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Showing posts with the label pandemic

GDP to grow by 4.2pc in Next 5 Years

ISLAMABAD – The leading UK based consultancy Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has published its latest report forecasting an average 4.2 percent GDP growth for Pakistan in the next five years. As per the World Economic League Table 2020, published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), Pakistan had a PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) adjusted GDP per capita of $5,872 in 2019, making it a lower middle-income country. The economy of Pakistan has carried forward the momentum from last year, with GDP set to have risen by 3.3 percent in 2019, down from 5.5pc in 2018, said the report. “This growth coincides with the country's clear objective of cutting down political corruption, increasing overall confidence of the country's economic future. The unemployment rate remained steady at 6.1% in 2019.” “The weakness of the labour market stands in contrast with the strong performance of the overall economy and suggests that successfully drawing down the...

State, Clerics and Pandemic

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(2 mins read) A few weeks ago, one of the most famous religious scholar, Maulana Tariq Jamil was again in news. During the PM Imran Khan’s live telethon on the national television, he had held women of Pakistan responsible for the corona-virus pandemic. This invited a great wave of outrage a cross Pakistan.  It’s not the first time that Tariq Jamil(or any orthodox religious leader for that matter) has blamed the women for bringing in a disaster. Earlier women were responsible for earthquakes and now a pandemic.  Their version of religion starts and ends on women’s bodies but sometimes it serves as a mirror when you realize how women’s bodies have historically been used as a political tool against a whole segment of society.  When Tariq Jamil or any religious/political leader calls women the nation’s daughters and puts the burden of modesty on their shoulders, it’s a reminder that the state has created an idea of womanhood and failing to adhere to that will resul...

Pakistan has the potential to be World’s Food Basket

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LAHORE – President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that Chinese technological advancement and expertise can help Pakistan to serve as a food basket to this part of the world. “ It has vast fertile land, all weathers and one of the best canal systems but unable to reap fruit from these blessings just because of lack of modern technologies ”. He expressed these views while addressing a six-member high powered trade delegation from China here at the Lahore Chamber on Wednesday. There were countless opportunities for the Chinese investors to invest in the vibrant sectors of economy which include engineering, surgical instruments, pharmaceuticals, value added textiles, leather products, poultry/meat and agriculture machinery etc. he said and asserted that it was important that there should be win-win situation for all the stakeholders. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said, “ It is the right time to invest in Pakistan ," addi...

How bad is COVID-19 for our mental health?

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(2 mins read) There are a lot of reasons that are cause of major stress all around the world like misinformation about the virus on the internet, rise in the number of cases, changes in our lifestyle, staying home alone, social distancing and many more. If we try to list down the causes there will be huge list of the stressors because of COVID-19. All of the us are focused on erasing the virus and we are not seeing how it’s affecting the mental health of the people. Everyone has a fear of going out in public and getting exposed to the virus. Once the virus is eradicated from the world the new problem is of the psychological issues that people are going to face. As all of the governments have ordered their people to stay at home and stay in isolation is going to affect the mental health of the people a lot. Longer periods of physical isolation, especially if experienced as involuntary, without an adequate and convincing explanation, or accompanied by financial losses can c...

Corona Virus and Islam, COVID-19

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(2 min read) The recent wave of Corona virus has been received in a very mixed way by the masses of Pakistan. Some were very cautious of the pandemic and isolated themselves but majority of the people are still seen roaming around in the streets and markets. A barber at a hairdressing facility in Multan mentioned " Sir ye kia hona hai virus se bhala bass imaan kamzor hain logon k " (This virus isn't going to hurt anyways, we just lack faith in Almighty). In the neighborhood, a mosque was getting empty because of the corona-virus fear and the Congregation preachers (تبلیغی جماعت)  started going door to door to invite people for a congregation convincing them that it should not be fear. A fifteen years old boy playing cricket on the street, when told to isolate and not to move around in the streets, mentioned: it's just a propaganda they (the western lobby) wants to isolate us and they tell us not to shake hands even, how can we promote love and peace then? Well ...

Social distancing doesn't mean the end of your social life

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(2 min read)          Tips for self quarantine Due to corona virus outbreak people are staying at home, isolating themselves or are in quarantine. Experts say that the policy is about physical distancing, not emotional distancing, so you can stay connected even if you're self isolating yourself. This is 21 st century a world full of technological advancements. Isolation can make us feel depressed, create anxiety, it can also increase the risk of health problems such as heart disease, and make stress and uncertainty harder to handle ( source: Antioxidants and redox signaling ) as corona-virus makes the isolation already faced by elderly much worse, in our society most of the elders do not understand technology that much as the younger people, making isolation harder for themselves, so here are some tips to stay connected: ·        Support the elderly: Many places are organizing ways to get involved (Source:   C...

What is a Pandemic? And Pandemics in the history …. what has China done to control COVID-19?

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(2 min read) A Pandemic is the widespread of infectious disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time. People think that epidemic and pandemic is the same thing but there is a slight difference, epidemic is within a certain population but pandemic is a disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide. COVID-19 was an epidemic but now it is a pandemic disease. The history of pandemics that have rocked the world over the last century from Spanish flu to corona-virus commonly called as COVID-19. 1918 just as world war 1 was coming to an end the world was hit by a devastating outbreak of flu, it was caused by a virus thought to have come from birds (source: US centers for disease control and prevention ) it infected 500 million people, about a third of the world’s population, and 50 million died in three waves of infection including a large number of healthy people from the age of 20 a...