Category: Uncategorized

  • NADRA resumes registration of transgenders

    NADRA resumes registration of transgenders

    The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has resumed the process of registration of transgenders after almost three months.

    NADRA stopped the issuance of X ID cards after the decision of the Federal Sharia Court against various provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018 in May this year.

    History
    The National Assembly passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Right) Act in 2018, giving all legal rights and recognition to transgender persons, penalising any form of discrimination against them.

    However, in September 2022, the Federal Sharia Court took up petitions challenging the law which had Jamaat-i-Islami’s Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, TV anchor Orya Maqbool Jan, and transgender persons Almaas Boby and Bubbly Malik as party to the petition.

    In May this year, the Federal Sharia Court struck down all provisions in the Amendment Bill 2022 that they said conflicted with Islam and the Constitution in May, declaring Section 2N(3), Section 2F, Sections 3 (recognition of identity of transgender person) and 7 (right to inherit) of the Transgender Act to be unconstitutional.

    But lawyers, civil society and human rights activists insisted on its restoration.

    In July this year, Farhatullah Babar challenged the decision of the Sharia Court in the Sharia Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court.

  • There is space for a new political party, says PMLN’s Khaqan Abbasi

    There is space for a new political party, says PMLN’s Khaqan Abbasi

    Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has criticised the performance of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, stating that there is a need for a new political party in the country.

    “The ability of quick decision making was not seen in the Shehbaz-led government as it should have been,” Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said while referring to the previous coalition government.

    The PML-N leader has said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government didn’t take initiatives to give relief to the people of Pakistan. On the other hand, he also criticised the previous coalition government and his own party, PML-N, for not taking meaningful steps to resolve the issues Pakistan is facing.

    Due to the current situation of the country, there is space and a need for a new political party, he remarked.

    “The PDM government didn’t take the decisions that should have been taken,” he said.

    Abbasi stated that PTI chief Imran Khan didn’t spend a single penny on any substantial work during his whole tenure.

    The PML-N leader also observed that the decision of former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial regarding the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will be problematic for political leaders.

    “The little expectation I have from someone to deliver has ended after this decision,” he added.

  • Who was Zainab Market named after? Twitter has a hilarious discussion about road names

    Who was Zainab Market named after? Twitter has a hilarious discussion about road names

    Ever thought about what was the meaning behind names of popular roads like Tariq Road in Karachi or Abdul Rehman Road in Lahore? A Twitter user decided to finally decode the question, posting a Tweet on X (formerly Twitter) asking who were the people after whom these roads were named.

    “Anyone ever wonder who the Zenab behind Zenab market, Tariq behind Tariq Road, Hasan behind Hasan Square really are? Who are these people? How did they become so iconic and important to Karachi?”

    A user was kind enough to explain Zainab Market’s name, and it turns out because that’s the name of the owner’s daughter.

    Soon, people brought up some hilarious road names and attempted to decode what they had really meant. For instance, there’s really a road in Karachi called Anda Mor?

    Then there’s another place called Mochi Mor? Kya mochi sirf wahan par baithtay hain?

    And Bandar Road doesn’t actually mean Monkey- but it’s the road that leads to the port.

    Finally we got an explanation behind Tariq road, it’s named after Tariq bin Ziyad, the Muslim General who led the invasion on Iberia.

  • Sanam Javed, three other women arrested again after release

    Sanam Javed, three other women arrested again after release

    Lahore Police has rearrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Sanam Javed and three other women on Tuesday after they were released from jail.

    The other three women have been identified as Afshan Tariq, Ashma Shuja and Shah Noor.

    The court had ordered their release on bail from Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore, in the May 9 Jinnah House attack case.

    According to the police, the women have been arrested in the second case related to the Jinnah House attack.

  • Hina Shah surrenders to police in Fatima murder case

    Hina Shah surrenders to police in Fatima murder case

    Hina Shah, one of the central suspects in 10-year-old Fatima Phariro’s murder case has surrendered to police, ARY News has reported.

    Hina Shah is the wife of Pir Asad Shah, the other central suspect in the death of the child.

    According to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Samiullah Soomro, Hina Shah surrendered due to constant raids and police investigations.

    She has been moved to the women’s police station and will be presented before the court for remand.

    Previously, Fatima’s mother complained that SHO Khanwahin Ghani Dayo issued threats to abduct or kill her. She added that he also used foul language while alluding to Fatima.

    “SHO Khanwahin has been assisting pirs of Ranipur” she claimed and has insisted on protection from Khanwahan police officer.

    When the caretaker home minister of Sindh visited the family last week, he ordered the SHO to hold officials accountable.

    Fatima’s case

    A domestic maid, 10-year-old child Fatima Phuriro, was found dead under suspicious circumstances in Ranipur.

    The child had been working as a domestic worker at a haveli owned by an influential local, Pir Asad Shah Jilani.

    Fatima’s mother, Shabana, was informed about the death by the employer who asked her to remove the body from the premises where two of Fatima’s sisters were also employed.

    According to DIG Sukkur Javed Jiskani, the parents initially did not share the facts of the case with the police and claimed that the girl was suffering from gastroenteritis. While her diagnosis was also confirmed by Dr Abdul Fatah Memon who treated her, the DIG revealed that Fatima was taken to the hospital either by the Pir or his staff and that the SHO was present at the time she was pronounced dead.

    It was not until videos of the child were leaked by an unknown source and circulated in social media that the case caught the media’s eye. By then, the family had buried Fatima on August 15.

    The body was later exhumed and sent for an autopsy which revealed that the girl had been raped both vaginally and anally.

  • Confirmation of polio virus in various cities

    Once again, the presence of polio virus has been confirmed in samples collected from different cities across Pakistan.

    According to officials, two samples from Hangu city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one from Karachi have tested positive for polio.

    These samples were taken from Hangu Civil Hospital and Jani Chowk.

    Reportedly, the polio virus found in Hangu is genetically similar to the virus found in Rawalpindi.

    Similarly, other samples were taken from the Kemari area of Karachi.

    Overall, 27 samples in Pakistan have tested positive for polio virus so far.

    A seven-day anti-polio campaign in Karachi will start from October 2.

    More than 2.6 lakh children will get the vaccine, while children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years will also be given vitamin A.

    During the anti-polio campaign, 3,500 personnel will be on duty.

  • At least six men involved in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder

    At least six men involved in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder

    Latest CCTV evidence reveals that at least six suspects came to kill Hardeep Singh in two cars.

    The Washington Post has reviewed the video and gathered accounts of witnesses that suggest that it was a “larger and more organized operation than has previously been reported”.

    According to Washington Post, Nijjar’s gray pickup truck was by strewn bullets. While Bhupinderjit Singh, first person to visit the site, described the scene: “It was blood and shattered glass everywhere,”

    The community members state that investigators told them that the assailants fired about 50 bullets out of which 34 hit Nijjar.

    On the other hand, the Sikh community protested outside the Indian High Commission in Canada against the killing of Hardeep Singh, raising slogans against Modi. Canada’s defence minister says there are credible intelligence reports pointing towards Indian interference, and it will not back down.

    Nijjar’s murder

    Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh leader, was shot outside a Sikh temple on 18 June in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. As per the police’ evaluation, it was a “targeted” attack.

    The world reacted after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement citing suspicion towards India in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder case.

    “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,”, said Trudeau.

    On the other hand, in a tit-for-tat move, India ordered a senior Canadian diplomat to leave the country, keeping in view the “growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities”.

    India’s foreign ministry has rejected all allegations, deeming them as “absurd”.

  • Man helps wife marry her lover

    Man helps wife marry her lover

    A man from Uttar Pradesh, India, has helped his wife get married again to her lover.

    As reported by Times Now, the woman had an extra-marital affair, in reaction to which, her husband supported her and got the two lovers married.

    People on the internet drew parallels between the story and the famous bollywood movie, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam from 1999.

    According to India Today, the couple had been married for a year before the wife started the affair. The woman’s lover, identified as Akash Shah, even visited her in-laws’ home once and was resultantly caught and beaten after they unveiled the affair.

    According to Shah, he and his paramour had dated for two years. He was unable to forget about his lover even after she got married.

    Eventually, the woman spoke with her husband about the affair who, instead of taking it as an offence, dealt with it composedly, and bid them farewell for their new journey.

  • Chief Justice Faez Isa cracks down on adjournments

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faiz Isa has called on his fraternity to stop the practice of seeking adjournments in order to decrease the number of pending cases in the apex court of the country.

    On Monday, during a hearing of an agreement violation case, the CJP stated, “Get this out of our mind that adjournments will be granted [in cases] from now on,” he said, adding that they should now be considered a thing of the past.

    Emphasizing that there are numerous cases before the Supreme Court that are still pending, Qazi Faez Isa said that in every case, a notice will be given to parties on a single hearing, and a decision will be made about the arguments in the next hearing.

    CJP Isa said that by using this case, he was telling everyone that adjournments would no longer be granted.

    The top judge remarked that other courts grant time to submit case-related documents. The Supreme Court is the last resort court where records of all cases have been filed in advance, he added.

  • Juggun Kazim was harassed by fans for this reason

    Juggun Kazim was harassed by fans for this reason

    Actress Juggun Kazim was a guest on Momin Saqib’s show ‘Had Kar Di’ where she criticised Pakistani audiences for turning a blind eye to toxic love stories promoting violence and sexism towards women.

    The ‘Gunah’ actress said that she had once shared a picture on her Instagram where she was kissing her husband’s cheek. The picture got her severe backlash.

    “I couldn’t understand! This was four or five years ago. I said what is everyone’s problem? That’s my husband!”

    Juggun questioned why it is appropriate to display violence on television screens but controversy ignites when romance is shown.

    Drama channels profiting off of women’s misery is often discussed by public figures, including ‘Kuch Ankahi’ writer Syed Mohammad Ahmed. In a June appearance on ‘Mazaaq Raat’, he spoke at length about television channels prioritizing viewership ratings over honest storytelling.