Pakistan records 1,771 fresh corona cases within a day

The coronavirus cases are on the decline with every passing day as the positivity rate in Pakistan has dropped to its lowest 3.71 per cent during the third wave of the pandemic, reported on Tuesday.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data, as many as 1,771 new cases of the Covid-19 detected over the previous 24 hours. The overall country’s caseload stands at 922,824.
The death toll climbed to 20,850 after 71 more people succumbed to the disease.

A total of 47,633 samples were tested, out of which 1,771 turned out to be positive. The positivity rate of infections was recorded at 3.71%, the NCOC said.

3,397 more people recuperated from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recovered patients to 844,638. The number of Covid-19 patients in critical care has come down to 3,842.

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Punjab has reported a total of 340,110 cases, Sindh 318,579, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 132,822, Islamabad 81,257, Balochistan 25,218, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 19,250, and Gilgit Baltistan 5,588.

China, in major policy shift, announces families can have three children

China announced on Monday that married couples may have up to three children, a major policy shift from the existing limit of two after recent data showed a dramatic decline in births in the world’s most populous country.

The change was approved during a politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping, the official news agency Xinhua reported.

In 2016, China scrapped its decades-old one-child policy – initially imposed to halt a population explosion – with a two-child limit, which failed to result in a sustained surge in births as the high cost of raising children in Chinese cities deterred many couples from starting families.

“To further optimise the birth policy, (China) will implement a one-married-couple-can-have-three-children policy,” Xinhua said in a report on the meeting.

The policy change will come with “supportive measures, which will be conducive to improving our country’s population structure, fulfilling the country’s strategy of actively coping with an ageing population and maintaining the advantage, endowment of human resources”, Xinhua said.

It did not specify the support measures.

The announcement drew a chilly response on Chinese social media, where many people said they could not afford to have even one or two children.

“I am willing to have three children if you give me 5 million yuan ($785,650),” one user posted on Weibo.

Early this month, China’s once-in-a-decade census showed that the population grew at its slowest rate during the last decade since the 1950s, to 1.41 billion.

Data also showed a fertility rate of just 1.3 children per woman for 2020 alone, on a par with ageing societies like Japan and Italy.

Also on Monday, China’s politburo said it would phase-in delays in the country’s retirement ages, but did not provide any details.

Peace in South Asia hinges on resolution of long-standing issues: COAS

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday visited Command and Staff College (C&SC) in Quetta where he addressed officers and faculty of the college, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement.

According to ISPR, COAS address to staff course-2020/21 focused on professional matters, internal & external security situation and matters concerning the regional security environment.

Speaking on the occasion, COAS emphasized Pakistan’s resolve and determination to confront the global phenomenon of terrorism by adopting a whole of nation approach.

“Future of enduring peace and stability in South Asia hinges on the ability to resolve long pending issues within the region. This can be complemented through meaningful international support and will to take on complex challenges,” he added.

Focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic, COAS said that Pakistan Army along with other state institutions will do all to mitigate the challenges faced by the people of Pakistan.

“Only a cohesive national effort shall take Pakistan to progress and prosperity,” COAS said.

Earlier on arrival at Quetta, COAS was received by Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, Commander Quetta Corps and Major General Amer Ahsan Nawaz, Commandant Command & Staff College.

Sindh governor lambasts KE chief over unannounced load shedding

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Monday expressed anger over the "continued unannounced load shedding" in the metropolis and directed the K-Electric CEO Moonis Alvi to immediately resolve the issue.

The governor had summoned the chief of KE — the utility company responsible for power supply in the city — following reports of increasing outages in the city. During the meeting, Ismail directed the KE CEO to "personally supervise" matters related to load shedding in Karachi and "immediately resolve the "complaints of citizens, a statement issued by the Governor's House said.

During the meeting, Ismail also phoned Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar and stressed the need to improve the load shedding situation in the metropolis and ensure better functioning of the K-Electric.

Azhar issued directions to the KE CEO during the call as well, the statement said.

Earlier this month, several areas in Karachi faced prolonged power outages after a high-tension transmission line of 220KV tripped, affecting the supply of electricity to the associated grids.

The power supply was restored by the evening.

Citizens from different areas of the metropolis have been complaining of several hours of load shedding every day as the weather remains hot and humid.

KE has around 2.5 million consumers and hundreds of thousands of them face load shedding on a daily basis. But a spokesperson for KE had earlier told Dawn that the company's load shedding policy was a "well-thought-out and considerate strategy for the citizens of Karachi".

He said: "K-Electric’s Segmented Load Shed (SLS) policy divides feeders based on their loss profile, which is determined by the T&D [transmission and distribution] losses and recovery ratios in any particular area."

In February, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had warned KE of "consequences" if people of Karachi suffered loadshedding in summer.

Sindh governor lambasts KE chief over unannounced load shedding

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Monday expressed anger over the "continued unannounced load shedding" in the metropolis and directed the K-Electric CEO Moonis Alvi to immediately resolve the issue.

The governor had summoned the chief of KE — the utility company responsible for power supply in the city — following reports of increasing outages in the city. During the meeting, Ismail directed the KE CEO to "personally supervise" matters related to load shedding in Karachi and "immediately resolve the "complaints of citizens, a statement issued by the Governor's House said.

During the meeting, Ismail also phoned Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar and stressed the need to improve the load shedding situation in the metropolis and ensure better functioning of the K-Electric.

Azhar issued directions to the KE CEO during the call as well, the statement said.

Earlier this month, several areas in Karachi faced prolonged power outages after a high-tension transmission line of 220KV tripped, affecting the supply of electricity to the associated grids.

The power supply was restored by the evening.

Citizens from different areas of the metropolis have been complaining of several hours of load shedding every day as the weather remains hot and humid.

KE has around 2.5 million consumers and hundreds of thousands of them face load shedding on a daily basis. But a spokesperson for KE had earlier told Dawn that the company's load shedding policy was a "well-thought-out and considerate strategy for the citizens of Karachi".

He said: "K-Electric’s Segmented Load Shed (SLS) policy divides feeders based on their loss profile, which is determined by the T&D [transmission and distribution] losses and recovery ratios in any particular area."

In February, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had warned KE of "consequences" if people of Karachi suffered loadshedding in summer.

Federal govt to launch major campaign for coronavirus vaccination: Asad

The head of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar said that the government will launch a major campaign to make sure that the coronavirus vaccine reaches the entire population.

Umar spoke about the government's plan to launch the campaign while addressing a press conference in Islamabad after attending a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan that reviewed the coronavirus situation in the country.

The federal minister for planning said that the restrictions introduced by the government before Eid had paid dividends as the positivity rate was declining.

He explained that the restrictions were a "defensive action" and affects the livelihood of the people, adding that the only way out of the current situation was to get vaccinated.

Umar said that the government is hoping to get enough people vaccinated by Eid-ul-Azha so that there is no need to impose restrictions as they did on Eid-ul-Fitr.

To that end, the minister said that the government is shifting from the "whole of government approach" to a “whole of nation approach”.

Umar said that under the whole of government approach "all departments, be it federal or provincial, are working together" against COVID-19.

"The next stage that we are going to is called the whole of nation approach," said Umar. He added that this means that the "whole nation has to work together" for the vaccination drive.

"To make sure that the vaccine reaches everyone, we are launching a major campaign," said Umar.

The minister said that as the first step, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) will hold a meeting with media owners and anchors tomorrow.

"We will take [media's] help first in the campaign. Media played a positive role when coronavirus was first reported. Like this, we want a big vaccination campaign focusing on why vaccination is necessary," said the NCOC chief.

Umar said that the day after tomorrow, the NCOC will invite Pakistan's leading business forums and ask them to join the government's work.

"We will tell them how we want their help. We do not want their money, we will give them vaccines and through them, we will try to vaccinate their employees and their families," said the NCOC chief.

He also added that after reaching out to their people, the government will use their hospitals and mobile teams to reach the common man.

In the next step of the campaign, the minister said that the government will reach out to the religious scholars of the country.

"We have requested President Arif Alvi to call a meeting of religious scholars and make sure the message reaches every Pakistani, that taking care of your health is in your religion," said Umar. He also shared that the government will reach out to the bar councils and journalist organisations as well.

"In today’s meeting NCC approved this strategy of ours but this strategy will be successful not because of the NCC but when everyone, as a Pakistani, plays their part," said Umar.

Sindh govt to set up coronavirus vaccine centres in public, private institutions

The Sindh government has decided to set up coronavirus vaccine centres in public and private institutions.

In line with the decision, a coronavirus vaccine centre was set up by the Sindh Health Department in a shopping mall in the Clifton area of ​​Karachi. Sindh Health Secretary Kazim Jatoi inaugurated the centre.

The health secretary said that the shopping mall administration has been provided with a single dose of the PakVac vaccine.

Jatoi said that in the first phase, the management will vaccinate its employees, and in the second phase, the families of the employees will be inoculated. Meanwhile, and in the third phase, customers coming to the shopping mall will be vaccinated.

According to the health secretary, the Sindh government has also set up a vaccine centre at a shopping mall on Rashid Minhas Road, while vaccinations are being carried out at the Sindh Secretariat, Karachi Press Club, Arts Council, the Bank of Punjab, the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), and other places.

"Getting the coronavirus vaccine jab is essential for everyone to conduct business activities safely, therefore, all industrialists should vaccinate their staff," Jatoi said.

On the other hand, the Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah attended the meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) and said that the province is following the vaccination policy of the federation.

"At present, 70,000 vaccines are being administered daily in Sindh but we want to meet the target of 200,000 vaccines per day," Jatoi said.

"We plan to administer 100,000 vaccines daily during the mobile vaccination campaign."

DRAP gives emergency approval for Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan on Monday gave emergency approval for Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine — and now the local population can be inoculated with it.

The DRAP Registration Board approved the vaccine's use for children above 12 years of age, thus becoming the first vaccine that can be administered to children in Pakistan.

"This vaccine will be administered to people with low immunity, including, pregnant women and aspiring pilgrims (hajjis) who are above 40,".

More than 100,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine had arrived in Pakistan through the COVAX facility, United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Pakistan had said on Friday.

The doses had reached Islamabad Friday morning with the help of UNICEF, it said in a statement on Facebook.

UNICEF had said that a consignment containing diluents as well as syringes is expected in the next two days.

DRAP officials said influential people have started seeking inoculations for Pfizer's vaccine, adding the administration of the vaccine would now be closely monitored.

The officials said steps were being taken to avoid a situation where undeserving people could get the jab.

It is pertinent to mention here that so far, DRAP has approved emergency use of three Chinese, one British, and one Russian vaccine.

Meanwhile, the federal government has decided to buy one million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus mRNA vaccine.

A bilateral agreement has been made between Pfizer and the National Disaster Management Authority to procure the vaccines, an official of the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination confirmed.

Officials said Pakistan would receive 1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in July or August, while 23 ultra-cold chain freezers have been purchased to store the vaccine.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan also confirmed that they were in talks with Pfizer to procure the vaccine through a bilateral agreement but added that the deal was not final yet.

The Pfizer vaccine will be given to immunocompromised people and those travelling abroad under the age of 40.

Pakistan received the first shipment comprising 106,000 doses of Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine through COVAX on Friday, officials at the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in Islamabad confirmed and said shipments of diluents and syringes also reached Islamabad.

On the other hand, Pfizer officials also confirmed that they were in negotiations with Pakistan for the provision of mRNA vaccine through a bilateral agreement, adding Pakistan initially wants one million doses of the vaccine, which can be delivered to Islamabad in June or July 2021.

Govt is trying to delay the AJK polls to temper the voters’ list: Pervez Ashraf

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has announced to raise voice for timely election in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) at every forum, reported on Monday.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad,  Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said the Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI) government is working against its claims.

He claimed that the PTI government after seeing their expected defeat in the elections is trying to delay the polls to temper the voters’ list.

There is no provision in the constitution to delay general elections in the AJK, he added. Ashraf vowed to raise the issue at every forum and added that the PPP will ensure timely elections in the region.

Amid COVID trend, the National Command Operation Center (NCOC), last week had recommended the federal government to defer polls in Azad Kashmir for two months and continue Covid-led restrictions intact.

The times ahead of polls are very eventful and there are political campaignings and rallies which may mean spreaders of Covid due to crowds that follow, NCOC had said.

Even in the past, NCOC said, Covid trend rose in the region and to hold the elections in July may again pose Covid threats there.

Covid-19 vaccination of citizens over 18 to start Thursday

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided on Monday to start scheduling Covid-19 vaccination of citizens above 18 years of age from Thursday.

In a message on his official Twitter handle, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the NCOC, said: “In today’s National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) meeting it was decided to start scheduling vaccination of registered 18 plus from thursday the 3rd of june.”

“With this step the vaccination of all eligible age groups would carried out,” he said, appealing to people to sign up for vaccination as soon as possible.
On May 27, the government started registering citizens aged 18 and above for vaccination against Covid-19. People in the age bracket of 19 to 30 years were asked to register themselves by sending CNIC to 1166.

On Sunday, Asad Umar said that Pakistan set a new record of most vaccinations in a day after nearly 400,000 people received COVID jabs on Saturday. Taking to Twitter, Asad Umar said that over 383,000 people received COVID jabs on Saturday, setting a new record of most vaccinations in a day.

“So far seven million people have been vaccinated in the country,” he said.

Punjab vaccinates 1,80000 against COVID-19 in a day

Punjab has set a new record of most vaccinations in a day after 1,8000 people received COVID jabs over the past 24 hours, reported.

According to the Primary and Secondary Health Department Punjab, the process of vaccination has been geared up on the directions of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC).

As many as 1,80000 people received COVID jabs on Sunday, setting a new record of most vaccinations in a day in Punjab. So far 39,00000 people have received COVID jabs, since the start of the drive in the province.

The health department said that they will achieve the vaccination target set by the NCOC.

On Sunday, Federal Minister for Planning and Development and NCOC head Asad Umar had stated that so far seven million people have been vaccinated in the country, while the number of people getting registered for the vaccination is also increasing day by day.

He had said that so far 11.6 million people have registered themselves to receive COVID jabs.

Pakistan records 2,117 fresh corona cases in a day

As many as 2,117 new cases of the coronavirus (Covid-19) detected over the previous 24 hours took the country’s caseload to 921,053.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data, the death toll climbed to 20,779 after 43 more people succumbed to the disease.

A total of 52,223 samples were tested, out of which 2,117 turned out to be positive. The positivity rate of infections was recorded at 4.05%, the NCOC said.

1,919 more people recuperated from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recovered patients to 841,241. The number of Covid-19 patients in critical care has come down to 3,947.

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Punjab has reported a total of 339,989 infections, Sindh 317,665, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 132,549, Islamabad 81,195, Balochistan 25,148, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 19,232, and Gilgit Baltistan 5,578.

On Sunday, Federal Minister for Planning and Development and head of the NCOC Asad Umar said that Pakistan set a new record of most vaccinations in a day after nearly 400,000 people received COVID jabs on Saturday.

Taking to Twitter to make the announcement, Asad Umar said that over 383,000 people received COVID jabs on Saturday, setting a new record of most vaccinations in a day.

“So far seven million people have been vaccinated in the country,” he said while sharing that number of people getting registered for the vaccination is also increasing day by day.

Tareen demands ruling PTI make Ali Zafar’s report public

A Lahore sessions court on Monday has extended the interim bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen and his son Ali Tareen in money laundering case till June 11, reported.

Additional Sessions Judge Hamid Hussain heard the interim bail of Jahangir Tareen and Ali Tareen. At the outset of the hearing, the judge asked about the last 15 days development in the case. The deputy director FIA replied that an official of the department has been transferred, the investigation is still underway.

“It’s been long since the case is underway, but yet the investigation has not been completed, is FIA not interested in pursuing the case,” Justice Hamid Hussain asked the FIA official.

Later the hearing was adjourned until June 11.

Talking to newsmen after getting an extension in interim bail, Jahangir Tareen said, Prime Minister Imran Khan has promised delivery of justice and we are still waiting for it.

Commenting on the report finalized by Barrister Ali Zafar, the PTI leader he respects Zafar a lot and was hoping that his report will be made public.

He deamdned to public the report so that everything should become crystal clear.

Earlier, sources having knowledge of the matter had relayed the probe team has started preparing working papers to arrest sugar baron and disgruntled leader of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Jahangir Tareen.

Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine reduces mortality by 97 percent: study

Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine reduces coronavirus mortality by 97 percent, according to early results of the immunization campaign in Uruguay, which relies heavily on the Chinese vaccine.

In people who had received two doses, it reduced infection with the coronavirus by 57 percent and intensive care admissions by 95 percent, said a report by the health ministry of the South American nation.

Compared to other vaccines in use, there have been few scientific publications on the efficacy of CoronaVac, produced by Chinese firm Sinovac, and widely divergent reported results.

Coronavac is nevertheless widely used in China and in some two dozen other countries.

Chile reported last month that early results from its immunization campaign showed CoronaVac to be 67 percent effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and 80 percent at preventing death.

Trial results with CoronaVac in Brazil showed efficacy of about 50 percent in preventing symptomatic infection, while Turkish data said it was more than 80 percent effective.

Uruguay, which started vaccinating on March 1, has used CoronaVac in more than 80 percent of cases.

It has reserved the Pfizer-BioNTech jab for older people, health workers, and people other illnesses.

The results are based on outcomes two weeks after administering two shots to some 862,000 people — more than 712,000 who received CoronaVac and almost 150,000 Pfizer.

The Pfizer shot, the results showed, was 75 percent effective at preventing infection, 99 percent effective at preventing illness requiring ICU admission, and 80 percent effective at preventing death.

The results with the two vaccines are not directly comparable, as recipients of Pfizer in Uruguay fell into higher-risk categories, the ministry said.

Other studies have attached much better outcomes to Pfizer.

The largest real-world Pfizer study yet, in Israel, said this month it provided more than 95 percent protection against Covid-19.

CoronaVac is a traditional type of vaccine, using inactivated virus to trigger immunity, while Pfizer uses RNA messenger technology.

Uruguay, with a population of 3.5 million, has given at least one vaccine dose to 45.8 percent of the target population and two doses to 28.29 percent by May 25 — placing it third in the Americas behind Chile and the United States.

The country has never had a lockdown, and had comparatively few cases in the first months of the outbreak, but in recent weeks led the world in daily deaths per capita.

The ministry said the results are preliminary and should be interpreted with caution, as some data has yet to be processed.

UK PM Boris Johnson marries fiancee in surprise ceremony

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson married his fiancee Carrie Symonds in a small ceremony at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday, his office said.

The event was not announced in advance and media reports said guests were invited at the last minute to the Roman Catholic cathedral in central London, adding that even senior members of Johnson’s office were unaware of the wedding plans.

“The Prime Minister and Ms Symonds were married yesterday afternoon in a small ceremony at Westminster Cathedral,” Johnson’s office said on Sunday. “The couple will celebrate their wedding with family and friends next summer.”

Weddings in England are currently limited to 30 people due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Johnson, 56, and Symonds, 33, have been living together in Downing Street since Johnson became prime minister in 2019.

On Saturday, the cathedral was suddenly locked down at 1:30 p.m. and Symonds arrived 30 minutes later in a limo, in a long white dress with no veil, media reports said.

The couple announced last year they were engaged and that they were expecting a child. Their son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, was born in April 2020.

Earlier this month the Sun had reported that wedding invitations had been sent to friends and family for July 2022. read more

Boris Johnson, once dubbed “Bonking Boris” by Britain’s tabloid media, has a complicated private life.

He was once fired from the Conservative Party’s policy team while in opposition for lying about an extra-marital affair. He has been divorced twice and refuses to say how many children he has fathered.

Johnson’s last marriage was to Marina Wheeler, a lawyer. They had four children together but announced in September 2018 that they had separated.

215 bodies found at residential school for children in Canada

The rem­ains of 215 children, some as young as three years old, have been found buried on the site of what was once Canada’s largest indigenous residential sch­o­ol, one of the institutions that held children taken from families across the nation.

Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tkemlups te Secw­pemc First Nation said in a news release that the rem­ains were confirmed last weekend with the help of ground-penetrating radar.

More bodies may be found because there are more areas to search on the school grounds, Casimir said on Friday. In an earlier release, she called the discovery an unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never documented at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 First Nations children were required to attend state-funded Christ­ian schools as part of a programme to assimilate them into Canadian society. They were forced to convert to Christianity and not allow­ed to speak their native languages.

Many were beaten and verbally abused, and up to 6,000 are said to have died.

The Canadian government apologised in parliament in 2008 and admitted that physical and sexual abuse in the schools was rampant. Many students recall being beaten for speaking their native languages; they also lost touch with their parents and customs.

Indigenous leaders have cited that legacy of abuse and isolation as the root cause of epidemic rates of alcoholism and drug addiction on reservations.

No new taxes in upcoming budget: finance minister

In a bid to provide maximum relief to the common man, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has announced that the federal government would not impose new taxes in the budget 2021-22.

Addressing a budget webinar in Islamabad today, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said that no new tax would be slapped on taxpayers, adding that they would trace tax evaders via modern technology and send them to the prisons.

He maintained that achieving sustainable development goals was the top priority of the incumbent government. The finance minister said agriculture, industries, IT and service sectors will be incentivized in the next budget to enhance their productivity.

He further said the government has a progressive plan for the development of agriculture sector. Enhancing its productivity will also help check the prices of food items.

“The tax rates will not be increased,” he said, adding that they have figured out a plan to enhance our revenues.

He expressed the confidence that the tax collection will reach 5.8 trillion rupees next year. He said technology will be used to achieve the target without any coercion.

Shaukat Tarin said power sector will be stabilized and innovative ways will be used to reduce the ballooning circular debt. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan has given the commitment that there will be no increase in electricity tariff in the near future.

He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to put the country on the path of inclusive and sustainable growth. He said the Economic Advisory Council comprising of eminent economists has been tasked the responsibility to prepare short, medium and long term plans for various sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, power, housing etc.

On the development side, Shaukat Tarin said the PSDP allocation will be increased to nine hundred billion rupees in the next financial year from the current year’s 650 billion rupees. He said private sector will also be included in the development process.

Sarfaraz, 10 others couldn’t travel to Abu Dhabi despite receiving clearance

Quetta Gladiators captain and 10 other participants couldn’t travel to Abu Dhabi for remaining Pakistan Super League (PSL) season six matches.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board, Sarfaraz from Karachi and 10 others from Lahore have not been able to travel despite receiving clearance.

All of them were scheduled to leave for Abu Dhabi by commercial flights at around 4 am this morning.

Remember, Abu Dhabi Sports Council gave special permission to PCB to send 16 people via commercial flight from Pakistan to UAE.

PCB has contacted the Abu Dhabi Sports Council for clearance of all people. The PCB is also considering alternative options for their early departure to the UAE.

On the other hand, five people including fast bowler Muhammad Hasnain left Karachi for Abu Dhabi.

Asad Toor assailants will be behind bars soon, interior minister claims

Federal interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said Saturday in the wake of an alleged attack on journalist Asad Toor which prompted protests that some people are trying to malign sensitive state institutions in the case.

The federal minister said the ministry has collected concrete video evidence of incident and a probe is underway to zero in on the assailants who led the attack on Toor.

Islamabad police and Federal Investigation Agency are working in alliance to investigate the collected evidence, he said.

Whoever is found guilty of the wrongdoing and assailing the journalist will be taken to task and held accountable for his actions soon, Ahmad said.

Separately today on the political front, the head of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Maulana Fazlur Rehman said in a press conference following the huddle amongst the opposition alliance a new strategy of protests and marches starting July has been hammered out.

The situation of this region is getting worse, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman said referring to the security state and terrorism after the huddle where he said all allies sat together.

He noted Pakistan Peoples Party and Awami National Party are not parts of PDM and thus these parties were not discussed in the least today.

Fawad holds PML-N, PPP responsible for economic crisis

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday held Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for the country’s economic crisis.

In a series of Tweets, Fawad said, Pakistan is facing economic crisis due to ineffective policies of PML-N and PPP governments.

پاؤں پرکھڑا کرنےکی اس کوششش میں بھرپورحصہ ڈالا اور1,000ارب روپیہ پاکستان بھیجا، گندم،چاول،گنااور مکئ کی تاریخی پیداوار ہوئ زرعی معیشت میں 1100ارب روپیہ منتقل ہوااس سے کسانوں کی قوت خرید میں بھرپور اضافہ ہوا,ٹریکٹر 64% زیادہ فروخت ہوئے کھاد اور زرعی ادویات کے استعمال میں اضافہ ہوا

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 30, 2021

Fawad further said that the policies of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are boosting the economic growth of the country.

For the first time, Rs4 billion tax has been gathered, he added.

The minister maintained that historical production of wheat, rice, sugarcane and corn has been recorded during PTI tenure.

PM Imran Khan to take live calls from public today

Prime Minister Imran Khan will interact with the general masses via telephone again today (Sunday) for a fourth time.

The prime minister has been taking live calls from the masses and answering their queries for the past couple of months.

This is the fourth time he will be interacting with the public. Today, the transmission will begin at 4:00pm.

If you wish to speak to PM Khan, call on 051-9224900.

The interaction will be broadcast live on television, radio and digital media.

Oman Arab Bank launches $250 million debut bond deal

Oman Arab Bank was set to raise $250 million on Thursday in its first foray in the international debt markets with an Additional Tier 1 perpetual bond issue, a document showed.

The bank launched the bonds at a yield of 7.625% after initial price guidance in the low 8% range for the AT1 bonds after it received more than $1.1 billion in orders, the document from one of the banks on the deal showed.

AT1 bonds are at the higher end of the risk spectrum of bank debt issues. They are perpetual in nature but issuers can redeem them after a specified period. Oman Arab Bank’s bonds will be non-callable (redeemable) for five years.

The deal is the latest in a series of AT1 bond issues from the oil-rich Gulf this year, as banks take advantage of low interest rates to bolster their Tier 1 capital after the region’s economies were hit by the double shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s historic slide in oil prices.

Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Kamco Invest, Standard Chartered Bank and Ubhar Capital are arranged the deal.

Oman Arab Bank issued AT1 bonds denominated in Omani rials in 2016 and 2018.

Pandemic won’t be over until 70% are vaccinated: WHO

The WHO’s European director warned Friday that the Covid-19 pandemic won’t be over until at least 70 percent of people are vaccinated, while deploring that the vaccine rollout in Europe is still “too slow”.

“The pandemic will be over once we reach 70 percent minimum coverage in vaccination,” the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe Hans Kluge told AFP in an interview.

Kluge also said that one of his main worries was the increased contagiousness of new variants of the novel coronavirus.

“We know for example that the B.1617 (Indian variant) is more transmissible than the B.117 (British variant), which already was more transmissible than the previous strain,” Kluge said.

According to the Belgian doctor, speed is “of essence” in pandemic.

“Even when WHO declared a pandemic, many countries were still waiting, we lost valuable time.”

While the regional director, who has held the position since February 2020, lauded calls for solidarity he stressed that a speedy rollout of vaccines was of the utmost importance.

“Our best friend is speed, the time is working against us, the vaccination roll-out still goes too slow,” Kluge said.

“We need to accelerate, we need to enlarge the number of vaccines.”

In the 53 countries and territories that make up the WHO’s European region — including several in Central Asia — 26 percent of the population has received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

In the European Union, 36.6 percent of the population has received at least one dose, according to a count by AFP.

The number of new daily Covid-19 cases around the world dropped by 13 percent to 554,200, according to an AFP toll.

The number of daily cases had fallen by half over a month at the beginning of the year to around 355,000, but started to spiral higher again on February 20. The number of cases then began to drop four weeks ago.

Europe accounted for the biggest slow down, with its number of cases this week falling by almost a quarter, or 24 percent.

The biggest drop was in Sweden by 51 percent to 1,900 new cases per day. Poland followed with 47 percent less, Germany 41 percent less, Ukraine 33 percent less and Switzerland 33 percent less.

The number of confirmed cases only reflects a fraction of the actual number of infections, with different countries also having varying counting practices and levels of testing.

Despite the overall improvement in Europe, the UK was the country where the pandemic picked up most speed, with 74 percent more cases or 2,600 per day.

The Covid variant which emerged in India, which is feared to be particularly contagious, accounted for between half and three quarters of the new cases, according to the UK government.

Bahrain followed with 55 percent more cases, Bangladesh 50 percent more, Kuwait 46 percent more and Malaysia 43 percent more.

India also continued to mourn the most deaths, with 4,016 per day, followed by Brazil 1,797, the US (661), Colombia (494) and Argentina (491).

At the world level the number of deaths dropped by six percent this week to 11,563 per day.

However, the World Health Organization believes that as many as three times more people have died because of the pandemic than official figures suggest.

Syria’s Bashar al-Assad re-elected for 4th term

Bashar al-Assad has been re-elected for a fourth term as president of Syria, official results showed on Thursday, despite Western accusations the polls were “neither free nor fair”.

The parliamentary speaker announced Thursday that Assad garnered 95.1 percent of the votes cast, trouncing two virtually unknown challengers.

Standing against him were former state minister Abdallah Salloum Abdallah and Mahmud Merhi, a member of the so-called “tolerated opposition”, long dismissed by exiled opposition leaders as an extension of the regime.

On the eve of the election, the US, Britain, France, Germany and Italy said the poll was “neither free nor fair”, and Syria s fragmented opposition has called it a “farce”.

But few doubted that Assad, a 55-year-old ophthalmologist by training, would be re-elected.

In the last multi-candidate poll in 2014, Assad won 88 percent of the vote.

Huge election posters glorifying Assad had mushroomed across the two-thirds of the country under his control in the lead-up to Wednesday s poll.

Before the election results were announced, tens of thousands of Syrians gathered Thursday in various cities to celebrate, waving Syrian flags and carrying pictures of Assad, state media reported.

The festivities broke out after the election committee, quoted by local TV, said that “the ballot counting process has been completed in the majority of Syrian provinces”.

“Tens of thousands of people in Tartus province gathered at the city s seafront to celebrate” Assad s expected win, according to state news agency SANA.

Some danced and beat drums, footage broadcast by Syrian television showed.

Thousands of other Syrians rallied in the coastal city of Latakia and in Umayyad Square in the capital Damascus, which along with Tartus and Latakia are bastions of the regime.

Celebrations were also underway in Aleppo and in Sweida, in Syria s south, where a crowd gathered in front of city hall, state media said.

Pakistan never paid attention to exports, laments PM Imran Khan

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday lamented that Pakistan never paid attention to exports, adding that it was very difficult to increase a country's wealth without them.

The premier was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Rashkai Special Economic Zone being developed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

"If you aren't increasing your exports, then the country's wealth will never increase," he lamented, adding that selling wheat and other products will not make Pakistan wealthy alone.

He said Pakistan should learn from the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) set up by China. He labelled the Rashkai Special Economic Zone a "big opportunity", stressing on authorities to create ease of doing business for investors.

"The more hurdles you remove for investors, the more investors will arrive here [in Pakistan]," he said, adding that Pakistan had not been an "investor-friendly country".

He said investors were always attracted by prospects of making profits and that was not possible without governments taking steps to ensure ease of doing business.

PM Khan said his government was focusing its efforts on removing hurdles from investors' paths, adding that Pakistan has the potential to become an "attractive destination" for businessmen.

The prime minister regretted how Pakistani investors were setting up businesses in Bangladesh, Malaysia and other countries. He said this phenomena was due to the fact that in Pakistan, the government does not remove hurdles for investors.

"We send them [investors] to this office or that office," he said, lamenting how investors were not treated like VIPs. "The biggest VIP here should be the one who creates employment opportunities for others," he added, as the audience erupted into applause.

The prime minister recalled the difficult time for his government when the PTI was elected to power a little over two years ago. He said Pakistan was on the brink of default, adding that the starting 1.5-year period of his prime ministership was the most challenging part of his life.

The premier said when Pakistan was pulling itself out of the economic crisis, the coronavirus shuttered businesses around the world and had an adverse impact on various countries' economies.

"We should raise our hands and profusely thank Allah," he said, adding that Pakistan had not suffered the same fate as other countries had, where millions were unemployed and thousands had died.

He praised the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) adding that the think tank was closely following the coronavirus situation in the country.

He praised his government's decision not to impose a coronavirus lockdown, adding that the poor would have "died from hunger" and Pakistan "would have suffered a fate similar to India".

He hit out at the Opposition, adding that they were "shocked" to see the country's economy improving all of a sudden.

"Let me remind them [Opposition] that I was the captain who introduced neutral umpires in cricket," the prime minister said, adding that he would not give up easily in reforming the country.

Senior US diplomat lauds Islamabad's 'sincere efforts for bringing peace and stability in the region'

Senior US diplomat in Pakistan Angela Aggeler on Friday lauded Islamabad for its "sincere efforts for bringing peace and stability in the region, especially the Afghan peace process".

US Chargé d’affaires Aggeler had called on Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi today.

"During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, overall regional security situation including recent developments in Afghan peace process and bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed" said a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

This is the US diplomat's second meeting with Gen Bajwa in a month.

Earlier this month, she had called on Gen Bajwa to discuss several matters of mutual interest between Pakistan and the United States.

4.8% GDP growth expected next fiscal year: Asad

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said Friday Pakistan's gross domestic product (GDP) growth was expected to hit 4.8% in the financial year 2021-2022.

Highlighting the achievements of the government during a press conference in Islamabad, Umar said in the nine months of the current fiscal year, IT exports showed growth of 46%.

Umar said the country had "witnessed a strong growth" during the fiscal year, and it is expected that the remittances would shoot up from $21.7 billion to $29.1 billion till the year end — an increase of 34% in a year.

The federal minister said if we combine the 3.94% GDP growth and the increase in remittances, it will take the gross national product (GNP) growth to 6.5% — the "highest" GNP growth in the last 16 years.

Umar said remittances played an important role in helping the country's economy grow, and it is important that we should give overseas Pakistanis the right to vote.

Shedding light on why the government is expecting a 4.8% GDP growth in FY22, he said that the government has invested in the agricultural sector which will greatly benefit the economy.

He said last year and this year cotton fields were badly affected, however, the government has now bought good quality seeds, stressed on the use of pesticides, and the demand for cotton has increased in the international market since.

"And so, after consultations with all the provinces, we have concluded that Pakistan can produce 10.5 million bales — 4 million from Sindh, 6 million from Punjab, and the rest from other provinces."

Umar said that the livestock industry had also been adversely impacted by coronavirus, but in the next fiscal year, it will move towards normalisation, and growth in this sector, too, will be visible.

The federal minister said electricity consumption was expected to grow by 6%, and after the government had announced a package for the industries, their power consumption had gone up 15% during the current fiscal — and in the next year, it is predicted to rise further.

Growth is also expected in gas, coal, construction, and among several other sectors. "Exports are predicted to go up. This year it stood at $25.2 billion, and in the next year, it will move up to $26.8 billion."

The federal minister said this year's $25.2 billion worth of exports were the country's highest figures in the last 10 years. "It is unfortunate that the backbone of the economy, exports faced several setbacks during the previous year."

Umar said next year's target for exports, $26.8 billion, would be the highest in the country's history.

The remittances might not grow like this year, but they are expected to move up from $29.1 billion to $31.3 billion — an expected increase of $2 billion.

Umar said the government was aiming at taking up the exports and expanding the IT sector, he said, adding: "The IT exports increased by 46%.

The Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) stood at Rs650 billion this year, and the government has increased it to Rs900 billion for the next fiscal year — a "huge" increase of Rs250 billion.

The federal minister said growth during the current fiscal year indicates that in the next fiscal year, the growth will be more than expected.

Giving an overview of the development spending for the next fiscal year, Umar said these envisage road infrastructure projects including Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway.

Giving an overview of the development spending for the next fiscal year, Umar said these envisage road infrastructure projects including the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway.

The packages announced for Karachi, and select districts of Sindh and Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan will be financed from the PSDP, the federal minister said.

Similarly, funds will be provided from the development plan for the construction of dams. Rs28 billion will be allocated for health, Rs37 billion for the Higher Education Commission, and Rs5 billion have also been set aside for the skills education programme.

The planning minister said the current account deficit for the next fiscal year has been estimated at 0.07%.

Trade with Afghanistan through Torkham remained suspended on the third consecutive day

Trade with Afghanistan through Torkham remained suspended on the third consecutive day on Thursday as Khugakhel tribesmen continued their protest and blockade of the main road leading to the border crossing.

Afghan nationals aspiring to return to their country were, however, provided with an alternative route via Charbagh area to reach Torkham as part of a good-well gesture by the protesters as the travellers also included women, children and elderly people.

Mufti Ejaz and Mirajuddin Khan, the elders of Khugakhel, told journalists at the protest site that their protest would continue till signing of a mutually agreed accord regarding fulfilment of their four major demands with concrete guarantees from the regional security officials.

The Khugakhel tribesmen, being the collective owners of the land leased out for the construction of modern customs terminal at Torkham, had long been pushing for payment of the price of the additional land the National Logistic Cell (NLC) had off late acquired for the terminal, share in the monthly profit from the terminal and adequate share in jobs for the youth of the tribe.

Both Mufti Ejaz and Mirajuddin said that Federal Board of Revenue, with whom they had earlier signed an agreement regarding lease of their land in 2016, and NLC had committed to sign a new agreement regarding acceptance of their demands in February but later they backtracked on their promise and they were compelled to resort to protest.

Meanwhile, scores of representatives of various political parties and local tribal and religious leaders visited the site of the protest near Landi Kotal bazaar and extended support to the protesting Khugakhel tribesmen and called upon the officials concerned to help resolve the issue.

No negotiations between the Khugakhel elders and government officials were held on Thursday while the day also remained peaceful as police avoided taking any action against the protesters.

PM Imran to directly interact with public via telephone on May 30

Prime Minister Imran Khan will interact with the general public via telephone for the fourth time on May 30.

Taking to Twitter, Senator Faisal Javed said that the prime minister will directly interact with the public for the fourth time at 3:00 pm on May 30 in a series of direct discussions via telephone under the banner of ‘Aap ka Wazir-e-Azam Aap kai Sath’ [Your Prime Minister is With You].
He said that the interaction would be broadcasted on television, radio and digital platforms as people could reach out to the prime minister via telephone number 051-9224900.

In the previous interaction, the prime minister besides directing to resolve issues raised by the general public said that the COVID cases in the country are witnessing a stabilizing effect and urged the public to adopt COVID SOPs during Eid in order to avoid an India-like situation.

“The more we adopt precautionary measures, the sooner we will be able to come out of this situation,” Imran Khan said adding that during his visit to PIMs, doctors conveyed that the COVID cases have stabilized and are not following an upward trajectory now.

Responding to a query of a caller, the Prime Minister categorically stated that Pakistan will not hold talks with India until it rescinds the illegal steps of 5th August 2019.

Centre and Sindh will together fight the menace of bandits in the province: Sheikh Rasheed

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said the Centre and Sindh will together fight the menace of bandits in the province.

Addressing a press conference here, he said: “I held a meeting with Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah this morning, wherein it was decided that the Cetnre and province will together deal with bandits.”

Sheikh Rasheed said the Sindh government can utilize the Rangers’ services wherever it wants in the province. “We are ready to provide the Rangers for the entire province if the Sindh government desires so,” he added.

He said bandits involved in kidnapping for ransom and murders will be booked under the terrorism law.

“We are ready to provide drones to the police,” the interior minister said in a reference to the chief minister’s demand for provision of air support and sensitive equipment for the anti-bandit operation.

“We will not rest until the dacoit rule is eliminated,” he vowed. Though, the Sindh government wants to tackle the Shikarpur situation on its own, the Rangers have been put on alert, he added.

Referring to rumours about the possible imposition of a governor’s rule in Sindh, Rasheed said neither did he discus the governor’s rule with the chief minister nor Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to interfere in Sindh’s affairs.

Earlier today, Sheikh Rasheed met with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. The two discussed the prevailing law and order situation in the province as well as the ongoing anti-bandit operation in Shikarpur at length. The interior secretary, Sindh chief secretary and provincial police chief were also in attendance in the meeting.

He assured Murad of extending all possible cooperation saying the Rangers are at the provincial government’s disposal and it can utilize the services of the paramilitary force for the anti-dacoit operation. He asked the CM to book bandits under terrorism clauses.

ATC: Witnesses identify Uzair Baloch in nine cases

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) resumed on Thursday hearing nine cases against Lyari gang war kingpin Uzair Baloch.

Baloch and nine witnesses, all policemen, appeared before the court as it resumed hearing.

During the hearing, the witnesses picked out Uzair Baloch before the court. The accused had attacked the police personnel during the Lyari operation, witnesses testified.

Adjourning the case until June 9, the court directed the prosecution side to present more witnesses on next hearing.

The nine cases registered at different police stations pertain to an attack on a police team and possession of explosives and illicit arms.

On May 20, jail officials failed to produce Uzair Baloch in court in a case pertaining to police encounter and attempt to murder. The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Karachi South received a letter from the senior superintendent jail over the matter.

“There are security concerns with regard to producing Uzair Baloch in the city court,” the jail official said in the letter. “The hearing of all other cases against him being conducted at the central jail,” the letter read.

The Judge ordered the jail authority to produce the accused or a government notification with regard to jail trial in the next hearing of the case. The court adjourned further hearing of the case till May 31.

Qaim Ali Shah appeared before NAB in PSM land case

Former Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah on Thursday appeared before National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) land case.

The NAB’s Rawalpindi office on Wednesday had asked Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), senior leader, to appear before the joint investigation team of the NAB on Thursday (today).

Talking to journalists, after appearing before the NAB, Qaim Ali Shah said DC and the commissioner were enjoying powers in the land case, in which he was summoned.

“Was asked to amend the law, but I rejected,” Shah said and added that the NAB has not given him any questionnaire neither gave another date for the appearance.

Replying to a reunion with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the PPP leader said that the party has yet not decided in this context.

The decision about rejoining PDM will be taken by the committee.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the reference against former chief minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah in 2012.

According to the reference, the accused had embezzled funds in the award of contracts, causing a loss of over Rs13 million to the Pakistan Steel Mills.

You’re over 19 years? Sign up for Covid-19 vaccination

The government started registering citizens aged 19 and above for vaccination against Covid-19 from today (Thursday).

People in the age bracket of 19 to 30 years can register themselves by sending their CNIC number to 1166.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in yesterday’s meeting decided to open vaccine registration for all people having Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs).
Around 39 million people will benefit from the decision, according to a report.

On Wednesday, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the NCOC, tweeted: “In today’s NCOC meeting we decided to open up vaccination registration for all 19 years and above.”

“This registration will start from tomorrow. So now registration will be open for the entire national population which is approved by health experts for covid vaccination,” he said.
The NCOC decision to register people aged 19 and above for vaccination came four days after it allowed vaccination of citizens aged 30 and above against Covid-19

Several citizens fined for not wearing face masks in Karachi

Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Karachi, the district administration has decided to impose heavy fines on the citizens who do not wear face masks in the city.

The administration of district South in an announcement said that it would set up cases and impose fines under the Epidemic Act against citizens who found violating corona SOPs.

The deputy commissioner visited various areas of the southern district and fined more than 30 citizens for not wearing masks.

The deputy commissioner fined the owners of Burns Road, Clifton, President, Defense bakery, Malik Shop, restaurants for seeing the staff without masks.

The deputy commissioner directed the owners of restaurants, bakeries and country shops to make their staff wear masks and enforce SOPs.
He clarified that no concessions would be made to those who did not wear face masks and heavy fines would be imposed on them.

The deputy commissioner said that seven shops were sealed for violation of SOPs and lockdown while a case was also registered against one shop owner.

Sun to align with Holy Kaaba today, at 14:18 Pakistan time

The sun will align with the Holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on Thursday (today) at 14:18 Pakistan Standard Time (PST) and 12:18 Saudi time.

The disc of the sun will be positioned immediately over the Kaaba and it will lose its shadow for a brief time, said Majed Abu Zahra, head of the Jeddah’s Astronomical Society.

The celestial phenomenon called “zero shadow” occurs twice every year at the Grand Mosque because of its location between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer. The holy structure loses its shadow for some time during this phenomenon.

Due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis, the sun travels at 23.5 degrees north and south of the celestial equator. The sun falls directly overhead on places lying over the equator during the equinox.

“People can determine the exact direction of the holy Kaaba by placing a wooden stick vertically in the ground; the direction of the Qibla will be the exact opposite to the stick’s shadow,” Abu Zahra added.

UNGA president arrives in Islamabad on three-day official visit

ISLAMABAD: President of the United Nations General Assembly Volkan Bozkir Wednesday reached Pakistan on a three-day official visit.

On his arrival at the airport, the UNGA president was received by senior officials of the foreign ministry, the UN Representative in Islamabad and Turkish Ambassador Mustafa Yurdakul.
“After an important and fruitful official visit to Bangladesh, I arrived in Islamabad for my official visit to Pakistan. I look forward to my important meetings tomorrow in Islamabad,” Volkan Bozkir said in his tweet.
The Foreign Office while detailing the visit said that the UNGA president is undertaking a visit from 26-28 May 2021 to Pakistan at the invitation of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

During his stay in Islamabad, Bozkir will have detailed talks with the foreign minister and call on the leadership. The interactions will cover a wide range of political and socio-economic issues on the UN agenda. Mr. Bozkir will also deliver a talk on the “Importance of Multilateralism.”

Volkan Bozkir is the first Turkish national to preside over the UN General Assembly. He is a former diplomat and a senior politician. Following his 39-year long illustrious diplomatic career in the Turkish Foreign Service, Bozkir was elected thrice as a member of the Turkish Parliament and has served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee and Minister for E.U. Affairs.

He also visited Pakistan in August 2020 before taking up the prestigious position of President of the UN General Assembly, the Foreign Office said while sharing the details.

The FO spokesman said that the visit of the UNGA president would lend an opportunity to showcase Pakistan’s active contributions to multilateralism and the central role of the United Nations in international affairs.

'Not answerable to Maryam or Nawaz': Bilawal

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Wednesday that the PPP was not answerable to PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz or PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and that his stance remained unchanged.

Addressing a press conference in Badin, Bilawal was responding to a question from a reporter on Maryam's recent comments that the PPP had not responded to the show cause notice sent to it and had shown her support to comments by Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Secretary General Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Abbasi had said on Tuesday that there was no place for the PPP within the opposition alliance until it restored the trust it had betrayed. He said that the PDM had sought a response from the PPP, which Bilawal had torn into pieces. "We had asked for a response. Join together the torn pieces [of the show-cause notice], read it and give us the clarification we had sought," Abbasi had said.

In Wednesday's press conference, the PPP chairman acknowledged that he had torn the show cause notice and there was no change in his stance on the PDM. "We are not answerable to Maryam or Mian Sahab. We are answerable to the PPP and the PPP's workers and we think the real joy will be in doing politics together with the PPP's workers."

Bilawal said that Shehbaz Sharif was the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and the PML-N president, thus the PPP would consider his stance and statements to be official PML-N policy and conduct its politics according to that.

He added that the PPP respected Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Reh­man and the two parties had had a "good relationship and contact". Bilawal said, however, that the PPP was engaging in politics based on its vision, principles, with respect and "we dont change our stance."

He called on those who wanted democracy to flourish, civilian supremacy and actually wanted to oppose Prime Minister Imran Khan to "instead of opposing the PPP, our friends in the opposition should target the government."

 

Bill for protection of journalists

During Wednesday's press conference, Bilawal also said he was grateful to the Sindh government, law department and the journalist community for the bill for the protection of journalists being approved by the committee in the Sindh Assembly.

"This will hopefully become law after being passed by the Sindh Assembly. It is with great sadness that we have to pass such bills in the 21st century, when you should get all protection according to the Constitution."

He condemned the swiftness with which journalists were being targeted and subjected to injustice and said Sindh Information Minister Nasir Shah was constantly engaged in efforts to follow-up and punish anyone involved in injustice with journalists.

Bilawal also condemned the attack on journalist and Youtuber, Asad Ali Toor, in Islamabad on Tuesday night. He questioned what kind of message was sent to all of Pakistan if journalists didn't feel secure under the federal government.

He particularly hit out at Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid for "lecturing other provinces but not being able to provide security to one journalist in Islamabad, his own domain". Bilawal said it was a "matter of shame" how journalists were allegedly attacked and beaten in their own homes every month in Islamabad and demanded action and an inquiry to be conducted at the highest levels.

The PPP chairman also once again reiterated the demand for release of funds and compensation according to the Supreme Court order to Bahria Town Karachi so it could be spent on infrastructure and development.

Bilawal said he wanted business activity and development in Sindh, however, "we will not accept anyone's hooliganism. Whoever that is, we will not accept anyone's hooliganism whether that is these housing [societies] or anyone else."

Bilawal also talked at length about issues and problems related to water and said there was a need to create a new consensus on distribution of water based on equality and justice. He said the PPP was ready to fight on the issue of injustice in water distribution on every level and also outlined measures by the Sindh Government to combat the issue such as lining of canals.

He also addressed the security situation in the province and credited the Sindh police and law enforcers for the increase in peace and security. Expressing his "full confidence" in the Sindh police's capacity and capability to maintain peace and security, he called for all institutions to work together to improve the law and order situation.

Chaudhry Nisar takes oath as member of Punjab Assembly

Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar on Wednesday took oath as the member of Punjab Assembly after a delay of two years and ten months.

The lawmaker was unable to take an oath as a member of the assembly on Monday due to the "absence of the speaker and deputy speaker."

The former interior minister left the assembly soon after acting speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari administered him the oath and then had a casual conversation with journalists.

"I will visit Lahore soon ... where I will speak to the journalists in detail," Nisar said, adding that he was not going to join any political party.

Nisar had been elected from Punjab Assembly’s constituency PP-10 in the 2018 general elections as an independent candidate. However, the former interior minister refrained from taking oath then, as he alleged that rigging cost him the National Assembly’s NA-59 seat.

Speaking to the media after he was unable to take the oath, he had said the day for his oath-taking was fixed but he was later informed that swearing-in was not possible in the absence of the speaker and deputy speaker of the assembly.

"I had decided to take oath after a political development took place. The government plans to introduce an ordinance that eyes disqualification of members; however, the qualification and disqualification of members are included in the Constitution of Pakistan," he had said.

He said that he had a stance from the beginning which he still adheres to, adding that he is not part of any political game.

"Imran Khan should tone down [his aggressiveness] towards the Opposition. The government should take into account all political viewpoints as this country needs increased understanding. This nation needs to unite, not divide," he said.

Nisar also said that news about his meeting with Shahbaz Sharif is only based on speculations.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was the acting governor in the absence of Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and is not attending the assembly sessions.

Similarly, according to sources, Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Mohammad Mazari was not attending either due to personal engagements.

After Nisar’s announcement, several conspiracy theories had started doing the rounds in print and social media that ‘someone’ wanted to give Nisar a bigger role and that’s why he was taking the oath after almost 2.5 years, the sources said.

The theory is: Nisar will take oath as an independent candidate and may later join PTI and replace Usman Buzdar.

Sources said this might be a hurdle race for Nisar. He would first have to make himself acceptable as the CM in the PTI and then deal with Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who also wants to control the province.

Nisar, who used to be one of the most influential leaders in the PML-N, contested the 2018 elections as an independent candidate from two national and two provincial assembly seats after developing differences with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

PM Imran vows action against DG Khan dacoits after video of brutal murders goes viral

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday vowed action against dacoits in Dera Ghazi Khan, after a video of three kidnapped people went viral on social media, two of whom were brutally murdered on tape.

Addressing a launch ceremony in Layyah of the Insaf Sehat Sahulat Card, he said he was saddened to see poor people being killed in this barbaric manner.

He said the Rangers have been given instructions to bring the perpetrators to book and provide all possible assistance to the police.

"Now these dacoits will not be spared. No one will be allowed to pester area residents any longer," he promised, adding that if needed a police checkpost will be established in the area.

The Ladi gang had abducted three people from the Taman Khosa area. A video that went viral yesterday showed one being shot dead, while the limbs of the other were chopped off before he was killed by the ring leader, known as Khuda Baksh.

All the while, his partner was filming the horrific events.

The Ladi gang leader said in the video that he had "killed the murderers of his companion Haroon".

Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar also noted with grave concern reports of the incident and ordered immediate action against the gang.

According to Hamza Salik, political assistant of DG Khan's tribal area, the Ladi gang members are hiding in the Koh-e-Sulaiman mountain range.

He said the border forces, with the help of Rangers and Punjab police, will "wipe out the gang".

Speaking about the sehat cards, the prime minister said provision of health cards to the citizens would ensure complete and free of cost health coverage, which prior to this was unimaginable in the country’s history.

He said now with the extension of health card facility to every family of the Punjab province, the poor people would no longer have to worry about medical treatment.

He said every family in the Sahiwal and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions could now avail health treatment worth Rs720,000. They are free to get health facilities in public and private hospitals alike.

An additional Rs300,000 can be given to the deserving families when required, he added.

The prime minister also underlined the need to encourage the private sector to fully participate in health initiatives.

He observed that the government-owned lands could be offered to the private sector at affordable prices for the construction of hospitals and other health facilities, especially in the far flung areas of the country.

The prime minister said he wanted every family in Punjab to have the health card.

He also asked the Punjab chief minister to pay special attention to those backward areas of the province that had been left behind in terms of development.

The prime minister noted that migration of the masses from rural to urban areas took place due to lack of job opportunities and basic facilities, multiplying population of cities, which led to multitude of serious civic issues like sewerage problems and scarcity of drinking water.

"The development must be all areas inclusive, so that no area is left behind," he emphasised.

The prime minister highlighting the motive behind the launch of the health cards facility, further said the poor families did not have enough resources to meet their health requirements.

He said the consideration for the plight of poor families had led to the establishment of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital (SKMH).

Under the health insurance, all such basic requirements would be met, he said.

The prime minister said in Pakistan, child mortality rate and ratio of pregnant mothers’ deaths has historically been very high, so it is imperative to establish health facilities in all the backward areas.

PM Imran Khan also appreciated the solarisation of all basic health units in the backward areas of Punjab province as a very good initiative.

Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar apprised the gathering that different uplift projects worth Rs21 billion were underway in Layyah.

He said every resident in the province would get health cards facility by the end of the year.

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid said a vast network of health facilities would cater to the health requirements of the residents of province.

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Blinken announces US aid to Gaza, pledges to reopen Jerusalem consulate

Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged on a Middle East mission on Tuesday that Washington would provide new aid to help rebuild Gaza as part of efforts to bolster a ceasefire between its Hamas rulers and Israel.

Hoping to reverse a move taken by former President Donald Trump that angered Palestinians, Blinken said the United States would advance the process of re-opening the Jerusalem consulate that had served as its diplomatic channel to the Palestinians.

Speaking alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Blinken said the United States would provide an additional $75 million in development and economic aid to the Palestinians in 2021, $5.5 million in immediate disaster relief for Gaza and $32 million to UN Palestinian aid agency.

But Blinken reiterated that Washington intended to ensure that Hamas, did not benefit from the humanitarian aid — a potentially difficult task in an enclave over which it has a strong grip.

Blinken began his regional visit in Jerusalem, where he held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader, speaking to reporters with the top US diplomat at his side, threatened a "very powerful response" if Hamas renewed cross-border rocket strikes.

The truce, brokered by Egypt and coordinated with the United States, began on Friday after 11 days of the worst violence by Israel against Palestinians in years. Now in its fifth day, it has been holding.

"We know that to prevent a return to violence we have to use the space created to address a larger set of underlying issues and challenges," Blinken said.

"And that begins with tackling the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza and starting to rebuild."

Blinken will be in the region through Thursday, and will also travel to Egypt and Jordan. In tandem with his visit, Israeli authorities allowed fuel, medicine and food earmarked for Gaza's private sector to enter the territory for the first time since the hostilities began on May 10.

Blinken said re-opening the US Consulate General in Jerusalem would be "an important way for our country to engage with and provide support to the Palestinian people".

The Trump administration merged the consulate with the US Embassy in Israel in 2019, two years after recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital and later moving the embassy there from Tel Aviv.

Those moves broke with long-standing US policy and infuriated Palestinians, who seek East Jerusalem as capital of future state.

Israel deems all of Jerusalem, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed in a move not recognised internationally, as its undivided capital.

Biden has no plans to reverse the embassy relocation but has moved in the early months of his term to repair relations with Palestinians. In April, Biden restored hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian aid cut by Trump.

Speaking alongside Blinken, Abbas thanked the US "for its commitment to the two-state solution (and maintaining) the status quo on the Haram al-Sharif," a Jerusalem compound holy to Muslims and Jews that contains Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest site.

Abbas also thanked Blinken for what he called American support "for the preservation of (Palestinian) residents of ... Sheikh Jarrah," an East Jerusalem neighbourhood where the potential evictions of Palestinian families helped spark the Israel-Gaza fighting.

Two states

Negotiations between Israel and Abbas's Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the West Bank, collapsed in 2014.

While Biden has said a two-state solution was the only answer to resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict, US officials have suggested it was too early for wider peace talks.

Israel is in political flux after four inconclusive elections in two years, and the Palestinians are divided by enmity between Hamas and Abbas, who holds sway in the West Bank.

Blinken said he and Netanyahu discussed "other steps" that need to be taken by leaders on both sides to set "a better course" for Israelis and Palestinians.

"As President Biden said, we believe that Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely, to enjoy equal measures of freedom, opportunity and democracy, to be treated with dignity," Blinken said.

At least 254 people were killed in Gaza and more than 1,900 wounded, Palestinian health authorities said, in hundreds of Israeli air strikes.

The Israeli military put the death toll in Israel at 13.

Commercial buildings, residential towers and private houses across the Gaza Strip, where two million people live, were damaged or destroyed by the time the ceasefire was announced.

In Gaza, Palestinian officials estimated reconstruction costs at tens of millions of dollars. Israel has blockaded the territory since 2007, in what Palestinians condemn as collective punishment. Egypt also maintains restrictions on its border with Gaza. Both countries cite security concerns for the measures.

Israel says air strikes hit legitimate military targets and that it did its utmost to avoid civilian casualties, including giving prior warnings when it was about to strike residential buildings that it said also had a military use.

 

British-Pakistani Muhammad Afzal becomes Birmingham’s new Lord Mayor

Councillor Muhammad Afzal has become Birmingham’s new Lord Mayor and was sworn in to be the “first citizen” of the city where he’s lived for more than 50 years now.

Afzal, who was first elected as a councillor way back in 1982 from the city’s Aston Ward, is currently the longest-serving Muslim councillor in the UK.

He hails from Jhelum, Pakistan, and came to the UK in 1969. Afzal is the first Muslim to be elected as a councillor in Birmingham.

The veteran Labour politician is also Birmingham’s fifth Muslim lord mayor with a Pakistani background. The other four were Mahmood Hussain followed by Abdul Rashid JP, Shafiq Shah, and the current Lord Mayor Muhammad Azim.

Hussain was the first Muslim Lord Mayor of Birmingham, while Shah holds the record of being the youngest ever Lord Mayor.

Afzal was selected by the city council’s ruling Labour group back in January 2020 after the full council meeting and was set to become Lord Mayor in May 2020; however, due to coronavirus and the lockdown it wasn’t possible for him to take charge.

He has replaced Azim as the Lord Mayor as the latter steps down from the post after serving two years in office.

Afzal has also served as the chair of Labour’s BAME (Black, Asian and, Minority Ethnic) group.

He was also elected to be the Lord Mayor back in 2016, but soon after he withdrew from running the post due to his alleged remarks about then Prime Minister David Cameron.

He was criticised for accusing Cameron as an “Islamophobe” over the government’s anti-terrorism programme “Prevent” during a rally at Birmingham Central Mosque.

The veteran politician was also the chairman of Central Mosque at that time, a post which he held for many years.

However, now ,after a wait of five years, he’s all set to become the Lord Mayor again — making him the city’s 111th person to hold the office.

For the mayor’s oath-taking ceremony, normally the council chamber is packed with councillors and members of the public, but due to the COVID-19, only a handful of councillors attended the ceremony.