80,973 pilgrims offered medical care in Makkah, Madinah
MINA, Saudi Arabia June 26 (APP): A total of 80,973 pilgrims have benefited from medical care at hospitals and health centers in Makkah and Madinah during the last eight days.
Pilgrims were also alerted to the dangers of heat stress during Hajj, which is seeing a rise in temperatures that pose a threat to their health.
A data issued by the Ministry of Health here on Monday, the specialized healthcare services include 23 open-heart surgeries, 168 cardiac catheters, 464 dialysis sessions and 41 endoscopies, among others.
The Ministry emphasized that using umbrellas, drinking plenty of fluids, avoiding physical exertion and following health guidelines can help protect pilgrims from heatstroke or heat stress.
Meanwhile, the ministry said hospitals it operates in Arafat are ready to provide all kinds of medical care to pilgrims.
It said Jabal Al-Rahma Hospital, Arafat General Hospital, Namera Hospital and East Arafat Hospital, as well as a field hospital and 46 health centers manned by more than 1,700 personnel specialized in different medical fields, have been equipped with the latest medical devices, technology and supplies.
Similarly, more than 900 beds have been prepared in the four hospitals, fully equipped to receive cases of sunstroke, heat exhaustion and other emergencies, as have the intensive care units.
Control Room launched to serve pilgrims through AI
MINA, Saudi Arabia June 26 (APP): Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Abdulfattah bin Sulaiman Mashat on Monday launched a Control Room of National Tawafa Establishment for Pilgrims of Turkey and Muslims of Europe, Americas and Australia.
The basic objective of the Control Room is to facilitate, through Artificial Intelligence, the work that goes into serving pilgrims.
According to Dr. Wael Halabi, a Member of the Establishment’s Board of Directors, the room has been equipped with advanced technology including security monitoring to identify pilgrims’ faces.
He said the Room will measure temperature, humidity, and all vital parameters, as well as density of pilgrims in one site in order to facilitate transportation and travel.
Rain likely at various parts of country: PMD
ISLAMABAD, Jun 26 (APP): Rain-wind thundershower is expected in Punjab, Islamabad, Potohar region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northeast and east Balochistan, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan during the next 24 hours,
Isolated heavy falls (with isolated hailstorms) are also expected in Kashmir, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and south Punjab.
According to the synoptic situation, a seasonal low was lying over northeast Balochistan. A westerly wave was also affecting the upper and western parts of the country.
During the last 24 hours, rain wind-thunderstorm occurred in Punjab, Islamabad, Potohar region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, north/east Balochistan and Kashmir.
The rainfall recorded was in Punjab:Lahore (Airport 255mm, Lakshmi Chowk 241, Pani Wala Talab 236, Qurtaba Chowk 230, Gulshan-e-Ravi 213, Nister Town 202, Iqbal Town 178, City 172, Tajpura 165, Jail Road 163, Johar Town 155, Gulberg 130, Mughalpura 126, Chowk Nakhuda 125, Samanabad 120, Farrukhabad 115, Upper Mall 103), Sialkot (City 89, Airport 76), Islamabad (Airport 77, City 56), Jhelum 67, Kasur 62, Narowal 58, Mangla 56, Rawalpindi (Chaklala 55), Gujrat 54, Mandi Bahauddin 53, Gujranwala 45, Murree 39, Chakwal 38, Faisalabad 32, Attock 30, Sargodha City 19, Hafizabad 12, D G Khan, Okara 08, Faisalabad (Allama Iqbal Colony 06, Dogar Basti 12, Madina Town 15, GMA water works 10, Ghulshan colony 02), Bhakkar, Joharabad 02, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Mardan 81, Bannu 41, Peshawar Airport 37, Balakot 36, Kakul 25, Peshawar City 22, Bacha Khan Airport 20, Cherat 11, Pattan 11, Dir 08, Malam Jabba, Saidu Sharif 03, D I Khan Airport, Lower Dir 02, Parachinar 01, Kashmir: Rawalakot 40, Muzaffarabad (City 33, Airport 25), Garhi Dopatta 21, Kotli 18, Balochistan: Bar Khan 33, Khuzdar 26, Zhob 18, Lasbela, Ormara, Quetta 02, Kalat, Samungli 01, Gilgit Baltistan: Bagrote 05, Gilgit 03mm.
The maximum temperatures recorded were Nokkundi, Dalbandin 45 C, Sibbi and Jacobabad 44 C.
MOFA conveys demarche to US on US-India joint statement
ISLAMABAD, Jun 26 (APP):The US Deputy Chief of Mission was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Monday evening and a demarche was made to him regarding the US-India Joint Statement, issued on June 22, 2023.
According to a Foreign Office statement, Pakistan’s concerns and disappointment at the unwarranted, one-sided and misleading references to it in the Joint Statement were conveyed to the US side.
It was stressed that the United States should refrain from issuing statements that might be construed as encouragement of India’s baseless and politically motivated narrative against Pakistan.
It was also emphasized that counter-terrorism cooperation between Pakistan and the US had been progressing well and that an enabling environment, centered around trust and understanding, was imperative to further solidify Pakistan-US ties.
PM condoles demise of Babu Sarfraz Jatoi
ISLAMABAD, Jun 26 (APP):Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Monday expressed grief and sorrow over the demise of former President of Pakistan Muslim League(N) Sindh Babu Sarfraz Jatoi.
He prayed for the departed soul and grant of patience to the bereaved family.
He said Babu Sarfraz Jatoi had rendered valuable services for the party.
Experts call for mechanisms, legal frameworks for better employment prospects for migrant labor
ISLAMABAD, Jun 26 (APP): Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri on Monday urged the government to sign MoUs and agreements for safe and legal labour migration and prevention of exploitation.
He was speaking at a seminar on “International Labour Migration: Development Outlook and Policy Options for Pakistan” organized by SDPI.
He stressed devising mechanisms under SDG-8 to ensure legal, organized and safe immigration to avoid tragedies like the recent boat capsizing incident in Greece.
He added that strengthening legal frameworks for labour migration, proactive role of diplomatic missions in host countries and urged media to raise the plight of migrant workers to the attention of the world.
Dr Kailash Chandra Das, South Asia Centre for Labour Mobility and Migrants (SALAM) remarked that the lack of scientific and gender-disaggregated data on migration trends hinders effective policymaking.
He further highlighted that managing the cost of migration and protecting of labour rights are pertinent issues that require robust policy dialogues and attention from the government.
Reintegration of returned migrants is a crucial issue and consultation with them can improve the perspective on policies for imparting competitive skills to enable access to better economic opportunities, he added.
Amish Karki, Technical Officer, International Labour Organization (ILO), India stressed that Covid-19 and the recent incident in Greece highlight that the migrant workers are left on their own.
He emphasized that several issues faced by the migrant workers from South Asia are quite similar including the high cost of migration, ambiguous contract terms, substitution of contract terms, delayed and non-payment of dues as witnessed during Covid-19, limited access to health services, social and wage protection, access to justice.
He highlighted that Sri Lanka was the only country to have an effective reintegration of policy and the other countries in South Asia failed to harmoniously reintegrate returned labour migrants and the labour migration policies must be revisited and updated to cater to the recent issues.
Kashif Salik, Associate Research Fellow, SDPI, highlighted that lack of comprehensive data prevents timely prediction of changes in trends in labour migration, thus leading to weak policy interventions and difficulties for labour migrants. “Labor migration culture increases access to information and resources among migrants, which helps to facilitate the migration process and associated cost”, he added.
He elucidated that after the travel restriction from Covid-19 was softened, migration from Pakistan increased by 59% between 2021-2022. “Pakistani workers going to the UAE witnessed an increase of 189% followed by Saudi Arabia registering an increase of 77% and remittances from overseas Pakistanis rose 27% to USD 29.4 billion in FY21 and USD 31.3 billion in FY22.”
However, he said that migrant labour is confronted with salary reduction despite the rise in inflation, decline in access to healthcare, issues in visa renewal with employers refusing payment of visa renewals, decline in employment and increased lay-offs ranging up to 40% during Covid-19 for unskilled and semi-skilled.
Khansa Naeem, Research Associate, SDPI, taking a gendered analysis of migration elucidated that “Feminization of international migration is linked to a global demand for domestic workers, reproducing the traditional gendered division of labour, in which women are relegated to lower-wage jobs” and South Asia is experiencing a rise in low and semi-skilled female labour migration to Gulf and East Asian Countries.
She added that women face discrimination in legal and governing practices and are more vulnerable to gendered risks of exploitation, and gendered working conditions.
She urged for building institutional capacity and gender sensitization of policies and policymakers to upskill female workers and protect their rights.
Farrukh Jamal, Director of Research BEOE, elucidated that the National Immigration Policy is being articulated for the protection of the rights of migrant workers and to protect them from exploitation and complaint registration mechanisms have been set up at embassies, and an online portal Overseas Employment Corporation has been initiated to match job seekers with legal and safe jobs.
Shahzad Ahmed, Program Officer, ILO Pakistan emphasized skill development to tap into the competitive human resource export gap across the world. He urged the government to present a comprehensive policy to protect the right of migrant workers.