DNA

Islamabad, October 13, 2020: COMSTECH and Pink Pakistan Trust have agreed to work towards the achievement of shared objectives of good health and wellbeing of women in OIC region. Particularly, they will work together for spreading awareness to reduce the mortality rate of breast cancer and promote women wellbeing and empowerment. The MoU between the two organizations signed by Coordinator General, COMSTECH, Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary and the President Pink Trust Pakistan, Dr. Zubaida Qazi, here on Thursday at COMSTECH headquarters, Islamabad.

Both the Parties will jointly organize awareness sessions, seminars, conferences, workshops and training research and counseling support for eradicating breast cancer to the women of the marginalized communities of the OIC member countries.

COMSTECH through its various Inter-Islamic Networks and programmes shall partner with the Pink Foundation towards spreading awareness regarding breast cancer and early detection of breast cancer purely on voluntary basis for the welfare and wellbeing of marginalized communities to work for the noble cause.

ISLAMABAD : The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday took the K-Electric to task over unannounced load-shedding in Karachi, observing that half of the port city is having sleepless nights due to power cuts.

“Karachi is experiencing a heatwave and people don’t have electricity,” Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed remarked while hearing a case pertaining to prolonged power cuts in the Sindh province.

He asked why should the managing director of the port city’s sole power distributor not be sent to jail with a heavy fine.

The chief justice also slammed the federal government saying it was not fulfilling its duty properly.

The attorney general informed the apex court that Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar and Power Minister Omar Ayub wanted to brief the court on the issue and sought permission for the purpose.

Both ministers will brief the court in coming two weeks. Meanwhile, the bench directed the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and the K-Electric to submit a detailed report within four weeks.

The court adjourned the hearing for a month.

LAHORE : An accountability court in Lahore on Tuesday extended the physical remand of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif until October 20 in money laundering and assets beyond means references.

AC Judge Jawadul Hassan heard the case in which Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz appeared. Strict security measures were taken by the administration to deter any untoward incident.

At the outset of the hearing, the NAB prosecutor requested the court to hand over Shehbaz Sharif to them on 15-day physical remand stating that investigation in the matter related to receiving and giving away expensive gifts still remains.
During the proceedings, Shehbaz Sharif stated that he is suffering from back pain and facing hardships in offering prayers. “I’m being punished on the guidelines of the PM and Shehzad Akbar”, Shehbaz alleged before the court.

The court reserved the judgment in NAB’s plea of granting physical remand of Shehbaz Sharif, which was announced later.

The opposition leader in NA was handed over to the NAB on physical remand until October 20.

Last month, the NAB arrested Shehbaz after the Lahore High Court (LHC) denied him further extension in his interim bail. A NAB team arrested him from the courtroom and took him to the NAB Lahore headquarters amid tight security.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar on Tuesday emphasised that “risk mitigation” is important to stop the second wave of the novel coronavirus in the country.

The minister stressed the importance of risk mitigation in the morning session of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). The meeting was also attended by all the chief secretaries of the provinces via a video link.

“Actions have consequences and so far we as a nation and all stakeholders have taken right steps which helped us in saving precious lives and contain the disease spread,” Umar told the officials. He also attributed the people’s “proactive response” for the country’s successful control of the coronavirus.

“The people of Pakistan have shown great maturity and responsibility to not only protect themselves but following guidelines to ensure other’s safety and wellbeing,” said the minister. He also lauded media for their “effective messaging” for behaviour change and help in reaching out to masses.

Asad Umar, who also oversees Pakistan’s COVID-19 response, observed that the people of Pakistan and media are two important pillars which made the entire effort against coronavirus a success. However, the minister emphasised, that in light of the National Coordination Committee meeting yesterday, there is a need to ensure safety measures including wearing of face mask and following health guidelines.

Meanwhile, the chief secretary Sindh informed the forum that the provincial government was “monitoring education institutes and marriage halls”.

He also assured the participants that the provincial government was ensuring that administrative measures are followed “in line of health guidelines issued by NCOC”.

On the other hand, chief secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told the meeting that they have taken administrative measures against certain restaurants and marriage halls for violations of coronavirus protocols.

While chief secretary Balochistan told the NCOC that the government’s trace, test and quarantine strategy has led to a “positive improvement” in coronavirus cases in the province.

The NCOC was also informed that 3,497 smart lockdowns have been imposed in 103 districts of the country. It was also informed that 52% of the coronavirus tests were being done due to proactive TTQ strategy.

PESHAWAR, Oct 13 (DNA):United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with assistance of the Livestock Department, has started vaccination to cattle in merged districts against fetal diseases of foot and mouth and peste des petits ruminants (PPR), (Kata).

According to Representative of FAO for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Waleed Mehdi, during the campaign, 457000 doses of the vaccine would be administered to different small and big cattle. Among the doses 275000 will be administered against foot and mouth while over 200000 will be against PPR disease.

The campaign will be carried out in free medical camps by strictly following the SOPs for COVID-19.

Waleed said the livelihood of almost 97 percent of people from merged districts depended on agriculture, livestock and other natural resources.

He said the FAO with assistance of the Livestock Department was busy in providing better possible healthcare facilities to the cattle in merged districts to save this important source of income from different diseases. The campaign, he said, would benefit around 390000 households.

KARACHI : The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to submit their comments on a petition seeking his disqualification as a member of the Sindh Assembly for lifetime for allegedly being dual national.

Headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, a division bench was hearing the case. The court expressed displeasure over the official respondents over failure to submit their response to the petition despite being issued notices.

The court asked a state counsel why he was not submitting a reply on behalf of the ECP.

The Sindh government’s lawyer informed the bench that the Supreme Court (SC) had already cleared the chief minister in the dual nationality case and requested the court to dismiss the petition for being non-maintainable.

Rejecting his request, Justice Mazhar directed the ECP and the Sindh CM to submit a written reply by next hearing on November 17.

KARACHI : The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday expressed displeasure over the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for failing to file a reference against former Sindh minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar and others in an assets case despite the passage of more than three years.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro extended the interim bail granted to Lanjar, Khan Bahadur and Hassan Effendi until November 16.

The court directed the anti-corruption watchdog to furnish a progress report regarding its inquiry against the accused on next hearing. Lanjar and other accused have been out on bail since 2017.

At the start of the hearing, Justice Kalhoro asked NAB prosecutor Ubaidullah Abro to explain why the bureau has not yet filed the reference in the case and how much more time it needed to do the same.

The prosecutor stated that the NAB has got more evidence against Lanjar as it has traced his another benami property in Sakrand. The former provincial law minister owns benami land measuring 260 acres in Sakrand, he said and added the verification process of the benami property is underway.

The prosecutor said the bureau needs more time to wrap up its investigation against the accused.