Category: District

Hyderabad: As it winter season a large number of children are being affected by pneumonia, with cold, cough, fever, sore throat and difficulty in breathing .

Pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs, usually caused by bacterial or viral infections. It may affect deeper lung tissues than bronchitis,which is airway tube inflammation, and can have symptoms such as fever, breathing problems and chest pain, showing up as a white shade in lung chest X-rays.

Talking to reporter here on Tuesday, Paediatrician Dr Zulfiqar Shaikh informed that Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs and it causes cough and fever and can make breathing difficult. Severe pneumonia can be deadly.

He said most infected children and adults will develop flu-like symptoms that will clear up on their own after a few days, but some may develop into more serious inflammation of the lungs requiring treatment and, in some cases, hospitalization may be needed .

About the treatment for pneumonia in kids he said that its depends on factors like the child's overall health condition, age, cause of the infection, and severity of the illness. For bacterial infection, an antibiotic is given to the patients.

In serious cases where the child has developed severe breathing issues, the patients must be hospitalize for proper treatment. This can include IV fluids, intravenous antibiotics, nebulizer treatments and more.

Children with mild pneumonia can take at least two to three weeks to get better. However, kids with a serious infection can take up to eight to nine weeks to recover from pneumonia ,Dr Zulfiqar said .

He said that risk of getting pneumonia can be reduce by obtaining a pneumococcal and influenza vaccination, frequently washing your hands, Keeping your distance from sick individuals. Maintaining a nutritious diet will also strengthen kids' immune system and reduce risk of contracting pneumonia.

Peadriction also suggest home remedies like giving your child plenty of healthy fluids such as broth and soups and using a saline nasal drop can be effective, too

Peshawar: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur here Tuesday chaired a meeting to discuss measures needed to combat air pollution and improve quality of air.

The meeting among others was attended by cabinet members including Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif and Pir Musawir Shah, Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Additional Chief Secretary Planning and Development Ikramullah Khan, relevant administrative secretaries and other senior officials.

The meeting comprehensively deliberated on issues related to air quality and took numerous important decisions to control air pollution. Participants decided to introduce an Electric Vehicle Policy in the province to address air pollution challenges and finalizing an action plan aimed at improving the Air Quality Index (AQI) and controlling the smog in Peshawar and adjacent districts.

It was said that proposed action plan would be presented to the provincial cabinet for final approval and a task force would be established to ensure its effective implementation. The meeting also agreed to form a committee under headship of Additional Chief Secretary Planning and Development to oversee the measures and efforts of all relevant departments and institutions.

It was decided to establish a modern control room for real-time monitoring of Air Quality in Peshawar and surrounding districts. The meeting also decided to install an Emission Monitoring System to regularly monitor industrial emissions and develop a mechanism for emission testing of vehicles at entry and exit points of Peshawar.

The process of issuing vehicle fitness certificates would be digitized, and brick kilns across the province will be registered and shifted to Zigzag Technology in phased manner. Relevant authorities were also directed to strictly enforce the decision to close illegal crushing plants in the province and take strict action against industrial units causing air pollution. Similarly, it was agreed to take action against petrol pumps selling substandard fuel and to establish Air Quality Monitoring Stations at all divisional headquarters.

Moreover, air purification Towers would be installed in Peshawar and steps would be taken to enhance the capacity of Environmental Protection Agency. To reduce smog and air pollution, effective and meaningful collaboration would be established between relevant departments, academia and donor agencies, meeting concurred.

A public awareness campaign would also be launched to educate people about the negative effects of air pollution and environment-friendly trees would be planted on a large scale during the upcoming plantation campaign.

The meeting was informed about current air quality in Peshawar, factors harming the air quality and other related issues. It was noted that the largest contributor to air pollution is the transport sector that is responsible for 58% of air pollution followed by road side dust which contributes 17%.

Addressing the meeting, the Chief Minister said that air pollution is a critical issue and immediate measures are necessary to prevent it from becoming a more serious problem, adding that government was committed to effectively addressing this challenge.

"Identifying the contributing factors accurately and devising a comprehensive and practical strategy to address them is the need of the hour", he remarked and assured that the government would prioritize providing the necessary resources for the implementation of the action plan.

The Chief Minister directed that timelines be set for the implementation of proposed measures to ensure better outcomes and developing an effective coordination system among all relevant departments and institutions.

He emphasized special attention to tree planting and green belts in government offices, roadsides and other public places besides regular cleaning of roads in urban areas. He directed educational institutions to take special initiatives to raise awareness among children about air pollution.

Kot addu: In a gruesome act of so-called honor killing, a man has been arrested for the brutal murder of his eight-month-pregnant wife in Kot Sultan, Layyah.

The suspect, identified as Khalid Hussain, allegedly killed his wife Shazia Bibi on suspicion of infidelity and disposed of her body by throwing it into the river.

According to police sources, the tragic incident has shocked the local community. Authorities from Kot Sultan Police Station acted swiftly, apprehending the accused and placing him in custody.

District Police Officer (DPO) Layyah, Muhammad Ali Waseem, condemned the heinous crime and assured that strict legal action would be taken. "We are determined to ensure the accused faces the full force of the law. Justice will be served," the DPO stated.

Sialkot: The city traffic police took action against 251,378 vehicles and imposed a fine of Rs 17,994,100 during the last year. According to a report, 53,003 vehicles were impounded and 500 drivers were arrested while 91 licenses and 39 vehicles route permits were suspended. To improve traffic flow, a total of 18,093 vehicles were lifted while taking action against wrong parking. The special anti-encroachment squad took action against illegal encroachments across the city and registered 350 cases against shopkeepers. For the convenience of people, the facility of driving test was introduced at tehsil level and a total of 7,0297 licenses were issued in Sialkot during the last year.

United nations: Pakistan's Alternative Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, met Somalia's Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman, on Monday and exchanged views with him on "matters related to the UN Security Council", according to a press release of the Pakistani mission.

Somalia, along with Pakistan, is one of five new non-permanent members that joined the 15-member Council on January 1 for a period of two years (2025-26).

Ambassador Asim Iftikhar also paid a courtesy call on the UN Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Li Junhua.

Matters related to economic and social development including cooperation between Pakistan and DESA came under discussion during the meeting, the press release said.