Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Public Health Director Dr Ikramullah Khan has tested positive for the new coronavirus — COVID-19 –, provincial Health Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra revealed on Monday.
1. Today, one of our most committed public health professionals, and part of our COVID19 response team, Dr. Ikramullah, Director Public Health KP has tested positive for Corona virus. I just talked to him. He is in high spirits, feeling good, and isolated at his home.
The minister paid tribute to Dr Ikramullah, thanking him for his service and calling him an asset everyone was proud of. He also lauded the efforts of “thousands of other frontline workers” fighting the virus in the province and all across Pakistan.
The minister was of the view that the next few months would be difficult on many fronts but he and his team members were committed to beat the virus with “resolve, discipline and unity”.
KP’s focal person on coronavirus, Zain Raza, also wished Dr Ikramullah “speedy recovery and health”, acknowledging his role as being on the frontline of the province’s coronavirus response team.
The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday told the federal government to remove Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza from his post as coronavirus continues to spread across the country amid the alleged incompetence of the authorities concerned.
According to reports, the apex court, while hearing a suo motu case regarding the situation arising out of the COVID-19 outbreak, expressed displeasure over the performance of Dr Mirza in dealing with the pandemic and ordered the government to remove him.
A five-member larger bench of the apex court — headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed — was hearing the case.
During the hearing, the CJP expressed anger and said the top court was not satisfied with the performance of premier’s aide as a health advisor.
The top judge also asked the attorney general of Pakistan (AGP) about the ongoing inquiry against Dr Mirza by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The AGP informed the court that FIA was investigating him for alleged smuggling of face masks to China.
“Removing Zafar Mirza from the post at this point will not be suitable for the country as it can worsen the health crisis,” the government’s lawyer told the court.
CJP Gulzar had on Friday taken his first suo motu notice over “insufficient facilities” in the country to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
He had issued notices to the AGP and health as well as interior secretaries besides also summoning all chief secretaries and advocate generals.
The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has warned Indian singers and musicians against working with Pakistani artistes and said that failure to comply would lead to “strict disciplinary action”. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the film body issued this warning after a collaboration between Indian artistes and Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was brought to its notice.
“We are pained to inform all members that despite being fully aware that FWICE has issued a total non-cooperation circular advising all members not to work in any manner whatsoever with all Pakistani artistes, singers and technicians, some members are blatantly violating the non-cooperation circular,” a letter from FWICE read.
“We have been informed that more such Entertainment products and songs are being planned and made. We have to strictly inform all the members of our affiliates to kindly note that the non-cooperation circular is valid and subsisting and anyone found cooperating or working in any manner with any Pakistani artistes, singers and technicians, in any mode or media of entertainment will be subject to strict disciplinary action,” the letter further added.
“One should also realise that while the entire world is fighting against the coronavirus, Pakistan is still busy killing our soldiers on the borders. Kindly note no violation of this circular will be allowed and we are sure all members will follow our advice in their own interest,” it added.
A doctor in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has won the hearts of millions over the internet after he bathed [Islamic ritual of ghusl] a deceased coronavirus patient’s body and led his funeral prayers following the refusal of a religious cleric to do the same.
Reports quoted Dr Hafiz Sanaullah, who is treating COVID-19 patients at a government-run hospital in Besham town of KP’s Shangla district, as saying that the deceased patient belonged to a far-flung area and was in town for treatment. But he, unfortunately, lost his battle against the deadly virus.
“We approached a local cleric to perform the patient’s last rites but he refused saying that he was scared,” the doctor said, adding that the cleric, however, advised him to do so by himself.
Dr Sanaullah said he being a Hafiz knew how to perform the last rites so it wasn’t a problem. “I led the funeral prayers and was joined by local paramedics as well as hospital staffers,” he said, adding that all necessary measures were taken to protect the participants.
“I once attended a UNICEF workshop wherein I was taught how the last rites of an infected person should be performed. After bathing it, I wrapped the body in a plastic sheet and placed it in the coffin.”
“After the funeral prayers, I myself laid him to rest as well,” Dr Sanaullah said.
The Punjab government has introduced a new rule for controlling the spread of the pandemic: authorities have made it compulsory for recovered patients to get a permission letter before travelling in and outside the province.
As per reports, the home department announced that the recovered patients of coronavirus will now need a special permission letter for travelling including those belonging to parts of the country and willing to enter into Punjab.
The citizens of Punjab, who have recovered from the virus, will need a permission letter from the concerned authorities to travel to other provinces. The patients discharged from the quarantine centres in other provinces will also need a permission letter to enter into Punjab.
According to the home department, the recovered people could get permission from deputy commissioners from their districts. The home department issued the directives to the chief secretaries and police chiefs of the provinces.
A Pakistan Army aircraft on Monday crashed near Gujrat during a routine training mission, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported.
According to the military’s media wing, an instructor pilot, Major Umer, and his student Lieutenant Faizan were martyred in the crash.
“Major Umer, a resident of Gujrat, and Lieutenant Fiazan, a resident of Kalar Kahar, Chakwal, embraced shahadat,” the ISPR statement said.
Major Umer is survived by a wife, the statement added.
The ill-fated aircraft was a PAC MFI-17 Mushaq — a license-built fixed-gear basic trainer aircraft used by the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force (PAF). An improved version of the Saab Safari, the MFI-17 is manufactured in Kamra by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.
Earlier this year, a PAF F-16 aircraft had crashed near Shakarparian in Islamabad during rehearsals for the Pakistan Day Parade. Wing Commander Nauman Akram was martyred in the crash.
Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had paid tribute to the martyr and said, “Laying one’s life is the ultimate sacrifice one can make for defence of the motherland. May his soul rest in peace. My thoughts and sincere prayers for the bereaved family.”
In April, a PAF aircraft crashed while on a routine operational training mission near Mianwali.
Both pilots, Squadron Leader Haris bin Khalid and Flying Officer Ibaadur Rehman, aboard the PAF FT-7 aircraft had lost their lives in the crash.
A board of inquiry had been ordered by the Air Headquarters to determine the cause of the accident that had followed the last trainer plane crash in October 2019 when a Mushaq trainer aircraft belonging to the Army Aviation crash-landed in a paddy field near Wazirabad in Gujranwala district. Both pilots aboard the plane had remained safe.
Ten foreigners who broke a coronavirus lockdown in an Indian town made famous by the Beatles were forced to repent by writing “I am so sorry” — 500 times, according to reports.
The nationwide lockdown was imposed near the end of March, with residents permitted to leave their homes only for essential services such as buying groceries and medicine.
The travellers — from Israel, Mexico, Australia and Austria — were caught taking a walk in Rishikesh, where the Beatles sought spirituality at an Ashram in 1968.
Local police officer Vinod Sharma said they were each made to write “I did not follow the rules of lockdown so I am so sorry” 500 times.
More than 700 foreign tourists from the US, Australia, Mexico and Israel staying in the area had flouted the lockdown rules, Sharma said, adding the unusual punishment was handed out to teach them a lesson.
Police said they would direct hotels in the area to allow foreign guests to step out only if accompanied by local helpers.
Establishments that did not follow the order could face legal action, Sharma said.
Police have come up with unusual methods to encourage people to stay home to halt the spread of the deadly disease, including wearing coronavirus-shaped helmets.
But officers in some states were also seen in videos on social media beating drivers on roadsides and making people out and about during lockdown do squats and leapfrogs as punishment.
Some states have already extended the restrictions.
On Sunday, India had registered more than 8,300 coronavirus cases and 273 deaths from the disease.
“Wishing all our Christian citizens a happy Easter. Please stay safe and keep your families safe during the COVID-19 pandemic by praying and celebrating at home; and by observing the national safety protocols,” tweeted Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan earlier today. The reality of coronavirus hits you hard when you read this tweet. Churches not just all over the country, but also in major parts of the world, are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
A World Bank (WB) report on South Asia released last night is alarming. It says that Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and other smaller countries may have so far reported relatively few coronavirus cases but they could be the next hotspots.
“The economic outlook for South Asia is dire. South Asia will likely experience the worst economic performance of the last 40 years… for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, the full range of their forecast GDP growth for this fiscal year is in negative territory,” says the report. It says that Pakistan may face a recession for the first time in 68 years.
The report further states that the crisis will reinforce inequality in South Asia. This is something that the premier has constantly been worried about. The poorest of the poor will suffer the most is what he kept telling us about in his addresses to the nation as well as media briefings and interactions.
This is indeed a catch-22 situation. Like his counterparts in other South Asian countries, PM Imran is in unchartered territory and is trying to deal with the pandemic by learning from other countries’ successes as well as mistakes and also by keeping in mind the local ground realities. He seemed confused about lockdown initially but later, and maybe soon enough, realised that there was no other choice. The federal government, as well as the provincial governments, will decide tomorrow (Monday) whether lockdown in the country should be extended.
Many reports suggest that it may be extended till April 21.
As the WB report suggests, smaller nations like Pakistan could be the next hotspot for coronavirus. Lockdowns may have helped to a great extent but we also need aggressive testing. Unfortunately, it hasn’t happened as we don’t have enough testing kits. Reports suggest some of these testing kits have also turned out to be faulty and/or substandard. Not having enough kits also points to another aspect, i.e. protectionism. The Global Trade Alert project says at least 69 countries have banned or restricted the export of protective equipment, medical devices or medicines during the pandemic while the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned protectionism could limit the global availability of vaccines.
While the federal and provincial governments in Pakistan are doing their best under the circumstances and with the resources at hand, the real challenge lies in finding a cure for coronavirus. These are difficult times indeed and the predictions related to the coming months are not too bright either.
Since it might soon be too late for all precautionary measures, stay home and stay safe for yourself and your dear ones.
The Rawat police arrested a man for impersonating the personal assistant of the prime minister on Saturday.
As per reports, the police stopped a vehicle near Basali Chowk. Four men were travelling it. When the police interrogate them about who they were, one of the men introduced himself as the personal assistant of the PM.
When the police asked them for their identity cards, they refused to give their refused CNICs The prime suspect even threatened to get the police officers suspended.
The suspects have been identified as Jahanzeb Khan, Muhammad Owais, Sharjeel Muhammad and Malik Khawar.
Saach baat bataoon toh Neelum Munir and Imran Ashraf’s Kaheen Deep Jalay on Geo was my guilty pleasure. The drama was full of well, drama, and it had a heavy dose of masala complete with over-the-top twists and turns which were oh-so-fun to watch. But the last couple of episodes have turned the serial into a painful watch.
Let’s take a quick run through the plot. Rida (Neelum Munir) is the only sister of three brothers: Hatim (Hammad Farooqui), Fahaam (Ali Abbas) and Asim (Syed Arez). The brothers dote on their sister and pamper her to no extent. Rida’s maternal cousin Shamila (Nazish Jahangir) gets married to her eldest brother Fahaam. Shamila is a conniving and manipulative girl who is jealous of Rida because of the attention she gets from her brothers. Shamila’s only brother doesn’t pamper her much and seeing Rida get so much attention from her brothers irks Shamila who then uses every opportunity to mentally torture her sister-in-law.
Meanwhile, Rida gets married to Zeeshan (Imran Ashraf). Zeeshan, who was Hatim’s colleague had fallen in love with Rida from the moment he saw her. The two get married and are happy but soon Zeeshan’s insecurities coupled with Shamila’s manipulation cost them their marriage.
The recent episodes have seen the plot spiral completely out of control. A misunderstanding on Zeeshan’s part leads him to believe that Rida cheated on him. This gives Shamila a chance to lash out on Rida even more and Rida’s brothers who doted on her through the course of the drama now refuse to even acknowledge her to the point that they wish that she was dead. It is impossible to understand how Rida’s brothers just suddenly turned their back on their sister and refuse to believe her innocence. This plot twist is beyond my understanding.
Hatim, Asim and Rida’s mother
Though Zeeshan later realises his mistake and asks Rida for forgiveness, she refuses to forgive him (and rightly so) and the two spend their days crying. Zeeshan, in particular, is very annoying. He cries all the time (not that I’m against men crying) and feels sorry for himself and doesn’t really make much of an effort to make amends. He just hopes that Rida will come around.
On the other hand, Shamila, whose husband Fahaam is shot dead, manipulates her brother-in-law Hatim into marrying her so that she can once again become the bahu of the house. Another over-the-top and absolutely unnecessary plot twist. It’s so annoying to see how the men in the family are so oblivious to Shamila’s actions.
Shamila and Hatim
Despite the frustrations, I don’t want to overlook the positive which is Rida’s relationship with her mother-in-law (Saba Faisal). It is refreshing to see a mother-in-law stand up for her daughter-in-law and criticise her son for being unfair to her. Her character is probably the only balanced one in the entire drama – the rest of them are an emotional mess.
Rida and her mother-in-law
While Kaheen Deep Jalay continues to test my patience, the only reason I will continue to watch the drama is because I’m curious to know Shamila’s end. And I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be a pleasant one. So that should make up for the frustrations. In my opinion, things could have been accelerated and the drama should have wrapped up by now.
Another thing that has been bothering me is how Geo repeats the last ten minutes of the previous episode in the new episode.
Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a masalaydaar drama which does not require too much of your brain cells, give Kaheen Deep Jalay a go. Otherwise given how it’s progressing, or regressing, you can skip it.
