Islamabad: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Thursday responded to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's six-day ultimatum to the government to dissolve assemblies and announce elections. 

According to details, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that people have outrightly rejected PTI's march of chaos and anarchy. “Imran Niazi reneged on his promise with the Supreme Court to hold a rally at a designated place, and he broke his word by announcing to march towards D-Chowk”

In a statement, he said PTI Chairman Imran Khan, in complete violation of the Supreme Court's orders, entered Islamabad's D Chowk.

The Minister said PTI's armed protesters kept on burning and destroying public properties the whole last night.

He said police did not even fire a single rubber bullet, but eighteen police and Rangers personnel got injured in the turmoil created by PTI hooligans.

Paying rich tribute to the police and Rangers, the Interior Minister said security forces will continue protecting the lives and properties of the people.

It is pertinent to remember that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has called off his most anticipated long march, giving a six-day ultimatum to the government to dissolve assemblies and announce elections. 

While addressing the participants of the ‘Azadi March’ at Jinnah Avenue, Imran Khan said he had reached Islamabad after 30 hours of traveling from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).

He warned the government that if an announcement of elections will not be made, he will return to Islamabad-- demanding assemblies be dissolved forthwith.

Khan and the top party leaders left the container soon after the speech while the party workers managed to enter the Red Zone despite heavy security.

Before the arrival of PTI Chairman Imran Khan at the designated area, the PTI MNAs and workers gathered at D-Chowk where a clash broke out between them and anti-riot police and law-enforcement agencies. 

Police baton-charged and tear-gased the protesters.

The D-Chowk turned into a battlefield between the Islamabad police and the PTI leaders and activists on early Thursday. 

PTI MNA Zartaj Gul got fainted. Many women and children got affected by tear gas shelling.  

Some officials of police and Rangers also suffered injuries in the clashes. The protesters set some trees and vehicles ablaze. 

In a statement released on Twitter, the police noted that when the fire brigade doused the blazes, the protestors once again set fire the Express Chowrangi on fire. 

Since being removed from power through a no-confidence vote in April, the cricketer-turned-politician heaped pressure on Pakistan's fragile new coalition rulers by staging mass rallies, touting a claim he was turned out from office in a "foreign conspiracy". 

In a centerpiece showdown with his rivals, Khan had called for supporters of his party to gather in Islamabad and stage a sit-in until fresh elections are called.

The government headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has pledged to stop the convoy from entering the city, calling the rally an attempt to "divide the nation and promote chaos".

All major roads surrounding Islamabad, where a heavy security presence is in place, were blocked off with shipping containers while entry and exit points of major nearby cities were also cut off.

Sporadic clashes broke out between police and protesters who have tried to clear the roads, with tear gas fired in several cities.

Khan joined the march in dramatic fashion, arriving in a helicopter that touched down on a motorway clogged with supporters outside the city of Mardan.

The convoy later crossed a bridge that straddles PTI-run Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and government-run Punjab province, where shipping containers blocking the route were pushed to the side of the road by protesters.

Earlier, soldiers were deployed at the Prime Minister's Office and the Parliament to avoid any untoward incident in the wake of PTI's long march and the presence of charged workers.

"Pakistan Army has been called in for the security of government’s offices located in the Red Zone," the notification read. 

As the situation turned chaotic after the police clashed with the PTI workers ahead of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's political rally in Islamabad, the government has sought the help of the army to control the situation. 

Geneva: Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said Wednesday it had come up with PCR tests that can detect monkeypox, as the virus spreads outside endemic countries.

Roche and its subsidiary TIB Molbiol have developed three test kits which are for use by researchers in most countries worldwide, the Basel-based firm said.

The first kit detects viruses in the wider orthopoxvirus group. The second detects monkeypox viruses only, while the third detects both simultaneously.

"Roche has very quickly developed a new suite of tests that detect the monkeypox virus and aid in following its epidemiologic spread," said diagnostics chief Thomas Schinecker.

"Diagnostic tools are crucial for responding to and ultimately controlling emerging public health challenges as they advance response measures such as tracing efforts and treatment strategies."

Roche said the research test kits could assess the spread of the virus and help monitor the potential impact of treatments, vaccines, and public health measures.

The World Health Organization said that as of May 22, more than 250 confirmed and suspected cases had been officially reported to the UN health agency from 16 countries outside endemic nations in west and central Africa.

The WHO says a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is the "preferred laboratory test given its accuracy and sensitivity". For this, optimal samples are from skin lesions and dry crusts.

It says PCR blood tests are usually inconclusive and should not be routinely collected from patients.

The WHO says antigen and antibody detection methods do not distinguish between orthopoxviruses.

WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said Wednesday that countries had been sharing information that was allowing the agency to better understand the spread of monkeypox.

He said its origins at the animal-human interface had not been properly controlled, "and we're paying a price now in monkeypox for an unmanaged, endemic disease which we do not fully understand".

"We have not put in place preventive measures and we're now dealing with a multi-country event directly related to our inability, or unwillingness, to manage those risks earlier," he said.

SOURCE: AFP

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the progress of Pakistan was linked with the supremacy of the Constitution and ensuring the rule of law.

The prime minister expressed these views in an interaction with the personnel of law enforcement agencies, who were deployed in the Red Zone to ensure law and order during the long march of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

PM Sharif lauded the personnel of Rangers, Islamabad Police, and the capital’s Traffic Police for rendering their duties professionally and protecting the lives and property of the people.

On his way to National Assembly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stops by D-Chowk to appreciate the efforts of Police, Rangers, Administration and other law enforcing agencies in maintaining law & order & protecting lives & properties of the public despite all odds. pic.twitter.com/0ZoMmC4wCY

— Prime Minister's Office (@PakPMO) May 26, 2022

The prime minister appreciated the dedication of the law enforcement personnel to performing their official duties regardless of their political affiliation.

He lauded Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Defence Minister Khwaja Asif for dealing with the challenge effectively.

The prime minister emphasized unity among all the ranks of the nation to eliminate the scourge of anarchy and chaos.

He stressed everyone to demonstrate the spirit of sacrifice and patriotism to make the homeland a citadel of peace.