MARDAN: Police in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province presented a guard of honor to doctors and paramedics in front of Quetta’s Sheikh Zayed and Fatima Jinnah hospitals on Saturday, following a similar salute to Punjab’s health care professionals at the gates of Lahore’s iconic Mayo Hospital on Friday.
On Saturday, the official tally of confirmed cases in the country had surged to over 1,400 with the majority of the cases in eastern Punjab province, followed closely by southern Sindh.
“Coronavirus has been declared a global pandemic and we are also feeling its impact,” Quetta’s senior superintendent of police, Tariq Mastoi, told Arab News and added that the ceremony was held to salute the “frontline soldiers” in the ongoing war against the elusive pathogen.
“Doctors, paramedics and others working in hospitals are fighting at the frontline of this battle and we salute them for their work,” the officer said, adding that the police wanted to boost the morale of medical practitioners and other hospital staff during this time of crisis.
In a widely circulated video, doctors and medical staff at Mayo Hospital stood in rainy Lahore with their hands on their hearts before the Punjab police on Friday, as they too were presented a guard of honor salute.
“It’s great to see our staff, who have shown such bravery and are working tirelessly, being appreciated in this manner,” Dr. Mumraiz Naqshband of Mayo Hospital, who is among Pakistan’s frontline health care professionals, told Arab News.
But the doctors deserve protection as well as appreciation, said chief of a representative body of doctors, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA).
According to Qaiser Sajjad, General Secretary of PMA, it was the government’s responsibility to provide protective gear to doctors so they could fight the virus more courageously.
“Currently, doctors are fighting this battle without weapons,” he said. “Doctors deserve appreciation as well as protection.”
“The way police are saluting doctors across the country is absolutely great,” he added. ”I salute those who salute doctors and paramedics.
Last week, a 26 year old doctor from Pakistan’s northern Gilgit Baltistan lost his life when he contracted the virus after screening patients without appropriate personal protective equipment.
On Saturday, Dr. Raheem Babar, spokesperson for the Young Doctor’s Association in Balochistan told Arab News that two senior dental surgeons had tested positive for the virus in Quetta. Dentists are at especially high risk from the coronavirus infection which is spread via droplets from the mouth and nose.
On Saturday, the PMA said at least six doctors in Punjab and Sindh had also tested positive for the virus.
Police present ceremonial salute to medics in Balochistan, Punjab
https://arab.news/42ar9
Police present ceremonial salute to medics in Balochistan, Punjab
- Last week, a Pakistani doctor died after contracting coronavirus while working without PPE
- ‘We salute them for their work,’ says Quetta police chief
Bilateral trade, investment, defense in focus as Indonesian president visits Pakistan today
- President Prabowo Subianto will arrive on a two-day visit in Islamabad, leading high-level delegation of ministers, officials
- Indonesian president to hold delegation-level meeting with PM Shehbaz Sharif, oversee signing of several agreements
ISLAMABAD: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan today, Monday, on a two-day visit aimed at exploring new avenues of cooperation with Islamabad in trade, defense, investment, health, education and other sectors, the Pakistani foreign ministry said.
This marks Subianto’s maiden visit to Pakistan and the first by an Indonesian president to the country since 2018. Subianto will arrive in Islamabad leading a high-level delegation of senior ministers and officials, with his trip coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Islamabad and Jakarta.
Subianto will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and will also meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir during his two-day visit.
“The two sides will discuss a wide-ranging agenda aimed at further strengthening Pakistan-Indonesia relations and exploring new avenues of cooperation, including trade, investment, defense, health, IT, climate, education and culture, as well as enhancing collaboration at regional and global levels,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Sunday.
“Several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed during the visit.”
Pakistan and Indonesia enjoy close, cordial and long-standing relations rooted in shared values and mutual interests. The foreign office said the Indonesian president’s visit will provide a key opportunity for both sides to deepen bilateral ties and expand mutually beneficial cooperation.
Indonesia is also home to a few hundred Pakistani expatriates, many of whom are engaged in businesses such as restaurants, the selling of hand-knotted carpets, precious stones, textile items and herbal medicines.
