Islamabad, 03 feb 2021 : The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Wednesday simultaneously initiated national immunisation drive against Coronavirus across the country with all federating units including that of AJK and GB.
The NCOC held the inaugural ceremony of national Covid immunization program with Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar in chair flanked by National Coordinator NCOC Lieutenant General Hamood Uz Zaman Khan. Commercial Minister Counsellor China Xie Guoxiang was the chief guest where Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Hussain Chaudhary, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and SAPM on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar were also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar lauded the sacrifices and meritorious services of Front line Healthcare Workers (FLHCWs) for serving the nation during the pandemic. “Front line Healthcare Workers are our real heroes. No doubt they have put their lives at risk in their fight against COVID-19 and we pay tribute to all of them.”
He also thanked the government of Peoples Republic of China for supporting Pakistan during crisis of the COVID-19.
He also paid tribute to the team NCOC and provincial authorities working in close liaison in fight against COVID-19 at the forum.
Asad Umar said the simultaneous inaugural ceremony was the center of national effort highlighting the unified collaboration of the provinces and the federal government collectively fighting the contagion.
The vaccine was administered to Rizwana yasmeen. She is working as charge nurse in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) isolation unit, she and her team has been working tirelessly in fight against Covid19 and she is representing all medical and paramedical staff of PIMS who have been involved in managing Covid19 patients.
The vaccinated individuals also included Javed Iqbal who is covid surveillance team member from DHO office Islamabad, he has been working in surveillance activities since first case of Covid19 was reported in Islamabad. He and his team has been working tirelessly and has diagnosed over 10,000 positive cases in Islamabad by contact tracing and sampling.
He was representing all Covid-19 Surveillance teams who were the backbone of Covid19 management in Islamabad. Fahad Mehmood was also inoculated with vaccine who was working in pathology department of Shifa international dealing with Covid-19 testing. Shifa international hospital has been testing a major bulk of Covid19 testing in Islamabad and has also been managing patients suffering from Covid19 infection. He was representing all people in Shifa international.
The Sindh ceremony was taken place at Dow university Ojha vaccination center where Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah was the Chief Guest.
The Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar was the chief guest in the vaccination ceremony.In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan was the chief guest of inoculation ceremony.The vaccination ceremony in Balochistan was held at Chief Minister Secretariat.
In Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the vaccination was held at the PM Secretariat whereas in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) inoculation was held at CS secretariat with Chief Minister GB as chief guest.
NCOC initiates national immunisation drive among all federating units
India’s Sham Covid-19 “Vaccine Diplomacy” & Vaccine Scarcity in IIOJK
Iqbal Khan
It is ironic that India continues to brandish its so-called vaccine diplomacy abroad while at the same time it has turned hospitals in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) into graveyards, choking essential medical supplies, let alone the Covid vaccine.Bigger aspect of the problem, however, is that it’s prioritising such exports at the expense of meeting “domestic” demand in the world’s second most populous country. The UN needs to step-in to quantify the exact requirement of Cobid-19 vaccine for IIOJK and institute requisite monitoring mechanism to ensure that inhabitants of IIOJK are not exposed to India’s vaccine terrorism through deprivation of medicine. After all India’s military and paramilitary forces deployed in IIOJK take pride in using rape as counterinsurgency weapon.
On March 23, 2020, UN Secretary General António Guterres issued an urgent appeal for a global ceasefire in all corners of the world to focus together on defeating COVID-19. He repeated the call at the start of the 75th UN General Assembly session in September. Since the first call, 180 countries, the Security Council, regional organizations, civil society groups, peace advocates and millions of global citizens have endorsed the Secretary-General’s ceasefire call. The world needs a global ceasefire to stop all “hot” conflicts, both inter-state and intra-state. While we endorse UN Secretary General’s intent for a global ceasefire, he also needs to make a specific call for ending atrocities in IIOJK.
Since the illegal occupation of Kashmir in 1947, killings of Kashmiris and aggression continues to this day. In 1947, at least 237,000 Kashmiri Muslims were killed just because they wanted to join Pakistan. Their enduring love for Pakistan is an unpleasant truth for India.The UN resolutions about Kashmir have not been implemented because of the Indian intransigence.
Hindutva regime has unleashed unspeakable brutality on the vulnerable Muslims of Kashmir. World powers have failed the people of Kashmir. Despite the presence of 900,000 troops, thepeople of Kashmir are continuing struggle for their self-determination and are peacefully opposing the alien rule. They are determined to carry on their struggle. They have been fighting occupation for 200 years and they will not give up.
On July 18, 2020,anIndian army CaptainBhoopinder Singhabducted three labourers, staged a gunfight, killed all three, and branded them as militants. All three were away from home to earn daily wages. According to police charge sheet, army captain staged this fake encounter inAmshipura,a village of Shopian,district Rajouri,just for paltry sum ofRs 20 Lakh.This is the value of civilian lives in Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
According to the police charge sheet, Bhoopinder Singh had hatched a conspiracy along with two civilians,TabishNazir and Bilal Ahmed Lone,with the motive for “grabbing” a reward money.The charge sheet was submitted before the chief judicial magistrate of districtRajouri.Lone has since turned an approver and recorded his confession statement before a magistrate.Captain is currently in the custody of the Indian army, and is likely to face Court Martial proceedings.
After reports emerged on social media that the three youths were not associated with terrorism, the Army had ordered a Court of Inquiry which completed its probe earlier in September 2020. It had found “prima facie” evidence that the troops had “exceeded” the powers granted under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Following this, the Army had initiated disciplinary proceedings.General officer in Command of the XV Corps, Lt Gen B S Raju had said earlier that the Summary of Evidence had been completed and the Army will take the next course of action as per law.
The charge sheet submitted by the Special Investigation Team of Jammu and Kashmir Police has listed 75 witnesses in support of its findings and has also provided technical evidence including call data records of the accused persons involved in the case.The charge sheet also has the statements of four army personnel who were part of Captain Singh’s team. Singh and two other civilians also “purposefully destroyed evidence” of real crime that they had committed.The accused captain “furnished false information to mislead the senior officer and for getting” an FIR lodged to “tailor fit his motive for grabbing prize money in furtherance of criminal conspiracy”.
Hurriyat leaders and organizations in their separate statements sharply reacted to the IIOJK police charge-sheet. They urged the United Nations to set up a special tribunal to probe all such killings in the occupied territory.
Then there was another encounter in Srinagar onDecember 30, in which three innocent students were killed. According to Kashmir Media Service, IIOJK Bar has demanded an impartial probe into killing of 3 students.
Harassing of freedom fighters is a norm in IIOJK. On January 11, the special TADA/POTA court of Srinagar framed fake charges against illegally detained Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik in a three-decade-old fake case of RubiyaSayeed kidnapping.
The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Liberation party, at a party meeting presided over by Chief Coordinator Dr Sarfaraz Ahmad Khan, reiterated the demand for immediate release of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and all other political leaders and activists languishing in various jails in India and in IIOJK.
Moreover,International Forum for Justice and Human Rights Jammu and Kashmir Chairman Mohammad Ahsan Untoo has strongly condemned the authorities for keeping nineteen students in jail for the past four years in a fabricated murder case. Many of the detained youth are undergoing treatment for many ailments.
IIOJK Tehreek-e-Wahdat-e-Islami’sspokesman in a statement said that Indian troops had martyred hundreds of youth in fake encounters in different areas of occupied Jammu and Kashmir during the past 33 years. He demanded of the United Nations to set up a special tribunal to probe the killing of innocent Kashmiri youth in fake encounters by Indian troops.
The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader and Member of Indian Parliament Justice (retired) HasnainMasoodi has called for reversal of illegal annexation actions of August 05 2019, initialization of dialogue with all the stakeholders of the Kashmir dispute.He also rejectedModi-led fascist Indian government’s so-called industrial policy for IIOJK and emphasized that the scheme would not fetch any results in absence of an aggressive peace initiative to address the political aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. General Secretary of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Molvi Bashir Ahmed has said that the dark night of oppression imposed by India will end and the Kashmiris will see the dawn of freedom, one day. While addressing party workers in Pulwama, Bashir Ahmed said, the Kashmiris have never submitted to Indian machinations and will fight till end.
A Human tragedy is brewing in the IIOJK. International community can no longer afford to be indifferent towards this snowballing crisis. Kashmiris stay hopeful that one day their agony would end through exercise of right of self-determination leading to peace and prosperity.
The turbulent IIOJK region has long weathered violence and political strife. India’s security crackdown and the coronavirus have brought life in the tourist-dependent region to a near halt.
As the world continues its silence on the greatest human tragedy—Kashmir, it must also remain cognisant of the possible implications of the denial of basic human rights to the Kashmiris and their continued suffering at the hands of an extremist Hindutva regime in India.
Writer is a freelance contributor; email: [email protected]
Sony forecasts record profit after PlayStation 5 launch
Tokyo, Feb 3 : Sony said Wednesday it expects a record net profit this financial year, as fresh virus lockdowns continue to boost demand for games and consoles, including the recently released PlayStation 5.
Although the pandemic has hit many industries hard, the gaming sector has been one of the few to experience an unprecedented boom, with people seeking entertainment at home during successive rounds of restrictions.
The Japanese tech giant said net profit jumped 87 percent in April-December from the same period earlier, to 1.1 trillion yen ($10 billion).
Sony’s strong results led the firm to revise its full-year sales and profits forecasts upwards on the back of “higher-than-expected sales in all segments except for the pictures (movies) segment,” it said.
Full-year sales are now projected at 8.8 trillion yen, up from 8.5 trillion yen forecast in October.
Sony, which also revised its annual forecasts up last quarter, hiked net profit outlook to a record 1.1 trillion yen for the fiscal year to March, from an earlier estimate of 800 billion yen.
The much anticipated PlayStation 5 console hit shelves in November, kicking off a head-to-head battle for holiday sales with the new Xbox from US rival Microsoft.
PS5 sales reached 4.5 million units by end-December and Sony expects to sell 7.6 million by the end of March, hoping to beat the performance of the PlayStation 4.
But pandemic-related supply problems have left many would-be customers empty-handed.
The demand has led to chaotic scenes at electronic stores when supplies do become available.
“PS5 got off to a steady start in general, selling well in accordance with its plan,” said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute in Tokyo.
New Zealand approves first COVID-19 vaccine
WELLINGTON, Feb. 3 : New Zealand’s pharmaceutical authorities on Wednesday gave provisional approval of the country’s first COVID-19 vaccine.
“The provisional approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is a positive step in New Zealand’s fight against COVID-19. It means we can now begin preparations for the first stage in our vaccination roll-out,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference.
“Medsafe provides independent advice to the government and approves all medicines and vaccines available in New Zealand. Approval has been a very carefully considered and robust process, with safety the key priority,” Ardern said.
“Medsafe’s decision is the culmination of a rigorous assessment process over many months to ensure the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is safe and effective to use here. It is informed by the most up to date medical and scientific data. We can have confidence in their decision,” she said.
Border workers and the people they live with are the first to be vaccinated, she said, adding that people such as cleaners, the nurses who undertake health checks in managed isolation facilities, security staff, customs and border officials, airline staff and hotel workers will be among the first to get the vaccine, to be completed within two to three weeks.
“Vaccinating our frontline staff will provide a critical additional line of defense to keep them well and to help prevent COVID-19 entering the community. It’s an extra layer to help protect New Zealanders and our economy against a future outbreak,” Ardern said.
COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the first Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines will be expected to arrive in New Zealand by the end of the first quarter.
Ardern said the government will be encouraging all New Zealanders to get vaccinated. “I have said 2021 is the Year of the Vaccine. It’s a full-year program we have only just begun,” she said.
Black Caps aim to purge Lord’s pain in world Test final
Wellington, Feb 3 : The Black Caps won’t let past agonies at England’s famed Lord’s cricket ground hamper their quest to win the inaugural World Test Championship final later this year, coach Gary Stead said Wednesday.
New Zealand earned a place in the decider — to be held at Lord’s from June 18 — after Australia withdrew from a Test tour to South Africa this week due to Covid-19 fears.
The London venue was the scene of the Black Caps’ cruellest defeat, the one-day World Cup final against England in 2019.
With scores tied after a nail-biting Super Over, an obscure tie-break rule — which has since been scrapped — meant the hosts were awarded the trophy because they had scored more boundaries than the Black Caps.
New Zealand have also managed only four wins from 23 completed matches at the ground in all formats, with only a single Test victory.
Stead insisted history would not weigh on his players as they seek to become the first Test team to be crowned world champions under the new International Cricket Council format.
“What’s happened back in 2019 has been and gone. We can’t change it, we can’t do anything about it,” Stead told reporters.
“Now it’s about us moving to what’s in front of us. I think our guys are professional enough and skilful enough that they’ll be able to do that.”
While denying 2019 was on the Black Caps’ minds, Stead did admit to having a peek at the rule book to see what would happen if the World Test Championship final was tied.
“There’s definitely no Super Over,” he said.
“If the match is a draw or a tie there are joint winners.”
New Zealand’s opponent in the final has not been decided, with India, Australia and England all possibilities under the ICC’s complex qualification criteria.
Stead refused to nominate a preferred opponent, saying they were all great Test-playing nations.
“I just think it’s magnificent we get the opportunity to play one of them,” he said.
New Zealand currently top the Test rankings but Stead said his veteran players remembered when they tumbled to eighth in the world after a humbling loss to South Africa in 2018, after being all out in the first innings for just 45.
He said winning the Test championship would be a fitting testament to their improvement.
“They’ve seen some dark days but turned that around,” he said.
“(It) would rank up there with some of the best achievements of their career.”
Govt starts COVID-19 vaccination registration process for healthcare workers: Nausheen Hamid
ISLAMABAD, Feb 3 : Parliamentary Secretary on health Dr. Nausheen Hamid on Wednesday said that government has started registration process of healthcare workers for the vaccination of COVID-19 at the first phase while general public would get the facility in the second phase.
Talking to Radio Pakistan’s current Affair program,she said that for this purpose, government helpline number 1166 was active only for the registration of healthcare workers.
She said that the vaccine would be provided free of charge first to all doctors and frontline workers treating coronavirus patients, then to other medical workers, senior citizens and people with chronic illnesses .
It is expected that Pakistan would receive another consignment of the vaccination after a few days, she added.
She said Pakistan has also been pledged 17 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine under a global scheme to deliver treatments to the developing nations.
About 6 million doses would arrive by March’s end under the COVAX scheme, with the remainder due by mid-year, she added.
She also thanked the Chinese government for providing first batch of five hundred thousand vaccines to Pakistan.
The smart lockdown strategy of the PTI-led government proved highly effective as it helped reduced COVID-19 cases in Pakistan, she highlighted.
WHO official voices support for virus origin-tracing team in Wuhan
GENEVA, Feb. 3 : The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday slammed critics of its origin-tracing work on the novel coronavirus in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and voiced support for the team.
Many critics claimed that they “won’t accept the report when it comes out,” or that there is “other intelligence available that may show different findings” on how the outbreak started, Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, told a press conference from the UN agency’s headquarters in Geneva.
“If you have the answers… please let us know,” he added.
It is not responsible “to say you won’t accept a report before it’s even written” and “you have intelligence that has not been provided,” said Ryan, adding that the team in the field deserved international support.
Coronavirus claims 11 more lives in KP
PESHAWAR, Feb 03 : The coronavirus remained on the prowl in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as at least 11 more people died of its infection during the last 24 hours taking the number of total deaths to 1930 in the province.
A report of the Health Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wednesday said 170 new cases of the virus infections have been reported from the province during the last 24 hours which has taken the number of total cases to 67789.
During the last 24 hours, the report said at least 492 patients gained recovery from the infection in KP.
‘Turning back from Afghan peace process would be a tragedy’: Pakistan
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 03 : Pakistan told a United Nations briefing on Afghanistan Tuesday that turning back from the ongoing Afghan peace process would be a tragedy, especially after making “substantial progress” towards a political solution to the country’s conflict, even though difficulties remain.
“It would be a tragedy if because of these difficulties we were to turn back on the peace process and revert to a military strategy,” Ambassador Munir Akram said after senior United Nations (UN) officials briefed member states on the 2021 humanitarian response plan for Afghanistan.
“A political solution is the only path to peace in Afghanistan,” the Pakistani envoy told the session organized by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“My Prime Minister (Imran Khan) has consistently maintained that the Afghan conflict can be ended, not by military force, but through a political settlement involving the full spectrum of Afghanistan’s political landscape,” Ambassador Akram told the session.
Pakistan, he said, shared international community’s determination not to allow Afghanistan’s territory to be used by Al Qaeda, ISIS, and other international terrorist groups, to threaten or attack any country.
The Pakistani envoy called on all parties to the Afghan conflict to take “urgent steps” to reduce the level of violence leading to cessation of hostilities.
“The ongoing intra-Afghan negotiations have rekindled hope for peace through a comprehensive political settlement,” he said, urging the Afghan parties to seize this historic opportunity.
“It is the Afghans who must be the masters of their destiny and decide their own future without outside influence or interference.”
Afghanistan needs peace, an end to foreign intervention and terrorism as these factors had left a devastating impact on the humanitarian situation in the country, the Pakistani envoy said.
Pakistan, he said, has committed a billion dollars to Afghanistan’s development, out of which US $ 500 million have already been spent on infrastructure and capacity-building projects.
Despite COVID-19 and closure of borders by so many countries, the Pakistani government had revised its visa policy to facilitate Afghan nationals to visit Pakistan especially for medical facilities. “We have opened the border at five crossing points; and donated medical equipment to Afghanistan,” Ambassador Akram said.
Pakistan, he pointed out, has hosted millions of Afghan refugees over the last four decades, and remained committed to their safe and dignified return to their homeland.
“We stand ready to assist the Afghan government to promote a time-bound,
well-resourced roadmap for the return of the Afghan refugees.”
Underlining that infrastructure development and regional connectivity is a key to Afghan economic growth and stability, he said adding that together, Pakistan and Afghanistan, naturally link Central Asia to the Eurasian Heartland and to the Arabian Sea.
Pakistan, he said, would continue to work closely with its partners for the completion of the regional connectivity projects, including CASA-1000, TAPI gas pipeline and to facilitate trade to and from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s participation in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said, would also improve infrastructure, stimulate socio-economic growth, help eradicate poverty and boost regional trade.
In conclusion, Ambassador Akram reiterated Pakistan’s support for a peaceful, stable, united, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours.
Bangladesh lose Tamim, Najmul in opening session
Chittagong, Bangladesh, Feb 3 : Bangladesh lost two wickets to reach 69-2 in the opening session of the first Test against the West Indies in Chittagong on Wednesday.
Opener Tamim Iqbal fell for nine runs in the fifth over after skipper Mominul Haque won the toss and elected to bat at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
Kemar Roach bowled Tamim with an in-swinger shortly after the batsman reclaimed the record of Bangladesh’s leading Test run-scorer with a single.
Tamim, who was playing his 61st Test, has now 4,414 to his tally, one more than his teammate Mushfiqur Rahim.
Najmul Hossain was then run out for 25 after putting on 43 runs for the second wicket with opener Shadman Islam.
Shadman, who struck a boundary off the first ball of the game, remained unbeaten on 33 at the break.
Skipper Mominul (two not out) was accompanying Shadman, who has hit four boundaries so far, at the crease when they took lunch.
Bangladesh picked four spinners — Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan and Mehidy Hasan — alongside lone pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman in their line-up.
The West Indies handed a Test debut to Nkrumah Bonner, Kyle Mayers and Shayne Moseley.
