MEASLES OUTBREAK
A Pakistani boy suffering from Measles gets vaccinated at a medical camp in Larkana, Sindh province, yesterday. Pakistani health authorities were scrambling to vaccinate nearly 3mn children, after a measles outbreak.
Afghan inmate kills wife during prison visit
An Afghan prisoner murdered his wife during a conjugal visit, allegedly because she had been unfaithful after he was jailed for killing her relatives, police said yesterday. Din Mohamed was sentenced to 20 years in prison two years ago for killing his mother-in-law, and his wife’s brother and sister in the northern province of Samangan. Mohamed’s wife, whose name has not been disclosed, visited him in jail in the provincial capital Aybak on Monday and was found dead in a small private room used for inmates to see their wives, police said. Mohamed confessed to her murder, Samangan police chief Ikram Nikzad said.
PPP working to overcome Tahirul Qadri’s long march
The ruling Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) and the main opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), have taken identical positions on the long march announced by Dr Tahirul Qadri and supported by Altaf Hussain. This has paved the way for emergence of new political alliances. The majority of the ruling coalition, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which has backed the call for the long march, is no more part of the alliance for all practical purposes although it hasn’t officially parted ways with the government. Sources said Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) of Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain would support the MQM-Qadri alliance as long as it dents the PML-N.
Pak PM to preside over debate at UN Council
Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf will be visiting the United States in the third week of January, where he will preside over a debate on “UN Peacekeeping: a multidimensional approach” at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in New York, on January 21. This will be his first official visit to the US as prime minister. The open debate will be regarding, “UN Peacekeeping: a multidimensional approach”, with the objective of having a comprehensive view of the United Nations peacekeeping, which is the biggest and the most prominent area of work of the organisation and one of the most important tools at the disposal of the Security Council.
House to okay $500mn loans from IMF, ADB
A special panel of Pakistan’s National Assembly (the lower house) is likely to table loan agreements with a ceiling limit of over $500mn funded by the IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank before the Parliament for approval. The government also informed the special committee - constituted by the Parliament on domestic and foreign loans under chairperson, Shahnaz Wazir Ali, that it would table a package before the Council of Common Interest (CCI) for placing binding constraints on provinces to share the burden of public debt exceeding 60% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).