A viral undated video, apparently recorded secretly, has shown Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan sitting in a lawn with a tasbeeh in his hand.
While Twitterati claim he is crying, what is that you think the video shows?
Here’s what Twitterati have to say:
Let us know what you have to say about the video by commenting below.
As the country, especially Punjab and Sindh, remains in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, it has emerged that the number of deaths at Karachi hospitals has recorded a significant increase with a large number of patients being brought in dead or in a near-death condition.
According to The News, over 300 such patients were brought to both public and private sector hospitals within the past two weeks. All of them were either declared dead on arrival (DOA), or showed COVID-19 symptoms.
The report in the English daily quoted a doctor on emergency duty at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) as saying that a 35-year-old woman was brought in dead. An X-ray revealed that she was suffering from some respiratory disease as a large patch could be seen on her lungs.
He said the report was sent to a senior pulmonologist treating coronavirus patients, who said that it was most likely a case of COVID-19.
Doctors also told the media outlet that only a few such cases could be examined in this regard as a majority of deceased patients could not undergo any tests or an autopsy.
A critical care specialist at JPMC said that the number of patients, who either died on arrival or within a few hours, rose every day for the past few weeks. The patients were mostly 45 to 60 years old.
Within the past 15 days, 109 patients have been brought in dead and 90 others were brought in a very critical condition and died mysteriously in a very short time at JPMC.
While private hospitals are reluctant to share any details in this regard, they have confirmed that the number of pneumonia-like symptoms in patients has been climbing. Indus Hospital sources also admitted that the number of patients in critical condition had soared sharply.
Sindh Health Department officials, on the other hand, refused to comment on the report.
Traders across the country have said that they would resume operations from today (April 15), however, the business community in Punjab has urged the government to permit activities for a limited time.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, in his address to the nation on Tuesday, extended the lockdown till April 30, saying that some industries such as construction would be allowed to operate from Wednesday.
The business community in Karachi said that they would resume operations from April 15 and that the traders would follow preventive measures. “We cannot afford the imposed restrictions anymore,” said a representative of Karachi’s trader community while addressing a press conference.
“The businessmen have paid their employees a month’s salary but we will be unable to do so if the lockdown extends,” he said, adding that they would hand over the keys to their shops to the officials at the Chief Minister (CM) House and protest outside the provincial chief executive’s office if they are kept from resuming business activities.
Voicing the traders in Sindh, Balochistan’s business community said that they would also resume operations from April 15. They said that the traders could no longer bear the lockdown restrictions, adding that activities would be conducted and precautionary measures would be followed. “The provincial government has been informed regarding the decision to resume operations.”
Furthermore, the traders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) said that they could not afford the lockdown further and that they would open shops from April 15 as well.
United Business Group President Ilyas Bilour said that small scale traders were forced into starvation due to the lockdown, and lamented that labourers were severely affected due to the closure of business centres.
The federal cabinet on Tuesday decided to extend the lockdown imposed to deal with the coronavirus pandemic in the country till April 30.
According to reports, the decision was taken in a meeting of the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, keeping in view the increasing number of coronavirus infections and the persisting economic situation in the country.
During the meeting, it was decided that apart from opening the construction industry, other economic and financial sectors will also be made operational.
Tailors, plumbers, electricians, mechanics and barbers will be allowed to run their businesses, while the ban on transport, air travel and reopening of markets, shopping malls, marriage halls and other public places would remain in place.
The final approval to extend the lockdown will be given in the next meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) also scheduled for today.
By the time this report was filed, the number of COVID-19 infections in Pakistan stood at 5,812 with 100 deaths and 1,378 recoveries. Punjab had reported 2,856 cases while Sindh trailed behind at 1,518, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) at 800, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) at 233, Balochistan at 231, Islamabad at 131 and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) at 43.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran’s Khan coronavirus relief fund, which was set up in March to assist the government in mitigating the impact of the global pandemic, seems to not have attracted generous donations as it has received only Rs225 million within the first 11 days — since March 30.
According to data shared by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) with officials of the Ministry of Finance, Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and Ehsaas Programme, as of April 10 — the date of the last update — the total amount in the fund stood at Rs225 million.
Analysts say that a possible explanation for this low figure lies in the fact that a number of private organisations and individuals are actively participating in relief activities themselves, having fewer reasons to donate to the PM’s fund.
It, however, isn’t the first time when such a programme has received disappointing responses. The dams fund created by PM Imran and the Supreme Court (SC) to collect $12 billion for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams was excessively promoted on multiple media forums, but could only gather Rs12 billion, including over Rs1.7 billion from overseas Pakistanis.
Meanwhile, the premier has appealed to overseas Pakistanis to donate generously to help the government cope with the ongoing health crisis in the country.
In a video message released Monday, he noted that the entire world was struggling against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lockdown has adversely affected the world economy, resulting in growing poverty across the globe, especially in developing countries like Pakistan, he said.
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.
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.
We are living in unbelievable times.
“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.
Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah on Saturday cautioned that there wasn’t “much good news” and the province needed a stricter lockdown as 20 per cent of coronavirus tests, conducted in his province in the past 24 hours, had come out positive, ringing danger bells as Pakistan continues to struggle in the battle against the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In a video released by his office’s Twitter account, CM Shah disclosed that the number is greater than the world average at the moment. According to him, 919 people are still under treatment in the province.
National coronavirus tally currently stands at 4,901. These include 2345 cases in Punjab, 1318 in Sindh, 656 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 220 in Balochistan, 215 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 114 in Islamabad Capital Territory and 33 in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK).
The number of cases has continued to soar despite the country being under lockdown for the third consecutive week now.
While the death toll, according to the national database, stands at 71, some 762 people have so far recovered.
Meanwhile, the KP government has asked people to remain extra careful for the next few weeks.
“The next few weeks are going to be critical for us. People are requested to follow the precautionary measures we have put in place,” KP CM’s Advisor on Information Ajmal Wazir said during a media briefing.
According to Wazir, the people of the province have responded well to the government’s call for precautions.
“However, we are facing the problem of accommodating daily wage workers and as per the prime minister’s instructions, we are working to provide them with daily necessities,” he said.
As the entire world wages war on the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — pandemic while struggling to meet medical equipment needs, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that it was strange how nuclear-capable Pakistan could not make its own ventilators and test kits and had to import them.
In a private channel’s telethon to raise funds for Prime Minister’s COVID-19 Relief Fund, the premier urged the nation to adopt as much precautions as possible to help the authorities contain the virus that is continuing to spread rapidly.
He said besides using its own resources, the government was raising funds because the impact of COVID-19 could further worsen and only those practicing social distancing would be safe.
“If we do not take necessary measures on both government and individual levels, the pandemic would continue to spread. In such a case, the healthcare system could collapse as hospitals won’t be able to take all the pressure,” PM Imran said, adding that there were not enough ventilators to cater to the masses in the worst-case scenario.
He pointed out that the situation in Pakistan was entirely different from the one in Europe or the United States (US), and noted that once the virus spread, even the most advanced cities in the world, including New York, could not do much.
The premier, however, expressed confidence that Pakistan would emerge victorious in the fight against coronavirus through coordinating efforts of all stakeholders concerned, including the people.
He said in spite of limited resources, Pakistan announced a historic package to provide relief to the corona-hit population, covering various segments and sectors of life. PM Imran also reiterated his government’s commitment to providing every possible facility to doctors, nurses and the paramedical staff fighting the global pandemic on the frontline.