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  • ‘An unparalleled humanitarian’: Bilquis Edhi declared ‘Person of the Decade’

    Bilquis Eidi has been selected as the Person of the Decade by an international web based organisation ‘Impact Hallmarks’.

    As per details, the finalists were shortlisted out of over 1.6 million notables with diverse backgrounds and from over 190 countries. According to the organisation’s website, the finalists were then presented to the global audience to pick out the person of their choice by voting.

    In a statement, the organisation said: “As per the domino effect verdict, concerning the IH international opinion poll outcomes, Stephen Soldz, an upright ethicist and moralist from the US, Ms Bilquis Edhi, an unparalleled noted humanitarian from Pakistan and Prof Yanghee Lee, the fabled unsurpassed human rights rapporteur of the UN, have evidently stretched and segmented the top of the decade’s impact hallmarks and the opinion poll’s top ‘tri-archy’ as well.”

    Bilquis Bano Edhi is a professional nurse, who heads the Bilquis Edhi Foundation. She has spent more than six decades of her life serving humanity in need. Her charity has saved over 42,000 unwanted babies so far by placing ‘jhoolas’ [cradles] at the Edhi Homes and centres across the country.

    Called the Mother of Pakistan, Bilquis Edhi has already been given various national and foreign awards including Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the Lenin Peace Prize, Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice (2015), and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service, she received along with her husband Abdul Sattar Edhi in 1986.

    Besides the three topmost ‘Persons of the Decade’, the verdict announcement called seven other persons “true patrons of change, the flag-bearers of righteousness and the domino effect architects of the Top-10 of the impact hierarchy of the decade,” which includes Prof. Aurangzeb Hafi from Pakistan.

  • Will Pakistan get enough COVID-19 vaccines?

    Will Pakistan get enough COVID-19 vaccines?

    “If we are lucky to find a vaccine at $6-10 per dose, we would need a total of $540 to 900 million to acquire 90 million doses. Notwithstanding the existing allocation of $150 million and some vaccines as aid, it means that we are going to need much more money.”

    Will Pakistan get enough COVID-19 vaccines?

    Before we answer this question, we need to know how many vaccines we need. Pakistan has set a target to vaccinate 70 million people, out of its population of more than 220 million, to achieve “herd immunity”. Most of the COVID-19 vaccines in the market require two doses to be administered to each person. This means that we need at least 140 million doses, not taking into account any wastage.

    The next question we should ask is how many different vaccines there are in the market. So far, at least seven vaccines have been approved, out of which five have been approved for use outside their country of approval, including those by Pfizer, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and Sputnik V. A number of other vaccines are in advanced stages of approval, including those by Johnson & Johnson, Novovax, CanSino and Bharat Biotech.

    Pakistan’s choice of vaccine will depend on three factors: price, storage and transportation requirement, and availability.

    The approximate per-dose price for Pfizer is $20, Moderna $10-50 (depending upon the quantity ordered), for Sputnik V less than $10, and for AstraZeneca $3-4. The price of Sinopharm’s vaccine is unknown but news reports suggest around $145 for two doses (or roughly $72.5 per dose). The price of Sinopharm seems excessive and it is not clear if Pakistan can get a discounted rate.

    The vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna need ultra-low temperatures to be stored. For instance, Pfizer’s vaccine needs to be stored at -75˚C, whereas that of Moderna needs -20˚C. This poses a serious challenge for developing countries like Pakistan, which have unreliable or mostly absent cold chains. Therefore, this handicap would prevent the wide usage of these vaccines in Pakistan. On the other hand, the Russian and Chinese vaccines as well as the one by AstraZeneca can be stored at standard refrigerator temperatures, making them much more suitable for us.

    The availability of vaccine, however, poses the most significant challenge. The manufacturers of all these vaccines have mostly booked their entire capacity for 2021 already. Some of them are now planning to further ramp up their capacity very quickly. Even the companies that are still in the final stage of vaccine trials have started to book orders from customers around the world.

    Looking at price and storage requirements, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine seems to be the most suitable choice for Pakistan. However, AstraZeneca has gone into a partnership with Serum Institute of India for the supply of this vaccine to our entire region – South Asia. There is no reason to believe that Serum Institute would not prioritise Indian requirements over export orders. The rivalry between India and Pakistan is not going to help either. Sources suggest that while Serum Institute has indicated availability of the vaccine for exports by the third quarter of 2021, the volume that it would be able to provide to Pakistan remains unclear. There is also a chance that this stipulated timeline is not followed.

    This leaves Pakistan with the Chinese and Russian vaccines only.

    Incidentally, this is not a Pakistan-specific problem and instead a challenge faced by all low-income countries, which are struggling to acquire sufficient quantities of vaccine. Out of a total of 7.2 billion doses booked so far, 5.2 billion have been booked by high or upper middle-income countries, whereas 2 billion doses have been booked by lower middle-income countries, including 1.5 billion by India alone. So far, the low-income countries have booked no significant volumes of the vaccine.

    Nevertheless, it does not absolve the state of its responsibility to provide enough vaccines for its citizens and that too in a timely fashion.

    What has Pakistan done so far in this regard?

    We have so far adopted a three-pronged strategy. Firstly, we have joined the COVAX alliance, which is aimed at facilitating equitable access to COVID-19 vaccine. Secondly, the government is developing its own plan to acquire the vaccine and administer it through the public sector healthcare system. And lastly, the government has allowed the private sector to import the vaccine so that they can also provide them to those who can afford.

    COVAX is an alliance formed through efforts of the UN, WHO and GAVI. The Alliance is planning to make 2 billion doses available by the end of 2021 for high-risk and vulnerable populations. Out of this, 1.3 billion doses will be financed by donors and provided to 92 low and lower-middle income countries including Pakistan, targeting up to 20 per cent of their population, while the rest of 700 million doses will be made available to 80 wealthier nations that have joined COVAX, on a self-financed basis. Although COVAX, owing to its sheer size, has been able to secure some sizeable contracts for vaccine supply, it is not clear if it will be able to meet its ambitious target within the stipulated time. So far, COVAX has committed 50 million doses to Pakistan, which still leaves us with another 90 million doses to procure to meet the target of 140 million vaccine doses.

    For government’s own vaccine procurement, Pakistan has so far allocated $150 million to provide vaccines for the most vulnerable 5 per cent of the population. Reportedly, the government is also negotiating with development partners to get another $100 million. So far, the government has only confirmed booking for one million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine. In addition, China has also announced providing 0.5 million doses to Pakistan free of cost. These 1.5 million doses would be enough only for 750,000 people or 1 per cent of the targeted population.

    The price of the Chinese contract is unknown but if it’s anywhere close to $72.5 for a dose, then it would have taken $72.5 million or almost half the allocated amount. If, however, the Chinese have given the vaccine on a discount, it might have left us with more money.

    Although the government’s permission to allow private sector import of the vaccine is a good step, it is unlikely that the private sector would get a significant vaccine supply in 2021.

    If we are lucky to find a vaccine at $6-10 per dose, we would need a total of $540 to 900 million to acquire 90 million doses. Notwithstanding the existing allocation of $150 million and some vaccines as aid, it means that we are going to need much more money.

    Pakistan needs to act fast, mobilise financing and secure supply contracts from Chinese, Russians and those manufacturers that are in advanced stage of trials to get a timely supply of the vaccine. Then comes the challenge of vaccinating the massive target of 70 million people.

    In short, Pakistan may get enough vaccine, but it is likely to take more than a year. Given the current situation, it seems that Pakistan is not likely to meet its vaccination target before the second half of 2022.

  • Mention ‘sewing machines’ of PM’s sister, Marriyum spotted telling PML-N lawmaker

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Marriyum Aurangzeb is facing criticism from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson for goading PML-N leader Afzal Khokhar into targeting PM Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, during his speech on the floor of the National Assembly.

    PM’s focal person on digital media, Dr Arslan Khalid shared a video on his Twitter wherein Marriyum, who was also overheard in the Khokhar’s mic, can be seen asking Khokhar to mention Aleema Khan over her alleged corrupt practices.

    “I did not use government funds to gift sewing machines to my sisters,” he said referring to Imran Khan. His remarks were cheered on by the PML-N lawmakers. However, the PTI said that it was unfair of Marriyum to target the sisters of PM Imran who aren’t even a part of politics.

    Khokhar also tabled a privilege motion. During the session, while talking about the operation to demolish his Lahore residence, the Khokhar Palace, the PML-N leader told the House that the administration had stormed his place late at night and destroyed furniture among other things.

    “This type of attitude of Punjab authorities will not be tolerated,” he said.

    The same session saw PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal getting a dressing down by the NA speaker. “Please mind your tone. You have been a minister, and you call yourself ‘professor’… is this the way to talk?” Asad Qaiser chided Iqbal who kept talking back at the speaker.

    CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS AGAINST ALEEMA:

    In 2019, Aleema was accused of concealing her offshore assets in the United Arab Emirates and New Jersey.

    Aleema Khan maintained that her foreign assets had nothing to do with the charity funding. Aleema said she had made her fortune through inherited property and sewing machines.

    “My textile export business has represented international buyers and assisted Pakistani textile mills in business development, procuring orders which have averaged over Rs2 billion worth of exports yearly from Pakistan and contributed to the economy,” The News had reported at the time.

    Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar had taken suo motu notice of Aleema’s property in Dubai on November 28. Subsequently, Aleema was asked to pay Rs29.4 million in taxes and fines — a move dubbed as NRO by the opposition.

  • UAE decides to grant citizenship to ‘talented and innovative’ people

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has adopted amendments that would allow Gulf state to grant citizenship to investors and other professionals, including scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors and their families, the government said on Saturday.

    “The UAE cabinet, local Emiri courts and executive councils will nominate those eligible for the citizenship under clear criteria set for each category,” Dubai’s ruler and UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum tweeted.

    “The law allows receivers of the UAE passport to keep their existing citizenship,” Sheikh Mohammed added.

    It was unclear if new passport holders would benefit from the public welfare system. The UAE spends billions of dollars each year on free education, healthcare, housing loans and grants for its estimated 1.4 million citizens.

    Foreigners in the UAE usually have renewable visas valid for only a few years tied to employment. The government in recent has made its visa policy more flexible, offering longer residencies for certain types of investors, students and professionals.

    Last year, the government extended its “golden” visa system — that grants 10-year residency in the Gulf state — to certain professionals, specialised degree-holders and others.

  • PM reveals he was offered money ahead of Senate election

    PM reveals he was offered money ahead of Senate election

    Defending his party’s move to hold the upcoming election of the upper house of the parliament through open ballot, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has spoken of bribes paid to buy loyalties, revealing that he himself had been offered some.

    “Money goes to the very top,” the premier said while speaking to media on Friday.

    According to Dawn, PM Imran claimed that 20 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were paid Rs50 million each during the last Senate poll to vote in favour of certain candidates.

    Saying that the parties opposing the amendment aimed at curbing corruption would stand exposed, he added the PTI had expelled the 20 members after they were found guilty of horse-trading by an investigation committee.

    “We also know who is raising money to buy loyalties this time,” he said, without naming anyone.

    He termed the practice “betrayal” with Pakistan because the Senate had a particular “status and role” since it represented the provinces in the federation.

    The premier said it reflected poorly on the kind of people who came to the Senate through money and questioned the ability of such lawmakers to represent their respective provinces. “Apart from that, what kind of democracy is this where legislators sell their vote by taking money?” he asked.

    Acknowledging that his government did not have a two-thirds majority in the lower house, the premier said the ruling party would still try to present the amendment for open ballot in the Senate elections to curb horse-trading.

  • ‘Please don’t be that fool that runs after numbers,’ says Ayeza after hitting 8 million Instagram followers

    ‘Please don’t be that fool that runs after numbers,’ says Ayeza after hitting 8 million Instagram followers

    Ayeza Khan has dethroned Aiman Khan to become the most followed Pakistani celebrity on Instagram with 8 million followers. Aiman has 7.9 million followers on the social media application while Mahira Khan follows closely behind with 7 million followers.

    “Thank you guys so much for the love and respect! It is exciting to have such a huge number of followers here,” said Ayeza celebrating the milestone.

    Read more – The Current Ranking: Pakistani celebs and their followers on Instagram

    The actor then went to talk about her journey as an actor and how she focused on her work and not on increasing her Instagram followers.

    “I must say that the only reason I am able to celebrate this today is that I know how hard I worked to achieve whatever I have on this day,” said Ayeza. “I never focused my work and life towards getting a bigger number of followers. It never works in the long run. My mother has always taught me that it’s important to work hard and build your legacy and be patient. When you have those all the good stuff comes without you knowing.”

    Ayeza further talked about the disproportionate relationship between the numbers of followers and influence one can have.

    “Growing number of followers doesn’t guarantee a long term success if you’re hollow from the inside. There is a reason why someone with a few thousand followers on Instagram can have more influence on people than someone with tons of millions of followers,” said Ayeza, adding: “Please don’t be that fool that runs after numbers.”

    The actor continued: “For me, I never worked towards growing my Instagram numbers. Instead, I have always focused all my energy into my work, my acting and modelling especially, and the fan following grew itself.”

    “I’m thankful to all of you guys because it feels great to have so many people recognise your talent and work, rather than blindly taping that follow button and not even knowing what I actually do,” she concluded.

    Last week, Maya Ali and Hira Mani both crossed five million followers on Instagram.

  • Kid, who was spotted driving SUV, says he went out to get ice cream

    Kid, who was spotted driving SUV, says he went out to get ice cream

    The boy whose video driving a Land Cruiser in Multan went viral earlier this week says that he took the vehicle out for a ride because he felt like having ice cream.

    When asked by a reporter, the kid said he drove to several places to get the ice cream but couldn’t find any, so he decided to head back home. According to the kid, this was not the first time that he drove this vehicle.

    “My father didn’t scold me,” said the kid in response to a question. He only said that “I shouldn’t drive [at this age] again”.

    The kid’s father said he was sleeping when his son took the key of the vehicle from his bedside. “When I woke up and couldn’t find the key, I took my driver and went out to look for the kid,” he said, adding that the kid was returning home when “we came across him”.

    He also said that he went to the police voluntarily.

    On Friday, the father of the kid was fined Rs 1,000 for negligence. He has also submitted an affidavit to the police stating that the incident occurred due to his negligence and will not happen again. The man and his son were allowed to go home after submitting surety bonds.

  • Twitter unhappy with PTI minister for badmouthing former PM’s late father

    Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi has drawn the ire of hundreds of social media users for badmouthing the late father of former prime minister (PM) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

    Khaqan Abbasi, who was an air commodore in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) until his removal by former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, served as the federal minister for production in ex-PM Muhammad Khan Junejo’s cabinet. He died on April 10, 1988, after his car was hit by a missile in the Ojhri Camp disaster.

    “Huge secrets lie behind these huge businesses,” Federal Minister Zaidi wrote as he tweeted a 1991 report against the late Abbasi.

    His tweet, however, did not sit very well with a majority of Twitter users who said:

    While some are also supporting the minister’s statement, what do you think of the tweet? Let The Current know in the comments…

  • Tan France opens up on being a queer Muslim South Asian

    Tan France opens up on being a queer Muslim South Asian

    British-Pakistani-American fashion designer famed for Netflix’s makeover series Queer Eye, Tan France in a recent interview with a local media publication opened up about being a queer Pakistani-Muslim and shed light on his love for his home country.

    Talking about taking the burden of representation, France said: “I think the pressure on me is a little different – I am the only member of the LGBTQ community, who is also South Asian and very open about the fact that I am Muslim also. And so, I’m a few things in America – I’m an immigrant, I’m Muslim, I’m South Asian and I’m gay – and there hasn’t been anybody like that on TV in the US before, or entertainment in general, so the pressure is really really great. It’s the hardest part of this job without a doubt.”

    He continued: “I’m sure you can imagine when you are somebody who is a little different, a lot of Pakistanis don’t appreciate that. There still are a lot of small-minded Pakistani people in and outside of Pakistan, who say ‘we don’t have gay people in our community’, and that’s the most difficult part when there’s nobody else to help you balance it out. When there’s only one person to focus your anger on, you are responsible to make sure you are the ‘perfect’ version of that. That pressure is a lot.”

    “The first year of Queer Eye was very difficult, though I’m very grateful for its success. Being on such a massive international show may be lovely for my white castmates because they just get to enjoy the joy of being famous and successful and wealthy and all those things,” said the reality show star further.

    “Whereas for me the bigger the show got, the more pressure I got from my own community, to be perfect, to not bring shame onto the community. To not embarrass Pakistan. And that’s not easy, and it doesn’t get any easier,” said Tan, adding that the pressure on his has become less now “because I’ve stopped giving a sh*t, quite honestly, what ‘Uncle Bilal’ thinks of me – but – the bigger my star gets, the more pressure is put on me.”

    Later, responding to another question, France said: “The amount of DMs I get through the likes of Instagram, both good and bad where the Pakistani community is saying we don’t have gay people here. Well, that is ridiculous. The other community, the gay community, and the ally community say we need people that show that we exist, that we are not alone, we are not monsters and we deserve love and kindness. The fact that I get those DMs so regularly, makes it clear that things aren’t where they need to be in Pakistan.”

    “That’s why people like me are so important in entertainment. If I had people like me on TV, I wouldn’t have felt like a freak, I wouldn’t have felt alone as a child. I think it comes from the top, so laws need to be changed from the top”, said France.

    Meanwhile, recalling memories from the last time he visited Pakistan, Tan said: “My favourite memory is my last trip, about 14 years ago when I went to Rawalpindi to design my sister-in-law’s wedding lehenga. My brother was getting married, and our family was to provide the clothes so I was a designer, and I said I want to design it, but I want to go to Pakistan to make it.”

    “So, I went with my mom, and we stayed in Rawalpindi with my brother’s wife’s family who also came with us (I’m really close with my sister-in-law) and I had probably one of the best vacations of my life. I helped cook every day and my sister-in-law’s mom, who has never been to England–found it so strange that this boy from England wanted to make gobhi and bhindi every morning with her -and I would teach her to make it my way! She was just so confused that this boy was cooking!”

    “It was one of my favourite trips, I loved it so much! The rest of the time I would do whatever I wanted. I could go and explore, I went to a zoo, a theme park in Islamabad, it felt like the most fun trip there,” he shared.

  • ‘Not bound by it’: Pakistan questions legitimacy of UN treaty on nuclear weapons

    ‘Not bound by it’: Pakistan questions legitimacy of UN treaty on nuclear weapons

    Pakistan says it is not bound by any of the obligations enshrined in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons — adopted in July 2017 — as the accord failed to take on board the “legitimate interests of all the stakeholders”.

    The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was adopted by the UN in 2017 and it reached 50 ratification in October by Austria, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, and Thailand among other countries.

    In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Islamabad said this treaty neither forms a part of nor contributes to the development of customary international law in any manner.

    According to the statement, the treaty was negotiated outside the established UN disarmament negotiating forums.

    “None of the nuclear-armed states, including Pakistan, took part in the negotiations of the treaty which failed to take on board the legitimate interests of all the stakeholders. Many non-nuclear armed states have also refrained from becoming parties to the treaty,” it added.

    “The United Nations General Assembly, at its first special session devoted to nuclear disarmament in 1978, had agreed by consensus that in the adoption of disarmament measures, the right of each state to security should be kept in mind, and at each stage of the disarmament process, the objective would be undiminished security for all states at the lowest possible level of armaments and military forces,” the statement said.

    The FO said the nuclear prohibition can only be achieved “as a cooperative and universally agreed undertaking through a consensus-based process involving all the relevant stakeholders which results in equal and undiminished security for all states”.

    “It is indispensable for any initiative on nuclear disarmament to take into account the vital security considerations of each and every state,” the FO statement implored.