ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to crack down on people making fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates to benefit those refusing to participate in the country’s official immunization drive, reported the local media on Wednesday.
According to Dawn, the National Command and Operations Centers (NCOC), which oversees the country’s pandemic response, instructed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to act against people making the certificates.
Media reports maintained in August some health department officials in Karachi were manipulating the system by registering unvaccinated people through a software provided by the National Database Registration Authority to generate fake certificates for Rs2,000.
The government also launched an app last month for anyone who wanted to verify COVID-19 certificates issued by Pakistan.
“In a statement, the NCOC said the FIA has widened its scope of investigation and launched a crackdown against such people [making fake certificates],” Dawn reported. “As a result, suspects have been arrested in different cities and the data of citizens who had gotten fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates has been collected.”
The report added the authorities were going to take legal action against the culprits after completing their investigations.
Pakistan recorded 2,714 new coronavirus cases and 73 deaths in the last 24 hours.
The country began its immunization campaign in last February and has so far fully vaccinated about 22.87 million people.
Pakistan launches crackdown against fake vaccine certificates, arrests suspects
https://arab.news/cdzz5
Pakistan launches crackdown against fake vaccine certificates, arrests suspects
- Media reports said last month some health department officials were manipulating the system to generate fake certificates
- The FIA has already arrested suspects in different cities and collected data of citizens who benefitted from these certificates
Pakistani sculptor turns scrap into colossal metal artworks
- Self-taught Islamabad artist Ehtisham Jadoon builds 14-foot metal sculptures using more than 90 percent discarded vehicle parts
- Former martial artist scours scrapyards weekly, transforming scrap into giant beasts and ‘Transformers’-inspired figures
ISLAMABAD: Sparks fly and metal groans in a cavernous workshop on the outskirts of Islamabad, where Pakistani artist Ehtisham Jadoon fuses discarded car parts into colossal pieces inspired by “Transformers” movies and dinosaurs.
The 35-year-old sculptor’s studio brims with cogs, chains, hubcaps and engine parts as his hulking creations — a lion with a mane of twisted steel, a giant Tyrannosaurus rex and a towering Optimus Prime — take shape.
“I have always been fascinated by metal objects,” Jadoon told AFP after assembling the 14-foot (4-meter) “Transformers” character, his biggest creation yet.
“When I see metals in scrap, I imagine forms in which it could be utilized.”
It took Jadoon and his team months of welding and warping to fashion his Optimus Prime, with over 90 percent of its parts sourced from discarded vehicle pieces.
The arms are forged from motorbike springs and gears, its shoulders are curve from car rims, the spine is molded from a fuel tank and its knees are pieced together with chains and suspension parts.
Even its piercing eyes are crafted from vehicle bearings, completing a sculpture that is both intricate and awesome.
“Whenever I see an object, I visualize a form,” Jadoon said.
“I could imagine a block transforming into a shape, so I simply solve the puzzle and bring it to life.”
‘Waste becomes valuable’
Jadoon, a former martial artist who once worked in the steel fabrication business, has never formally studied art. He designs his gargantuan models spontaneously while working.
He told AFP he has to visit a doctor almost every week due to sparks affecting his eyes and burns on his hands and arms, yet he insists this is the only work in which he can channel the energy of his training as a fighter.
Jadoon’s work primarily focuses on crafting giants, beasts and powerful forms, which he describes as a reflection of aggression.
“Setting the anatomy and proportions requires visualization from multiple angles and repeated adjustments,” he said.
Every week, Jadoon tours scrapyards in Islamabad, sifting through tons of discarded metal in search of pieces that fit into his imagination and then become sculptures.
“What is waste to us became something valuable in his hands,” scrapyard owner Bostan Khan told AFP.
“It’s incredible to witness.”
