CMYK
17 January, 2021 I 3 Jumadi-ul-Sani, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 199 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition
Pakistan aPProves astraZeneca covid-19 vaccine for emergency use g
‘It Is the fIrst coronavIrus vaccIne to get a green lIght from DraP’
ISLAMABAD
a
STAFF REPORT/AGENCIES
straZeneca’s covid-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency use in Pakistan, the health minister said on saturday, making it the first coronavirus vaccine to get the green light for use in the south asian country. Pakistan, which is seeing rising numbers of coronavirus infections, said its vaccines would be procured from multiple sources. “DraP granted emergency use authorisation to astraZeneca’s covid vaccine,” health minister faisal sultan stated. approval has been given to get more than a million doses of sinopharm’s vaccine from china, he said. “We are in the process to obtain Western
origin and other vaccines both via bilateral purchase agreements as well as via the covaX facility,” he said. the chinese vaccine is awaiting approval from the Drug regulatory authority of Pakistan (DraP), which has received and reviewed its data. Pakistan is speaking to a number of vaccine makers, and sultan said the country could get “in the range of tens of millions” of vaccine doses under an agreement with china’s cansinoBio. the vaccine company’s ad5-ncov covid-19 candidate is nearing completion of Phase III clinical trials in Pakistan. efficacy is a key factor, said sultan. “We have and are watching the evolving stories around efficacy of a number of vaccines.” sultan said preliminary results of the
coronavirus in
Pakistan
CONFIRMED CASES:
516,770
LAST UPDATED AT 8:12 AM ON JANUARY 16, 2021
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
NEW CASES:
45
2,432
RECOVERED:
DEATHS:
SINDH:
PUNJAB:
472,099 10,908
233,396 KP:
62,996
148,488 BALOCHISTAN:
18,537
AJK/GB: ISLAMABAD: 8,583/4,882 39,888
cansino may come in by mid-february. he added that Pakistan was considering to engage with russia’s sputnik v vaccine. Pakistan reported 2,432 new coronavirus infections and 45 deaths in last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to more than 516,000 and deaths close to 11,000. “our aim is that the bulk of the population will be covered free,” the minister said, adding that private sectors could also be allowed once supply was available to an authorized company. sultan added that Pakistan had adequate cold chain facilities for most kinds of vaccines. on thursday, astraZeneca had sought approval for its vaccine from DraP. the company had applied for registration through a Pakistan-based pharmaceutical company besides submitting data of the clinical trials of its vaccine. a day earlier, sultan had told media that the government is confident of acquiring the vaccine by the first quarter of the current year, but is adopting a ‘look-before-you-leap’ strategy to ensure procurement of a medicine of the highest efficacy. he had said the government was under close contact with a few international firms manufacturing the covid-19 vaccine. “We will get the vaccine from the firm which prepares it the earliest,” he had added. sultan had also negated the impression that the government had delayed the procurement of the drug and said it was a matter of days before orders to purchase the vaccine would be placed. the special assistant had said although the country had a population of 200 million, 100 million were under the age of 18, and therefore would not be vaccinated. “as 100pc population cannot be vaccinated in any country, we need to target 70pc of the vaccineable population, which is 70 million,” he had said.
ECP opposes Senate polls through open ballot ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
the election commission of Pakistan (ecP) on saturday opposed the presidential reference seeking an opinion of the supreme court (sc) about holding senate elections through open ballot. In its reply submitted to the sc, the ecP rejected the possibility of holding senate polls through open ballot and said that the elections would be held as per the constitution. senate polls are defined in articles 59, 219 and 224 of the constitution. furthermore, as per article 226, all elections under the constitution, other than those of prime minister and chief minister, shall be held by secret ballot, the ecP said in its reply. “the constitution does not allow open ballot elections for the senate.” the ecP, in its reply, also gave reference to the Indian constitution. the federal government had moved to the sc to seek its opinion over holding senate elections through open ballot. a five-member bench, comprising chief Justice of
India likely to face US sanctions over Russian S-400 missile systems deal NEW DELHI AGENCIES
the united states has told India it is unlikely to get a waiver on its planned acquisition of russian s-400 air defence systems, raising the risk of sanctions similar to those imposed on turkey for buying that equipment, people aware of the matter said. the trump administration has been telling the Indians to drop the $5.5 billion deal for five missile systems and avoid a diplomatic crisis, saying new Delhi did not have a wide waiver from a 2017 us law aimed at deterring countries from buying russian military hardware. that position is unlikely to change under the Biden administration that takes over next week and that has promised an even tougher us approach towards russia, the people aware of the discussions told reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. India says it needs the longrange surface-to-air missiles to counter the threat from china. India and china have been locked in a face-off on the disputed himalayan border since april, the most serious in decades. new Delhi has also affirmed
Pakistan gulzar ahmed, Justice mushir alam, Justice umar ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz ul ahsan and Justice Yahya afridi, is currently hearing the reference. earlier on January 14, continuing his arguments before the apex court over the reference, attorney general Khalid Javed had said, “In this matter, an amendment in the constitution is not required. It needs interpretation of the constitution and the sc can interpret the constitution. the reference is based on this question that the sc should interpret article 226 of the constitution as it has mandated the court to interpret.” meanwhile, the sindh government has recommended a "show of hands" method and opposed any changes in the way senate elections are held. adviser to sindh chief minister on law murtaza Wahab confirmed that the provincial government is against the open ballot method. he said that the sindh government's response in the reference will be filed next week.
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more inside
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nawaz, Bilawal question delay in PtI foreign funding verdict STORY ON PAGE 03 its right to choose its defence supplies, potentially setting up an early point of friction with the new us administration. “India and the us have a comprehensive global strategic partnership. India has a special and privileged strategic partnership with russia,” foreign ministry spokesman anurag srivastava said about the proposed s-400 purchase. “India has always pursued an independent foreign policy. this also applies to our defence acquisitions and supplies which are guided by our national security interests.” the united states imposed
South Africa land in Pakistan for the first time in 14 years
sanctions on turkey last month for its acquisition of the russian air defence systems under the countering america’s adversaries through sanctions act (caatsa) a us embassy spokesperson in Delhi said the united states was aware of reports of India’s planned purchase of the s-400s, but noted there had been no deliveries yet. “We urge all of our allies and partners to forgo transactions with russia that risk triggering sanctions under the caatsa. caatsa does not have any blanket or country-specific waiver provision.”
PIa to appear before london, malaysian courts over lease payment issue
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