As coronavirus crisis ravages Pakistan, military trumps Imran Khan

News Network
April 26, 2020

Islamabad, Apr 26: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been trumped by the country's powerful military yet again, this time over his government's inadequate steps and its poor response in curbing the coronavirus outbreak in the country, even as cases soared over 12,500.

In his address to the nation on March 22, Khan explained the reasons for not imposing a countrywide lockdown, asserting that millions would lose their jobs and affect families, who are below the poverty line, struggling to find enough food to eat. However, less than 24 hours later, Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar announced the implementation of lockdown in the country having a population of over 200 million, contradicting the statements made by Imran Khan.

As lockdown was imposed, the military has deployed troops across Pakistan and is orchestrating the COVID-19 response through the National Core Committee, a body set up to coordinate policy between the national and provincial governments.

"The government left a big gap in its handling of the coronavirus. The army has tried to fill that gap, there was no choice," an unnamed retired general was quoted by Financial Times as saying.

The virus crisis in Pakistan has once again made things crystal clear about who is calling the shots -- the military, widely believed to bring Imran Khan to power in 2018.

The armymen have taken over the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to prove their competency in contrast to Imran Khan, who was mocked after urging youth to come forward and join Corona Relief Tigers Force, a volunteer body to wage "jihad" against the virus.

According to analysts, the military's seizure of the coronavirus response marks yet another policy failure for Imran Khan in the eyes of the generals, as per the Financial Times report.

The 67-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has repeatedly failed to gain international traction over the Kashmir issue and has struggled to convince the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in getting his country removed from 'grey list' for terror funding.

In times of emergency, one has to take clear decisions and take them through. You can't dither. The whole world is advising strong lockdown. If the prime minister does not show that he is decisive, somebody else will," said Nafisa Shah, a Member of Parliament from the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Even after the lockdown was imposed, Imran Khan continued to question the need for its implementation, raising eyebrows over the country's response in tackling the virus, as cases continue to rise. This comes even as such drastic measures are in place in many countries across the world, including neighbouring India.

According to The Dawn, the country has 12,657 confirmed cases of COVID-19, which includes 2,755 recoveries and 265 deaths. Punjab has the highest number of cases -- 5,326 --, followed by 4,232 in Sindh.

However, experts suggest that the actual numbers could be more given the low testing rates and inadequate supply of testing kits.

Doctors and nurses across the country have staged protests over the lack of personal protective equipment, as increasing numbers of health workers contract COVID-19.

"Because of the lack of resources, there is chaos among the doctors and healthcare workers. They know people are dying, they know the severity of the illness and they have to work without PPE," Shoaib Hasan Tarar, a doctor working in Rawalpindi, was quoted as saying.

As the coronavirus crisis continues to ravage Pakistan, the country's overwhelming health infrastructure has put a toll on its already floundering economy. The IMF said that the GDP will shrink 1.5 per cent in 2020. The cash-strapped nation is set to be the first major emerging economy to apply to a G-20 initiative to request debt repayment relief, according to Financial Times.

In early March, Pakistan saw a surge in coronavirus cases, when infected pilgrims and workers crossed the border from Qom, a religious city in Iran, which is a hotspot.

Pakistan's limited resources were exposed when quarantined pilgrims agitated against unhealthy conditions at Taftan camp on Pakistan-Iran border, where five people were living in a tent with no access to toilets.

While the lockdown is in place, authorities have been confronted by hardline clerics who have defied social distancing terms and downplayed the threat of the virus. During Friday prayers every week, worshippers violate the restrictions by gathering at various mosques.

Last week, Islamabad inked an agreement allowing mosques to stay open for Ramzan. It stipulated that people should follow 20 rules, including maintaining a six feet distance from each other.

"There is little consistency in terms of how the lockdown is being approached. Coronavirus has shown the disconnect between the national government, regional governments and the military. Imran Khan has been left behind as the cheerleader for keeping Pakistan's morale high. I think people are starting to ask, 'How long is he going to last?'", said Sajjan Gohel, South Asia expert and guest teacher at the London School of Economics.

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News Network
May 3,2020

London, May 3: The British government had a contingency plan for prime minister Boris Johnson’s death as his condition deteriorated while he battled COVID-19 last month in intensive care, Johnson said in an interview with The Sun newspaper.

Johnson returned to work on Monday, a month after testing positive for COVID-19. Johnson, 55, spent 10 days in isolation in Downing Street from late March, but was then was taken to London’s St Thomas’ Hospital where he received oxygen treatment and spent three nights in intensive care.

“They had a strategy to deal with a ‘death of Stalin’-type scenario,” Johnson, 55, was quoted as saying by The Sun. “It was a tough old moment, I won’t deny it.”

After Johnson was discharged, St Thomas’ said it was glad to have cared for the prime minister, but the hospital has given no details about the gravity of his illness beyond stating that he was treated in intensive care.

Johnson and his fiancée, Carrie Symonds, on Saturday announced the name of their newly born son as Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas, partly as a tribute to two of the intensive care doctors who they said had saved Johnson’s life.

“The doctors had all sorts of arrangements for what to do if things went badly wrong,” Johnson said of his COVID-19 battle. “The bloody indicators kept going in the wrong direction.”

He said doctors discussed invasive ventilation.

“The bad moment came when it was 50-50 whether they were going to have to put a tube down my windpipe,” he said. “That was when it got a bit . . . they were starting to think about how to handle it presentationally.”

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News Network
May 7,2020

Islamabad, May 7: Pakistan's COVID-19 cases have crossed 24,000 after 1,523 new infections were detected, while the death toll has jumped to 564 with 38 more people succumbing to the coronavirus, health officials said on Thursday.

Even as the country is seeing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases and fatalities, Prime Minister Imran Khan will discuss the easing of lockdown restrictions with his top aides on Thursday.

The Ministry of National Health Services said that out of the 24,073 total cases, Punjab reported 9,077, Sindh 8,640, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 3,712, Balochistan 1,495, Islamabad 521, Gilgit-Baltistan 388 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 76 cases.

After 38 more deaths on Wednesday, the total coronavirus patient death toll jumped to 564. Another 6,464 have recovered. A total of 1,523 new patients were added in a single day, the ministry.

So far, 244,778 tests have been conducted, including 12,196 in the last 24 hours, it said.

Prime Minister Khan will chair the National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting on easing the lockdown restrictions in the country. The meeting will be attended by all chief ministers.

The issue was debated in the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday and in the Cabinet on Tuesday.

Planning Minister Asad Umar said that different proposals to allow certain businesses to open were prepared and will be presented before the Prime Minister for a final decision.

Earlier, Khan, undeterred by the mounting number of deaths and the new cases, announced that he was against a lockdown as it hits the poor people badly.

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Agencies
April 21,2020

Washington D.C., April 21: North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, is in grave danger following a surgery this month, according to a US intelligence official with direct knowledge.

Kim recently missed the celebration of his grandfather's birthday on April 15, which raised speculation about his well-being. He had been seen four days before that at a government meeting, according to intelligence reports cited by CNN.

The National Security Council and Office of the Director of National Intelligence have however declined to comment on the matter.

CNN has also reached out to the CIA and the State Department for comment and sought comment from the South Koreans.

Kim's absences from official state media often spark speculation and rumors about his health. North Korea has no free press and is often a black hole when it comes to the country's leadership. Analysts are heavily reliant on scanning state media dispatches and watching propaganda videos for any semblance of a clue.

Kim last appeared in North Korean state media on April 11. April 15 -- North Korea's most important holiday, the anniversary of the birth of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung -- came and went without any official mention of Kim Jong Un's movements.

Experts are unsure of what to make of Kim's absence from any festivities celebrating his grandfather. When North Korean leaders have not shown up to these important celebrations in the past, it has portended major developments. But it has also turned out to be nothing.

"There have been a number of recent rumours about Kim's health (smoking, heart, and brain). If Kim is hospitalized, it would explain why he wasn't present on the important April 15th celebrations," said Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former CIA deputy division chief for North Korea. "But, over the years, there have been a number of false health rumors about Kim Jong-un or his father. We'll have to wait and see."

Kim Jong Il's absence from a parade celebrating North Korea's 60th anniversary in 2008 was followed by rumblings that he was in poor health. It was later revealed he had a stroke, after which his health continued to decline until his death in 2011.

Kim Jong Un disappeared from the public eye for more than a month in 2014, which also prompted speculation about his health. He returned sporting a cane, and days later South Korean intelligence said that he had a cyst removed from his ankle.

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