ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which manages the country’s coronavirus response, said on its website on Sunday it had opened registrations for frontline healthcare workers who are set to receive the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Pakistan’s virus cases crossed the grim milestone of 500,000 cases on Sunday and over 2,000 new infections have been reported every day since November. At least 10,644 people in Pakistan have died of the virus.
Staff in both public and private health facilities will be vaccinated, NCOC announced on its website and gave an elaborate definition for who qualified as a healthcare worker.
“All staff of COVID-19 hospitals (public and private sector) and isolation centers,” the NCOC notification said.
“All staff includes clerical, administrative and support staff (sanitary workers, guards) in addition to doctors, nurses, paramedics.”
The parliamentary health secretary told state-owned Radio Pakistan last week that Pakistan was expecting its first vaccine dose by the end of January, and that the government was preparing a database of frontline health workers who would be vaccinated for free.
On Tuesday, Pakistan’s federal cabinet gave approval to the health ministry to purchase COVID-19 vaccine doses on an emergency basis. The country is going to purchase 1.2 million doses from China’s Sinopharm.
Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry said in a series of tweets on Friday that the government was negotiating vaccine purchase deals with other companies as well, including Pfizer and AstraZeneca, and that in the coming months, more doses would be imported besides those from Sinopharm.
Registrations for COVID-19 vaccine now open to Pakistan’s frontline healthcare workers
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Registrations for COVID-19 vaccine now open to Pakistan’s frontline healthcare workers
- All frontline healthcare workers will be vaccinated for free
- Pakistan’s federal cabinet has given approval to health ministry to purchase COVID-19 vaccine doses on an emergency basis
Pakistan court rules out Imran Khan acquittal in new state gifts case, will frame charges
- Case involves jewelry worth over €380,000 gifted to ex-first lady by foreign dignitary when Khan was PM from 2018-2022
- Huband-wife duo is accused of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from the state repository
ISLAMABAD: A trial court has dismissed an acquittal petition and will frame charges against jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife in a case relating to gifts acquired from a state repository, the ex-premier’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said on Thursday.
The reference, popularly called the new Toshakhana case, was filed in July and involves a jewelry set worth over €380,000 gifted to the former first lady by a foreign dignitary when Khan was prime minister from 2018-2022. The couple is accused of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from the state repository.
Before the new case was filed, the ex-premier, who has been in jail since last August, was convicted in four cases. Two of the cases have since been suspended, including an original one relating to state gifts, while he was acquitted in the remaining two.
“The trial court has dismissed the acquittal petition of Imran Khan & Bushra Bibi from Toshakhana Case 2. On Nov. 18, the court will frame charges,” the PTI said in a statement to reporters.
“This case doesn’t merit proceedings as the prosecution admitted that Imran Khan did not gain any personal benefit from the case, neither do the proceedings meet the law.”
Khan’s convictions had ruled the 71-year-old out of the Feb. 8 general elections as convicted felons cannot run for public office under Pakistani law.
Arguably Pakistan’s most popular politician, Khan says the cases against him are “politically motivated” and aimed at keeping him from returning to power. Pakistani authorities deny this.
The ex-premier is also facing multiple cases relating to May 9, 2023 protests, which saw his supporters attack government and military installations over his brief arrest in another graft case.
On Wednesday, the PTI announced that Khan had called a ‘long march’ protest movement to the capital, Islamabad, over alleged rigging in general elections and to call for the release of political prisoners and the independence of the judiciary.
The PTI is demanding that the government rollback recent constitutional amendments like the 26th amendment that it says are an attempt to curtail the independence of the senior judiciary.
The party is also calling for the release of all political prisoners, including Khan, and a return of “the public mandate” following what it believes was a rigged general election.
Pakistan’s government denies being unfair in Khan’s treatment and its election commission denies the elections were rigged. The government also says the recent amendments related to the judiciary are meant to smooth out its functioning and tackle a backlog of cases.
Pakistan says UAE eyeing investments in Sindh’s desalination, transport, construction sectors
- UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trade partners and main source of foreign investment
- UAE-Pakistan trade volume rose to $7.9 billion in 2023, up by 12 percent from 2022
KARACHI: A spokesman for the chief minister of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province said on Thursday the UAE was interested in investing in a desalination plant in the port city of Karachi as well as in transport and construction projects.
The announcement came after a meeting between CM Murad Ali Shah and the UAE Consul General in Karachi, Bakhit Atiq Al Rimithiki, on the occasion of the National Day of the Emirates.
The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE ministry of foreign affairs. The UAE-Pakistan trade volume rose to $7.9 billion in 2023, up 12 percent from 2022.
“Discussions were also held on the investment of UAE companies in various projects in Karachi,” the CM’s office said. “UAE companies are interested in investing in Karachi’s desalination plant, transport and road and bridge construction sectors.”
The spokesman said Shah was also arranging meetings between the provincial investment department and relevant officers of the UAE.
In May this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz said the UAE had committed $10 billion to invest in promising economic sectors in Pakistan.
Earlier this month, Pakistan signed four MoUs with the AD Ports Group, a major investor in Pakistan, to explore opportunities in the maritime, air and rail sectors as well as in logistics and digital services.
With UAE partner Kaheel Terminals, AD Ports Group is already developing, operating, and managing container, bulk, and general cargo operations at the Port of Karachi, Pakistan’s major port, where it has agreed to invest almost $400 million over 15 years.
The joint venture has agreed to invest $75 million over the next two years in superstructure and equipment, followed by $100 million within five years to increase efficiency and capacity by 75 percent, enabling the terminal to handle up to 14 million tones per annum.
Pakistan has been pushing for foreign investment in recent months in a bid to shore up its $350 billion economy as it navigates a tough reforms agenda mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Premature blast kills suicide bomber in northwest Pakistan, harms no one else — police
- Suicide bomber riding a motorcycle set off an explosive device prematurely on a deserted road in Charsadda district
- Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, often target security forces in KP province with suicide bombings
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle set off an explosive device prematurely on a deserted road in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing himself but harming no one else, police said.
Local police official Masood Khan said the blast happened in Charsadda district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, where Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents often target security forces.
Khan said the intended target was unclear and bomb disposal experts and police were still investigating whether the man was wearing the explosives or they were attached to his motorcycle.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, often target security forces in the province with suicide bombings and other violence.
TTP are separate from the Afghan Taliban but have been emboldened by the group’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
20 million Pakistanis daily attempt to access porn sites, telecoms authority says
- Latest figures from PTA come as it introduced a new portal for the registration of VPNs earlier this week
- Digital experts say government trying to block vital tools that allow users to bypass restrictions amid digital crackdowns
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said on Thursday around 20 million Pakistanis were daily attempting to access pornographic websites, which authorities have banned since 2011.
In November 2011, the PTA announced it was in the process of banning the 1,000 most-frequented porn websites in Pakistan. In 2016, the government ordered Internet Service Providers to block more than 400,000 websites which contained pornographic content, while in 2019, around 800,000 additional porn sites were banned by the PTA.
“There are approximately 20 million daily attempts from within the country to access pornographic websites which are blocked at the international gateway,” the PTA statement said.
“However, users bypass restrictions via VPNs and access porn contents. PTA remains fully committed to curbing this issue, taking all necessary measures to block this content effectively.
“So far PTA has blocked a total of 100,183 blasphemous URLs and 844,008 pornographic websites.”
The latest figures from the PTA come as it introduced a new portal for the registration of VPNs on Tuesday, a move that is being widely seen as an attempt by the government to block vital tools that allow users to bypass government restrictions amid a wave of digital crackdowns.
Pakistan has already blocked access to social media platform X since the February general elections, with the government saying the blocking was to stop anti-state activities and due to a failure by X to adhere to local Pakistani laws. Rights activists say the blocking is designed to stifle critical voices and democratic accountability in the country, which the government denies.
VPN users in Pakistan reported significant disruptions to services last weekend (Nov. 9-10), with issues relating to connectivity and restricted access. Downdetector reported disruption to TunnelBear VPN and VPN Unlimited but none of the best VPNs appeared to be affected.
The Proton VPN Observatory, run by the developers of one of the most secure VPNs, Proton, reported a spike in VPN usage in Pakistan on Nov. 9 and recorded a 350 percent increase in VPN sign-ups in Pakistan over Nov. 9-10.
There are also reports Pakistan is imposing a national firewall, which the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) has said could cost the economy up to $300 million. In August, the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) warned that frequent Internet disruptions and low speeds caused by poor implementation of the firewall had led many multinational companies to consider relocating their offices out of Pakistan, with some having “already done so.”
Digital rights activists say Islamabad is implementing the Internet firewall to monitor and regulate content and social media platforms, but the government denies the firewall is meant for censorship purposes.
After ODI series win, Rizwan to lead Pakistan in first T20I against Australia today
- Pakistan to play three-match series against Australia on Nov. 14, 16 and 18 in Brisbane, Sydney and Hobart
- Rizwan’s side defeated Australia 2-1 in three-match series last week to win first series in Australia since 2002
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan will lead his side for the first time against Australia in a T20I format at Brisbane today, Thursday, after steering the green shirts to their first ever ODI series victory against the 2023 world champions since 2022.
Rizwan will become the 12th person to assume Pakistan’s T20 captaincy when he takes the field in Brisbane for the first T20I. Pakistan’s cricket team, encouraged by stellar performances from fast bowlers Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, beat Australia 2-1 in the three-match series that concluded last week.
After Thursday’s match, Pakistan will play against Australia in Sydney and Hobart on Nov. 16 and 18 respectively. Pakistani cricketers Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Sufiyan Moqim and Usman Khan joined the T20I squad in Brisbane on Nov. 11 after undergoing a five-day training camp in the southern port city of Karachi.
“We are confident after beating Australia in the ODI series but international cricket is always challenging so we aim to do things as better as we can going into this T20I series against Australia,” Rizwan said a day before the match.
“We have determined the roles of various players in the team and look forward to executing our best plans not just in this series but also in the upcoming white-ball fixtures against Zimbabwe and South Africa.”
The Pakistan captain said he wanted to keep all the players involved in the series motivated.
“Of course, the conditions have helped the bowlers on this tour so far but we also want to prove our mettle as a batting unit and I look forward to an exciting contest in the three matches,” he said.
Pakistan last faced Australia in a T20 contest in March 2022 when the two teams played a one-off T20I in Lahore, which Australia won. In Pakistan’s last T20I series in Australia in November 2019, the hosts won 2-0 after the opening match ended in a no result.
Josh Inglis will lead Australia in the T20I series while Tim David and Nathan Ellis have joined Australia’s T20I squad. Josh Philippe, meanwhile, has replaced the injured Cooper Connolly.
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (captain – wicket-keeper), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan
