Pakistan likely to be first to complete research in immunoglobulin therapy to treat COVID-19 

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Updated 02 March 2021
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Pakistan likely to be first to complete research in immunoglobulin therapy to treat COVID-19 

  • Scientists at Karachi’s Dow University of Health Sciences say ‘severe’ patients who had received the treatment had a 100 percent recovery rate
  • In critical patients the recovery ratio was 50 to 60 percent, number of hospitalization days reduced to 6.5 from up to 25

KARACHI: Scientists at Karachi’s Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) who are conducting clinical trials of intravenous immunoglobulin (C-IVIG) therapy for the treatment coronavirus, say Pakistan is likely to become the first country to complete the research needed to introduce the treatment at a mass level, saying ‘severe’ patients who had received the product had a 100 percent recovery rate.
The therapy uses immunoglobulin (IG), a blood product extracted from the plasma of people who have recovered from infection, and which is rich in the antibodies that target the virus. Continuous infusion of immunoglobin can neutralize the infection in patients and shorten the course of the disease, Pakistani scientists say.
In June, DUHS trials started on 30 participants, most from the high-risk group of people above the age of 60, with many suffering from diabetes, hypertension and other comorbidities.
“The trials are very encouraging and remarkable,” Dr. Shaukat Ali, head of biotechnology at DUHS and lead on the C-IVIG project, told Arab News. “At the moment, what we have seen is that all severe patients who received C-IVIG treatment had 100 percent recovery ratio while in critical patients the recovery ratio was 50 to 60 percent.”
Besides the high recovery rate, Ali said, the DUHS team had observed that the treatment had significantly reduced the period of hospitalization.
“The results show that the number of hospitalization days were reduced to six and a half days for severe patients, which is very encouraging because normally a severe patient would occupy hospital resources for 20 to 25 days.”




Dr. Shaukat Ali, head of biotechnology at Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), speaks to Arab News at his office in Karachi, Pakistan, on December 11, 2020. (AN photo)

Ali said Pakistan was the first country to develop the immunoglobulin solution in April 2020.
“Only a week ago, an announcement was made by a global plasma alliance of big companies of blood producers, including Takeda Pharmaceutical, to work on the project,” Ali added, referring to the CoVIg-19 Plasma Alliance.
Global pharmaceutical giants — Takeda Pharmaceutical of Japan, CSL Limited of Australia, German Biotest AG and private companies from France, Switzerland and United Kingdom — announced research on plasma-based treatment for COVID-19 in early April, but the projects had been delayed several times.
In Pakistan, clinical research started in June, after a series of regulatory approvals. The experiment was also registered with the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health in the United States, which maintains the biggest global registry of clinical trials.
“Pakistan is the first country in the world which has accomplished the experiment and announced it. There are two clinical trials going on which were registered after us; one is carried out by National Institutes of Health in the US and another one in Israel, both were registered after us,” Ali said.

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) authorized clinical trials for critically ill COVID-19 patients in mid-April. In the same month, DUHS purified immunoglobulin from the plasma of COVID-19 patients and prepared IVIG formulation to treat severe and critical virus cases.
To seek more plasma donors, DUHS scientists announced the outcome of their trials on November 21, ahead of their scheduled completion in January 2021.
“With the onset of winter, hospitals are full with patients and we want to alert the authorities that we have the solution that we have developed indigenously and to motivate general public to donate plasma,” Ali added.
The announcement was met with substantial public response.
“We are getting plasma from donors and proceeding faster now. We will complete the trial within a month and go for next phase which will be multicentric, where we will add more people across the country at different centers.”


‘Generational benefits’ from Reko Diq mines will uplift conflict-hit Balochistan — Barrick CEO

Updated 11 sec ago
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‘Generational benefits’ from Reko Diq mines will uplift conflict-hit Balochistan — Barrick CEO

  • Mining giant highlights local hiring, health care and education projects during visit to remote Chagai village
  • Project being developed in backdrop of decades of unrest, economic marginalization in restive Balochiatan

QUETTA: The chief executive of Canadian mining firm Barrick Gold said this week the multibillion-dollar Reko Diq copper and gold project in Pakistan’s Balochistan province will deliver “generational benefits” to the impoverished, conflict-hit region, as he met residents of Humai village near the mine site.

The Reko Diq project, jointly owned by Barrick and the governments of Pakistan and Balochistan, is one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits. Long delayed by legal disputes and concerns over foreign investment, the mine is seen as a potential economic game changer in a province that has long suffered from poverty, underdevelopment, and armed separatist violence.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, has for years seen unrest rooted in demands for greater autonomy and a larger share of natural resource revenues. Separatist militants have regularly targeted infrastructure, Chinese investments, and security forces. Against this backdrop, Barrick has emphasized its commitment to inclusive and transparent development.

“Reko Diq is not just a mining project; it is a multi-generational opportunity that promises sustained economic and social development for local communities for decades to come,” Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said in a statement on Monday released after he visited Humai, the closest village to the project site in District Chagai.

Bristow met local elders and development committee members, reaffirming the company’s goal to invest in job creation, skills training, education, and health care for Baloch communities.

“We are creating job opportunities not only through RDMC but also through our large network of partner and supplier companies that are coming onboard to support this major development,” Bristow said. “Currently, 75 percent of our workforce is from Balochistan — the majority from District Chagai — and we aim to continue strengthening this local representation.”

Bristow also highlighted recent investments in health care, including a new Mother and Child Health Center in Humai that offers maternal care services — the first such facility of its kind in the area.

“No meaningful development of this world-class mineral resource can happen without the active involvement and support of the people who live here,” he said.

Humai village chief Liaqat Malik and Par-e-Koh Community Development Committee Chairman Taj Muhammad thanked Bristow and RDMC for their engagement and development work, pledging continued community support for the project, according to the Barrick statement. 

The Reko Diq project is expected to begin production by 2028 and generate thousands of jobs while significantly boosting Pakistan’s export revenues. The Pakistani government has said it will ensure environmental protections and fair distribution of project benefits, though watchdog groups continue to call for greater transparency and community participation in oversight.


Pakistan launches simplified digital tax system as part of $47 billion revenue drive

Updated 8 min 58 sec ago
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Pakistan launches simplified digital tax system as part of $47 billion revenue drive

  • New returns aimed at salaried workers to boost compliance and expand Pakistan’s narrow tax base
  • Reform part of broader economic agenda tied to IMF program and long-term fiscal sustainability

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will launch tomorrow, Tuesday, simplified digital tax returns for salaried individuals, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office, amid Islamabad’s efforts to expand the national tax base.

The statement came after a meeting Sharif presided over to review progress on tax reforms which are part of his government agenda to stabilize the South Asian economy.

Officials informed the prime minister that digital, concize and user-friendly tax returns will also be available for taxpayers of other classes from July 30, along with Urdu-language returns for the salaried class.

“A third-party validation should be ensured for the transparency of all FBR reforms,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by his office. “Public awareness campaign should be launched regarding the ease of filing tax returns so that more and more people file returns under the new system.”

In June, Pakistan set a record-high tax collection target of Rs14.13 trillion ($47.4 billion) as it unveiled federal budget for fiscal year 2025-26. The target represents a 9 percent increase compared to the outgoing fiscal year’s target.

Sharif said increasing the tax base and reducing the burden on the poor were his government’s top priorities, praising the FBR for the implementation of an artificial intelligence-based tax assessment system.

“The prime minister directed provision of special facilities to small and medium-sized businesses to join the digital invoicing system,” his office said.

Pakistan’s policy reforms, also required under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF), have helped restore macroeconomic stability and rebuild investor confidence in the government, despite persistent external challenges, according to IMF country representative Mahir Binici.

He, however, cautioned that “elevated trade tensions, geopolitical fragmentation, and weakening global cooperation continue to generate exceptional uncertainty and weigh on the global economic outlook,” underlining the urgent need for prudent and forward-looking policy actions.

“Structural reforms remain central to Pakistan’s long-term economic sustainability, particularly reforms that strengthen tax equity, improve the business climate, and encourage private-sector-led investment,” Binici said during a guest lecture at an Islamabad-based think tank last week.


Pakistan to restrict Iraq pilgrimages to organized groups from 2026, no solo travel allowed 

Updated 14 July 2025
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Pakistan to restrict Iraq pilgrimages to organized groups from 2026, no solo travel allowed 

  • The announcement comes after a conference of Iran, Iraq and Pakistan interior ministers in Tehran
  • Thousands of Pakistanis travel annually to Iran and Iraq, with some of them staying behind illegally

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Shiite pilgrims will not be able to individually travel to Iraq from next year to visit holy sites, the country’s interior minister announced on Monday, following his meeting with counterparts from Iran and Iraq.

Naqvi said this after attending a tri-nation conference, requested by Islamabad, in Tehran to discuss issues relating to thousands of Pakistani Shiite Muslims, who travel annually to Iran and Iraq.

The conference concluded with an agreement to establish a joint working group to oversee coordination and operational matters, ensuring safe and seamless travel of the pilgrims to the two countries.

“From January 1, 2026, we will not be allowing any Pakistani to leave for Iraq without zaireen [pilgrims] group organizer, which means that we will register people who will be allowed to take the groups to Iraq,” Naqvi said in televised comments after the conference.

Last month, Pakistan evacuated over 260 nationals from Iraq and another 450 Pakistanis who had been stranded in Iran during the Tehran-Israeli conflict, according to the country’s foreign ministry. There was no confirmation of the number of evacuees who had traveled legally and those who had been staying in the two countries illegally.

The group organizers will be bound to bring back all pilgrims going with them, according to the Pakistani interior minister. The move is aimed at discouraging overstay of Pakistani pilgrims in Iraq.

“The people who are overstaying there, the people who have started working there, we need to stop this,” Naqvi said, adding they would need support from Iran and Iraq to implement the decision.


Pakistan joins SCO foreign ministers’ summit as Delhi-Islamabad tensions simmer

Updated 14 July 2025
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Pakistan joins SCO foreign ministers’ summit as Delhi-Islamabad tensions simmer

  • Regional tensions, particularly between India and Pakistan, simmer after New Delhi’s refusal to sign a recent SCO joint statement
  • New Delhi said the SCO statement was ‘pro-Pakistan’ in not mentioning an April attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, has arrived in China to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Monday, amid prevailing regional tensions.

The meeting comes amid simmering regional tensions, particularly between India and Pakistan, following New Delhi’s refusal to sign a recent SCO joint statement over its omission of a deadly April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The SCO, a trans-regional bloc comprising China, Russia, Pakistan, India, Iran, and Central Asian states, is expected to deliberate on pressing regional and global security, connectivity, and economic issues at the CFM meeting in Tianjin on July 15-16.

Upon arrival in Beijing, Dar was received by Ambassador Yu Hong, a member of the Chinese’s foreign ministry’s Department of Asian Affairs, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Khalil-ur-Rehman Hashmi, along with other Chinese foreign ministry officials.

“DPM/FM will lead Pakistan’s delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tianjin tomorrow, call on the President of China along with other SCO Foreign Ministers, and hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from SCO member states,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said.

The CFM is the third highest forum in the SCO format that focuses on the issues of international relations as well as foreign and security policies of China-backed SCO.

Last month, Beijing’s bid for enhanced regional leadership suffered a setback when India rejected signing a joint statement put before defense ministers of the SCO, seen by some Western analysts as a regional grouping by China and Russia to counter United States influence in Asia, with New Delhi saying it was “pro-Pakistan” in not mentioning April’s attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.

India blamed Pakistan for backing the gunmen behind the April 22 killing of 26 people. Islamabad denies the charge. In May, India and Pakistan exchanged fighter jet, missile, drone and artillery strikes for four days over the Kashmir attack, killing around 70 people on both sides before agreeing to US-brokered ceasefire.

Separately, India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing that the two countries must resolve friction along their border, pull back troops and avoid “restrictive trade measures” to normalize their relationship, Reuters reported on Monday.

Jaishankar arrived in Beijing on his first trip to China since 2020, when a deadly border clash between their troops led to a four-year military standoff and damaged ties until a thaw began in October, when they agreed to step back.

“It is now incumbent on us to address other aspects related to the border, including de-escalation,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying.

Jaishankar met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng earlier in the day, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. Han told Jaishankar that India and China should steadily advance practical cooperation and respect each other’s concerns.


Pakistan braces for new monsoon wave after rains kill 111 since late June

Updated 14 July 2025
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Pakistan braces for new monsoon wave after rains kill 111 since late June

  • Monsoon brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, arriving in late June in Pakistan and lasting through Sept.
  • The annual rains, vital for agriculture and livelihoods, bring with them flooding, landslides and cause buildings to collapse

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Monday warned of another wet spell in the country from July 15 till July 17, with the death toll from monsoon rain-floods rising to 111 since June 26.

The toll includes 40 deaths in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, followed by 37 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 17 in Sindh, 16 in Balochistan and one fatality in Azad Kashmir, according to official figures. Another 212 people have been injured in rain-related incidents.

In its fresh alert, the disaster authority said a low-pressure area, presently located over India’s Madhya Pradesh state, is likely to affect Pakistan in the next 24 to 72 hours.

“Under the influence of this weather system, strong monsoon currents are expected to penetrate central and upper parts [of Pakistan],” it said. “A westerly wave is also present over upper parts of the country.”

The system may result in heavy rains and flash floods in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Galiyat, Dera Ghazi Khan and northeastern Punjab.

“Rains may trigger landslides in Murree and hilly areas,” the NDMA said. “Heavy downpour may cause urban flooding in low-lying areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sialkot and Faisalabad.”

It called on provincial and district administrations to prepare emergency response teams, ensure the availability of rescue machinery and clear drainage systems in urban areas.

“Avoid outdoor exposure in rains and windy weather,” the authority said. “Tourists and travelers visiting mountainous areas are advised to remain cautious of flash floods, avalanche, glaciers, landslides, rock fall/tree fall, derbies/mud flow during the period.”

Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, arriving in early June in India and late June in Pakistan, and lasting through until September.

The annual rains are vital for agriculture and food security, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers. But the season brings with it flooding, landslides and causes buildings to collapse.

South Asia is getting hotter and in recent years has seen shifting weather patterns, but scientists are unclear on how exactly a warming planet is affecting the highly complex monsoon.

Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 240 million residents are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency.

In 2022, unprecedented monsoon floods submerged a third of Pakistan and killed 1,700 people, with some areas yet to recover from the damage. In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, including strong hailstorms.