Charity organisations and philanthropists have paid millions of rupees to free some 300 poor prisoners, who had completed their sentences but were unable to pay their fines.
Jail officials said that this gesture brought instant relief to hundreds of families and individuals across Sindh who were otherwise unable to come out of jails due to poverty and lack of resources.
They added that those released were not hardened criminals but were in jail for domestic issues or involvement in petty crimes and had been properly identified before the payment of fines.
Fawad Sherwani of the Al-Khidmat organisation, the charity wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami, which has helped free dozens of such prisoners revealed that the whole process is very detailed as they run complete background checks before they move for the prisoners’ release. He also called for a permanent fund to be set up to help those convicts who are not hardened criminals but land in jail for minor offences.
Meanwhile, 37 other convicts were released after the provincial government paid more than Rs330 million in compensation.
With the International Court of Justice (ICJ) pronouncing the long-awaited verdict in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, both Pakistan and India have claimed victory.
The narrative in Indian media paints a different picture of the judgment than the one shown by Pakistan. But how is that even possible?
PAKISTAN’S WIN:
According to the ICJ, Jadhav’s conviction and sentence by a military court were not to be regarded as a violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention, which India had claimed.
“As regards India’s claim based on the Vienna Convention, the court considers that it is not the conviction and sentence of Jadhav which are to be regarded as a violation of the provisions of the Vienna Convention,” read the verdict.
Article 36 states that foreign nationals who are arrested or detained be given notice without delay of their right to have their embassy and consulate be notified of the arrest and have consular officers visit them.
Among other Indian demands were the annulment of the military court’s decision and permitting Jadhav a safe passage to India. However, the same was denied.
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 17, 2019
But what exactly is that India is celebrating?
INDIA’S WIN:
India had also demanded that Jadhav be tried once again by a civilian court after giving him consular access. No retrial was granted, however, Pakistan was ordered to grant the convicted spy consular access.
India also demanded the relief of “review and reconsideration” for its spy, which ICJ has granted, but by means of Pakistan’s own choice.
It means that Islamabad is now required to judicially review Jadhav’s trial and assess if denial of consular access prejudiced his trial.
FOREIGN MEDIA:
Meanwhile, international media reports focused on the ICJ’s directive to Pakistan to review its death sentence to Kulbhushan Jadhav.
“World Court Orders Review of Pakistan Death Sentence for Indian Convicted of Spying”, The New York Times‘ headline said. The Washington Post story on the judgment said: “Alleged Indian spy on death row in Pakistan wins reprieve from execution”.
British media also focussed on the part of the ICJ judgment which went in India’s favour. “UN court orders Pakistan not to execute Indian man accused of spying” The Guardian said in its report.
KULBHUSHAN JADHAV:
Commander Jadhav — an Indian Navy officer working for Indian covert agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) — was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan after he entered Pakistan from Iran.
Jadhav was tried in a military court that sentenced him to death for espionage and subversive activities. In a reaction to the move, Pakistan’s relations with neighbouring India tensed and New Delhi approached the ICJ to hear the case.
On May 18, 2017, the ICJ had ordered Pakistan to halt the execution of Jadhav until a final decision was made.
The National Accountancy Bureau (NAB) has arrested former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) scandal case.
Abbasi is facing accusations of handing over a tender worth Rs220 billion to a company in which he himself was a shareholder. His name is also on the Exit Control List (ECL) so as to stop him from leaving the country.
The arrest comes after the former premier skipped a NAB hearing pertaining to the case at the bureau’s Rawalpindi office.
According to reports, Abbasi was due in Lahore for a press conference to be addressed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif at 4 pm. He, however, was intercepted on his way and taken into custody.
“I received the NAB notice yesterday and it was not possible for me to appear before the bureau on such short notice,” he had stated in a letter to NAB earlier in the day. He had also reportedly sought three days from the anti-graft watchdog for appearance.
Chinese tech giant Huawei Group has unveiled an $170 million investment plan to set up its regional headquarters and upgrade technical support centre in Pakistan, a private media outlet reported.
Huawei Group Vice President Mark Xueman said on Wednesday that his company would invest around $100 million in Pakistan this year.
“Huawei will also set up a regional headquarters in Islamabad at a cost of $55 million that will create job opportunities for young engineers in Pakistan,” he said while talking to Planning, Development and Reforms Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar.
Huawei’s official further informed the minister that the company would also invest $15 million more in its technical support centre and it will also hire more workforce for the centre, taking the number of its staff to 800 from 600 this year.
“Huawei is eager to initiate more projects in Pakistan on grant funding from the Chinese government,” Xueman said; responding to which the minister assured him of all cooperation in future joint ventures.
Pakistan is a fast-growing telecom market with subscribers of mobile phones having crossed the 160 million mark compared with the country’s population of 210 million. Of total subscribers, 68 million use 3G/4G. There are 70 million broadband subscribers.
The country imports millions of dollars of mobile phones to meet the local requirements with manufacturing and assembling of handheld devices not present in the country.
According to the government, Huawei has a 25 per cent share in the country’s mobile industry and is also the top tax paying Chinese company in the country.
In another episode of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) alleged bars on press freedom, critical media coverage has been linked to potential “treason”.
The PTI, on its official Twitter handle, has fired off over two dozen tweets in English and Urdu, lambasting the press for coverage that criticises the government and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, which it deemed “anti-state”.
“Freedom of expression is [the] beauty of democracy. Expressing [the] enemy’s stance is not freedom of speech, but treason against its people,” read one tweet.
Media houses & journalists must take care that in their quest for criticism on State, they intentionally or unintentionally do not end up propagating enemy’s stance. Freedom of expression is immense power. And with great power there is great responsibility!#JournalismNotAgendapic.twitter.com/YdxD9Al5Pb
“Media houses and journalists must take care that in their quest for criticism on state, they intentionally or unintentionally do not end up propagating enemy’s stance,” it added with the hashtag ‘#JournalismNotAgenda’.
The tirade comes two weeks after an interview of former president Asif Ali Zardari was stopped from being aired shortly after it started on a private news channel.
I can only say sorry to my viewers that an interview was started and stopped on Geo New I will share the details soon but it’s easy to understand who stopped it?We are not living in a free country
It was followed by an interview of Maryam Nawaz Sharif, a vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), being “forcefully” taken off air soon after it was run.
“Just came to know Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s interview has been stopped forcefully just [a] few minutes after it started live,” tweeted show host Nadeem Malik.
We can all safely say that no one checks their text messages anymore since it’s usually spam. Our lives revolve around WhatsApp and WhatsApp groups. The Facebook owned App is going to introduce five changes that might change the way you use the App.
1. DARK MODE
Constantly using your WhatsApp which drains your battery and gives you tired eyes? WhatsApp’s new “dark mode feature” will now give the app a darker appearance in the night, reducing the glare from the phone and also helping save battery life.
2. QUICK EDIT MEDIA
Want to edit media files you send or receive on WhatsApp? You’ll be able to do a lot more than cutting down on duration and adding text to pictures. The Quick Edit feature will allow you to make changes to files you get or send and share them directly.
Some of the updates are already available on the Beta Version
3. SHARE FACEBOOK STORIES
In what seems like hope to get more users to engage with Facebook Stories, WhatsApp will now let users share a story on Whatsapp directly from their Facebook accounts. No news yet if it’s going to be available for Instagram as well. incorporated for Facebook stories initially.
4. MORE INFO ON FORWARDED MESSAGES
Constantly spammed with “forwarded as received” messages, especially on family groups? In a much needed feature, if a message is forwarded more than five times, it will now have a “frequently forwarded” label. WhatsApp will also notify users how often the message has been forwarded, in hope of controlling the spread of rumours and false information (Uncles and Aunties might not be too happy about this one).
5. QR CODE
Users will be able to add a new contact using a QR code directly. Every user will have a unique code (similar to nametags on Instagram) and you can share your code with oders (so it’s easier for them to add you)
Heavy rains in Lahore didn’t just disrupt the flow of traffic yesterday but have also caused the main entrance gate of historical Shahi Qila to collapse.
According to details, continuous rain and accumulation of rainwater damaged the small wooden gate of the historical Lahore fort, causing it to collapse. The door is part of the Roshnai Gate which opens into the Food Street. The door was built during colonial rule.
After reports of the door collapsing made rounds on media, the Walled City Authority was quick to point out that the Roshani Gate itself is intact, but the small entrance gate has come unhinged due to the rain.
WLCA officials said that the door collapsed due to the accumulation of water in the food street and that it will be restored as soon as possible.
The historical Lahore Fort was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1981. It one of the oldest and biggest Mughal structure in the subcontinent. It continues to attract visitors from far and wide and is central to Lahore’s history and culture.
Is a Whatsapp conversation even complete, if it doesn’t include at least one emoji? All of us use emojis while texting because not only do they make conversations fun, they are also useful where words fail.
On World Emoji Day, we match our politicians to emojis and who knew there are so many of them.
Imran Khan
No one cooler than our Prime Minister.
Z.A Bhutto
Hain? How does WhatsApp know keh aaj bhi Bhutto zinda hai?
Fawad Chaudhry
Bas unees bees ka faraq hai.
Shehbaz Sharif
This detective emoji is perfect for our ex-Khadim-e-Aala Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif.
Shehryar Afridi
Its the beard.
Maryam Nawaz
All hail to princess Maryam. If Maryam Nawaz was an emoji, she would definitely be the princess one.
Sherry Rehman
Ain’t no diva like Sherry Rehman.
Khawaja Asif
Momina Basit
This is our favorite one because they resemble a lot. Momina Basit is one of the members of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI).
Flight operations at Allama Iqbal International Airport were severely disrupted after a large flock of birds took over the Lahore airport. Videos from the airport show the birds flying around the runaway.
WhatsApp-Video-2019-07-17-at-14.42.02
According to details, seven flights expected to land at the Lahore Airport were diverted to land in other cities due to the situation. A PIA flight coming from Paris was made to land at the Sialkot airport while PIA’s Jeddah-Lahore flight was diverted to Multan airport. An international flight coming from Doha was returned to its origin.
PIA’s spokesperson told the media that flights were diverted due to safety concerns and efforts are underway to end the bird strike.
The Lahore airport is surrounded by wedding halls, where leftover food is thrown in nearby areas. Birds gather to have a feast but they pose a substantial threat to planes.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan has directed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to reduce the price of luggage plastic wrapping to Rs 50 at all airports across the country.
Previously, rates of double wrapping were Rs400 while for the single wrapping, the airport authorities used to charge Rs200. CAA has made plastic wrapping of luggage mandatory for passengers travelling abroad.
Spokesperson to Punjab Chief Minister (CM), Dr Shahbaz Gill, has debunked reports claiming a new tax has been imposed on burial services.
“The Punjab government is planning to impose tax on the purchase of new coffins and graves in Lahore. A tax of Rs1,000 would be imposed on smaller ones (for children) and Rs1,500 on bigger ones (for adults),” a private media outlet had claimed Tuesday.
According to reports, Lahore Metropolitan Corporation had forwarded a request to the Local Government Department, seeking approval for the tax on graveyards that come under its jurisdiction.
Lahore Mayor Mubashir Javid had distanced himself from the reports, saying that he had nothing to do with it.
“The Punjab government has dissolved the rights of the mayor as well as the local bodies and assigned administrative powers to the commissioner,” he had said while speaking to a private media outlet, adding that the tax “was proposed by the commissioner”.
However, all claims were rubbished by Punjab CM’s spokesperson, who questioned if the reports were nothing but an “attempt to malign the government and tax culture”.
