Current Final

Category: National

  • Punjab to vaccinate students of universities, medical institutions

    Punjab to vaccinate students of universities, medical institutions

    The Punjab government has decided to vaccinate students of medical colleges and universities, to ensure the safety of all and protection from the virus.

    The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid. The government discussed a possible move to vaccinate people employed in 30 other sectors where the dangers of contracting the virus are high. 

    “Strict implementation of SOPs led to reduction in coronavirus tests. As of today, 901 cases emerged across the province. For the first time, less than a thousand cases have been reported across the province,” Dr Yasmin Rashid had said. 

    There is a total of 905,852 confirmed cases of Covid- 19 in the country, with a positivity rate of 4.8 per cent.

  • Protection of Journalists Bill

    Protection of Journalists Bill

    The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI ) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have both prepared two bills for the protection of journalists in Pakistan.

    The federal cabinet in April approved two bills – the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill, and the Forced or Involuntary Disappearance (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill.

    Meanwhile, the bill for the protection of media persons was presented in the Sindh Assembly by the PPP government. The bill enables the provincial government to take effective steps to ensure that every journalist and media practitioner’s right to life, safety and security as provided under Article 9 of the Constitution are safeguarded.

    The Freedom Network’s annual state of press freedom report released in April 2021 highlighted a dramatic escalation in the climate of intimidation and harassment of journalists and the media in Pakistan.

  • Bangladesh drops ‘except Israel’ from passports

    Bangladesh drops ‘except Israel’ from passports

    The Bangladeshi passport had a note written on it that said it was acceptable for travel to all countries of the world except Israel.

    But a few months ago, Bangladesh dropped the words “except Israel” from the new electronic passports.

    Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen confirmed the country’s support for the struggle of Palestinians and condemned the Israeli aggression against civilians.

    Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said the words “except Israel” have been withdrawn from the passports for “administrative convenience”.

    “This move will not affect our position . We are strong supporters of Palestine,” said Momen.

    Gilad Cohen, the Israeli foreign ministry’s deputy director-general for Asia and the Pacific, said on Twitter: “Great news! #Bangladesh has removed travel ban to Israel. This is a welcome step.”

    The Bangladeshi foreign ministry statement, however, clarified that the removal of the observation has been done to maintain global standards.

    “The ban on travel of Bangladeshi passport holders to Israel remains unchanged. The Government of Bangladesh has not deviated from its position on Israel and Bangladesh remains firm on its long-standing position in this regard,” it added.

  • Accountability to continue without any discrimination: PM Khan

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Sunday said that he will not be blackmailed by anyone, adding that even if the government has to dissolve, the process of accountability will continue.

    According to sources, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar informed the PM about his meeting with the Tareen Group after which it was decided that the just demands of the group would be accepted.

    PM Khan, according to a source, told the party leaders that he will not let Jahangir Tareen get away if he is involved in the sugar scam.

    The meeting also discussed the Azad Kashmir elections and Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur briefed the committee about the amendments in the relevant laws.

    The premier stressed that in order to make the process of elections fair and transparent, seeking technological assistance in the form of electronic voting is essential. He said that in the next elections, electronic voting will ensure that rigging does not take place.

    PM Imran said immediate steps should be taken to remove obstacles in the issuance of long-term visas to foreign investors, especially Chinese investors, and consider introducing a separate category for those involved in the CPEC project.

    The prime minister said that CPEC was not only a harbinger of economic growth for Pakistan, but also a path to development for the entire region.

  • PPP to attend Shehbaz Sharif’s dinner today

    PPP to attend Shehbaz Sharif’s dinner today

    The PPP has decided to attend a dinner being hosted by PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif for members of the opposition parties today (Monday).

    The PPP delegation will reportedly include Opposition leader in the Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Sherry Rehman.

    PPP leader Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said that this was an invitation for opposition leaders and not of the Pakistan Democratic Movement alliance ( PDM). He further added, “Neither does the PDM president nor its secretary-general has the authority to kick PPP out of the alliance.”

    “The differences with PPP could have been resolved over discussions or sit downs instead of sending show-cause notices,” Bukhari added.

    Sources in the PPP said the party’s senior leadership thought attending the dinner would serve in the best interest of the opposition, in giving a tough time to the PTI government in the up coming budget session in the National Assembly, The News had reported.

    As per earlier reports, Shehbaz Sharif invited the opposition leaders for a dinner on Monday, in Islamabad.

    However, PPP and ANP were not invited by the PML-N at an Opposition meeting luncheon in Senate earlier today.

  • Security guard arrested for posing as qualified doctor, performing surgery

    Security guard arrested for posing as qualified doctor, performing surgery

    Lahore police have arrested a security guard of Mayo Hospital for pretending to be a qualified doctor and performing surgery.

    As per reports, a woman was rushed to the hospital for treatment of her wound in the back. On an emergency basis, the patient was shifted to the surgical building.

    The suspect, Waheed Butt, a security guard, met the patient’s family portraying himself as a doctor and decided to perform surgery on the patient for a few thousand rupees. He operated on the injury with the involvement of an OT (operation theatre) technician.

    Read more – Woman declared dead by hospital returns to life a day later

    The security guard also went to the patient’s home twice for the dressing of the wound, but it worsened with blood and pain and she was again taken to the hospital’s emergency room, where the truth was revealed. The hospital administration handed over the fake doctor to the police while the OT technician was sacked.

  • Maryam, Shehbaz condemn alleged attack on Nawaz

    Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif have condemned the alleged attempted attack on former prime minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif by unidentified men. As per details, masked, unidentified men tried to break into the office of Nawaz Sharif in London after insisting that they had an appointment with him.

    The Metropolitan police said that a criminal case has been registered and they are looking into the complaint.

    “Strongly condemn cowardly attempt to barge into the office of Hussain Nawaz where Mian Nawaz Sharif was also present,” wrote Shehbaz on Twitter.

    “They seemed to be armed and clearly had a sinister design but thankfully, could not succeed,” he added.

    Sharif also requested the London police to “investigate the incident from all angles.”

    Referring to the incident, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said: “People’s voices will not be silenced by low-life third rate criminals.”

    “Nawaz Sharif is the voice of the people of Pakistan and will not be silenced,” the PML-N leader added.

    In a separate tweet Maryam hinted that the people who played with the life of her father during his arrest are behind the attack.

    Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communications Dr Shahbaz Gill asked Maryam to apologise for her false allegations, adding that the incident was related to a car fraud and took place on Thursday. Gill further alleged that the incident was planted to stop Nawaz’s deportation from UK.

  • Shehbaz Sharif invites opposition leaders over a dinner to discuss PDM

    Shehbaz Sharif has invited the opposition leaders for a dinner on Monday (May 24) at 07:30 PM in Islamabad, according to media reports.

    Reports say that among others, former President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and JUI-F chief and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) head Maulana Fazlur Rehman have been invited to the dinner.

    PDM and the current political situation will be discussed in the dinner.

    Read more- Friendship ended with PPP? PDM removes party leaders from WhatsApp group

    Yesterday, PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that PPP has not left PDM yet, adding that a decision will be made in this regard when the PPP will be invited to PDM’s meeting with the heads of all parties involved.

  • Two rare Persian leopards spotted in Balochistan

    Two rare Persian leopards spotted in Balochistan

    A pair of rare Persian leopards sighted in Pakistan for the first time last year have been filmed and photographed in the wild, officials said Friday.

    Sharifuddin Baloch, a senior conservation official in Balochistan province, said the pair were first spotted by rangers on Mount Chaltan in the Hazarganji Wildlife Park six months ago.

    Adult leopards are solitary in the wild and pair only to mate.

    “We equipped our staff with cameras and binoculars to film the pair and take photos,” Baloch said. “This month our staff succeeded.”

    Persian leopards are a panther sub-species native to Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and the Caucasus. They are extremely rare, however, and listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered.

    Fewer than 1,000 are believed to exist in the wild, with another 200 in captivity.

    “We are taking steps to protect the rare species,” Baloch told AFP, adding officials were sharing data with the IUCN.

    Video shot by park officials shows one of the leopards beautifully camouflaged on a rugged, rocky hillside until it stands up and pads away.

    Baloch said there was no previous record of the creature ever being sighted in Pakistan.

    Panthera tilliana is bigger and has a different spot pattern to the more common Indian leopard (panthera fusca) found across Pakistan.

    Pakistan is also home to vulnerable snow leopards (panthera uncia) in the northern Himalayas.

  • Govt to start vaccinating people above 30 from tomorrow

    Head of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has announced that the government will start vaccinating people above the age of 30 from tomorrow (May 22).

    “In today’s NCOC meeting, it has been decided to open up vaccination for 30 years and older starting tomorrow,” said Umar in a tweet.

    “The messages for those who are being scheduled will go out today,” he added.

    The NCOC on May 21 announced that on May 20,194,421 vaccines were administered across Pakistan and the total number of vaccine administration is 5,151,043, till now.

    Pakistan’s vaccination drive began on March 10 with priority given to healthcare workers and senior citizens above 60. Later, vaccinations for those aged 50-59 started on April 21 and the registration for ages 40-49 started on April 27, and on May 16, the the registration for 30 plus commenced.

    Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Health Services also released a vaccine safety profile to encourage people to get themselves vaccinated. As per the details, out of 3.8 million doses, only 4, 329 reports of side effects were received as of 15 May.

    Furthermore, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Faisal Sultan in a tweet stated that only six serious events of the vaccine has been reported.