The cabinet reshuffle and the results of the inquiry reports into the sugar and wheat shortage public has sparked frenzy in Islamabad which has highlighted rifts in ruling party.
At 5:15pm, PTI’s Dr Shahbaz Gill tweeted:
“Mr. Jahangir Khan Tareen has been removed as Chair of Task Force on Agriculture in light of findings of Sugar and Wheat Inquiry Report. Any further action may be taken after the final findings of the Inquiry Committee.”
Five minutes later at 5:20 pm, Tareen contradicted Dr Gill’s tweet:
On Saturday, Dr Gill had lauded PM Khan for fulfilling another promise by making the inquiry reports on sugar and wheat public.
انکوائری کمیٹی کی سفارش پر ایک انکوائری کمیشن بنا دیا ہے جو فرانزک آڈٹ کر رہا ہے۔ 25 اپریل تک یہ آڈٹ مکمل کر کے حکومت کو جمع کروائے گا۔ وزیراعظم عمران خان نے فیصلہ کیا ہے کہ اس کو بھی پبلک کیا جائے گا۔ کرونا کی آڑ میں اس رپورٹ کو دبایا جا سکتا تھالیکن یہ عمران خان کی حکومت ہے
Meanwhile, the PM’s Spokesperson Nadeem Afzal Chan on Monday said that the report was ‘leaked’. He said this on Hamid Mir’s talkshow Capital Talk.
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On the other hand, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan tweeted that Khusro Bakhtiar has not resigned while Mr Bakhtiar’s resignation from National Food Security and Research ministry is available on social media and with journalists.
Mr Bakhtiar has now been given the charge for the Ministry of Economic Affairs. He has replaced Hammad Azhar, who has been made the Federal Minister for Industries.
The Donkey King has made his comeback with a coronavirus anthem.
Mangu – the popular character from the animated movie Donkey King has sung a song ‘Darna Nahi, Larna Hai‘ which is the latest coronavirus anthem urging people to take all the precautionary measures.
In the video for the anthem, Mangu urges everyone to practice social distancing but keep our hearts connected. The video also features other characters of the movie as they ask us to avoid going out of the house unnecessarily. The video ends with the message, “Stay home, stay safe.”
Shuja Haider and Asrar lend their vocals for the anthem. The lyrics have been written by Donkey King director Aziz Jindani.
Donkey King is Pakistan’s comedy animated movie released in October 2018. The movie has been released in cinemas around the world and has also been dubbed in many languages, including Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian, Korean, Spanish, Basque, and Catalan.
As the coronavirus brings the international sports calendar to a grinding halt, AFP Sport highlighted three long-standing habits which could change forever once competition resumes.
Saliva to take shine off swing bowling
It’s been a tried and trusted friend to fast bowlers throughout the history of cricket but the days of applying saliva to one side of the ball to encourage swing could be over in the aftermath of COVID-19.
“As a bowler I think it would be pretty tough going if we couldn’t shine the ball in a Test match,” said Australia quick Pat Cummins.
“If it’s at that stage and we’re that worried about the spread, I’m not sure we’d be playing sport.”
Towels in tennis – no touching
Tennis players throwing towels, dripping with sweat and blood and probably a tear or two, at ball boys and girls, has often left fans sympathising for the youngsters. Moves by officials to tackle the issue took on greater urgency in March when the coronavirus was taking a global grip.
Behind closed doors in Miki, ball boys and girls on duty at the Davis Cup tie between Japan and Ecuador wore gloves.
Baskets, meanwhile, were made available for players to deposit their towels.
Back in 2018, the ATP introduced towel racks at some events on a trial basis, but not everyone was overjoyed.
“I think having the towel whenever you need it, it’s very helpful. It’s one thing less that you have to think about,” said Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas when he was playing at the NextGen Finals in Milan.
“I think it’s the job of the ball kids to provide towels and balls for the players.”
Let’s not shake on it
Pre-match handshakes were abandoned in top football leagues just before the sports shutdown. Premier League leaders Liverpool also banned the used of mascots while Southampton warned against players signing autographs and stopped them posing for selfies.
Away from football, the NBA urged players to opt for the fist bump rather than the long-standing high-five.
“I ain’t high-fiving nobody for the rest of my life after this,” NBA superstar LeBron James said in an interview, adding “No more high-fiving. After this corona shit? Wait ’til you see me and my teammates’ handshakes after this shit.”
Basketball stars were also told not to take items such as balls or teams shirts to autograph.
US women’s football star Megan Rapinoe says edicts to ban handshakes or even high-fives may be counter-productive anyway.
“We’re going to be sweating all over each other all game, so it sort of defeats the purpose of not doing a handshake,” she told the New York Times in March.
Pakistani actor Hira Tareen revealed in a recent interview that she has synesthesia, a medical condition in which people associate objects such as letters, shapes, numbers or people’s names with a sensory perception such as smell, colour or flavour.
In a recent interview, Tareen shared that as a child she used to associate numbers with colours, and did not think it was anything out of the ordinary. She did not know it was a medical condition with a proper term until she was in America for a clinic checkup.
“I was in America at a random clinic for a checkup when I saw something on TV that actually described my condition. When I saw that documentary on CNN, I was shocked to discover that whatever they were describing was what I did in my childhood. It’s a condition called synesthesia and in it, people join objects such as letters, shapes, numbers or people’s names with a sensory perception such as smell, colour or flavour.”
The 32-year-old model/actor is married to Ali Safina since 2013, and together they have a daughter.
The coronavirus lockdown is affecting us all in different ways. While some of us are increasing our social media activity in a bid to remain connected, others are using this time to disconnect from the world and isolate themselves in the truest sense.
Maya Ali, who has always maintained an active social media profile, has shared with her fans that she is taking a break from social media “to detox, to find inner peace and reset my whole system.”
“Sometimes we need time to think and count our blessings,” she wrote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-o1XMonUhe/
Maya added that her team will keep her fans updated about the ration bags that she and her friend Faiza Saqlain are distributing among the needy people in the society. In an interview, Maya had revealed that she had raised almost four million rupees in donations for these ration bags.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-KGnBYHihv/
Maya’s last appearance was in the film Parey Hut Love alongside Sheheryar Munawar. The actor has hinted that she will be seen in another film very soon.
The Punjab government has decided to set up field hospitals at various parks across the province to treat patients who have been infected with COVID-19.
Asif Mehmood, the chairperson of the Parks and Horticulture Authority, said that these field hospitals will serve as quarantine centres when the burden on hospitals increases.
He said he has issued directions to administrations of different cities to follow these orders.
In Rawalpindi, Hilal-e-Ahmar has set up a 200-bed field hospital in a park.
“These hospital will be used for treating the coronavirus,” Hilal-e-Ahmar chairperson Abrarul Haq said, adding that the hospital has ICU beds and ventilators.
The United States of America has also done this when its cases were increased and almost 1,000 New Yorkers were killed by the virus.
Emergency field hospitals were readied in New York’s Central Park and at the home of the US Open tennis tournament when the US death toll from the coronavirus surpassed that of China.
Life under lockdown has forced us all to take a step back from hustling bustling lives and reflect upon the little things that often go unnoticed. Meera Jee, who is currently self-isolating in New York, recently shared a video of herself jumping on a trampoline with a little girl Aliya and the one lesson the coronavirus induced lockdown has taught her.
Sharing the video, Meera wrote, “Who says we can’t learn from our children? One lesson corona has taught me…children are the leaders of the future. We have so much to learn from them. Enjoyed getting beat by six-year-old Aliya.”
Meera also shared that she currently spending quality time at home with her family. She added that she is also “cleaning, trimming, organising and living it up.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-m38UQj9tm/
Meanwhile, Meera has been actively encouraging people to practise social distancing and wash their hands.
Young doctors in Quetta have announced boycotting all services, including the treatment of coronavirus patients, after their colleagues were assaulted and arrested by police for protesting against the lack of medical equipment being provided to them.
Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) President Dr Yasir Khan announced the boycott after police resorted to baton charging and arresting several doctors for staging a sit-in in the red zone near the Balochistan chief minister’s official residence.
The young doctors were protesting against the lack of safety kits for doctors and paramedical staff treating COVID-19 patients at Quetta’s Sheikh Zayed Hospital.
The action from police reportedly came following the failure of negotiations between the protesters and the government to end the sit-in.
Addressing a press conference after the police action, YDA office bearers announced a province-wide suspension of duties and demanded that the government released the arrested doctors immediately.
They had on Sunday announced to continue protesting against the lack of safety kits for medical staffers after at least 11 doctors had tested positive for the deadly pandemic in Balochistan.
At least 44 doctors on Saturday were suspended for allegedly refusing to perform duties at Pakistan-Iran border town of Taftan amid a health emergency in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar has announced his administration’s decision to slash school fees across the province by 20% during the ongoing holidays to safeguard the masses from the global coronavirus pandemic that also continues to take a toll on Pakistan, especially Punjab.
“All schools have also been instructed to collect fees on a monthly basis,” he tweeted adding that the schools had also been directed to pay the salary of all its staff and teachers on time, and barred from firing anyone.
ہم نے فیصلہ کیا ہے کہ چھٹیوں کے دوران پنجاب کے تمام سکولوں کی فیس 20 فیصد کم اور صرف ماہانہ بنیاد پر وصول کی جائے
اس دوران سکولوں کو تمام اساتذہ اور سٹاف کی تنخواہوں کی مکمل اور بروقت ادائیگی کا پابند بنایا جائے گا اور کسی سکول کو ٹیچرز یا سٹاف کو نکالنے کی اجازت نہیں دی جائےگی
The provincial chief executive has reportedly made the announcement as part of government measures to shield the public from the economic impact of the lockdown enforced to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that the Punjab government was extending the existing restrictions in the province till April 14.
“Public is requested to follow the guidelines issued by the government and ensure that they don’t leave home unless necessary,” a government spokesperson said.
According to a notification, the lockdown is being extended due to a rise in the number of cases in the province, which is alarming and highly dangerous for the health of the people.
“It is mandatory to take all pragmatic and possible measures to contain and counter the further spread of coronavirus on war footings,” the notification said.
It further said that there were sufficient grounds to proceed under section 144 of “The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898”, as an immediate preventive and speedy remedy to ensure public safety, conserve lives and maintain peace and tranquillity in the province.
Punjab has reported the highest number of confirmed cases in the country, 1,493 and 15 deaths.
On March 23, CM Buzdar had announced a 14-day partial lockdown in the province to curb the spread of the virus.
Following the announcement, parks and public places were ordered to remain close and pillion riding in the province was banned.
A case was filed against an unidentified person in Gujarat, India for putting up an online advertisement to sell the Statue of Unity for ₹30,000 crores to meet the government’s expenses for hospitals and medical infrastructure to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
According to details, the world’s largest statue, which is located in Kevadia Colony of Gujarat, was put up for sale in an OLX ad.
“Emergency! Selling Statue of Unity because of urgent money required for the hospitals and healthcare equipment,” read the ad.
The Statue of Unity authorities took an action after a local newspaper published a report about the ad, filing a complaint against the unknown individual.
“An unknown person, with a malafide intention to defame the government had put up the Statue of Unity for sale on OLX, despite not being authorized to do so,” a release signed by Nilesh Dubey, Assistant Commissioner, Statue of Unity stated.
The release also criticized OLX for not verifying the ad before posting it on the website. Police said they were trying to locate the source of the listing on OLX to determine who was behind the ad and bring him/her to book.
The memorial to Sardar Patel, at 182 metres, is the world’s tallest such structure, ever since it was inaugurated in October 2018. It has been a major tourist attraction in India until it was closed for the public on March 17 as a precautionary measure to control the spread of coronavirus.
