Are you traveling to Pakistan from abroad and need to inquire if you need a mandatory negative coronavirus/Covid-19 test - also called PCR test - before boarding a plane?

It depends on which country you are coming from.

If you are coming from a Category A country, a list of 22 countries made by Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), you do not require the coronavirus PCR test to enter the country. 

The 25 November 2020 updated CAA list of Category A countries include Singapore, which was not included in earlier version.

If you are coming from a Category B country - which is virtually everyone else not on Category A list - you will require a mandatory negative coronavirus PCR test 96 hours before boarding a flight to Pakistan. This is what the latest (25 November 2020) CAA travel advisory for in-bound travel to Pakistan says. This travel advisory is valid till 31 December 2020. 

In the 25 Nov travel advisory, Category C list has been removed.

Before arriving in Pakistan all international travellers are required to fill in the Personal Declaration of Health and Origin and hand it over to the Health Department Staff upon arrival at the airport.

List of 22 Pakistan CAA Category A countries that do not require a PCR test to enter Pakistan

Every country that is not listed in Pakistan CAA Category A is included in Category B. For example, USA, UK, Germany, Italy, UAE, Bahrain are all Category B countries.

Need more details? You can download these documents:

SOP Interantional Inbound wef November 20 2020 Travelling to Pakistan, Do I need a Covid-19 test for travel to Pakistan Category A countries CAA.pdf

COVID-19 SOPs for international arriving passenger flights PDF

If you are travelling from these 22 Category A countries, you do not need a Covid-19 PCR test. Everyone else does

Do I need a Covid-19 test for travel to Pakistan?

Who are the biggest 100 exporters from Pakistan in 2020?

Check this exporters list from Pakistan and their exports worth in USD in FY 2020  in a downloadable format.

These are the top names that produce and export items - like textiles and rice - Pakistan is known for, and bring critical foreign exchange Pakistan needs to meet its fuel and other import needs.

The ranking is based on State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) export earnings.

3.     Artistic Milliners (Private) Limited

4.     Soorty Enterprises (Private) Limited

8.     Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited

10.   U S Apparel & Textiles (Private) Limited

11.   Artistic Fabric & Garment Industries (Private) Limited

12.   Al-Karam Textile Mills (Private) Limited

24.   Indus Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Limited

26.   Riaz Textile Mills (Private) Limited

28.   Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Board

29.   Gohar Textile Mills (Private) Limited

34.   Meskay & Femtee Trading Company (Private) Limited

37.   United Towel Exporters Private Limited

38.   Meskay And Femtee (Private) Limited

43.   MCC Huaye Duddar Mining Company (Pvt) Limited

44.   Al-Karam Towel Industries (Pvt) Limited

48.   Akhtar Textile Industries (Private)Limited

51.   Combined Fabrics (Private) Limited

56.   Arshad Corporation (Private) Limited

57.   Mustaqim Dyeing Printing Industries (Private) Limited

68.   Ali Murtaza Associates (Private) Limited

70.   The Crescent Textile Mills Limited

79.   Irfan Noman Bernas (Private) Limited

81.   Afroze Textiles Industries (Private) Limited

82.   Kassim Textiles (Private) Limited

85.   Haji Muhammad Rice and Processing Mills

88.   Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO)

89.   Kings Apparel Industries (Private) Limited

91.   Sarena Industries and Embroidery Mills (Private) Limited

92.   Stylers International (Private) Limited

93.   Artistic Apparels (Private) Limited

95.   Eastern Garments (Private) Limited

Who are top 100 exporters from Pakistan in 2020?

Top 50 exporters of Pakistan in 2020

Lahore tops the world ranking for worst air quality today, according to AirVisual, the real-time air quality map.

The top ten worst ranked cities include three Indian cities – Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. The Air Quality Index (AQI) 2020 ranking also includes Kabul in Afghanistan, and Chengdu and Beijing in China.

Globally, South Asian cities are far from providing healthy air to their citizens. Bad air quality decreases average life expectancy besides being a source of the spread of diseases.

Since the AQI ranking is real-time, the city ranking may change as the air quality changes.

Every year in early winters, Lahore and adjoining cities are hit by smog. See, above photo.

See also: Faisalabad world’s 3rd dirtiest city; Lahore 10th

Lahore tops world ranking for worst air quality in Air Quality Index (AQI) 2020

Lahore tops world ranking for worst air quality

Institute of Media & Communications (IMC) is a Pakistani think-tank devoted to media issues that concern media in Pakistan and Asian region.

The IMC (then Institute of Mass Communication) was set up as a sole-proprietor firm in 1993 in Islamabad, with office in F-7 Jinnah Super Market. Wali Zahid was its founding Executive Director.

The IMC was featured in Dawn and The News, and had The Muslim as the strategic partner. Islamabad-based advertising agency, Orient McCann Erickson supported IMC.

Wali Zahid’s recent media accomplishments

Received the 2016 Journalist of the Year Award by Agahi, an affiliate of World Economic Forum (WEF), Switzerland and supported by Australian High Commission in Islamabad

Featured by BBC Urdu Service in ‘Who to follow on Social Media’

Independence-Day lead articles in The News, Pakistan’s largest-circulation English-language daily on Pakistan of future & Pakistan in 2050

2017 economic and political forecasts published by Express Tribune, the Pakistan affiliate paper of The New York Times

Op-Ed pieces in The News and The Nation on Pakistan, SCO, CPEC and China matters

Appeared on Dunya News, 92 News HD, Waqt News, BOL TV, PTV News and Business Plus channels on Pakistan, CPEC and BRI

China media: During 2017-18, was interviewed or wrote for People’s Daily, China, Global Times, China Radio International (CRI), CRI English, CRI Online, CRI Urdu, China Pictorial, China-India Dialogue, Beijing

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: Wali Zahid

During the 1993-1998, IMC offered short-term certificate courses (8 to 14 weeks duration) in Islamabad in these areas:

The students and faculty published a six-monthly journal called The Communicator, which carried student writings.

Many of the alumni are now in senior positions in various media outlets. Some of them are:

Saman Ansari (then PTV hostess and FM RJ; now appears in TV plays)

Naveed Ahmad (Jefferson Fellow, The News/Geo, now international correspondent)

Ahmed Mukhtar (Bureau Chief, Abb Takk News)

Fariha Tahir Shah (formerly with Nokia, NCR, Microsoft, CAA)

Javaid Malik (Brandeis alum, now with DfID)

A high-powered faculty was arranged to teach these courses. They included big-names like:

Syed Talat Hussain (The News, Geo TV then)

Ziauddin Ahmad (Editor Dawn, Express Tribune, then)

Shujaat Ali (The News cartoonist then; formerly with Al-Jazeera TV)

Muhammad Malick (Interflow & Dawn then, formerly MD PTV)

Tasneem Ahmer (then university faculty at QAU)

Absar Alam (The Nation then, former Pemra Chairman)

Navid Zafar (Late, Director Current Affairs PTV then)

Salman Wasay (then Paktel, later Ufone, now Chaaye Khana)

Mahmood Hashmi (owner, Orient McCann Erickson)

Allauddin Masood (DG Public Relations Pakistan Senate then)

Prof Zakariyya Sajid (President Press Institute of Pakistan then, formerly Chairman, Mass Communication Department at Karachi University)

Wali Zahid (Executive Director IMC then; President IMC now)

IMC participation in notable events | 1993-2003 

Along with public-run courses, IMC also organised these high-profile customised invitation-only events:

Led on training of civil-service officers of Information Group and GHQ at Information Service Academy | 1994-95

Assisted Press Institute of Pakistan’s Legislative Reporting workshop in Islamabad and Lahore, with chief guest Syed Yusuf Raza Gillani, National Assembly Speaker then, Pakistan Prime Minister later | 1994

Participated in Pakistan Foreign Office course on Media Diplomacy | 1994

In-house training for the editorial staff of The Muslim, Islamabad with Robert S Mellis, ICFJ Knight Fellow, and an editor with The Miami Herald, Florida, USA | 1995

Participated in Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) course in Defence Reporting and field visits to the Line of Control and Siachen Glacier | 1997

Represented IMC in International Institute for Journalism’s two-month Training of Trainers workshop in Berlin, Germany (1996)

Represented IMC in Pearson Peacekeeping Centre’s two-week workshop in Nova Scotia, Canada | 1997

Represented IMC in month-long Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution summer school in Schlaining, Austria | 1998

Represented IMC in week-long International Security Seminar at GIIS, Geneva, Switzerland | 1998

Worked with the Knight Fellow of International Centre for Foreign Journalists (ICFJ) Washington DC | 1995

Worked with the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) Singapore | 1995

Visited the International Centre for Foreign Journalists Washington DC | 2001

Arranged talks and presentations by Deans of British University media programmes in Pakistan, like UWE Bristol | 1995

Made a presentation at the University of California at Berkeley’s annual South Asia Conference on government and press relations | 2001

Arranged a week-long Train the Trainer for Journalists workshop for PPI and Pakistan Press Foundation’s editors in Karachi | 2001

Attended a South Asian Editors Conference on Media Self Regulation in Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the invitation of Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) London | 2002

Contributed to Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) London’s book on Imperfect Freedom: The case for self-regulation in the Commonwealth press | 2003

Arranged a two-day Media Management workshop for GrameenPhone Bangladesh’s general managers in Dhaka | 2006

Arranged a 10-day Media outreach workshop for Pakistani and Bangladeshi TV anchors and media people and civil society organisations with Search for Common Ground USA (SCG) in Nepal | 2008

Arranged a Train the Trainer workshop in Investigative Journalism for Afghan Master Trainers and journalists in Kabul | 2009

Produced A Guide in Investigative Journalism for Afghan journalists in Kabul | 2008-09

Produced a Trainers’ Manual in Investigative Journalism for Afghan Master Trainers and journalists in Kabul | 2008-09

Created fact sheets on CPEC and OBOR and confronted false propaganda on social media | 2015-onwards

Made a multimedia presentation on Leveraging social media for the success of CPEC-OBOR at Chinese Embassy Islamabad & China Study Centre’s International CPEC/OBOR conference at Islamabad Marriott | 2016

Project Ignorance: How fake news are spread in Pakistan using photoshops and Whatsapp | 2016-onwards

Conducted an online survey on Who are top 10 Pakistani TV news anchors? | 2016

Represented Pakistan in Think-Tanks Exchanges meeting at global Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on 14-15 May 2017

Was invited by China Radio International (CRI) to visit China’s achievements in technology and culture in May 2018

Produced an analysis on Shanghai Cooperation Organisation What is in for Pakistan and India in SCO Qingdao Summit? for China-India Dialogue, Beijing

Future projects media and social media | 2017-2020

Planned ranking of top 10 male and female news and current affairs anchors on Pakistan TV

Planned ranking of top 10 columnists in Pakistan print media in English and Urdu language newspapers

Planned ranking of top 10 Twitter and Facebook social influencers

Wali Zahid is an award-winning journalist, futurist, disruptor, blogger, social media strategist, reformer, LinkedIn writer and author of iBook, Great Training in 10 Steps.

He runs a #Pakistan2050 hashtag on Twitter and appears on national TV on issues of significance to Pakistan. His claim to fame is this recent piece: Back to the future: Pakistan in 2050. In 2016, he won Journalist of the Year Award by Agahi. 

On walizahid.com, he’s writing a series called How We Messed Up Pakistan.

As CEO of SkillCity, he coaches several Fortune-500 CEOs on leadership.

He’s founder of a global movement for humanizing medical education and practice. Since 1993, he is founder President of Institute of Media & Communications where top journalists taught print and TV media courses.

He can be reached on Twitter @walizahid and on Facebook where he has over 150,000 fans.

All you wanted to know about Institute of Media & Communications (IMC), a Pakistani think-tank

Institute of Media & Communications (IMC) Pakistan: A brief profile

25 October 2020: After a delay of nearly three years, the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) starts its commercial service.

As an early harvest project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Orange Line was constructed by China State Railway Group Co Ltd and China North Industries Corporation and was operated by Guangzhou Metro Group, Norinco International and Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service.

27 energy-saving electric trains, each comprising five air-conditioned wagons, with the operating speed of 80km per hour, provides a comfortable, secure and economical traveling facility to 250,000 passengers daily, according to Xinhua.

One-way train fare from Dera Gujran to Ali Town is Rs 40 (25 US cents).

Below is a timeline of how it all happened over the years.

9 August 2018: The OLMT is likely to face more delays as the caretaker government has stopped the payments for all ongoing projects. Earlier, the contractors were advised to wait till 25 July Election Day. However, it is now being indicated that the fate of all development projects will be decided by the new government. – Express Tribune

16 May: Test run ceremony of OLMT was held today at Islam Park station.

27 Feb: History in the making: The Lahore citizens saw a trial run of OLMT today. The train, as part of its trial run, was run near its depot and authorities said that a 12km portion of the track, from Dera Gujran to Lakshmi Chowk, will be completed during this week.

2 Feb: Islampark Station: In an attempt to make up for the loss of time caused due to the stay order of the Lahore High Court on the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project for 14 months, the construction work is being continued at an expedited speed, a senior government official said.

8 Dec 2017: The Supreme Court dismisses the decision of Lahore High Court halting work on selected sites of the OLMT project.

The court accepts the appeal of the Punjab government against the LHC decision with conditions and rules by a 4-1 judgment that it observes no illegalities in the multi-billion-rupee project.

A five-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, had reserved its verdict in the case on April 17 this year. The bench includes Justices Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Maqbool Baqar, Ijazul Ahsan and Mazhar Alam Miankhel.

Although the court allows the Punjab government to go ahead with the project at the same speed, the bench sets 31 conditions to ensure the project’s transparency. It also asks for forming a five-member technical committee with overarching authority for a year. 

The committee will include experts from the archaeology department as well as a former Supreme Court justice. It will present its recommendations to the chief minister. – Geo

6 Dec: The Chinese staff will control and supervise the functioning of the OLMT for five years. Adviser to CM Khawaja Ahmad Hassan says that the Chinese staff will impart training to the local staff, which would enable them to operate the train system later.

8 Oct: The first train for OLMT, which arrived in Lahore from China this week, was unveiled by the Punjab CM.

Only 12 weeks are left in the expiry of 25 December deadline. The authorities are in no position to announce a fresh deadline as three different cases – environment, heritage and transparency – are with courts.

The authorities say they have alternative plans A, B and C ready to deal with every situation although the details of these fallback plans cannot be divulged at this stage. More later this month.

25 Sept: The first shipment of rolling stock for OLMT, which arrived in Karachi from China last week, is to reach Lahore this week.

23 train sets will arrive in Lahore by the end of this year. Coaches for all the 27 trains will be available in Lahore by mid-March 2018.

75 per cent of civil work OLMT Project has been completed so far. Progress:

Package-I from Dera Gujran, GT Road to Chauburji: 86.2 percent

Package-II from Chauburji to Ali Town: 53.5 percent

Stabling Yard near Ali Town: 75.3 percent

15 May: A train designed for OLMT rolled off the production line in central China’s Hunan. It is the first of the 27 trains being bought for OLMT. The trains will arrive in Lahore by end of year.

26 April: Preliminary work for laying track for OLMT project starts at Islam Park station while first consignment of rolling stock from China will be received in June.

17 April: The Supreme Court reserves its judgement in the case of OLMT Project in Lahore after two weeks of hearings.

A five-judge bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan continued to hear an appeal by the Punjab government against the Lahore High Court’s August 2016 order that had suspended the construction of the Rs 45 billion OLMT within 200 feet of 11 historical sites in the city.

2 Feb: LDA, Nespak and TEPA have been directed for remodelling of roads through U-turns, intersections and other solutions at appropriate points for smooth flow of vehicles along 27km track of OLMT, passing through busy and congested areas of Lahore city.

Meanwhile, OLMT’s Chinese contractors, CR-NORINCO, strongly criticise the Punjab government for its failure to get a go-ahead from a court to start construction at 12 heritage sites under litigation. The delay has lasted over a year. The contractors ask authorities to outline the time period required to get OLMT project cleared from the court. No construction activity can start on the underground central station near Mall Road until then.

Package-I from Dera Gujran, G T Road to Chauburji: 75 percent

Package-II from Chauburji to Ali Town: 45 percent

Package-III depot near Dera Gujran: 63 percent

Package-IV Stabling Yard near Ali Town: 59 percent

26 Jan 2017: The FBR issues a notification to grant ECC-approved Rs 20 billion exemption from taxes and duties on the import of machinery and equipment for the Lahore’s OLMT project.

21 Nov 2016: The OLMT project will not be able to meet its Dec 2017 completion deadline, a senior technical expert associated with the project told Dawn.

Work on package-II of the project has been on hold after the Punjab government cancelled the contract awarded to the Maqbool and Calson Joint Venture (MCJV) and re-tendered the project to another firm, Zahir Khan & Brothers (ZKB).

26 Oct: OLMT project may face substantial delays as construction has been stopped near 11 heritage sites on court orders while the contract of one of the builders for Package-II has been revoked for sluggish performance.

More than 50 percent of ground civil works on Package-1 between Dera Gujran and Chauburji is complete.

To find replacement contractor for remaining civil works on Package-2 between Chauburji and Ali Town, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has received seven new bids. Time for completion of remaining civil works has now been increased from 130 days to 150 days.

The Chinese contractors will start laying rail tracks and initiate electrical works on completed sections of the OLMT track from January 2017.

It may be challenging for the Chinese engineers to install rails before the deadline as construction activity has already been delayed by nearly a year.

The Metro train will run on 750 volts of electricity. Lahore Electricity Supply Company (Lesco) has started constructing new grid stations which will be up and running before the project’s completion date.

14 Oct: The Sup­reme Court appoin­ts a two-man commission of experts for re-verification of the environmental assessment reports on OLMT project of Lahore in 30 days. It will comprise TYPSA-Asian Consulting Engineers and Prof Robin Conin­gham, an expert on archaeology.

15 Sept: Work starts on manufacturing 27 automatic trains for OLMT project.

19 Aug: Lahore High Court (LHC) stops Metro train construction near 11 heritage sites. These are: Shalamar Garden, Gulabi Bagh Gateway, Buddhu ka Awa, Chauburji, Zebunnisa’s Tomb, Lakshmi Building, GPO, Aiwan-i-Auqaf, Sup­reme Court’s Lahore registry, St Andrews Presbyterian Church and Baba Mauj Darya Bukhari’s shrine. Appeal is to go to Supreme Court.

19 Aug: LHC dismisses petitions regarding environmental concerns related to OLMT.

23 Feb 2016: EXIM Bank of China is giving soft loan to the Punjab government for OLMT project, tweeted CM. The loans will be payable in 20 years.

It is for the first time that tendering took place in the govt-to-govt (G2G) mode of financing. NORINCO, the lowest bidder, quoted a cost of $2.139 billion.

The Punjab government negotiated with the contractor to bring the cost down and was able to secure a saving of more than $600 million. They settled on $1.47 billion (PKR 154 billion) as the project cost.

10 Oct 2015: PM Sharif chairs a meeting on OLMT project in Lahore as civil works start on Multan Road and Metro route.

21 June: Civilian work on OLMT starts this week by the Punjab government. Geotagging to complete by 28 June: Nespak

14 May: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) gives a go-ahead to the Rs165.2/$1.62 billion OLMT project, which will be funded by a $1.6 billion concessionary loan from China.

OLMT is part of 50+ CPEC projects which were signed during the visit of China’s President Xi Jingping to Pakistan.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: Wali Zahid

28 April 2015: The Provincial Development Working Party in Punjab approves Orange LineMetro Train (OLMT) in Lahore at the cost of Rs 165.2 billion ($1.6 billion).

A representative delegation of China Railways and Norinco International China had met Punjab CM earlier this month and agreed on the OLMT project.

OLMT project will result in speedy, comfortable and economical transport facilities to the citizens and will revolutionise transport system.

The 27/1km OLMT will be completed in three years including delays. 26 stations will be constructed on the route and nearly 200,000 people will commute every day. Operating speed will be 80 km/h (50 mph).

OLMT will prove to be a milestone in mass-transit railway (MTR) transport.

Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) Lahore Highlights:

Track: 25.4km elevated; 1.72km underground

Cost (revised): Rs 154 billion (US$1.5 billion)

The beginning, the delays and the start of the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) as it happened

Lahore Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) starts service

25 October 2020: After a delay of nearly three years, the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) starts its commercial service. As an early harvest project under CPEC, the Orange Line was constructed by China State Railway Group Co Ltd and China North Industries Corporation and was operated by Guangzhou Metro Group, Norinco International and Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service. 27 energy-saving electric trains, each comprising five air-conditioned wagons, with the operating speed of 80km per hour, provides a comfortable, secure and economical traveling facility to 250,000 passengers daily, according to Xinhua. Our separate story here.

Wali Zahid

Do I need a Covid-19 test for travel to Pakistan?

Top 50 exporters of Pakistan in 2020

Lahore tops world ranking for worst air quality

Institute of Media & Communications (IMC) Pakistan: A brief profile

Lahore Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) starts service

CPEC fact sheet: 2013-2020 by IMC & Wali Zahid

In two years, Pakistan economy nosedives

How China contained coronavirus breakout

Disappointed Pakistani COVID-19 mobile app developer turns to web for lack of govt initiative

Trust China to overcome Coronavirus epidemic

List of top 100 exporters of Pakistan in 2019

If beating US economy by trillion $ every year is an indicator, China to emerge victor from trade war with US

Faisalabad world’s 3rd dirtiest city; Lahore 10th

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