Budget, COVID-19 provide yet another chance to wake up: Senator Nisar Memon

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

“Acute political confrontation of the decade, non-adherence to constitutional procedures, governance issues, absence of consensus on a national economic plan, mistrust in leadership, dependence on foreign financial and management support marred the 2020-2021 budget, like last budget, but to cap it all came COVID-19.”

This was observed by Senator Nisar Memon, a former federal minister, when approached by PNFS for his thoughts about the budget. 

“The GDP growth target for FY21 is set at +2.1% as against 0.4% negative growth in FY20 while fiscal deficit target has been set at PKR 3,195 billion or 7.0% of GDP and inflation target has been set at 6.5%. The total outlay of budget 2020-21 is PKR 7,294.9 billion, this size is 11% lower than the size of budget estimates 2019-20,” he pointed out. 

“The government has not imposed any new taxes in the budget but has budgeted increase in FBR revenues. The FBR tax target has been set PKR 4,963 billion (+27%, 10.9% of the GDP) whereas actual collection for FY20 stood at PKR 3,908 billion, down by 30% from FY20 budgeted amount of PKR 5,555 billion, while current expenditure is budgeted at PKR 6,345 billion,” he added. 

“Whatever the numbers committed, the expectation of common man for control of inflation, working class for jobs, small businesses for enabling environment, agriculture sector for all out support in the face of devastation caused by swarms of locust and rains, the innovative ways of relief in the face of dwindling revenues, accommodating the reasonable requirements of trade and industry, and above all equitable and just support to all areas of federation are the key questions stakeholders have from the Q-Block of the capital,” Senator Nisar Memon stated.

“The Ashrafia, newly added lexicon for intelligentsia and privileged ruling minority, advocates that there was hardly any room for the finance team to maneuver. However, many term it IMF budget, government setting highly ambitious FBR targets for the upcoming year thus not ruling out mini-budget in the later part of the year,” he reckoned.

“The electronic, print and social media has been commenting on the subject more than the assemblies and will be doing so in the coming days. The real challenge for government will be to mitigate the unprecedented hardship of all segments of society, particularly of the large majority with feeble voice for economic survival. The leadership is on the dock with no escape but to turn around this difficult situation,” the former federal minister explained. 

“But the huge challenge the nation, the government, intelligentsia, economists, security specialists, and researchers face is how they achieve national economic consensus for an economic plan for the ongoing decade. We have human power, the youth, educated women, natural resources, successful experiences, some failed practices, reliable neighbour China, brothers in faith like Iran and Afghanistan, renewed relationship of trust with super power USA, and a history of strong institutions,” he said. 

“This existentialist challenge can be achieved by genuine, honest, transparent, courageous leadership controlling the ego, lust for power, inflexible mindsets, unbridled corruptions, incompetence and state institutions pulling the country in different directions,” he continued. 

“Surely, we can overcome these in the larger interest of our poverty stricken people living below the acceptable human levels long deprived of constitutional fundamental rights. Let the leadership carve out its position in history amongst the ones who rebooted systems by paradigm shift to secure future of its people and saved the people with just one thought - service to people in whose name they govern,” Senator Nisar Memon suggested. 

"If all hopes in leadership are dashed, the citizens may stop tolerating the intolerable and rise, triggered by events like that of Burhan Wani in Kashmir, George Floyd in Minneapolis, Arab spring in Middle East, and mishandling of judiciary in last decade in Pakistan. The budget and COVID-19 has provided the nation with yet another chance to wake up in the interest of sovereignty of the country,” he concluded.

Pakistan confronted with dual challenges: NDMA chief

By Masood Sattar Khan 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Pakistan was confronted with dual challenges, COVID-19 and Locust plague, Lt. General Muhammad Afzal, Chairman, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), shared with the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Yao Jing. 

“At present, Pakistan is facing the double challenge of the epidemic situation and the locust disaster. China has provided Pakistan with a large amount of anti-epidemic and locust extermination materials to effectively help Pakistan to deal with these challenges,” the NDMA Chairman remarked during his meeting with the Chinese diplomat in Islamabad. 

He thanked China for their strong and continued support for Pakistan’s fight against the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic and the locust plague, according to a statement issued by the Chinese embassy. 

“Whenever Pakistan faces difficulties, China always stands up and proves the hardcore friendship between China and Pakistan with practical actions. Pakistan will further study China's anti-epidemic experience and improve the level of disaster prevention and control in the country,” the NDMA Chairman added. 

Ambassador Yao reiterated that China and Pakistan were good brothers and partners who looked forward to each other and worked together. 

“When China was first hit by the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, all walks of life in Pakistan expressed their understanding, support and assistance to China. We are deeply grateful for the timely support and we are willing to continue to actively support Pakistan in responding to disasters and help Pakistan gradually resume economic development,” he stated..

Swift action in Beijing may avoid new wave of COVID-19

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Breaking the mum regarding second wave of COVID-19, an official said that Beijing was passing through an important test in its fight against the pandemic and if, not handled well, it could lead to a second wave of the outbreak. China reported as many as 19 new imported COVID-19 infections and 38 domestic cases on June 13.

"Like the rest of the country, most of the population in Beijing is susceptible to COVID-19. Fortunately Beijing has found it early and moved fast," Zeng Guang, the chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, responded. 

He warned through the Chinese media on June 13 that the Beijing regional outbreak could bring about a second wave. 

“The test that Beijing is going through is the biggest ever one after that the whole country had experienced a calm period. Two samples have already been tested, and more are needed to determine where the epidemic is headed,” he noted. 

Chen Xi, an associate professor of public health at Yale University, also suggested making a comparison of types of viral gene sequencing from different countries, to determine whether the virus detected in Beijing is from the origin nations of salmon. 

The novel coronavirus was detected on a chopping board used by a seller of imported salmon at Xinfadi market. China imports about 80,000 tons of chilled and frozen salmon each year, mainly from Chile, Norway, Faroe Islands, Australia and Canada, according to news portal Jiemian.com. 

A preliminary investigation showed those confirmed cases may have been in contact with the contaminated environment at the Xinfadi market or had contact with people who were affected, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of Beijing municipal center for disease prevention and control, said at a press conference in Beijing on June 13. 

Among the 19 imported cases, 17 were reported in South China's Guangdong Province, with 14 from Bangladesh and three from India. Four asymptomatic cases were also reported, all in Guangdong with three from Bangladesh and one from Egypt, according to data from the Chinese National Health Commission. 

The 14 patients and three silent carriers from Bangladesh all arrived in Guangzhou on China Southern Airlines flight CZ392 from Dhaka to Guangzhou on June 11, which prompted the Chinese aviation regulator to suspend the route for four weeks from June 22 in accordance with the latest policy. 

Meanwhile, sporadic cases of infection keep emerging from different Beijing clusters, as a bus driver at Beijing's civil aviation airport shuttle bus company has been confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus, officials revealed on June 14. 

The man, aged 56, living in Yongning Hutong in Beijing's Xicheng district, visited Xinfadi market on June 3. He felt discomfort two days later, which developed into a fever on June 12 and he visited Xuanwu Hospital, People's Hospital and Haidian Hospital later the same day where he was eventually diagnosed as having COVID-19. 

Meanwhile, the local administration, on June 14, ordered in Beijing Haidian district, the suspension of sales of products, including meat, sea food purchased from high-risk markets such as Xinfadi. Haidian district hosts country’s many top class universities.

Coronavirus Update: Spiking death, infection

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Spiking speedily, the COVID-19 fatality tally surpassed 800 on June 13 when the health authorities confirmed deaths of another 23 patients across the province, with 2,262 new infections registered across the province.

According to COVID-19 data, Sindh witnessed as many as 241 coronavirus related deaths in a span of 10 days. 

The province had a total 575 deaths till June 4, which climbed to 696 on June 9, 795 on June 12 and 816 on June 13, with an overall fatality rate of 1.58% due to infections. 

The maximum 19 patients, comprising of 14 men and five women, died at Karachi during the last 24 hours ending at 9 am on June 13. 

The deceased men were in the age brackets of 45 to 88 years, while women who died aged from 40-78 years. A woman of 25 years lost her life to COVID-19 at Badin while another woman of 49 years died at Khairpur. Another 74-year-old man passed away at Shikarpur.

In addition, a 20-year-old man from among the corona positive cases who returned to the country recently also lost his life. 

However, the health department did not mention his exact place of death in its routine report, which also failed to categorize other deaths too in terms of hospitals. 

Another official report, update on June 13, revealed that as many as 629 COVID-19 patients died at 32 hospitals across the province so far, including Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (87), Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (87), DUHS Hospital (78), the Aga Khan University Hospital (75), Civil Hospital Karachi (67), Indus Hospital Korangi (64), Ziauddin Hospital Clifton (41), Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Hyderabad (17), Lyari General Hospital (16)), PNS Shifa Karachi (15), Gambat Institute of Medical Science (12) and other hospitals.

In all 10,881 people were tested for the lethal virus during the last 24 hours, while the infection rate came as 20.78%, against 21.38% of June 12. 

Karachi reported 1,813 new infections, followed by Larkana (111), Hyderabad (77), Sukkur (55), Ghotki (52), Khairpur (30), Mirpurkhas (29), Shikarpur (25), Jamshoro (13), Sanghar (11), Naushero Feroze (9), Badin (8), Tando M Khan (7), Dadu (5), Matiari (5), Shaheed Benazirabad (3), Sujawal (3), Jacobabad (2), Thatta (1), Tando Allahyar (1) and Kashmore (1). 

The proportion of COVID-19 infected women in the overall 51,518 provincial infections was calculated at 28.7% compared to 71.1% that of men.

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, in his routine message, regretted that coronavirus was growing almost in every district of Sindh. 

“People should strictly follow the preventive measures. Protect your and other’s lives by observing the standard operating procedures,” he reminded. 

As of June 13, the district wise breakdown of total reported cases, since February 26, came as Karachi-six districts (41,355), Hyderabad (1,598), Sukkur (1,546), Larkana (1,196), Ghotki (1,168), Khairpur (935), Shikarpur (515), Jacobabad (386), Shaheed Benazirabad (373), Sanghar (294), Jamshoro (278), Kamber Shahdadkot (235), Dadu (229), Kashmore (202), Mirpurkhas (199), Badin (154), Sujawal (117), Tando Mohammad Khan (109), Thatta (85), Naushehro Feroze (85), Matiari (75), Tharparkar (71), Umerkot (45) and Tando Allahyar (39). 

In the meantime 24,387 patients recovered from the diseases, while 26,315 were under treatment which included 82 quarantined, 1,698 in hospitals, including 539 in critical condition and 60 on ventilators and 24,525 at homes.

Queen Elizabeth's 94th birthday celebrated with social distancing

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Queen Elizabeth II, who turned 94 this April, didn’t celebrate it with traditional trooping or the colourful parade. 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the queen preferred to celebrate her birthday with a scaled-down, socially distanced ceremony at Windsor Castle. 

On the morning of June 13, the queen watched a performance by a small number of Welsh guardsmen and the band of the Household Division in what was called a mini-trooping. 

The queen had turned 94 back on April 21 but traditionally the second Saturday in June has always been marked her official birthday celebration.

Normally surrounded by family, the queen watched the ceremony alone, flanked by just a few officials, CBS News reported. 

"More spacing between individuals meant that there is also no room for errors and so the soldier has to really concentrate on their own personal drill, reaction to orders, dressing and social distancing," Garrison Seargent Major Warrant Officer Class 1, Andrew Stokes, told BBC News. 

The traditional trooping the colour in London was cancelled due to the pandemic, marking only the second time during the queen's 68-year reign that the parade has not been held. The last time the event was cancelled was in 1995, just three years after the queen's coronation, due to a national rail strike.

Analysis: Is COVID-19 limping, looming and re-gripping Beijing?

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services) 

It has become an eye opener and cause of concern for many countries as gradually the new coronavirus cases have started re-emerging in Beijing, the capital city of China.

As per latest reports, Beijing reported four new confirmed cases of COVID-19 from 4 pm to 12 pm on June 12, totaling seven confirmed cases during the two days, with all having close connection with the just closed Xinfadi agricultural products wholesale market in the city's Fengtai district. 

Except for one confirmed patient who went on a business trip to Qingdao in Shandong province, the other six patients had no history of being out of the capital or contacting people from Hubei or abroad. 

In order to rein in the situation, immediate steps have been adopted as s Beijing will begin testing for COVID-19 all people who came in contact with Xinfadi market, and details of the plan will be released later, officials said on June 13. 

Beijing currently has 98 testing institutions in total, with a maximum screening capability of over 90,000 people per day, according to Gao Xiaojun, the spokesman of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission. "This will be enough to meet the needs," he said. 

The coronavirus was detected on a chopping board used by a seller of imported salmon at Xinfadi market. The seller's salmon was from the Fengtai district's Jingshen seafood market.

Xinfadi market, which caters to 90 percent of Beijing's vegetables and fruit, will be the top priority in tracing the source of the epidemic, and a working group will be dispatched to strengthen epidemic prevention and control there, China Daily reported. 

Over 10,000 workers in Beijing's Xinfadi market will undergo the nucleic acid tests, the official reckoned. 

While Beijing is now on high alert, Hubei, the epicenter of the deadly virus has decided to lower its emergency response level to the second-lowest tier since June 6 because there have been no new infections case there in last 24 days. 

Hubei has reported a total of 68,135 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 4,512 related deaths, with 63,623 patients who were recovered and been discharged from hospitals by June 11.