Category: Uncategorized

  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Rape victims will have to pay Rs25,000 for medical examination?

    Sexual assault victims in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) will have to pay Rs25,000 for medical examination as the forensic department of Khyber Medical College University (KMCU) has proposed new charges for its services, The Express Tribune reported.

    According to reports, besides the medical examination of rape victims fee, an autopsy will now cost Rs5,000 for Peshawar residents and Rs25,000 for those from other districts, keeping dead bodies in the morgue will cost Rs1,500 for a single day while a fee of Rs18,000 has been suggested for DNA testing.

    Officials said the 17 new charges were proposed in a February 14 meeting of the Management Committee, and have been introduced to meet the operational expenditures of the department.

    Among other proposed charges are Rs2,000 for urine test and alcohol analysis, and Rs4,000 for poison detection test.

    KMCU Dean Dr Aurangzeb has said that the new charges for services were just a proposal discussed in the meeting. “The profits generated from these charges will go to the public exchequer, which will help in the betterment of services.”

  • Farhat Shahzadi, first lady’s friend, allegedly owns assets worth Rs700m, claims journalist

    Farhat Shahzadi, first lady’s friend, allegedly owns assets worth Rs700m, claims journalist

    After backlash, Farhat Shahzadi, a close friend of First Lady Bushra Bibi, has withdrawn her nomination papers for a Senate seat amid claims that she allegedly owns assets worth Rs70 crore, including a flat in Dubai.

    According to journalist Rauf Klasra, the properties allegedly owned by Shahzadi must be investigated, calling them a “tip of the iceberg”. He claimed that Shahzadi could be the “frontperson” of the first lady while demanding a probe into her assets.

    Shahzadi had submitted the details of her assets to the Election Commission of Pakistan at the time of the submission of her papers. According to these details, the value of her assets increased by Rs9.5 million in one year.

    She has properties in Dubai, Bahria Town, Defence Housing Authority, and Chakri, Rawalpindi. In DHA Lahore, she owns six properties worth about Rs450m; in Islamabad, she owns a flat worth Rs90m; in Dubai, she is the owner of a flat that is worth approx Rs10m.

    The PTI leader has investments in 12 different entities, whereas she has eight bank accounts in her name with millions deposited in them.

    Meanwhile, the decision to field Shahzadi as a covering candidate on a seat reserved for women didn’t go down well with the party leadership. Subsequently, she has decided against contesting the election and took her nomination papers back.

    However, at the time, PM’s aide Shahbaz Gill defended the nomination of Shahzadi. Following criticism, PM’s aide Shahbaz Gill had defended the selection of Farhat Shahzadi, saying she is a part of the PTI and has been an active political worker for many years. She is a covering candidate and it is her right, he had added.

    Earlier this week, the PTI nominated 10 candidates: Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Muhammad Khan Madni, Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Robina Akhtar, Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, Aon Abbas, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Ejaz Hussain Minhas, Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhary and Neelam Irshad Sheikh.

    Senate elections will be held on March 3.

  • NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars, China trails behind

    NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars, China trails behind

    NASA successfully landed its fifth robotic rover, Perseverance, on the surface of Mars on Thursday after its six-month journey from Earth.

    “Touchdown confirmed. Perseverance is safely on the surface of Mars,” said Swati Mohan, an engineer on the Perseverance team.

    The rover is the most technologically advanced robot NASA has ever sent to Mars. The agency’s goal is to use it to explore the surface in nearly two years.

    NASA spent about $2.4 billion to build and launch the Perseverance mission, with another $300 million in costs expected for landing and operating the rover on the Mars surface.

    Perseverance also has a small helicopter named Ingenuity that NASA would use to try the first flight on another planet.

    The rover’s weight is about 1one ton. It is 10 feet long, nine feet wide and seven feet tall. The camera is fixed in a robotic arm that reaches about seven feet. It also has a chemical analyser and a rock drill.

    Perseverance traveled 293 million miles to reach Mars over the course of more than six months after it was launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on July 30.

    Meanwhile, China’s Tianwen-1 spacecraft has also entered into the orbit and might land on the surface later this year.

  • PTI Sindh leader kills snake in jail cell; PPP govt accused of ‘hatching conspiracies’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker and leader of opposition in Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Sheikh, has killed a snake that appeared in his jail cell, the MPA’s spokesperson confirmed.

    “A poisonous snake appeared in the room of Haleem Adil Sheikh, which was pinpointed by a servant who went there to deliver breakfast,” Sheikh’s spokesperson Muhammad Ali Baloch said on Thursday.

    “After seeing the snake, Sheikh killed it,” Baloch said, adding that the presence of the snake in his boss’s room puts a question mark on the performance of Sindh police.

    He went on to say that conspiracies were being hatched against Sheikh as “police have become a slave to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)”.

    The statements were followed by Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon seeking a report from authorities concerned regarding the appearance of the snake.

    AIG Memon telephoned DIG (CIA) Arif Hanif, ordered him to investigate the matter and submit a report at the earliest.

    Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi has sent the PTI leader to jail on judicial remand till February 25.

    The ATC was hearing the case related to aerial firing and disturbance during Karachi’s PS-88 by-election on February 16, in the aftermath of which Sheikh had been placed under police custody.

  • Pakistani artist Salman Toor listed among TIME magazine’s list of 100 emerging leaders

    Pakistani Artist Salman Toor has been listed among “2021 TIME100 NEXT”, a list revealed by Time Magazine that includes 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future.

    Salman’s profile in the TIME feature says, “In his painting The Star, Salman Toor uses classical techniques—deploying brushstrokes and lighting reminiscent of the 1800s—to render a thoroughly modern scene: a young South Asian man sits backstage in front of a mirror, wearing a furry pink jacket, as a makeup artist and a hairstylist fuss over him. That these contrasts might seem unexpected is exactly the point.

    “Toor, who was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and lives in New York City, has made his career subverting the styles of old paintings by centring openly queer men of South Asian descent in an attempt to, as he says in the audio guide for The Star, ‘play with the idea’ of societal norms. Now more people than ever are paying attention: the artist recently secured his first solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, which will be on display through April 2021.”

    Priincipal subjects of Toor’s paintings are often South Asian Queer Man.

    Dan Macsai, the editorial director of the TIME100, said: “Everyone on this list is poised to make history. And in fact, many already have.”

    TIME editor-in-chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal writes in his letter to readers: “Amid a global pandemic, deepening inequality, systemic injustice and existential questions about truth, democracy and the planet itself, the individuals on this year’s list provide ‘clear-eyed hope’.”

    TIME100 Next list consists of Artists, Phenoms, Leaders, Advocates, and Innovators.

  • Fawad sees ‘woman version of Altaf Hussain’ in Maryam Nawaz

    Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry has said that he sees a woman version of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain in Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz after she warned the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to “get ready for people’s wrath”.

    “NAB is targeting PML-N leader Amir Muqam and his family. Time is not far when people will take revenge from NAB for its excesses,” she said while addressing a rally in Nowshera on Wednesday. “They should just get ready.”

    Reacting to Maryam’s statement, Fawad said the remarks were unfortunate.

    “The way Maryam said she will seek revenge from NAB, it reminds me of Altaf Hussain and co. The way she has threatened… I see a woman version of Altaf Hussain in her,” he said, adding that he couldn’t help recalling the threats against law enforcement by the MQM founder back when he was in the crosshairs.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1362085006672334850

    MARYAM IN NOWSHERA:

    Earlier, Maryam also said that time had come to send Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan packing.

    She said during the PML-N’s tenure, flour, sugar, pulses and eggs were cheap. “The growth rate under Nawaz Sharif was 5.8%, which has sunk to negative now.”.

    Maryam also said that under the PML-N, the price of flour was Rs35/kg but now it was Rs80/kg. “The price of roti was Rs5 and now it has gone up to Rs20,” she lamented.

    The PML-N vice president said that wherever the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members would contest the elections, they will be defeated.

    “I want to tell the people that when PTI members come to ask for votes, show them the electricity and gas bills and medicine slips and tell them with what grace they have come to ask for votes,” she said, adding that she has more sympathy for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as compared to Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan because the province has been enduring other issues including incompetence, theft and robbery for last eight years.

  • Ali Sadpara is no more, confirms son

    Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara, who went missing on February 5 while attempting to summit K2, is no more with us, his family confirmed on Thursday.

    Sadpara had gone missing along with two other foreign climbers, and it is not yet confirm whether the mountaineers did summit the mighty K2.

    Addressing a press conference, Sadpara’s son Sajid Sadpara said, “K2 has embraced my father forever. May God give my family the strength to deal with this loss.”

    “I want to assure the mountaineering community across the world that my father’s mission will continue.”

    He also thanked Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the pilots of Askari Aviation for a thorough search and rescue operation for his father despite harsh weather conditions.

    READ: Video of Ali Sadpara singing ‘Tum Chalay Ao’ goes viral as rescue operation enters third day

    Sajid Sadpara shared the news on Twitter as well.  “I will keep my father’s mission alive and fulfil his dream,” he wrote. 

    https://twitter.com/Saajid_Sadpara/status/1362350453758058502?s=20

    The climbers were last seen around the mountain’s most unsafe path called the Bottleneck.

    President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi took to Twitter to express his condolences to Ali Sadpara’s family.

  • PML-N’s Zubair says Fawad cost him Senate ticket

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Muhammad Zubair said his party refused to nominate him for a Senate seat because of the criticism levelled by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry.

    Zubair, who appeared on Kashif Abbasi’s show on ARY News alongside Fawad, said that the minister is very fond of giving lectures on morality to the opposition that became the reason for his party’s refusal to award him a ticket. “I hope Fawad will also pay heed when it’s the opposition turn to give such lectures,” he added.

    Zubair, who is also the spokesperson of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, said he wanted a Senate ticket from Punjab even though he is a representative of Sindh being its resident and the governor, but the PML-N decided against it because it wanted to set standards for the award of Senate tickets. And Fawad also talked about setting standards, especially in my case, Zubair said.

    According to Zubair, Fawad had opposed his potential nomination for Senate, saying Zubair entry into Senate would damage the “quality” of the upper house.

    However, when the host asked Fawad, he said Zubair probably didn’t get the Senate ticket because the party wanted to nominate party leaders Nehal Hashmi and Mushahidullah for the coveted seats.

    Zubair, however, defended the award of the Senate ticket to the deceased PML-N lawmaker, saying Mushahidullah had been living in Punjab – Islamabad – for over a decade now and his nomination from Punjab was justified.

    The ailing PML-N lawmaker, Mushahidullah, passed away in the wee hours of Thursday hours after the show was broadcasted.

  • Pervaiz Rasheed’s Senate nomination papers rejected over unpaid Rs26 lacs in room rent

    Pervaiz Rasheed’s Senate nomination papers rejected over unpaid Rs26 lacs in room rent

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart Pervaiz Rasheed’s nomination papers for the upcoming Senate polls were on Thursday rejected over non-payment of room rent to Punjab House in Islamabad.

    According to reports, the Punjab government has accused the ex-information minister of defaulting on payments over Rs2.6 million (Rs26 lacs) for his stay at the residency for 759 days.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Zainab Omar had filed an objection against Rasheed through her lawyer Rana Mudassar to the returning officer/provincial election commissioner in Lahore.

    Speaking to media, Rasheed described the move to reject his nomination papers as a vindictive act on behalf of the government. 

    The PML-N leader accused Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan of not tolerating criticism, adding that efforts were being made to keep him out of the parliament. 

    Rasheed accused the government of preparing a fake “demand” against him. “To dispose of this fake demand, I am ready to make the payment,” said the senior PML-N leader.

    The PML-N leader said that he wanted to pay the dues to the Punjab House but its management was not accepting it. “You can close the doors on me, but you can’t stop my voice,” he said, addressing the government.

    “I will appeal against the decision to reject my nomination papers,” he said and alleged that fake cases against PML-N leaders were being made, accusing the government of keeping political opponents at bay.

  • ‘Maya the Myth’, Pakistani horror movie releases on Amazon prime

    Made in Pakistan, ‘Maya the Myth’ a horror film has released on the online streaming service Amazon Prime. The movie is apparently based on real life events.

    The story is about a young Pakistani Hindu girl named Padmani, who would hear frightening noises underneath the floorboards of her room. One night these sounds took the form of an invisible creature and it asked for the sacrifice of Padmani’s unborn child.

    The trailer of the movie shows a girl dressed in red, who is supposedly Padmani, the leading character of the movie. A Pandit tells the girl in the trailer that Diwali will be auspicious for her and she will get anything she wishes for.

    The movie is directed by Shaquille Arslan Ali. The movie features M. Ashraf, Hadiya Khan, Maa and Faisal Junejo in lead roles, and it was released on February 16.

    Last year, Fawad Chaudhry requested Netflix and Amazon to look towards Pakistani content and invest in them because “we have immense talent and experience”. The minister asserted that Pakistani dramas have recently made a huge comeback and that he can assure the movie streaming website of successful partnerships.