The officials on Sunday created a breach in the dyke surrounding Manchar Lake at the RD-14 point in an effort to safeguard the nation’s largest lake and lessen the pressure of water entering the reservoir amid disastrous floods. Personnel from the Pakistan Army and Rangers were sent to help the civil government.

Manchar Lake is one of the biggest lakes in Asia and the largest freshwater lake in Pakistan. In Jamshoro District and Dadu District, west of the Indus River, it is situated 18 kilometres from Sehwan Sharif.

According to the Sindh Irrigation Department, “after the break, the water would join Indus River via travelling through Kiranpur village and Indus Link.”

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The breach will reduce the water pressure into the lake by 30%.

The ring embankments built to prevent floods in the cities of Johi and Mehar,  were under increasing pressure. To strengthen the dykes, locals were dropping stones and other flood-fighting supplies.

Last night, localities situated near Manchar Lake had been directed to evacuate to safer places as the water level at the lake has increased to a dangerous level, posing a threat to breaking the dyke.

The Indus River has been spewing a torrent of floodwater through Mud Mangi in Nawabshah for the past 24 hours, posing a fresh flood threat to numerous Sindh cities, including Badin and Juhi, prompting the ordering of evacuations.

The flood victims are on the streets as no help has arrived for their relief. There was also a shortage of drinking water, and the flood victims are faced with hunger and various diseases.

Getting a credit card is a rite of passage for many young adult professionals seeking financial independence. At the same time, having this gleaming rectangular card comes with a great deal of responsibility. Despite the fact that credit cards have become an important financial tool and a common mode of payment, people who misuse them might find themselves in serious financial difficulties. So, if you’re on the fence about having one, here are a few things you should know about credit cards in Pakistan before making your decision.

Pros and Cons of using credit cards

One of the biggest advantages of using a credit card in Pakistan is that you may get around without having to carry your wallet. Not to mention, using a credit card expands your purchasing options by allowing you to purchase goods and services both online and over the phone. Customers can earn reward points with some credit cards for every transaction, which can then be redeemed later. Credit cards in Pakistan provide convenience and access to online shopping, as well as the ability to pay for products in installments rather than all at once.

Users of credit cards in Pakistan (and elsewhere in the globe) risk accruing debt if their spending patterns do not correspond to their monthly income. Because credit card users do not have to hand over cash, they may be tempted to buy more than they can afford. Furthermore, credit card bills suck up a significant portion of your monthly income before you even receive it. Another danger of using credit cards is the chance of fraud or misuse. Interest rates and late fees can be costly, and deciphering the fine print can be difficult.

Read: Some Popular Schemes to get a loan in Pakistan

Apply for credit card in Pakistan

In Pakistan, getting a credit card is rather simple.

Customers in Pakistan can choose from a variety of credit cards offered by their banks. Credit limits, reward points, discounts, annual fees, and interest rates are among the features that differentiate these credit cards.

To begin, you must first open an account with the bank of your choice. In general, banks in Pakistan that offer credit cards demand the following documents:

Original CNIC or NICOP (for Pakistanis living abroad) and a certified copy
Proof of earnings (the latest salary slip etc.)
A copy of a recent utility bill is required.
Form-B or a copy of your birth certificate (for minors)
The guardian’s student ID card and proof of income (for students)
Customers must additionally complete an additional form that specifies the credit limit, primary charge, rate of interest, minimum payment, and other important terms and conditions in addition to the account opening form.

To assist first-time credit card customers, almost all banks include a handbook with the card.

Getting a loan in Pakistan has always been like winning the lottery. A large potential customer base has been untapped due to a large amount of documentation, the need for collateral, and the slant of commercial banks toward the corporate sector.

The good news is that it’s 2022, and today, a few microfinance banks can process your microloans immediately, allowing you to get a small sum in seconds. However, for larger loans, we’ve selected a few popular options for you.

These loan schemes can help you if you want to;

• Expand your existing business in any sector
• Start a new one, a startup
• Buy a property or build a house

1- The Kamyab Jawan Program (KJP)

The Kamyab Jawan Program (KJP), includes many schemes for Pakistan’s young population, ranging from 18 to 45 years old.

If your initiative is in the sector of IT or e-commerce, the government may reconsider its age restrictions.

The Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme, for example, is a program that actively disburses loans in Pakistan to young people who want to expand their enterprises or start new ones.

The program offers a minimum of Rs. 100,000 and a maximum of Rs. 25 million at a markup rate of 3–5% each year for a maximum tenure of 8 years.

It’s really hassle-free to apply for the KJP– no need to get caught in the web of documents and printouts. Just hit the official website of KJP and apply digitally.

2- SME Asaan Finance (SAAF)

SME Asaan Finance is one of the few initiatives in Pakistan that encourages small and medium businesses to apply for a simple loan.

SMEs are critical to the economy. SAAF is also part of the government’s initiative to make simple loans available to businesses in Pakistan, allowing them to contribute up to 40% of GDP and 25% of export revenues.

SMEs without collateral must rely on borrowings from the informal sector, which can be as high as 25%. With only a 9% markup, SAAF can assist them.

Habib Bank, United Bank, Allied Bank, Meezan Bank, Bank Alfalah, The Bank of Punjab, and JS Bank have been chosen by the government for collateral-free loans.

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3- Roshan Apna Ghar scheme

Overseas Pakistanis can now use their Roshan Digital Accounts to finance homes in Pakistan.

After Roshan Apni Auto for car finance, Roshan Samaaji Khidmat for gift, and Naya Pakistan Certificates, the State Bank of Pakistan has launched the Roshan Apna Apna Ghar Scheme for Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs).

All commercial banks can handle applications from Pakistanis living abroad who want to buy a plot or a house. Simply go to the bank’s website where your Roshan Digital Account is active to learn more about the Roshan Apna Ghar Scheme.

In Pakistan, there is no maximum loan amount, and it is solely dependent on the applicant’s ability to repay the loan.

4- Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar

Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar is a housing project that attempts to meet the need for personal dwellings in Pakistan by providing people with a simple and reasonable loan for house financing.

The State Bank of Pakistan is closely monitoring commercial banks to ensure that low-interest loans are disbursed to applicants, for which the State Bank has set monthly required targets for all banks.

Commercial banks are even penalized by the State Bank for refusing to consider loan applications. On its website, the regulator has dedicated a page to housing financing.

For the first five years, the middle-income group can get their five marla houses financed for a 5% markup and their ten marla houses at a 7% markup.

According to a study, people possess various versions of two scent receptors for musk and body odour, which suggests that humans’ sense of smell is steadily disappearing.

Olfactory receptors detect substances in the air that enter our noses, but smell receptors differ greatly from person to person.

In this new study, Bingjie Li of the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health and colleagues asked 1,000 Han Chinese people and 364 ethnically diverse people from New York to take a whiff of 10 scents, including two odours that people often perceive differently or not at all: a synthetic musk called Galaxolide, and a key molecule associated with body odour from human underarms.

What they found supports a long-standing hypothesis that human sense of smell may have degraded over time due to changes in the genes that encode our smell receptors. Not everyone agrees with that hypothesis, however (more on that later).

The researchers discovered two new scent receptors: one for Galaxolide, a ‘clean’, sweet, and powdery smell found in many fragrances, and another for 3M2H, one of around 120 chemicals that make up human body odour.

Read: A new study suggests that humans are gradually losing their sense of smell

People’s perceptions of scents were affected by mutations in the genes encoding these receptors, but genetics only explains a small part of the difference.

“The typical [olfactory] study focuses on Western participants, who live in a culture where olfaction is not particularly elaborated,” psychologist Asifa Majid from Radboud University told Yong in 2017.

“But people in other parts of the world are better at odor detection, discrimination and naming,” such as the Jahai people of Malaysia, Majid said.

Maybe most of us are just out of practice.

The study was published in PLOS Genetics.