Tag: Asad Umar

  • Pakistan hits one million Covid-19 vaccination doses per day: Asad Umar

    Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar announced on Tuesday that Pakistan had hit the target of administering one million Covid-19 vaccination doses in a day.

    The minister took to Twitter and said, “Happy to report that the target we had set for 1 million vaccinations in a day was crossed yesterday with 10 lakh 72 thousand vaccinations.”

    “All federating entities contributed with Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Islamabad all doing record numbers. Amazing performance by all involved,” tweeted Umar.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan also confirmed the milestone and congratulated “all who have made this happen”.

    According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), a total of 31,929,581 doses of Covid vaccines had been administered across Pakistan as of Monday, with 1,072,342 doses administered on August 2.

  • Pakistan has the lowest number of Covid deaths per million: Asad Umar

    Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said that Pakistan has the lowest number of Covid deaths per million in the region.

    “Covid deaths/million population in our region: Iran 1037, Nepal 326, India 301, Sri Lanka 186, Afghanistan 160, Bangladesh 113, Pakistan 102,” said Asad Umar in a tweet.

    “Timely decisions, hard work, cooperation of people & blessings of Allah made this possible,” he added.

    Asad Umar also urged people to take precautionary measures. “Risk is not over. Follow sop’s & vaccinate.”

    As per the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan has recorded 1,841 new cases of Covid-19 with the positivity rate of 4.89 per cent.

  • Asad Umar says unvaccinated people are seven times more likely to get Covid

    Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Friday said unvaccinated people were seven times more likely to contract the coronavirus than those inoculated.

    After the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) meeting, the minister said vaccination was the only way solution to the virus.

    Umar later took to Twitter and said, “The data analytics run by the NCOC team shows that comparative data of Pakistani’s who have been vaccinated versus those who are not vaccinated shows a marked difference in risk. The unvaccinated Pakistani’s are at 7 times higher risk of getting covid. Please get vaccinated.”

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan said every day around 2,500 new cases were being reported, warning that the Delta variant was spreading fast.

  • Pakistan’s Covid positivity rate crosses 5 per cent

    Pakistan’s Covid positivity rate crossed 5 per cent for the first time after nearly two months.

    The current infection rate stands at 5.2 per cent with a continuous spike in the cases.

    National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) data from Thursday shows that 48,910 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours and 2,545 of them came back positive for coronavirus.

    With 47 new fatalities from the virus, the national death tally soared to 22,689.

    NCOC chief Asad Umar warned: “Indian variant has caused devastation in countries in the region.”

    Umar asked everyone to follow the directives necessary in relevance to Covid protocol and said, “Do not risk your own and others lives.”

  • NCOC responds to cricketer Junaid Khan’s tweets about Covid vaccine shortage

    NCOC responds to cricketer Junaid Khan’s tweets about Covid vaccine shortage

    The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), reacting to Pakistani cricketer Junaid Khan’s concerns about the non-availability of Covid-19 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), said that there is no shortage of vaccine in the province.

    In a couple of tweets, the KP-based pacer said that the government has made it mandatory for tourists to get vaccine before visiting northern areas, but the dosses “are not even available”.

    “Joke of the day! @Asad_Umar says Covid vaccine is a must for tourists in KPK and Gilgit Biltistan but first @ShahramKTarakai @AsadQaiserPTI and Asad Umar need to know that the vaccination they are making compulsory are not even available,” he wrote.

    Junaid said that the district administration of Mardan and Bunair had confirmed the situation.

    “No vaccine is available. Those that have taken their first dose more than 6/7 weeks ago are still waiting for their second dose. If they are not available where will people get vaccinated from?” he added.

    Responding to the cricketer, NCOC said more than one million doses are available across KP, backed by an efficient supply and management system.

    “In Buner, Swabi and Mardan, the minimum stock level of 30,000 doses each is being maintained, which is recouped from Provincial Stores based on the daily consumption rate,” the national Covid-19 monitoring body said.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan has paced up its inoculation drive. More than half a million doses were administered on Monday in the country.

  • We are most affected by the ‘wife’ clause, says PPP’s Naveed Qamar

    We are most affected by the ‘wife’ clause, says PPP’s Naveed Qamar

    The Parliamentary Committee on Legislative Business witnessed objections over a clause of the Electoral Reforms Bill, which calls for disclosing the number of wives with parliamentarians saying they will take it up in the relevant Senate Committee for necessary amendments, reports The Express Tribune.

    Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, who was part of the parliamentary meeting, questioned: “We are asked how many wives you have. What is this? What have wives got to do with this?”

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ayaz Sadiq, and Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Naveed Qamar, too, raised questions over the Electoral Reforms Bill.

    Naveed Qamar said that the PPP was the most affected by the wives’ clause.

    A committee had been set up by Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri to approve the bills. A no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker was moved by the Opposition after which Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser formed a committee to review the bills.

    Ayaz Sadiq said that if the House is to be run, the bills should be brought to the committee. “We should create terms of reference, important legislation should be made in this committee. If the minister or member has introduced the bill, he can withdraw it in the House.”

    Abbasi said, “Twenty-one days have passed and according to the law, we cannot change it.”

  • PM Khan informed about a serious rift in his cabinet

    PM Khan informed about a serious rift in his cabinet

    Serious disagreements between cabinet members have led to problems at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has been informed about the current rift, reports The News.

    Important facts were brought to light in Geo News Programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’. According to reports, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum is worried about the interference of Asad Umar and Ali Zaidi.

    Asad Umar, Minister of Planning Commission and Special Initiatives heads the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE), and Ali Zaidi, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, is its member.

    Reportedly, Special Assistant to PM Khan Tabish Gauhar has lodged a complaint with the premier, pleading that the two cabinet members were interfering in the affairs of the Ministry of Energy.

    Sources say that Hammad and Tabish are in favour of using the full capacity of the existing terminals. However, they are being pressured in the cabinet to sign the Sui South gas pipeline agreement with the new terminals rather than the old Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminals.

    Asad Umar gave a tough time to the Energy Ministry for arranging LNG at a higher cost and for the dry docking of the Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) at the Engro Terminal. 

    The decisions forced the country to face a gas-electricity crisis, subjected the government to the wrath of the Opposition, and triggered a backlash from the masses.

    In the CCOE meeting, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, along with Umar and Zaidi, objected to the delayed dry-docking from June 29 to July 5 and why it wasn’t done earlier in 2019. Tarin wanted an inquiry in this regard and ordered Railway Minister Azam Swati to lead the inquiry. Sources have revealed that Tabish was trying to put an end to the inquiry.

    However, Gauhar is currently not attending the CCOE meetings. Sources said that despite protests from Gauhar, the inquiry will go ahead since it is part of the written procedures of the CCOE and has been ratified by the federal government.

    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    More than half a million vaccine doses administered for first time on July 12, says Asad Umar
    
			
    Asad Umar in a tweet has said that 525,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine were administered yesterday. 
    

    “For the first time we crossed half a million doses of vaccination yesterday. 5 lakh 25 thousand doses were administered yesterday,” Asad Umar tweeted.
    

    “Highest ever first dose was also achieved yesterday with 3 lakh 90 thousand first doses administered. The pace will increase further inshallah,” he added. 
    

    

    


    

    

    

    As per the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan recorded 1,590 cases of Covid-19 yesterday with the positivity rate  of 3.63 per cent.
    

    

    


    

    

    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Covid positivity rate nearing 4 per cent in Pakistan
    
			
    Covid positivity rate nearing 4 per cent in Pakistan
    
			
    Pakistan’s positivity rate is closing in on 4 per cent, with the current positivity rate at 3.79 per cent.
    

    Daily coronavirus caseload stayed over 1,500 for the fourth consecutive day after the country reported 1,828 new cases Saturday morning.
    

    The latest data issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday morning shows that 48,134 tests were conducted on July 9, out of which 1,828 people tested positive for coronavirus.
    

    

    


    

    

    

    Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar Friday said there are clear early signs of the fourth Covid-19 wave starting in Pakistan due to poor compliance of SOPs and the spread of the Delta variant.
    

    The NCOC chief said that he had warned two weeks back that the government’s artificial intelligence models are showing possible emergence of the fourth wave in July.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Early signs of fourth Covid wave in Pakistan, warns Asad Umar
    
			
    Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar Friday said there are clear early signs of the fourth Covid-19 wave starting in Pakistan due to poor compliance of SOPs and the spread of the Delta variant.
    

    The federal minister, who is also the chief of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), said that he had warned two weeks back that the government’s artificial intelligence models are showing possible emergence of the fourth wave in July.
    

    

    


    

    

    

    Asad Umar added that field reports were showing a complete disregard of the condition of vaccination for those attending indoor weddings, and going to indoor restaurants and gyms.
    

    “If the owners of these facilities do not show responsibility and ensure compliance, there will be no choice but to shut them down,” said Umar.
    

    

    


    

    

    

    Pakistan recently recorded a positivity rate of 3.27 per cent. The last time the positivity rate was 3 per cent was in June.
    

    The present positivity rate of the virus is 3.6 per cent.
    

    Asad Umar expressed displeasure over non-compliance with the Covid-19 protocols and warned of shutting down sectors not adhering to the directives issued by the health authorities.