Author: newsdesk

  • ‘He was a really innocent man’: Wife of Sri Lankan manager asks Pakistan for justice

    The wife of Priyantha Kumara, the Sri Lankan national working in Pakistan who was lynched to death by a mob in Sialkot, has made a request to leaders of Pakistan and Sri Lanka to serve justice.

    “I got to know about the brutal murder of my husband from the news, later I saw this on the internet as well. He was a really innocent man” said the wife of Priyantha Kumara while talking to BBC.

    She continued by saying, “I request leaders of Sri Lanka and Pakistan to ensure justice for my husband and two children, by bringing the perpetrators to justice.”

    Priyantha Kumara was tortured to death on Friday by a mob after being accused of blasphemy. Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the incident and has said that justice will be served.

    Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has expressed confidence in PM Imran Khan’s commitment to punishing all those involved.
    The police have arrested more than 100 people involved. Some of those involved gave interviews to local news channels, taking pride in the murder.

  • 99% of his body burnt, Postmortem report of Sri Lankan reveals how he was murdered

    99% of his body burnt, Postmortem report of Sri Lankan reveals how he was murdered

    The postmortem report of Priyantha Kumara, the Sri Lankan national working in Pakistan, has revealed that he died as a result of injuries on his head and face. The report also revealed that 99 per cent of Kumara’s body has been burned. The report also shows that except for his feet, all the bones of his body had been broken.

    As per the report, Priyantha’s liver, stomach and kidney were also affected.

    Priyantha Kumara was tortured to death on Friday by a mob after being accused of blasphemy. Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the incident and has said that justice will be served.

    The police have arrested more than 100 people involved, and one of the main culprits, Farhan Idrees has been arrested. Farhan gave an interview to local news channels, taking pride in the murder he committed

  • ‘Aag laga de gaye’: PML-N Rana Sanaullah warns government

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah said if the government tries to hold the upcoming elections using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) he will burn them.

    In a press conference on Friday, Sanaullah while talking about foreign loans stated, “Pakistan has gone bankrupt. The entire economy including the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been handed over to International Monetary Fund (IMF).”

    He said, “Electronic machine par intekhaab hua toh machino ko polling station se nikal kar aag laga de gaye” (We will try every strategy against EVMs. If the election is held through this [EVMs], we will take out the machines from polling stations and set them on fire.)

    Talking about PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s leaked audio, he claimed that the government is exaggerating about the relevance of the audio.

    Prior to this, Rana talked about EVMs in a show and said if the government tries to force the elections through EVMs, the party would be left with no option but to follow the TLP way of protesting.

  • IN PICTURES: Mehwish, Humayun, Adnan and others ooze style at ‘James Bond’ themed party in Karachi

    IN PICTURES: Mehwish, Humayun, Adnan and others ooze style at ‘James Bond’ themed party in Karachi

    A James Bond Party themed party was thrown by British Deputy High Commissioner Karachi Mike Nithavrianakis in Karachi on December 3rd. Many celebrities including Mehwish Hayat, Ahad Raza Mir, Humayun Saeed and Imran Ashraf were present at the party.

    Senator Sherry Rehman was also spotted at the event following the dress code.

    Have a look at some of the pictures:

    James Bond Party themed party

    James Bond Party themed party
    James Bond Party themed party
    James Bond Party themed party
  • ‘If state doesn’t take action against those accused of blasphemy, such incidents will happen’: Maulana Fazl

    ‘If state doesn’t take action against those accused of blasphemy, such incidents will happen’: Maulana Fazl

    Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, holding the state responsible for the lynching incident in Sialkot, said, “If the state does not take action against the ones accused of blasphemy then such incidents will happen.”

    Taking his outrage to Twitter, Maulana wrote, “The incident in Sialkot is reprehensible and shameful. There should be a comprehensive investigation.”

    “In the past, there have been similar backlash against government-sponsored fugitives accused of blasphemy,” wrote Maulana.

    “Under the guise of such incidents, the international establishment conspires against the religious class and to make the Islamic provisions of the constitution controversial,” further tweeted Maulana.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal, disagreeing with Maulana Fazl tweeted, “Respectfully Maulana Sahib such incidents should be unconditionally condemned – Islam does not allow such fanaticism and illegal killings by mobs in any case.”

    “The nation expects the scholars to guide the nation in this matter,” tweeted Iqbal.

    Twitterati too reacted to Maulana’s statement.

  • Sindh lowers passing score to 50 per cent for medical admissions due to doctor shortage

    Sindh lowers passing score to 50 per cent for medical admissions due to doctor shortage

    The Sindh Cabinet has decided to lower the passing percentage in the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) from 65 per cent to 50 per cent for the session of 2021-2022.

    Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah confirmed the news and said, “This decision would not only provide an opportunity to the provincial candidates to seek admission in medical and dental colleges/universities of Sindh but the seats which were going to be unfulfilled/vacant would be utilised.”

    It was reported, that last year with a passing percentage of 60 per cent, 8,287 students passed in Sindh out of which 2,900 took admissions in the public sector. Of the remaining 5,387 students, only 800 took admissions in private medical and dental colleges as the remaining 4,587 were not able to get admission mainly because they could not afford it.

    With this drop in admissions, Sindh will reportedly face a severe shortage of about 10,000 doctors in the next five years. CM said that World Health Organsiation (WHO) recommended one doctor for 850 people but Sindh has one doctor for 3,200 people. “Hence this gap of doctors will worsen if the situation persists,” he added.

    According to Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho, the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) conducted a computerised MDCAT in October 2021. She said, “The test from the federal curriculum puts Sindh students at a disadvantage and resulted in a low pass percentage.”

    The reduction of percentage will not affect the merit as it would remain the same as prescribed under the PMC Act.

  • ‘We are embarrassed’: Shoaib Malik condemns ‘violence’ in Sialkot, demands punishment for ‘culprits’

    ‘We are embarrassed’: Shoaib Malik condemns ‘violence’ in Sialkot, demands punishment for ‘culprits’

    Pakistan national cricketer Shoaib Malik, who belongs to Sialkot, has condemned the ‘violence’ in Sialkot by a mob.

    Taking to Twitter, the cricketer said: “My heartiest condolences, I stand with the family of the deceased & strongly condemn this act of violence.”

    He also said that what happened there should not have happened. The cricketer also demanded punishment for the culprits.

    He further added: “What happened, shouldn’t have happened, we are embarrassed. The culprits should be punished at the earliest… #Sialkot.”

    Former captain of Pakistan cricket team Shahid Afridi also expressed his thoughts, sharing a Quranic verse: “Whosoever kills a person … it shall be as if he has killed all mankind.”

    Similarly, Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hafeez expressed his grief on Twitter.

    “Condemning horrific attack on a factory & shameful incident in Sialkot. As Pakistani i wil call it a black day for our society,” he wrote while adding hashtags of #Sialkot and #Justice.”

    The gut-wrenching incident took place on Sialkot’s Wazirabad Road, where workers of private factories brutally lynched a Sri Lankan national, Priyantha Kumara, on Friday.

    The nation was shell-shocked and disgusted when the Sri Lankan national was brutally lynched and his body was set on fire by the mob. The sickening incident outraged the nation as the civil and military leaders denounced it as “horrific” “shameful” and “extra-judicial vigilantism”.

    Several gruesome video clips shared on social media showed a mob beating the victim while chanting slogans against blasphemy.

    President Arif Alvi said the vigilante attack has nothing to do with religion as Prime Minister Imran Khan promised that those responsible “will be punished with the full severity of the law”.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted that the “horrific, vigilante attack” on the factory and the burning alive of the Sri Lankan man was “a day of shame for Pakistan”.

    “I am overseeing the investigations and, let there be no mistake, all those responsible will be punished with the full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress,” he added.

    Chief Minister of Punjab Usman Buzdar tweeted that he was “extremely shocked at the horrific Sialkot incident”.

    According to the latest updates, more than 100 people, including 13 of the main culprits have been arrested.

    Police is identifying all the culprits using CCTV footages.

    Meanwhile, the IG Punjab has ordered officials to submit a report within 48 hours.

  • Pak Embassy in Washington ran out of funds to pay salaries for four months: report

    Pak Embassy in Washington ran out of funds to pay salaries for four months: report

    The Embassy of Pakistan in the United States (US) had reportedly run out of funds and was unable to pay salaries of four months to the embassy’s locally recruited contractual staffers, reveals The News’ sources in a report by Journalist Wajid Ali Syed.

    It was reported that a total of five staffers faced delays and non-payment of their monthly wages from August onwards. One staffer, who had been working there for the past ten years, resigned in September because of the on-going pay crisis.

    Several sources disclosed that the Pakistan Community Welfare (PCW) fund, from which these unpaid staffers were paid out collapsed last year because the money was diverted to purchase ventilators and other medical equipment last year, after the pandemic. The embassy had to borrow money from other account-heads to keep up with the monthly salaries for the staffers hired locally.

    As a result of this, the staffers wrote to the Pakistani ambassador in October. The ambassador repeatedly raised the issue with the Foreign Office (FO) in Islamabad and managed to secure all salaries just last week. The embassy’s spokesperson confirmed that “currently there is no salary-related issue being faced by the Embassy staff.”

    These local staffers’ salaries range from 2,000 to 2,500 dollars per month. They do not get the perks and privileges that FO employees enjoy. The domestic staffers are usually hired to help with the ‘Consular section’ that provides visa, passport, notarization and other consular services.

  • Man sets Guinness World record of Helicopter spin

    A man made a Guinness World Record for the maximum helicopter spins at the same time as skysurfing. His video has gone viral, reports ARY News.

    Guinness’ website mentioned that KĒBĒ Keith Edward Snyder of the United States (US) attempted the record for the most helicopter spins while skysurfing on November 01, 2021, over the Pyramid, Egypt.

    The official website of Guinness mentioned that the US national, KĒBĒ Keith Edward Snyder, attempted the unique record for the most helicopter spins while skysurfing on November 01, 2021.

    This is not the first time for KĒBĒ to jump from a height of 13,500 feet, but this time he was focusing to set a world record. He attempted 160 spins to set the world record.

    Synder said, “I would like to challenge what is now my own record. I’ve already gotten a little bit faster. But I’d like to bring that speed up in the mid-body. I’d also like to investigate a little bit of the physics of it.”

    He said that he was widely inspired by the former skysurfing world Champion Rob Harris to set this milestone.

    When he first saw Rob Harris, he said as stated on the Guinness website, “He was smiling and in the background, there’s a video of him skysurfing. He was spinning so incredibly fast and smooth.”

    “What is that guy doing and what does he understand for him to be smiling? I wanted to understand that. And so my journey began.”

    Since the clip was uploaded on YouTube, it gained more than 60,000 views and the numbers keep increasing. Netizens are praising the feat.