Category: National

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  • Autopsy says body of Khairpur ASI was torched to cover up murder

    Autopsy says body of Khairpur ASI was torched to cover up murder

    The nephew of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Manzoor Wassan was killed before being burnt along with his vehicle, disclosed an autopsy report.

    Bilawal Wassan, who was an assistant sub-inspector posted in Khairpur, was found dead a couple of days ago near Shah Abdul Latif University police station in Bhargani.

    The post-mortem report revealed that ASI Wassan was burnt posthumously to make his death look like a traffic accident. “His hands and legs had been cut and there were fractures in his skull and ribs,” the post-mortem report quoted by Geo News said.

    According to the news channel, the Sindh police have so far detained two suspects — friends of the deceased.

    One of them, Faraz Rajput, was taken into custody from Karachi. Rajput, upon investigated, told the police that the unidentified body in the car was that of Wassan. 

    The Wassan family spokesperson said this was a planned murder. He said the police officer was first killed and later his vehicle was burnt to cover up evidence.

    The funeral prayers of Bilawal Wassan offered at his native village Haji Nawab Wassan, which was attended by Manzoor Wassan, Nawab Wassab, Munawar Wassan and other people of the area.

  • Police arrest bus driver for playing video game while driving on motorway

    Police arrest bus driver for playing video game while driving on motorway

    A bus driver was caught on camera playing a video game while driving a fast-paced passenger carriage. The driver has been arrested by police and his license has been suspended.

    According to reports, a video did the rounds on social media a few days back wherein a bus driver was caught playing a video game as he drove the bus on the busy Karachi motorway.

    The video shows the driver driving at a considerably high speed on the motorway but his attention is being distracted by the video game. The Inspector-General of Motorway Police took notice of the incident after the video went viral and traced the alleged offender via technology.

    The police reportedly followed the driver, identified as Babar Khan, suspended his license and booked him on relevant charges.

    It was alleged that the driver risked not only the lives of the passengers on board but also of those on the road and showed criminal negligence as a deadly accident could have happened because of it. 

  • Condoms in gutters blamed for Karachi’s sewerage problems

    Disposal of used contraceptives, such as condoms, in gutters has been causing sewerage problems in Karachi, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has said.

    According to reports, KWSB recovered a massive amount of used condoms while clearing a sewerage line on Thursday, which were affecting the flow of sewage and causing serious blockage problems.

    A KWSB official said the huge quantity of used contraceptives was found while a team was cleaning a sewerage line in Clifton Block 2. But this isn’t an isolated incident: the KWSB often finds items like these in sewer lines across the city.

    Water inflates the condoms up to 400 times their size, which blocks manholes and sewerage lines, the KWSB spokesperson explained. Such items must be disposed of in trash cans, he urged.

    The KWSB stressed the need for generating awareness about the issue and urged government departments and social organisations to play their role.

  • Stanford University’s top scientists’ list includes 12 Pakistani teachers

    Stanford University’s top scientists’ list includes 12 Pakistani teachers

    Twelve Pakistani teachers have been included in world’s top two percent scientists list compiled by Stanford University.

    Nine of them are from Punjab University and three from Government College University, Lahore.

    US-based Stanford University recently released a list that represents the top 2% of the most-cited scientists in different disciplines. The list consists of around 160,000 persons.

    Punjab University college’s spokesperson said Dr Khalid Mahmood, Dr Mohammad Sharif and Dr Mohammad Akram were selected by Stanford for their lifetime research.

    Six more researchers from Punjab University were selected in the category for international examination of one-year research papers, the spokesperson added. They are Dr Hafiz Azhar, Dr Zeeshan Yousuf, Dr Mohammad Younis, Dr Saima Arshad, Dr Abdur Rehman and Dr Noman Raza.

    Dr Mahmood is the only professor in South Asia to have received an award in Information and Library Science.

    Over 81 professors were recognised in the lifetime research work list.

    Professor Dr Mjuahid Abbas, Professor Dr Zakaullah and Dr Abdul Sattar Nizami were the educationists selected from Government College University, Lahore.

    Government College University, Lahore Vice Chancellor Dr Asghar Zaidi congratulated the teachers and said the professors were honoured to be among the world’s best researchers.

  • PM Imran, aides accused of helping sugar barons make Rs400bn in profits

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, his principal secretary Azam Khan and special aide on accountability Shahzad Akbar have been accused of facilitating the sugar barons under the guise of the sugar inquiry commission, helping them made over Rs400 billion in profits.

    The claim was made by former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) deputy director Sajjad Bajwa, who was appointed by the premier to probe the malpractices in the industry, following a hike in the prices. Bajwa was later suspended for sharing classified information with the sugar millers before being dismissed from the service last week.

    According to a report in BBC Urdu, Bajwa said he was removed from the post because of some “influential personalities” in the federal cabinet who turned against him after he questioned the role of the government departments in the smuggling of the commodity.

    “During the investigation, I suspected the smuggling of sugar to Afghanistan and raised questions about the role of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in the sugar business,” he alleged.

    “Due to these questions, the decision to remove me from the duty was taken a long time,” the ex-deputy director, who was dismissed from the agency last week, claimed.

    Responding to the claims of Bajwa, SAPM Akbar said there was no truth to these claims. “PM has nothing to do with the matter,” he said, adding that he did not even know Sajjad Bajwa.

  • Indian aircraft makes emergency landing in Karachi

    An Indian aeroplane made an emergency landing at the Karachi airport after the health of a passenger suffered a cardiac arrest on the flight.

    The passenger, 30-year-old Muhammad Noushad, was declared dead by doctors as soon as the plane landed. They said that the passenger had suffered a cardiac arrest and breathed his last before the plane landed.

    According to Indian media reports, the deceased passenger was a resident of Bareilly, a city in Uttar Pradesh. Some reports stated that the flight G8- 6658A- took off from Riyadh on Tuesday afternoon but had to make an emergency landing after the passenger fainted and died on board.

    The aircraft of the private airline, GoAir (6658) carrying 179 passengers, was en route to New Delhi from Riyadh. After refuelling, the flight took off to land at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

  • UK parliament report suggested expulsion of Lord Nazir over sexual misconduct

    UK parliament report suggested expulsion of Lord Nazir over sexual misconduct

    Nazir Ahmed, the member of House of Lords in England, has resigned from the House a day before a report by Lords Conduct Committee recommended his expulsion for using his position to take advantage of “vulnerable” women.

    According to the report published on Nov 17, Lord Nazir breached the code of conduct for “failing to act on his personal honour” over sexual assault and exploitation. 

    Lord Nazir was earlier accused of exploiting his position to pursue intimate relationships with vulnerable women who asked him for help.

    His retirement was also confirmed by Geo News. Lord Nazir has “decided to retire from the House of Lords after 23 years of service”, it reported

    According to Geo, the UK Parliament confirmed to Lord Nazir that his retirement allocation had been approved under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 “as of 14 November 2020”.

    SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS:

    In March 2019,  BBC said that Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham “took advantage” and began a sexual relationship with her after she approached him for assistance. However, Lord Ahmed, 61, denied acting “inappropriately”.

    According to the report, Tahira Zaman, 43, approached Lord Ahmed in February 2017 through a mutual friend, hoping he would help get the police to investigate a Muslim faith healer who she felt was a danger to women.

    Zaman told BBC Newsnight that Lord Ahmed said he wrote a letter to the Metropolitan Police Commander Cressida Dick about her concerns. “She then alleges that he repeatedly asked her for dinner.”

    BBC said that the woman “finally agreed and weeks after the dinner, she contacted him about her case and he invited her to his east London home”.

    “He was saying I’m beautiful,” she told Newsnight.

    “The pair went on to have sex on numerous occasions. She accepts the relationship was consensual but said: I was looking for help and he took advantage of me. He abused his power,” as per the report.

    Lord Nazir denied any wrongdoing.

  • PTI lawyer Naeem Bukhari being considered for PTV chairman post

    PTI lawyer Naeem Bukhari being considered for PTV chairman post

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is likely to appoint lawyer Naeem Bukhari, who represented Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Panama Papers case against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, as the chairman of the Pakistan Television (PTV).

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed that Bokhari should be nominated as the PTVC board chairman, a report in Pakistan Today claimed.

    The ministry has asked the federal cabinet to keep the composition of the PTVC Board to eight members, with three independent stakeholders.

    In Sept 2020, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared the appointments of PTV chairman Arshad Khan and independent members of the board of directors illegal while directing the government to fill the vacant slots in accordance with the law. 

    Bukhari, who has worked as an anchorperson and commentators on PTV for decades, had joined PTI in June 2016. At the time, he called Imran Khan the “only political leader who had the courage to speak the truth”. Bukhari also represented Imran when he went to the Supreme Court against then prime minister Nawaz Sharif following the Panama Papers leak.

    The pleas that were later admitted by the apex court which disqualified Nawaz Sharif for being “dishonest” under Article 62 (1)(f).

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also hired the services of Bukhari as a special prosecutor to take up cases against close confidants of Sharif brothers — former Lahore Development Authority chief Ahad Cheema and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.

  • COVID-19: PM bans political rallies across country

    As anti-government protests of the joint opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) gain momentum, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has announced a ban on political rallies across the country on recommendation of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), journalist Asad Ali Toor has reported.

    According to the details, the ban was announced by the premier as he addressed the nation following a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on the COVID-19 pandemic, a second wave of which is currently taking toll on Pakistan.

    Earlier it was announced by the PM’s Office in Islamabad that the premier would address a press briefing after the meeting. 

    The meeting comes after the NCOC recommended urgent measures to the NCC to control the rapidly-increasing infections across the country, Geo reported.

    The NCOC recommended limiting all public gatherings to 500 people, including cultural, political, religious, entertainment, and civil gatherings.

    It also suggested allowing only outdoor dining till 10 pm, shutting down cinemas and theatres, and closing down shrines beside an early closure of markets and safe days.

    Meanwhile, the decision on early and extended winter vacations in schools was deferred till November 23, the Ministry of Federal Education/Professional Training said.

  • Bilawal announces protest against ‘stolen’ GB polls

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has alleged irregularities in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly elections, saying the results were manipulated to favour the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — leading on 12 seats as per the initial results.

    In a tweet, the PPP chairperson announced to join a demonstration in the region against the “stealing of elections”.

    “My election has been stolen. I will be joining the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in their protest shortly,” said the opposition leader in a tweet.

    The statement followed a series of tweets by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who claimed the PTI was able to bag more seats because of alleged pre-poll rigging. She claimed the PTI has no support in GB and its electoral victories would be a result of alleged rigging done by “selectors”.

    The PML-N candidates were forced to switch their loyalties and join the PTI, she said, adding despite the support of the state machinery, the party failed to gain a simple majority.

    PTI AHEAD OF PPP, PML-N:

    According to the initial results, the PTI and its allies are set to form a new government for the next five years in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. Unofficial results showed the PTI and its allies were leading, clinching half [12] of the contested seats.

    Official results are expected to be announced today as election authorities said they were facing difficulties in collecting results from several far-flung mountainous areas due to heavy snow and rain.

    The PTI and its allies, according to the initial results, are in the lead with at least 12 of the 24 seats being contested in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly.

    At least four independent candidates projected to win are most likely to join the PTI to form the government.

    The two other main contenders — the centre-left PPP and centre-right PML-N, which won the 2015 elections in the region — have cried foul, accusing the election authorities of “rigging”.

    The chief election commissioner, however, denied the charge, advising the opposition parties to contact the commission if there are any irregularities.