o ISLAMABAD: The Sub-National Immunisation Days (SNIDs) campaign will kick off on Aug 2 during which more than 23.6 million children in 68 districts of all four provinces as well as Islamabad will be administered anti-polio drops. Approximately, 179,000 frontline polio workers will go house to house, observing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Covid-19, to ensure children’s protection from …

KARACHI: There was a lot of activity seen around MV Heng Tong 77, the container ship that ended up at Seaview beach after having run aground on July 21 as it was successfully defueled during a careful and strategic two-day de-bunkering operation on Thursday. There were fire tenders, ambulances and visits by Navy personnel as more barriers were put in …

LAHORE: The fourth wave of Covid-19 is quite challenging as the bed occupancy rate is gradually increasing in the state-run hospitals of the province. With 596 new positive cases reported all over the province during the last 24 hours (Thursday), the bed occupancy in intensive care units and high dependency units in the government hospitals of Punjab increased to 16 …

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah alerted the police and other law enforcement agencies on Thursday to beef up security and enhance the coordinated intelligence work so that the fallout of the war in Afghanistan could be controlled here. “The withdrawal of US troops in Afghanistan and advancement of the Taliban is likely to increase the insurgency which …

LAHORE: ‘Controversy’ over the Provincial Assembly (Privileges) (Amendment) Bill 2021 that provides for punishment to a bureaucrat for breach of a privilege of the house, any of its committee or a member, has deepened as the Punjab and federal governments have ‘bowed down to the pressure’ exerted by the civil bureaucracy. Conceding to the pressure and recommendation of the Punjab …

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the advocate general of Punjab and sought his assistance on the legitimacy of the Ravi Urban Development Authority (Ruda). Hearing a petition that challenged the vires of the Ruda Act 2020, Justice Shahid Karim observed that apparently there was no element of public welfare in the acquisition of land …

The Sindh government has decided to impose a lockdown in the province from tomorrow (Saturday) till August 8 amid rising Covid-19 cases. The decision was taken during a provincial coronavirus task force meeting presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Friday. According to a handout issued by the CM’s office, restrictions will remain in place till August …

ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Thursday rejected Nilofar Bakhtiar’s appointment as chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW). “Nilofar Bakhtiar’s appointment is tantamount to dacoity [robbery] and insult to parliament,” said PPP’s Nafisa Shah in a statement. Referring to an in-camera meeting of the parliamentary committee on the appointment of the NCSW chairperson …

ISLAMABAD: A private housing society in alleged connivance with Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad administration not only reduced the size of the natural stream in E-11/2 but also altered natural flow of the water way, which caused urban flooding after the heavy rain on Wednesday. Old satellite images taken in 2002 and in 2008 showed the zigzag nullah entering …

A policeman was martyred while a passerby was injured in a blast in Peshawar’s Karkhano Market on Friday, officials said. In a statement, police initially said that an unidentified person had hurled a grenade at the police mobile during an operation against Covid-19 SOP violations. However, Peshawar CCPO Abbas Ahsan — who visited the site to inspect the damage — …