The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will provide Pakistan the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine, biohazard safety cabinets, test kits and related consumables to help fight the novel coronavirus through the use of a nuclear derived machine,

The World Bank is working in Pakistan through its International Finance Corporation (IFC) for creating working capital facilities and trade finance with the objective to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), affected badly by the Covid-19.

The regulatory measures and expanded refinancing schemes of the government to contain the ensuing economic impact of COVID-19 must be targeted and temporary, and their design should not create moral hazard nor foster poor credit risk management practices,

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised projection of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) tax collection of Rs 4.8 trillion pre-Covid-19 to Rs 3.908 trillion post Covid-19 for the current fiscal year, reflecting a decrease of Rs 0.892 trillion.

Pakistan's primary deficit is now expected to deteriorate to 2.9 percent of GDP in fiscal year 2020 (from 0.8 percent expected earlier) due to a 1.8 percentage point decline in tax revenue relative to the pre-virus baseline and the needed higher spending

A host of positive factors including SBP's surprise rate cut, deferment of G20 debt and provision of COVID-19 relief fund from the IMF invited aggressive buying and Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a bullish trend to close on strong positive note with he

Pakistan Stock Exchange triggered Market Halt on Friday at 10:52am due to 5.0 percent increase in KSE-30 index. It was the first ever market halt that was triggered when the market was in bullish mood and the KSE-30 Index saw a sudden increase of 5.0 perc

Independent Power Producers (IPPs) have strongly rejected the allegations levelled against them in the report of "Committee for Power Sector Audit, Circular Debt Resolution and Future Road Map" submitted to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

China's coronavirus ground-zero city of Wuhan on Friday admitted missteps in tallying its death toll as it abruptly raised the count by 50 percent, as world doubts mounted about how transparent China has been during the crisis.

Japan will offer a cash payment of 100,000 yen ($930) to every resident, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Friday, as measures to contain the coronavirus decimate the world's third-top economy. "We are moving quickly to deliver cash to all people," Abe

In order to provide liquidity comfort to banks, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Friday cut the Special Cash Reserve Requirement by 5 percent against deposits raised under foreign exchange circular (FE-25).

President Arif Alvi Friday promulgated Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 for construction industry. The salient features of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 for construction industry, Friday approved by the federal cabinet, included introductio

Pakistan rupee gained strength against major currencies on Friday in both markets.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that intelligence agencies would be asked to identify people involved in hoarding and smuggling.

The country's exports during March 2020 against February 2020 have witnessed a reduction of 15.23 percent, from $2.140 billion to $1.814 billion, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistic (PBS) said.

NASA announced on Friday that a SpaceX rocket will send two American astronauts to the International Space Station on May 27, the first crewed spaceflight from the US in nearly a decade.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that 209 new cases of the coronavirus have emerged during the last 24 hours. Of the total number of cases, 132 are from the Tablighi Jamaat while 77 are dwellers of the slum areas.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health and Regulations Dr Zafar Mirza has said it will be "premature" to declare that all deaths occurring in the country are due to the Covid-19.

A bomb "accidentally dropped" from a Chadian jet onto the home of a senior army officer Friday, killing four people and wounding two near N'Djamena, a prosecutor and an air force officer told AFP.

Chairman of Indus Motor Company (IMC) Ali Suleman Habib on Friday passed away in Karachi. He was 63. He was admitted to a private hospital in Karachi on March 31, 2020 where he breathed his last. He was suffering from acute pancreatitis that led to organ

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi launched a new application, "FM Direct" digitally, Friday as part of his "Vision FO", a platform for thought leadership at the Foreign Office. The event was attended by over 60 heads of missions of Pakistan online acr

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) inflation during the week ended April 16 against April 9, 2020 witnessed an increase of 0.15 percent for combined income groups, ie, from 124.97 points to 125.16 points, Pakistan Bureau of Statistic (PBS) revealed.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will begin special flight operations to repatriate stranded Pakistanis in the UAE from Saturday. Sources said that first special PIA flight from Dubai would repatriate up to 200 passengers to Islamabad.

This is with reference to an article carried by Business Recorder on 12th April 2020 under the title "A review of NAB performance under the leadership of Honourable Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal" by Nawazish Ali Asim, spokesman for NAB media.

One day Parvin was toiling to meet the fast-fashion demands of European capitals, the next she was among hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi clothes workers made instantly jobless as the coronavirus pandemic struck.

As the country gets ravaged by the Virus Wars, with the situation getting worse day by day, let us start once again with a prayer that Allah SWT alleviates the hardship of our beloved nation soon.

PM Imran Khan vowed in the midst of recent sugar, wheat and other commodities shortage and hoarding crisis that he would not spare the cartels and hoarders and take them to task.

Even by his standards it is an extraordinary act of self-serving bias. At a time the world desperately needs to come together to fight the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump announced suspension of US funding to the World Health Organisation acc

The G-20 countries heeded prime minister Imran Khan's call to multilaterals and bilaterals to consider writing-off debt to countries like Pakistan subsequent to the onset of the coronavirus that has mercilessly pushed millions of families below the povert

The World Bank's report on Sunday didn't really say anything that wasn't already written on the wall as it warned of the worst economic performance in 40 years in South Asia and a sharp recession in Pakistan because of the global coronavirus pandemic. Sin

The Supreme Court reconstituted 11-member Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), which will be presided over by former Justice Ejaz Afzal.

Special Committee for the Affectees of Coronavirus (Covid-19) was informed that a total of 1,097 Tableeghi Jamaat members stuck in various foreign countries have been brought back to Pakistan through special flights.

The Ghulam Ishaq Khan (GIK) Institute startup has developed Pakistan's first real-time online shopping search engine that is expected to prove very helpful for the people during the lockdown, officials of the Institute said here on Friday.

The registration for the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme under which financial assistance of Rs12,000 each is being provided to 12 million families, would be closed on Sunday midnight (April 19), while more than 85 million applicants have already register

The coronavirus cases have started to increase as in last 24 hours, as many as nine more patients were tested positive in the federal capital, taking the tally to 154 on Friday.

Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar are personally monitoring Corona situation while with the increase in testing capacity, we will be able to control the spread of coronavirus.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in recent days has adopted a 'low-profile' and detached itself from political activities in the backdrop of the reported efforts by the top party leadership to get some 'relief' for Hamza Shehbaz presently detained by

The government of Sindh on Friday has decided to not establish Ramazan Bazaars this year in the wake of preventing the spread of coronavirus. According to details, Sindh Agriculture Minister Ismail Rahu said that the decision has been taken for the safety

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said he was saddened to hear about the death of countless expatriate Pakistanis who had fallen prey to the novel coronavirus.

The Ministry of Finance and the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) Friday submitted replies before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) regarding a case wherein the court has been asked to stop private banks from collecting debts settlement during lockdown

Pakistan needs to secure borders with contactless body temperature fast screening solutions to safeguard $351 million worth travel and tourism industry.

Chairman of Businessmen Group and former President Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Siraj Kassam Teli has proposed four immediate measures that government should take which include 1) Basic Policy rates should be brought down by SBP from cu

PSDF, the largest skills development fund in Pakistan (funded by DFID and the Government of Punjab), has partnered with international platform Gnowbe to offer a free online course "Stay Protected with Infection Control and Prevention 101 Program" for the

The Punjab government has decided to seal all the borders of Punjab province to snub wheat smuggling. It has also decided that no private buyer will be allowed to pick up wheat from the province while there will be regular written purchase agreements with

Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has appealed to the Governor State Bank of Pakistan to waive up the mark-up of the ginning sector of first two quarters (1st January till 30th June 2020) to minimize the effects of Covid-19.

In a bid to overcome the shortage of staff in the police department, Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has approved the recruitment of 10,000 constables in the police department.

Model Customs Collectorate (MCC), Preventive on Friday confiscated huge cache of smuggled cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobaccos worth Rs 43 million in separate raids at different parts old city areas.

Heat wave spell is expected to batter cities of Sindh and Punjab but below normal temperature is likely in higher elevations of the country during April-May period, the Met Office has forecast.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday dismissed the petition filed against the restriction on congregational prayers in mosques and ruled that the authorities concerned were taking steps to ensure the safety of lives in view of the spread of the coronaviru

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in order to face the worst situation has ordered establishment of 10000-beded field hospitals all over Sindh.

Patron and President respectively of the SITE Association of Industry,

"Do you believe in numerology?"

OGDCL Board met on Thursday with Dr Qamar Javaid Sharif in chair to discuss challenges as consequence of outbreak of COVID19 pandemic and formulation of way forward.

Facebook is working with the Pakistani government, communities, and businesses to amplify the power of digital technology to navigate this challenging time.

Five more coronavirus cases confirmed in district Sajawal amid a complete lockdown across the region on Friday. The five patients have been shifted to the isolation ward of the hospital after confirmation of coronavirus among them. Dr Ibrahim Memon, Focal

consists of 6 ventilators, a ward established in private hospital Al Khidmat Hospital Mithi as Isolation ward by the Health Department and District Administration Tharparkar.

Sindh Minister for Information, Local Government, Housing & Town Planning, Religious Affairs, Forest and Wildlife Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has said that transparency in the use of the 'Corona Emergency Relief Fund' was being fully ensured and the concerns

President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Mian Anjum Nisar has appreciated reduction in the policy rates by 2 percent from 11 percent to 9 percent by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in view of the current situation and

Saudi oil giant Aramco said Friday it would market 8.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from May under a producers' agreement to restrict supply and boost plummeting prices. The deal came after a price war between Riyadh and Russia saw the kingdom b

Labour unions said Friday they had lodged a complaint against French call centre firm Teleperformance for allegedly exposing staff in several countries to "dangerous" working conditions amid the coronavirus outbreak.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced hope Friday that countries will find new reason to reject Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei after watching Beijing's handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

The economic ravages of the coronavirus pandemic could wipe out recent progress made in poor countries, the World Bank president warned on Friday.

Spain is planning to pay a basic monthly income to about a million of the country's poorest households to help them weather the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Social Security Minister Jose Luis Escriva said Friday.

China's economy contracted for the first time on record in the first quarter as the coronavirus shut down factories and shopping malls and put millions out of work.

The groundbreaking jazz saxophonist Lee Konitz, perhaps best known for his work on the pivotal Miles Davis album "Birth of the Cool," has died following coronavirus complications. He was 92. Konitz, a prolific artist celebrated for his improvisation savvy

Thick smoke hung over Ukraine's capital Kiev on Friday as forest fires smouldered on in the Chernobyl nuclear zone, but city officials said no radiation spike had been detected. The acrid haze hindered visibility all over the city of three million people

Google said Friday it would waive fees for publishers using its Ad Manager platform for the next five months as part of its efforts to support news organizations reeling from the coronavirus pandemic. The move comes in addition to Google's "journalism rel

Tunisian engineers have created a web-based platform that scans lung X-rays and evaluates whether patients are likely to be suffering from the novel coronavirus.

Norway, one of the first European countries to begin lifting confinement measures, is launching a smartphone tracking and tracing app to try to halt a return of the deadly coronavirus. The "Smittestop" or "stop infection" app has been developed in the Nor

The EU's four biggest powers - France, Germany, Italy and Spain - have launched a joint initiative to try to unblock a long-stalled effort to reform the bloc's asylum policies. The proposal, made in a letter dated April 9 to two EU commissioners in charge

Asia's naphtha crack rose to a 2-1/2 week high on Thursday due to low oil prices but the intermonth spread was at its weakest since 2010 due to an oversupplied market.

US corn futures ended nearly unchanged on Thursday, with the most-active contract stabilizing after dropping to a 3-1/2-year low a day earlier.

The rate of cotton will remain stable when the market will reopen again after the lock down. Due to the lock down no major activity was witnessed on the cotton market on Friday.

The Karachi Port handled 62,966 tonnes of cargo comprising 48,735 tonnes of import cargo and 14,231 tonnes of export cargo including 5,569 loaded and empty containers during the last 24 hours ending at 0700 hours on Friday.

China's iron ore futures dropped on Thursday, after a poll showed the country's GDP growth for the March quarter is expected to decline for the first time in nearly three decades.

On Thursday at Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited, PMEX Commodity Index closed at 3,663. The traded value of metals, energy and COTS/FX was recorded at PKR 5.159 billion and the number of lots traded was 10,891.

The following were the fluctuations observed during the day:

Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures rose on Friday after US President Donald Trump unveiled plans to gradually reopen the coronavirus-hit economy, outweighing downbeat economic data from top consumer China.

Copper rose to a one-month high on Friday on plans for the US economy to re-open and signs of recovery in China's industrial output, even as growth in the top metals consumer contracted in the first quarter.

Oil prices were mixed on Friday, with weak Chinese economic figures and rapidly filling US crude storage offsetting bullishness built on US President Donald Trump's outlines for the US economy to emerge from the coronavirus shutdown.

Raw sugar futures on ICE rose on Friday as the market extended its rebound from a 1-1/2 year low set earlier this week, while cocoa prices also climbed.

Gold fell as much as 2% on Friday after President Donald Trump's new guidelines to re-open the US economy and encouraging early data related to a potential COVID-19 treatment drove investors towards riskier assets.

Sterling was stable on Friday amidst a broad-based weaker dollar after Britain said it would extend its coronavirus lockdown for at least three more weeks.

Asian currencies advanced against a weaker dollar on Friday, with the Indonesian rupiah leading gains, as US President Donald Trump's bid to re-open the economy uplifted the risk sentiment.

The dollar ticked lower on Friday as investors, cautiously optimistic about the results of a drug trial and President Donald Trump's plan to reopen the economy, regained some appetite for risk.

The dollar rose slightly Friday, after an overnight boost to risk sentiment quickly lost momentum and investors returned to a cautious stance about the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown measures.

All timings are in PST (Pakistan Standard Time).

The weather report on Friday (April 17, 2020) and the forecast for Saturday (April 18, 2020).

The following were Thursday official prices.

Official KCA spot rates for local dealings in Pakistan rupees on Friday (April 17, 2020).

Grain and other commodity rates in rupees on Akbari Mandi on Friday (April 17, 2020)

Pakistan Mercantile Exchange - PMEX (Formerly National Commodity Exchange Limited - NCEL) Trading Summary on Friday (April 17, 2020).

Karachi Shipping Intelligence report incorporating changes till 7 am on Friday (April 17, 2020).

The following were the revised rates of debt securities on Friday (April 17, 2020).

The following were the cross transactions between client to client & financial institutions here on Friday (April 17, 2020).

The following transactions member to member subsequently reported on Friday (April 17, 2020).

Mutual Funds Association has issued open-end funds daily prices for Friday (April 17, 2020)

National Clearing Company declares daily settlement information for local & foreign investors on Friday (April 17, 2020).

BRIndex100 and BR Sectoral Indices on Friday (April 17, 2020).

Board Meetings of Companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.