Category: Uncategorized

  • PM Imran to be tested for COVID-19

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will undergo the test for the new coronavirus after Edhi Foundation Chairperson Faisal Edhi, who had met the premier last week, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the day.

    According to the PM’s focal person on coronavirus, Dr Faisal Sultan, the premier has been advised to get himself tested as a precautionary measure after Edhi tested positive days after meeting him to donate Rs10 million to the government’s virus relief fund.

    Edhi is in Islamabad at the moment and had insisted on being tested since he had been on the ground working with patients. His family will also undergo a test for the virus.

    Edhi had traveled to Lahore and then to Islamabad, where he had met the premier and donated a Rs10 million check on behalf of his organisation, Geo reported.

    According to his son Saad Edhi, everyone who had come in contact with him will be tested for the virus, while the social worker remains in isolation and constant contact with his doctor.

    Edhi says he had started experiencing severe headache and fever on April 16.

    Meanwhile, the host and crew of a TV show, where Edhi had made an appearance last week, has already taken the tests and advised to stay at home till results arrive.

    ‘PAKISTAN AN INDEPENDENT NATION, CAN’T STOP WORSHIPPERS’:

    Separately, the premier said the government “will take action” if safety precautions agreed upon by ulema were not followed. 

    He said that Pakistan was an “independent nation” and it could not force worshippers to not pray in mosques. 

    “The war for coronavirus is being fought by the entire country. It will not differentiate between the rich and the poor. It can happen to anyone,” he said, adding that ulema had signed a 20-point agreement with President Arif Alvi, under which mosques will be reopened with special measures in place. He, however, urged people to pray at home. 

    “I would urge my Pakistanis to stay at home and pray,” he said. “Other Muslim countries have urged their citizens to do the same. But if you have to go to mosques, keep this in mind. You will have to obey these conditions,” he added.

    The premier said if people did not follow the safety precautions and cases surged in mosques during Ramzan, the government will have no other option but to take back its decision. “The government will shut mosques if safety precautions are not followed and this was mentioned in the agreement.”

  • Oil prices have dipped by 305% but what does it mean for Pakistan?

    Oil prices have dipped by 305% but what does it mean for Pakistan?

    Oil prices have turned negative for the first time in history, dipping by 305 per cent as storage space is filling up, discouraging buyers as weak economic data from Germany and Japan cast doubt on when fuel consumption will recover.

    The crash in oil prices on Monday was as disrupting as the pandemic, with the United States (US) oil prices plummeting to a range between $1-2 per barrel. The Brent oil prices also hovered around $22-25 per barrel, the lowest in 22 years. The glut created by the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia was compounded by the extremely low oil demand in most developed economies.

    Traders have fled from the expiring contract in a frenzy as barely any buyers are willing to take delivery of oil barrels because there is no place to put the crude, creating a global supply glut as billions of people stay home to slow the spread of COVID-19.

    But what does it mean for countries like Pakistan?

    Crash in oil prices is an opportunity for Pakistan because even after passing 50 per cent of the decline on to consumers, the government can make up for revenue fall. Qatari gas will be cheaper than domestic gas.

    Pakistan was in the midst of its worst economic crisis before the coronavirus attack and was finding it hard to finance its huge oil bill as the crude oil was hovering in the range of $55-60 per barrel.

    After the pandemic, the demand for crude started declining sharply, and it ranged for a long time between $30-40 per barrel in March. Its price started declining sharply in the last 10 days with US oil showing more volatility than Brent Oil that is mainly consumed in Asia. 

    With the US oil prices declining to $2, Brent price logically should not be more than $10 which means a price of $12 per barrel. At the moment, Brent Oil is still priced at $22 per barrel but if the buyers started buying from the US this price would not hold.

    This low oil price has vindicated former Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s inking of an agreement with Qatar for buying Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) at 13 per cent of the Brent Oil price. At current Brent Oil rates, Pakistan will be buying LNG from Qatar at $2.6-2.8 per mmbt.

    At this rate, it would be feasible for the state to procure gas from Qatar at a price even lower than our local gas, reports say.

    Qatar is bound under agreement to provide this gas as Pakistan is bound to lift a certain quantity of cargo from Qatar whether we needed it in the domestic market or not.

    If the opportunity is made use of, it could lower gas tariff for all industries much below the price that the government is charging from exporting industries after paying huge subsidy and the cost of electricity from gas-run power plants would also decline appreciably.

    All this can result in the government making up for massive revenue losses.

  • Mahira Khan’s gesture for her son is the sweetest thing you’ll see today

    Mahira Khan’s Twitter profile was recently taken over by her son, Azlan, who is a big fan of Pokémon. He has created a Pokémon animation with his friend and wanted to contact Junichi Masuda who is the game director and composer of Pokémon games to include it in his game.

    Mahira let him use her Twitter so that he could contact the game director himself.

    While many people supported the thread and tagged Junichi Masuda, one Twitter user passed a snide remark.

    However Mahira, who is usually cool and composed, was having none of it and hit back at the Twitter user for their comments.

  • Fahad Mustafa announces the celebrity captains for ‘Jeeto Pakistan League’

    Jeeto Pakistan host, Fahad Mustafa has unveiled the five celebrity captains for the Jeeto Pakistan League, which will take place in the month of Ramzan.

    According to his announcement, Humayun Saaed will be the captain for Karachi Lions, Sarfaraz Ahmed for Quetta Knights, Adnan Siddiqui for Lahore Falcons, Shaista Lodhi for Peshawar Stallions and Sana Javed for Islamabad Dragons.

    The year’s edition of the popular gaming show has been reinvented keeping in mind the coronavirus outbreak and calls for social distancing. PEMRA had earlier also banned TV shows from having any live audiences in their studios and has prohibited displaying cars, bikes and other appliances on the show since many people are suffering from financial issues due to the lockdown.

    Read more – PEMRA bans studio audiences for Ramazan transmissions

    According to ARY, the five teams will compete against each other live every day, just like in a cricket match. New people will play games on the show as part of different teams while maintaining social distancing and whoever makes more runs in a day will score more points.

    In the end, there will be a final play-off. Live callers will be able to call in and support their particular cities. The tagline of the show is also: ‘Ab khelega poora Pakistan!’

    The coronavirus pandemic has forced major changes in all industries across the world. Ramzan shows, in particular, have been majorly impacted by the pandemic.

  • PM’s first official visit to Presidency for ‘most important’ meeting with Dr Alvi, ISI chief

    PM’s first official visit to Presidency for ‘most important’ meeting with Dr Alvi, ISI chief

    In what is being called the “most important” meeting, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has called on President Dr Arif Alvi in his maiden official trip to the Presidency, and the two were later joined by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed.

    While an official press release says that the three discussed various domestic and international issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, precautionary arrangements for the forthcoming holy month of Ramzan and Indian aggression against people of held Kashmir, a report has quoted political quarters as terming it a meeting of the big three.

    The report that emphasised on the most important aspect of the gathering, did not drop any hint regarding it.

    The president appreciated the government steps to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country and the PM’s measures for seeking relief in the debt to be paid by the developing countries, the official version maintained.

    Later, the ISI chief also joined the meeting that condemned unprovoked Indian firing along the Line of Control (LoC). They also denounced the usurping of rights of Kashmiris in the garb of coronavirus in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK).

    The premier reportedly thanked the president and lauded his efforts to evolve a consensus among religious quarters regarding prayers and Taraweeh at mosques during Ramzan.

  • Govt to reward people for identifying hoarders: Firdous Ashiq Awan

    Govt to reward people for identifying hoarders: Firdous Ashiq Awan

    Citizens who will help the government identify hoarders will be rewarded 10% of the confiscated goods, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said.

    She took to Twitter to urge people to help the government identify hoarders and do good to the society.

    The government recently passed the COVID-19 Prevention of Hoarding Ordinance, 2020 to punish businessmen profiteering and stocking up on essential grocery items.

    Under the ordinance, the violator will be sentenced to five years in prison and will have to pay an amount equivalent to 50% of the seized goods,” Dr. Awan said.

    She remarked that a smooth supply of essential goods to people was the “greatest responsibility” of the government.

    The ordinance is Prime Minister Imran Khan’s initiative to protect people from getting exploited at the hands of businessmen, Dr. Awan added. The ordinance was formed after incidents of hoarding increased because of the coronavirus.

  • Faisal Edhi, who met PM last week, tests positive for coronavirus

    Son of the late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi and incumbent head of the Edhi Foundation, Faisal Edhi, who met Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan at the latter’s office last week, has tested positive for coronavirus, raising concerns over the health of the premier who could have contracted the virus.

    Edhi met Imran on April 15 to donate Rs10 million to the PM’s COVID-19 Relief Fund on behalf of his organisation, and a picture of the meeting had also gone viral over the internet.

    According to reports, he is in Islamabad at the moment and was tested after insisting the same, considering that he has been working in the field. His family and most people he interacted with within the past two weeks, including PM Imran, are also likely to be tested.

    His son Saad Edhi has said that his father started suffering from symptoms last week, soon after meeting the PM.

    “He is doing good and is practising self-isolation without being admitted to any hospital.”

    Earlier, Edhi had trashed criticism surrounding his donation to the government, saying the organisation could not “operate without the government’s help — be it federal or provincial”.

    In a video message shared with Independent Urdu, he had said, “I am glad that we [Edhi foundation] are working with the government.”

    READ: ‘PM didn’t recognise me,’ says Faisal Edhi, who met Imran to donate Rs1 crore

    “Edhi foundation has been working with governments since day one after the emergence of coronavirus [in the country]” he had said, adding that people would suffer if all stakeholders, at this time, did not unite to work together.

  • Punjab lab declares 60-year-old man as pregnant

    A laboratory in Khanewal has declared that a 60-year-old man, identified as Allah Ditta, was pregnant.

    According to the details, the lab issued a report stating that the man’s urine test had confirmed his pregnancy.

    Following the news, Khanewal’s district commissioner sealed the lab and arrested its owner, Amin.

    The blood transfusion lab was located across from Khanewal DHQ Hospital and was being operated for the past two years. According to the police, Amin previously worked as a technician at the hospital’s blood laboratory.

    The health department, after an investigation, confirmed that the lab was being run illegally and had not been issued a license.

    A case has been registered and Amin has been handed over to the police.

    Further probe is underway.

  • Groom, relatives arrested for violating coronavirus lockdown

    A groom and his relatives were booked for violating the coronavirus lockdown and Section 144 imposed by the government in Muzaffargarh on Monday.

    According to the police, the wedding was taking place in Sanawan’s Pitti Sultan Mehmood. They conducted a raid after receiving a complaint.

    As per reports, the groom, identified as Muzammil, had invited a large number of people there, “For violating the government’s orders, we have arrested the groom and nine of his relatives,” an officer said.

    A case has been registered against them.

  • Meera says she wants to die in her own country, appeals to PM Imran for help

    Meera says she wants to die in her own country, appeals to PM Imran for help

    Meera, who is currently stranded in New York, has appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to help her get back to Pakistan.

    In a video message sent to Geo News, Meera said that she had gone to the United States to shoot for her upcoming film Long Distance. She shared that while the rest of her colleagues including Humayun Saeed had managed to get back home, she was stranded in New York.

    “It is 2:00 am in New York City and I am stuck in my room and addressing you (PM Imran). I had come to New York with several artists including Humayun Saeed for the shooting of a film and show. My colleagues have gone back to Pakistan but I am stuck in New York,” Meera said in the video adding that she had no savings and was running out of resources.

    Meera elaborated that New York has become one big graveyard and that recently her Chinese cameraman had also passed away. She said that she did not want to die in a foreign country. New York has reported more than 10,000 deaths from COVID-19.

    “Dear prime minister, you have always supported artists. All countries are bringing back their citizens to their homelands. I request you to please make arrangements for my repatriation to Pakistan as I wish to die in my country,” she urged.

    Speaking to this correspondent over the phone, Meera said that all actors have returned but only she and actor Saud, who is currently in Dallas, remain in the United States.

    She appealed to PM Khan and the Government of Pakistan to help her as soon as possible.

    Meanwhile, the cast and crew of Ishrat Made in China who were stranded in Thailand for almost two weeks recently returned on a special flight arranged by the government.

    Read more – Team of ‘Ishrat Made in China’ tested for COVID-19

    Thousand of Pakistanis are stuck in different countries across the world after flights were cancelled due to the growing number of COVID-19 cases. Special Assistant to the PM for Overseas Pakistanis Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari said that more than 6500 Pakistanis will be repatriated on special flights between April 20 and 28. However, there is no flight scheduled for the United States.