ISLAMABAD: As the nation finds itself at war with a deadly pathogen that emerged in a small Chinese town in December 2019 before spreading across the globe and infecting more than a thousand people in Pakistan, the country’s defense establishment on Wednesday announced a shift in the focus of its production facilities, saying that its ordnance factories, which traditionally manufacture weapons and ammunition, have also started making face masks and hand sanitizers.
An official handout released on the instruction of the minister of defense production said that the country’s ordnance factories had “attained the capability to produce 25,000 Face Masks and 10,000 liters of Hand Sanitizers on a daily basis.”
The official statement described its new production potential as “a landmark achievement and a proud moment for the entire nation.”
“Special cloth has been used in production of Face Masks, that makes it re-usable after wash,” the statement said, adding that in view of the current situation, wherein the country was fighting novel coronavirus, Pakistan’s defense related production capability “had been diverted toward mass production of Face Masks and Hand Sanitizers.”
“The laudable efforts by Pakistan Ordnance Factories will indeed complement the ongoing national drive to fight COVID-19,” it continued while promising “further breakthrough” in “the near future.”
Pakistan’s security forces have already been playing their role in preventing the spread of the dreaded virus in the country by activating the network of their hospitals across the country to deal with the problem.
They are also helping the civil administration with countrywide lockdowns that have been announced to implement social distancing.
Pakistan Ordnance Factories manufactures face masks, hand sanitizers
https://arab.news/4p7bf
Pakistan Ordnance Factories manufactures face masks, hand sanitizers
- In view of the current situation, the country’s defense establishment has shifted focus of its production facilities
- The ordnance factories are traditionally known for manufacturing weapons and ammunition
TV reporter dies after falling from rooftop during Pakistan kite-flying festival
- Pakistan's Lahore marked the Basant festival on Feb. 6-8 after the Punjab government lifted an 18-year-old ban on kite flying
- Malik Zain, a reporter affiliated with GNN news channel, fell from a four-storey building while flying a kite, Lahore police say
ISLAMABAD: A television reporter died after falling from a rooftop while flying a kite during the Basant spring festival in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, police and hospital authorities confirmed on Sunday.
Pakistan's Lahore marked the Basant festival on Feb. 6-8 after the Punjab provincial government this year lifted a ban on kite flying after 18 years, with extensive safety measures in place.
The festival, which marks the onset of spring, was banned in 2008 after deaths and injuries to motorcyclists and pedestrians from stray kite strings, sometimes coated with metal to make them more formidable in mid-air battles.
Malik Zain, a reporter affiliated with private news channel GNN, fell from the rooftop of a building during the final day of Basant celebrations in the eastern Pakistani city, according to police.
"Lahore journalist Malik Zain died after falling from the fourth floor while flying a kite in Gulshan-e-Ravi during Basant," the Lahore police said in a statement.
The reporter was shifted to the government-run Mian Munshi District Headquarters Hospital where he was pronounced dead, with cardiopulmonary arrest mentioned as the cause of death.
"Head injury due to fall from height," hospital authorities diagnosed in their report into Zain’s death.
The development came hours after Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz extended timings for Basant till early Monday morning.
“I am pleased to announce that Basant celebrations timings are being extended till 5:00 AM tomorrow morning,” CM Nawaz said in an X post on Sunday, highlighting the festivity, unity and joy across Lahore.
“This extension is a reward for the people of Lahore for celebrating Basant with great discipline and for responsibly following all safety SOPs (standard operating procedures).”
The Punjab government banned the use of metallic or chemical-coated strings during the festival. Kites and strings had to bear individual QR codes so they could be traced, and motorcyclists had to attach safety rods to their bikes to fend off stray thread.
Some 4,600 producers had registered with the authorities to sell kites and strings ahead of the festival. Authorities had made it mandatory for owners to register rooftops with 30 or more revelers, while dozens of roofs had been declared off-limits after inspections.
