Advisory issued in light of recent spike in COVID-19 cases globally.
BHS advises random sampling of 2% international travellers.
No cases of BF.7 variant detected in Pakistan, confirms NIH.
LAHORE: Border Health Services (BHS) Thursday directed airport authorities to tighten COVID-19 screening for all international travellers landing in Pakistan following a recent global resurgence in virus cases, especially in China and India.
The advisory also binds the Airport Health Services to screen — using Antigen Rapid Test— every unwell traveller at the airports.
According to the notification, all the focal persons of the BHS have been advised to maintain a heightened level of awareness for the rapid identification, detection, and isolation of any potential cases to prevent further transmission as a part of effective control and prevention measures.
All the in-charges have been advised to strictly implement Infection Prevention Control (IPC) protocols at the points of entry, including disinfection and fumigation of passenger arrival areas and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPES) by the healthcare workers for interruption of transmission.
A random sampling of all inbound passengers on international flights (2%) has been advised as part of the national response against COVID-19 at the points of entry.
The border health authority has also advised all the airlines to facilitate its staff in carrying out the testing smoothly, as some passengers often resist being tested.
BF.7 Variant
Following China, India reported the detection of several cases of BF.7, a sub-variant of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which is driving the huge COVID surge in China.
The BF.7 sub-variant has already been detected in several other countries, including Germany, Belgium, France, Denmark, the US, and the UK.
Believed to be a highly transmissible variant with a shorter incubation period, the BF.7 is a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA, experts at NIH said. They said it also has a higher capacity to cause re-infection and infect vaccinated individuals.
“As per the latest studies, the BF.7 variant has several times higher neutralization resistance than the original Wuhan virus. This means the antibodies from the vaccination are not effective enough against the virus”, an expert at the NIH told The News.
NO BF.7 cases detected yet in Pakistan
On December 26, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) denied the detection of Omicron sub-variant BF.7 in Pakistan and said there is no threat of any new variant of COVID-19.
“An unverified report is circulating in the media regarding the threat of a new COVID-19 variant. The National Command and Operations Center affirms that there is currently no such threat. The situation is being closely monitored,” the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad said in a statement on Twitter.
An unverified news is circulating in the media regarding the threat of a new COVID-19 variant. The National Command and Operations Center affirms that at present there is no such threat. The situation is being closely monitored.
KARACHI: Students of Karachi University called off their protest after a fellow student who was allegedly “picked up” from the varsity’s premises returned.
A KU student confirmed to Geo News that Saqib, the student who was allegedly “whisked away”, has returned.
The students of the varsity had launched a protest, earlier today, after Saqib was allegedly “taken away”.
The protesters told Geo News that the student, studying at the Department of Urdu, was allegedly whisked away by some people in plain clothes. They said the men claimed they were from a law enforcement agency.
However, KU Security Adviser Dr Moiz Khan said Rangers have disassociated themselves from the incident.
The university’s administration analysed the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to identify the students and the people who picked him up.
After the incident, the students staged a protest outside KU’s Silver Jubilee Gate and blocked the University Road.
However, upon the police’s request, they shifted their protest to the front of the varsity’s administration block.
The Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) claimed that the student was its worker.
Cases registered under sections 365 and 34 of PPC.
Nasir’s wife seeks immediate release of her husband.
Protest today at 4:00pm at KPC to demand Nasir’s release.
KARACHI: The port city’s police have registered a “kidnapping” case of prominent lawyer and human rights activist Jibran Nasir on the complaint of his wife, Mansha Pasha, hours after the advocate was “picked up” from Defence Housing Authority (DHA) area.
The case has been registered at the Clifton Police Station under two sections of the Pakistan Penal Code — 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
Pasha, a renowned actress, told police in an application earlier that her husband was “picked up” by men on Thursday night.
Mansha Pasha’s application to the police. — provided by the reporter
Police were at first, according to Pasha, not registering the FIR. She said she would move the court if the law enforcers did not register the case.
She stated: “On 01.06.2023 at about 11:00 pm, I was returning from dinner with my husband in our personal car … when a white color Toyota Hilux / Vigo … intercepted and hit our car from the front-left side and forced us to stop near Ideal Bakery on 26th Street, Defence Phase 5, Karachi.”
She further added: “Another vehicle i.e. a Silver Corolla blocked our vehicle from behind and as such, we were surrounded. Some 15 people along with weapons came out from the said vehicles in civil clothes and forced my husband to get out of the car, man-handling him towards the subject vehicle. They then abducted him and took him away and his whereabouts are unknown till now.”
In her application, she also requested immediate action be taken to ensure his swift release.
“In light of the above-mentioned situation, I have no other recourse than to approach your office for registration of my complaint for my missing husband. I would be thankful if an immediate action is taken for his swift release. Furthermore, action in accordance with law must be taken against those who abducted my husband,” she wrote.
Furthermore, Pasha told Geo News that a protest was being held at 4:00pm at the Karachi Press Club to demand her husband’s release.
Condemnations
As the news of Nasir’s abduction went viral, several people and human rights organisations condemned the incident.
Concerned by the abduction, they demanded that Nasir be returned home safely and quickly.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) took to Twitter stating: “HRCP is deeply concerned by reports that lawyer and activist [Jibran Nasir] has been abducted by unknown armed persons in Karachi. We demand that he be safely recovered immediately and his abductors held accountable under the law.”
Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Salman Sufi also tweeted his support for the human rights activist.
“Very disturbing to hear about [Jibran Nasir] abduction. Hope Sindh police will assist his family and locate him immediately. Jibran has always spoken against violent extremism and rioting. Hoping for his safe and immediate return,” he wrote.
Moreover, Imaan Mazari, the daughter of the former human rights minister Shireen Mazari expressed his dismay at the news.
ISLAMABAD: An 8-year-old Afghan girl was raped by a man in broad daylight who managed to run away in the presence of residents of Mohallah Diptian falling in the jurisdiction of Shahzad Town Police Station, The News reported Friday.
The minor victim was shifted to a hospital where the medico-legal official confirmed the rape.
The Shahzad Town police have registered the case against the unidentified rapist under sections 376 and 377/B of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the father of the victim but couldn’t hunt down the rapist till the filing of this report.
Hazar Gul, an Afghan national, hailing from Jalalabad, lodged a complaint with the Shahzad Town, saying that he was living in Mohallah Diptian, located near Mariam Masjid with his family for a couple of months.
“I was present at my house along with my elder brother when we heard some noises from the street, we rushed out of the house and witnessed a young man running towards us, consequently, without knowing the reason for his escape, we both tried to intercept him but he succeeded to let loose from our clutches and ran off from our custody,” the complainant narrating his story, said.
However, he said, “We moved towards the place where people of the street were gathered and saw my minor daughter crying.”
Upon query, the minor victim told him the tale of the brutal attack on her, saying she was playing near her house when she was dragged by the rapist into an under-construction house and raped forcibly.
The DPO (Rural) has taken up the case and asked the Shahzad Town police to take the case as a challenge and use all their efforts to make headway to arrest the rapist, the police sources said.
The SP has constituted teams and sent them to different locations to get a clue about the rapist.
The sources added that the police have rounded up a few suspects for investigation, claiming that the police teams would make headway to the criminal and hunt him down within the next 24 hours.