The lifestyle of millennials is underreported in our mainstream media. The Current’s lifestyle news covers social events and issues that are unique.
The provincial government has announced that all public and private schools across Sindh will remain closed on Monday, August 26, to mark the Chehlum of Imam Hussain (RA).
The official notification states that a steering committee of the Sindh education department decided on the closure of educational institutes.
The event marks the 40-day mourning period after the martyrdom date of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and his 72 companions in the Battle of Karbala on the 10th of Muharram.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has rejected the Pakistan Army’s claim over the ownership of Margalla National Park land in the renowned Monal restaurant closure case.
Interestingly, the military department, Remount, Veterinary and Farms Directorate of Pakistan Army (RV&F Directorate), tried to claim the land’s ownership by more than a 100-year-old alleged fact that the said land was used by then-British Army for “production of hay for animals.”
In January 2022, the then Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Athar Minallah also declared RV&F’s claim regarding the 8,068 acres of land in the notified National Park area to be in violation of law.
“Permitting land use does not confer its ownership, nor could ownership have been conferred on the Directorate, a non-legal entity. It also escaped the attention of the personnel of the Directorate that the only concerned statutory entity was the Wildlife Board,” read the 25-page detailed judgement by CJP Qazi Faez Isa.
The judgement also noted that the claim by RV&F to the National Park was on a very weak premise that in the 1910, the Veterinary, Remount and Farms unit of the British Army was allowed to use some land of the National Park for fodder.
“The Federal Government was correct in disabusing Major General Muhammad Samrez Salik and the Directorate of their fanciful notion that a 110-year-old permission to collect fodder did not nor could bestow ownership rights to such land,” noted the judgement.
Moreover, the court also noted that Luqman Ali Afzal, the owner of Monal restaurant, was bestowed the favour of a 17-year lease of the land by the RV&F Directorate signed by Major General Muhammad Samrez Salik.
The judgement also stated that no record was available to show that “the Federal Government has given any approval to execute the said Lease Agreement.” However, Afzal continued to assert the Directorate’s alleged rights.
According to the CJP Isa’s judgment, Mr Afzal unilaterally set aside the Capital Development Autority (CDA), his actual Lessor (who leased the land to Afzal), and the CDA lease while, according to his own whims, electing the Directorate as his lessor.
The Chief Justice also noted that Luqman Ali Afzal had gotten possession of the land from the CDA according to the CDA Lease, and he was legally bound to pay rent to the CDA. However, he stopped paying rent to the CDA and had the audacity to seek a refund of the rent already paid to the CDA.
“Rarely such audaciousness and complete disregard of the law has been witnessed,” read the judgement.
“Afzal apparently cultivated and developed relationships with the powerful, and his brother was in the bureaucracy and then rose to the highest position. Therefore, he may have deluded himself in assuming that he was above the law. He violated the law for years and expanded his restaurant by encroaching into and destroying the National Park. The protected status of the National Park was of no consequence to him and to the government servants who supported him,” read the damning judgment in the Monal restaurant closure case.
It also stated that Mr Afzal flouted the laws for eighteen years and had been given every opportunity to comply with them.
“Money, connections, influence and/or nepotism supplanted the law and the protected status of the National Park, first by getting CDA to execute the CDA Lease and then the Directorate to execute the FV&FD Lease. Every opportunity was given to Mr Afzal to comply with the law, which he had been continuously flouting for eighteen years. Probably it finally dawned that this Court would ensure the law is abided by and that it would also ensure that the National Park is protected, which made him and the other restaurant owners pause and reflect,” said the detailed judgement.
“The National Park land has over the years been encroached upon, which could only have happened with the involvement of the officers of CDA and other senior bureaucrats,” revealed the order.
“The National Park land is under grave and imminent danger. The rich, powerful and well-connected want to wrest it away for personal use and/or gain. This must stop. The people cannot be deprived of the National Park, its flora and fauna, and of the benefits of this amazing national asset,” wrote CJP Isa.
Lawyer and political activist Jibran Nasir has called out The Express Tribune and ARY News for deleting articles and news stories from their websites about the Karsaz accident where a woman reportedly from an influential background killed a father and daughter while injuring five others as her SUV ran over them.
Jibran posted on X (formerly Twitter) “Can @etribune and @ARYNEWSOFFICIAL explain why they have removed the Articles/News Items from their websites about Natasha Danish and the Karsaz Accident. The original news articles show up in Google search but source content has been removed from websites.”
He went on to lambast both platforms for being influenced by people with money. “Can money buy you complete immunity in Pakistan? You can run over and kill people in broad daylight, and the media will make sure everyone forgets about it. Forget about justice and conviction here you are protected from even getting condemned,” he wrote.
Fellow netizens joined in and criticised both platforms. Haider Rizvi posted, “Economic interests often prove to be greater killed of the news stories than even life-threatening situations or pressure from the state and other pressure groups.”
Anas Tipu also posted about Tribune’s deleted articles: “All three stories about Karsaz accident deleted by Express Tribune. They don’t care about press freedom when it comes to rich and elite.”
Zarish K. posted detailed video and screenshots showing articles by Express Tribune not been found even though they appear in the search. She captioned, “This is a perfect example of how power and wealth can twist the truth, leaving justice in the dust. The elite mafia manage to cover up their wrongdoings, escaping public scrutiny, and keeping themselves above the law. Meanwhile, the innocent and poor suffer in silence.”
To read more: Woman accused in Karsaz accident remanded to jail
Power Minister Awais Leghari has presented the unique logic of load shedding, saying that if power cuts are tolerated for two hours a day, PKR 50 billion can be saved.
Speaking at an event in Islamabad, the minister said, “There is no doubt that we are providing the most expensive electricity in the region, but we are providing cheap electricity to poor consumers who bear the burden of expensive electricity. Due to the industry shutting down, the government has borne the burden of providing electricity to the industry at a low cost.”
He explained the unique logic for saving money, “50 billion rupees can be saved if load shedding is tolerated for two hours. One important measure to save electricity is to switch fans to low wattage, while the government has installed new plants to end load shedding.”
The energy minister said, “The burden on the consumer was 10 rupees per unit, which increased due to the increase in the dollar price. Currently, the average price of electricity is 44 rupees per unit. We had started working on Independent Power Producers (IPPs) quietly. Still, the ministry leaked that something related to IPPs would happen, and we got help, maybe they did what the ministry was not doing openly. We will give good news regarding IPPs, and Pakistan will move forward.”
He also hinted at positive developments in the energy sector that could help reduce costs and improve electricity supply.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced a massive reduction in fares from Karachi to Jeddah and Madinah.
According to a statement by the national airline, one-way fare from Karachi to Jeddah and Madinah has been reduced to Rs 56,000, including tax, while the return fare has been reduced to Rs 88,000, including tax.
The discounted fares will be effective immediately. Tickets for discounted fares will be issued until August 31, 2024, and travel on discounted fares will be possible until September 30, 2024.
On the other hand, like every year, Saudi Airlines has announced a significant reduction in the price of airline tickets on Saudi Arabia Day, under which those who book Umrah tickets up to August 30 will be given a discount of up to 50 percent. However, they must use the purchased ticket from September 1 to November 30.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to address the rat infestation in Parliament House by employing rat-hunting cats.
A budget of Rs. 12 lakh has been allocated to counter the issue.
The CDA will also install special netted windows to trap rats.
The issue has been attributed to the sealed ceilings within the Parliament House, causing significant damage across departments of the Senate and the National Assembly, including chewing through important files and documents in offices.
On August 26, the High Court declared a holiday for courts on the occasion of the annual Urs of Data Ganj Bakhsh.
The notification was issued following the approval of Acting Chief Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh.
Both session courts and civil courts in Lahore will also remain closed on August 26, says the official notification.
The event draws thousands of devotees to Lahore each year as they gather to pay tribute to the saint, widely known for his spiritual influence and teachings.
On the occasion of annual Urs of Data Ganj Bakhsh, the High Court has declared a holiday for courts on August 26.
The notification was issued following the approval of Acting Chief Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh.
Both session courts and civil courts in Lahore will also remain closed on August 26, says the official notification.
The event draws thousands of devotees to Lahore each year as they gather to pay tribute to the saint, widely known for his spiritual influence and teachings.
Sukkur was rocked by torrential rainfall over the weekend, and the city’s mayor, Arslan Sheikh, claimed that the Sindhi town recorded the heaviest rainfall in 77 years.
Reports suggest that 292 mm of rain fell on the city and the adjoining areas of Larkana and Nowshehru Feroze, which were also submerged under torrential downpours.
The Deputy Commissioner of the city informed Geo News that 24 people were injured in various incidents during the two-day rain, whereas 48 houses were damaged, and five animals died due to electrocution.
Earlier, it was claimed that the city had received 300 mm of rain, but Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfraz denied the claim and said that 116 mm of rain was recorded in Sukkur during 48 hours while 134 mm of rain was recorded in Rohri.
Several hours have passed since the torrential rain in Sukkur stopped but the work of draining the rainwater is still going on.
Citizens remained unhappy with local administration as the entire city became waterlogged. Roads are flooded while the railway station and nearby areas are still submerged in water.
On the other hand, the district administration claims that more than 95 percent of the city’s areas have been cleared. Old Sukkur, Shalimar, Bakhar Chowk, Commercial Center Ghanta Ghar and surrounding commercial centres have been drained, but water is still present at Sukkur Railway Station.
Power was restored in Sukkur after 40 hours.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has asked Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah for a report on the situation caused by the rains.
The first super blue moon of the year will be seen in Pakistan at 11:26 PM tonight (Monday).
Pakistan’s space research agency SUPARCO has announced that the next three super moons will be seen on September 18, October 17 and November 15.
Today is the first super blue moon of the year, which will make the moon appear bigger and brighter.
A blue moon does not mean that the moon will turn blue. The name is rooted in an incident that happened centuries ago. A volcanic eruption in the 19th century caused a change in the colour of the sky, causing the full moon to appear blue, known as the Blue Moon.
Types of Blue moon
There are 2 types of blue moon, one is seasonal blue moon and the other is monthly blue moon.
A seasonal blue moon is the third of four full moons in a season, and a similar blue moon will appear on the horizon on August 19 in Pakistan.
The occurrence of the second full moon in a month of the Gregorian calendar is called the Monthly Blue Moon.
Blue Moon in Pakistan
The moon that will rise in the sky on August 19 will be at a distance of 226,000 miles from the Earth, which will appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than usual.
This month’s seasonal super blue moon is also special because it will take until 2037 to see one after that, but the seasonal blue moon will happen much sooner.
It should be noted that the supermoon will be in the sky for four consecutive months in 2024: August, September, October, and November.
The water level in the Chenab river is rising after India released water, and residents of the area have been advised to evacuate.
As per the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the water level at Kadirabad Barrage in the Chenab River is escalating at an alarming rate, expected to reach 250,000 cusecs. A total of 40,000 to 55,000 cusecs of water is anticipated at Jasar and Shahdara in the Ravi River, prompting immediate relocation for the residents.
Torrential rain in Rajanpur and Koh Sulaiman
On the other hand, torrential rain has been recorded in the mountainous areas of Rajanpur and Koh Sulaiman.
According to the Flood Control Room, the rains have raised the water levels in the rain canals, with 19,606 cubic feet of water passing through Barsati Nala Kahasultan and 11,450 cubic feet passing through Nala Chhachhar.
2,340 cusecs of water is passing through Kalabaga, while the continuous rise in the water level in the Indus river is recording a moderate flood at Kot Mithan.