Attack on Pakistan Stock Exchange; China condemns

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

China has condemned the terrorist attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in the southern port city of Karachi on June 29. 

“We firmly oppose any form of terrorism and fully support Pakistan’s efforts in combating terrorism and upholding national security and stability,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, stated during the regular press briefing in Beijing when asked about China's response on the terrorist attack in Karachi. 

He also extended condolences and sympathies with families of those people and security forces personals having sacrificed their lives or sustained injuries during the course of encounter with terrorists. “We condemn all forms of terrorist attacks and we also mourn the victims of this incident,” the Chinese official observed. 

According to information gathered by PNFS, as many as four terrorists stormed the sprawling building of the PSX located at the country's economic hub in Karachi. 

Before the terrorists could enter inside the building, the security forces, including private security guards, shot down all the outlaws at the security check-post. The terrorists could be seen armed with weapons that included AK-47s, hand grenades and rocket launchers. They were also found to be carrying food and water. 

The security officials claimed that the terrorists’ modus operandi appeared to be similar to the one witnessed during the attack at the Chinese Consulate in Karachi a few years ago. 

The militants surfaced from the Railway Ground parking area and opened fire outside the PSX ground. They made their way to the main gate of the building and stormed it after trading fire with the security guards. 

They lobbed hand grenades and opened fire initially at the compound entrance to force their way into the main building but one of them was killed immediately which didn’t allow them to carry out their mission of causing further damage. 

The police and Rangers' officials arrived at the scene and killed all the four terrorists near the entrance gates, Sindh Rangers said, adding that the militants could not enter the trading hall, adding that trading had not been stopped. 

The firing by militants, however, caused panic among the people in the building. The PSEX building as well as the surrounding areas had been sealed and people were evacuated from the back door.

China-made passenger planes delivered

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Three major Chinese airlines took delivery of their first ARJ21s, China's first domestically developed regional jet on June 28.

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the jet's developer which is based in Shanghai, handed over three ARJ21s to Air China, China Eastern and China Southern at its assembly line near Pudong International Airport.

It is the first time the regional jet, which has a range of up to 3,700 kilometers, has entered the fleets of major international carriers, the COMAC announced. 

The three ARJ21s flew to Capital International Airport in Beijing, Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai and Baiyun International Airport in Guanghzou, after a delivery ceremony amid a downfall in the morning on June 28. 

“The COMAC plans to deliver another two ARJ21s to each of the three major carriers by the end of 2020. The nine jets are scheduled to start their commercial operations with the carriers by December,” Zhang Xiaoguang, marketing and sales department director of the COMAC, added. 

Air China, China Eastern and China Southern purchased 35 ARJ21s each from the COMAC in August 2019. The 105 jets will be delivered to the carriers between 2020 and 2024.

The total orders for the ARJ21 have been about 600 from more than 20 customers from both home and abroad, according to the COMAC. 

The delivery on June 28 was made on the same day the first ARJ21 began commercial operation with its first operator, Chengdu Airlines, exactly four years ago. 

Since then, the COMAC has delivered 32 ARJ21s to Chengdu Airlines, Jiangxi Air, Urumqi Air and Genghis Khan Airlines. 

The planes link 55 cities and have transported more than 890,000 passengers safely. It began its first regular international duties between northeast China and east Russia with Chengdu Airlines in October last year. 

"The COMAC has made full preparation for flying, crew and maintenance for the deliveries to the three major carriers. More than 700 staff, including pilots and crew members, has been trained," Zhang shared. 

All the first batch of three ARJ21s has the 90-seat all-economy configuration. The seats are wider and have larger spaces between each other, according to the COMAC. The three carriers will carry out a series of test flights before launching commercial operations.

Coronavirus Update: Inconsistent testing in Sindh

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Sindh witnessed a rise of eight percent in its daily COVID-19 infection rate on June 28 when the authorities in the government confirmed 2,179 new cases during the last 24 hours, with 26 new related deaths, pushing the overall fatalities to 1,269 for the province.

The daily infection rate remained 16% on June 27. Earlier, the rate was registered 21% on June 18, which dropped to 15% on June 22 before another rise up to 24% on June 23 and then went down to 19% on June 24. 

Keen observers attributed the highs and lows to the health authorities’ inconsistency in daily testing activities. 

There has been a need to significantly step up the COVID-19 testing to achieve a stable data leading to determination of districts and areas, turning safe from the virus point of view. 

The official data suggested that the designated laboratories across the Sindh conducted an average of 7,883 tests every day during the period from June 22 to 27, against a cumulative capacity of testing 13,150 samples daily. 

In the meantime, it was learnt that the authorities concerned have reduced the sanctioned daily testing capacity of a few laboratories. As such, the maximum combined testing capacity of 21 laboratories stood at 9,150, against 13,150 of the preceding week.

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, in his daily statement on coronavirus status, disclosed that 26 people lost their lives to the disease during the last 24 hours ending at 9 am on June 28 across the province. 

However, the health department failed to give any details regarding the deaths, which didn’t make it possible to know the name of cities and hospitals where the patients lost their lives and what were their ages. 

Such details were released last time by the Sindh Health department on June 22, according to which 921 COVID-19 patients died at Karachi, followed by Hyderabad (40), Larkana (22), Sukkur (17), Shikarpur (11) and other districts. 

According to the Sindh health department’s website, Sindh in all registered 80,486 coronavirus infections, out of which 1,311 expired till the evening of June 28.

As per a country status report, 38 patients who lost their lives on June 27 belonged to Karachi (32), Hyderabad (2), Larkana (1), Naushero Feroze (1), Sujawal (1) and Sukkur (1). Of the deceased persons, 30 died off ventilators, including 16 who died at home. 

According to the Chief Minister’s statement, Karachi reported the maximum 1,406 new cases on June 28, followed by Sukkur (86), Hyderabad (54), Ghotki (40), Khairpur (38), Jamshoro (26), Mirpurkhas (22), Thatta (19), Larkana (17), Umerkot (8), Dadu (7), Tando Allahyar (3), Badin (3), Kambar Shadadkot (3), and Jacobabad (1). 

The statement further said that as many as 34,654 COVID-19 patients were under treatment across the province, out of which 88 were in isolation centres, while 1,456 including 655 critically sick were at various hospitals, in addition to 33,110 patients kept in home-isolation. 

According to official sources, 23 intensive care beds were vacant at the various hospitals, in addition to 446 high dependency beds, at Karachi on June 28. 

Another source added that, in Sindh, 21 healthcare providers lost their lives due to COVID-19 so far, 802 recovered from the diseases, 35 were in stable condition in different hospitals, while 513 were kept in isolation at homes or other places.