ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs announced on Tuesday it would soon invite tenders to ensure the availability of COVID-19 vaccine for local Hajj pilgrims.
The decision was made during a consultative session in Islamabad that was attended by the representatives of National Health Services, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, Expanded Program for Immunization and Polyclinic Hospital.
The meeting focused on issues related to the health and safety of Hajj pilgrims and availability of meningitis vaccine and regular flu shots.
The coronavirus pandemic also came under discussion, as the participants of the gathering tried to identify various vaccine procurement options.
“We are not going to compromise on the health and safety of Pakistani Hajj pilgrims,” said a senior ministry official, Shahid Ahmad Sindhu. “We are also going to consult the National Command and Operations Authority to ensure the availability of the coronavirus vaccine.”
Pakistan has already launched its COVID-19 vaccination campaign after receiving 500,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine.
The country is also expected to get 17 million doses of AstraZeneca in the coming months under a global scheme for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine to developing nations.
Will soon invite tenders to ensure COVID-19 vaccine for Pakistani Hajjis — religion ministry
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Will soon invite tenders to ensure COVID-19 vaccine for Pakistani Hajjis — religion ministry
- The religious affairs ministry is expected to invite tenders to ascertain sufficient availability of COVID-19 vaccines
- Ministry officials also want enough meningitis vaccines, regular flu shots for Pakistani Hajj pilgrims
South Africa’s Nortje ruled out of Pakistan-hosted Champions Trophy
- Nortje has played in 19 Tests, 22 one-day internationals and 42 T20 internationals for South Africa
- Replacement for Nortje, named in South Africa’s 15-man squad on Tuesday, will be announced soon
JOHANNESBURG: Fast bowler Anrich Nortje was on Tuesday ruled out of the Champions Trophy because of a back injury.
The latest injury setback for the 31-year-old was announced by Cricket South Africa a day after he was named in his country’s 15-man squad for the tournament in Pakistan next month.
Nortje, at his peak the fastest bowler in international cricket, underwent a scan on Monday, according to a statement by CSA, “which revealed the extent of the injury.”
The statement did not specify the exact nature of the injury.
Nortje, who has played in 19 Tests, 22 one-day internationals and 42 T20 internationals, has not played any international cricket since the final of the T20 World Cup in Barbados last June.
He had been in line to make a comeback against Pakistan last month but suffered a broken toe while batting in the nets.
Nortje was also ruled out of the ongoing SA20 franchise competition in which he was due to play for Pretoria Capitals.
CSA said a replacement would be named later.
Pakistan polio program says 72 cases reported in 2024
- Seventy-second polio case reported in female child from northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district
- Pakistan polio program is scheduled to hold first nationwide vaccination drive of 2025 from Feb. 3
KARACHI: Pakistan’s polio program on Wednesday confirmed another poliovirus infection from last year, taking the tally of total cases reported in 2024 to 72 amid Islamabad’s attempts to stem the spread of the disease.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to provide children high immunity against this terrible disease.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed the 72nd case in a female child from the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district.
“The onset of this case was on December 31, 2024,” the program said in a statement. “D.I. Khan has now reported 11 polio cases in 2024.”
Giving a breakdown of the cases reported in 2024, the program said 27 cases were reported from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 21 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts have met several challenges in recent years, including attacks by militants and misinformation by religious hard-liners.
The Pakistan polio program is scheduled to hold the country’s first nationwide vaccination drive of this year from Feb. 3 till Feb. 9.
“It is crucial for parents to ensure vaccination for all their children under the age of five to keep them protected,” it said.
Senior Bangladeshi army official, on rare visit to Pakistan, continues high-level meetings in Islamabad
- Lt. Gen. S M Kamr-ul-Hassan, principal staff officer of Bangladesh’s armed forces, meets Pakistan’s air chief
- Both discuss enhancing military partnerships via joint trainings, exchange initiatives amid thaw in relations
ISLAMABAD: A senior Bangladesh army official continued his high-level meetings with Pakistan’s military leadership on Wednesday, calling on Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu to discuss bilateral collaboration, a day after he met Pakistan Army’s chief to discuss regional security.
Lt. Gen. S M Kamr-ul-Hassan, principal staff officer (PSO) of the Armed Forces Division of Bangladesh, arrived in Pakistan this week and met the country’s senior military commanders, including Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir, on Tuesday. Pakistan’s military said Hassan and Munir both agreed during the meeting that their countries must remain resilient against “external influences.”
Pakistan and Bangladesh were once one nation, but they split in 1971 after a bloody civil war, which saw the part previously referred to as East Pakistan seceding to form the independent nation of Bangladesh.
In the years since, Bangladeshi leaders, particularly former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, chose to maintain close ties with India, Pakistan’s arch-rival. Ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh have warmed up since Hasina’s ouster as a result of a student-led uprising in August 2024, witnessing a marked improvement.
“A high-level defense delegation of Bangladesh led by Lt. Gen. S M Kamrul Hassan, Principal Staff Officer, Armed Forces Division, Bangladesh, called on Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force at Air Headquarters Islamabad,” Pakistan military’s media wing said.
Sindhu reaffirmed his commitment to enhancing military partnership between the two air forces through joint training initiatives, the Pakistani military said. It added that the two sides agreed to explore collaboration avenues, including exchange initiatives and joint trainings.
It said Gen. Hassan lauded Pakistan Air Force’s innovative projects, cutting-edge technologies and indigenously developed technological framework.
“He expressed profound interest in sophisticated military hardware being developed, notably the JF-17 Thunder fighter jets,” the statement said.
Amid the thaw in relations between the two countries, Pakistan and Bangladesh signed a landmark agreement to establish a joint business council in Dhaka on Tuesday.
The Pakistani business delegation held meetings with their counterparts in Bangladesh during their Dhaka visit to discuss ways to enhance trade ties. The Trade Corporation of Pakistan also signed a memorandum of understanding for rice export to Bangladesh on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar is also scheduled to visit Dhaka in the beginning of February to further consolidate the relations between the two countries.
Pakistan dispatches goods convoy to Central Asia through partnership with Dubai’s DP World
- Pakistan and DP World this week finalized terms for freight corridor project from Karachi to country’s southwest
- DP World CEO says partnership to provide vast business opportunities and strengthen regional economic activities
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan dispatched its first convoy of commercial goods from its southern port city of Karachi to Central Asia through the partnership between the state-owned National Logistics Corporation (NLC) and UAE-based DP World firm, state media reported on Wednesday.
The development takes place days after Pakistan and DP World finalized terms for a freight corridor project from Karachi Port to the Pipri Marshalling yard in southern Pakistan.
The Karachi Freight Corridor is an infrastructure project in Pakistan aimed at improving the movement of freight from Karachi, the country’s largest city, to various parts of the country. The project involves the construction of a dedicated double-track corridor and other related facilities that will run 50 km from Karachi port to the Pipri marshalling yard.
“The first convoy carrying commercial goods has been dispatched from Karachi to Central Asia through the partnership between NLC and DP World,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
It added that senior officials from DP World and NLC, as well as prominent business figures attended the launch event.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World’s group chairman and CEO, said the strategic position of NLC in the region and DP World’s global presence will provide vast business opportunities and strengthen economic activities.
“The Director-General of NLC said this initiative will have far-reaching effects on regional trade and will be immensely beneficial for the business community of the region,” state media reported.
Pakistan has reached out to regional allies, especially Gulf countries, to bolster trade and foreign investment in recent months. Pakistan and the UAE last year signed two inter-governmental framework agreements to establish a dedicated rail freight corridor and economic zone near Karachi.
The agreements cover plans for over $3 billion investments in railways, economic zones and infrastructure. DP World will act on behalf of Dubai, while the Pakistan Railways and Port Qasim Authority will act on behalf of Pakistan.
‘Meet with Ghalib’: Urdu festival in Dubai to bring iconic poet to life via hologram
- Two-day Urdu festival “Jashn-e-Rekhta” will be held from Feb. 1-2 at Dubai’s Zabeel Park
- Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869) is considered by experts, critics as the greatest Urdu poet of all time
ISLAMABAD: Jashn-e-Rekhta, an annual festival celebrating the Urdu language, will bring to life celebrated poet Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan during its 2025 edition in Dubai via a life-sized hologram next month, the organizer said on Wednesday, offering an enthralling experience for millions of fans of the poet in the subcontinent.
Khan was born on Dec. 27, 1797, in India’s Agra city and was a well-known poet in the Persian and Urdu languages. Referred to popularly simply as “Ghalib,” he remains one of the most popular and influential masters of the Urdu language in both India and Pakistan long after his death in 1869. His poetry is characterized by sadness, the result of a tragic life that saw him orphaned at an early age and losing all seven of his children in their infancy.
Jashn-e-Rekhta is an annual event organized by Rekhta International Cultural Events since 2015. It celebrates Urdu and is dedicated to its language, literature and culture. The two-day festival will be held in Dubai from Feb.1-2 at the iconic Zabeel Park.
The event will bring together around 100 artists, poets and performers from India, Pakistan and other countries. Along with Ghalib’s hologram, another standout feature is the “Dial-e-Poet,” an artificial intelligence (AI) powered rotary phone booth that allows attendees to listen to the voices of iconic poets such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Jaun Elia and Ahmed Faraz.
“We will have a hologram display where a real life-size holographic image of Ghalib will appear and we, in fact, are calling it meet with Mirza Ghalib, as he actually narrates his two-and-half-minute speech,” Satish Gupta, the head of programs and festivals at Rekhta told Arab News over the phone from Dubai.
“It will be like he is attending the festival himself just to give his followers a feeling of actually meeting him.”
Gupta described the festival as “more than just an event,” calling it a celebration of Urdu’s beauty and its power to bridge cultures and bring people together.
The “Dial-A-Poet” experience features vintage rotary phones where visitors can dial specific numbers assigned to five iconic poets, including Rahat Indori, Ahmed Faraz and Faiz Ahmed Faiz, he said.
“Using advanced AI voice cloning, the phones play pre-recorded recitations of the poets’ works, offering a one-way interaction that brings their timeless poetry to life in an innovative and immersive way,” Gupta said.
He said the festival will feature around 10 to 12 programs featuring over 95 artists, lead performers and their teams.
“The lineup includes groups, bands and dance troupes from India, Pakistan and a Sufi qawwali group from Bali, Indonesia,” he added.
Gupta said the festival’s first day will showcase the debut performance of a women’s qawwali group presenting the essence of spiritual music.
“This will be followed by Piyush Mishra’s Ballimaaraan, exploring the cultural ties between Delhi and Lahore through music and Shafqat Amanat Ali’s Maah-e-Tamaam, offering a soulful and rhythmic musical journey,” he said.
The second day of the festival will feature a panel discussion on Urdu in films. Participants include prominent Pakistani actors Saba Qamar, Imran Abbas and Adeel Hashmi, Gupta said.
This will be followed by a session involving famed Indian poet, lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar and Pakistani screenwriter Zehra Nigah, who will discuss the connection between films and Urdu literature.
“Arfa Sayeda Zehra and Samina Peerzada will explore Urdu as a language of love and friendship, while Ali Sethi’s musical performance, Shaam Dhale, will conclude the festival on a romantic note,” he said.
In addition to the performances, visitors can enjoy the “Aiwan-e-Zaiqa Food Festival” highlighting South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines, or explore the Rekhta Bazaar featuring books, handicrafts and merchandise that celebrate Urdu’s artistic heritage, Gupta said.
