Daily News Pakistan

A protocol officer of Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar died of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), citing sources. Hamid Raza had been under treatment at the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) since he contracted the deadly disease, sources at the medical facility said. They said his kidneys stopped functioning due to the infection. Expressing sadness over the demise of his protocol officer, the chief minister extended condolences to the bereaved family. “Hamid Raza was a hard-working, dutiful and professional officer. He discharged his duties sincerely,” CM Buzdar said. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), COVID-19 claimed 98 more lives across the country over the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 14,530. As many as 4,974 new cases of Covid-19 surfaced when 50,055 tests were conducted.

Coronavirus has claimed 98 more lives in Pakistan during the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 14,530, on Thursday. The latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed the COVID-19 has claimed 98 more lives and 4,974 fresh infections were reported during the period. During the period of a day, the total count of active cases was recorded at 53,127 and the positivity rate stood at 9.93 per cent. The health facilities across the country conducted 50,055 coronavirus detection tests, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests to 10,247,374 since the first case was reported. According to the statistics, 106 patients were declared critical, adding to the total number of patients suffering from sensitive health condition up to 3,303. Overall 605,274 people have recovered from the virus including 2,148 who have regained their health from COVID-19 during the past 24 hours.

Even though a team of experts has dismissed the lab leak theory behind COVID-19, Who chief calls for further investigation on the issue has put China under pressure over the investigation into the origins of coronavirus. A report by WHO and Chinese experts released on Tuesday had judged the lab-leak hypothesis highly unlikely, saying the virus behind COVID-19 had probably jumped from bats to humans via an intermediary animal. China warmly welcomed the report, seeing it as confirmation of its handling of the investigation following allegations it had tried to delay and then restrict it. The report also initially appeared to back China's firm rejection of theories that the pandemic may have been triggered by a leak from a virology lab in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus first emerged. But WHO chief Teodros Ghebreyesus on Tuesday reopened the lab leak theory, as he raised concerns about the level of access China provided to the experts during their visit to Wuhan

Federal Finance Minister Hammad Azhar announced Wednesday the government's decision to decrease the prices of petrol and diesel. "This decision is not related to the ECC [meeting that took place] but the first decision we have taken, after consultations with the prime minister, we will reduce the prices of petrol and diesel," said Hammad Azhar during a news conference. "The price of petrol will be slashed by Rs1.5 per litre while the price of diesel will be slashed by Rs3 per litre. We took this decision because now, we have some room due to a change in prices at the international market," he said. The minister spoke about the high prices of sugar in Pakistan, saying the government had allowed sugar to be imported from other countries, however, the price of the commodity in other countries was also high. "However, in our neighbouring country India, the price of sugar is quite cheap," he said. "Hence, we have decided to resume sugar trade wit

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday rejected the Sindh government's recommendation to impose a "complete lockdown" across the country for two weeks. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had earlier said the government should impose a "complete lockdown" across the country for two weeks to stem the spread of the virus. Reacting to his comments, the prime minister said Pakistan cannot afford a complete lockdown, adding that the measure would adversely impact daily wage earners across the country. He said, for the time being, the government will impose smart lockdowns across the country, adding that it was imperative to exercise even more caution during the third wave of the coronavirus. CM Murad had earlier said that a complete lockdown is needed in Pakistan to get a grip on the third wave of coronavirus. “Do a lockdown or don’t do it, smart lockdown is nothing,” the chief minister had said while speaking to media in Islamabad. The Sindh chief minister h

Pakistani banker and former finance minister Shaukat Tareen is likely to be made Prime Minister Imran Khan's aide on finance and revenue. According to the sources, Tareen — who attends important meetings of PM Imran Khan's finance and economic team — would likely be appointed special assistant to the premier or his finance adviser. However, the final decision on whether he would be appointed as a special assistant or adviser would be made by the premier himself, the sources added. On the other hand, top officials of the PTI regime have contacted Tareen, who said he "is ready to directly work with" the government but has asked for 15-20 days' time to "deal with something he's busy in", the sources added. One recommendation, according to the sources, is that Tareen could work with Hammad Azhar — who was given the portfolio of finance ministry a day earlier in addition to serving as the federal minister for industries and production — on technical

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has filed two FIRs against Jahangir Tareen and two other family members in sugar scandal and money laundering charges, on Wednesday. FIA Lahore registered cases against CEO of JWD Sugar Mills, Jahangir Tareen, his son Ali Tareen and son-in-law in the sugar scam. “Over three billion rupees money laundering made by showing investment in a closed factory,” according to the FIR. The investigation agency has also charged Tareen and others for illegal hoarding of sugar, misappropriation and cheating in the FIR. CEO of JWD Sugar Mills in an act of forgery transferred 3.14 billion rupees to a closed company, the FIR read. “In year 2011-12 over three billion rupees were transferred to Farooqi Pulp Milk Ltd,” according to the case. In year 2011-12 Tareen and family members also purchased dollars from the open market. His nominees transferred over seven million dollars to overseas for purchase of properties,” according to the FIR. The FIA in another

Coronavirus has claimed 78 more lives in Pakistan during the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 14,434, reported on Wednesday. The latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed the COVID-19 has claimed 78 more lives and 4,757 fresh infections were reported during the period. During the period of a day, the total count of active cases was recorded at 50,397. The health facilities across the country conducted 43,965 coronavirus detection tests, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests to 10,197,329 since the first case was reported. According to the statistics, 27 patients were declared critical, adding to the total number of patients suffering from sensitive health condition up to 3,197. Overall 603,126 people have recovered from the virus including 2,848 who have regained their health from COVID-19 during the past 24 hours.

Rubbish piled up on the streets of Myanmar’s main city on Tuesday after activists launched a “garbage strike” to oppose military rule as the toll of pro-democracy protesters killed by the security forces since a Feb. 1 coup rose to more than 500. Security forces shot and killed one man in the southernmost town of Kawthaung as they cleared the streets, the Mizzima news portal reported, and one person was killed in the northern town of Myitkyina, a relative of the 23-year-old victim told Reuters. Police and a junta spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, re-imposing military rule after a decade of tentative steps towards democracy. At least 512 civilians have been killed in nearly two months of protests against the coup, 141 of them on Saturday, the bloodiest day of the unrest, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) advocacy group.

Pakistan will import Chinese Cansino Biologics Covid-19 vaccines in bulk to package three million doses locally, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said on Tuesday. "We will be getting the bulk vaccine by mid-April from Cansino, from which 3 million doses can be made," Umar said on Twitter. "The bulk vaccine received will be formulated, sterilised and packed in Pakistan. For this purpose special equipment has been procured and manpower is being trained," he said. Meanwhile, the first batch of 60,000 doses of the vaccine is arriving today, he said. Cansino's vaccine is one of the four approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap), the other three being China's Sinopharm, Russia's Sputnik-V and the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine. The company had last month released the interim efficacy results of a multi-country trial, which included Pakistan, showing 65.7 per cent efficacy in preventing symptomatic coronavirus cas

Prime Minister Imran Khan has responded to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's Pakistan Day message, telling him that the Pakistani people "also desire peaceful, cooperative relations with all neighbours, including India", it emerged on Tuesday. The premier wrote this in a letter to the Indian leader, a week after Modi told Imran in a message that his country, being a neighbour, desired cordial relations with the Pakistani people. "I thank you for your letter conveying greetings on Pakistan Day. The people of Pakistan commemorate this Day by paying tribute to the wisdom and foresight of our founding fathers in envisioning an independent, sovereign state where they could live in freedom and realise their full potential," Prime Minister Imran wrote in the letter, dated March 29, the Foreign Office confirmed. "The people of Pakistan also desire peaceful, cooperative relations with all neighbours, including India," he added. The prime minister sai

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Tuesday the world is aware of Pakistan’s efforts for peace. Talking to the media on the sidelines of the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process, Qureshi said there is a consensus that the only solution to the Afghan conflict is a comprehensive dialogue. He said the world is seconding Pakistan’s stance on the Afghan issue, realising that there is no military solution to it. Qureshi said he met his Turkish counterpart the other day and during the meeting, the Afghan peace process came under discussion. He added he will be meeting with the Afghan counterpart today.

In another reshuffle in the federal cabinet, Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday gave the additional portfolio of petroleum ministry to his special assistant on power Tabish Gauhar. The Cabinet Division has issued a notification removing Nadeem Babar as SAPM on Petroleum and giving the additional charge of the ministry to Tabish Gauhar. The latest reshuffle follows on the heels of yesterday’s decision of the prime minister to remove Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and gave the portfolio to Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar as an additional charge. Another shakeup in the federal cabinet is likely to take place in a day or two. On March 26, SAPM Nadeem Babar resigned from his post after the premier asked him to leave his post over his alleged role in the fuel crisis during June 2020 in the country.

Pakistan has recorded a steep rise in COVID-19 infections and mortalities as 100 more patients have died of coronavirus during the past 24 hours and 4,084 new cases were recorded, reported on Tuesday. The latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed the COVID-19 has claimed 100 more lives and 4,084 fresh infections were reported during the period. During the period of a day, the total count of active cases was recorded at 48,566 and the positivity rate stood at 8.82 per cent. The health facilities across the country conducted 46,269 coronavirus detection tests, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests to 10,153,364 since the first case was reported. According to the statistics, 115 patients were declared critical, adding to the total number of patients suffering from sensitive health condition up to 3,170. Overall 600,278 people have recovered from the virus including 2,081 who have regained their health from COVID-19 during the past 24 hours. R

Senator Shibli Faraz said on Monday that former finance minister Hafeez Shaikh was removed from the post after Prime Minister Imran Khan was “unhappy with his performance due to rising inflation” in the country. Speaking in the ARY News program the reporters, former information minister Shibli Faraz said that PM Khan was unsatisfied with the performance of the finance team over rising inflation in the country. “PM Khan was unhappy due to inflation in the country and decided to bring in a new finance team,” he said, adding that the premier has expressed confidence over the performance of Hammad Azhar and appointed him new finance minister. “Abdul Hafeez Shaikh’s future is unknown,” he added. He further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is likely to attend a federal cabinet meeting on Thursday as he will undergo a second coronavirus test on Tuesday. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government today removed Hafeez Shaikh as finance minister. Sources privy to this development s

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led federal government on Monday removed Hafeez Shaikh as finance minister. Sources privy to this development say Prime Minister Imran Khan will also reshuffle the portfolios of several other federal ministers in the coming days. Hammad Azhar, who is currently serving as Federal Minister for Industries and Production, has been given an additional portfolio of finance.  Former information minister Shibli Faraz is likely to be given the portfolio of the petroleum ministry, while the information ministry will be separated into two divisions, according to sources. The government has also decided to appoint two state ministers for the information ministry. Adviser on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was made the finance minister back in December 2020. He was sworn in as the federal minister in the wake of the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) December 7 ruling that held that unelected advisers and special assistants could not head government’s committees. Th

President Arif Alvi took to Twitter on Monday to announce he has tested positive for coronavirus. The president announced on Twitter he tested positive for the virus after getting the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, adding that he was due for a second one. وازا مرضت فھوا یشفین اور جب میں بیمار ہوتا ہوں تو وہی شفا دیتا ہے I have tested positive for Covid-19. May Allah have mercy on all Covid affectees. Had 1st dose of vaccine، but antibodies start developing after 2nd dose that was due in a week. Please continue to be careful. — Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) March 29, 2021 "I have tested positive for Covid-19. May Allah have mercy on all Covid affectees. Had 1st dose of vaccine، but antibodies start developing after 2nd dose that was due in a week. Please continue to be careful," he tweeted.

Punjab has new cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths in last 24 hours, provincial health department said in a statement on Monday. “In a day 17 more patients of the disease have died by coronavirus in the province,” Punjab’s Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department stated. The tally of total deaths by Covid-19 in the province has reached to 6244, the health department stated. “Lahore has reported 1478 new cases of the virus in a single day,” according to the health department. In the third wave of Covid-19, steep surge of infections being reported in Pakistan’s largest province causing serious concerns across the country. Test positivity ratio in 26 districts of the country, including 14 districts of Punjab, has reached to eight percent or above amid raging third wave of the coronavirus cases. Keeping in view the surge in coronavirus cases in Punjab, the provincial government was considering imposing a complete lockdown in Lahore. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar will especiall

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called the leaders of Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, and Sudan to discuss a massive regional tree-planting project, state news agency (SPA) reported early on Monday. “The Middle East Green Initiative aims, in partnership with the countries of the region, to plant 50 billion trees as the largest reforestation program in the world,” SPA said. The crown prince unveiled the ambitious campaign on Saturday that sees Saudi Arabia planting 10 billion trees in coming decades and working with other Arab states to plant another 40 billion trees, to reduce carbon emissions and combat pollution and land degradation. SPA added that initiative also aims “to enhance the efficiency of oil production and increase the contribution of renewable energy, in addition to multiple efforts to preserve the marine and coastal environment, and increase the percentage of natural reserves.” The Saudi Green Initiative is part of the prince’s Vision 2030 plan to reduce its r

Coronavirus has claimed 41 more lives in Pakistan during the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 14,256, reported on Monday. The latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed the COVID-19 has claimed 41 more lives and 4,525 fresh infections were reported during the period. The total count of active cases is 46,663 and the positivity rate stands at 11.2 per cent. A total of 40,369 tests were conducted across the country during this period. Since the detection of the first COVID-19 case in the country, overall 10,107,095 tests have been conducted so far. 3,055 patients are in critical condition across the country, whereas, 2,268 people recovered from the deadly disease during the last 24 hours. Overall 598,197 have regained their health from the COVID-19.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has appealed to the people to avoid gatherings of any sort as the country grapples with an intensifying third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. "I exercised precaution for a whole year. I never went to any wedding or even to a restaurant to eat. I practiced social distancing and kept my mask on for the most part," the premier said, as he began his video message. "So I was safe. I was among those who remained safe in the first two waves, he said. The premier said that in the Senate election, however, he "did not exercise as much caution and so caught the virus". He said that today he cannot stress enough the need to exercise safety precautions. "The third [wave] is much more intense than the first two. I advise you all to be extremely careful. "The first thing you should do is wear a mask. It has been proven across the world that wearing a mask dramatically reduces the chances of you contracting coronavirus," expl

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said that the government's Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme is "the most important project for the country's future" and instructed banks to make it easier for people to obtain loans. The prime minister was addressing a live telethon on Pakistan Television Network for the scheme. He said that although it is a regular practice in European countries, it is for the first time in Pakistan's history that salaried individuals are being given a chance to own a house. The prime minister said he acknowledges that there have been difficulties for people seeking to obtain loans and instructed all banks to simplify the process. PM Imran Khan said that once people start building homes, there will a boom in the construction industry which will bring about a revolutionary change in Pakistan. He said that the construction of homes, besides revenue generation, will lead to job creation. "Our country is in deep debt. We have to look for

PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman were reportedly unwell on Sunday, with both catching a fever. Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has been suffering from a fever for the past two days," said JUI-F sources. "He is currently at his Dera Ismail Khan residence." Sources said the JUI-F chief had gotten himself tested for coronavirus and the result came back negative. "Maulana Fazlur Rehman has suspended political activities [for the time being] as he is unwell," said sources. "Doctors have advised him to rest." On the other hand, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz too has contracted "high fever" and is experiencing severe pain in her throat, said the party's spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb. "Maryam Nawaz has suspended her political activities for four days," she said in a statement. "She has also gotten herself tested for coronavirus.&

The federal capital continues to report a sharp increase in coronavirus cases, as 538 fresh COVID cases have been reported during the past 24 hours. According to the District Health Officer (DHO), Dr Zaeem Zia, the positivity rate of COVID cases was recorded at 8.32 per cent. The DHO said in statement 538 coronavirus cases were reported in 24 hours, whereas, the number of deaths reached up to 559 including two deaths in the past 24 hours. A total of 55,594 cases were recorded in the federal capital so far and 56 ventilators are currently occupied by patients. Overall, coronavirus has claimed 57 more lives in Pakistan during the past 24 hours, surging the overall death toll to 14,215. The latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed the COVID-19 has claimed 57 more lives and 4,767 fresh infections were reported during the period. The total count of active cases is 44,447 and the positivity rate stands at 10.44 per cent.