Tag: Pakistan

  • Police arrest two suspects for selling fake COVID-19 vaccine in KP

    Police arrest two suspects for selling fake COVID-19 vaccine in KP

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday claimed to have detained two suspects for selling fake COVID-19 vaccine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    As per reports, FIA’s Deputy Director Abdur Rehman, during the hearing of a case relating to COVID-19 vaccine price at Peshawar High Court, said that they have recovered a huge quantity of fake medicines and coronavirus vaccine from their possession.

    Rehman told the court that the investigation agency also traced a factory manufacturing fake COVID-19 vaccine and other medicines used for the deadly disease in Lahore. The deputy director added that relevant authorities had already left for Lahore to seal the facilities.

    Meanwhile, last year in March, the police had arrested an alleged doctor selling a COVID-19 vaccine. According to details, police carried out a raid at a fake clinic where the doctor claimed to have COVID-19 vaccine. The police arrested him and shifted to an unknown place for an investigation into the matter.

    According to SSP South, the man arrested was a dentist by profession and was identified as Dr Dedar.

    “He is booked under various sections of Pakistan Penal Code for fooling people,” the officer had said.

  • Karachi shop owner shares CCTV footage of robbery with police, gets robbed again

    Karachi shop owner shares CCTV footage of robbery with police, gets robbed again

    A shop owner in Karachi was robbed by the same robber after the owner released his CCTV footage.

    As per reports, a man who robbed half a dozen shops on University Road in Karachi over the course of a few days was captured on CCTV footage during a robbery at a juice centre the other day. He then robbed the same shop again after the owner released the CCTV footage of the incident.

    “You shared the CCTV footage of robbery with police that’s why I am here again to loot [your] shop for the second time,” the robber told the shop owner.

    A man camouflaged as a cop was recorded on camera robbing a juice center owner on Tuesday.

    In the CCTV footage, an armed man wearing a police trouser along with using the number plate of the Sindh police can be seen looting numerous shops on the city’s University Road.

    One of the video clips shows him entering the shop and threatening the cashier with a gun as the latter hands him the money.

  • Asad Umar among other passengers unhurt in emergency Karachi landing

    Asad Umar among other passengers unhurt in emergency Karachi landing

    A private airline flight made an emergency landing at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport after developing a technical fault. 

    The development on Monday came after SereneAir’s Karachi-Islamabad flight ER-502 returned to the port city’s airport half an hour after taking off.

    According to reports, the airline issued a statement in this regard, saying that the plane developed a technical fault after takeoff, and the captain decided to land it back in Karachi after acquiring permission from the control tower.

    Reports further said that Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar was also onboard.

    The aircraft’s engine had developed a fault, and engineers are working to fix it.

    It is being reported that another engine of the same plane had developed a fault earlier.

  • ‘In-person classes in schools for Grades 1-8 to be suspended till April 28’

    ‘In-person classes in schools for Grades 1-8 to be suspended till April 28’

    Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood on Tuesday announced that there will be no on-campus classes for Grades 1 to 8 in areas affected by coronavirus till April 28.

    The minister made the announcement while addressing the media after a meeting of the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) that reviewed the opening of the country’s educational institutions. Besides this, the meeting also discussed the schedule for exams including those for Grades 9, 10 and 11 as well as those for O’ and A’ Levels.

    “During today’s meeting it was decided that classes for grade 1 to 8 will not be held in districts that are affected [by Covid-19] and this will go on till April 28,” said the minister.

    Punjab Minister for Education Dr Murad Raas informed that 13 districts have been affected by the virus and therefore no on-campus classes will take place in these areas for grade 1 to 8 students. The minister added that this decision will be reviewed again in the last week of April, when the NCOC will decide on whether or not to close down educational institutions till Eid.

    The minister also said that classes for grade 9, 10, 11 and 12 will be allowed to continue with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) from April 19 so that students can finish the syllabus and be prepared for their exams.

    He added, however, that universities in affected districts will remain closed and classes will shift online.

    “Otherwise, universities will function as per usual,” he said.

    Later, Mahmood also asserted that “decisions regarding [the] exams are final,” and told students to start preparing and working hard.

    “This decision will not be changed so no one should have any uncertainty in their mind,” added the minister.

  • SBP governor says bank will implement policies benefitting economy

    SBP governor says bank will implement policies benefitting economy

    State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir on Sunday said that SBP would implement those policies benefiting economy of Pakistan.

    Monitory policy adopted by SBP is supporting the economy of Pakistan, he said in an interview with a private television channel.

    Commenting on approaching International Monitoring Fund (IMF), he said: “We had to seek support of IMF because of weak economic condition.”

    During COVID-19 pandemic, he said the government had to lift loan from IMF amounting to Rs250 billion. Appreciating the steps taken by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to avert coronavirus pandemic, he said that the SBP and the ruling party had successfully managed to cope the difficulties arisen due to spreading virus that played havoc around the world.

    WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW:

    In reply to a question about policy rate, he said that the banks have implemented the policy rate that stood at 13 per cent. To another question about SBP’s working in future, he said that the banking system as autonomous body would have better results.

  • Panic among Karachi residents after metal objects fall from sky

    Residents of Karachi’s Sher Shah area went into panic after strange metal objects fell from the sky.

    According to details, eyewitnesses said that heavy objects fell at three different areas in Pak Colony and the site area. A grave at Mayo Shah Cemetery and roofs of three houses were damaged by the metal pieces.

    Authorities have sent the heavy iron objects for an analysis and the situation will be clear after they have been investigated.

    SHO Sher Shah Muhammad Rafique said that the police are inspecting the matter and as per the initial reports the metal objects are of an exploded boiler.

  • Muggers in Karachi steal phones worth Rs400,000 after man posts ad online

    Muggers in Karachi steal phones worth Rs400,000 after man posts ad online

    Two robbers in Karachi have stolen mobile phones worth Rs400,000 from a man in Karachi’s Bahadurbad area.

    As per reports, a Karachi resident had posted an ad online to sell his mobile phones. However, instead of serious buyers, robbers broke into his house, attacked him and stole his phones.

    The CCTV footage of the incident clearly showed the faces of the suspects and revealed that the incident happened at around 8:45 pm.

    Last year, at least 20,155 suspects were arrested in targeted raids, according to an annual report by the Karachi police. These included 269 men suspected in high-profile terrorism incidents.

    Over 764 street criminals were arrested and there were 241 encounters of the police with criminals. According to he police report, 15 police officials embraced martyrdom and 44 others were injured. Meanwhile, 49 terrorists and other criminals were killed during the encounters. 

    Police arrested 3,405 members of 189 gangs involved in stealing vehicles, 474 suspects were arrested by the police helpline and 19,909 CCTV cameras were set up across the city.

  • Punjab police make face-mask violators stand in scorching sun

    As the country battles the third wave of COVID-19, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has asked the provinces to ensure the strict implementation of SOPs to control the spread of the virus.

    Talking to Dawn, Lahore Commissioner retired Capt Muhammad Usman warned that those found violating the SOPs will be sent to jail.

    “We are passing through peak time of the third wave of the coronavirus that is spreading very fast in Lahore in particular and other parts of Punjab in general. Since many Covid-19 positive patients are being shifted to hospitals [in Lahore] on a daily basis, we have decided to ensure strict preventive measure to avert the further spread of the virus,” said the commissioner.

    He added: “We have decided to launch a crackdown from March 28 against all those not wearing masks, besides flouting other SOPs. We have been left with no option but to arrest all those found without masks on the city roads, markets, hospitals, parks, shops, malls etc.”

    As per reports, more than 400 first information reports (FIRs) have been filed against face-mask violators in Lahore with dozens of them taken into custody.

    The assistant commissioner of Jhelum’s Pind Dadan Khan city came up with a rare punishment for mask violators as he made them stand in the scorching sun for over half an hour.

    Punjab has already imposed a partial lockdown in the province banning mass transport, weddings and ordering markets to close by 6 pm to avoid the spread of the virus.

  • Pakistan set to export beef to China

    For the first time ever, Pakistan will be exporting beef to China in the near future.

    Organic Meat is a local public listed company that got approval and registration by Chinese customs authorities to export heat-treated beef to the People’s Republic of China.

    According to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the Organic Meat company has new heat machines that kill bacteria and root out the virus from the meat, which is a mandatory process for meat products.

    The export of meat and meat products by Pakistani companies is gradually increasing due to their adoption of new technologies.

    Due to the adoption of new technologies, several Pakistani companies have started exports to different regions, including Gulf countries (GCC) like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

    Last year, two Pakistani companies had received approval from the concerned Malaysian authorities to export meat and meat products to Malaysia.

    According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), meat exports have maintained a growth of 12 per cent year-on-year. The exports surged to $216 million from July to February during the financial year 2020-21, in comparison to $210 million recorded in the previous financial year.

    The consistent growth of exports to both the traditional and new emerging markets will also attract new investments in the local companies and the area of livestock.

    Organic Meat won an export deal of supplying meat to markets in Saudi Arabia. The company also claims that their new system will enable them to export.

    The company was listed with the PSX last year for raising of funds, which resulted in the expansion of its operations and businesses.

  • Sputnik vaccine reportedly available in Karachi

    Sputnik vaccine reportedly available in Karachi

    Sputnik vaccine is now available in Karachi for people who want to go for private vaccinations. As per details, the vaccine is available at Karachi’s Southcity Hospital for Rs 17,268 for two shots.

    Journalist Omar Quraishi shared the news on social media, saying: “Rs 17,268 for two doses of the Sputnik vaccine being charged by Karachi’s Southcity Hospital. Rs 12,268 is the price of the doses plus Rs 5,000 ‘administration charge’ by the hospital.”

    Later, the journalist said that he called the hospital to get some information, finding out that the whole process is a “complete mess”.

    People who booked their appointments have to call for the appointment again when the system starts working.

    Giving an update, Quraishi said: “Whoever managed to book an appointment for a Sputnik vaccine dose at South City Hospital in Karachi will have to re-book and go through the entire process all over again – when the system is reopened and when the hospital actually has vaccines.”

    OMI hospital is also reportedly administering vaccinations after registration.

    Meanwhile, the government has started the vaccination drive for citizens 50 and above. The government has also allowed walk-in vaccination for seniors aged 65 and above at different health centres.

    Pakistan is currently battling with its third wave of COVID-19. According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), Pakistan has reported 5,234 cases and 83 deaths in the last 24 hours.