Connect with us

Pakistan

Present regime and dengue!

Written

on

A few days ago I was busy in a meeting in my office when I received a call from a friend on my phone. I didn't listen to that call due to my busy schedule and thought that I would call back after finishing the meeting, but then the same friend's call started coming again.

Imran Yaqub Khan Profile Imran Yaqub Khan

I hung up the phone again and texted him that I was busy with the meeting, finished and called back. As soon as I read this message, this friend of mine sent me a reply message that Imran Bhai is an emergency, so contact me immediately. As soon as I read this message, I called this friend and he almost cried and told me that my sister is very ill, her platelets are very low due to dengue and the doctors have said that if you take her life If you want to save, take the patient to a good hospital in Lahore immediately. Brother Imran! Do something for God's sake, or my sister will die. We have made every effort for ourselves. There is no bed in any government or private hospital. Help us for God's sake.

I comforted him on my own and said: "You hang up. I'll do something." As soon as I hung up, I called a very close friend of mine, a doctor who is the CEO of a well-known private hospital in Lahore, and stated my case. Expressing his helplessness, Dr Sahib said to me, "Imran bhai, you are well aware that if I have the capacity for one bed, I should be present, but what can I do?" There is no room available and no bed in the ICU. All the hospitals are full of dengue patients. After hearing this denial, I contacted the owner of another well-known hospital in Lahore, located in front of Gaddafi Stadium on Ferozepur Road, through another friend, but got a similar response from there. On the other hand, my friend was constantly crying and calling me to do something for the sake of God.

With every call of his phone, not only my responsibility was increasing but also my embarrassment was constantly increasing. It was increasingly why I could not help him in this troubled world. In the midst of this predicament, I contacted another friend of mine, a doctor who also owns a large private hospital in Lahore, and asked him for some special compassion and help in this whole situation. He was especially kind and told me that there was no room or ICU bed available but that I could do something to alleviate the anxiety of you and your friend in the side room next to the ICU. This patient is admitted and his treatment is started immediately. I especially thanked the doctor and told my friend to take his sister to the hospital immediately.

After going through all this process, I was forced to think why we Pakistanis are deprived of even basic facilities for treatment in case of any disease? Under the Constitution of Pakistan, when it is the responsibility of the government to provide health and medical care to every Pakistani, then why do we have to stumble, be humiliated and seek recommendations for treatment. Don't ask the poor, even though they have money and resources, they have to beg for treatment in private hospitals. Room rent in most private hospitals is higher than in five star hotels, but the people who are willing to spend that much money still don't get the facilities. The poor die wandering around in government hospitals seeking treatment, but no one cares.

According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan spends only 1.2% of its GDP on health, while the WHO suggests Pakistan should spend 5% of GDP on health. When Prime Minister Imran Khan was in opposition, he was openly critical of the lack of health facilities and government policies. He also claimed that after the formation of the PTI government, revolutionary steps would be taken in the field of healthcare in the country, especially at government hospitals where all the medical facilities would be available to the common man. Has this happened? If you ask the truth, the answer is no.

Per official figures released in May 2020, Rs90.1 billion were spent on the health of 111.12 million people in Punjab, the country's largest province. That is Rs818.99 per annum and Rs 68.25 per month were spent for the health of an individual. The Sindh province, which came second in terms of population, spent Rs62.5 billion on the health of its 47.8 million citizens, i.e. Rs1,305 per citizen per year and Rs108.76 per month per month. Balochistan has a population of 12.3 million and has a health budget of Rs15.2 billion, i.e. Rs1,231.32 per citizen per year and Rs102.61 per month. In 2018-19, FATA was not integrated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to which KP had set aside Rs23.5 billion for its population of 35.23 million. Thus, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spent Rs769.90 per person per year and Rs64.15 per month.

Speaking of Islamabad, the federation spent Rs12.4 billion in the health sector last financial year, which was for the citizens of the federal capital as well as for the areas under its jurisdiction. After Corona, dengue has raised more questions about the government performance. The PML-N has sharply criticized the government in this regard. Opposition leader in Punjab Hamza Shehbaz has even said the Punjab government is responsible for the spread of dengue in Punjab, which was pointed out by a report of the health department itself. This year's dengue campaign was ordered at a time when deaths were on the rise.

Whether the people trust the government or the opposition, the truth is that every Pakistani has a constitutional and fundamental right to access appropriate treatment.

Continue Reading

Business

Rupee gains 11 paisa against dollar

The Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP) says the buying and selling rates of the dollar in the open market stood at Rs 278.7 and Rs 281.3, respectively.

Published by Hussnain Bhutta

Published

on

Karachi: Pakistani Rupee on Monday strengthened by 11 paisa against the US dollar in the interbank trading and closed at Rs278.63 against the previous day’s closing of Rs278.74.

However, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling rates of the dollar in the open market stood at Rs 278.7 and Rs 281.3, respectively.

The price of the Euro increased by 19 paisa to close at Rs 303.51 against the last day’s closing of Rs 303.32, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The Japanese Yen came down by 01 paisa and closed at Rs1.86, whereas a decrease of 17 paisa was witnessed in the exchange rate of the British Pound, which was traded at Rs355.00 compared to the last closing of Rs355.17.

The Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal also decreased by 02 paisa and 03 paisa to closed at Rs 75.87 and Rs74.29.

Continue Reading

Sports

McIlroy cards a 65 at Players amid 1st-rd. drama

Rory McIlroy carded a 7-under 65 at the the Players Championship on Thursday despite some controversy following his tee shot on the seventh hole, which found the water, and the ensuing drop.

Published by Web Desk

Published

on

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Despite hitting two tee shots into the water and being at the center of a controversial drop after the second one, four-time major champion Rory McIlroy opened the 50th Players Championship with a 7-under 65 to grab a share of the first-round lead Thursday.

McIlroy, the 2019 Players Championship winner, was tied atop the leaderboard with Xander Schauffele and reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, who had much more uneventful opening rounds at TPC Sawgrass.

McIlroy had just taken the lead at 8 under when he pulled his drive left on the par-4 seventh hole, his 16th of the round. McIlroy's ball crossed a hazard, bounced and kicked into the water.

The issue was whether his ball hit above a red hazard line on the slope of a fairway bunker or below it. If the ball hit above the red line, McIlroy was permitted to take a drop at that spot. If the ball hit below the line, however, he would have to go much farther back to drop and hit his third shot.

From the tee, McIlroy was certain that he saw his ball hit above the red line. Norway's Viktor Hovland and Jordan Spieth, who were playing with McIlroy, didn't seem so sure.

It made for a rather uncomfortable moment in what was generally a comfortable round for McIlroy, who tied a Players Championship record with 10 birdies in a round.

"It would have been nice to shoot 62 and not hit two in the water," McIlroy said.

Canada's Nick Taylor and England's Matt Fitzpatrick were 1 stroke behind at 6 under, while world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, the defending Players Championship winner, was tied for sixth at 5 under, along with Jason Day, Ludvig Åberg and four others.

Play was suspended at 7:32 p.m. ET because of darkness with nine golfers still on the course, and the first round will resume at 8:50 a.m. Friday. The second round will begin as scheduled at 7:40 a.m.

"I knew the scores were going to be fairly low today," said Scheffler, who won last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational and is trying to become the first back-to-back winner at the Players Championship. "The golf course is pretty soft, and we had unusually low winds, I'd say, for TPC Sawgrass, and the scores obviously reflected that."

Scheffler opened with a bogey on the par-4 first hole -- his only one of the round -- and then ran off three straight birdies. He picked up three more birdies on the back.

"You can't really force it around this place, like I've said a bunch of times, you really can't," Scheffler said. "It was nice bouncing back after the rough start and just playing a really good round of golf."

McIlroy's contentious conversation with Hovland and Spieth on the seventh hole was the story of the day. After the round, McIlroy insisted that he saw his ball hit above the red hazard line. He ended up making a double bogey. McIlroy had a similar situation when he hit his tee shot into the water on No. 18, his ninth hole.

"It was just a matter of whether it was above the line or below, and I thought I saw it pitch above the line [on No. 7]," McIlroy said. "[No.] 18 was a pretty similar situation. Again, adamant it crossed, it's just a matter of where it crosses. I think this golf course more than any other, it sort of produces those situations a little bit."

Hovland and Spieth declined to comment after their rounds. Hovland made a double bogey on the last hole to card a 1-over 73; Spieth posted a 2-over 74 with four birdies and six bogeys.

The golfers' conversation on the seventh fairway lasted about 10 minutes before McIlroy took a drop.

"I think Jordan was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing," McIlroy said. "I mean, I was pretty sure that my ball had crossed where I was sort of dropping it. It's so hard, right, because there was no TV evidence. I was adamant. But I think, again, he was just trying to make sure that I was going to do the right thing."

After looking for his ball in the water and not finding it, McIlroy and his caddie, Harry Diamond, walked back to the spot where they believed his ball had landed.

Hovland walked across the fairway with his hand in his pockets and told McIlroy, "We don't know for sure that it crossed the line."

"I'm pretty comfortable saying that it did -- that it landed above the red line," McIlroy said.

"I thought it was really close," Hovland said. "I can't say either way."

Then Spieth walked across the fairway and chimed in. Members of the TV crew had apparently told him that McIlroy's ball hit below the line.

"Everyone that I'm hearing that had eyes on it, which is again not what matters, is saying they're 100 percent certain it landed below the line," Spieth said. "That's all I'm saying."

By that time, a PGA Tour rules official had arrived. McIlroy asked him to check with the TV broadcast, but he was told there were no replays available. McIlroy took a drop and couldn't get up and down, settling for a double-bogey 6. He bounced back with a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole.

"I feel like I'm one of the most conscientious golfers out here, so if I feel like I've done something wrong, it'll play on my conscience for the rest of the tournament," McIlroy said. "I'm a big believer in karma, and if you do something wrong, I feel like it's going to come around and bite you at some point.

"I obviously don't try to do anything wrong out there, and play by the rules and do the right thing. I feel like I obviously did that [on] those two drops."

Schauffele's bogey-free round of 7-under 65 was much more uneventful. He started on the back nine and made the turn at 3 under 33. Then he posted birdies on Nos. 1, 2 and 3 and another one on the par-four fifth.

Schauffele ran into trouble on the seventh hole after blocking his tee shot into the trees to the right. He was 163 yards from the hole and surrounded by limbs. His ball was sitting down and there was one opening-straight up.

After telling his caddie, Austin Kaiser, that he could live with attempting a "hero shot," Schauffele took a full swing and hit a high sweeping shot across a bunker and water. His ball landed in the fairway short of the green, and he chipped to 4 ½ feet and made par.

"It was over everything, but it was just like a window that was pretty high up," Schauffele said. "I would not want to hit the shot again."

The highlight of the day was Ryan Fox's ace on the par-3 17th hole, after he had posted an eagle 3 on the par-5 16th. He became the first golfer in Players Championship history to card a 3-1 on Nos. 16 and 17, according to the PGA Tour. It was the 14th ace on the island-green 17th hole since the tournament moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1983.
Continue Reading

Business

Gold rates decline by Rs.600 to Rs.226,900 per tola

The price of 10 grams of 24 karat gold also decreased by Rs.515 to Rs.194,430 from Rs195,045  whereas the price of 10 gram 22 karat gold went down to Rs.178,319 from Rs 178,791.

Published by Hussnain Bhutta

Published

on

Karachi: The per tola price of 24 karat gold decreased by Rs.600 and was sold at Rs.226,900 on Monday compared to its sale at Rs. 227,500  on last trading day.

The price of 10 grams of 24 karat gold also decreased by Rs.515 to Rs.194,430 from Rs195,045  whereas the price of 10 gram 22 karat gold went down to Rs.178,319 from Rs 178,791, the All Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association reported.

The price of per tola silver decreased by Rs.20 to Rs.2,580 whereas that of ten gram silver declined by Rs.17.15 to 2,211.93.

The price of gold in the international market decreased by $5 to $2,170 from $.2,175, the Association reported.

Continue Reading

Trending