The National Institute of Health (NIH) has advised health authorities to declare high alert due to the likelihood of speedy spread of seven diseases including COVID -19 during the winter season.
In an advisory called Seasonal Awareness and Alert Letter (Saal) it has been informed that the diseases such as COVID-19, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus, dengue fever, diphtheria, pertussis, seasonal flu and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid can spread rapidly from October to February.
According to a statement issued by the NIH, the main goal of SAAL is to aware all the health authorities and professionals concerned at all levels for a timely and effective response to the diseases.
“Based on last five-year data, NIH recommends for all federal, provincial and district health departments to keep a continuous observation and watch on the anticipated seasonal public health threats and taking of all preventive or curative measures in this context,” it states.
Due to the ongoing pandemic situation, NIH is facilitating testing and capacity building services for all educational, economic, administrative and local institutions at Islamabad along with technical advice and support.
The necessary technical guidelines and awareness material regarding infectious diseases are also available at the NIH website: www.nih.org.pk
Mauripur police in Karachi have arrested an 18-year-old girl who they claim stole motorcycles while disguised as a boy.
The accused is a resident of Lyari and reportedly performs the sport of boxing. The accused used to steal bikes along with her two partners — 14-year-old ‘Chhotoo’ and 20-year-old Basit.
While the girl is in the custody of women police, both her accomplices are on the run, reports said.
The suspect has denied the charges and said that she did not steal any motorcycle. She said she had been involved in the case because someone else gave her a stolen vehicle and she got caught with it.
While the police claimed that the three-member gang used to snatch or steal motorcycles of latest models, they are also searching for the dealers to whom the group sold the same.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart and former prime minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa had nothing to do with rigging in the 2018 general election, which his colleagues among other opposition leaders allege.
“I met him [Gen Bajwa] in November 2018 and expressed no reservations regarding rigging because he had nothing to do with it,” Abbasi said while speaking to journalists on Wednesday. He added that the meetings between ex-Sindh governor and PML-N leader Muhammad Zubair with the COAS were being misconstrued.
Lashing out at the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), he also said that PM Imran did not know that sugar was being sold at Rs110 per kg, he did not know that unemployment was on the rise, and was not even aware that CPEC [China-Pakistan Economic Corridor] has been closed.”
“Can’t believe he [Imran] thinks that people will buy it when he says he has nothing to do with the cases registered against the PM of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and those who served the country, including two former premiers and three former army generals… they have become traiters today.”
Abbasi maintained that traitors were the ones “who stopped work on CPEC and added to the masses’ miseries”.
“A larger 39% said they disagreed and 24% said they neither agreed or disagreed,” read a statement by Gallup Pakistan. “It appears, public opinion is split on the issue with only 1 in 3 siding with Nawaz’s hard stance during the speech.”
According to another question, a majority 47% agree with the former prime minister’s accusation that PM Imran Khan has destroyed Pakistan’s economy.
“Here again, however, public opinion was split with 41% disagreeing with this claim and another 12% choosing to sit on the fence with respect to this debate,” said Gallup Pakistan. “It is interesting to see that PTI retains its edge among youngsters who were less likely to agree that Imran Khan has destroyed the economy.”
When it came to whether the former prime minister should return to the country or not, the survey’s results revealed that an overwhelming majority of the people want Nawaz to return and face the courts.
“A sweeping 78% respondents want Nawaz Sharif to return back to Pakistan and face the justice system. Only 15% agreed that he should stay out of Pakistan.”
Charles, Prince of Wales thanked President Arif Alvi for sending him Pakistani mangoes, defining them as “very tasty”.
Mango diplomacy, that was done this year, is the best way to expose heads of states & govts, princes & kings to Pakistan, creating a soft image describing Pakistan as a ‘strategic economic hub’ with exquisite culture, traditions, cuisine, fruits, and above all its people. https://t.co/3Qnle88BJ5
Expressing his gratitude for the gift, Prince Charles, in a letter, said that he and his wife Camilla were appreciative of the excellent gift.
As per a statement issued by the President’s Media Office, the president under the initiative of ‘mango diplomacy’ had sent Pakistani mangoes as a gift to the heads of states of several countries. The mango gifts had been sent to Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Oman, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Singapore, Spain, UK, Italy and other friendly countries.
According to details, the step was taken to introduce the fruit to new international markets in a bid to further increase the export of Pakistani fruits and vegetables and highlight investment opportunities in the horticulture sector.
Pakistan ranks sixth in terms of mango production and fifth in terms of mango exporting countries in the world,
Former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) chief Bashir Memon has claimed during his tenure, the “highest office” had ordered him to file a terrorism case against members of the social media cell of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz, after a picture of First Lady Bushra Bibi was found circulating on social media.
Memon, a career civil servant of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) cadre, resigned from service in November last year, days before he was supposed to retire, in protest against being posted out close to retirement.
Memon had resigned the same day the government, while booting him out of office, appointed incumbent FIA director general Wajid Zia, also a PSP, in his pace.
In an interview with journalist Matiullah Jan, the first part of which was uploaded on the latter’s YouTube channel on Monday, Memon said: “There was a picture on social media, regarding which they [said] that a terrorism case should be filed.”
“It was a picture of the first lady [uploaded] on social media. How is this terrorism? There is a definition of terrorism in law. It was a normal picture, how was that terrorism,” he questioned.
It merits a mention here that the first lady clads a burqa and strictly adheres to face veiling. She also keeps out of the public eye and has rarely accompanied the prime minister on his domestic and international visits.
During the interview, then Jan asked Memon to name the authority who gave him the order, he said that he was summoned by the “highest office in Pakistan”.
When the host wondered if Prime Minister Imran Khan had attended the meeting Memon was summoned for, Memon refused to take names. “I said the highest office,” he reiterated.
“[They told me] to take action on this against [Maryam Nawaz’s] social media cell. I didn’t say that this couldn’t be done. I said, under which law? Because we have to work according to the law.”
He claimed that the government’s “expectations” which it had from the FIA “are [now] being fulfilled”.
In response to another question, Memon declared that the government expected the FIA to “do exactly what NAB [National Accountability Bureau] has done [with the opposition leaders]”.
“Especially regarding his [Nawaz Sharif’s] son-in-law captain Safdar […] just what NAB is doing with him,” he said.
Memon also said that the authorities wanted FIA to pursue corruption cases against PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, his sons and his entire family including his relatives. The members of the Sharif family are being investigated in several cases of graft and abuse of authority.
The anti-graft agency arrested Shahbaz last week after the Lahore High Court rejected his bail petition in a money laundering case which also involves his family members. The agency accuses him of having laundered billions of rupees of black money during his tenure as the chief executive of Punjab.
When asked why he refused to pursue those cases, Memon said: “There were two reasons. One, I didn’t have the inquiries. Second, this was the mandate of the provincial anti-corruption [unit].”
The former FIA chief recalled that he was sent to Lahore where a meeting was convened by Punjab chief secretary Akbar Durrani and attended by all secretaries as well. Memon added that he was provided with the record of the case he had been asked to take up.
“End of the day, I told them that all of this is the mandate of provincial anti-corruption [unit]. They can do this, we cannot. Because FIA is a law enforcement agency. A law enforcement agency will [handle issues related to] law. We will remain within our mandate. We can’t go and jump around, in my opinion,” Memon said.
Memon said that the cases that were first referred to FIA were later transferred to the NAB. He said that the reason behind referring the cases to FIA first may have been that “they (authorities) feel that we are more competent”.
“However, I always said that this is what the law says and this is what it doesn’t. We have to work according to the law,” he told Jan. He further said that after NAB picked up the cases which were initially being probed by FIA, he was “relieved of that pressure”.
“Regarding NAB cases, whenever I hear the remarks and the verdicts that are given […] I say that God wanted to protect my dignity. In this age, all you care about is your respect,” he said.
He also talked about a “peculiar case” against PML-N leader Khawaja Asif, in which it was alleged that the latter was working for a company in Dubai while he was defence and foreign minister. The former FIA official said that it was suggested that a treason case against Asif should be lodged over the allegation.
“I’m not saying that [this is not possible]. But we need evidence for that,” he said and added that there was no available evidence when he was told to file the case. When asked who told him that such a case should be filed, he said it was said during a cabinet meeting and was included in the minutes.
“Cabinet had asked to carry out an inquiry. We did that but could not find evidence,” he explained.
He also mentioned a meeting, which was also attended by the prime minister, in which officials of government regretted that Karachi Electric was “ruined”. Memon said that FIA had proven that K-Electric had to return Rs87 billion to Sui Southern Gas Limited and that the money should be recovered.
“In his (prime minister’s) opinion, FIA did wrong by conducting this investigation [against KE]. That this investigation should not have been conducted,” Memon claimed.
No official from the government has so far commented on Memon’s claims.
Rihanna has apologised for including a recording of an Islamic verse in a song played during a fashion show for her lingerie brand Savage x Fenty. According to details, the song Doom by producer Coucou Chloe included a remix of a Hadith narration when played during a segment of the show. The singer received immense backlash from the Muslim community for her irresponsible act.
Sharing her apology to her Instagram stories, the 32-year-old thanked the Muslim community for highlighting the issue and apologised for hurting their sentiments.
“I’d like to thank the Muslim community for pointing out a huge oversight that was unintentionally offensive in our Savage x Fenty show, I would more importantly like to apologise to you for this honest, yet careless mistake.”
“We understand that we have hurt many of our Muslim brothers and sisters and I’m incredibly disheartened by this! I do not play with any kind of disrespect toward God or any religion and therefore the use of the song in our project was completely irresponsible!,” she continued.
“Moving forward we will make sure nothing like this ever happens again. Thank you for your forgiveness and understanding,” she wrote.
The song’s music producer also Chloe apologised for the “offence caused by the vocal samples used” in her song and said that they are in process of removing the song from all streaming platforms.
Rihanna had ignited backlash after she used a song that included sacred Islamic verses during her second Savage x Fenty lingerie fashion show. During the show, which streamed on Amazon Prime on Friday, lingerie models had danced to the song Doom. The song, released in 2017, includes a remix of a hadith narration about the end of times and judgment day.
After the news came to light, Feroze Khan expressed his outrage over the matter and tweeted: “You are filth Rihanna.”
With Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry saying that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had no idea about the sedition case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) bigwigs, including ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, netizens have sprung to action to remind the people of things “ignorant Imran” said he “didn’t know about”.
Former PM Nawaz and his loyalists, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider and three former military generals, were on Monday booked for “conspiring against the state” after the deposed premier’s fiery speeches against the government and state institutions.
“The PM didn’t know anything about the case. When I brought it to his attention, he expressed extreme displeasure,” Fawad tweeted after Twitterati called out the government for going after political leaders on sedition charges.
وزیر اعظم کو اس FIR کا کوئ علم نہیں تھا جب میں ان کے علم میں لایا کہ اس طرح ایک FIR ہوئ ہے جس میں نواز شریف اور دیگر لوگوں کو نامزد کیا گیا ہے انھوں نے شدید ناپسندیدگی کا ااظہار کیا ، ہو سکتا ہے کسی نے کاروائ ڈالنے کیلئے ایسا کیا ہو دیکھتے ہیں۔ https://t.co/uZYnwX2FCR
With Fawad’s claims making headlines, netizens didn’t hold back and started reminding each other of all the times PM Imran, during interviews or in statements, said he did not know about occurrences on his watch as the country’s chief executive, as well as things the premier should have known about.
PETROL PRICE HIKE:
Imran came under fire after his government jacked petrol prices by Rs25 per litre with his approval, but he was quoted by reports as saying that he did not know anything about it.
UIGHUR MUSLIMS’ PLIGHT:
Despite overwhelming evidence of systematic suppression of Uighur Muslims in China, the PM, during an interview with a foreign media outlet, said he had no idea about what was happening in China’s Xinjiang region.
MATIULLAH JAN’S ABDUCTION:
A vocal critic of the Imran Khan-government and the military establishment, journalist Matiuallah Jan, was abducted earlier this year. With condemnations by journalists and activists pouring in from around the world, the government said it didn’t know anything about what was alleged to be a brief but illegal detention by security agencies.
DEVALUATION OF RUPEE:
As United States dollar (USD) started gaining value against the Pakistani rupee (historic Rs142 in the inter-bank market) soon after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government took reins of the country, the premier and his aides on finance were quoted as saying that they knew nothing about it.
The PM reportedly said he was unaware of devaluation of rupee.
THAT’S NOT ALL:
Since coming to power over two years ago, the premier and his minister have repeatedly said that they didn’t know how bad the economy was.
They have time and again being criticised for feigning ignorance over the state of affairs and accusing their predecessors of looting the masses.
It was also highlighted by senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former Sindh governor in an opinion piece from February 2019.
United States (US) President Donald Trump has officially been discharged from Maryland’s Walter Reed Medical Center following his coronavirus diagnosis and is back at the White House.
Upon his return, Trump removed his mask for a photo op, despite still being very much infected with the highly contagious disease. However, it was not a pretty scene.
Pictures and videos show the US president climbing a set of stairs at the White House and gasping for breath.
WATCH VIDEO:
Trump climbs a few steps to the White House, takes off his mask and then is visibly gasping and having diffulty breathing while he tries to wave and pretend everything is fine. pic.twitter.com/VXxSh1BNuO
Though his doctors concede he is not yet “out of the woods” in his fight against COVID-19, Trump has framed the disease as in the past, “Now I’m better and maybe I’m immune? I don’t know. But don’t let it dominate your lives.”
At least 11 of the president’s aides or allies have either contracted the virus or — in the case of his daughter Ivanka — are working from home. Entire suites of offices sit vacant as Trump’s aides work to isolate him in the residence and out of the West Wing.
Two women were arrested in Uttar Pradesh, India for allegedly murdering their two-year-old nephew over “jealousy” with his mother. They killed their nephew and hid his dead body in the wardrobe after covering it with a blanket.
As per reports, the child had gone missing and on September 29, the family approached the local police station and registered a case for “missing person”.
Later that night, the toddler’s body was recovered from the wardrobe and taken to a hospital where doctors confirmed the death and determined asphyxiation (the state or process of being deprived of oxygen) to be the cause behind his death.
“The matter was investigated and the two aunts were questioned based on evidence indicating their involvement. The two women have confessed to killing the child and have been arrested,” stated police officials.
The incident took place when accused Pinki, who is married and is the elder sister of co-accused Rinki, had visited her parent’s house.
Both siblings, around 30 years of age, told police that they were upset with the child’s mother Sapna, the wife of their brother, over her attitude towards them, according to the police.
They were also “jealous” of Sapna as their brother always supported her and often taunted the sisters on various issues, giving rise to hatred among them that led to the extreme step by the duo, the police said.
They added that an FIR has been filed against them at the Surajpur police station.
