Overseas Chinese hail their government policies

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan, Yao Jing, through a video session, extended Eid greeting to all Muslim overseas and the Chinese living in Pakistan besides offering condolences on PIA plane crash.

The participants included the top officials of the Rawalpindi Chinese Association, the Gilgit-Baltistan Chinese Association, the Pakistan Chinese Youth Overseas Chinese Association and the Pakistan Overseas Chinese Association. Ambassador Yao Jing introduced the relevant situation of China-Pakistan anti-epidemic cooperation. 

He pointed out that in the early stage of China’s epidemic prevention and control, Pakistan had actively donated anti-epidemic materials to China. 

“After the outbreak epidemic in Pakistan, China donated a large volume of anti-epidemic materials to Pakistan and sent a number of anti-epidemic medical expert groups to assist Pakistan in anti-epidemic drive,” he narrated. 

“The two countries have cooperated closely to fight against the epidemic and fully demonstrated that the friendship between China and Pakistan is unbreakable. In order to better serve the overseas Chinese in Pakistan, the Chinese Embassy has taken a number of measures,” the Ambassador said. 

“Firstly the Pakistani government was provided with testing reagents, masks, protective clothing and other anti-epidemic materials. Secondly close contacts and communication with the various overseas Chinese delegations were maintained. Thirdly multiple online health consultations took place from China. Then the overseas Chinese were provided with a health package and caring package besides coordination with the Bading Point Hospital to treat any confirmed overseas Chinese in a timely manner and actively develop consuls,” he explained.

The overseas Chinese leaders spoke one after another, expressing their profound gratitude to the Chinese government and embassy in Pakistan for their care, care and help for the vast number of overseas Chinese in Pakistan. 

The Uighur national leaders, Nasir Khan and Kyoumu, said that under the leadership and command of President Xi Jinping, China has achieved a major victory in the new crown epidemic prevention and control campaign and actively carried out international anti-epidemic cooperation making the Uighur and overseas Chinese extremely proud. 

Since the outbreak, the embassy in Pakistan has provided Uighur and overseas Chinese with anti-epidemic materials such as medicines, masks, and daily life materials including rice, flour and cooking oil to ease the living difficulties of the overseas Chinese and make the Uighur overseas Chinese feel the warmth and care from their home country. 

The overseas Chinese leaders also expressed their support for the 13th National People's Congress's review of the ‘Decision of the National People's Congress on Establishing and Improving the Legal System and Enforcement Mechanism of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Maintain National Security’ and believed that the decision (draft) was necessary for legislative actions to safeguard national sovereignty and implement ‘one country, two systems are of great significance to safeguard Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. 

They reckoned that Hong Kong was a special administrative region of China and its affairs were China's internal affairs. 

The overseas Chinese compatriots in Pakistan firmly supported the Chinese government in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, and resolutely opposed foreign forces interfering in the affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

China plays down border tension with India

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

China and India have the ability to properly resolve the relevant issues through dialogue and consultations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, asserted on May 27. 

He was responding to a question at a regular press briefing in Beijing when asked to comment on an Indian statement that China sent troops to the China-India border. 

“The situation in the region is generally stable and controllable,” he remarked. 

Playing down the hype created by the Indian and as well as the international media regarding tension on the border of the two neighbouring countries, Zhao Lijian added that both the parties have the ability to properly resolve relevant issues through dialogue and consultation.

Development work on Suki Kinari hydropower project in full swing

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The development work on 874 MW Suki Kinari hydropower project is in full swing, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Chairman, CPEC Authority, Lt Gen (rtd) Asim Saleem Bajwa tweeted on May 27.

He disclosed that 19.5 percent work on the project has been completed, adding that the work remained unaffected by coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

The hydropower projects are being built at Kunhar River in the province of Khyber Pakthtunkhwa with an investment of $ 1.963 billion under the umbrella of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). 

He added that the project has so far created 4,250 job opportunities and upon completion, it would help in reducing the cost of electricity. It’s being expected to produce electricity in a couple of years time.

“Bringing cost of electricity down is top priority of the government,” he maintained. 

It is also one of Pakistan’s largest private sector power development projects and is being constructed as part of the CPEC’s early harvest projects. 

The construction of the project was initiated in 2017, as it is being developed on the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model which implies that the Chinese would operate it for 30 years after which it would be transferred to the KP government. 

Once completed, the project would add 874 megawatts to the national grid and all four units would become fully operational by 2022. The completion of this hydropower plant will play an important role in promoting Pakistan’s industrial development and economic recovery.

Cockpit voice recorder of crashed PIA plane yet to be recovered

By Masood Sattar Khan

(Pakistan News & Features Services) 

The cockpit voice recorder of the crashed PIA plane has yet not been recovered from the debris scattered on narrow lanes of the crash site located in the Karachi’s densely populated area of Model Colony in the close proximity of airport. 

The black box of the plane, which crashed on May 22, has however been retrieved and sent to the Airbus headquarters in France for decoding, the aviation sources disclosed. 

A spokesman of the national carrier has appealed to the people that if they found any part of the crashed plane they should handover the same to the concerned authorities. 

The 11-member Airbus investigating team, having reached Karachi, will resume their investigation by visiting the crash site on May 27. 

The French team, on May 26, inspected the damaged houses, debris and the runway which the captain of the ill-fated plane, Sajjad Gul, reportedly used for an abortive landing.

The team checked the run and apron from different angles. They asked questions like how many times the plane was grounded in a year and if repair on plane was done.

They also collected information about how many times the landing gear repair was carried out besides its maintenance on technical ground. 

They sought the names of the engineers having performed the repair work. The French team was provided with the one year performance record of the plane. 

The unfortunate plane crash claimed all but two fortunate passengers who survived miraculously. So far out of 97 dead, the identity of 44 passengers has been established. Squadron Leader Zain-ul-Arif Khan’s body was among those identified through DNA. 

Meanwhile, the Interior Minister, Ejaz Shah, visited the residence of captain of the PIA crashed plane, Sajjad Gul, and expressed condolence with his father. “Sajjaid Gul tried his best till the end but unfortunately nature had other ideas,” he noted. The father of the deceased pilot has appealed to refrain from such statement that can hurt family feelings. 

The Sindh Governor, Imran Ismail, visited Civil Hospital Karachi and enquired the welfare of the injured persons. He assured that the government will carry out repair of the damaged houses.

Coronavirus Update: 573 new cases in Sindh

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Sindh registered another 573 new cases of COVID-19, with five related deaths, on May 26 when it entered the fourth month of its fight against the lethal virus originating from China about six months back. 

A young male resident of Karachi, who had a history of travelling to Iran, was declared the first case of coronavirus infection in Sindh by its health authorities on February 26 and since then there is no respite from the epidemic, key curves related to infections, deaths and others aspects are yet to be seen flattened, while, according to keen observers, government finds provision of appropriate hospital care required by the infected people still a daunting tasks.

As of May 26, the province reported a total 23,507 confirmed COVID-19 cases in three months, largely in cities like Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur, Ghotki, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazirabad and Jacobaabad, with 374 deaths, while 248 patients were in critical condition; 49 put on ventilators, as per the official data. 

Sindh happens to be the most affected province due to COVID-19, followed by Punjab. It was deemed as the government’s failure that the virus was brought in, initially, by Pakistanis visiting abroad for various purposes including pilgrimage and then after it found it rapid transmissions in the locals of all ages and genders living in all districts of Sindh, said a public health commentator. 

As of May 24, Karachi had 119 ventilators reserved for COVID-19 patients out of which only 34 of them were occupied. On the same day two off-ventilators death occurred while another two patients died at home.

In his routine communication with the media, the Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, stated on May 26 that five more patients died overnight taking the death toll to 374. The death rate in reference to the total infection cases cane was 1.6%. 

However, there was no mention of the age, gender and hospitalization of the patients in the statement. Earlier, such details had been coming through the provincial health minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho or her designated hands but now such information about the COVID-deaths and other relevant daily case summary has been stopped without assigning any reason. 

The Chief Minister further said that as many as 2,327 samples of coronavirus were tested during last 24 hours which resulted in 573 new cases. “The government has tested 23,507 samples positive for coronavirus, out of 161,628 samples, so far.” 

He added that presently 248 patients were in critical condition and 49 of them have been put on ventilators. “At present 14,618 patients were under treatment, including 12,931 (88%) in home isolation, 794 (6%) in Isolation centres and 893 (6%) in different hospitals. 

The districts which reported new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, ending at 8 am were Karachi (467 cases), Hyderabad (24), Shikarpur (12), Jacobabad (11), Kashmore (5), Larkana (4), Sukkur (3), Umerkot (3), Kambar Shadadkot (2), Khairpur (2), Dadu (2) and Sanghar (1).

Queen Elizabeth grieved over PIA plane crash

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services) 

Queen Elizabeth II has offered condolences to Pakistan and families of those having died in the PIA plane crash in Karachi on May 22.

“Prince Philip and I have been saddened by the news of the plane crash near Karachi on Friday (May 22). We send our most sincere condolences to you, the families and friends of those who died, and to the Pakistani people, particularly at the time of Eid,” Queen Elizabeth wrote. 

The British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, and the British High Commissioner, Christian Turner, were also grieved by the tragic PK8303 plane crash in Karachi. 

“I’m deeply saddened to hear of the plane crash and loss of life in Karachi and my thoughts are with all those affected in this terrible tragedy,” Dominic Raab remarked in his message.

“Thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones. The British High Commission was in touch with local authorities to establish if any Britons were on board,” High Commissioner Christian Turner stated.

New Zealand media market struggling; giant Stuff Limited sold for one dollar

Pakistan News & Features Services

The ailing New Zealand media market witnessed giant Stuff Limited was sold in a management buy-out deal for the symbolic fee of NZ$1.00 (US$0.61), according to an announcement made by the group's Australian owners Nine Entertainment on May 25.

Stuff Limited, operating New Zealand's most popular news website, stuff.co.nz, besides popular entities like Wellington's Dominion Post and the Christchurch Press, will be taken over by none other than its own chief executive, Sinead Boucher. 

"The sale of Stuff is expected to (be) complete by May 31," Nine communicated in its statement to the Australian stock exchange. Boucher, who had joined the company as a reporter in 1993 and spent most of her career at same organization, described the event as a new era for Stuff.

"It is great to take control of our own future with the move to local ownership and the opportunity to build further on the trust of New Zealanders, who turn to us for local and national news and entertainment every day," she told stuff.co.nz. 

New Zealand’s media market has been struggling of late due to COVID-19's impact and by the inroads being made by the global internet giants like Facebook and Google. 

The one-dollar price of Stuff Limited brought to light the growing difficulties in New Zealand's media sector where its main domestic rival, NZME, had its own one-dollar bid for the company rejected earlier this month. 

Stuff and NZME had both asked staff to take pay cuts due to the virus-induced downturn, with NZME cutting 200 jobs. German magazine giant Bauer Media Group had also closed down its New Zealand titles with the loss of 237 jobs last month, citing the severe economic impact of the pandemic.

Nine Entertainment, it may be recalled, had obtained Stuff when it acquired the company's Australian owner, newspaper group Fairfax Media in late 2018.

Coronavirus Update: Sindh’s rate of recovery also rises

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Sindh’s total number of recoveries from coronavirus has been on rise in recent days but it has failed to witness any significant shrink in gap between active cases and new infections while the authorities confirmed registration of another 443 new cases, against 614 patients cured, with two relevant deaths at Karachi hospitals on May 25. 

According to available official data, a maximum 904 COVID-19 patients were cured and discharged from various hospitals across the province, against 1,017 new cases, on May 20, while on average 428 patients were sent to home daily after treatment during a period from May 21 to 25. 

Overall, however, the total number of confirmed cases continued to increase at a faster rate, which was tantamount to overburdening the provincial health system for a longer period, said a keen observer.

The data showed that only 7,973 (about 35%) of 22,934 patients have recovered from the disease till May 25 in Sindh. There were 17,139 patients below the age of 50, out of which 5,370 (about 31%) could be cured and sent back to homes. 

To some observers, the recovery pace of COVID-19 patients under the age of 50 should be higher than the existing one.

“Either many of them are taking extraordinary time to recover from the disease due to their poor medical conditions or their physicians take time before starting any treatment in their cases.” 

It was further said that the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that about 80 per cent of COVID-19 cases globally were mild, which meant that these cases, which usually involved fever, cough and perhaps shortness of breath, recovered without much of an issue. 

“The younger, the patient with no other medical complaints, the greater could be the chances of quick recovery while some patients may not even be aware that they are sick.” 

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, sharing the coronavirus situation report with media on May 25, stated that 443 new cases have been detected by testing 1,852 samples while 614 patients recovered and discharged to their homes. 

“This is the first time that the number of patients cured within last 24 hours is higher than the new patients added in our health system,” he observed, while pointing out that due to Eid-ul-Fitr more samples could not be collected like being done in normal days. 

He disclosed that with the death of two more patients, during the last 24 hours ending at 8 am on May 25, the death toll has reached to 369, which meant the death rate stemming from coronavirus stood at 1.6% of the total infected people. 

However, another source in the government updated this scribe that in all four patients died during the last 24 hours, including two at hospitals and two at home. The ages of the deceased people could not be known. 

An official data updated on May 25 said that a total of 300 COVID-19 patients have lost their lives in private and public sector hospitals including JPMC (52), DUHS Ojha (48), SIUT (45), AKUH (37), Indus Hospital (30), CHK (26), Ziauddin Hospital (13), LUMHS Hyderabad (10) and other hospitals while remaining patients died at home or during their shifting to hospitals from home. 

According to the Chief Minister, 14,592 patients were under treatment, of them 12,943 (88%) were in home isolation, 790 (6%) at Isolation centres and 859 (6%) at different hospitals. 

“Our home isolation experience has worked well because within home atmosphere patients recover fast and our doctors remain in touch with them so that in case of any emergency they can be shifted to hospitals,” he maintained.

As far as the breakup of new coronavirus infections was concerned, Karachi led with 214 cases followed by Larkana (33), Ghotki (23), Sukkur (20), Kambar ShahdadKot (5), Shikarpur (4), Hyderabad (3), Khairpur (3), while Mirpurkhas, Naushehroferoze, Sanghar and Sujawal reported one new case each. 

In the meantime, it was also learnt that 347 doctors, 39 nurses and 79 paramedics were included among the people who contracted the virus across Sindh.

Chinese Ambassador greets Pakistanis on Eid

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Yao Jing, on behalf of the people and the government of China, has extended warm and sincere greetings to the Pakistanis on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. 

In his video message May 25, Ambassador Yao remarked that although this year Eid is being celebrated under special circumstances as coronavirus (COVID-19) was still spreading but he believed that with the efforts of the government and the people Pakistan will finally come out of this challenge. 

“Finally I wish you Eid Mubarak, stay safe and stay happy, thank you,” he added.

CPEC projects unaffected by COVID-19

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The onslaught of life threatening coronavirus, that claimed thousands of life around the world beside badly hurting socio-economic activities, but projects particularly in energy sector under taken under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have business as usual.

For instance, the Port Qasim Power plant under COEC has guaranteed a safe production and has cumulatively generated more than 20 billion KWh of electricity, meeting power demands of four million household in Pakistan.

The 1,320 megawatt Pakistan Port Qasim Power Project comprises two 660 megawatt super critical coal power plants, one of which was inaugurated in December 2016 as part of the CPEC. 

The project is spread over 204 acres at Port Qasim, 37 kilometers east of Karachi. Another mega energy project that continued their pace as per schedule was construction of Dasu Hydropower Project. 

This project is undertaken by the China Gezhouba Group Corporation, having achieved the construction progress in diversion of tunnel. The Hydroelectric power plant is located in KPK with installed capacity of 4320 MW. Its construction work got underway in 2017.