The Daily PakistanPolitics April 16-30, 2020

• Apr30-2020--with oil at around $20 Pakistan considering reducing prices of petrol by 34 rupees...that is still way above actuals as government reluctant to help the people at large...this governments insensitivity to the peoples need or plight is legendary...no previous government has ignored the masses as much as the almost capitalistic or fascist natured PTI..The PPP had calculated a petrol price of Rs.40...The new government price could be around Rs62 per litre...
  
• Apr30-2020--world cases at 3222107....deaths at 228902...five countries with deaths over 20000 and NY with 18000 deaths...deaths possibly the highest in Belgium per number of cases...world cases still rising at the same rate but possibly could start a flattening curve soon hopefully
  
• Apr30-2020--new cases fell slightly to 751 in pakistan...similarly testing in punjab fell to half the sindh levels as sindh and punjab cases became almost the same for the first time...cases climbed however to 16329 and deaths to 361...multan in fourth place with 3.03% cases..new cases comparatively have been higher for the last fifteen days...with flights starting to the USA possibility of a faster spreading virus being introduced exist...punjab many say is forcibly trying to flatten its curve...In KP 103 healthcare workers downed or caught the virus
  
• Apr29-2020--Pakistan now has 14788 cases and 322 deaths
  
• Apr29-2020--The government could announce tax cuts for remmittances as possibility of a 3-5 billion dollar fall is expected by some...in remittances
  
• Apr29-2020--government bans export of edibles...government should also ban import of wet edibles like dates/vegetables to avoid possibility of further virus intrusions in the country...
  
• Apr28-2020--Firdous Ashiq awan was fired after the secretay information told her she would need to pay for her sialkot trips...she said i am an SAPM(primeminister of south africa) and will need a helicopter in that case...someone to the actual primeminister told him "that the viper(some sort of snake) wants a helicopter"...so he fired her for corruption and appointed asim bajawa(one of the ahmedi clan)...kyun...balochistan ka kuch pata hoga's...waise bhi us ko CPEC ki kuch samajh nahin...
  
• Apr28-2020--The PTI policy of throwing money at industry and bussiness wont solve corona...they must make doctors work with dedication rather than sit around on city streets for money or PPE's...and distribute the primeministers corona fund...i am sure it is not going to lay eggs...
  
• Apr28-2020--Sindh governor tests positive for corona...it is a reflection of the Imran Khan casual approach to social distancing
  
• Apr28-2020--Umar Akmal banned for three years while Salim Malik tries to get rehabilitated by being willing to tell all...
  
• Apr28-2020--worldwide cases cross the 3 million mark...recoveries higher in Spain than Italy by almost a hundred percent...medical expertise may also be the problem given the complications
  
• Apr28-2020--Experiences in New York suggest that the corona virus can cause a wide range of illnesses possibly because of patient history or as some say the strength of corona in the human body...There have been sudden deaths, strokes and almost body wide clots apart from respiratory and oxygen problems...young people have also had sudden strokes...relatively healthy people have conked off or died suddenly without reason...
  
• Apr27-2020--Pakistan corona cases have risen to 13789 with 289 deaths...punjab cases at 5446...europe claims deaths and new cases are declining...europe and the USA have to stabilize before the world can start working again...PPP asks for a Rs40 petrol price...technically petrol price in pakistan should be around the world price doubled in Rupees...ie somewhere between Rs40 and 50
  
• Apr27-2020--KP has a hundred of the 300 corona deaths with 58 just in peshawar...and at least two senior doctors have died there
  
• Apr27-2020--In something that is typically regarded as a PTI failure or something that they have a no knowledge about...a new information minister was appointed in Shibli Faraz...suna he log mar ke janat jaate hein...so mar ke dekhte hein...and Firdous Ashiq was replaced by a reired Lt General...who probably failed at running CPEC or providing the chinese security...Imran Khans policy of following military dictators by having dual or multiple people responsible for something like information in these days of technology is probably the cause..Imran Khan is a diehard opponent of democracy or parliamentary governance...he changes stances frequently and is seemingly unable to explain things...for example no one knows why reallocation of billions or the entire budget was not sent to parliament for approval...similarly with so much allocated for Corona what is the need for a Primeministers Fund and what is being done with it...no one knows that too...apparently it might be the Primeministers personal Kharcha many say...!personality wise the two new men are completely different from the earlier information ministry sycophants...Firdous could cut and paste anything...information wise...probably Imran Khan wants a different handler...military spokesman are literally propagandists dealing in india and army/terrorism/army chiefs(usually they kill a couple of soldiers in south waziristan to gain sympathy)...so lets see if Imran Khan comes across as a failure prone pro indian politician or a dogooder coupplotter/military attache who have never in pakistani history done any wrong...one is sure that the new information walas cannot change a failure to a success...
  
• Apr26-2020--460 more arrive from afghanistan...government should realize that it could be bringing in different kinds of corona when it wants to bring people back from the US...!
  
• Apr26-2020--...heres some homeopathic relief for corona...Arsenicum Album strength 30...one to three drops three times daily or more frequently...no eating half an hour before or after...potency can be increased to 200, 1000 or 10000 if required..In some cases Ars CM maybe needed...!
  
• Apr25-2020--Pakistan army issue pathetic statement on why they donot take on the the indians on the LOC...according to the military spokesman they are hiding their long range artillery amongst the civilian population...and they are constrained by the indian governments anti muslim revulsion...!Instead of explaining reasons for the indians attitude they should also fire back with supposedly accurate range finding artillery...pakistan even fails to take on the animosity prone indian military propaganda tirades...it is almost the sign of a military that has admitted defeat and is more interested in civilian and political work than its actual task of defending pakistan on the eastern border
  
• Apr25-2020--Pakistan now has 12644 cases and 268 deaths...a military man possibly a retired soldier died in a military hospital from kallar syedan near Rawalpindi...the military does not issue a bulletin on its corona cases...Lahore has the highest case percentage of 23% amongst cities...followed by karachi and peshawar...other areas have a fairly lower similar percentage
  
• Apr25-2020--pretty late in the day Pakistan has asked for allowing PIA flights to the USA to pick up stranded Pakistanis such as an aging actress Meera who is possibly a friend of Imran Khan...The USA should be wary of allowing such flights because of the Pakistanis Chinese connection...!other suggest that the PIA will spray an antidote over New York...!
  
• Apr25-2020--The kameeni government of Imran Khan has decreased rates on National savings...defence savings which is usually attractive now offers at 8.45%...possibly they were investing in treasury certificates....while helping out the millionaire-billionaire tabqa the government has again victimised the lower income groups mainly women based investors...while NS sees some very high investments by women who sell property and invest in the safer certificates when their husbands pass away...some expatriates also have heavy investments
  
• Apr25-2020--women tend to have a lesser chance of getting the virus...most of the deaths occur in the over 50 group...occurrence is highest in the 30-39 group at 18.6%...occurrence is fairly distributed amongst the 20-69 age group...women death rate is slightly higher than the occurrence...
  
• Apr24-2020-- foreign remmittances which is Pakistans mainstay over the decades to fall 23% to around $17 billion in 2020 as compared to $22.5 billion in 2019 says the WB...exports fell $1 billion in march while imports have fallen 16% to $32 billion in the first nine months...however exports are similar to last years $18.256 billion at this point...
  
• Apr24-2020--there are around 100 vaccine projects around the world
  
• Apr24-2020--local transmissions of corona have climbed to 79% which shows that the authorities have not figured how and who to stop...
  
• Apr24-2020--doctors in New York suggest that patients isolated at home may not know how badly they are doing due to silent hypoxia...they suggest that patients acquire an oximeter so that they know how much oxygen is in the blood...such patients can improve if oxygen is delivered directly rather than putting them on a ventilator which they say should be used for gasping patients...oxygen in blood below 90% is a problem...they say covid patients lungs and heart do not function normally and despite low oxygen the patient seems tobe doing well...!another doctor suggests a heart monitoring watch...as well
  
• Apr24-2020--wasteful spending by the PTI government and the corona virus have virtually turned Pakistan into a Beggaristan...Imran Khan has literally begged for anything that anyone can give...reports earlier from USA sources that Pakistan would have to make huge repayments on their Chinese debt have been proved correct...next year China is owed around $5 billion of the $12 billion repayments...!
  
• Apr24-2020--reports suggest that Pakistan has not carried out even a single post mortem on covid fatalities...
  
• Apr24-2020--Deaths in US rise to 50177 and the cases are 887787...the worldwide death figure is 190490 from 2.6 million cases...deaths in the USA are below the world average but cases are still very high which is also the case in Germany...worldwide the cases have been rising since mid march and are at or around the 100000 mark per day...the USA says that its ICU treatments are the best in the world
  
• Apr24-2020--tired looking generals attended a briefing at the ISI HQ...The ISI has been unable to deal with continuous malicious Indian propaganda one of which accuses the Pakistan army of pushing corona patients into azad kashmir and IOK...corona patients normally are not that well to travel thru rugged mountains...AJK has 55 patients...and only patients coming from abroad and resident of AJK are shifted to AJK
  
• Apr24-2020--Dawn reports that scientists have identified 33 mutations in the corona virus from just 11 patients in China which maybe cause various strength reactions in patients...
  
• Apr24-2020--latest cases in Pakistan 11145 with 237 deaths...Pakistan has not been able to restrict the virus spread and cases have been increasing at over 500 per day
  
• Apr23-2020--Imran Khan the other day was comparing Pakistan to the USA and Japan...they give dole...we give dole...we compensate millionaires they compensate small shopkeepers...The USA dole for corona was $1200 and people earning upto $70000 got it...In Pakistan the corona dole is $70 and only a miniscule 6-7% got it...they say people in USA asking for a second installment...Imran Khan when queried whether a second installment was on the cards responded that daal sabzi is cheaper here...yesterday the rehri walas had upped vegetables to Rs80 per kilo from Rs30 a few days ago...the rehriwalas said the political riffraff had imposed a corona tax...many have suggested that the salaries of Bajwa, president and Imran Khan be reduced to Rs12000 for three months...!would that not be real insaf...!still others say that PTI higher ups have asked city organizations to deposit huge amounts of cash and they in turn are resorting/ to devious methods/extortion
  
• Apr23-2020--Pakistan army chief testing positive for corona rumour persists...apparently all corp commanders and GHQ staff tobe tested...others suggest that Imran Khan trying to get rid of Bajwa...
  
• Apr23-2020--Imran Khan tests negative for corona virus--found shaking hands with faisal edhi who was tested positive......a supposedly fake facebook page suggests that the pakistan army chief has contracted corona...North Koren leader said tobe struggling after cardiovascular operation...pakistani government cabinet are susceptible to corona as they donot adopt masks and social distancing...
  
• Apr23-2020--world deaths surge to 182359...In pakistan cases rise to 10503 with 220 deaths
  
• Apr23-2020--US doctors say that many of the corona victims have numerous blood clots in all organs...ie from the legs to the lungs and brain and some high dose blood thinners are suggested keeping in mind that bleeding maynot be the outcome...doctors in France suggest that smokers have a lesser chance of getting corona and they will be experimenting with nicotine patches which may reduce immune responses in patients...another report suggests that asthmatics also have a low chance of catching corona...!
  
• Apr22-2020--Pakistan's NIH has opposed experimental treatments for corona such as malaria drugs and some available antivirals...an anti parisitic drug "Ivermectin" with a single dose has also shown promise...Doctors in the USA say that stopping cytokene storms maybe be one way to save patients lives...they suggest that normal heart medications and rheumatoid athritis drugs Actemra and Auranofin have shown promise...the abnormal immune reactions and severe arrythmia's they say cause most of the deaths and the patients seem to have symptoms of high altitude disease which theoretically suggests that bodies oxygen supply is scarce...people on ventilators too have problems...Pakistan obviously has no supply of experimental antivirals and rheumatoid athritis drugs anyway...that leaves patients nothing else but heart medications and soup...say some...!if a patient develops pneumonia symptoms than pneumonia drugs should be tried...plus some anti inflammation and lung treatment like an anti asthmatic and even Benadryl/prednisolone i suppose might help
  
• Apr21-2020--with Pakistan only needing dollars to buy test kits the rupee has bounced back as another 2 billion FDI flowed in...government should realize that the dollar has nowhere to invest and they should also reduce rates...The government should save needless subsidies on industries...the government suggests that only 16% households are food insecure...that seems tobe a very low figure when poverty is around 30-40%...and god knows what it is without jobs at the lower level...the US State of Missouri has sued China over Covid's loss of jobs and tourism and revenues...They say only the USA has lost the equivalent of $253 billion annually in tourism losses...futures in oil went negative for May in the USA as oil demand continued to fall
  
• Apr21-2020--The world is banking on some improvement to ease lockdowns...apart from the top five problem countries others are trying to ease lock-down...with Denmark saying they are opening kindergardens...others look at stabilising or falling death figures and falling new cases...however worldwide cases are still rising as fast as recent figures...2531804 overall cases and 171334 deaths...
  
• Apr21-2020--Pakistan cases spiked 705 to 9665 (latest) with 207 deaths...The primeminister warned mosques to follow guidlines...the same warning must be issued to the primeminister and other ministers who should also be locked up for not following rules...mosques are not as dangerous as opening industries, markets, shops and wasting money on subsidizing industry...rather than going to improve healthcare...the government says that it has quarantined 20000 tableeghis but that is not apparent on the ground...Pakistan says that it is increasing capacity to 25000 tests per day but is barely able to carry out 5000...The shaukat khanum trust despite no covid cases says it still wants donations for masks when rumours suggest that they have Rs10 billion in the kitty...earlier rumours suggested that like shifa, agha khan...etc. shaukat Khanum too was charging high rates for covid tests which the private sector says costs around Rs4000...Only Riphah has announced free online consultancies for April...other types of patients are apparently wary of hospitals given an already bad and many times dubious reputation...
  
• Apr20-2020--Africa has over 1000 covid deaths
  
• Apr20-2020--Pakistan army has two covid cases one in murree and one in jhelum...earlier reports suggested eight cases in Bhawalpur CMH
  
• Apr20-2020--181 cases in islamabad from chatta bakhtawar, g-6, F-10, PWD colony, PIMs colony, bara kahu, polyclinic..cases spreading far and wide...In Pakistan 8678 cases and 181 deaths...167592 deaths worldwide...cases surge in Russia to 47000...deaths in Iran over 5000
  
• Apr20-2020--they opened the torkham border to allow in pakistani truckers...of the 195...35 were corona positive...they should probably stop inter country travellers and intercity ones too...open the cities but not the option to travel round...travelling causes the corona virus seemingly more opportunities...
  
• Apr20-2020--The Viriology Institute in Wuhan also called P-4 is the center of intense speculation about whether it let fly a few Corona viruses that caused the worldwide spread of the disease.It is a top secret place and the director says that they have been studying all aspects of the virus but that it could not have escaped from the lab...given the machiavelian nature of the virus it could easily have flown the coop as little is understood about how fast it can spread...or move...maybe it can fly too...The US has called for an investigation of the lab...the virus itself could have various strong and weak versions which causes different mild and strong reactions in the human body...Obviously people who have other ailments like heart and diabetes and kidney disease suffer a worst fate..doctors should see to it they get basic heart and diabetes medicines alongwith remdesivir...and a probably a dose of "Ivermectin"
  
• Apr19-2020--In Rawalpindi, Pakistan there are 205 confirmed cases...1744 cases have been quarantined and there are 48 confirmed cases in Jhelum
  
• Apr19-2020--almost 8212 cases in Pakistan at the latest count...with 167 deaths..cases rising everywhere but the GB and AJK
  
• Apr19-2020--for the last fourteen days corona cases have galluped ahead at over 100k a day to almost 2.4 million...over 100000 deaths in Europe and over 39154 in the USA...total deaths 162032
  
• Apr17-2020--US deaths reach an astounding 33633 with over 11000 in New York...
  
• Apr17-2020--Pakistan owes 12.73 billion dollars to various countries and donors in 2021...next year Pakistan has to repay 2.5 billion dollars to commercial creditors of which 2.3 billion is due to China...next 6.79 billions is owed to non paris countries China, Saudi and UAE ..dollars 1.627 billion to donors like WB...and 787 million to paris group creditors...Pakistan has in the past paid upto 5-9 billion in annual repayments so the present situation seems normally better than before...what the G20 has suggested is that repayments owed for seven months in 2020 be suspended and be turned into a new loan tobe repaid in Jun 2022 over a three year period...not much of a debt relief but beggars cant be choosers...so Pakistan could save upto $6 billion this year...Saudia says that the suggestion is that no repayments be made for ten months...Pakistan could be making upto $6 billion annual repayments from next year to China which the government wants tobe rescheduled...
  
• Apr16-2020--There does not seem tobe a flattening of the curve anywhere...Pakistani cases as in the world are all an upward straight line..however in some places they say deaths are flattening out...the highest recovered number is still in china which could suggest that the Chinese hauled of everyone to the hospital...anyway the world cases are a roller coaster and are definitely at a peak...Things could be different in the USA because of the large number of cases...Pakistani leaders creating a false sense of reality by talking about a doom but not being careful enough...Pakistanis seemingly tired of staying at home...and they would probably be happy to go to a mosque on friday...
  
• Apr16-2020--In the USA unemployed claims were rising at 6 million a week...relatively well off people seem tobe standing in line...first time unemployed claims have risen to 22 million...most states think that another month of lockdown is necessary...In New York at least over 10000 per million people are infected which is one of the highest in the world...comparatively China had only 58 per million people infected...
  
• Apr16-2020--the difference between a PTI minister and special assistant is usually that apart from Ashiq Awan ie most relate to attacking the opposition ie the PMLn and PPP...u know the murad saeed and faisal wawda types..the special assistants usually are out to allocate billions for their own personal special interests...Sattar dawood types want zero taxes for all exports..he probably does not represent textile exporters now probably...and than there was the FBR chief working for nothing just keeping the big guys happy..they must not be hurt they are taxpayers...or like Ashiq Awan saying PRime Minister Imran Khanm will not make a trip to Sindh ...i forbid it...but he will travel to the provinces she says the next day...unfortunately there is not enough in the Covid Relief fund for his tickets...actually petrol for his falcon...she called ikram sehgal...who apparently told her to buzz off...she said the government apparently has no problem paying for her travel...every day she is either in lahore, sialkot or islamabad...cant she issue statements from Islamabad...no she has to advise them what to say and is actually a politically devious assistant...!others say that Bushra imran has come out in support of a lockdown... she says things/environment were so peaceful...otherwise those nasty generals would turn up at 2am in the morning...
  
• Apr16-2020--Pakistan cases jump to 6861 with 124 deaths..active cases 5088...highest death case of 17 in last twenty four hours...government seems to have a muddled-mixed up response with the situation not alarming but still evolving...Army and ISI despite their irrelevance try to still look important...Armed forces should open all their hospitals to free civilian treatments for the duration even if they cant create covid people wards...The Imran Khan system of having special assistants and ministers looking odd and awry...ministers doing nothing while assistants lording it over the public and beaurocracy...The CJ should immediately remove all the assistants and suggest that ministers get of their butts...The asistants think that the primemnister part is important rather than special assistant part...so they say their designation is --primeminister rather than SAPM
  
• Apr16-2020--All the important countries have more covid cases and it is like a new list of importance in the world...with poorer and poverty stricken countries having lesser cases...World case rise to 2065096, with deaths mounting to 137124...deaths rise in France to 17167...In the US over 3 million people have been tested with 639664 cases...either the recovered can increase or their will be catastrophic deaths
  
• Apr16-2020--The WHO funding has been stopped by Donald Trump...The WHO is slow and still feeling what to do while reports suggest that covid was around for some time in many countries apparently it only got an email from Taiwan end December...WHO has been doing nothing...it seems that its job is just to announce that it is a pandemic or epidemic...while it should have been leading the fight which countries have been dealing with it with their own administrative resources and suspect technical know how...the lack of technical expertise amongst doctors seems worldwide...it still has not put out a standard way to deal with covid...i think noone wants to know about handwashing and social distancing and lockdowns and masks and gloves and crying doctors...USA leads with 28579 deaths...governments trying to ease lockdowns everywhere...WHO should have immediately hired viral expertise and issued grassroots handling manuals...instead there were widespread reports that nothing could be done and there was no treatment or vaccine...
  
• Apr16-2020--In Pakistan reports of corruption never take a back seat...already there are reports that government hospitals looting testing kits and masks...even the president robbed a mask...now he is being offered gloves and a handwash wherever he goes...some hospitals denying tests...and there are the usual cases of patients(in this case a prayer leader) being transferred from Narowal to Lahore and arriving dead ...after a negative test in Narowal the police caught them with the dead body in a vehicle and said they could not have a normal funeral and after a while they were told to have ten people at the funeral in PPE's which were provided by the local administration...