GILGIT, OCT 23 (DNA) – Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday said that we need to save Gilgit-Baltistan from the devastation caused by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Addressing the people in Ganchhe district of Gilgit-Baltistan on Friday, he said that every promise of Imran Khan turned out to be false, adding that we cannot give chance to PTI-led government, adding that we have to save Gilgit-Baltistan from the prime minister.

The PPP chairman said that the prime minister had promised to build 5 million houses and not a single person was given job. He said, “Employees of every institution and people are protesting, adding that even the Lady Health Workers, are staging protest.

Bilawal said that the incumbent government is making people unemployed, whereas PPP in its tenure increased salaries of the armed forces. “PPP served the farmers, laborers, and the people of Gilgit-Baltistan,” he said adding his party has always taken care of low developed areas.

On Thursday, while addressing workers convention in Ghanche area of GB, the PPP chairman claimed that his party will form government in Gilgit-Baltistan. He is not a politician who will not keep his promises. I am Bhutto’s grandson and do not take U-turn, he added.

“See what Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has done to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. You and I will change the fate of Gilgit-Baltistan by working together. I am not here only for election, I still stand by the promise I made in 2018.

“You will get freedom from the incumbent government just like you got it from Dogra rule. PPP is the only party which can give you rights as it gave to people and protected democracy.

“We are fighting against the selected government and hybrid system through the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) platform. I urge people living abroad to visit GB first and then Sindh. We will open universities and campuses across the province.” = DNA

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 23 (DNA): Independent content creators and the
entertainment industry, in general, may be in for some much-needed
reform as Fawad Chaudhry, the Federal Minister for Science and
Technology, announced Pakistan’s first OTT network.

Chaudhry took to his Twitter handle on Friday to share the news,
writing, “We at the Ministry of Science and Technology are all set to
launch Pakistan’s first OTT TV (Pak version of #Netflix),” adding that
the technical part of the project had already been covered and complete.

“Have asked PEMRA to prepare a guideline on content and we will be all
set to launch in PPP mode, it’ll be just another humble contribution,”
he further shared.

Chaudhry also expressed that he is hopeful that the platform will be
functional soon, providing a space for local visionaries. The need for a
local OTT platform has been highlighted more in recent months after
several Pakistani originals were picked up by Indian streaming
platforms.

Talking to a local news organization, Abbasi had addressed the need and
importance of OTT platforms. “Streaming platforms give power back to the
content creators. Their mandate of diversification allows for new voices
to come to the forefront,” he explained. DNA

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KARACHI: Leveraging their existing expertise of tele-medicine solutions that comprises E-Health clinics in low income communities and a mobile application for the masses, Sehat Kahani has now introduced Tele-ICU Technology to their platform.

Together with United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Health Services Academy and Ministry of Health, Sehat Kahani has launched the first of its kind Tele-ICU project which will enable Critical Care specialists to provide virtual advice in Public and Private ICUs across Pakistan.

According to the President of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Pakistan currently has only 50 to 70 critical care specialists to cater needs of a population of 200 million people. Most of these intensivists are concentrated in major cities of Pakistan. This project will allow doctors in ICUs to connect with Critical Care Consultants and Registrars virtually 24/7. The initial pilot will induct 60 ICUs across Sindh, Punjab, KP and Balochistan. Virtual and on-site training will be conducted with the ICU staff. Initial cohorts of training were conducted in Islamabad, AJK and Lahore to kick off the pilot.

Aliona Niculita, Resident Representative a.i., UNDP said,‘UNDP has partnered with Sehat Kahani to launch the Tele-ICU project which aims to increase the capacity of healthcare providers  working in public and private ICUs across Pakistan. With limited number of Critical Care Consultants in the country, this intervention will allow improved patient care particularly for those residing in far-flung areas where healthcare systems are inadequate. This project is not only an effort to build a more equitable and resilient society but will also contribute to UNDP’s goal of improving the lives of the people of Pakistan.’

Dr. Bakhtior Kadirov, Deputy Representative UNFPA said that enabling young female doctors to work from home and pairing them with newly trained health care providers will strengthen the capacity of the existing health care system to facilitate the delivery of reproductive health services to women and girls in hard to reach areas. The current CoVID-19 Pandemic has reversed the positive trends in all maternal and child health indicators in recent weeks which calls for targeted interventions to ensure health of mothers and children. Such innovative platforms like Sehat Kahani will support the availability of critical lifesaving maternal health services to women and girls in need. 

Dr. Shahzad Ali Khan, Head of Department Public Health, Health Services Academy said, that HSA in collaboration with ADB, WHO and Ministry of NHSRC developed “Basic Assessment & Support in Intensive Care (BASIC)” course to train 4,500 doctors, nurses and paramedics.  Training Faculty includes CPSP Certified Intensivists; Course is adopted from Chinese University of Hong Kong. Simultaneously, it envisages 24/7 telemedicine follow up support to trainees for supervision. In this context, HSA has partnered with Sehat Kahani as an extremely innovative Public and Private partnership to ensure technology driven Critical care access to ICUs across the country. As the country fights bravely from the covid19 pandemic, this would be an ideal time to prepare our doctors in critical care to fight the current and future pandemics and critical care issues embracing technology of telemedicine as a bridge. This Pilot project shall impact more than a million lives in the 6 months along with training up to 4500 doctors and nurses.

“With the addition of Tele-ICUs in Pakistan’s existing Intensive Care Units, we look forward to improved patient outcomes, heightened quality of care, and decreased length of stay, while reducing the risk of burnout to our bedside critical care teams. We are indebted to the MOH, HSA and UNDP for their support and trust on Sehat Kahani.” said Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram, CEO of Sehat Kahani.

Dr. Iffat Zafar, Co-founder, Sehat Kahani, in her message said “It was a privilege to meet exceptional doctors & frontline health workers at the training, who are diligently working to improve the health outcomes for AJK with scarce resources. Integration of the TeleICU project in such areas can augment the resilient efforts of our healthcare professionals; physically improving overall healthcare outcomes.”

DNA

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has approached Twitter administration to immediately sensitize its moderation teams and ensure that the platform is not used as a propaganda tool for spreading fake information.

According to press release, in the wake of current smear campaign of spreading false and baseless information targeting Pakistan, PTA has stressed upon Twitter to effectively block handles involved in the campaign.

PTA asked Twitter to take immediate action against such accounts as per its guidelines and policies

is deplorable that universal ideals of UN Charter are continuously being violated and defied with impunity nowhere more egregiously than in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir 

Naveed Miraj

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has urged the United Nations to exercise its legal and political authority to ensure full implementation of its resolutions on Kashmir.

He was addressing a ceremony in connection with the 75th anniversary of the United Nations in Islamabad today (Friday).

The Foreign Minister said it is deplorable that universal ideals of UN Charter are continuously being violated and defied with impunity nowhere more egregiously than in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

He said led by ‘Hindutva’ ideology, the BJP-RSS regime in India is incessantly resorting to aggressive posturing against Pakistan and other neighbouring countries that seriously imperils regional peace and security.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the UN Day reminds us of our collective responsibility to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and lends an opportunity to renew our commitment to the noble ideals enshrined in it.

The Foreign Minister reiterated Pakistan’s firm and abiding commitment to multilateralism, with the United Nations playing a central role.

He said Pakistan’s contribution to the UN Peacekeeping is one of the most visible manifestations of our commitment to multilateralism.

Pakistan is one of the longest-serving and largest contributors to the UN peacekeeping. Since 1960, we have contributed over 200,000 peacekeepers to 46 Peacekeeping Missions around the world.

The Foreign Minister said Pakistan also continues to co-host one of the oldest Peacekeeping Missions – the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan.

He said Pakistan also continues to host 3 million registered and unregistered Afghan refugees, which remains one of the most protracted refugee crises in the world.

The top court took notice of prolonged detentions and delays in the NAB’s cases during a hearing — presided over by a three-member bench led by Justice Umar Ata Bandial 

AGENCIES

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday termed the prolonged detention of the accused in cases filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as “unfair”, asking the anti-graft watchdog to explain why there were delays in such cases.

The top court took notice of prolonged detentions and delays in the NAB’s cases during a hearing — presided over by a three-member bench led by Justice Umar Ata Bandial — of a bail petition filed by Punjab Food Director Muhammad Ajmal.

The counsel for the accused, Advocate Abid Saqi, informed the court that his client had been kept in detention for the past 16 months but that the proceedings had not commenced. There was no progress during the coronavirus pandemic either, he added.

The NAB has acknowledged the sources of at least Rs70 million worth of assets out of a total of Rs110 million, Saqi stated.

In response, Justice Yahya Afridi remarked that accused cannot be detained in jail for so long on corruption charges. Properties may be frozen and the passport confiscated if an individual is accused of corruption, he added.

“Apprise the court as to why it is necessary to keep the accused in jail,” Justice Afridi remarked. “There are 80 cases before this one, so why keep this accused detained during this time?

“Yesterday, the chief justice had ordered that there should be no unnecessary adjournment in NAB cases,” the judge said, following which Justice Bandial read out the relevant order from the previous day.

A special prosecutor of the NAB responded, saying he assured the court that proceedings related to the witnesses would be completed in November.

News Desk

ISLAMABAD: A secret meeting of three senior PML-N leaders with Shahbaz Sharif on the “request” of a senior representative of the ‘establishment’ has “upset” former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The publication, citing informed sources, said Nawaz was unhappy when he was told that top party leaders Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal and Rana Tanvir Hussain had met Shahbaz while he was in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the “request of a senior representative of the establishment”.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Advisor on Accountability and Interior Barrister Shahzad Akbar had also revealed in a recent press briefing that the PML-N president is holding ‘secret’ meetings in jail, but refused to divulge any details.

PML-N sources, however, said that their party delegation had met Shahbaz Sharif with a message for him.

“Before this contact, an effort was made to contact Nawaz Sharif but he refused to entertain those knocking at his door while carrying a message from the establishment,” the report said.