Wednesday, 30 December, 2020 I 14 Jumada Al-Awwal, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 181 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition
Pakistan confirms first cases of Uk coronavirUs variant g
NAB arrests PML-N leader Khawaja Asif in assets case
Virus could spread rapidly in pakistan if preVentiVe measures aren’t taken, warns pma
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI STAFF REPORT
t
Hree cases of the more contagious variant of coronavirus first identified in the united kingdom have been confirmed in sindh, provincial health authorities confirmed tuesday. according to the sindh Health department, the authorities took 12 covid-19 samples of the uk travellers, out of which six were positive and three showed the new variant of the virus in the first phase. “the genotyping showed 95 per cent match of the new variant from the uk. these samples will go through another phase of genotyping,” said meeran yousuf, a spokesperson for the department. “meanwhile, the contact tracing of these patients is in process and their contacts are also being isolated,” she said.
the provincial health department has informed special assistant to prime minister (sapm) on national Health services dr faisal sultan of the development. the new variant, referred to by some experts as the b.1.1.7 lineage, is sweeping across swathes of britain and prompting high levels of concern among its european neighbours, which have now cut transport links. it is not the first new variant of the pandemic virus to emerge but is said to be up to 70 per cent more transmissible than the previously dominant strain in the uk. scientists say it is about 40 to 70 per cent more transmissible. while it was first seen in the uk in september, by the week of december 9 in london, 62 per cent of positive cases were due to the new variant. that compared to 28 per cent of cases three weeks earlier. the country reported almost 40,000 new infections as
coronavirUs in
Pakistan
CONFIRMED CASES:
475,085
the mutated variant causes the number of cases and hospital admissions to soar. the discovery of the new strain, just months before vaccines are expected to be widely available, has sowed fresh panic in a pandemic that has killed about 1.7 million people worldwide. PMA CONCERNED WITH NEW VARIANT: pakistan medical association (pma) on tuesday expressed concern over rapidly spreading new covid variant in different countries and feared that the new variant could spread in pakistan as well if preventive measures could not be adopted across the country. the pma, in a statement, observed that people are not getting fully recovered even after being declared negative. the new variant has already reached 15 countries and is also affecting the below-15 age group. the people need to take preventive measures and wear a mask until the vaccine is available in the country. the pma demanded uniform policy on covid-19 in consultation with all the stakeholders as the second wave is providing more lethal and deadlier. IR TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS: the development comes as pakistan is currently in the midst of a second covid-19 wave. pakistan reported the highest number of deaths during the second wave, and the second-highest since the beginning of the pandemic, with 111 people dying in the country on thursday. the ministry of national Health services (nHs) said that it is vigilant about the emergence of the new variant in pakistan. However, dr faisal admitted that the situation in the health sector of the country was depicting a gloomy picture.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
g
release asif or prepare for befitting response, maryam tells goVt NEWS DESK
the national accountability bureau (nab) on tuesday arrested pakistan muslim league-nawaz (pml-n) leader khawaja asif in assets beyond means case. the pml-n leader was arrested from fellow party leader ahsan iqbal’s house in islamabad. nab spokesperson nawazish ali asim confirmed that asif has been arrested in a case of assets beyond means. the arrest was made soon after a pml-n meeting concluded. asif, the former foreign minister, is facing charges of irregularities in a housing society. the nab had initiated an inquiry against developers of sailkot’s kent View Housing society, including khawaja asif. “evidence collected so far prima facie reveals that you established a housing project – namely kent View Housing society sialkot – which has been operating illegally,” a nab’s call-up notice said. it alleged that he illegally sold plots in excess of the approved layout plan of 137 kanals in collusion with the management of the society. it claimed that the pml-n leader in connivance with revenue authorities obtained relevant approvals despite the fact that society was in illegal occupation of state land. meanwhile, pml-n Vice president maryam nawaz has threatened the government of a befitting response for ‘kidnapping’ party lawmaker if he is not released shortly. maryam was talking to the media following asif’s arrest. the government is visibly fraught with distress over the pakistan democratic movement (pdm), said maryam, adding that now it is going for desperate measures. asif’s arrest goes on to show how anxious the government has become as it reckoned the power of pdm, claimed maryam. asif has told nab to do whatever it could do as he and the party are ready for whatever the consequences may be, she said. even the courts have often acknowledged and admitted that nab has become a tool of political engineering in pakistan, she said and claimed that prime minister imran khan is using the accountability bureau for political vengeance. the pml-n Vp said that asif is not arrested but is kidnapped and that nab detained him without any case at the behest of pm imran.
Pakistan renews call for independent inquiry into Kashmir extrajudicial killings ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
LAST UPDATED AT 8:18 AM ON DECEMBER 29, 2020
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
63
RECOVERED:
NEW CASES:
1,776 DEATHS:
425,494 9,992 SINDH:
PUNJAB:
212,093 136,669 KP:
BALOCHISTAN:
AJK/GB:
ISLAMABAD:
57,746
18,099
8,235/4,853 37,390
pakistan has made renewed calls for an independent inquiry under international scrutiny into the extrajudicial killings of three labourers in indian-occupied kashmir in July. the indian troops killed three civilians — including a 16-yearold boy and a 25-year-old man who was father to a 15-monthold son — in the region’s shopian district that has been the scene of frequent gunfights between indian security forces and freedom fighters. initially, the army claimed to have killed three “hardcore terrorists” in amshipora village during a search operation that led to a gunfight. it said the militants were hiding in a “cowshed of a lone house in the orchard”. However, the official version began to unravel when family members of three missing persons from a remote village in rajouri district filed a complaint with the police, and local activists raised concerns on social
more inside
PPP decides to collect resignations, refuses to follow ‘dictation’ STORY ON BACK PAGE
pm wants acceptance of opposition’s resignations in no time STORY ON PAGE 03
media. last week, after four months into the incident, indian police indicted an army officer, capt. bhoopendra singh, who used the alias maj bashir khan, accusing him of the killings and staging the deaths as a fake gunfight. a police inquiry revealed singh, with assistance from two of his informers, killed the men, planted illegal weapons on the bodies and branded them “hardcore terrorists”.
in a statement issued tuesday, foreign office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez chaudri said: “the revelations that weapons were planted on the bodies of the labourers martyred in occupied kashmir — to make it look as though they were armed fighters in a staged gun battle — are only a tip of the iceberg of indian crimes against the kashmiri people.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
no pressure on pakistan to recognise israel: Qureshi STORY ON PAGE 03
cabinet approves fc deployment in gb for three years STORY ON PAGE 02