June 29, 2021 – Page 2 – Newswire Pakistan

June 29, 2021June 30, 2021

KP Assembly approves 55 supplementary demands for grants

Islamabad, June 29, 2021 (PPI-OT): The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly approved 55 supplementary demands for grants for the financial year 2020-21, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet on Tuesday.

Following are key observations of the proceedings during 10th sitting of the 19th session:

Members’ Participation

The Assembly met for three hours and five minutes.

The sitting started at 02:40 pm against the scheduled time of 01:00 pm.

The speaker presided over the entire sitting, while the deputy speaker was also present.

The leaders of the House (Chief Minister) and the opposition did not attend the sitting.

Sixty-five legislators (45 percent) were present at the outset and 50 (34 percent) at the adjournment of the sitting.

The parliamentary leader of MMAP, ANP and PML-N attended the proceedings.

Three out of four minority lawmakers attended the sitting.

Output

The House approved 55 supplementary demands for grants for the financial year 2020-21 related to different public departments, while the opposition lawmakers withdrew their all 596 cut motions.

The provincial minister for finance tabled the authenticated schedule of authorized expenditures for the year 2020-2021 under Article 123 of the Constitution.

Tabled by an ANP lawmaker, the House unanimously adopted a resolution demanding to hand over Himalaya House, Nathia Gali to Civil Secretariat Peshawar again.

Another resolution on the agenda was deferred on the request of Minister for Labour and Culture.

Order and Institutionalization

The female lawmakers walked out from the House for 15 minutes against remarks of an ANP lawmaker about one of their colleagues.

The House was adjourned for an indefinite period.

Transparency

‘Orders of the Day’ was available for the legislators, observers and the media.

Attendance of the lawmakers was not available for the observers and the media.

For more information, contact:
Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN)
FAFEN Representative
FAFEN Secretariat 224, Margalla Road F-10/3 – Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-2211026
Fax: +92-51-2211047
Cell: +92-321-5017355, +92-301-8549188
Email: media@fafen.org
URL: www.fafen.org

June 29, 2021June 30, 2021

Breast Cancer Awareness Session Organized at Aiwan-e-Sadar, Islamabad

Islamabad, June 29, 2021 (PPI-OT): The honourable First Lady; Mrs. Samina Arif Alvi has been actively involved in developing and implementing the national breast cancer awareness campaign by arranging awareness programs throughout the year to sensitize Pakistani women on this grave issue. In continuation to this, a breast cancer awareness session was arranged by Shifa International Hospital at Aiwan-e-Sadar to educate female employees and spouses of employees of the President Secretariat.

The team undertook basic screening of the participants to later offer free mammography scanning by the hospital. Consultant Radiation Oncologists; Dr. Uzma Qasim and Dr. Hira Asim explained to the audience about the general risk factors of breast cancer, prevention, and guidelines for self-assessment to identify any abnormality at an early stage. They also answered the questions of the participants during a detailed Q and A session.

Speaking on the occasion, the honourable First Lady; Mrs. Samina Arif Alvi who was the chief guest of the event lauded the contribution by Shifa International Hospital and reiterated the need to keep on arranging such programs throughout Pakistan to benefit Pakistani women. She also said that hiding the disease in the name of taboo is not a solution and it is essential to speak upon it to help the women get early diagnosis and thus protect their lives.

Dr. Farah Naz Ansari, Medical Director, Shifa Integrated Healthcare Technologies (SIHT) in her closing remarks appreciated the efforts and interest of the First Lady, who is leading the breast cancer awareness campaign in the country. She also vowed her resolve to continue organizing such awareness activities for breast cancer awareness for the masses.

For more information, contact:
Shifa International Hospitals Limited
Pitras Bukhari Road H-8/4,
Islamabad – Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-8463666
Fax: +92-51-4863182
Email: info@shifa.com.pk
Website: www.shifa.com.pk

June 29, 2021June 30, 2021

Punjab University pays tribute to Dr Mughees

Lahore, June 29, 2021 (PPI-OT): Punjab University School of Communication Studies on Tuesday organized a condolence reference to pay homage to legendary teacher of journalism late Prof Dr Mughees uddin Sheikh at Hameed Nizami Hall. Eminent personalities including Mujeeb ur Rehman Shami, Salman Ghani, Sajjad Mir, Prof Dr Muhammad Dr Nizam uddin, Ali Mughees, Director SCS Prof Dr Noshina Saleem, senior faculty members and large number of students participated in the reference. In his address, Mr Mujeeb ur Rehman Shami said that Dr Mughees was a teacher by birth who continued to teach despite facing severe illness.

He said that Dr Mughees produced leaders of national level and a number of eminent journalists working in the media industry were his students. He urged the teachers to play their role for the prosperity of the country. Senior journalist Salman Ghani said that Dr Mughees not only equipped us with technical skills but also he trained us ideologically. Senior journalist Sajjad Mir said that the services of Dr Mughees uddin said that could not be forgotten and he would always be remembered. He said that he was the first senior professor who spoke on the topic of social media.

He said that Dr Mughees was expert at several dimensions of media, especially modern media studies and research methodology. Dr Nizam uddin said that Dr Mughees would be remembered in the eminent teachers of journalism forever. He said that Dr Mughees was a person who set various trends and uplifted the department. Dr Noshina Saleem said that Dr Mughees played an important role in providing the best human resource to the media industry. She said that his instructions and guidelines would be followed to nurture the School of Communication Studies. Mr Ali Mughees thanked the participants. In the end, three scholarships in the name of Dr Mughees were distributed among students.

For more information, contact:
Registrar,
University of the Punjab
Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-99231102
Fax: +92-42-99231103
E-Mail: registrar@pu.edu.pk
Website: http://pu.edu.pk/

June 29, 2021June 30, 2021

Punjab Assembly passes two private members’ bills

Islamabad, June 29, 2021 (PPI-OT): The Punjab Assembly passed two private members’ bills on Tuesday and deferred six zero hours notices, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

Following are key observations of the House proceedings during the 11th sitting of the 33rd session:

Members’ Participation

The House met for an hour and nine minutes.

The sitting started at 03:45 pm against the scheduled time of 02:00 pm.

The speaker presided over the entire sitting.

The deputy speaker did not attend the sitting.

The leaders of the House (Chief Minister) and the opposition did not attend the sitting.

As many as 83 MPAs (22 percent) were present at the outset and 97 (26 percent) at the adjournment of the sitting.

The parliamentary leader of PPPP and PRHP attended the proceedings.

As many as three out of eight minority lawmakers attended the sitting.

Output

The House passed two private members’ bills including the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Privileges (Amendment) Bill 2021.

A resolution on the agenda was deferred, while two others were disposed of after reply from the concerned ministers.

Representation and Responsiveness

The House took up two out of 27 starred questions, while lawmakers asked four supplementary questions as well.

Provincial Minister for Health responded to zero hour notice regarding setting up of blood banks in the district headquarters hospitals of the province. Other six zero hour notices on the agenda were deferred.

Order and Institutionalization

Six lawmakers spoke on points of order for 17 minutes related to governance issues and parliamentary business.

The House was adjourned to meet again on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 at 02:00 pm.

Transparency

‘Orders of the Day’ was available on Assembly’s website.

Information on Members’ attendance is available on Assembly’s website.

June 29, 2021June 30, 2021

First Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery Performed at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad

Islamabad, June 29, 2021 (PPI-OT): There is generally a trend worldwide to modify and adapt less invasive surgical procedures. One of the MICS procedures is MINI AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT. This procedure is done through a small, 6-7 cm incision either on the right side of the chest or in the midline. The first such procedure of Mini AVR was performed by Dr. Khalid Rasheed and his team on 7th April 2021 which has been followed by 2 more Mini AVRs. Alhamdulillah, all procedures have been smooth and uneventful and all patients have been discharged home. This procedure is done through a small midline incision and partial division of the sternal bone, called Hemisternotomy.

Advantages of this technique are a reduction of chest trauma, decreased ICU length of stay, early extubation, early rehabilitation, and return to work. Any minimally invasive technique needs an approach that goes beyond a small cut and mandates a team effort with the Anesthesiologist, perfusionist, surgical assistants, and scrub nurses, all playing their roles with dedication and competence. The other major advantage is the virtual absence of sternal dehiscence (deep wound infection) since the sternum is never divided completely. Mini sternotomy is a versatile technique not only for AVR but also for more complex operations.

June 29, 2021June 30, 2021

Shifa inaugurates its 4D CT Simulator Scanner for Cancer Treatment

Islamabad, June 29, 2021 (PPI-OT): Dr. Manzoor H. Qazi, Chief Executive Officer at Shifa International Hospital inaugurated a 4D Simulator scanner for cancer treatment which is installed in Radiation Oncology Department, SIH. The ribbon-cutting was followed by a welcome speech by Dr. Asif Masood, Head of Radiation Oncology Department, SIH, whereby he thanked the administration for their contribution and support.

He explained that the inclusion of this newly acquired 4D Simulator scanner will provide the next level of precision radiotherapy assistance in cancer treatment. Currently, the radiation oncology department is providing 2DRT (Two-dimensional Radiation Therapy), 3DCRT (Three-dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy), IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy), Intracavitary and Interstitial Brachytherapy.

Dr. Zeeshan Bin Ishtiaque (Chief Medical Officer, SIH), Mr. Taimoor Shah (Chief Operating Officer, SIH), and other officials and consultants were also present at the ceremony. Dr. Manzoor H. Qazi lauded the efforts of the Radiation Oncology Department team to acquire this new technological 4D CT Simulator Scanner and other latest and computerized systems for delivering high-class services to cancer patients. He assured that the hospital will continue to strive for advancement and improvement in services and equipment to the patients.

Dr. Muhammad Ali Afridi who is the pioneer of the Radiation Oncology Department in Shifa International Hospital, in his concluding remarks said that the oncology department rightly takes pride as the pioneer center that trained many medical physicists and technologists who are now serving cancer patients in different hospitals in Pakistan as well as abroad. Dr. Ali vowed his resolve to continue doing so in the future as well.