KARACHI: A 19-year-old man died after being infected by Naegleria fowleri, a “brain-eating amoeba,” in Karachi on Monday, health officials said, bringing the total of such deaths in the city to five this year.
The amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, is found in freshwater habitats — lakes, ponds, rivers, hot springs — and poorly managed swimming pools and pipes connected to tap water. The microorganism can enter the human body through the nose and cause a sudden infection of the brain called naegleriasis. In most cases, the infection is fatal.
Symptoms of Naegleria fowleri infection include severe headache, changes in taste, high fever, sensitivity to light, nausea, and vomiting. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for survival.
Pakistan has seen a rise in Naegleria fowleri cases in recent years as over a hundred people have died of it since the first reported infection in 2008. Of the earlier fourth deaths in Karachi, three were reported in July this year, according to Meeran Yousuf, who speaks for health minister in the Sindh province where Karachi is located.
“A 19-year-old male, resident of District East Karachi passed away from Naegleria fowleri at a private hospital in Karachi on 2nd September 2024,” Yousuf told Arab News.
The deceased had begun experiencing symptoms on August 18 and was admitted to a private hospital on August 21, according to the official. The presence of Naegleria fowleri was confirmed on August 25.
“Upon investigation it was noted that the patient had not participated in any water-related activities,” Yousuf said. “His only exposure was regular use of water to perform ablution (wudhu) five times a day at home and occasionally at a nearby mosque.”
In one of the previous four cases this year, a 22-year-old garment factory worker died at Jinnah Hospital. His family said he had visited a nearby swimming pool with friends, according to the Sindh health department.
Subsequently, he developed a fever and was admitted to the hospital. His condition deteriorated and was put on ventilator support but could not survive.
Another patient admitted to Aga Khan Hospital died after “ten days of battle with high grade fever,” a hospital report said, adding the family suspected he had contracted the infection while performing ablution at a nearby mosque.
A 2021 Sindh health department study found that 95 percent of water samples in Karachi were unfit for human consumption, which experts attribute to the spread of the amoeba.
Karachi reports fifth death from ‘brain-eating amoeba’ this year
https://arab.news/8mh74
Karachi reports fifth death from ‘brain-eating amoeba’ this year
- Naegleria fowleri is emerging problem in Pakistan, where first case was reported in 2008
- The country has since reported more than a hundred deaths from Naegleria fowleri
Pakistani blockbuster ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ to release in India on Oct 2
- Film is a reboot of a hyper-masculine Punjabi film from four decades ago
- Political tensions between India and Pakistan result in minimum cultural exchanges
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani blockbuster movie “The Legend of Maula Jatt” starring superstars Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi is set to be released in Indian theaters on Oct 2, the film’s director Bilal Lashari confirmed on Wednesday.
Released in October 2022, the movie is a reboot of a hyper-masculine Punjabi film that enchanted viewers four decades ago.. It has not only won critical acclaim but also done incredibly well in domestic and international markets.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since gaining independence in 1947, two of them over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. Political tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors still dominate their relations, resulting in minimum cultural exchanges.
“Releasing in India, Punjab on Wednesday 2nd Oct! Two years in, and still house full on weekends in Pakistan!” Lashari said in a social media post on Instagram.
“Now, I can’t wait for our Punjabi audience in India to experience the magic of this labor of love!“
https://www.instagram.com/p/DADpmuqoGc_/?hl=en
The film’s official Instagram page wrote that the official list of cinemas that would screen the movie would be revealed soon.
Upon its release in October 2022, the film broke all previous local cinema records by grossing an impressive Rs1.5 billion – or over $6.78 million at the time – since its release in Pakistan and the rest of the world.
Speaker tells Pakistan election body to ‘honor’ parliament’s laws amid tensions with judiciary
- Pakistan’s top court in July ruled that ex-PM Khan’s party is entitled to reserved seats in parliament for women and minorities
- Sharif’s government last month amended country’s election law that restricts allottment of reserved seats to ex-PM Khan’s party
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Thursday told the country’s electoral body that amendments made to Pakistan’s election laws last month would supersede a prior ruling of the top court related to reserved seats in parliament, raising fears of a standoff with the Supreme Court.
Sadiq’s letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) came after the Supreme Court censured the election regulatory authority last week for what it said were “dilatory tactics” to avoid implementing a judgment on reserved seats for women and minorities in the national and provincial legislatures that favored the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
In a verdict on July 12, a 13-member bench of the court declared the PTI of Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan eligible for reserved seats after the ECP forced the party’s candidates to contest the February 8 polls as independents. After the election, the PTI-backed candidates were forced to join Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) party to claim a share of the reserved seats as independents are not eligible for the extra seats.
The Supreme Court overturned the ECP’s decision, saying it had misconstrued an earlier verdict related to the party’s election symbol by depriving the PTI of the reserved seats. The verdict was a blow to the ruling coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz, which could lose its two-thirds majority if the verdict is implemented.
In August, Pakistan’s parliament passed the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024, which restricted granting the reserved seats in parliament to the PTI. The bill says that if a candidate does not submit a declaration of his affiliation with a political party to the returning officer before seeking the allotment of an election symbol, he or she shall be “deemed to be considered as an independent candidate and not a candidate of any political party.”
“As the judgment of the SC was rendered based on the law prior to the enactment of the amendment, the said judgment is now incapable of implementation,” Sadiq wrote in a letter to the ECP.
“Instead, it is the Amended Election Act that shall prevail and supersede the prior ruling.”
He pointed out that the consistent jurisprudence of the Supreme Court also held the view that the parliamentary law was superior to the court’s order.
“It is also brought to your kind notice that the Amended Election Act is in the field, therefore, it is the statutory obligation of the ECP to honor the laws made by Parliament and uphold the principles of democracy and parliamentary supremacy,” the letter said.
He warned that actions perceived to be undermining parliament’s sovereignty can “erode public trust and confidence in our institutions.”
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
The development takes place at a time when Sharif’s coalition government is planning to get a constitutional amendment passed from parliament to allegedly give an extended term to the country’s top judge.
The amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament, though the coalition can lose a portion of its existing number of seats after the Supreme Court’s July 12 ruling on reserved seats gets implemented.
The package of reforms, widely believed to include as many as 22 amendments to the constitution, is expected to increase the retirement age of superior judges by three years and change the process by which the Supreme Court chief justice is appointed.
The amendments have raised widespread concerns among opposition parties and legal experts who say the moves are aimed at increasing the government’s power in making key judicial appointments and dealing with the defection of lawmakers during house votes.
Pakistani blasphemy suspect’s family forgives police officer accused of killing him
- Abdul Ali, 52, was shot dead last week in a heavily fortified police station in Quetta
- Killer was a police office who had accessed facility by pretending to be Ali's relative
QUETTA: The family of a blasphemy suspect killed in custody in southwestern Pakistan has forgiven the police officer accused of killing him, saying they would not press charges “in the name of God.”
Abdul Ali, 52, also known as Sakhi Lala, was shot dead last week in a heavily fortified police station in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, by police officer Saayd Mohammad Sarhadi, who had accessed the facility by pretending to be Ali’s relative, police said.
“We will not fight the case,” Ali’s son Muhammad Usman told a press conference late on Wednesday, sitting with another brother and some elders from his tribal clan. “We have forgiven the police officer in the name of God.”
One of the elders, Faizullah Noorzai, said the tribe would disown Ali. “We and our families are the kind of people who would sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Prophet Muhammad and his respect.”
Blasphemy is punishable by death in predominantly Muslim Pakistan. No one has been executed by the state for the crime, but dozens of those accused have been lynched by mobs before trial.
Such killings are often glorified. The father of Ali’s alleged killer, Hajji Daad Muhammad, has been receiving visitors paying their respects at his house since last week’s killing.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom says the South Asian country is one of the world’s strictest and most frequent enforcers of blasphemy laws.
Blasphemy accusations fueled mobs that attacked Christian neighborhoods in the eastern province of Punjab, burning several churches and displacing hundreds of people last year.
A court will consider the plea by Ali’s family for a pardon and decide whether to proceed with charging the officer, said a senior police officer who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Ali’s alleged blasphemy centered on an argument he had had about politics and the Prophet Muhammad, according to a police investigator. He had been moved to the more secure police station after hundreds gathered outside the facility where he was initially detained, chanting that they wanted to kill him publicly.
Pakistan PM to attend UN General Assembly session from September 23-27
- PM will emphasize the importance of addressing issues on Security Council’s agenda, including Palestine and Kashmir
- Pakistan says it expects India to remain committed to the Indus Water Treaty, the ‘gold standard’ of bilateral accords
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the high-level segment of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York from September 23 to 27, Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday.
Each September, world leaders and delegates gather at the UN Headquarters in New York to discuss the most pressing global issues within the framework of the UN Charter. The UNGA opened the 79th session on September 10, with the high-level general debate scheduled to begin on September 24 and conclude on September 30.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the high-level segment for the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York from 23rd to 27th of September,” the foreign office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said during her weekly news briefing in Islamabad.
She noted that Sharif would be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and other senior government officials.
In his address to the world body, the prime minister will emphasize the importance of addressing longstanding issues on the Security Council’s agenda, including the question of Palestine and the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, she added.
“The prime minister will attend several high-level meetings on the sidelines of the UNGA session including the high-level meeting on existential threat posed by sea level rise and the UN Security Council’s open debate on leadership for peace,” she said, adding that his program would also include bilateral meetings with world leaders and members of the Pakistani diaspora.
INDUS WATER TREATY
Asked about the notice sent by India to Pakistan under Article 33 of the Indus Water Treaty, calling for the reassessment of the agreement on a bilateral basis, Baloch said Pakistan expected India to remain committed to the accord.
India sent a notice to Pakistan on August 30, requesting a review of the water-distribution mechanism outlined in the treaty, signed by the two countries on September 19, 1960, citing “fundamental and unforeseen” changes in circumstances.
The treaty, brokered by the World Bank, grants India control over the Beas, Ravi, and Sutlej rivers, while Pakistan controls the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum rivers. Both nations can seek arbitration from the World Bank in case of any water disputes.
In 2016, Pakistan requested arbitration over India’s Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects. While India claims its water usage complies with the treaty, Pakistan opposes some of these projects, arguing they violate the agreement, which is crucial for its agriculture as 80 percent of the country relies on the Indus River.
“The Indus Waters Treaty is an important treaty that has served both Pakistan and India well over the last several decades,” Baloch said, adding that Pakistan believed it was a “gold standard” of bilateral treaties on water sharing.
“Pakistan is fully committed to its implementation, and we expect India to also remain committed to the treaty,” she added.
The spokesperson said Pakistan believes it is a collective responsibility to maintain ecological balance, protect the environment, and avoid measures that may have adverse implications for the region’s climate.
“The two countries have a mechanism of water commissioners, and we believe all issues pertaining to this treaty can be discussed in this mechanism,” she added.
PAKISTAN’S NATIONAL ANTHEM
Responding to a query about the incident of purported disrespect toward Pakistan’s national anthem during a ceremony in Peshawar by an Afghan diplomat, Baloch said Pakistan had rejected the explanation the acting consul general provided for his actions and lodged a strong protest with Afghan authorities.
Videos circulated on social media showed Afghan Consul General Mohibullah Shakir seated while the Pakistani anthem was played during a religious conference, as others stood in respect. According to a representative of the Afghan diplomatic mission, Shakir had no intention of disrespecting Pakistan, explaining that he did not stand because of the background music.
He further maintained that Afghan authorities had banned their own national anthem for the same reason.
The Afghan Taliban believe music is forbidden in Islam, though several schools of thought within the same religion do not agree with their stance.
“We have raised this issue with the Afghan authorities and conveyed our strong displeasure on this and we also reject the explanation that the acting council general has given for his actions,” Baloch said, adding that Pakistan believed this action had hurt the sentiments of its people.
Asked about a media report suggesting that Shakir had been staying in Pakistan without valid documentation, she said, according to available data, the acting Afghan consul general was in possession of a valid visa and enjoyed diplomatic status.
She also mentioned Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Asif Durrani’s recent termination from his position, saying such appointments were made by the government based on the country’s requirements at specific times.
“Ambassador Asif Durrani was appointed as Special Representative of Pakistan for Afghanistan in May 2021 and after serving three years in this position, the government has decided to terminate his contract,” she said, adding it had been done in keeping with the present requirements.
“No decision has been made so far on his replacement,” she added.
Pakistan benchmark share index hits all-time high
- Benchmark share index climbs 1.9 percent during intraday trading on expectations of substantive monetary easing
- Pakistan’s stock market has gained some 13 percent since government passed a reform-heavy budget in June
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s benchmark share index hit a record high on Thursday, climbing 1.9 percent in intraday trading, on expectations of further substantive monetary easing to spur economic growth.
The central bank has cut its key policy rate by a total of 450 basis points to 17.5 percent in three successive policy decisions since late July, taking heart as inflation eases.
Pakistan’s stock market hit an all-time high of 82,003 points and was trading at 81,800 as of 1:25 p.m. local time (08:25 GMT). It has gained some 13 percent since the government passed a economic reform-heavy budget in June aimed at securing a new International Monetary Fund program.
“Today’s market rise is reflective of the t-bill auction that happened on Wednesday where the government rejected bids in all tenors indicating a large rate cut in November,” said Ismail Iqbal Securities CEO Ahfaz Mustafa.
Pakistan’s central bank said disinflation was faster than expected and there was a possibility that average inflation for the fiscal year ending mid-2025 would fall below its forecast range of 11.5–13.5 percent.
“This coupled with the recent news of the IMF program and an expectation for inflation to slow to about 8 percent for September is all adding to the market making new intraday highs,” Mustafa added.
The IMF last week announced that its executive board will meet to discuss Pakistan’s $7 billion bailout program on Sept. 25 — allaying fears of a prolonged delay in much-needed funds for the country.
The South Asian nation struck a staff-level agreement with the global lender in June, but board approval for the 37-month program has been pending since then.
