Author: Toydemir Sasooli

UNITED NATIONS: “Pakistan’s national security is linked with its food security, which in turn is directly linked with water security,” argued Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senator Faisal Saleem Rahman as parliamentarians from more than 60 countries gathered at the UN headquarters to discuss a major global issue — water scarcity. The two-day event, held in New York this week, was a joint initiative of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and the Inter-Parlia­mentary Union (IPU) to raise support for a basic UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), access to clean water and sanitation. The meeting provided parliamentary contribution to the UN Water Conference, which…

ISLAMABAD: A report on the plight of Pakistanis in the Gulf States said low-wage migrants working abroad were at the mercy of their employers, subjected to discriminatory and inhumane working conditions and inadequate consular assistance from their diplomatic missions. Titled, “The cost of living: migrant workers’ access to health in the Gulf”, the report was launched at an event in Islamabad on Thursday. It was a collaborative effort of civil society organisations in South and Southeast Asia. The launch event entailed a presentation of the findings of the report relevant to Pakistan followed by a moderated discussion between participants on…

ISLAMABAD: Amid a global economic slowdown, Pakistan’s exports of rice posted a negative growth of 15.82 per cent in the first seven months of the current fiscal year mainly due to the flood devastation of paddy fields in Sindh. In value, the total rice exports dipped to $1.08 billion in July-January this year from $1.28bn in the corresponding months of last year. The stagnation in export proceeds, especially of basmati rice, is mainly because of several reasons particularly the under-invoicing of rice to Afghanistan and Iran under the barter trade system. Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap) Chairman Chela Ram…

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Sunday said his country will dispatch 100,000 winterized tents to the earthquake victims of Türkiye by the end of this month. These tents, Sharif said, are being prepared in consultation with Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), considering the weather conditions of the earthquake-hit areas. Sharif made the announcement in the northeastern city of Lahore during a meeting with the representatives of Pakistani charities taking part in relief and rescue operations in Türkiye and Syria, said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. The purpose of the meeting attended by the representatives of Al-Khidmat…

Pakistani security forces killed a terrorist during an operation in the country’s northwest tribal district of South Waziristan on Friday morning, security sources told Xinhua. According to the sources, the forces after receiving intelligence information about the presence of a terrorist who planned to be a suicide bomber cordoned off a house in the Spinkai area of South Waziristan, the district bordering Afghanistan. The forces asked the terrorist to surrender but he started indiscriminate firing at the security personnel, said the sources, adding that the terrorist was killed when his explosive-laden jacket burst after hitting with a bullet. The terrorist…

Mired in an unprecedented economic crisis wherein the price of a litre of milk has surged to Pakistani Rs 250 and chicken, a staple diet of Islamabad, has shot up to Rs 780 per kg, the defence minister declared the country is now “bankrupt”. Addressing a convocation event in Sialkot, the minister and PML-N leader Khwaja Asif said that people must have heard that Pakistan has defaulted and there exists an (economic) meltdown, which stands correct.The minister’s statement came as the country has been witnessing record-high inflation, even for bread and water. Asif said that Pakistan has not been defaulting,…

Pakistan The PM’s aide urged PML-Q’s Moonis Elahi to return to Pakistan. LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday there would be no stability in the country with Imran Khan in politics. SAPM Tarar, in a statement, said the chief election commissioner (CEC) shouldn’t be called out as he was appointed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Whenever Imran Khan fails to get verdicts to his liking, he starts accusing institutions, he added. The PML-N leader said economy stability is linked with political stability but Imran Khan wants to destroy county’s economy. The PM’s aide…

Updated: Jan 19, 2023 03:24 IST Dhaka [Bangladesh], January 19 (ANI): Bangladesh, a nation born out of Pakistan in 1971 is performing better in universal health coverage indicators than its predecessor, reported Bangladesh Live News (BLN).Universal health coverage (UHC) is a global health priority and one of the major targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In a recent article in the Dawn, Professor Zafar Mirza of Shifa Tameer-i-Millat University, Islamabad and WHO adviser on Universal health coverage made some shocking revelations regarding the healthcare status in Pakistan. For instance on neonatal mortality rate (NMR), Pakistan ranks second highest in…

This case study was published on 8 December 2022 as part of the WHO delivering results and making an impact: stories from the ground report, which presents a snapshot of how WHO has delivered on its mission in countries and contributed to health outcomes across a wide range of issues during 2020-2021. In 2018, Pakistan signed the UHC2030 Global Compact,committing to advancing universal health coverage (UHC) as part of the country’s efforts to achieve health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Government of Pakistan recognizes the fundamental role of primary health care (PHC) in achieving UHC. In view of the dire need for…