ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE: The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), Pakistan’s central pandemic response body, has said the Delta variant now accounts for more than 70 percent percent of daily COVID-19 positive cases in major Pakistani cities, though experts question this statement, saying it was difficult to track new variants in Pakistan given the absence of the genome sequencing technology required to identify and assess them.
The Delta variant was first identified in India in December 2020 and led to major outbreaks in the country. It then spread rapidly and is now reported in 104 countries, according to a US Center for Disease Control tracker. The strain has mutations on the spike protein that make it easier for it to infect human cells, which means people may be more contagious if they contract the virus and can more easily spread it to others.
While scientists are still trying to determine how deadly the Delta variant is, based on hospitalizations in the UK, the variant seems to be more likely to lead to hospitalization and death, particularly among unvaccinated people, according to a recent study published in The Lancet.
In Pakistan, data collected by Arab News from government officials in Islamabad and the four provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, showed an alarming rise in the number of Delta variant cases across the country.
“What is being reported in media in Karachi, Lahore, it has spread a lot,” a top NCOC official said last week, commenting on Delta variant cases in major Pakistani cities. “It is somewhere around more than like 70 percent.”
However, he also added that only Islamabad and the southern Sindh province currently had the genome-sequencing kits needed to track new strains of the virus. The center was trying to procure more kits to distribute to the other provinces, he added: “Health is a provincial subject, therefore provincial governments should procure their kits for the purpose, but unfortunately they haven’t done this so far.”
Dr. Zaeem Zia, the district health officer for Islamabad, said the Delta variant had been identified in Islamabad Capital Territory but it was difficult to provide exact numbers.
“We only send a specific number of samples to the National Institute of Health for genome-sequencing, therefore it is difficult for us to give an exact number of how many people in Islamabad are infected with the Delta variant,” Zia told Arab News.
When contacted, NIH officials declined to share a figure for the ratio of Delta variant cases among daily positive reports in all the country’s federating units.
Provincial governments, however, shared some provisional figures with Arab News, based on samples sent for testing to the NIH in Islamabad.
Of 85 samples collected for genome sequencing from different hospitals of Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, 56 cases were confirmed to be the Delta variant, the Punjab health department said on July 15.
Secretary of the Public Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) in Balochistan province, Aziz Ahmed Jamali, told Arab News of 21 samples sent to the NIH for testing in July 2021, 17 were confirmed to be the Delta variant.
Dr. Ikram Ullah Khan, additional director general health in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said 16 out of 21 samples from the province that were genome sequenced turned out to be of the Delta variant.
Abdul Rasheed Channa, a media consultant to the chief minister of Sindh, told Arab News that of 356 samples tested on July 12, 66 were of the Delta variant cases.
Professor M. Iqbal Choudhary, director of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, said the Delta variant “now accounts for 92 percent of COVID-19 cases, which are fast spreading in Karachi.”
Citing his organization’s Virology Institute, Choudhary said that from one sample of 90 cases tested earlier this month, 83 cases were identified as the Delta variant.
But many experts question the authenticity of the data provided by provincial authorities.
Professor Dr. Amir Ali Abbasi, chairperson of the National Center for Bioinformatics at the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, said there was no credible way to identify COVID-19 variants in Pakistan since the provinces did not possess genome-sequencing kits.
“Sequencing is a complicated thing and requires a rigorous process to detect COVID-19 variants, and our institutions lack the capacity and expertise to do it,” Abbasi told Arab News. “Scientists collect the data through sequencing, compare it with the data of the whole world and then come to a conclusion about the variants present in a sample.”
He said the National Center for Bioinformatics had sequenced 150 samples during the first wave in June 2020 and found 327 variations of the coronavirus in Pakistan, which had entered the country through 28 countries, including Oman, the United States, Jordan and Qatar.
“This took us one and half years,” he said.
The GISAID and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), two international authentic database repositories of coronavirus genotype data, does not have any listing for the Delta variant in Pakistan, Abbasi said.
“The NCBI lists 472 Delta variants sequences from Asia,” he said, “but none of them are from Pakistan.”
Additional reporting by Naimat Khan in Karachi, Rehmat Mehsud in Peshawar and Saadullah Akhter in Quetta.
Delta variant accounts for over 70 percent coronavirus cases in Pakistan — NCOC
https://arab.news/6h3xw
Delta variant accounts for over 70 percent coronavirus cases in Pakistan — NCOC
- Experts question NCOC statement saying difficult to track variants in Pakistan in the absence of genome sequencing technology
- 56/85 samples collected in Lahore identified as Delta variant, 17/21 in Balochistan, 16/21 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 66/356 in Sindh
Islamabad rejects ‘unhealthy’ remarks by Indian politicians about Pakistan’s nuclear capability, Kashmir
- Pakistan has been key topic of Indian election speeches by PM Narendra Modi, top leaders of his ruling BJP party
- Foreign Office urges Indian politicians to stop dragging Pakistan into their domestic politics for ‘electoral gains’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office on Tuesday rejected “baseless” and “unhealthy” remarks by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other members of his cabinet regarding Pakistan’s nuclear program, Kashmir dispute and other regional issues, which came during campaigning for ongoing elections in India.
Pakistan has been a key topic of speeches by Indian leaders during campaign rallies, with Modi and top leaders from his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) making strong statements about their South Asian neighbor.
At an election rally in Bihar this week, Modi indirectly referred to National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah’s remarks about Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities and said he would make Pakistan “wear bangles.”
Noting the “alarming” surge in anti-Pakistan rhetoric, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said it rejected the “irresponsible statements” by Indian leaders about the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, counter-terrorism efforts, bilateral relations and Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities.
“Regrettably, these statements reflect an unhealthy and entrenched obsession with Pakistan and reveal a deliberate intent to exploit hyper-nationalism for electoral gains. These also signify a desperate attempt to deflect attention from mounting domestic and international criticism,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a Pakistani foreign office spokesperson, said in a statement.
“The bravado and jingoism exhibited by Indian leaders expose a reckless and extremist mindset. This mindset calls into question India’s capacity to be a responsible steward of its strategic capability. On the other hand, the purpose of Pakistan’s strategic capability is to safeguard its sovereignty and defend its territorial integrity.”
Baloch noted that Pakistan had clearly demonstrated its resolve to defend itself in the past and would not “hesitate to do so in the future should the Indian side choose to embark on a misadventure.”
About Indian Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim that Azad Kashmir was part of India, she said Jammu and Kashmir was an internationally-recognized disputed territory and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions clearly mandated a plebiscite in the territory for its final determination.
“No amount of inflated Indian statements can change this reality,” Baloch said. “India should, therefore, focus on implementing these resolutions instead of indulging in fantasies of grandeur.”
The Himalayan territory of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947, with both countries ruling part of the territory but claiming it in full.
The western portion of the larger Kashmir region is administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity, while India rules the southern portion as a union territory.
Baloch urged Indian politicians to stop dragging Pakistan into their domestic politics for “electoral gains” and to handle sensitive strategic matters with “utmost caution.”
“We call upon the international community to take note of Indian leadership’s belligerent rhetoric, which poses a grave threat to regional peace and stability,” she said.
“The vision of peace, progress, and prosperity in South Asia can only be realized through the peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir, and a shift from confrontation to cooperation.”
UK universities at risk as number of students from Pakistan, other nations plunge — report
- Students from Pakistan, India, Nigeria and China account for 70 percent of graduate visas
- The Migration Advisory Committee found no evidence of widespread abuse for graduate route
LONDON: Britain should avoid further restricting international student numbers or some universities may collapse, a government commissioned report said on Tuesday, after foreign registrations plummeted for next year.
High levels of legal migration have long dominated Britain’s political discourse and were one of the major drivers for the Brexit referendum in 2016.
Along with care staff and low salaried workers, the government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to reduce the number of students coming to Britain, including preventing some post-graduate students from bringing family members.
The Migration Advisory Committee, an independent body which gives the government advice, said the number of international postgraduate students paying deposits to study at British universities this September had dropped by 63 percent, compared with the previous year, after the government put restrictions on education visas.
The report warned that further restrictions on the so-called graduate route, which allows foreign students to work in Britain for up to two years after graduation, would lead to job losses, course closures and a risk “that some institutions would fail.”
Britain boasts some of the most famous and sought after universities in the world, from Oxford and Cambridge to Imperial College London. Business leaders argue that they boost innovation, increase creativity and provide a form of soft power, as many world leaders have studied at British colleges.
The government commissioned the review after concerns that the graduate visa route was being abused. Some British politicians have complained that some students are applying for visas and then claim asylum or overstay.
Esther McVey, a minister in Sunak’s cabinet, said on Monday that some British universities were “selling immigration to international students rather than education.”
A spokesman for Sunak said the government would consider the report and respond. But the spokesman highlighted concerns about the scheme, pointing out that more than 40 percent of international students using the route were either not working or earning below 15,000 pounds ($18,834) a year after graduation.
The Migration Advisory Committee found there was no evidence of widespread abuse specifically for the graduate route. Students from four countries – India, Nigeria, China and Pakistan – account for 70 percent of graduate visas.
British business lobby group, the CBI, said British universities were one of the country’s biggest export successes, and with the Migration Advisory Committee saying the system was not being abused “it’s time to put its future beyond doubt and end this period of damaging speculation.”
Pakistan PM to visit Azad Kashmir ‘in few days’ to review situation after violent protests
- At least four people were killed in protests over subsidized wheat flour and electricity that began on May 11
- The protests were called off on Tuesday after Pakistan approved $83 million subsidies for the disputed region
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced visiting Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) “in a few days” to personally review the situation after days-long violent protests over subsidies, Pakistani state media reported on Tuesday.
At least three protesters and a police officer were killed and several others wounded in days of clashes between demonstrators demanding subsidies on wheat flour and electricity and law enforcement.
The protests were called off on Tuesday, a day after Pakistan announced $83 million subsidies and prompted the regional government to notify a reduction in prices of wheat flour and electricity.
On Tuesday, Sharif presided over a meeting of his cabinet to discuss the situation in Azad Kashmir, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced to visit Azad Jammu and Kashmir in a few days to personally review the ground situation and promote the tendency of resolving issues at the dialogue table,” the report read.
“He said Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan as declared by the founder of Pakistan, and maintaining law and order there is the top priority.”
The Himalayan territory of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947, with both countries ruling part of the territory but claiming it in full.
The western portion of the larger Kashmir region is administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity, while India rules the southern portion as a union territory.
While the Indian portion has faced an ongoing insurgency for decades and multiple armed attempts by the state to quell it, the Pakistani side has remained relatively calm over the decades, though it is also highly militarized.
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) had organized the protests that began on May 11. “On the appeal of the Awami Action Committee, it has been decided to end the ongoing lockdown and wheel-jam strike across Azad Kashmir,” Amjad Ali Khan, a member of the JAAC core committee, told Arab News on Tuesday.
Presiding over the cabinet meeting, Sharif commended the AJK government for demonstrating restraint to foil “nefarious designs of the elements, who intend to sabotage the situation under the pretext of protests,” according to the Radio Pakistan report.
He thanked Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and AJK PM Anwar-ul-Haq for their cooperation in resolving the issue “amicably.”
PM forms committee of allies to deliberate amendments to Pakistan’s social media law
- Law minister says federal cabinet will take final decision after coalition partners give feedback on draft law
- Critics say the amendments could be used to stifle dissent and free speech instead of protecting digital rights
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a committee comprising representatives of allied parties to review amendments to Pakistan’s electronic crimes law, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Tuesday, highlighting that the federal government wanted to form political consensus before making changes to the law.
The government says amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 are aimed at protecting the digital rights of millions of Pakistani users, encouraging responsible Internet use and regulating online content to prevent hate speech and disinformation. Critics say the amendments, like PECA itself, could be used to stifle dissent and free speech. In the past, PECA has been used against critics of Pakistan’s all powerful army as well as governments and cases under the blasphemy law among others have also been filed using the legislation.
Earlier this month, the government notified a new National Cybercrimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to probe electronic crimes, which digital rights activists described as yet another attempt to stifle online criticism of the state. The NCCIA was approved by the caretaker government-led federal cabinet last year to take over cybercrime investigations from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
Addressing the media on Tuesday, the law minister said the draft legislation has been sent to the federal cabinet for approval after being drafted by the IT ministry according to Article 19, which deals mainly with freedom of speech.
“Despite this, the PM was of the view that a political consensus was necessary for legislation, the cabinet also agreed to the premier’s view,” Tarar said.
“Now he has formed a committee in this regard which will include allied parties including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q), Istehham-i-Pakistan Party (IPP).”
The law minister said allied party representatives would examine the draft legislation and report feedback to the federal cabinet which would then take a final decision.
PECA
PECA was passed in 2016 during the government of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party, which is once more in power and leading a fragile coalition at the center.
The law was originally enacted to combat various forms of cybercrime, including cyber terrorism, unauthorized access, electronic fraud and online harassment.
But the law has variously been used to crackdown on journalists, bloggers and other critics of the state.
The popular social media platform X has been blocked in the country since February when Pakistan held general elections marred by widespread allegations of manipulation and rigging.
New coach Gary Kirsten to join Pakistan cricket team in England
- The 56-year-old South African has served as the batting coach of Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League
- The PCB has also appointed Simon Helmot as the fielding coach and David Reid as mental performance coach
ISLAMABAD: Gary Kirsten will start his two-year assignment as the coach of Pakistan’s white-ball cricket team when he joins the squad in England on Sunday.
Pakistan will play four Twenty20s against England to prepare for the T20 World Cup next month in the Caribbean and the United States.
Pakistan has delayed naming its final 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup until the first T20 against England next Tuesday at Leeds.
Kirsten served as the mentor and batting coach of Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League. They were knocked out of playoff contention on Monday.
“I’ve missed the experience of coaching at the international level and nurturing talented players to reach their full potential,” Kirsten said in a statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday. “I’m committed to working closely with the (Pakistan) team to elevate their game and bring joy to fans around the world.”
Kirsten has coached India and South Africa.
Last month, the 56-year-old South African was confirmed as the white-ball coach along with Jason Gillespie as the red-ball coach.
Pakistan has done well in the last two T20 World Cups. It made the semifinals in 2021 and the final against England in 2022.
The PCB has also appointed Simon Helmot as the fielding coach and David Reid as mental performance coach of the national team for the T20 World Cup. Reid will join the team next Monday while Helmot will team up with the Pakistan side on May 31 after the T20 series against England.
