Blog

  • Polio in Pakistan

    Polio in Pakistan

  • Why Jami’s story was not taken seriously?

    Why Jami’s story was not taken seriously?

  • After Sindh, Buzdar’s Punjab ‘starts running out of rabies vaccine’

    After Sindh, Buzdar’s Punjab ‘starts running out of rabies vaccine’

    Following the shortfall of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) at public hospitals across Sindh, Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar-led administration in Punjab has reportedly started running out of the same.

    According to a private media outlet, a minor girl in Sialkot was bitten by a dog earlier this week. Hadiya later passed away because there was no vaccine available at the Civil Hospital she was rushed to in the Kotli Loharan town of the district.

    Last month, a ten-year-old, who was bitten by a stray dog, died of rabies in Larkana.

    According to details, the minor, who was identified as Mir Hasan was first taken to a hospital in Shikarpur, however, he was not given the treatment because there was no vaccine available at the hospital.

    Hasan’s parents later rushed him to Larkana’s Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Hospital, but it had also run out of the required vaccine, resulting in the boy succumbing to the disease.

    The tragic development in Punjab comes amid the government’s inaction despite a rise in the number of dog-bite in Sialkot. Earlier this year, over 200 people were attacked by stray dogs in the district within a short span of two months.

    RABIES & VACCINE SHORTAGE:

    Rabies encephalitis is a dog-borne viral illness caused mostly by the biting of stray dogs, and if ARV is not administered to the affected person along with immunoglobulin, the patient suffers a miserable death due to hydrophobia and other complications of the disease.

    According to SAMAA, most anti-rabies vaccinations in Pakistan were imported from India, but they don’t want to export the vaccine to Pakistan anymore.

    The vaccine imported from India cost Rs1,000 whereas the one imported from Europe costs Rs70,000. At public hospitals, cases of dog bites are treated for free. Public hospitals use the Indian vaccine because it’s cheaper. Some private hospitals in the city use the expensive European vaccines.

    “The time has come to start producing this vaccine in Pakistan. If the government can’t find a cheap alternative to the European vaccine, the number of deaths due to rabies will increase,” SAMAA quoted Pakistan Medical Association member Dr Qaiser Sajjad as saying.

  • PM Imran prays for Nawaz’s health, seeks update, orders best medical facilities

    PM Imran prays for Nawaz’s health, seeks update, orders best medical facilities

    Expressing good wishes for his recovery, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has sought from the Punjab government a report on the health of jailed ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, who was admitted to Lahore’s Services Hospital on Monday night.

    In a tweet, Special Assistant to PM on Broadcasting and Information Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the premier has directed the officials concerned to provide treatment to Nawaz as per his family’s wishes.

    The health of convicted former PM started improving after initial medical treatment at the Services Hospital.

    He was admitted to the hospital on Monday night after his platelet count dropped to a precariously low level, requiring an emergency response.

    “The physicians have injected three mega units of platelets to Nawaz Sharif, which gradually hiked the cell count to 18,000,” reports quoted a member of the special medical board — constituted for the ex-PM’s treatment — as saying.

  • PM takes notice of Hareem Shah’s viral TikTok video

    The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has taken notice of the video by famous TikTok girl Hareem Shah, who was spotted allegedly at a PM Secretariat conference room earlier in the day.

    Hareem became an internet sensation after her viral videos with influential political leaders started taking the country by storm.

    Earlier in the day, a video doing rounds over the internet showed the girl walking around a conference room as a song plays in the background. She then pulls out a chair and gets seated.

    The controversy began after journalist Adeel Raja claimed that the video was recorded shot at the PM’s Office.

    However, The Current learnt that it was actually recorded at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) — a claim that was later verified by PM’s focal person on digital media, Dr Arslan Khalid, as well.

    With eyebrows being raised over the access provided to Hareem and the internet celebrity’s subsequent actions, the PM office has now taken notice of the episode.

    According to reports, a probe has been launched to figure out how exactly did the girl manage to enter the MoFA building.

  • [GRAPHIC VIDEO] Sindh youngster live streams suicide on Facebook

    [GRAPHIC VIDEO] Sindh youngster live streams suicide on Facebook

    A young man from northern Sindh’s Ghotki town has committed suicide while streaming it live on Facebook, a video doing rounds over the internet, revealed on Tuesday.

    In the six-minute stream, the youngster repeatedly announces that he was going to kill himself after his relationship did not work out. He then gives a message to his family and friends in Sindhi.

    “I can’t bring myself to do this,” he can be heard as saying while weeping and adding that he could not see a way out of his pain.

    “Friends, if I have made any mistakes, please forgive me” are his last words.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The deceased’s body was shifted to Mirpur Mathelo District Headquarters Hospital by the police.

    While Facebook is yet to take the video down, the case is the first of its kind in the country.

    FACEBOOK LIVE & VIOLENCE:

    The live video streaming feature on Facebook became publicly available in January 2016 and anyone with a Facebook account can access it at the top of their news feed, simply by selecting “Live Video” from the dropdown menu.

    A three-second countdown begins before the user can begin filming live, and anyone can watch if they have selected the audience as public and not just for connected friends. Facebook Live broadcasts can last up to four hours.

    To report a Facebook Live video as inappropriate, you can click the scroll down menu in the top right of the post and then click “Report Post” or “Report Photo” and follow the instructions.

    Earlier this year, the company was forced to scrub more than 1.5 million videos of the New Zealand mosque massacre, which was live-streamed by the shooter.

    Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had vowed in April 2018 that the company would work toward thwarting the spread of violent content; however, it has continued to struggle to monitor instances of bloodshed and self-harm.

  • Lahore traffic cops form special squads for crackdown against e-challan defaulters

    Lahore traffic cops form special squads for crackdown against e-challan defaulters

    The City Traffic Police (CTP) Lahore has constituted seventeen special squads to go after the e-challans defaulters, a private news outlet has reported.

    According to the details, under the recent crackdown, 34 traffic wardens will be appointed across the city to recover challan payments. These special teams will strictly monitor such vehicles across Lahore.

    Since the e-challan system delivers the ticket to the address of the vehicle owner, the CTP teams can also raid their houses to confiscate the vehicles.

    Such vehicles will only be released after payment of the e-challan. However, no further penalty will be added to the delayed submission.

    The traffic police in the initial phase will go after the defaulter with hefty unpaid challans and the crackdown will continue until the clearance of the backlog.

    CTP last year in September had launched the electronic challan system in Lahore, in collaboration with Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA). Since then, it has been an effective tool to control traffic violations in the provincial capital.

    If you want to check that your vehicle has been charged with a violation or not, follow the instruction given in this article.

  • VIDEO: Ranbir forces actresses to eat food to make them fat: Deepika Padukone

    VIDEO: Ranbir forces actresses to eat food to make them fat: Deepika Padukone

    An old interview of Ranbir Kapoor has resurfaced and created quite a stir. The interview is from when Ranbir was promoting his movie “Wake up Sid”, and in a segment, Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor were asked about Ranbir’s “qualities”.

    Ranbir in ‘Wake up Sid’ ten years ago

    Deepika said that Ranbir is a pathetic boyfriend and if there was a minus scale, he would top that too. She said that his sex appeal is minus one.

    Sonam was all praises for Ranbir, but Deepika was on a roll. According to Deepika, Ranbir as a co-star is ‘extremely unprofessional’ and “very distracted”. She also added that he force feeds his female co-stars so that they get fat and look bad on screen.

    Deepika and Ranbir’s old picture

    Deepika and Ranbir had dated for a while and had a bad breakup.

    Deepika is now married to Ranveer Singh

    They now, seem to be cordial with each other, and Deepika is happily married to Ranveer Singh, while marriage seems to be on the cards for Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.

    Ranbir and Alia have been dating for a while

    Watch the interview here:

  • Azadi March: Govt to dig ditches around Islamabad to keep protesters out

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has decided to dig trenches around the federal capital to block the forthcoming Azadi March of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), GNN reported.

    According to the details, six feet wide and five feet deep ditches will be dug on 270 streets and small entrances around Islamabad to keep opposition protesters from entering the city.

    The JUI-F, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday finalised their public mobilisation plan to join the long march to Islamabad via Rawalpindi.

    The government is making efforts to compel the opposition parties to negotiate a political solution, and for the purpose, they had formed a four-member committee under Defence Minister Pervez Khan Khattak.

    However, the opposition has refused to hold any talks with the government until Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan resigns.

  • VIDEO: ‘TikTok girl Hareem Shah spotted at PM Secretariat,’ claims journalist

    VIDEO: ‘TikTok girl Hareem Shah spotted at PM Secretariat,’ claims journalist

    Famous TikTok girl Hareem Shah, who became an internet sensation after her viral videos with influential political leaders took the country by storm, has now been spotted allegedly at the Prime Minister’s (PM) Secretariat.

    A video doing rounds over the internet showed Hareem walking around a conference room as a song plays in the background. She then pulls out a chair and gets seated.

    While journalist Adeel Raja has claimed that the video has been shot at the PM’s Office, The Current has learnt that it was actually recorded at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Meanwhile, focal person to the PM, Dr Arslan Khalid, has also rubbished the claims.

    Here’s what Twitterati had to say about the episode:

    https://twitter.com/montecristoo37/status/1186772365998460928

    “I am a big Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporter myself and have been affiliated with the party. This is how I got the unique opportunity to meet and make TikTok videos with party leaders,” Hareem had earlier told a private media outlet while explaining how she gets access to significant people of stature and power.

    She has a massive following of over a million and had recently made headlines for her viral video with PTI leader and former Punjab information minister Fayyazul Hasan Chohan.