Author: thecurrentmember123

  • Smog closes motorways, commercial activities

    Smog closes motorways, commercial activities

    Thick clouds of smog are covering the plains of Punjab, including Lahore have severely restricted visibility affecting traffic flow, causing multiple motorway sections to close for all types of traffic, including M2 from Lahore to Kot Sarwar, Motorway M3 from Samundri to Darkhana, Motorway M4 from Pindi Bhattian to Abdul Hakim, and Motorway M11 from Lahore to Sialkot.

    The air quality index (AQI) reading in Multan crossed the 2,000 mark on Friday morning and is still ranging from 1000 to 1500, which has raised alarm bells across the province, prompting the administration to double the restrictions and control the air quality. 

    Additionally, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the commissioner of the Lahore division to ensure that all commercial activities are closed within the provincial capital and its peripheries at 8 pm for the next 15 days.


    During a recent hearing on a plea filed against the Punjab government for not taking effective measures to combat smog, Justice Shahid Karim on Friday ordered all private offices to announce a work-from-home policy for two days and ordered markets to close at 8 pm.

    However, the court also ordered the complete closure of markets on Sunday and directed officials to start a crackdown on smog-emitting vehicles.

    LHC  directed traffic police to immediately stop smoke-emitting vehicles and remarked that the dolphin police should also take action along with the traffic police.


    Justice Karim also observed that an out-of-the-box solution would also include limiting the marriage functions as well as limiting the number of persons attending these functions.


    The judge sought a report on the matter of smog on Nov 11.


    Meanwhile, the Punjab government has issued a notification about the ban on public entry in public and amusement parks.

    Green lockdown is already in place to bring down the pollution in smog hotspots in the province. 

  • Prepare to pay higher passport fees

    Prepare to pay higher passport fees

    The federal government has announced revised rates for passport fees to be applicable across the country.


    Geo News reported authorities have fixed separate fees for issuance of e-passport, machine readable passport (MRP) and lost passports.


    E-passport, which constitutes 36 pages and is valid for five years, will be available for Rs 3000 with a normal fee and Rs.15 thousand if applied with an urgent fee.


    The fee for a normal passport of 75 pages will be 15 thousand 500 rupees but for urgent passport that is valid for 10 years, it will be 27000 rupees.


    36 pager e-passport will be for Rs 13,500 while it will cost for a Rs 24, 750 for the urgent passport.


    75 pager normal e-passport will now cost Rs.16,500 while it will cost Rs. 27,000 for an urgent one.


    Passports of ten year duration will cost Rs 24, 750 but for the urgent one, it will be Rs 40, 500.


    36 pager Machine Readable Passport (MRP) will be valid for five years will cost Rs. 4500 normally while the urgent will be for Rs. 7500. 


    Fast track passport fee is Rs. 13, 500. 


    MRP normal 72 pager for 10 years validity will be Rs. 6700. Meanwhile, the urgent fee for that is Rs. 11,200.  


    However, the fast track fee is Rs 16,200. 


    72 pager MRP passport for 5 years will normally cost Rs 8200 and the urgent will be for Rs 13, 500.


    The fast track fee for that will be Rs 19 500.


    A 100-pager MRP fee will normally cost Rs. 9000. The urgent will be Rs 18,000. 
    Fast track fee is Rs 23,000.


    The same MRP valid for 10 years will normally cost 13, 500 rupees while the urgent fee is Rs. 17,000. 


    Fast track fee is fixed at Rs 32,000.


    The government has also set a separate fee for the first, second and third time lost passports.


    Previously, the passport department announced to amend the rules governing the issuance of passports as citizens will now be able to get their passport made from any city across the country regardless of the address mentioned in their computerised national identity card (CNIC).

  • Racist online attacks intensify after Trump’s election victory

    Racist online attacks intensify after Trump’s election victory

    Racist attacks against American Arabs, Africans, and Latinos following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 US elections have increased online. 


    A number of African Americans shared the messages they had received in the past three days. In one of the messages, it is seen that the recipient has been told they are being selected to “pick cotton.” 


    The sender advised them to bring all their belongings, too, as all their “executive slaves” would be present there. Exaggerating the threat further, the recipient of the message is told that they should come prepared “to get searched and patted down once inside of the plantation.”


    These messages allude to the dark ages of slavery and have been received by children, college students and working professionals from unrecognized phone numbers in the wake of the presidential election.


    CNN reports that authorities are tracking the sender. 


    However, other reports suggest that Harris’ defeat has made immigrants like Arabs, Asians and Latinxs (a gender-neutral term to refer to men and women of Latin American heritage) easy targets.


    These people are being accused of ‘gifting’ Trump the presidency by not voting for Harris. From appeals for mass deportation to wishes that minorities lose their citizenship, racist and Islamophobic comments are everywhere on the internet.


    Some of these attacks are directed at Muslims in the context of genocide in Gaza as one commenter said, “I hope they are all deported. And I can’t wait until Netanyahu gets the green light to turn Gaza into a parking lot.”


    “Netanyahu bombs and obliterates a school in Gaza. He did this because we just elected Trump, who told him ‘finish it off’ — and this is what he meant. To the Arab voters in Michigan who voted for Trump — this is on YOU,” Cheri Jacobus, a political strategist, pundit and writer, tweeted.


    However, many in her replies pointed out that this has been happening for a year with the support of Joe Biden’s administration, of which Kamala was a part.


    Some other commentators were outrightly ferocious, “I HOPE HE DEPORTS THEM ALL TO THE GULFS (Arab and Muslim Trump voters) coming from one.”


    Exit polls have revealed that more than 50 per cent of Muslims in America actually voted for Green Party’s Jill Stein. 


    Other figures indicated that Trump gained support in communities of colour — including a 5.5-point shift in majority-Black counties and a 6.8-point increase in Latino-majority counties. Still, a notable share of voters—18.37pc—opted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who campaigned on ending US support for Israeli military actions in Gaza. In contrast, Harris maintained a pro-Israel stance and totally alienated Muslim voters.

  • Most polluted city in the world sets record for largest human flag

    Most polluted city in the world sets record for largest human flag

    Pakistani students have set a new world record for creating the largest human flag, leaving behind India’s previous record with over 10,000 students from Army Public Schools (APS) participating in the Lahore Youth Festival, organised by the Punjab Government.

    Thousands of students came together in the record-breaking event to form the massive human flag. This record beat India’s prior record of 7,368 participants, which was made earlier this year.

    The Nation reported that after setting the record, the students celebrated the achievement with patriotic songs and dances, marking the event as a powerful display of youthful passion.

    However, the event took place while the smog engulfed the city, and Lahore’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was surpassing the hazardous level. The government has already placed a green lockdown in the province, and schools are closed till November 17. 

    Lahore’s AQI today, as of November 8, stands at an alarming level of 516, while Multan is way ahead of it with 1331.

  • Lahore High Court orders shops to shut down early to combat smog

    Lahore High Court orders shops to shut down early to combat smog

    Lahore High Court (LHC) has imposed a new order to combat smog in Lahore.


    Local markets will be closed by 8 pm in the evening to prevent smog while authorities will crack down on smog-emitting vehicles.


    During a recent hearing on a plea filed against the Punjab government for not taking effective measures to combat smog, the court ordered all private offices to announce a work-from-home policy for two days and ordered markets to close at 8 pm.


    However, the court also ordered the complete closure of markets on Sunday and directed officials to start a crackdown on smog-emitting vehicles.


    LHC  directed traffic police to immediately stop smoke-emitting vehicles and remarked that the dolphin police should also take action along with the traffic police.

    Meanwhile, the Punjab government has issued a notification about the ban of public entry in public and amusement parks. 

  • Canadian govt asks TikTok to shut operations for security reasons

    Canadian govt asks TikTok to shut operations for security reasons

    Canada said Wednesday it is shutting down TikTok’s offices in the country following a security review, but people will still be allowed to use the popular video-sharing app.

    “The government is taking action to address the specific national security risks related to ByteDance Ltd.’s operations in Canada,” Francois-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry, said in a statement.

    Ottawa is not imposing restrictions on Canadian users of TikTok, which has come under scrutiny for its ownership under China-based ByteDance.

    “The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice,” Champagne said.

    Canada banned TikTok from all government devices last year and launched a security review of the application.

    Champagne said Wednesday’s decision was made in accordance with a law that “allows for the review of foreign investments that may be injurious to Canada’s national security.”

    TikTok said it would challenge the decision in court.

    “Shutting down TikTok’s Canadian offices and destroying hundreds of well-paying local jobs is not in anyone’s best interest,” said a spokesperson.

    “We will challenge this order in court.”

    A cyber expert at the University of Ottawa, Michael Geist, said “there may well be good reasons” to ban the app but warned the move could be counterproductive.

    “Banning the company rather than the app may actually make matters worse since the risks associated with the app will remain but the ability to hold the company accountable will be weakened,” Geist wrote in an online post.

    TikTok also faces a ban in the United States if it remains owned by ByteDance – a threat the company is battling in a federal appeals court, arguing that it violates free speech rights.

    The US government alleges that TikTok allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users. It also says the platform is a conduit to spread propaganda.

    China and the company strongly deny these claims.