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  • COVID-19 in Gilgit: Another health worker passes as region awaits Chinese help

    Days after Dr Usama Riaz died due to coronavirus, another health worker in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has passed away.

    According to reports, 55-year-old Malik Ashdar was looking after suspected and confirmed coronavirus patients in Nagar district, but due to the lack of protective gear among health workers, he soon developed coronavirus symptoms. After spending a week in an isolation centre, he passed away on Sunday while his test reports came hours later, confirming his infection.

    A number of health workers continue to perform their duties in the area without proper protective gear. There are currently 34 confirmed cases of the virus in the district, including 11 locally-transmitted cases, but health officials and residents suspect there could be more cases and have urged the federal government to ensure the provision of better facilities.

    Muhammad Jamil, a local resident, told Pakistan Today that there are currently 100 suspects who are either waiting for their test results or are awaiting the test itself. When asked about Ashdar, he said that the health worker was not given proper treatment in the isolation centre.

    Although his test results came positive, the GB Information Department is yet to confirm his death as the second coronavirus casualty in the area.

    The report also quoted an official of the GB Health Department as saying that due to the non-availability of testing kits, no suspected patient was tested in the past three days. The official said that the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Gilgit has limited resources and the fact that samples have to be sent there manually also causes a delay in treating patients effectively. However, he added, China’s assistance in this regard would enable GB to conduct more tests.

  • Govt hints at imposing curfew as over 470 arrested for violating Sindh lockdown

    Govt hints at imposing curfew as over 470 arrested for violating Sindh lockdown

    With people ignoring the provincial government’s orders amid the coronavirus outbreak, which led to at least 472 arrests on the first day of the lockdown on Monday, Sindh Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah has hinted at imposing curfew across the province.

    The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government had on Sunday imposed a 15-day lockdown effective March 23 as Pakistan continued to report cases of coronavirus. Across Sindh, six violators were on Monday arrested in Mirpur Khas, eight in Sukkur, 236 in Larkana and 222 in Karachi for violating the lockdown.

    Separately, a total of 72 cases were registered across the province. In Karachi, 33 cases were registered, whereas two in Mirpurkhas, one in Sukkur, and 36 in Larkana.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Shah said that the government would be left with no option other than imposing a curfew if people still did not take the lockdown orders seriously.

    He once again appealed to the people to stay at home and support the government in the fight against COVID-19.

    According to reports, the number of confirmed infections in Pakistan has reached 903. At least seven deaths have also been recorded with Punjab reporting its first on Tuesday.

    Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has said the patient was a 57-year-old and was under treatment at Lahore’s Mayo Hospital.

  • COVID-19: Doctors accuse govt of providing free test kits to Shaukat Khanum but not public hospitals

    As the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — continues to spread in Punjab, Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) has accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of providing free test kits to Shaukat Khanum Hospital but not public sector hospitals.

    Addressing a press conference in Lahore, YDA office demanded safety kits for the entire staff of hospitals dealing with suspected coronavirus patients, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, and termed the arrangements made by the government as insufficient.

    They said that the safety kits provided to the doctors in hospitals were not according to the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and they were working under highly vulnerable circumstances. “The N95 masks are not available in the hospitals despite the fact that the staff treating [COVID-19] patients used the same mask in all hospitals worldwide,” the doctors said.

    President of YDA Punjab Dr Salman Haseeb Chaudhry said that the isolation wards should be established outside the hospitals according to the guidelines of the WHO. “The isolation wards inside the hospitals are high risk,” he said, adding that there was an urgent need of 4,500 ventilators in hospitals to deal with the pandemic but unfortunately Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid had “failed miserably to deal with it”.

    He also accused the government of providing free test kits to Shaukat Khanum Hospital.

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    “But public sector hospitals are unable to get the same by the government.”

    According to Dr Salman, all doctors, nurses and paramedics were working in very vulnerable circumstances without proper safety kits and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan would be responsible if any unfortunate incident took place.

    Meanwhile, The Express Tribune quoted an official of Shaukat Khanum Hospital as saying that around two dozen citizens approached the hospital for free coronavirus test, of whom the hospital management has conducted tests of eight or nine individuals who had recent travel history, while the remaining citizens were sent back after prescribing medicines.

    He said that the hospital had a limited number of coronavirus test kits that cannot be used for every citizen who has doubt of the infection. Responding to a question, he indicated that the government has notified coronavirus test rate of Rs7,900 but it is being conducted free of cost.

    A representative of a laboratory disclosed that it also has a coronavirus test facility against payment of Rs7,900 as notified by the government. However, several citizens complained that some private hospitals were charging over Rs9,000 for the same test.

    It is pertinent to note that that government has notified 14 laboratories for coronavirus tests, one of which is Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital, Lahore.

  • ‘Nawaz Sharif as PM barred Foreign Office from speaking against India,’ ex-diplomat claims

    ‘Nawaz Sharif as PM barred Foreign Office from speaking against India,’ ex-diplomat claims

    Former spokesperson for the Foreign Office (FO) Tasneem Aslam has claimed that former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif had barred the FO from commenting against India and its spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is currently in Pakistan’s custody.

    “Nawaz Sharif did not want to say anything against India and Jadhav through the Foreign Office,” she claimed during an interview with a YouTube channel being run by journalist Isa Naqvi.

    When asked if Nawaz’s instruction benefited the country, Tasneem, who worked as FO spokesperson twice — from 2005 to 2007 under military ruler General (r) Pervez Musharraf and during the last Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government between 2013 and 2017, said it “did not benefit the country” but she did not know “whether it benefited Nawaz’s own interests or not”.

    She said Nawaz had business interests in India and he did not meet Muslim leaders of India-held Kashmir when he visited India as the premier. “Usually, every PM of Pakistan meets Hurriyat leaders but Nawaz Sharif did not meet them when he visited India.”

    Nawaz had visited India in 2014. Aslam further said even in his speech at the United Nations (UN) summit, Nawaz did not talk about India and Jadhav but on the Kashmir issue.

    Meanwhile, PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb told Dawn that the comments by a retired FO official bore no resemblance to reality. “It is a false and biased expression of an individual’s views, based on her personal predilections.”

    Recalling efforts made by Nawaz to resolve the Kashmir dispute, she said that “the principled manner in which he dealt with the issue of Pakistan’s relations with its eastern neighbour was well documented”.

    Marriyum added that the former premier’s address to the UN General Assembly in 2016 contained the most forceful references ever to the issue of Kashmir and the most powerful condemnation of the atrocities and brutalities of the Indian occupation forces.

    The former diplomat’s statements have not been very well-received by Twitterati either.

    What do you think of Tasneem’s statement? Let The Current know in the comments.

  • Hamza Shehbaz ‘avoids coronavirus’ in meeting with ex-Punjab Assembly speaker

    Hamza Shehbaz ‘avoids coronavirus’ in meeting with ex-Punjab Assembly speaker

    As the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — continues to spread across the globe and the infections tally in Pakistan reaches 94, many, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shehbaz, have been spotted avoiding direct physical contact such as handshakes, and resorting to new, cooler ways of greeting others.

    A viral photo on Monday showed the leader of opposition in the Punjab Assembly (PA) greeting PML-N leader and ex-speaker of the provincial house, Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan, with an elbow bump instead of a handshake during a meeting in the former’s chamber.

    The two had met on Saturday to discuss the current political and economic situation of the country. PML-N Punjab lawmakers and local leaders were also in attendance.

    While Hamza might be the first prominent Pakistani to be spotted resorting to an elbow bump amid coronavirus fears, he is not the first political leader in the world to be doing so.

    United States (US) President Donald Trump was last week seen elbow bumping health executive Bruce Greenstein following a press conference during which a national emergency in response to coronavirus outbreak was declared.

    Here are a few other leaders avoiding physical contact as per the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO):

    Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi being welcomed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda as he arrives to attend a party meeting in New Delhi.
    US Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the government’s coronavirus task force, greets a woman at the Washington State Emergency Operations Center during a tour.
    Union parties leader Alexander Dobrindt greets German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a Buddhist style to avoid a handshake in times of coronavirus.

    Globally, more than 6,000 people have died and more than 156,000 have been infected by COVID-19 as the disease spreads rapidly to new territories.

  • Cable operators directed to shut down Geo TV

    Cable operators directed to shut down Geo TV

    Soon after Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan’s press conference on the arrest of Jang/Geo Group owner Mir Shakilur Rehman, cable operators started receiving directions to shut down Geo TV’s broadcast or shift the channel to last numbers, the private media outlet has reported.

    The channel was shifted to last numbers in various cities and its broadcast was also disrupted after Dr Firdous’ presser. Geo’s News Director Rana Jawad said that the directives to cable operators had come from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). 

    “Cable operators are being asked to change Geo’s position [on TV channel numbers]. Shifting the channel to the last numbers means shutting down its broadcast,” he said.

    Jawad said these instructions were also given to the main cable operator in Islamabad and that no legal basis was provided for the action. He said that PEMRA was threatening to take legal actions against cable operators who did not comply with the instructions. 

    He said that Geo tried to contact PEMRA chairman for clarification on the matter but he could not be reached. Jawad added that a cable operator in Islamabad had shifted Geo from number 7 to 71 and that cable operators in other cities were following suit. 

    “This is being done at a time when the editor-in-chief of the Jang/Geo Group has been arrested by NAB,” he said. “This [censorship] is a manifestation of the conspiracy to shut down, silence and end media,” he added.

  • Pashtun singer spotted shooting TikTok video at KP CM’s official residence

    Pashtun singer spotted shooting TikTok video at KP CM’s official residence

    Months after heated debates regarding TikTok star Hareem Shah’s connections within the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) made headlines, a viral video has shown renowned Pashtun singer Sofia Kaif walking around what reports claim is the official residence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan.

    According to reports, Sofia, who was present at the CM House in Peshawar for a ceremony held in one of its lawns, went inside to record the TikTok video shot in a hall of the provincial chief executive’s residence. In the video, the staff of the CM House can also be seen facilitating her.

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    This is not the first time a TikTok video has shown an internet celebrity walking around an official building.

    Before Sofia, who had reportedly been invited as a singer to the ceremony at the CM House, Hareem Shah, who had become an internet sensation after her viral videos with influential political leaders took the country by storm, had also been spotted walking around the Foreign Ministry’s office in a TikTok video.

    An investigation had been launched into Hareem’s video, following which multiple controversies involving senior political figures had allegedly forced her to leave the country.

  • China, Russia, Italy make Pakistan 11th largest arms importer in world

    Pakistan is the 11th largest arms importer in the world, a report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) — an institute that tracks arms deals around the world — has revealed.

    As per the figures released by SIPRI, China, Russia and Italy are the main suppliers of arms to Pakistan, with Beijing accounting for 73% of the total imports during 2015-2019, and Moscow as well as Rome accounting for 6.6% and 6.1%, respectively.

    The actual share of Pakistani imports in the world has, however, decreased by 39% during the said period, the report revealed. The overall decrease in Pakistan’s arms imports over the latest five-year period was linked to the United States’ (US) decision to stop military aid to the country.

    The institute further noted that Pakistan was among the top three buyers of arms from top weapons exporters like Italy and Turkey. Pakistan had a 7.5% share in arms imports from Italy between 2015-2019, and 12% share in Turkish arms over the same period.

    SIPRI also identified a significant drop in arms sales to South Asia by the US, which was listed as the largest arms exporter in the world between 2015-2019. The institute noted that US arms imports to Pakistan declined by 92%, and to India by 51% over this period. The US, which had accounted for 30% of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2010–14, was responsible for only 4.1% in 2015–19.

    Meanwhile, Islamabad was identified as the largest buyer of Chinese arms between 2015-2019, accounting for 35% of the arms exported by Beijing — the fifth largest exporter of weapons in the world in the five-year period.

    According to SIPRI, China accounted for 51% of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2010–14 and for 73% in 2015–19. SIPRI also noted that Pakistan continued to import arms from Europe, strengthening relations with Turkey with orders for 30 combat helicopters and four frigates in 2018.

    India, on the other hand, has retained its position as the second-largest arms importer in the world followed by Saudi Arabia that now imports 12% of its arms (2015-19) as against 5.6% in 2010-14 — a jump of 130%, the report said.

  • PTM lawmakers travel to Kabul on Afghan army helicopter

    PTM lawmakers travel to Kabul on Afghan army helicopter

    Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) lawmakers Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir on Monday got a free ride on an Afghan National Army helicopter from the Pak-Afghan border crossing to Kabul to attend the oath-taking ceremony of President Ashraf Ghani, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

    Mohsin Dawar thanked Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for delaying his oath, because of the two Pakistani legislators who were barred by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from flying to Kabul for being on the Exit Control List (ECL).

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Sunday gave one-time permission to the two Pashtun legislators to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Afghan President Ghani.

    Mohsin Dawar, in his tweet after reaching Kabul, said, “Wanted to express my gratitude to President @ashrafghani for delaying his oath-taking for the arrival of @Aliwazirna50 and myself.”

    The Afghan government specially dispatched a military helicopter to rush the two parliamentarians to the ceremony from Torkham.

    Mohsin Dawar, in another Twitter post, from Kabul said, “Overwhelmed by the welcome we have received here. Wishing a peaceful future for Afghanistan and the region.”

    Dawar also shared some pictures showing them travelling in an Afghan army helicopter.

    According to Afghan media, before reaching Kabul, the PTM leaders also briefly visited some officials in eastern Nangarhar province.

  • Army colonel martyred in anti-terror operation

    An officer of the Pakistan Army on Monday embraced martyrdom as security forces foiled a terrorist attack in Dera Ismail Khan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. 

    The martyred officer, identified as Colonel Mujeebur Rehman, was a resident of Bunji in District Astore of Gilgit Baltistan. He is survived by a widow, three sons and a daughter. 

    According to the military’s media-wing, the operation was launched against terrorists who were hiding out near Tank area of the city. The operation was conducted on confirmed intelligence reports, the ISPR added.

    “As soon as troops cordoned the area, terrorists opened fire. During operation, two terrorists were killed. In intense exchange of fire, Col Mujeebur Rehman embraced martyrdom,” the ISPR said, adding that during sanitisation operation, a large cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the terrorist hideout.

    Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States (US) and the world super power’s retaliatory “War Against Terror,” thousands of Pakistani military personnel — ranging from brilliant high-ranking officers to gallant soldiers on the frontline — have lost lives defending their homeland, which has also borne economic losses worth over hundreds of billion till date.