With one more poliovirus case, Pakistan's tally reaches 18 in 2025
Peshawar, Aug 1 (PTI): A new case of poliovirus was detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province taking the total number across Pakistan this year to 18, authorities said Friday.
The latest case was confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad earlier in the day.
NIH reports confirm that the virus was detected in a 10-month-old child from Union Council Molazai in the Tank district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
This is the 11th confirmed case of polio in the province in 2025, raising renewed concerns over the ongoing efforts to eradicate the virus.
With Friday's confirmation, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 has risen to 18. Apart from the 11 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, five are from Sindh, and one each is from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
A special vaccination campaign was held from July 21-27 in the bordering area of the province and Baluchistan to coincide with Afghanistan’s sub-national polio campaign.
Despite substantial progress in polio eradication efforts, the continued detection of polio cases underscores the persistent risk to children, especially in areas where vaccine acceptance remained low, a statement from the NIH said.
Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic.
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Nightclub fire: Goa court remands Luthra brothers in police custody for five days
Panaji (PTI): A court in North Goa on Wednesday remanded Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, in police custody for five days.
The brothers, brought to Goa from Delhi after being deported from Thailand in connection with the December 6 blaze that killed 25, were produced in the court after undergoing health check-ups twice at the District Hospital in North Goa.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Mapusa Puja Sardesai remanded the two brothers in police custody for five days.
Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing Bhavana Joshi who lost four family members in the tragedy, said that the accused were asking for “special consideration” claiming poor health.
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“We said they should not be given any extra relaxation,” he said, adding that the court has taken cognisance of the fact that this is about the death of “25 people in the form of mass genocide”.
“But since they kept pressing for medical check-up, the court ordered reexamination of their health. It is clear in the medical examination that they don’t require any consideration. The accused sought special considerations in the lock-up like a good mattress, which the court refused,” said Joshi.
A team of the Goa Police, along with the Luthra brothers, arrived at the Manohar International Airport, Mopa, in North Goa at 10.45 am.
The duo was initially taken to a Primary Health Centre at Siolim for medical examination. They were then taken to the District Hospital at Mapusa.
After their health assessment, the two were brought to the court.
The court directed that the accused be sent for fresh medical examination. Accordingly, the two were again taken to the District Hospital.
Later, they were produced before Judge Sardesai, who ordered the five-day police custody of the accused.
After the fire tragedy at Arpora village, the Anjuna police had registered a case against the Luthra brothers on various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The brothers were arrested in Delhi on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand. A court there allowed the Goa Police their two-day transit remand.
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The duo had fled to Phuket in Thailand early on December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.
They were detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government, which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations.
Five managers and staff members have already been arrested by the Goa Police in connection with the fire.
