Tag: Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal

  • Coronavirus: Army takes over distribution of protective equipment to ensure transparency

    Coronavirus: Army takes over distribution of protective equipment to ensure transparency

    National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) chief Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal has said that the army, amid doctors’ complaints regarding the nonavailability of personal protective equipment (PPE), has taken over the distribution of the same and the equipment is now being provided to hospitals with the help of respective corps headquarters.

    “As we had received complaints from some doctors that they were not getting PPE, I requested COAS [Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa] after which it was decided that PPEs will directly be sent to the corps headquarters concerned rather than sharing them with the provincial governments,” Lt Gen Afzal said while addressing a press conference.

    According to Dawn, he added that the information regarding the dispatching of PPEs was, however, duly shared with the provincial governments. “Now the army is distributing the protective gear in the hospitals, and since then we have not received any complain.”

    The NDMA chairperson said the authority had adequate stocks of protective equipment which could cater to the needs of doctors and patients for the next month.

    He said initially Pakistan was dependent on foreign-made equipment but now except ventilators, everything else was being manufactured by local companies. “As a result of the local production of equipment, the cost of normal mask has dropped from Rs50 to Rs10 and N-95 mask is now available for Rs300 against its previous price of Rs2,000.”

    Lt Gen Afzal said so far five tranches of equipment had been sent to provinces and a universal helpline 111-157-157 set up to receive complaints regarding unavailability of PPE and other material being used against the virus.

    He said a quarantine centre established at Haji Camp in the capital was not being utilised as people of the area had demanded that such a centre should be away from populated areas.

  • From interior to info, health, telecom, power, civil aviation among others: Military men serving Pakistan

    From interior to info, health, telecom, power, civil aviation among others: Military men serving Pakistan

    With former military bigwig Lieutenant General (r) Asim Bajwa being appointed as the special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) on information and broadcasting earlier this week, the list of military men discharging their duties in various sectors to serve Pakistan has been added to.

    The development falls in line with the beliefs of various members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including PM Imran Khan and his federal ministers such as Fawad Chaudhry, who have time and again praised the armed forces of the country for being the most powerful and well-organised national institutions.

    While some elements appear bothered by the increasing list of both former and serving military officials working with the government at a time when civil-military relations in the country “stand at their historic best”, here is what you should know about those working to revamp different sectors for the cause of ‘Naya Pakistan’.

    Interior Minister Brigadier (r) Ijaz Shah:

    The Ministry of Interior, which is primarily responsible for implementing the internal policies, state security and administration of internal affairs involving the state, is being led by Brig (r) Ijaz Ahmed Shah. Prior to entering politics, Shah has served as a spy military officer of the Pakistan Army. He has also served as the minister for parliamentary affairs.

    SAPM on Information & Broadcasting Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa:

    Lt Gen (r) Bajwa, who replaced former information minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan as the premier’s media aide on Monday, is a retired three-star general. During his military career, he has served as the director general (DG) of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) as well as the commander of Pakistan Army’s Southern Command. He is also the chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority.

    NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal:

    Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) — a federal authority mandated to deal with disasters and their management in the country — has risen to the occasion over the past few weeks as the coronavirus situation in Pakistan started worsening. Other than his experience with the Frontier Works Organization (FWO), he is qualified in international law of conflict with a special focus on civilian casualties and displaced persons.

    FROM CIVIL AVIATION TO HEALTH AND BEYOND:

    Among other not so familiar names are Squadron Leader (r) Shahrukh Nusrat, who is serving as an executive at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) after he was reappointed as the authority’s DG last year; National Institute of Health (NIH) Executive Director Maj Gen Dr Aamer Ikram, Air Marshal Arshad Malik, who is serving as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA); Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairperson Lt Gen (r) Muzammil Hussain and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chief Maj Gen (r) Amir Bajwa.

  • Coronavirus: ‘Pakistan to start conducting 50,000 tests a day,’ says Lt Gen Afzal

    Coronavirus: ‘Pakistan to start conducting 50,000 tests a day,’ says Lt Gen Afzal

    National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal has said that Pakistan will start conducting 50,000 coronavirus tests a day from next week as a meeting held at the National Command and Operations Centre has decided that virus detection kits would be provided to all departments concerned at the earliest.

    Speaking to journalists, the NDMA chairman said that earlier only those who showed symptoms of the coronavirus were being tested, but the authorities are now shifting to randomised testing for effective implementation of the government’s plans to curb the menace of COVID-19 that has so far claimed 251 lives in Pakistan and left over 12,000 people sick across the country.

    Lt Gen Afzal added that 800,000 testing kits were available and efforts were being made to procure more.

    On April 11, the NDMA received a medical consignment from China consisting of 59 ventilators, about 936 kilogrammes (kg) of surgical masks, protective suits, safety lenses, thermometers, and 1,720 kg of unstitched cloth for surgical gowns, all of which were distributed among provinces.

    Meanwhile, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has instructed the military to help civilian administration during the holy month of Ramzan that has arrived amid the global coronavirus pandemic.  

    “COAS held a special conference at General Headquarters (GHQ) today where the overview of the coronavirus deployment and situation was taken into account. COAS instructed all commanders to ensures border security and carry out routine activities as per schedule,” the military spokesperson said while addressing a press conference on Friday.

    “The army chief gave the instruction to work with civil authorities to ease the difficulties being faced by the people during Ramzan,” he said.