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PIMS shuts down wards over coronavirus rise

PIMS - The News Today-TNT
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital, Islamabad has decided to shut down several wards after it noted a rise in coronavirus cases.
Entry to emergency services at the nephrology (kidney disease) ward has been stopped after seven doctors working in the ward tested positive for the virus.
The nephrology department also handles dialysis patients. The hospital administration has decided that patients who are residents of Islamabad will be given priority and patients from outside Islamabad can only avail emergency services.
Coronavirus tests will be mandatory for dialysis patients.
A total of 70 doctors and paramedical staff have been affected by the virus at the hospital. There are currently 18 coronavirus patients in the hospital’s isolation ward right now.
Experts have warned that Pakistan’s coronavirus cases are rising and cautioned that precautionary measures must be taken. As of Thursday, Pakistan reported 325,480 cases of the virus and 6,702 deaths.
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The Dark Side

Court - The News Today-TNT
Courtesy Google Images

BY HASEEB AKHTAR

Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court had said “Obeying the constitution is Patriotism”. He gave these remarks in the hearing of the Navy sailing club and Naval forms case.

This observation of the Federal Capital Court is very important in current circumstances. Earlier we were used to listening about the disappearances of social rights activists and journalists but now the government officers are also being missed from Islamabad. This indicates that we are surely not learning anything from our mistakes.

With this recent motorway rape incident and the news coming about child abuse from almost every part of the country, one can assume the state of our ‘state’. When Shahbaz Sharif government changed the uniforms of Punjab Police, at that time PM Imran Khan said that Shahbaz changed the police into postmen claiming that our government will bring police reforms in true sense.

But sadly, Imran’s promises are yet to be fulfilled. People only watched the continuous change of IGP’s and stay of untouchable Umer Sheikh on the seat of CCPO Lahore, even after the foolish remarks made by him about the victim of the rape incident.

Usman Buzdar another untouchable, is still the Chief Minister of the biggest province of Pakistan. The unqualified and illiterate political elite is sitting in the assemblies and governments corridors while unemployed educated youth is roaming on the roads. It seems that they are running the country on a day to day basis. Chief Justice of Pakistan has also indicated the inefficiency of the government a few weeks ago.

An issue which this government faced like the previous ones, is the economic mess. Every government takes loans from international monetary institutions but one seriously thinks that where does this money go? What are the reasons behind these weak economic conditions of Pakistan?

Every government puts the responsibility on its predecessors by calling them corrupt. But it is surely the mismanagement of the national treasury. It is stated fact that every government and its institutions use public money to buy vehicles and fuel. Millions are spent on the Parliament sessions, official residencies, and other government offices both on federal and provincial levels. There is a long list of target killing of the financial resources of the state machinery for its own luxuries.

We all know that politicians are very corrupt and not sincere with the country. They made offshore companies abroad. Of course, there is no comparison between the companies of dishonest politicians and some patriots. The people questioning or demanding investigations about these ‘Halal’ companies are stupid.

The alarming thing is that the hatred about some of the state institutions among the masses is increasing. It is a general fact that the power of every state and its institutions lies in public support. Now the majority of people are expressing grave concerns about some of the policies of the state and its handling of matters.

COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa pointed out the threats posed by the fifth generation warfare in the latest Corps Commanders Conference. It is now time to seriously look and figure out the causes of the suffusion of this hybrid war in our country. This might be the result of our own mistakes by not addressing concerns and issues of communities that made them vulnerable to hybrid warfare. Our brave armed forces are sacrificing their lives to defend the motherland from external enemies. We should seriously formulate a plan to counter the internal threats and save the reputation of protectors.

This is the dark side and it will become darker if we do not start thinking it now. For this, the state institutions have to avoid unnecessary controversies by obeying the constitution. As said by Justice Athar Minallah “Obeying the constitution is patriotism”.

Also Read: Supreme Court directs govt to facilitate disabled persons

 

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You have nothing to do in elders’ fight, Maryam tells PM

KARACHI: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, (PML-N), vice president, Maryam Nawaz while hitting out at Prime Minister Imran Khan said that a man was screaming and mourning his defeat and failure yesterday.
Maryam Nawaz was addressing the second rally of the Political Democratic Movement (PDM) in Karachi, the second power show of the conglomerate of major political parties.
Around 160 feet long and 60 feet wide stage had been placed in Karachi’s Jinnah Bagh while over 50,000 chairs have also been arranged to facilitate the participants.
Thousands of people assembled for the anti-government rally. People were seen waving opposition parties flag and raising slogans. This was the second power show of the 11-party opposition alliance PDM. The first was held in Gujranwala in Lahore.
The selected rulers have panicked after even first anti-government rally of the alliance (PDM), the PML-N vice president said that the fear of your [PM Imran] was visible from every word of your speech and actions, adding that this is the fear of the power of people that was witnessed by the entire nation on television screens.
“If there is no one to teach you [how to react under pressure] then you could have learned from Nawaz Sharif,” she asked Imran Khan critizing his address to Tiger Force in Islamabad.
Referring to PM Imran’s statement mockingly referred to her as a “nani”, Maryam Nawaz said, “Nani is the mother of the mother; you have disrespected this wonderful, beautiful relation.”
Lashing out at PM Imran, she said that children should not get involved in elders’ fights.
Talking to media before leaving to attend Karachi rally, Maryam Nawaz said that she and her party leaders are not afraid of being arrested.
The PML-N vice president said that campaign against the incumbent government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is getting decisive.
While responding to a question regarding Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s decision to not issue production orders, Maryam Nawaz said that those who think that VIP protocols are being given to the opposition leaders in jails are wrong.
Opposition leaders including Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Maryam Nawaz, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Mohsin Dawar on Sunday arrived at Karachi’s Bagh-e-Jinnah for the second power show of the joint opposition front Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) against Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government.
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ICCI demands Media-cum-Tech City in Islamabad to promote IT exports

ICCI - The News Today-TNT
ISLAMABAD: President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan has said that Pakistan has abundant IT & media talent and tremendous potential to promote export of content, IT and software products, therefore, he called upon the government to consider establishing a Media-cum-Tech City in Islamabad.
He was speaking to a delegation of National Press Club, Islamabad, that visited ICCI led by Senior Vice President Arshad Waheed and Secretary General Anwar Raza to congratulate the newly elected team of ICCI. Group Leader Afzal Butt, former President Tariq Chaudhry, Finance Secretary Sagheer Chaudhry, Siddique Sajjid Baloch, Azhar Jatoi and others were in the delegation.
Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that Media-cum-Tech City would provide a good platform to our young media and IT professionals even from remote areas to show their creativity for launching new businesses and thus contribute towards better economic development of the country and promotion of exports. He said that the government should also introduce a relief package for start-ups to foster an ecosystem of entrepreneurship in the country.
The ICCI President further said that many countries have made drastic cuts in interest rates with the aim to support businesses to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and urged that SBP should also reduce the policy interest rate bringing it down to 2-3 percent that will give a boost to SMEs and help accelerate economic activity in the country.
Speaking at the occasion, Arshad Waheed Senior Vice President and Anwar Raza, Secretary General, National Press Club, Islamabad said that the business community was playing an important role in the economic development of the country and the government should address its key issues on priority.
They said that Pakistan needed to attract more local and foreign investment for developing many sectors of its economy including tourism, energy, infrastructure development etc. and urged that the government should focus on establishing a one window operation facility to facilitate the potential investors. They said that the current policies of FBR were not supportive in business promotion and FBR should re-orient and re-align its tax policies in a manner that should facilitate the private sector in promoting business activities.
Ms. Fatma Azim Senior Vice President, Abdul Rehman Khan Vice President ICCI and Muhammad Ejaz Abbasi former President ICCI appreciated the role of journalistic community for providing updated information to the society and added that they should also cooperate in highlighting the key issues of business community to bring them into the notice of policymakers for redress that would help in improving the economy.
M. Shakeel Munir, Umais Khattak, Khalid Chaudhry, Ch. Ashraf Farzand and others also spoke at the occasion and stressed the need for more close cooperation between ICCI and NPC to promote the common cause of their members.
With input from INP
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President summons NA, Senate sessions on Friday

Parliament - The News Today- TNT
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has summoned sessions of Senate and National Assembly at the Parliament House in Islamabad on Friday (October 16).
According to details, the Senate session will be held on Friday at 10:30am at the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani. Legislation, the overall situation in the country and other important issues are likely to be discussed during the session.
On the other hand, National Assembly session will be held at the Parliament House on Friday at 4:30 pm. Sources said that important legislation as well as overall political situation in the country will come under discussion during National Assembly session.
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Asad Umer alerts nation on rising positivity of Corona cases

Asad Umer - The News Today-TNT

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umer has warned nation about rising positivity of coronavirus cases.

Minister informed people by tweeting today that national positivity of Covid-19 cases was 2.37% yesterday. This is the highest positivity in more than 50 days and last time this level was seen on August 23.

He updated that during first 4 days of this week, coronavirus related deaths average is 11 per day which is highest since week of Aug 10th. These are the unmistakable signs of rise of corona.

Asad Umer revealed that Covid positivity is extremely high in muzaffarabad, remains high in karachi, rising in lahore and Islamabad.

He once asked people to take covid sop’s seriously again. Otherwise, unfortunately government may have to take restrictive actions which have negative effects on people’s livelihoods.

Read Also:

Coronavirus pandemic: Mini smart lockdown imposed in Karachi, Islamabad, Azad Kashmir

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Bilawal supports protesting federal govt employees

Protest - The News Today-TNT
ISLAMABAD: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman, Pakistan Peoples’ Party has extended support to the protesting employees of the Federal government including young doctors and Lady Health Workers and asked the PTI regime to accept all their genuine demands.
In a statement issued here, the PPP Chairman said that due promotions, adequate pension and equal incentives were the genuine rights of the Federal government employees and PPP supports their demcractic right of peaceful protest in Islamabad.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed solidarity with the Federal government employees, including young doctors and Lady Health workers and others pledging that his Party will raise their issues at every forum for their redressal.
With input from INP
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PTCL Group posts Rs 96 billion revenue for 9 months

PTCL - The News Today-TNT
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the country’s leading telecom and ICT services provider, has announced its financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 at its Board of Directors’ meeting held in Islamabad on October 14, 2020.
PTCL Group reported revenue of Rs 96 billion for the nine months ended September 2020; when normalized for the impact of Covid-19 and certain regulatory changes affecting Ufone, Group revenue is 4.2% higher than 2019 on a like-for-like basis. UBank continued its growth momentum and has achieved a double digit growth in its revenue over last year. PTCL standalone revenue for the nine months period is 0.7% lower than last year; when normalized for the impact of Covid-19, the like-for-like revenue is 1.2% higher than the same period of last year.
As the post-Covid situation got better and the markets opened up after the lockdowns, PTCL Group performance has shown signs of improvement. Group’s Q3, 2020 revenue is higher by 3.4% over the same quarter of last year.  The topline growth coupled with cost control initiatives translated into 167% and 356% improvement in Group’s operating profit and net profit for the quarter respectively.
During the 3rd Quarter, PTCL wireline segment showed positive trends. PTCL has recorded the highest ever sale in Broadband for any Quarter since Q4 2014. Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) continues to grow with consistent growth in subscriber base during the period with a promising outlook. The positive momentum in wireless (CharJi) segment continued with subscriber base increasing by 21% on YoY basis. Retail business recorded 6% growth in revenue between Q3 2020 vs Q2 2020.
Corporate and Wholesale businesses continued their growth momentum and have achieved a 6% overall revenue growth YoY. Similarly, international revenue has also shown 6% growth as compared to the same period last year. PTCL, in collaboration with SCO has successfully established strategic partnership to monetize CPEC cross border connectivity. PTCL has been successful to maintain its dominant position in the market with reference to IP bandwidth and managed capacity services.
PTCL Customer Care continued its efforts to enhance customer experience through various initiatives taken during this period. Moreover, PTCL undertook a comprehensive Coronavirus relief and support effort, through its various CSR initiatives, standing with the nation in these tough times. Also, PTCL is geared up to increase high-speed internet penetration in the country to support Prime Minister’s vision for Digital Pakistan.
Based on the financial strength and improved performance, VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (VIS) has reaffirmed entity ratings of PTCL at ‘AAA/A-1+’ (Triple A/A-One Plus). The medium to long term rating of ‘AAA’ denotes highest credit quality with negligible risk factors.
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Coronavirus pandemic: Mini smart lockdown imposed in Karachi, Islamabad, Azad Kashmir

Lockdown - The News Today-TNT
ISLAMABAD: Mini smart lockdown on Sunday has been re-imposed in Karachi, Islamabad and Azad Kashmir after surge in number of coronavirus cases.
Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has said that coronavirus cases have been increased by two percent as compared to last week.
Local administrations have been directed to ensure protective measures to curb the spread of this deadly disease, he stated.
In Islamabad, different streets of three sectors, two schools, 32 restaurants and 47 shops have also been sealed for violating the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Meanwhile, in Lahore, two shopping malls on MM Alam Road have been closed.
On the other hand, Pakistan has reported 12 deaths in last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 318,932. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 6,570.
According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) 666 persons have been tested positive for COVID-19 in 24 hours.
Sindh remains the worst-hit province by the pandemic in terms of cases followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad.
Till now 140,131 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 100,687 in Punjab, 38,329 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17,296 in Islamabad, 15,520 in Balochistan, 3,045 in Azad Kashmir and 3,924 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Furthermore 2,549 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Sindh, 2,257 in Punjab, 1,263 in KP, 146 in Balochistan, 188 in Islamabad, 89 in GB and 78 in Azad Kashmir.
Pakistan has so far conducted 3,857,845 coronavirus tests and 28,893 in last 24 hours. 303,458 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas 483 patients are in critical condition.
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Capital Police all set to introduce ‘street watcher system’ to curtail crime in city

Police - The News Today-TNT
ISLAMABAD: Capital Police is all set to introduce new citizen policing to curtail crime with the help of local people.
The top brass of Islamabad Police decided to introduce ‘street watcher system’ initially in City Zone area of Islamabad, which would help enhance cooperation between police and public and curb crime.
Street watchers would be deputed at streets and sub-sectors which would assist police in its efforts to curb crime, a statement issued here today, reads.
They would inform police in case of any suspicious activity in their respective area and keep a vigilant eye on security guards and domestic servants.
Police and street watchers would remain in contact with each other round the clock through a mobile app.
Moreover, street patrol units/contingents have been constituted comprising 50 motorcyclists which would conduct patrolling and checking in various sectors and markets in peak timings.
Each unit or contingent would comprise four policemen patrolling on two bikes to curb street crime.
Air Patrol Unit has been also set up having four drone cameras to be used during rescue operation, ensure protection to the tourists at walking trails and guide those forgetting their ways.
All these units would work under the supervision of SP (City) which was formally inaugurated by Islamabad IG Mohammad Aamir Zulfiqar Khan.
DIG (Operations) Waqaruddin Syed, SSP (CTD), members of Chamber of Commerce and conciliatory committees were also present on the occasion.
IGP Islamabad said that Islamabad police were utilizing all resources to ensure protection to the lives and property of the citizens and adopting modern techniques for effective policing. He expressed the hope that these steps would help a lot to overcome crime and ensure safety to people.
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