Pakistan to build hospitals near border areas: Speaker

ISLAMABAD:National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser Monday said to facilitate Afghan patients, Pakistan is planning to build hospitals near border areas while visa policy for Afghan patients is also being reviewed.

This he said while addressing All Parties National conference on the Afghanistan issue organized by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Samiul Haq group) in Islamabad. The NA Speaker said the Pakistani government is introducing an incentivized policy for Afghan investors to grow their businesses in Pakistan. He said this policy will be passed by the Federal Cabinet, on Tuesday.

The Speaker has reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to facilitate Afghan brethren in every manner in this hour of need. Asad Qaiser also stressed making a national policy on the Afghanistan issue as peace in Pakistan and Afghanistan is interlinked.

He urged all political leaders irrespective of their political affiliation to play their positive role in this regard through the platform of Parliament. He also urged the world community to play its role in the provision of health facilities to the Afghan people.

(Special technology zones would create employment opportunities for youth: PM)

ISLAMABAD:Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the government is focused to promote education and health sectors for overall national development.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of establishing special technology zone in Haripur on Monday, he said with increase in revenue collection, these two key sectors will also be further strengthened. The Prime Minister said qualified youth provide leadership besides contributing to overall progress of a country. He emphasized on imparting education to the youth in accordance to the market requirement.

He said the three-tier education system had been creating three classes in the society, which would have negative impacts. He said the single national curriculum introduced by the present government would lead to national cohesion.

The Prime Minister said the special technology zones would create employment opportunities for the youth. He said facilities being provided to the business community are leading to increasing exports. He said a 75 percent increase in IT exports is expected this year.

Another Hindu girl kidnapped

PANO AQIL:Another Hindu girl was kidnapped from Panu Aqil, police said Monday. According to police, 12-year-old Payel Kumari was allegedly kidnapped by some armed men from the jurisdiction of Mubarkpur police station of Panu Aqil.

Protesting against the incident as well as inaction on the part of police, family members of the girl have demanded immediate recovery of Payel. They have said that the assailants had stormed into their home and took Payel with them. There was a tense atmosphere in the locality.

Body found from Killi Nasaran area

QUETTA:A body was found from Killi Nasaran area of Quetta in Balochistan province on Monday.

According to rescue sources, a body of one person, namely Daleep, 52, son of Wilia Christian was found from Killi Nasaran area of Quetta. The body was shifted to Sandeman Provincial Hospital, Quetta. Further investigation was being conducted by the concerned authorities.

All education ministers decide keeping schools opened in country

ISLAMABAD:Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood on Monday chaired a meeting of Inter-Provincial Education Ministers via video link and reviewed the situation following surge in coronavirus cases.

During the session, the participants decided to not close educational institutions. In a statement, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas told that the students have been strictly directed to wear masks and inoculate themselves against coronavirus to enter the schools.

Classes for children under the age of 12 years will be allowed with 50 percent attendance, he added. On the other hand, Pakistan has reported 7 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 1,328,487. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 29,019.

According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) 4,340 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. Punjab remains the worst-hit province in terms of deaths followed by Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Till now 13,090 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab, 7,697 in Sindh 5,960 in KP, 969 in Islamabad, 749 in Azad Kashmir, 367 in Balochistan, and 187 in GB.

Furthermore 502,500 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 453,392 in Punjab 182,311 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 111,376 in Islamabad, 34,758 in Azad Kashmir 33,705 in Balochistan and 10,445 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Pakistan has so far conducted 24,186,508 coronavirus tests and 49,809 in the last 24 hours. 1,263,791 patients have recovered in the country whereas 781 patients are in critical condition. The COVID-19 positivity ratio was recorded at 8.71 percent.

So far, 101,457,925 people have received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine including 332,969 in last 24 hours. 76,649,649 citizens have been fully vaccinated while 462,614 received their second dose in last 24 hours. The number of total administered doses has reached to 166,837,089 with 753,282 in the last 24 hours.

Punjab reduces school children’s attendance by 50%

LAHORE:Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas Monday announced that classes for children under 12 years will be continued with 50% attendance.

He said masks are mandatory for students to attend the classes. Addressing a press conference at Wahdat Road Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Education Development, the provincial minister said that classes for children under 12 years will only be held with 50 percent attendance.

He said that 85 percent of children in schools have been vaccinated and claimed that 100 percent teachers have been vaccinated. The decision was taken in the NCOC meeting attended by Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid and SAPM Dr Faisal Sultana and Punjab Education Minister Dr Faisal Sultan.

Earlier Murad Raas tweeted, “For all the inquirers whether Schools are closing or NOT? In my opinion, every other activity, especially social activity, has to be stopped before schools. Schools should be the absolute last in line to close. The learning losses of our children in the past 2 years are unimaginable.”

Haleem appears in defamation cases where he indicted

KARACHI:Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Sheikh, appeared before the court on Monday in a defamation cases filed by provincial minister Saeed Ghani against the opposition leader and a private TV channel Sama TV.

The court indicted opposition leader Haleem Adil Sheikh while the accused denied the charges. The court adjourned the hearing and summoned prosecution witnesses on February 12. The petitioner Saeed Ghani in defamation cases accused Haleem Adil Sheikh for leveling baseless allegations against him during a TV program and tried to run down Ghani’s reputation.

Haleem Adil Sheikh while talking to media persons in court premises said that he was involved in false cases in Kunri and Ghotki and he attended the hearings for two years and honorably exonerated from all the cases by the courts.

PPP supporters attacked his caravan during bye-election in PS-88 and false case was also registered against him and he remained under detention for half and a month, Haleem said adding that he was facing the case and was hopeful that he would be acquitted from the false case by the courts.

Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s PPP had remarkable movements for democracy and human rights on its credit but today PPP only believed in retaliation and victimization of political opponents, he said adding that four defamation cases had been registered against him.

Haleem Adil said that he had not blamed Saeed Ghani of drug trafficking at his own but a PSP officer in his investigation report charged provincial minister of patronizing drug dealers who also included some close relatives of the said minister.

The PPP Sindh government removed name of Saeed Ghani from Dr Rizwan’s report but still a video statement of Hamidullah was present in which he could be seen telling who he had worked for, he argued.

The Anti-narcotics Force should initiate action on Dr. Rizwan Report while the federal government should form a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) comprising officers from various federal investigation agencies to further probe into Dr. Rizwan’s report and ascertain the facts and determine either Mr Ghani is true or Dr. Rizwan’s report was correct?, Haleem demanded.

“I will vigorously defend the charges and will also file a petition in the High Court so that it could be disclosed that who is selling drugs,” he vowed.

Referring to Shaheed Nazim Jokhio murder case, leader of the opposition alleged that the case was being incapacitated by the Prosecution Department and prosecutors were supporting the accused as a simple challan was presented in which all the accused were given clean chit.

“A report by investigation officer Siraj Lashari was put aside because Sindh government wanted the flawed old interim challan to be considered as the final one but PTI would resist the move to ensure justice to Shereen Jokhio, widow of the deceased Nazim Jokhio,” he vowed.

An organized crime took place the previous night when mobile phones worth Rs 3 million were snatched from a market, Haleem stated adding that incidents of target killing were on the rise in Karachi and law and order situation had worsened. The reason behind the escalating crime was impunity to criminal elements as 90% of criminals caught and sent to prisons somehow managed to set themselves free unpunished, he observed.

The job of the police is to arrest the suspects, draft the challan and forward it to the prosecution department but Sindh Prosecution Department has become a facilitator of criminals where money settle down the issues and consequently criminals got released.

The prosecution was a subsidiary department to provincial law department that was commanded by Murtaza Wahab, he pointed out and alleged that ‘clean shaven’ accomplice of Bilawal Zardari were responsible for the catastrophe in Sindh.