Tag: federal government

  • Pakistan deploys militant-tracking technology to trace coronavirus patients

    Pakistan deploys militant-tracking technology to trace coronavirus patients

    Pakistani intelligence service is deploying surveillance technology to track suspected and confirmed patients of coronavirus, which is usually used to locate high-value militants.

    The development came after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan announced seeking assistance from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for tackling the virus.

    Details of the project have not yet been made public but two officials told AFP that the spy agency was using geo-fencing and phone-monitoring systems for monitoring.

    Geo-fencing, a strategic tracking system alerts authorities when a suspect leaves a specific geographic area. This tool is also helping officials to monitor neighbourhoods during the lockdown.

    Authorities are also tapping phone calls of COVID-19 patients to check, whether their contacts are talking about having symptoms.

    Speaking on conditions of anonymity, a senior security official said that the trace-and-track system helped authorities track the mobile phones of coronavirus patients as well as anyone they get in touch with before or after their disappearance.

    “The government has been successful in tracing even those who tested positive but went into hiding,” added the official.

    “It was originally used against terrorism, but now they can be used effectively to trace-and-track corona patients,” they maintained.

    Rights groups, on the other hand, are concerned that institutions with such power can abuse their sweeping surveillance to curb political dissidents.

    Countries across the world have employed track-and-trace methods to control the virus spread, raising privacy concerns.

    More than 61,000 people in Pakistan have tested positive and more than 1,200 patients have died.

  • Govt announces Eid holidays

    Govt announces Eid holidays

    The federal government has announced Eid holidays from 22nd to 27th May (Friday to Wednesday).

    According to the notification, all businesses, public places, community markets and shops, etc will remain closed during these holidays. Only essential items’ shops and medical stores/pharmacies will remain open.

  • Bilawal seeks Imran’s voluntary resignation over ‘coronavirus failures’

    Bilawal seeks Imran’s voluntary resignation over ‘coronavirus failures’

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan should voluntarily resign and appoint someone else in his stead, as tensions between the Centre and Sindh government continue to rise as COVID-19 cases continue to spike across the country.

    Talking to Sindhi language news channels, Bilawal slammed the premier for a lack of consensus in the country on how to tackle the persisting coronavirus situation.

    “We [PPP] have been demanding the prime minister to step down since day one,” said the PPP chief. “Keeping in mind the coronavirus situation, I am not asking for his resignation. But Imran Khan should start working as a prime minister. He should play his role in uniting provinces in this crisis.”

    Bilawal urged PM Imran to voluntarily resign under these difficult circumstances and appoint someone else in his stead. The PPP chairman said that a national consensus was necessary to win the fight against the coronavirus. “The whole state should be on the same page against the coronavirus,” he said, adding that the prime minister was responsible for the absence of it. “The federal government is responsible for ensuring a consensus is reached.”

    Bilawal praised the Sindh government for providing relief to the masses as cases in the province continue to surge. “Sindh government is taking brilliant steps to provide relief to people,” he said. “CM Sindh has also joined hands with welfare organisations. People are being provided relief today due to the initiatives taken by the PPP,” he added.

    He said that Sindh government was about to kick off “phase two” of its plan to ward off the coronavirus. “We are providing relief to the people despite facing a shortage of resources,” he said.

    Referring to criticism over his statement on Karachi and Sindh a few days ago, Bilawal said that some people were presenting his remarks in a negative light and taking them out of context. “I consider it an insult to answer these [accusations],” he said, adding that those who were criticising him were working on their agenda to break up Sindh.

    The remarks came a few days after the PPP chairman hit out at the federal government in a fiery presser, slamming it for neglecting doctors and medical officers throughout the country.

    “Can you imagine Pakistan declaring war and sending its army without guns, bullets, and a uniform?” he had said.

    The PPP chairman had lamented that the doctors were only demanding two things — protective gear and a reduced burden on hospitals so that they may carry out their jobs more effectively.

    “The prime minister has failed to deliver […] He mentioned daily wagers in all of his addresses, but sadly none of them has received a single dime yet,” he had regretted.

    It is our responsibility to provide for them like we would provide for our armed forces, he said, adding: “We are trying to provide for our doctors who are in contact with COVID-19 patients, I know that all provincial governments are playing their due role as well.”

    “But the Centre should also play its role in supporting the provinces in the war against coronavirus,” he had said.

  • $60,000 to be spent on PM Imran’s US visit unlike Nawaz’s $460,000

    $60,000 to be spent on PM Imran’s US visit unlike Nawaz’s $460,000

    Members of the federal cabinet have been informed that around $60,000 will be spent on Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s forthcoming visit of to the United States (US), unlike ex-PM Nawaz Sharif’s $460,000.

    As per the details, PM Imran on Tuesday chaired a meeting of his cabinet wherein the members were informed about the $400,000 cut.

    They were also provided details of over Rs27 billion expenditure incurred on security, camp offices and foreign visits of former presidents Asif Ali Zardari and Mamnoon Hussain, former PMs Nawaz Sharif, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf besides ex-Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif.

    Addressing a post-meeting press conference, Federal Minister for Communication Murad Saeed said that more than Rs4.3 billion had been spent on security, camp offices and travels of Nawaz, Rs3.16 billion on Zardari, Rs8.72 billion on Shehbaz, Rs350 million on Abbasi, Rs245 million on Gilani, Rs32 million on Ashraf and Rs300 million on Mamnoon back when they were in power.

    He added that an amount of Rs8.3 billion was spent on the security of the Sharif family members within the past 10 years, while over Rs2 billion was spent on renovation and other expenditures of the Sharif family’s Raiwind residence, Jati Umra.