In a rather amusing development amid coronavirus fears, Indian media has quoted a fake Twitter handle of Pakistan’s Health Ministry to report that at least eight officers of Pakistan army, including three lieutenant colonels, two colonels, two brigadiers and one major general, have tested positive for COVID-19.
“Routine check-up in GHQ [General Headquarters] Rawalpindi by #COVID19 investigation team has found that 3 Lt.colonel, 2 Colonel, 2 Brigadier, 1 Maj.general has been tested positive for coronavirus. #CoronavirusPandemic. [sic]” reports quoted a statement tweeted by an account that has now been suspended by the micro-blogging website.
The blunder was also highlighted by Uzair Hasan Rizvi of AFPFactCheck.
This story about Pakistan reported by Indian news agency ANI is FALSE.
A Health Ministry spokesperson also confirmed that the account was fake.
It was created in September 2019 and was regularly tweeting misleading information regarding the efforts of the government to control coronavirus in the country.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus tally in Pakistan has reached 29 with Islamabad’s maiden case being reported Saturday. The federal and all provincial governments are taking every possible step to contain the virus.
Coronavirus has taken the world by storm. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that Europe is now a new epicentre of the global pandemic. According to WHO, more than 132,500 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in 123 countries around the world, among which is Pakistan with 29 cases in Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad.
At least one infected patient is in a critical condition, reports have claimed.
“Europe has now become the epicentre of the pandemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China,” said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “More cases are now being reported every day than were reported in China at the height of its epidemic.”
The United States (US) has declared a national emergency due to the spread of coronavirus. Pakistan, too, is taking some measures now that the pandemic is spreading across the globe. Sindh government has been the most vigilant and its health department has proven to be the most efficient during the crisis.
The way the Sindh government is monitoring people travelling from abroad to setting up isolation wards to test those with coronavirus symptoms is something all other provinces should emulate.
During his visit to Karachi, WHO country representative in Pakistan, Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala, said that Pakistan had in time come up with one of the world’s best national response programmes against the new coronavirus and it is being implemented very effectively. While there is a fear that other provinces are not equally proactive, which might lead to serious consequences, the good thing is that the federal government is taking the issue seriously and has ordered that educational institutions, cinemas and even marriage halls will remain closed for three weeks.
Religious congregations and sports and cultural festivals have also been suspended for three weeks. PSL matches will take place without spectators while some foreign players have also left. We need more diagnostic labs as we only have seven at the moment in Pakistan, which can conduct up to 15,000 tests. If the suspected number of cases goes up, we need to be ready. While public gatherings are banned, we hope that the people take the coronavirus outbreak seriously as all of us are at risk.
We need to take preventive measures in order to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.
In what is being termed as a major win for the country amid reports that the new coronavirus can be fatal for the elderly, a 64-year-old infected man in Karachi has been discharged from the hospital following complete recovery, government officials have confirmed.
Journalist Omar Qureshi had on Thursday tweeted that a 64-year-old suffering from coronavirus in Pakistan had recovered.
A 64 year old man who was suffering from coronavirus in Pakistan has recovered and has been discharged from hospital
The tweet had come after reports said that a second patient infected with the COVID-19 had been discharged from the hospital.
Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab confirmed the development, saying that the 64-year-old had tested negative and sent back home.
Provincial health officials had on Wednesday said the second coronavirus patient in Karachi was recovering and would be discharged soon if his condition improved further.
The resident of the port city’s Kharadar neighbourhood was admitted to Civil Hospital on February 29. According to the hospital administration, further tests were conducted on Wednesday and were sent to the lab. “The patient would be discharged if the test results are negative,” the hospital administration had added.
The family members of COVID-19 patient were also tested the day he contracted the virus. However, the results were negative.
Earlier, the first coronavirus patient was discharged from the hospital after full recovery.
The patient was in isolation and treatment for the past 10 days and was tested three times.
The young patient, who is believed to have contracted the virus in the Iranian holy city of Qum, was diagnosed on February 26 and subsequently shifted to the isolation ward of a private hospital. He had travelled to the Islamic Republic in a group of 28 pilgrims.
A senior journalist and analyst has left netizens in fits of laughter after claiming that the new coronavirus “probably originated in the corona city of Italy” that is the most affected by the global pandemic.
There is no city called ‘corona’ in Italy, and even if there was, we doubt it could have anything to do with the outbreak of the COVID-19 that, since its discovery in Wuhan city of China, has claimed over 4,500 lives with at least 126,000 infections.
“…it’s happening in Italy that is very much affected and corona[virus] probably originated from its corona area,” senior journalist Nazir Leghari can be heard as saying in a video doing rounds over the internet.
Corona 🍻 would still have some relevance since Corona the car's dead they stopped making em but what's with Corona place in Italy since there's non that I heard of ever existed? Beats me
Some even went on to explain how COVID-19 — the new coronavirus — got its name.
"The name of coronavirus comes from its shape, which resembles a crown or solar corona when imaged using an electron microscope." (Merriam-webster dictionary)
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a new virus that had not been previously identified in humans. The virus causes respiratory illness (like the flu) with symptoms such as a cough, fever and in more severe cases, pneumonia. You can protect yourself by washing your hands frequently and avoiding touching your face.
It was discovered in mainland China in mid-December and has since spread globally despite efforts to contain it.
In recognition of his services in the field of politics, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has named Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar as one of its ‘Young Global Leaders’ from South Asia.
According to the details, WEF included Azhar’s name in the list of the world’s “most promising leaders under the age of 40” for the year 2020.
He has been selected for being Pakistan’s youngest state minister and for his services in the field of politics.
Last year in July, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, following his successful visit to the United States (US), had become the 8th most popular leader of the world on Twitter.
The number of his Twitter followers had increased to over 10 million that had landed the premier on number 8 in the ranking of world’s most famous leaders over the social network.
Sindh Health Department is mulling over a proposal to issue an advisory for the public and requesting a ban on public events in Karachi, including the Pakistan Super League (PSL), after nine new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the port city on Monday, followed by another two in Sindh on Tuesday.
According to Geo, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials are in touch with the Sindh government regarding the fate of the PSL matches that are to be held in Karachi over the next two weeks.
“PCB officials are in constant touch with the Sindh government and attending all the meetings regarding PSL matches in the city,” a PCB spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The spokesperson further said that the board would follow the Sindh government’s directives. “However, for now, the matches are still scheduled for Karachi.”
As per the details of the two cases surfacing Tuesday, the first case of the novel coronavirus emerged in Hyderabad. The patient had reportedly come to Pakistan from Doha via Syria. The second case of the virus emerged in Karachi, putting the total tally of cases in the port city at 15.
The total number of infections in Pakistan has now reached 18.
ENGRO SHUTS DOWN KARACHI HARBOUR FRONT OFFICES:
Engro Corporation shut down its offices in the HarbourFront building on Tuesday after an employee was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
Engro is a Pakistani multinational conglomerate company with subsidiaries involved in production of fertilizers, foods, chemicals, energy and petrochemicals. Its major subsidiaries, Engro Fertilizers, is one of the largest fertilizer manufacturers in the world.
A statement from the corporation stated that at 1 pm on Tuesday, an employee who worked at the eighth-floor office of the building was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
The statement further said that the employee was last in the office for a few hours on Friday, March 6, 2020. The organisation said it had decided to shut its offices for three days “on medical advice from our doctor and in consultation with relevant experts”.
“Only as a precautionary measure, all Engro offices at the HarbourFront building shall remain closed over the next three days, with business to resume on Monday, March 16, 2020,” read the statement.
The organisation told its employees to work from home for the next three days and stated that upon their return, they will be screened for the novel infection.
Meanwhile, Sindh education secretary has dismissed rumours claiming that the provincial government was mulling plans to extend school holidays across the province as the coronavirus pandemic worsens.
Earlier in the day, it had been reported that the provincial health department will send a recommendation to Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah for schools to remain shut for a longer period.
Speaking to a private media outlet, Khalid Shah said the Sindh government was not considering any recommendations seeking an extension in school holidays. “All educational institutions in Sindh will re-open on March 16,” he said.
The decision was taken during a meeting of the health department held on Tuesday morning under the chair of the province’s health minister.
Pakistan is the 11th largest arms importer in the world, a report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) — an institute that tracks arms deals around the world — has revealed.
As per the figures released by SIPRI, China, Russia and Italy are the main suppliers of arms to Pakistan, with Beijing accounting for 73% of the total imports during 2015-2019, and Moscow as well as Rome accounting for 6.6% and 6.1%, respectively.
The actual share of Pakistani imports in the world has, however, decreased by 39% during the said period, the report revealed. The overall decrease in Pakistan’s arms imports over the latest five-year period was linked to the United States’ (US) decision to stop military aid to the country.
The institute further noted that Pakistan was among the top three buyers of arms from top weapons exporters like Italy and Turkey. Pakistan had a 7.5% share in arms imports from Italy between 2015-2019, and 12% share in Turkish arms over the same period.
SIPRI also identified a significant drop in arms sales to South Asia by the US, which was listed as the largest arms exporter in the world between 2015-2019. The institute noted that US arms imports to Pakistan declined by 92%, and to India by 51% over this period. The US, which had accounted for 30% of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2010–14, was responsible for only 4.1% in 2015–19.
Meanwhile, Islamabad was identified as the largest buyer of Chinese arms between 2015-2019, accounting for 35% of the arms exported by Beijing — the fifth largest exporter of weapons in the world in the five-year period.
According to SIPRI, China accounted for 51% of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2010–14 and for 73% in 2015–19. SIPRI also noted that Pakistan continued to import arms from Europe, strengthening relations with Turkey with orders for 30 combat helicopters and four frigates in 2018.
India, on the other hand, has retained its position as the second-largest arms importer in the world followed by Saudi Arabia that now imports 12% of its arms (2015-19) as against 5.6% in 2010-14 — a jump of 130%, the report said.
An officer of the Pakistan Army on Monday embraced martyrdom as security forces foiled a terrorist attack in Dera Ismail Khan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
The martyred officer, identified as Colonel Mujeebur Rehman, was a resident of Bunji in District Astore of Gilgit Baltistan. He is survived by a widow, three sons and a daughter.
According to the military’s media-wing, the operation was launched against terrorists who were hiding out near Tank area of the city. The operation was conducted on confirmed intelligence reports, the ISPR added.
“As soon as troops cordoned the area, terrorists opened fire. During operation, two terrorists were killed. In intense exchange of fire, Col Mujeebur Rehman embraced martyrdom,” the ISPR said, adding that during sanitisation operation, a large cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the terrorist hideout.
Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States (US) and the world super power’s retaliatory “War Against Terror,” thousands of Pakistani military personnel — ranging from brilliant high-ranking officers to gallant soldiers on the frontline — have lost lives defending their homeland, which has also borne economic losses worth over hundreds of billion till date.
International Women’s Day is celebrated across the globe on March 8. Pakistan, too, marks the day as women from all walks of life take out rallies and marches across the country to ask for equal rights.
Aurat March, a rally organised by women, is being held across several cities of Pakistan today.
Despite threats from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Lal Masjid affiliates and other right-wing elements, women have not backed down and will continue marching, bearing the flag of equality.
As for why we march; we march for those 1,000 women killed in the name of “honour” every year. We march because domestic violence has been normalised in our society. We march because more than a thousand Christian and Hindu girls are forcefully converted and then married off to Muslim men against their will. We march because only 5-10 per cent of women have land in their own name. We march because 70,000 young girls die during childbirth as a result of underage marriages. We march because acid attack victims are shunned by society. We march because rape survivors are shamed into silence. We march so that victims of sexual harassment do not fear speaking out. We march because freedom should win over fear. We march because misogynists like Khalilur Rehman Qamar are glorified by our media while strong women like Marvi Sirmed are asked to tone down their behaviour.
Women were told to change or tone down the slogans of Aurat March. They are being threatened that if this is how they ask for their rights, they will not be given anything. Well, enough! We will ourselves decide how to speak, how to walk, how to sit, what to wear, where to go, what to do. When a woman says no, it means NO!
When we say ‘Mera Jism, Meri Marzi’, we speak for those nameless rape survivors, for those who are victims of domestic violence, for those who are victims of sexual violence, for those whose reproductive health rights have been snatched away, for those women who continue to suffer silently because society does not give them a chance or a way out.
We will march and continue to fight patriarchy every step of the way. Without equality, there is no going forward. It is not an easy task but our women have never let us down. From Fatima Jinnah to Benazir Bhutto, from Asma Jahangir to Malala Yousafzai, our women have continued to make us proud. We are proud of each and every one of our women. More power to you. Happy Women’s Day!
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has warned people to be careful of a gang that has been forging thumb impressions to issue SIM cards used in grey trafficking.
A report submitted during a meeting of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Information Technology and Communication showed that more than 15,000 SIM cards were used for grey trafficking in 2020.
Grey trafficking is a route that is legal for one country but illegal for the alternative end.
The PTA spokesperson said, the mafia steals people’s identities, even their thumb impressions, to commit crimes.
He added that it is suspected that data is being stolen from NADRA and an investigation is being initiated to look into the matter.
All the complaints received by the authority this year have been sent to the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) for further investigation.
