Pakistan from Monday to Tuesday reported a record number of 3,938 new coronavirus cases with 78 deaths within 24 hours.
The latest surge in cases took the nationwide tally of reported cases to 78,128 while the death toll crossed the 1,600 mark. According to statistics provided by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan has broken its previous record number of 3,039 new COVID-19 cases reported over 24 hours on May 31.
Earlier on Sunday, Pakistan reported its most number of deaths during 24 hours with 88 new fatalities, however, given the swelling number of coronavirus cases, doctors and health experts have warned that the number of cases will continue to rise unless a strict lockdown is not imposed.
Sindh and Islamabad also recorded the highest number of cases reported over 24 hours with 1,402 and 304, respectively, on June 1. However, Punjab reported the most number of deaths and new cases reported over 24 hours with 1,610 cases and 43 new fatalities due to the COVID-19.
On Monday, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, in a live televised address, had apprised the nation on the decisions made regarding the lockdown in Pakistan to contain the novel coronavirus during the National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting.
“Since day one when we got to know that the coronavirus had started spreading in Pakistan, we imposed a lockdown following a national security committee meeting,” he had said.
“We observed the conditions in the Chinese city of Wuhan and in Europe when the virus started spreading and we were seeing how the world was responding. But at that time, when we had discussions and meetings, I was very clear on the path Pakistan had to take.
“Pakistan’s situation is different than that in China or Europe,” he had said, noting that he had earlier informed the nation that 25% of the country’s population was below the poverty line, which “means that nearly 50 million people in our country do not eat two full meals a day”.
PM Imran had said doctors, elite, and the poor all had diverse opinions but it was the downtrodden ones of the society who did not have a voice.
“But in hindsight, I should not have stopped businesses and construction because we had to balance it. Coronavirus is not going away until a vaccine is not formulated. We have to live with it,” he had noted.
Following the landmark judgement which directed the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad to shift all animals, including Kaavan the elephant to wildlife sanctuaries, American pop singer Cher took to social media to thank Prime Minister Imran Khan for “making her dream come true”. Cher added that she was always a big fan of PM Khan since his cricketing days.
I was a big fan of you when you played cricket @ImranKhanPTI . I always thought you seemed so kind. Thank you so much for your help. This is a dream come true‼️ @ftwglobal#kaavan
Our Government stormed to power less than couple of years ago. We’ve been busy sorting the messy legacy of the callous regimes that used to unleash such outrages. #kaavangetsfreedomhttps://t.co/cuTgQtxBXP
Humanity’s true moral test, its fundamental test…consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. Milan Kundera …… @cher it’s indeed a pleasure thank you for such forceful campaign #Kavaanhttps://t.co/hnZnaKVFXl
Late last month, the Islamabad High Court, had ordered wildlife officials to consult with Sri Lanka to find Kaavan a “suitable sanctuary” within 30 days.
Kaavan, an Asian elephant from Sri Lanka, has spent nearly three decades in a small cage in the zoo. His treatment and condition sparked international outrage several years ago and caught the attention of Cher, who then propagated for his release. The elephant’s behaviour, including bobbing his head repeatedly, demonstrated “a kind of mental illness” and wildlife experts were of the opinion that he was depressed.
It is pertinent to add here that PM Khan had also raised his voice for Kaavan back in 2015 and had said that the animal belonged in “a proper sanctuary, not ill-equipped Islamabad Zoo”.
Kaavan the elephant has been treated cruelly. Now unshackling him is not enough. He should be in a proper sanctuary,not ill-equipped Isl zoo
Earlier on Feb 11, a groom was manhandled over contracting third marriage in Karachi without the consent of his first two wives. The groom named Asif was subjected to torture by his first wife and her family in an ongoing Valima reception of his third marriage in Karachi.
To control the increase in the population of stray dogs in Peshawar, the Peshawar Livestock Department has decided to neuter the animals instead of culling them and is offering a cash reward of Rs 200 to anyone who brings in a stray dog to the department.
According to a report in The Express Tribune, the decision was taken after residents of the provincial capital complained about an increase in the population of stray dogs in the city. According to a survey by the Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP), there are approximately 7,500 to 10,000 stray dogs in the Peshawar district alone.
KP Livestock Department Director Dr Syed Masoom Ali Shah, while discussing the matter said: “We have to change the mindset of killing stray dogs, which is a common practice.” He added that the population of stray dogs can be controlled by neutering them.
Dr Masoom revealed that a special centre, which can operate up to 100 dogs in a day, has been set up for this purpose.
He shared that the dogs will be neutered and sterilised by conducting an operation and will then be released back onto the streets. Before releasing the dog, a collar with reflectors will be fixed around its neck and a tattoo would be printed on its ear as a mark that the dog has been operated upon.
“The project is first ever in Pakistan and will not only serve in maintaining public health through containing rabies but would also stop the cruel practice of culling of stray dogs through shooting and poisoning,” Dr Masoom said.
Dr Masoom further remarked that “the objective of the cash reward is to involve those who have lost livelihoods due to the coronavirus lockdown in an activity that aims at ensuring better public health and safety.”
However, the doctor advised people to be careful while catching a dog as it can bite them. He said a stray dog can easily be coaxed by offering it some food, patting on the head and then tying it with a rope.
While stray dogs are a “nuisance” to the public across the country, the recommendation to cull them had sparked outrage across the country with activists and animal lovers demanding the government to adopt more humane measures to control their population.
A team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) accompanied by police on Tuesday reached the residence of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif to once again arrest him, this time in the assets beyond means case.
Videos available with The Current showed a contingent of police’s anti-rioting force also reaching the PML-N chief’s Model Town residence in Lahore to make the arrest that comes after Shehbaz, being a cancer survivor, once again avoided appearing before the anti-graft watchdog amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The teams, however, had to return empty-handed as the leader of opposition in the National Assembly (NA), who has also sought pre-arrest bail in the case, was not at home.
The teams were headed to the Sharif family’s Jati Umra residence near Raiwind by the filing of this report.
PRE-ARREST BAIL AND THE CASE:
Earlier in the day, Shehbaz filed a bail plea in the Lahore High Court (LHC) to avoid arrest in the assets beyond means and money laundering cases against him, which is to be taken up by the court tomorrow (Wednesday).
NAB had summoned the PML-N president to record his statement in both cases today (June 2) as the bureau needs Shehbaz’s statement to bring the cases to their logical conclusion.
It had also provided the ex-Punjab chief minister (CM) with a detailed questionnaire as per its standard operating procedure (SoPs), which the PML-N says was submitted by the younger Sharif’s lawyers.
However, Shehbaz on Monday filed a petition in the LHC requesting the court to grant him bail before arrest in both the cases “in the interest of justice”. He requested that he might also be admitted to ad-interim pre-arrest bail till the decision of the petition.
The petitions said the power to arrest was permissive and not obligatory and the arrest was not desirable even in most heinous offences so long as the accused cooperated and kept joining the investigation.
According to The Express Tribune, The PML-N president contended that on October 31, 2017, a complaint was made to various authorities including NAB chairman against management of the public limited companies in Punjab. The complaint claimed that the companies were incorporated and operated in violation of the Constitution and law.
On November 15, 2017, NAB director general (DG) ordered an inquiry into the complaint “in a slipshod and mechanical manner, without application of judicious mind”.
On January 10, 2018, the director general passed an order under section 18(C) of NAO 1999 for an inquiry into against management/officers/officials of Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC), management /owners of M/s Lahore CASA Developers (JV) and officers/officials of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) in Lahore’s Ashiana housing scheme.
Shehbaz said the above-said order was passed on the basis of an anonymous complaint and neither the complaint nor the order for inquiry mentioned the name of the petitioner or his office “yet under its cover”, NAB officials embarked upon “a fishing and sniffing expedition” against him.
On October 5, 2018, when Shehbaz appeared before a NAB team in response to call up notice in the matter of Saaf Paani Company but he was arrested in Ashiana case.
During his 64 physical remand, the PML-N chief was also arrested in Ramzan Sugar Mills/Construction of Sullage Carrier case. He was still in NAB’s custody when NAB authorized yet another inquiry against the petitioner and others in assets beyond means case.
Later, the petitioner was granted bail after arrest in both the above said cases but just after one week’s time of his bail, NAB put his name in the Exit Control List (ECL) – the country’s no-fly list.
“The petitioner assailed the above said memorandum February 21, 2019 before this court and his petition was allowed.” He contended that NAB served him another call up notice requiring his appearance before the CIT on April 17, 2020.
Shehbaz said he did not appear before NAB team in view of his ill health and the lockdown. Later NAB again issued call up notice requiring his presence on April 22, 2020.
“However, hectic efforts were made and a comprehensive reply was submitted within time with an assurance of personal appearance after the holy month of Ramazan subject to lifting of the lockdown.”
Later, the petitioner appeared before the CIT whereupon he was interrogated for about 2 hours, however, he could not be confronted with any evidence worth name on record to show any act of commission or omission by him to attract the mischief of any offence under NAO 1999.
“That now the petitioner has again been served with a call up notice for June 2, 2020 requiring his personal appearance and written reply before CIT,” it added.
Facebook employees have walked away from their work-from-home desks and taken to Twitter to accuse Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg of not taking a stand against United States (US) President Donald Trump’s hateful posts on social media.
As per the details, Reuters observed dozens of tweets against Mark in what was a rare case of the social media giant’s staff publicly standing against its CEO.
Thousands of people, including seven engineers of teams that maintain the react code library critical for Facebook’s apps, were among those who tweeted.
“Mark is wrong and I will endeavour in the loudest possible way to change his mind,” said Ryan Freitas, director of product design for Facebook’s newsfeed. He added that he mobilised more than 50 like-minded people to lobby for internal change.
Katie Zhu, a product manager at Instagram, tweeted a screenshot showing she had entered “#BLACKLIVESMATTER” to describe her request for time off as part of the walkout.
Facebook Inc will allow its employees to take part in the protest and will not draw down their vacation days, said spokesperson Andy Stone.
Talkspace CEO Oren Frank tweeted he would “not support a platform that incites violence, racism, and lies”. The online therapy company also announced that it had ended partnership discussions with Facebook.
It is worth mentioning here that Facebook CEO landed in hot water when he told Fox News that private social media platforms “shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online”.
President Trump retweeted the interview that had come after Twitter flagged his tweet about mail-in ballots as misleading.
It wasn’t later that Twitter responded to another Trump tweet pertaining to countrywide riots, for glorifying violence. Twitter covered up the tweet with a message warning it “violated Twitter rules about glorifying violence”.
The viewers had to click on the message to see the underlying tweet.
….These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!
Trump posted the same message on Facebook, but Mark decided to let it stand unchallenged. “I have been struggling with how to respond to the president’s tweets and post all day,” he wrote in a post Friday.
“Personally, I have a visceral negative reaction to this kind of divisive and inflammatory rhetoric,” he said, adding that the company’s position, however, was that it should enable as much expression as possible unless it would cause an imminent risk of specific harms or dangers spelt out in clear policies.
“I don’t know what to do, but I know doing nothing is not acceptable,” Jason Stirman, a member of Facebook’s research and development team, wrote on Twitter in response to Mark.
I don’t know what to do, but I know doing nothing is not acceptable. I’m a FB employee that completely disagrees with Mark’s decision to do nothing about Trump’s recent posts, which clearly incite violence. I’m not alone inside of FB. There isn’t a neutral position on racism.
India has rejected Pakistan’s contention that two high commission staffers were detained on unsubstantiated charges and tortured, people familiar with developments told Hindustan Times, adding that the officials “were caught red-handed while indulging in spying”.
New Delhi on Sunday expelled two junior officials of the Pakistan High Commission after they were detained during an operation by the Delhi Police and Military Intelligence while allegedly trying to obtain classified documents on security installations.
The officials were identified as Abid Hussain Abid, 42, an assistant in the Pakistani mission, and Mohammad Tahir Khan, 44, a clerk.
Pakistan condemned India’s decision to declare the two officials persona non grata and to expel them, saying they were detained on false and unsubstantiated charges. A statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) also contended that the two men were tortured and threatened to “accept false charges” despite identifying themselves as diplomatic staff.
The FO said the Indian action was in clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as well as the norms of diplomatic conduct.
“The High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi has always worked within the parameters of international law and diplomatic norms. The Indian action is clearly aimed at shrinking diplomatic space for the working of Pakistan High Commission,” it said.
The FO said that the Indian ploy to heighten tensions would fail in diverting attention from the ongoing internal and external issues faced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government or from the worsening situation and gross human rights violations being perpetrated by the Indian forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
It again called on the world to take note of the Indian designs and play its role in ensuring peace and security in South Asia.
“The assertions of the Pakistan FO are false. The two officials were caught red-handed while indulging in espionage activities,” said one of the people cited above, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“They did not disclose their identity that they were high commission officials. When they were taken into custody and questioned, they confessed to indulging in espionage and also informed that they were high commission officials,” the person added.
The Pakistani mission was immediately informed and the two men were handed over, the person said.
“They were never subjected to any torture. They have also undergone medical examinations. Pakistan appears to be making false accusations and possibly creating ground for some tit for tat reaction and torture of Indian officials in Islamabad,” they said.
Feroze Khan, who usually keeps his private life under wraps, in a rare social media interaction, answered some fun questions from his fans. The actor was asked a plethora of questions ranging from his thoughts on Sadaf Kanwal and Shahroz Sabzwari’s wedding to whether he has actually quit acting or not.
Responding to a question about his weirdest fan encounter, the actor shared that a bunch of girls kept coming to his house and told his father that he had invited them for breakfast, before casually dropping that he is a late riser.
Feroze also clarified that he has not left acting entirely, but that it will no longer be his “first job”. He said that if he comes across a project which he feels has a positive message, he would think about it.
In March, Feroze had announcedthat he is quitting the showbiz industry and “will only act and provide my services for the teaching of Islam.”
Feroze was also asked his opinion on Sadaf and Shahroz, to which the actor said that people should just let them be.
“I am sure even Syra has a billion options for her,” said Feroze, adding, “We should keep to ourselves.”
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday said that the future of enduring peace and stability in South Asia hinges on the ability to resolve long-pending disputes within the region.
“This can be complemented through meaningful international support and will to take on challenging regional issues,” he said while addressing officers and faculty during a visit to Command and Staff College in Quetta, a press statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The statement comes two days after Islamabad approached the United Nations (UN) over New Delhi’s blatant attempt to turn the Muslim-majority in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoJ&K) into a minority.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has written letters to the UN Security Council president and the UN Secretary General, apprising them of the latest situation in the occupied valley particularly the recent changes brought by the Modi government in domicile laws that would pave the way for non-Kashmiris to acquire permanent residence there.
Addressing the military officials, Gen Bajwa said that a well-trained and professionally competent Army is guarantor for peace. “Pakistan Army with the backing of the nation is one such formidable force,” he maintained.
The COAS stressed the need for officers to remain focused on pursuit of professional excellence and keeping abreast with latest developments to overcome new challenges.
Dilating upon COVID-19 pandemic, Gen Bajwa said that Pakistan Army along with other state institutions will do all to mitigate the challenges faced by people of Pakistan.
Only a cohesive national effort shall take Pakistan to progress and prosperity COAS, he stressed.
Ever since Shahroz Sabzwari and Sadaf Kanwal announced their marriage on social media, the entire country seems to be divided over the matter. While on one end people are calling them out for ruining a family given that Shahroz’s seven-year marriage with Syra Yousuf ended just a few months back, on the other end others are urging people to live and let live.
Amidst the brouhaha, Shahroz stepped in and aggressively defended his family and new wife.
In a video message, Shahroz said: “The purpose of this video is to defend myself and my family. And that is my right.” He added that he will defend himself till his last breath because he is an honest man.
“Syra and I got separated in August 2019,” revealed Sabzwari. “The reason behind our split was not another woman nor infidelity nor Sadaf, for that matter. If anyone thinks that the reason behind our separation is cheating or infidelity, I challenge them to come forward and prove it. Phir maza aye ga.”
Talking about his relationship with Sadaf, Shahroz said: “I met Sadaf for work about three to four months after my separation with Syra.”
Referring to an earlier video he had shared in which he had clarified that Sadaf and he were just colleagues, Shahroz said: “The way my first video has been edited and released, I know. But let me be clear. At that point, Sadaf was only my colleague and Syra was my wife, even though we were separated.”
“After that video, Syra and I tried to stop our marriage from breaking but because of irreconcilable differences – which are personal between me and Syra – we had to part ways.”
“I did not want to divorce Syra,” he added. “We separated with dignity.”
Shahroz further shared that he is making this video for his daughter, who “he loves a lot”.
“Maybe a few years down the line, she might come across all that the public has written about me and she will question me. This my answer to her. That I did not give in and fought back,” he said.
Shahroz asserted that he will continue to defend his family and will always tell the truth. He said people advised him to stay silent and let tongues wag but he said he couldn’t let it pass like that.
Watch video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA5g-MajF1h/
Shahroz and Sadaf tied the knot in an intimate ceremony. Except for a few pictures, the actors have not shared any further details from their nikkah ceremony. Sadaf also changed her name from Sadaf Kanwal to Sadaf Sabzwari on social media.
