India-Middle East-Western Europe submarine cable prevented airport officials confirming flight schedules and ticket bookings, as a result of which at least eight flights domestic and international flights were cancelled earlier today, Dawn news quoted airport officials as saying.

Many domestic and international flights were cancelled. Flights to Medina, Manchester and Karachi have also been cancelled.PI-211, which was scheduled to reach Islamabad from Dubai, was cancelled as well. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, which was to reach Jeddah from Karachi were cancelled.

Pakistan Telecommunications Limited (PTCL) stated the company has successfully arranged for additional bandwidth through our international cable systems & partners.

The loss of these three submarine cables leaves Pakistan relying on SEA-ME-WE 3, SEA-ME-WE 5 and the AAE-1 submarine cables, out of which SEA-ME-WE 3 operates in a limited capacity.
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