Tag: Sindh

  • Half of the covid cases in Sindh are of omicron variant: Sindh govt

    Half of the covid cases in Sindh are of omicron variant: Sindh govt

    The Sindh government has announced, in the meeting held on Monday, that the emergence cases related to the omicron variant of coronavirus have exceeded 50 percent in the province, especially in Karachi.

    A high-level meeting was held which was presided over by the Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah to discuss the worsening situation of covid in the province which accelerated from the new variant, omicron. The brief was given by the Sindh Health Department to the Chief Minister regarding the alarming situation of the new wave of coronavirus.

    According to reports by provincial health officials, 351 samples were taken from positive covid patients for analysis, out of which 175 patients were found to be infected with the omicron variant.

    The meeting was attended by the concerned government officials including Dr Bari of Indus Hospital and Provincial Minister Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho.

    It was informed in the meeting that the number of covid cases has surged from the last 30 days. The new cases reported on December 3 were 261 and it exceeded 403 new cases of covid on January 2 this year.

    The Chief Minister claimed the situation is alarming and asked the health department to speed up the tests and initiate the vaccination drive on a large scale.

    Statistics were also shared in the meeting that during the last 30 days, the number of covid positive patients who died was 51. Out of 51 patients, 40 were on ventilators, six were on ventilators, five were at home.

    In the meeting, it was informed to the Chief Minister that until now, 29,579,471 vaccine doses had been administrated across Sindh province.

    The spokesperson for the Sindh government Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that the provincial government does not want to take strict action and requested people to follow precautionary measures to avoid the spread of the virus.

  • Man gets married without bride in Sindh

    A man named Faisal got married without a bride in Tando Fazal, a town located in the Hyderabad district of Sindh. He was unable to ‘really marry’ someone as he is a special needs person.

    According to details, the man had a strong desire to get married but he was unable to due to his disability. He used to express his eagerness to marry at other people’s marriages in his neighborhood.

    His wish was granted by the people in his neighborhood.

    https://twitter.com/AsgharNarejoo/status/1473723148692598792

    On the occasion, a stage was set up for the groom. The residents danced to the beat of drums, and a band was also arranged. The people of the area showered him with money, and Faisal’s happiness was visible as a result of his unusual marriage.

  • Sindh announces to pass all matric, intermediate students in practical exams

    Sindh announces to pass all matric, intermediate students in practical exams

    The Sindh Board Committee of Chairmen has announced to pass all matric and intermediate students who could not appear in their practical exams, reports Geo News.

    The notification was issued on Sunday in which another change has been introduced: those students who wish to reappear in a paper for the purpose of improvement can now do it four times. Previously students were only allowed to retake the exam only once.

    The Chairman of the provincial board, Professor Saeed Uddin said that the decision has been taken in line with the system in place for federal board students.

    He also said that special examinations will be conducted for students in February 2022.

  • PTI MNAs call for Hammad Azhar’s resignation, threaten to protest in NA

    PTI MNAs call for Hammad Azhar’s resignation, threaten to protest in NA

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Abdul Shakoor Shad has reportedly demanded Minister of Energy Hammad Azhar’s resignation over the gas crisis in Karachi.

    Shad said, “For the rights of Lyari people, I will protest in National Assembly (NA).” Apart from Azhar’s, he has also demanded the resignation of the Managing Director (MD) of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).

    Another PTI’s MNA Captain (R) Jamil Ahmed Khan has threatened to protest in the House. He has written a letter to the federal minister that people from his constituency (Malir) are not happy because of the gas shortage.

    Prior to this, PTI’s Aftab Siddiqui also wrote a letter to the administration that Azhar’s behavior is discreditable and disclosed that the minister doesn’t even respond to messages. He warned that PTI can lose by-elections in Karachi as they did in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    On the other hand, Hammad said on Friday that he is aware of the gas crisis in Karachi but refused to accept any responsibility and blamed the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) restraining order.

    The provincial court restrained the Ministry and Sui Gas companies from giving any effect to the government’s notification of suspending gas supply to non-export general industries.

    In a press conference, Azhar said that for the past several years, the system has faced gas shortage in the winter season, while demand increases 3-5 times.

    While addressing the gas crisis in the country, the federal minister admitted that, “The government could not provide the fuel source through expensive imports beyond a limit and that the system has faced depletion of output with a 9 per cent reduction each year.”

    Azhar added that imported Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), which Pakistan has increasingly relied on in recent years, has become “extremely expensive”.

    “There is a stay on the provision of gas to priority areas. In the next hearing on December 30, we will bring it up,” he stated.

    Moreover, the minister assured, “SSGC and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) teams are working day and night to improve gas management despite rising demand and yearly decline in gas reserves.”

    SSGC has said that it currently faces shortages of around 250 to 260 million standard cubic feet per day (mmcfd), with demand in winter rising to 1,250 mmcfd.

    Due to the immense shortage, residents are forced to buy cylinders for regular chores not only in Karachi but all over Pakistan.

  • ‘VIP style’: Governor Sindh attends convocation with dozens armed guards

    The Governor of Sindh Imran Ismail attended a convocation ceremony at the Sindh Madressa-tul-Islam University on Wednesday along with heavily armed guards due to “security concerns”.

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) leader reached the venue late and the degree-awarding ceremony had to start without him.

    Upon his arrival, guards stood around the stage and directed the teachers and students present there to maintain a certain distance. They told a teacher and a gold-medal student to step down from the stage.

    The Provincial Minister for Universities and Boards Ismail Rahoo also attended the ceremony.

    The university awarded 528 degrees this year. A total of 32 students were awarded Master of Science (MS) degrees, while 37 students were awarded Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees.

  • Balochistan detects 32 cases of Omicron, all from one district

    Balochistan detects 32 cases of Omicron, all from one district

    During a vaccination and diagnostic process, 32 suspected cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been reported in Balochistan’s Kalat district, reports Geo News.

    The suspect cases have been confirmed by Kalat District Health Officer (DHO) Nasrullah Lango. He said that the samples taken from the suspected patients have been sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad.

    All the suspected patients don’t have any travel history. As of now, the condition of the patients is stable and they have been quarantined in their homes. Moreover, doctors have also been told to be careful.

    The DHO said that the suspected patients include a woman who recently delivered a baby.

    However, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has not confirmed the news but Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has sought a report from the health department.

    Last week, NCOC confirmed the first-ever case of the Omicron variant in Karachi, Sindh.

    The Covid-19 positivity rate stands at 0.65 per cent in Pakistan today.

  • NCOC to give winter vacations in January instead of December

    NCOC to give winter vacations in January instead of December

    The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has decided to shift the annual winter vacations for education institutions from December to January, reports Geo News.

    The decision was made in a meeting held on Tuesday, which was attended by all the education ministers who backed and agreed to the proposal.

    According to the NCOC, the vaccination process will continue in educational institutions. However, the institutions will remain closed in areas where heavy snowfall occurs.

    On the contrary, Sindh has already announced winter vacations for educational institutions from December 20, 2021 to January 3, 2022.

    Prior to this development, Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood on Tuesday said that as per the “agreed proposal”, winter vacations should be announced from December 25 to January 4.

    However, he added that further notifications will be issued from the concerned governments.

  • Video: PPP’s Saeed Ghani opening water bottle for Bilawal

    Video: PPP’s Saeed Ghani opening water bottle for Bilawal

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari handed over a water bottle to his party fellow Information minister Sindh Saeed Ghani to open.

    In a video, the chairman can be seen sitting alongside Ghani and Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah while addressing a press conference in Karachi.

    The moment went viral when Bilawal picks up a bottle of water and for a moment attempts to open the plastic seal on the cap. Ghani is seen reaching out to assist him and Bilawal gave the bottle to him. Ghani opens it and instantly handed it over to Bilawal.

  • Sindh lowers passing score to 50 per cent for medical admissions due to doctor shortage

    Sindh lowers passing score to 50 per cent for medical admissions due to doctor shortage

    The Sindh Cabinet has decided to lower the passing percentage in the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) from 65 per cent to 50 per cent for the session of 2021-2022.

    Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah confirmed the news and said, “This decision would not only provide an opportunity to the provincial candidates to seek admission in medical and dental colleges/universities of Sindh but the seats which were going to be unfulfilled/vacant would be utilised.”

    It was reported, that last year with a passing percentage of 60 per cent, 8,287 students passed in Sindh out of which 2,900 took admissions in the public sector. Of the remaining 5,387 students, only 800 took admissions in private medical and dental colleges as the remaining 4,587 were not able to get admission mainly because they could not afford it.

    With this drop in admissions, Sindh will reportedly face a severe shortage of about 10,000 doctors in the next five years. CM said that World Health Organsiation (WHO) recommended one doctor for 850 people but Sindh has one doctor for 3,200 people. “Hence this gap of doctors will worsen if the situation persists,” he added.

    According to Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho, the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) conducted a computerised MDCAT in October 2021. She said, “The test from the federal curriculum puts Sindh students at a disadvantage and resulted in a low pass percentage.”

    The reduction of percentage will not affect the merit as it would remain the same as prescribed under the PMC Act.

  • Ex-CJ GB Rana Shamim’s salary shocks Twitter, didn’t even show up for the job

    Ex-CJ GB Rana Shamim’s salary shocks Twitter, didn’t even show up for the job

    Former Chief Judge of Gilgit Baltistan is yet again making headlines as the most expensive vice-chancellor of a university.

    The Sindh government appointed the Islamabad-based Rana Shamim, reports Samaa News, and got him at a shocking salary. After his appointment as the Vice-Chancellor of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University (SZABU) when it came to fixing salaries and benefits, the Sindh government broke all records and set a monthly salary and benefits of Rs three million to Rana Shamim.

    No other vice-chancellor has been given this much salary in Sindh before, according to the report.

    It is being reported that Rana Shamim did not appear in the university for a year and a half and despite his absence was being given a pay cheque for Rs 30 lakhs.

    Chief Minister (CM) Sindh Murad Ali Shah, contradicting the news said, that it was incorrect that the judge had not visited SZABU for a year and a half.

    However, SZABU member syndicate and Sindh Assembly member, Liaqat Askani said that Rana Shamim last came to the syndicate meeting nine months ago.

    “I tried contacting him [Rana Shamim] once or twice after the syndicate meeting but I was informed that he is in Islamabad,” said Liaqat.

    Sindh Minister for Universities and Boards of Education Ismail Rahu said that the vice-chancellor should come to the university.

    On being questioned if Ismail had met the vice-chancellor, he responded that he had not met him even once.