HARIPUR: A woman whose husband was murdered in broad daylight about 50 days back has criticized the local police for using delaying tactics in arresting the nominated accused.Speaking to media person...

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MARDAN: Food packages were distributed among 1,196 deserving families in different parts of the district on Saturday.According to a press release, Additional Deputy Commissioner Hazrat Ali, Assistant...

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PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has asked officials to ensure timely completion of Citizens Facilitation Centres projects in the provincial capital launched under the Digital Access Initiative...

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LAHORE: Researchers at the University of Health Sciences Saturday launched a clinical trial to assess blood plasma therapy for Covid-19 treatment.On the appeal of UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Javed...

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Islamabad: A meeting of Shopping Mall Association was held here under the chairmanship of Commodore Irfanul Haq to discuss problems being faced by owners due to closure of mega facilities across the...

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HAFIZABAD: Funeral prayer of Major Nadeem Abbas Bhatti, who was martyred near Buleda, Balochistan, was offered at Buraj Dara village on Saturday. Scores of people, including politicians, army...

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ISLAMABAD: Textile Industry has submitted with the government its budgetary proposal for budget 2020-21 asking for abolishing turnover tax, reduction of corporate tax to 25 percent and withdrawal of...

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RIYADH: Coronavirus restrictions have been eased in some Madina neighbourhoods allowing residents to leave their homes between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., according to the Ministry of Interior.The move...

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LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-|N leader and former National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has said the National Accountability Bureau needs no reformation but scrapping altogether.He was...

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The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has strong reservations over the formation of a national minorities’ commission through a cabinet decision based on a summary moved by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony.In a statement, it has said that the proposed composition...

The Sindh government has assured the local Manghopir representatives that it will not establish any quarantine centre in Union Council 4, as keeping suspected patients of the coronavirus in the locality would be a risky proposition keeping in view the weak civic infrastructure of the area.The...

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday to discuss the issue of increased allowances of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s employees.According to a statement issued by the corporation, the mayor said that his meeting with the CM helped...

Measures should be taken to help small businesses and industries in case the lockdown is eased so that they can resume their operations.Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar said this as he met a delegation of the Akbar Road Market shopkeepers at his office on Saturday. He told the delegation that business...

The Awami National Party Sindh chapter has decided not to hold a gathering to commemorate the May 12 carnage because of the coronavirus outbreak.ANP Sindh president Shahi Syed said that the May 12, 2007, tragedy was unforgettable for them and the party would continue to commemorate it until those...

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Karachi president and MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman on Saturday said that one of his Friday statements had been misrepresented and therefore he tendered his apologies if it had hurt anyone’s sentiments.Zaman came under severe criticism by a section of activists on...

A woman was wounded in a firing incident in Orangi Town.Rescuers rushed her to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medical treatment where she was identified as 28-year-old Roma, wife of Shakeel. Police said the woman was going somewhere with her family when two armed men riding a motorcycle intercepted...

The administrative judge of the anti-terrorism courts on Saturday remanded two suspects to the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency for investigation into their alleged links with India’s Research & Analysis Wing and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London .The FIA’s investigating...

A woman infected with COVID-19 gave birth on Saturday to a healthy baby boy at the Ojha campus of the Dow University of Health Sciences .Officials said the infant had tested negative for the novel coronavirus.“A COVID-19-positive mother has given birth to a baby boy through Caesarean section...

Small neighbourhood markets and shops across Karachi have to follow standard operating procedures to reopen on Monday , when the current COVID-19 lockdown in Sindh will be eased off in accordance with the decisions of the National Coordination Committee .Sindh Education and Labour Minister Saeed...

Former President Barack Obama harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an "absolute chaotic disaster" during a conversation with ex-members of his administration, according to a recording obtained by Yahoo News.

NOUAKCHOTT: Worshippers packed Mauritania's largest mosque on Friday, mostly ignoring social distancing rules, after the West African state lifted restrictions on public prayers meant to curb coronavirus infections.The government said this week it would "progressively ease" a series of anti-virus...

BEIJING: “We have received critical medical supplies worth millions of RMBs from Chinese donors including major SOEs, entrepreneurs engaged in several projects in Pakistan, provincial governments of China and also from private individuals. These donations have reinforced Pakistan’s...

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin told Russians they are "invincible" when they stand together as the country on Saturday marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in lockdown from the coronavirus.With cases surging and authorities urging Russians to stay in their homes, celebrations...

LONDON: Britain’s spy agency has revealed the last messages from a German military communications network that were intercepted during World War II at Bletchley Park, the mansion house where Nazi codes were cracked. The secret messages, sent on May 7, 1945, were made public for the first...

BUENOS AIRES: Diego Maradona has lent a hand in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in his hometown by autographing an Argentina national team jersey for a raffle. The sale raised money for an underprivileged area on the outskirts of Buenos Aires affected by quarantine rules....

NEW DELHI: An Indian pharmacist died and his boss was left hospitalised after the pair drank a chemical concoction they had developed in an effort to treat coronavirus, police said Saturday. The men worked for a herbal medicine company and were testing their treatment — a mix of nitric oxide...

BRUNSWICK: Many people saw more than the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery’s life when a video emerged this week of white men armed with guns confronting the black man, a struggle with punches thrown, three shots fired and Arbery collapsing dead.The Feb. 23 shooting in coastal Georgia is drawing...

Moscow: President Vladimir Putin told Russians they are “invincible” when they stand together as the country on Saturday marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in lockdown from the coronavirus.With cases surging and authorities urging Russians to stay in their homes,...

WASHINGTON: The US vice president’s spokeswoman became the second White House staffer this week to test positive for the coronavirus, officials said on Friday, even as President Donald Trump continued to go mask-free at a World War II commemoration with veterans in their 90s.News that...

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin told Russians they are "invincible" when they stand together as the country on Saturday marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in lockdown from the coronavirus.With cases surging and authorities urging Russians to stay in their homes, celebrations...

LONDON: Britain’s spy agency has revealed the last messages from a German military communications network that were intercepted during World War II at Bletchley Park, the mansion house where Nazi codes were cracked. The secret messages, sent on May 7, 1945, were made public for the first...

ROME: A young Italian woman who was kidnapped in late 2018 from an orphanage in Kenya, has been freed, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Saturday.Silvia Romano was 23 and working as a volunteer in the orphanage in Chakama village in southeast Kenya when she was seized by gunmen in...

NOUAKCHOTT: Worshippers packed Mauritania’s largest mosque on Friday, mostly ignoring social distancing rules, after the West African state lifted restrictions on public prayers meant to curb coronavirus infections.The government said this week it would "progressively ease" a series of...

CAPE TOWN: South African Fredie Blom celebrated his 116th birthday on Friday unfazed by the coronavirus crisis, over 100 years since the Spanish flu pandemic killed his sister."I have lived this long because of God’s grace," said Blom, possibly one of the oldest men in the world.Lighting a...

NEW DELHI: An Indian pharmacist died and his boss was left hospitalised after the pair drank a chemical concoction they had developed in an effort to treat coronavirus, police said on Saturday.The men worked for a herbal medicine company and were testing their treatment -- a mix of nitric oxide...

MANCHESTER: Anti-racism campaigners have staged a protest over police use of a Taser on a man in front of his distressed child.A group of up to 15 people observed Covid-19 social distancing rules as they gathered at a petrol station forecourt in Stretford, Manchester, where the incident took...

Islamabad :” The Patron-in-Chief of Supreme Shia Ulema Board and Quaid-i-Millat Jafariya Agha Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi has said that enemies of the religion are looting the wealth of Muslims by creating differences amongst them and by sowing the seeds of hatred, says a press release.He...

The real principle of any democracy is choice, equity and inclusion; by echoing the populist-political demand for single national curriculum, standardized exams, regimented testing regimes and uniform text books, we shall sponsor a polarized nation-state and thus imposing one size fit all, which...

Islamabad : Reduced human activities outside due to COVID-19 lockdown has not only contributed to the revival of nature through lowering pollution level and limiting human interference but also provided an opportunity to the migratory birds to fly freely without any threat of poaching.World...

Islamabad : The sale and purchase of readymade garments on the rise in federal capital ahead of Eidul Fitr.Amina Ansari, a designer said that due to COVID-19 lockdown, people were not able to buy clothes of their choice, so now they prefer to buy readymade garments rather than unstitched...

Islamabad : Tarnol Police on Friday raided a fake beverage factory in its area and confiscated thousands of empty and filled bottles of various brands, a police spokesman said on Friday.Following directions and guidance of IGP Islamabad Muhammad Aamir Zulfiqar, the police spokesperson said that...

Islamabad: A meeting of Shopping Mall Association was held here under the chairmanship of Commodore Irfanul Haq to discuss problems being faced by owners due to closure of mega facilities across the country mainly non-payment of rents by tenants for the last nearly two monthsThe demand for waiver...

Corona has brought with it a different lifestyle, new challenges and opportunities. Unfortunately, urban centres like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar etc. had turbulence in landing into this new scenario as we witnessed scenes of public humiliation of lockdown violators and disorder in...

People across Pakistan crowded markets on Saturday after a nationwide coronavirus lockdown was eased, despite the country recording its second-highest daily infection toll.

The government has allowed businesses to reopen in phases from the weekend, citing the economic havoc the virus restrictions have wreaked on citizens.

In Rawalpindi, thousands of shoppers were preparing for Eidul Fitr, with many flouting social distancing rules and advice to wear masks.

In Karachi, shopkeepers set out their wares of shoes, clothes, bangles and fabrics, while in the capital Islamabad shoppers stood in tightly-packed queues as they waited for stores to open.

Similar scenes were played out in Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar.

Omar Shirazi, a banker shopping for clothes with his daughter in Rawalpindi, welcomed the move.

“Eid is approaching,” he said. “We have to buy new garments for our children. It's the responsibility of people to comply with rules and wear safety gear.”

Tehmina Sattar, who was shopping with her sister and sons, was more cautious.

“We are happy with this decision but at the same time I have a fear in my heart that if this disease spreads it could be devastating. People here are not taking preventative measures.”

Information Minister Shibli Faraz warned earlier in the day that the lockdown on businesses would be reimposed if safety guidelines were not followed, after authorities reported more than 1,700 new cases in the past 24 hours.

Infections have been rising steadily as testing has increased, with more than 28,000 cases and more than 600 deaths recorded.

The easing comes as many across the country have openly ignored restrictions on gatherings in public during the past month, especially during the evenings as people observe Ramazan.

Schools will remain closed until mid-July however, while there are no immediate plans to restart public transportation or domestic flights.

LAHORE: The Covid-19 is proving more lethal when it comes to male patients as compared to women virus carriers as an analysis of official data shows that 69 of its victims in Punjab were men, while the remaining 31 per cent women. Only two transpersons died from the pandemic in the province.

A senior official told Dawn that Punjab reported 1.82 per cent virus death rate, while 40pc of carriers recovered from the disease across the province so far.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government issued new guidelines for the treatment of severe and critical Covid-19 patients to keep the death toll low.

Recommended by Corona Experts Advisory Group (CEAG), the guidelines had been dispatched to all the vice-chancellors of the medical universities, principals of medical colleges and the heads of the teaching and other government hospitals, keeping in view recent surge in the death rate in Punjab.

According to an age-wise analysis, the virus proved most fatal for those in 50-60 year age bracket as such patients make 32pc of the total victims. The patients between 61 to 70 years of age were the second-most vulnerable group as 27pc of those who died from Covid-19 fall in it.

Those in 50-60 age bracket ‘most vulnerable’

Similarly, 16pc of the patients who died were between the age of 41 and 50 years, and 13pc between 71 to 80.

Interestingly, only two percent of Covid-19 patients were 80 years old or above, while 10pc of the deaths occurred among those who were 40 or below.

Another alarming factor the data analysis revealed was that most of those who died had no other disease or co-morbidity.

The gender-wise analysis further revealed that of the 31pc females who died, 66pc had no co-morbidity, while of total 69pc male victims, 67pc were having no other disorder.

Similarly, the recovery ratio among young Covid-19 patients is the highest, as compared to others.

According to the analysis, out of total patients who got recovered, 23pc were in 24-34 age group, 17pc in 35-44 group, 15pc in 18-24, 14pc in 45-54, 13pc in 55-64, eight percent in 65-74 and only one per cent of recovered patients were in 75 years and above age bracket.

The analysis was conducted by experts of the both health departments and shared in an official meeting in order to devise future strategies to curtail the pandemic, accordingly.

Meanwhile, eight more critical patients of Covid-19 died at various hospitals of the province during the last 24 hours, as per official data shared on Saturday, taking the death toll to 191 in Punjab.

Most of these deaths occurred in Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.

The total number of confirmed patients reached to 10,471 in Punjab, when 438 more tested positive for the virus on Saturday.

According to the official figures, 228 fresh cases were reported from Lahore, 58 from Gujranwala, 28 from Gujrat, and 11 from Rawalpindi, besides some other cities.

With the new cases, total number of confirmed patients in Lahore has jumped to 4,084, the highest in Punjab, followed by Rawalpindi 592 and Gujranwala reporting 480 cases so far.

The health department spokesperson said the number of critical virus patients in the province has jumped to 41. The number of Covid-19 critical patient in Punjab was 22 on Friday.

The spokesperson said no new case was reported from the quarantine centres housing the pilgrims returning from Iran and the Tableeghi Jamaat members.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020

LAHORE: Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Independent Disciplinary Panel retired Justice Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan has said Umar Akmal ‘is not prepared to show remorse and seek apology’ in his detailed judgement in the spot-fixing case that saw the Pakistan batsman slapped with a three-year suspension from all forms of the game.

Umar was provisionally suspended hours before he was to appear for Quetta Gladiators in the opening match of the Pakistan Super League on Feb 20 and was charged with two breaches of Article 2.4.4 of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code on March 17. On April 9, the PCB referred the matter to the chairman of the Independent Disciplinary Committee after the batsman opted not to request for a hearing before the Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

“It appears that he [Umar Akmal] is not prepared to show remorse and seek apology, make admission that he failed to fulfill his responsibility under Anti-Corruption Code, Article 2.4.4, rather he tried to take refuge under the pretext that in the past whenever any such approaches were made, the matter was reported by him,” said Justice Chauhan in his remarks.

“As far as Charge No.1 is concerned, I do not see any circumstances to mitigate the nature of offence, particularly, when the participant [Umar Akmal] has not cooperated with the PCB Vigilance and Security Department and the investigating team.

“In view of the admission of the participant that he failed to disclose to PCB Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department, the details of the approaches and invitations extended to him without unnecessary delay.

The charge as framed is proved and the participant has rendered himself liable to be punished for breach of Article 2.4.4.

“Charge No.2, breach of Article 2.4.4 of the Code by failing to disclose to the PCB Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department of the PCB, full details of the approaches and invitations received by you [Umar Akmal] to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code in respect of matches in PSL 2020.

“It is also admitted by him [Umar Akmal] that he failed to report the approaches and invitation to the PCB Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Depart­ment, as required by the PCB Code, Article 2.4.4. In view of the above charge as framed, stood proven and participant has rendered himself to be punished under Article 6.2 of the PCB Code.”

Umar’s elder brother and Pakistan Test discard Kamran had already announced that his brother would file an appeal against the punishment. Umar has to file the appeal within 14 days as the PCB then will appoint an independent adjudicator to hear that.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020