Medical university in Pakistan says Karachi’s ‘mysterious’ pathogen was dengue virus

A mother takes care of her son who is suffering from dengue fever in a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, on November 22, 2021. (AP)
Short Url
Updated 25 November 2021
Follow

Medical university in Pakistan says Karachi’s ‘mysterious’ pathogen was dengue virus

  • The city’s leading pathologists said earlier this month many patients with dengue symptoms were testing negative for the disease
  • The Pakistan Medical Association says the university’s finding calls into question the quality of test kits available in Karachi

KARACHI: A Pakistani medical university on Thursday shared its research findings into Karachi’s “mysterious” pathogen, saying it was dengue virus that was not detected due to the timing of the test.

Leading doctors and pathologists in the country’s southern port city told Arab News earlier this month they had seen several patients who displayed dengue symptoms but tested negative for the mosquito-borne infection.

The news also prompted the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) to demand modern virology labs in the country to analyze new viruses.

“We did high quality sequencing of the cases which tested negative even after conducting various tests,” Dr. Saeed Khan, head of molecular pathology at the Dow University of Health Sciences, told Arab News. “Our research showed these were dengue cases that could not be detected.”

“The samples were also sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad which confirmed it was not a new virus and that the patients were indeed suffering from dengue,” he continued.

Khan said dengue viruses did not mutate like the coronavirus, adding it was not a new variant.

“Although there is no need to panic since this is not a new or a mysterious virus, yet people must exercise caution since dengue itself is a dangerous disease,” he said.

Speaking to Arab News, PMA secretary general Dr. Qaisar Sajjad said he was not sure about the authenticity of the university’s research, though he maintained it would call into question the quality of test kits used in Karachi if the finding was accurate.

“We don’t know how the research was conducted,” he said. “But if it is true that the mysterious virus was the virus causing dengue, it will raise questions about the quality of our diagnostic procedure, quality of kits and also strengthen our demand that modern virology labs must be established in all provinces of Pakistan.”

“We don’t know why there were so many false negative cases and how the timing of the test can affect the results,” he added.


Pakistan chosen for WHO program offering free cancer drugs for children

Updated 12 June 2025
Follow

Pakistan chosen for WHO program offering free cancer drugs for children

  • Health ministry says Pakistan will start getting free medicines from next year
  • Each year, more than 8,000 children in Pakistan are diagnosed with cancer

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been selected to join a global initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital that will provide free, essential cancer medicines for children starting this year, the country’s health ministry said on Thursday.

The program, known as the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, aims to improve survival rates among children with cancer in low- and middle-income countries by ensuring reliable and equitable access to life-saving drugs.

“It is a matter of pride that Pakistan has been selected for this program in 2025,” Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said in the statement. “This is a major milestone in ensuring free cancer medicines for children next year.”

Each year, more than 8,000 children in Pakistan are diagnosed with cancer, he continued. However, many are unable to receive timely or effective treatment due to limited drug availability, high costs and weak health care infrastructure.

The health minister noted that a large number of children die as a result of these gaps.

Kamal emphasized that Pakistan would fully utilize the support provided through the platform, calling it a unique opportunity to address local health challenges using global resources.

“Through this program, Pakistan can access international support to overcome domestic challenges in delivering timely and effective treatment,” he said.

The global platform, launched in 2022, is backed by a $200 million commitment from St. Jude and operates in coordination with WHO.

It supports countries in developing sustainable supply chains, treatment protocols and health care capacity to address childhood cancers. Pakistan is among a growing list of countries to be included as the platform scales up its outreach.


Family of detained Baloch rights activist moves Supreme Court against her arrest

Updated 12 June 2025
Follow

Family of detained Baloch rights activist moves Supreme Court against her arrest

  • Dr. Mahrang Baloch has been held in a Quetta prison since she was arrested on March 22
  • She published a letter from jail in a US magazine, saying ‘speaking for justice is not a crime’

ISLAMABAD: The family of a detained Pakistani Baloch rights activists, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, filed a petition in Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking to overturn a provincial court ruling that upheld her arrest under public order laws, according to a local media report.

Baloch, a physician and a civil society activists, has been held at Quetta’s Hudda District Jail since March 22 after she participated in protests following a separatist militant attack on a passenger train in Balochistan.

She was arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law, a move her supporters described as part of a broader crackdown on nonviolent dissent in the restive province.

The petition, filed by her sister, argues that the detention is arbitrary and aimed at silencing peaceful activism.

“Nadia Bal­och, the sister of Dr. Mah­­rang Baloch, urged the Supreme Court on Wed­­nesday to set aside the April 15 order of the Balo­ch­istan High Court that rej­ected the plea against her detention under the Main­tenance of Public Order,” the English-language newspaper Dawn quoted from the petition.

The detained activist, who leads the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, also published a letter from prison in the US-based Time magazine this week, in which she asserted that “speaking up for justice is not a crime.”
Pakistani authorities have accused Baloch of promoting the narrative of separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in public. However, her letter in the American magazine maintained the officials had not provided any evidence of her links with BLA or any other militant group while criticizing the authorities for blurring the line between militancy and peaceful protest.

Earlier this year, the Balochistan High Court dismissed Baloch’s initial challenge to her detention, advising her to seek administrative remedies instead of judicial relief.

Her sister’s petition has now asked the apex court to suspend that ruling and review whether constitutional protections such as habeas corpus were ignored in the previous judicial decision.
The Supreme Court has yet to announce when it will take up the case for hearing.
 


Pakistan urges global protection for Gaza’s children on World Day Against Child Labor

Updated 12 June 2025
Follow

Pakistan urges global protection for Gaza’s children on World Day Against Child Labor

  • President Zardari says children in conflict zones need global aid, protection and justice
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif also calls for stricter enforcement of existing laws against child labor

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday called for urgent international support for children in Gaza, warning that thousands face displacement, hunger and heightened risks of forced labor amid ongoing conflict.

The appeal was made by President Asif Ali Zardari in a statement issued on the World Day Against Child Labor, observed annually on June 12. He said children living in war zones must be at the center of the global child protection agenda.

“These children urgently need global aid, protection and justice,” Zardari said. “In conflict-affected regions such as Gaza, thousands of innocent children have been displaced, injured or orphaned by violence. Many face hunger, trauma and the risk of falling into child labor.”

While reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to eliminating child labor domestically, the president urged governments, rights defenders, media, religious leaders and philanthropists to come together and protect vulnerable children everywhere.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a separate message, said Pakistan “stands shoulder to shoulder with the international community in the fight against child labor,” but noted that implementation gaps still exist.

“This day is a reminder that we must continue striving toward a future where every child grows up in a safe and prosperous environment,” he said.

Officials say child labor remains widespread in Pakistan, especially in rural and informal sectors, depriving millions of education and exposing them to exploitation.

Sharif urged stricter enforcement of existing laws, which prohibit child labor under Pakistan’s constitution and several key statutes.

Zardari emphasized that while Pakistan has introduced reforms and protection systems, including the National Commission on the Rights of the Child and child welfare bureaus, lasting change requires collective action.

“Child labor is a global challenge,” he said. “Governments and societies must work together to protect children from exploitation and ensure they grow up in dignity.”


Pakistani PM in UAE for high-level talks with President Sheikh Mohamed

Updated 47 min 17 sec ago
Follow

Pakistani PM in UAE for high-level talks with President Sheikh Mohamed

  • Leaders will discuss “wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest and concern”
  • Latest visit marks another step in Islamabad’s ongoing efforts to deepen strategic ties with Gulf partners

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday for talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on a “range of bilateral, regional and global issues,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said. 

Sharif’s last visit to the UAE was in February to attend the World Government Summit in Dubai and meet President Sheikh Mohamed.

The latest visit marks another step in Islamabad’s ongoing efforts to deepen strategic ties with Gulf partners, particularly as Pakistan looks to attract foreign investment and bolster regional economic integration.

“Sharif will hold high-level meetings with the UAE leadership, including a bilateral meeting with President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi,” the PM’s office said. 

“A wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest and concern will be discussed during the high-level interactions.”

The statement added that the visit would serve to “further strengthen the longstanding brotherly relations between Pakistan and the UAE, deepen economic ties, and foster multifaceted collaboration.”

Pakistan and the UAE maintain close cooperation across a broad range of areas including trade, investment, energy, defense, and diaspora engagement. Approximately 1.5 million Pakistanis reside in the UAE, the second largest expatriate group after Indians. It is also the second largest source of remittances to Pakistan after Saudi Arabia, sending $754.2 million home in May, according to central bank data released this week. 

The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners in the Gulf and a major source of foreign remittances. High-level exchanges between the two nations have increased in recent years, with both countries expressing interest in expanding collaboration in renewable energy, infrastructure development, and regional security.

In May 2024, the UAE said it had committed $10 billion to invest in promising economic sectors in Pakistan. The investment pledge came after a meeting between Sharif, then on a two-day visit to the UAE, and President Sheikh Mohamed.

Pakistan needs foreign investment to boost its economy and shore up its currency reserves to meet rising external repayment obligations as it treads a tricky path to economic recovery under a $7 billion IMF bailout deal.

The latest UAE visit also comes weeks after Pakistan engaged in its worst military conflict in decades with arch-rival India, in which the two nations exchanged drones, missiles, and artillery strikes between May 7-10 before a ceasefire was announced. Though the US was the main broker, it is believed that Gulf partners like Saudi Arabia and UAE also mediated in the crisis. 


‘Bellicose punchlines’: Islamabad slams India’s top diplomat over anti-Pakistan remarks in Brussels

Updated 12 June 2025
Follow

‘Bellicose punchlines’: Islamabad slams India’s top diplomat over anti-Pakistan remarks in Brussels

  • Subrahmanyam Jaishankar accused Pakistan of sponsoring ‘terrorism,’ asserted New Delhi’s right to retaliate
  • Foreign office says India should raise the quality of its discourse instead of remaining ‘obsessed with Pakistan’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday criticized Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar for “producing bellicose punchlines” after he made a series of statements during his visit to Brussels, accusing Islamabad of sponsoring “terrorism” and asserting New Delhi reserved the right to retaliate against militant attacks.
The comments come in the wake of a recent military standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbors, involving the exchange of fighter jets, drones, missiles and artillery fire. Both countries have since launched parallel diplomatic offensives, dispatching delegations to major world capitals to present their versions of events.
New Delhi suspended a longstanding river water-sharing treaty following a gun attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that it blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denied any involvement, calling for an impartial international probe before India decided to launch missiles to target what it called was “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan.
A US-brokered ceasefire was announced by President Donald Trump on May 10, followed by Pakistan’s call for a “composite dialogue” with its neighboring state which New Delhi has so far resisted.
“Pakistan categorically rejects the irresponsible remarks made by the External Affairs Minister of India during different media engagements in Brussels,” the foreign office said in a strongly worded statement.
“The discourse of top diplomats should aim to promote peace and harmony, rather than producing bellicose punchlines,” it continued. “The tone and tenor of a Foreign Minister should be commensurate with his dignified status.”
The ministry accused India of waging a years-long “malicious campaign” aimed at misleading the global community with a “fictitious narrative of victimhood,” adding that such rhetoric cannot conceal what it described as India’s own “sponsorship of terrorism beyond its borders” or its “state-sanctioned oppression” in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
“India must also desist from concocting misleading narratives to justify its recent aggressive actions,” the statement said. “Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence, dialogue and diplomacy. However, it stands resolute in its intent and ability to safeguard its sovereignty against any aggression, as exemplified by its robust response to India’s reckless strikes last month.”
Calling India’s recent remarks a sign of “sheer frustration” after what it termed an “unsuccessful military adventure,” Islamabad said Indian leaders should focus on improving the quality of their discourse rather than remaining “obsessed with Pakistan.”
“The history will judge not by who shouted the loudest but by who acted the wisest,” it added.