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  • Foreign pilgrims can now apply for Umrah and visit permits via an app

    The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah launched a new service that would allow foreign pilgrims to apply for Umrah and prayer permits to the Grand Mosque in Makkah as well as the Prophet’s (PBUH) Mosque in Madina through mobile applications, reports Arab News.

    The statement of Saudi Press Agency reads, “In cooperation with Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced the launch of a new service that allows overseas pilgrims to get permits for Umrah and prayer in the Grand Mosque, as well as for visiting the Prophet’s Mosque through ‘Eatmarna’ and ‘Tawakkalna’ Applications.”

    According to the ministry, pilgrims applying for the permits must first register on the Quddum platform. Travellers have been advised to download both Eatmarna and Tawakkalna applications on their mobile phones before arriving in Saudi Arabia.

    Earlier, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj announced that pilgrims wishing to perform Umrah would no longer be required to wait for 14 days to book for the ritual.

    Last month, the Grand Mosque in Makkah operated at full capacity, with worshippers praying shoulder-to-shoulder with masks being mandatory for the first time since the pandemic began.

  • Alleged healer Mala Ali Kurdistani in Pakistan, greeted by PPP’s Yusuf Raza Gilani

    A video was posted from the media cell of former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, in which he be seen meeting alleged healer Mala Ali Kurdistani, who is termed as a faith healer in the caption of the post.

    Several videos has also emerged of Mala Ali Kurdistani holding public gatherings in the capital.

    However, the credibility of the alleged healer is being seriously questioned. Journalist Zarrar Khuhro shared the link of an article on his Twitter handle, in which several complaints about Kurdistani beating up customers “to heal them” were received in Istanbul. In February 2020, he was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was released later.

  • Couple reaches Makkah by motorcycle to perform Umrah

    Couple reaches Makkah by motorcycle to perform Umrah

    An Egyptian couple travelled to Makkah on a motorbike to perform Umrah, Geo News has reported. The couple travelled 1,200 kilometres on motorbike to reach Makkah. Omar Abu Dawood and Asmaa al-Ganzouri covered the distance in 48 hours.

    Omar Abu Dawood says that his love for bicycles began at a young age and after watching videos of motorcycle enthusiasts, his interest developed further. To pursue his passion, he bought a motorbike.

    “Because there is no land road linking Egypt and Saudi Arabia, we had to take the ferry to the Saudi port of Duba,” said Omar while talking about the journey. The couple continued their journey to Makkah by motorcycle to perform Umrah.

  • ‘Hoped to see Pakistan play’: Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar meet at T20 World Cup final

    ‘Hoped to see Pakistan play’: Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar meet at T20 World Cup final

    Former Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar met at the Dubai International Stadium during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final on Sunday.

    The Rawalpindi Express shared a picture on Instagram where he and Afridi looked cheerful upon seeing each other at the stadium.

    “Ran into the crowd favourite and our very own @safridiofficial . Lovely to see you lala,” he wrote in the caption.

    Minutes before meeting Afridi, Akhtar had posted another of his pictures from the final match, saying it “would have been a different day” had Pakistan made it to the final.

    However, the cricketer said it was a lovely feeling to watch the much-anticipated match at “the Ring of Fire”.

    “Would have been such a different day. But nevertheless, what a lovely feeling being at the Ring of fire,” he wrote.

    Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi said that he was “looking forward” to winning team at the T20 World Cup final.

    Taking to Instagram, Afridi shared a picture from the Dubai International Stadium and said that he “had hoped to see Pakistan play” in the final.

    The cricketer wished both the teams playing best of luck and hoped that the “best team” wins.

    Beating Kiwis with 8 wickets, Australia became the champion of T20 World Cup 2021.

  • Islamabad High Court takes notice of the allegations against former CJP Saqib Nisar

    Islamabad High Court takes notice of the allegations against former CJP Saqib Nisar

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday took notice of the claims of former Chief Judge (CJ) of the apex court of Gilgit Baltistan Rana M Shamim, who in a signed affidavit wrote that he is a witness to the then Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar’s direction to a high court judge not to release Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz on bail at any cost before the 2018 general elections.

    Meanwhile, Saqib Nisar said he didn’t want to respond to the “white lies” of the ex-GB chief justice.

    “I have never spoken to anybody or any high court judge in connection to any matter related to Mian sahab,” he said, reports Dawn.

    Nisar said that Shamim had asked him for an extension but he didn’t accept his request, adding that the ex-GB CJ had also complained to him about the same.

    When asked why he had not issued a public statement on the matter, he replied: “Why should I? […] I don’t want to stoop to his level.”

    Reacting to the story, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted, “Jokes in the name of news are being circulated in the country to prove that Nawaz Sharif is a victim.”

    PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb tweeted, “This affidavit of the former Chief Justice of Gilgit-Baltistan is a testimony against this heinous crime.”

    On the other hand, IHC has issued a contempt notice to Jang/ Geo CEO Mir Shakil and senior journalist Ansar Abbasi, for publishing the news report against the former Chief Justice of Pakistan.

  • ICC receives criticism for not naming Babar Azam T20 World Cup ‘Player of the Tournament’

    ICC receives criticism for not naming Babar Azam T20 World Cup ‘Player of the Tournament’

    Several people have criticised the decision to award David Warner the ‘Player of the Tournament’ at the T20 World Cup, with Babar Azam, the competition’s leading run scorer, going unrewarded.

    Babar’s campaign ended at the hands of Australia at the semi-final stage, but he had already had a tournament to remember. An unbeaten half-century in Pakistan’s opener sealed a historic 10-wicket win against India.

    He added three more fifties, meaning he sits tied with Matthew Hayden and Virat Kohli for the most half-centuries at a T20 World Cup, while only Kohli and Tillakaratne Dilshan have scored more runs at a single edition.

    Warner was 14 runs short from Babar, and only managed three half-centuries, falling one run short of the landmark against Pakistan in the semis. But he maintained a significantly higher strike-rate of 146.70, more than 20 runs per 100 balls higher than the Pakistan opener, and arguably made his runs at more high-impact intervals.

    Former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar called the decision “unfair”.

    West Indies’ Sherfane Rutherford said he was “shocked” at the “tired decision”.

    https://twitter.com/SRutherford_50/status/1459945409254768645?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1459945409254768645%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwisden.com%2Fseries-stories%2Ft20-world-cup-2021%2Ftired-decision-icc-criticised-for-not-naming-babar-azam-as-t20-world-cup-player-of-the-tournament

    Leading run-scorers in Men’s T20 world cup 2021 are:

    Babar Azam: 303

    David Warner: 289

    Moahmmad Rizwan: 281

    Netizens were also unhappy that Kohli’s Player of the Tournament win in 2016 is an evidence that Babar should have been rewarded, as the Indian side was also knocked out in the semi-final, like Pakistan.

    https://twitter.com/RanaDanish92/status/1459954170958651393?s=20
    https://twitter.com/DennisCricket_/status/1460112407594868744?s=20
    https://twitter.com/michaelscottfc/status/1459943865042018304?s=20

    https://twitter.com/washimansari786/status/1459967110126333958?s=20

    Meanwhile, Australia made history on Sunday night by winning their first T20 World Cup when the Kangaroos trounced New Zealand by 8 wickets to win the final.

    Australian batter Mitchell Marsh was declared the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 77.

  • Fazl summons meeting to finalise PDM’s anti-govt strategy, Nawaz will attend

    Fazl summons meeting to finalise PDM’s anti-govt strategy, Nawaz will attend

    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah disclosed that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) head Maulana Fazlur Rehman had called for a virtual meeting, which is reportedly to finalise its anti-government strategy today (Monday), reports Geo News.

    Hamdullah said leaders of the Opposition alliance will consult each other on anti-government protests and finalise PDM’s strategy. 

    Major political figures will participate in the meeting, which includes former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, Former Chief Minister (CM) of Balochistan Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Aftab Sherpao, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, Professor Sajid Mir, and Shah Owais Noorani.

    The official Twitter handle of PML-N shared a glimpse of the meeting.

    The meeting will discuss important issues such as the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), electoral reforms, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance, and granting the right to vote to overseas Pakistanis. 

    The PDM has started its anti-government protests. The stage will be set in Karachi first. The next one will be held in Quetta on November 17 and in Peshawar on November 20.

  • PML-Q to part ways with the ruling PTI govt?

    PML-Q to part ways with the ruling PTI govt?

    Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)  on Sunday decided that it was parting ways with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and launching its campaign for the next general elections, reports The Express Tribune.

    The official announcement was made after the PML-Q held a meeting, headed by its Punjab president, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who is also Speaker of the Punjab Assembly.

    The party’s parliamentarians noted that people were facing a hard time in making ends meet because of the government’s “negligence”.

    Earlier, PML-Q Information Secretary Kamil Ali Agha, while speaking on ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ on Geo News, said: “When the government needs our support, like for passing the budget, it talks to us, otherwise not.”

    “This is a manufacturing fault of [the government], they do not consult their allies on any issue,” said Agha.

    “We are trying our best to abide by the agreement we had with the government, now it depends on the government how it goes about things,” said Agha

    PML-Q is a major ally of the PTI in the Centre and Punjab.

  • Corporal punishment allegedly led to the death of a teenage student in Lahore

    Corporal punishment allegedly led to the death of a teenage student in Lahore

    Lahore Police has filed a first information report (FIR) against several teachers, for allegedly beating a student to death, ARY News has reported.

    The FIR was registered after the victim’s father, Wajid Hussain, lodged a complaint at Badami Bagh Police Station Lahore. As per the complaint, the 14-year-old Hamza died after being subjected to corporal punishment by his teachers.

    The complaint further states that the father found his son in an unconscious state as teacher Mohammad Majid, along with his colleagues, subjected him to torture. The student was rushed to Mayo Hospital and he died there two days latter.

    As per details, the accused have left the area and the police is trying to locate them.

  • TV Anchor’s ‘drunk’ son arrested for harrasing college staff, students

    TV Anchor’s ‘drunk’ son arrested for harrasing college staff, students

    Four persons were arrested on Saturday on allegations of harassment and threatening employees and students in a college in Islamabad, including the son of a well-known journalist/TV presenter, Dawn News has reported.

    The complaint was lodged by Dr Asad Faiz, the principal of Islamabad Model College for Boys F-11/3 in response to which a case was registered under section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour person otherwise than on grave provocation), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 542 (punishment for wrongful confinement) of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

    Superintendent of Police (SP) Saddar Zone Nosherwan Ali that police received a call that a Vigo was harassing a girl at F-11 Markaz and around 9 am the police received another call that said some people had entered Islamabad Model College for Boys F-11/3 and were beating the staff and students. Police arrested four people from F13. As per the police, the accused people were drunk at the time of the arrest.