ISLAMABAD: Pakistani doctors on Friday urged the government to expedite the coronavirus vaccination drive across the country to protect people against COVID-19 and keep the national economy operational.
Pakistan started its immunization campaign in February and has so far administered 16.3 million doses. It aims to inoculate about 65 million people by the end of the year, which doctors and experts say will only be possible if the government increases the pace of its vaccination drive since it is the only way to decisively defeat the virus.
“As the daily infection rate has dropped, it is time to vaccinate a maximum number of people before a new wave of the pandemic sets in,” Dr. Qaisar Sajjad, secretary general of the Pakistan Medical Association, told Arab News on Friday, adding that the government should start mobile vaccination service to reach as many people as possible on a daily basis, especially in the rural areas where people face transportation problems and cannot always reach designated vaccine centers in cities.
“The government also needs to improve the vaccine supply at the designated facilities and create awareness about the benefits of COVID-19 jabs,” he continued.
The country’s population breakdown shows that more than 125 million people are above the age of 18 and therefore eligible for vaccination in Pakistan. In Punjab, 66 million people are eligible while in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan this number stands at 27.5 million, 19 million and 6.4 million respectively.
About 2.7 million citizens of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 1.4 million people of Islamabad and 1.1 million residents of Gilgit-Baltistan are also eligible for the vaccine.
According to the official data available with Arab News, Punjab has administered 8.8 million doses so far at its 669 COVID-19 vaccine centers.
Hammad Raza Bukhari, a spokesperson for the Punjab health department, told Arab News that daily vaccination target in the province was 250,000 shots, claiming that provincial authorities were administering over 200,000 doses daily.
Sindh province has administered over 3.6 million doses with 10.33 percent of total coverage. Documents show the daily coverage percentage in the province was well below the target of 16.8 percent.
Mehar Khursheed, a spokesperson for the Sindh health department, said the provincial government was trying to increase daily vaccination through social mobilization and by making shots mandatory for schoolteachers and people working in shopping malls, industries and the transportation sector.
“Mobile vaccination service is already in action,” she said. “We are vaccinating people in the far-flung areas through mobile units by using single dose CanSino.”
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has administered 1.8 million doses to date, with 7.76 percent of the targeted population covered.
The government allocated $1.2 billion for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines during this fiscal year.
Pakistani doctors urge government to increase pace of COVID-19 vaccination campaign
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Pakistani doctors urge government to increase pace of COVID-19 vaccination campaign
- Over 125 million people are eligible for coronavirus vaccination in Pakistan but government has only administered 16.3 million doses to date
- 66 million people are eligible in Punjab, 27.5 million in Sindh, 19 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 6.4 million in Balochistan
Punjab says received 38 percent less rainfall in last four months, warns of drought
- Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, plays leading role in country’s agricultural production
- Pakistan’s Met Department this week warned of possible drought in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s eastern and most populated Punjab province on Thursday warned that it may face a drought in the near future as it has received 38 percent less rainfall in the last four months compared to the usual amount, a statement from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Meteorological Department (PMD) warned that the existing drought situation in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan provinces may “exacerbate and intensify” in the coming months due to below-normal rainfall, rising temperatures and acute shortage of stored water in the country’s dams.
The situation is particularly alarming for Punjab, which plays a leading role in Pakistan’s agricultural production. The province contributes about 68 percent to the annual food grain production in Pakistan and has 51 million acres of cultivated land, as per official figures.
“In the last four months, Punjab has received 38 percent less rainfall which is threatening a possible drought,” the PDMA said in a statement.
A meeting was held under the chairmanship of DG PDMA Punjab Irfan Ali Kathia to deal with the possible drought in Cholistan in southern Punjab.
“Additional funds will be provided to the relevant districts to deal with the possible drought,” the PDMA said.
Participants of the meeting were informed in the briefing that due to a lack of rain last winter, the country’s reservoirs are facing a water shortage.
“Water supply is being ensured in all areas. Water is being provided to remote areas through pipelines and water bowsers,” it said.
The PDMA urged all relevant departments to be on alert, with Kathia instructing all departments to make provision of basic medicines to deal with possible drought.
“Possible steps are being taken to deal with heat wave and possible drought,” the statement said.
Pakistan has the fourth-highest rate of water consumption in the world. The country’s agriculture sector uses the most amount of freshwater than any other sector. Rainfall has steadily declined over the past few decades and experts have been warning for years the country will approach “absolute scarcity” of water by 2025.
The results of the latest census in 2023 counted 241.49 million people across Pakistan with a growth rate of 2.55 percent. Linked to that, per capita water availability has been on a downward trend for decades.
Two killed in attack on police van in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province
- Police van was targeted near a crowded market in Quetta, injuring 17 people including policemen
- No group claimed responsibility for attack in Balochistan, site of a decades-long separatists insurgency
QUETTA: Two civilians were killed and more than a dozen injured on Thursday after a police van was targeted with a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) blast at a busy street in the southwestern Pakistan city of Quetta, a police official said.
Footage seen by Arab News showed a damaged police mobile van standing on a crowned double road in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan province, as residents attempted to remove a burning motorbike parked close to the vehicle. The blast happened near a crowded market where people were busy with shopping ahead of the religious festival of Eid Al-Fitr, which begins next week.
“An improvised explosive device (IED) fitted inside a motorbike exploded when a police van was passing through the double road area in Quetta,” Muhammad Baloch, senior superintendent of police (SSP) operations in Quetta, told Arab News.
“Two civilians were killed in the latest attack on the police force and 17, including three policemen, were injured,” he added.
Baloch said as per initial investigations, the explosion was caused by a remotely controlled IED fitted inside a motorcycle.
He said that the bomb disposal squad is assessing the quantity of the explosive material used in the attack.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attack in Balochistan, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the largest and strongest of several ethnic Baloch insurgent groups which have been fighting for decades to win independence for the mineral-rich province, home to major China-led projects including a port and gold and copper mines.
The attack on the police van comes a day after gunmen killed at least six people in “coordinated” attacks in Balochistan that largely targeted bus passengers based on their ethnicity, police said on Thursday.
“We have received two dead bodies of civilians and 17 injured including four policemen,” Waseem Baig, the spokesman for the Civil Hospital in Quetta, told Arab News. “Five injured are in critical condition and being treated at the trauma center of the hospital.”
Earlier this month, ethnic Baloch separatists attacked a train with 450 passengers on board, sparking a two-day siege during which dozens of people were killed.
Days later, at least five paramilitaries were killed in a vehicle-borne suicide attack. Both assaults were claimed by the separatist BLA.
The group also launched coordinated attacks last year that included taking control of a major highway and shooting dead travelers from other ethnic groups, stunning the country.
The militants have additionally targeted energy projects with foreign financing, most notably from China, accusing outsiders of exploiting the resource-rich region while excluding residents in the poorest part of Pakistan.
Last year was the deadliest year in a decade in Pakistan, following a trend of rising militancy since the Taliban took control in Afghanistan in 2021.
With inputs from AFP
Pakistan says will hold counter-terrorism dialogue with US in June
- Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Acting US Ambassador Natalie Baker discuss bilateral ties, counter-terror cooperation
- Meeting takes place amid surge in militant attacks in recent weeks in Pakistan’s western provinces of KP and Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad and Washington will hold a counter-terrorism dialogue in June this year, a statement from Pakistan’s interior ministry said on Thursday amid efforts by both countries to forge closer ties and cooperation to battle militancy.
Pakistan and the US have a history of cooperation in counterterrorism efforts, particularly during the “War on Terror” following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Despite periods of strained relations, Pakistan has captured and handed over several Taliban and Al-Qaeda members to US authorities.
Acting US Ambassador Natalie Baker called on Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Islamabad, the interior ministry said. Both sides discussed Pakistan-US relations, matters of mutual interest and bilateral cooperation, it said.
“Both sides also discussed to enhance mutual cooperation in the field of counterterrorism efforts,” the ministry said. “It was agreed to hold a counter-terrorism dialogue in June this year.”
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump acknowledged Pakistan for helping America arrest a senior Daesh operative implicated in the 2021 Kabul airport bombing that killed 13 US service members.
Baker strongly condemned the recent “terrorist attack” involving the Jaffar Express train, in which 31 people were killed this month after militants stormed it in southwestern Balochistan province earlier this month.
Hundreds of passengers were held hostage before the military rescued them after a day-long standoff.
Naqvi urged the global community to work together to combat “terrorism,” describing it as an international issue, the ministry said.
“He further said that the Government of Pakistan is taking strong action against terrorists and a comprehensive policy is being formulated related to counter-terrorism,” the statement said.
Thanking Trump for acknowledging Pakistan’s help in battling “terrorism,” Naqvi said Islamabad would extend “full cooperation” in the repatriation of illegal Pakistani immigrants residing in the United States.
The meeting between the two sides took place amid a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan’s western provinces bordering Afghanistan, especially Balochistan, where ethnic Baloch militants have long carried out attacks targeting law enforcers.
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh sign ‘landmark’ agreement to strengthen capital market cooperation
- Initiative aims to create new opportunities for investors and market participants across the region, PSX says
- MoU establishes formal platform for dialogue and joint initiatives, with working groups to implement cooperation framework
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has entered into a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), PSX said on Thursday, describing it as a “landmark move” to strengthen regional capital market cooperation.
The agreement signed in Colombo aims to establish an exchange forum to facilitate technology development and sharing, human resource sharing, product development, regulatory collaboration, investor protection, and knowledge exchange across the three markets.
“This initiative will foster deeper regional cooperation among the three South Asian nations while creating new opportunities for investors and market participants across the region,” the PSX said in a statement.
Joint initiatives in system development and digital transformation, cross-exchange training programs and knowledge-sharing initiatives, collaborative development of new financial instruments, harmonization of market oversight and investor protection frameworks, exploration of cross-border listing opportunities to expand investor access and facilitation of broker partnerships and institutional connectivity were listed in the PSX statement as the key areas of collaboration under the MoU.
“This strategic partnership marks a significant step forward in regional market integration. By combining our strengths, these three exchanges can drive innovation, enhance market resilience, and create new opportunities for investors across South Asia,” said Akif Saeed, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), who was present at the ceremony.
Farrukh H. Sabzwari, MD & CEO of PSX, said the agreement represented a “transformative chapter” in regional capital market cooperation.
“Through this partnership with our counterparts in Colombo and Dhaka, we aim to elevate market standards, foster sustainable growth, and deliver greater value to all market participants,” he added.
The MoU establishes a formal platform for ongoing dialogue and joint initiatives, with working groups to be formed to implement the cooperation framework.
This alliance is expected to enhance market liquidity and product diversity, strengthen regulatory frameworks across the region, facilitate cross-border investment flows and promote technological innovation in market infrastructure, the PSX statement said.
Islamabad criticizes US export restrictions on Pakistani firms, calls them ‘politically motivated’
- The US imposed export restrictions on 70 companies from five countries, including 19 from Pakistan
- Pakistan welcomes US-brokered limited ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office on Thursday criticized the recent United States export restrictions on Pakistani companies, arguing they unfairly targeted the country’s commercial entities without any evidence.
The US Department of Commerce imposed export restrictions this week on 70 companies from Pakistan, Iran, China, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa, saying their “activities were contrary to US national security and foreign policy.”
According to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the list includes 42 firms from China, 19 from Pakistan, four from the United Arab Emirates, three from South Africa and two from Iran.
Due to these restrictions, US suppliers will be prohibited from sending goods to the sanctioned entities without obtaining a special license.
“The recent imposition of export restrictions by the United States unfairly targets Pakistan’s commercial entities without any evidence whatsoever,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told reporters during his weekly media briefing in Islamabad.
“Such biased and politically motivated actions are counterproductive to the objectives of global export controls and obstruct the legitimate access to technology for socio-economic development,” he added.
The spokesperson also commented on the outcome of Russia-Ukraine negotiations, saying Pakistan welcomed the recently agreed limited ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine prohibiting attacks on energy infrastructure and ensuring safe navigation in the Black Sea.
The US had been engaging in diplomatic efforts in Saudi Arabia to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, seeking a peaceful resolution to the three-year-long war through negotiations.
“We appreciate the active engagement of the US administration and its leadership in securing the agreement between Russia and Ukraine,” the spokesperson said, adding Pakistan remained optimistic that the new momentum generated by these initial steps would eventually lead to a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire.
Khan said Pakistan’s position on the Ukraine conflict has been consistent, as it enjoys friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine.
“We have always advocated dialogue and diplomacy, immediate cessation of hostilities, and peaceful resolution of this conflict,” he added.
