Walk-in vaccination for seniors aged 70 and above will be available in Pakistan from today.
According to the National Command Operation Center (NCOC) registered senior citizens aged 70 and above can get vaccinated from any health centre. However, the walk-in corona vaccination facility will only be available for registered senior citizens.
Punjab Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid has urged all citizens to register themselves before heading to the facility to avoid inconvenience.
People above 60 years are being sent a confirmation message with details after the registration confirmation message. Please wait till you receive it.
Vaccination of people over 60 years and above commenced on March 10. Among those who received their shot isPresident Arif Alviand Samina Peerzada, who also praised the government for the facility.
Meanwhile, 2511, people tested positive in last 24 hours in Pakistan and the positivity rate has jumped to 7.21 %. Whereas, 58 people have lost their lives to the virus.
Amid the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, various corona related restrictions have been re-imposed in different cities of country. The Sindh Government has imposed smart lockdown across the province until April 15 to fight against the third wave. The Punjab Government has also issued a notice and urged people to follow strict SOPs in the province.
Meanwhile, Dr Yasmin has also said that administrative officers and police staff will be vaccinated in the next phase.
Administrative officers and police staff will be vaccinated in the next phase of vaccinations in sha Allah #PunjabCovidVaccinations
Hey, *|MERGE1|*. It’s March 15th. It’s Monday, and our records show that you have been opening our emails most frequently . Is there anything you want us to change or is there any anything we are missing?
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Today the weather forecast is calling for a great deal of sunshine.
Have a nice day!
Laila-The Current
MORNING MEME
Government offers opposition to hold talks ?
While addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry along with Information Minister Shibli Faraz, offered to hold talks with the Opposition on ‘electoral reforms’.
“We want to make future elections fair and transparent,” said Fawad. He also added that National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser was ready to form committees on the issue while Adviser to the PM, Babar Awan and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan were already working on the matter.
Endangering innocent lives
Aurat March has rattled many a misogynist over the years. Women out on the streets, marching for their rights and raising their voice is somehow considered ‘vulgar’ and ‘obscene’. This year, though, what the anti-women brigade did was unforgivable. By their false and malicious propaganda, they have put the lives of thousands of women at stake.
It is time that we all raise our voice against this dangerous and vicious campaign against Aurat March. Some from media have tendered an apology for sharing the doctored video and deleted their tweets but is a mere apology enough for putting the lives of thousands of women at risk with allegations of a topic as sensitive as blasphemy? These people must be held accountable. The government should not only provide protection to these women but must also take action against all those who took forward the false propaganda against Aurat March.
Minister for religious affairs Noor-ul-Haq Qadri has said that an “investigation” is being conducted in relation to the alleged banners and “blasphemous slogans” chanted at the Aurat March.
Those who “photoshopped” the Aurat March banners would be given “exemplary” punishment, said his statement, referring to the “doctored” social media posts against the Aurat March.
HUM Women Leaders Awards
Our entertainment editor Saman went to attend HUM Women Leaders Awards (HWLA), which took place on March 9 at the President House in Islamabad.
The HWLA, which “aims to recognise and honour the contributions and achievements of iconic women from Pakistan and around the world”, celebrated eleven national and international women icons and one man for their contributions and achievements in the fields of diplomacy, social work, education, healthcare, human rights, journalism and women’s rights.
Read the story to get a sneak peak of the event.
Spring in Lahore would be incomplete without Basant, with the colours of the festival filling the skies. Many people also earned their living through this festival. Phir hua yoon keh sheeshay ki tez dorain istemal honay lagi jiski wajah se logon ki janain janay lageen resulted in a ban on Basant. This week, The Current asked people if it should be allowed or not.
Today on this day, in 2015, Tehreek-e-Taliban bombed Roman Catholic Church and Christ Church during Sunday service in Youhanabad, Lahore, which resulted in 15 deaths. After the incident, the second leg of the Asian Cup qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifier match between Pakistan and Yemen, which was supposed to be played in Lahore after a few days got postponed.
Current Baba’s prediction
Today love birds are advised to be polite to each other warna conflict can arise. ?
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Haseeb Hasan has shared the first teaser of the most anticipated upcoming web series Dhoop Ki Deewar.
Wishing Ahad Raza Mir and Sajal Aly a happy first wedding anniversary, the award-winning director shared the first teaser of the web series and wrote: “Always make each other smile! Happy Anniversary Ahad and Sajal.”
“Cherishing my favourite moment of Vishal – Sara from Dhoop Ki Deewar on this day,” he added.
As per details, the series follows the story of two teenagers whose lives change forever overnight.
Besides Sajal and Ahad, other actors who play key roles in the series include Adnan Jaffer, Zara Tareen, Paras Masroor, Hammad Siddiqui, Ainy Zaidi, Salma Hasan, Lubna Aslam, Raza Talish, Samiya Mumtaz and Zaib Rehman.
Written by Umera Ahmad, Dhoop Ki Deewar is directed and co-produced by Hassan under the banner of Hamdan Films along with Shailja. Haseeb is one of the leading directors in the industry with popular drama serials including Nanhi, Mann Mayal as well as feature film Parwaaz Hai Junoon to his credit.
Earlier, while speaking to The Current, Haseeb had shared his experience of shooting the series, saying that he had total creative liberty with the project.
“It had creative input but I enjoyed total liberty which was becoming a challenge in the [local] industry each passing day,” said Hassan. “Indeed there were better budgets which justified enabling to achieve the required product and standards,” adding that the budget was “not crazy enough to buy an aeroplane”.
A 14-year-old Muslim boy in India was beaten up for drinking water from a temple.
The incident of the temple caretaker beating a child in India’s Ghaziabad gained public attention after a video of the incident surfaced online.
As per reports, the 23-year-old temple caretaker, Shringi Nandan Yadav, beat the boy who went in to drink water.
The video showed the caretaker kicking and punching the boy after he asked the boy’s and his father’s name. On revealing his name and his father’s name, Yadav started beating the boy. The identity of the boy’s father is being withheld as per law to protect the child. The child’s father is daily wage labour.
“My son stopped to drink water from a tap located inside the temple as he was thirsty. He was beaten up after they asked about his identity. He suffered a head injury. He generally doesn’t venture inside the temple but this time he told me he was just very thirsty. I have asked him not to go there in the future.”
The temple authorities say they had banned the entry of non-Hindus inside the temple. Another caretaker of the temple, Yati Narsimhanand Saraswati accused that the boy was beaten for spitting inside the temple, implying that the abuse was justified.
“There are several taps outside the temple from where people drink water. Our caretakers caught the boy spitting inside the temple. They have been arrested and we will seek to legal recourse to get them bail.”
Ghaziabad police arrested Shringi Nandan Yadav and another caretaker, Shivanand Saraswati, who recorded the incident.
बच्चे को पीटकर विडीओ बनाने वाले अपराधी की गिरफ़्तारी की जानकारी @Uppolice द्वारा प्रसारित की गयी है,@NCPCR_ बच्चे को न्याय दिलाने के लिए प्रतिबद्ध है। pic.twitter.com/aS6NApn5Hp
— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (मोदी का परिवार) (@KanoongoPriyank) March 12, 2021
President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi and his wife Samina Arif Alvi have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Islamabad on Monday.
— Imran Ghazali | #DigitalStrategy (@ImranGhazaliPK) March 15, 2021
As per details, President Alvi and Mrs Samina Alvi got their COVID-19 vaccination administered after they registered themselves for the vaccine. They received the confirmation message on Sunday along with the designated vaccination centre.
Speaking to the media after getting vaccinated, Dr Alvi said: “Elites around the world broke the line for the vaccination. The vaccine is being administered to senior citizens in Pakistan as per age categories.”
The President added that he registered himself on the 1166 helpline and got the shots “as per my turn”.
“In wake of third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, people should continue wearing face masks, wash their hand frequently and maintain social distancing.”
He also lauded the PTI regime’s efforts and strategies in light of the pandemic, saying the government’s smart lockdown policy “reduced economic losses”.
Seeking disbanding of the election watchdog, the ruling party has called on the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) to resign for “failing to hold the recently-held Senate elections in a transparent manner”.
“It was a longstanding demand of the prime minister that the power of money should not be used to influence elections,” said Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood while addressing a press conference alongside Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz and Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry.
“For this purpose, the premier wanted the Senate elections to be held via an open ballot.”
Mahmood said it is the sole responsibility of the ECP to ensure transparent polls are held. He said that the government had told the ECP to implement a system wherein it would not be possible for corrupt practices to take place.
The minister called on the election commission to be disbanded, alleging that it had failed to meet up to the standards required of it.
“To ensure transparent elections are held is the responsibility of the election commission. This responsibility was not fulfilled,” he said. “The election commission failed to act as a neutral umpire hence it should resign,” added Mahmood.
Explaining the government’s demand for the ECP to be disbanded, Mahmood said the PTI was the most popular political party in the country yet it did not have confidence in the ECP. He claimed the ruling party was not the only one which didn’t trust the ECP.
Earlier, Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari had also taken a dig at the CEC, saying: “It is unfortunate that he is increasingly creating a partisan image of the ECP which erodes its credibility as well as [the] credibility of future elections under its supervision.”
For the PDM to now cry hoarse about Senate elections when earlier they applauded the obduracy of ECP & the CEC to ensure free, fair & transparent Senate elections despite SC judgement shows how self interest overrides national interest on all counts.
Instead of supporting PM IK & PTI’s demand for open ballot to ensure transparency in Senate elections, PDM’s opportunism & CEC’s partisan approach prevented fair, free and transparent Senate elections. CEC must take prime responsibility for this sorry state of electoral affairs.
The minister had alleged that the CEC was partial and added that “instead of supporting PM & PTI’s demand for open ballot to ensure transparency in Senate elections, PDM’s opportunism & CEC’s partisan approach prevented fair, free and transparent Senate elections”.
“CEC must take prime responsibility for this sorry state of electoral affairs.”
A 14-year-old student of Grade 7 was found dead in police custody in Peshawar on Sunday. According to the police, Shahzeb was arrested on Sunday after a fight with a shopkeeper and a weapon was recovered from him. The police claimed that the youth later committed suicide in the lockup. An alleged CCTV footage of his suicide is also doing the rounds on social media.
On the other hand, Shahzeb’s father said his son had gone to get his pictures taken around 2 pm on Sunday as he needed them for his school. He said when he reached the police station after he got a call that his son had been arrested, the police did not tell him for three hours about his son’s condition. He believes that his son did not commit suicide but died due to police torture.
A teenager has died while in Police custody in Peshawar. Police arrested him a day earlier for not carrying motorbike documents. This needs thorough investigation to ascertain the cause of his death. His father here narrates details of the case.#JusticeForSHAHZEBAFRIDIpic.twitter.com/9abeEjYKqX
Responding to the incident, Peshawar CCPO said that “in view of the tragic young death, the entire staff of the respective police station has been suspended, [an] FIR registered and responsible staff arrested.”
The CCPO added that he has also requested a judicial inquiry into the matter. Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (IG) KP has said that he will monitor the incident himself.
In view of the tragic death of young Shahzeb, the complete police station staff has been suspended, FIR registered, responsible staff arrested and judicial inquiry requested.
— Capital City Police Peshawar (@PeshawarCCPO) March 14, 2021
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Chief Minister KP on Information and Public Relations, Kamran Bangash has said that CM KP Mahmood Khan has ordered a judicial inquiry into the tragic incident and is monitoring the situation personally.
He added that he and Deputy Speaker Provincial Assembly Mahmood Jan met with the family of the deceased and offered condolences on behalf of the government.
Video report of the incident:
Incidents of police brutality are not uncommon in Pakistan. Earlier in January 2020, five officials of Islamabad Police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) were arrested after they gunned down a 21-year-old boy, Usama Satti, in cold blood near Srinagar Highway, G-10 sector in the federal capital.
The world’s only man-made and heart-shaped ‘Love Lake’ in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become a new tourist spot for lovebirds to spend some quality time away from the city’s chaos. The lake has been built in the middle of the Dubai desert and spreads over an area of 550,000 square metres.
Considered a symbol of love at Al-Qudra Oasis, the two gigantic interconnected heart-shaped lakes has grabbed the attention of everyone around the world.
The lake has been built away from the urban area and has many species of plants, more than 16,000 trees and hundreds of thousands of colourful flowers.
The lake’s surroundings are also exceptional with the word “Love” attracting tourists from around the globe.
A heart-shaped gate welcomes the tourists and there is also a place “Hadirah” for picnics and barbecue.
Entry to the lake is free and it remains open 24 hours. It is also equipped with basic facilities such as clean water and washrooms.
The Government of Pakistan has started the COVID-19 vaccination drive for those above the age of 60, with various vaccination centres operating in different cities of the country.
Among those who received their shot is Samina Peerzada, who also praised the government for the facility.
Sharing a picture of herself receiving the jab, the veteran actor said: “Thank you and Shabash Pakistan”.
Other prominent personalities who received the shot include lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan and journalist Najam Sethi, both of whom praised the vaccination facility set up by the government.
A very good experience of vaccination at Expo centre Lahore. Got my parents vaccinated, everything went very smoothly and professionally. Well done Punjab Govt and all other implementation partners. Get vaccinated and stay safe.
I visited Expo ctr Lhr today to get my father vaccinated for COVID-19 and the process was seamless. I urge everyone 60 and above to register for the vaccine by sending their CNIC to 1166 and get vaccinated now. pic.twitter.com/ot2yRKWqqe
My father received first dose of vaccine at Expo Center Lahore today. The process went smoothly & Alhamdulillah he is doing well.
Impressed how quickly he got the call after texting his CNIC no. to 1166. Please encourage family members & others to register as soon as possible. https://t.co/R7yhBS8VGI
Women won every major Grammy at Sunday’s history-making gala, a joyful night for music’s biggest stars after a devastating year for the industry, with Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion and Taylor Swift triumphing at the socially distanced event anchored by electrifying performances.
It was a monumental night for Beyonce, who broke the record for most career wins by a female artist with 28 trophies.
“As an artist, I believe it’s my job and all of our jobs to reflect the times. And it’s been such a difficult time,” Beyonce said, with her husband Jay-Z looking on, as she received her history-making award. “So I wanted to uplift, encourage, celebrate all of the beautiful Black queens and kings that continue to inspire me and inspire the whole world.”
Meanwhile, Swift became the first woman to win the coveted Album of the Year prize three times, this year for Folklore, the first of her twin quarantine releases.
Rap sensation Megan Thee Stallion charmed while accepting her three awards including Best New Artist — and disarmed viewers with a performance that set the Los Angeles stage ablaze.
Megan and Queen Bey earned two awards together, for their remix of the rapper’s smash hit Savage.
The Houston rapper teased with that track along with her single Body, before serving up a thirst trap of a duet with none other than Cardi B, both of them in metallic gear that left little to the imagination. The audacious duo performed WAP, a gyrating, thigh-baring celebration of female sexuality that ended atop an enormous bed.
The night featured a host of impressive performances featuring Dua Lipa, DaBaby, Swift, Bad Bunny and Record of the Year winner Billie Eilish, among others — a line-up that kicked off with chest-baring Harry Styles, who won his first-ever award. It was hosted by Trevor Noah.
The ceremony, which fell nearly a year to the day after Covid-19 grounded tours and forced performance venues to close, stood as a concerted effort by the music world to try to move past a crushing 2020 by celebrating its biggest stars.
And there is perhaps no one bigger than Queen Bey, whose Best R&B Performance award for her summer track Black Parade, a homage to Black power and heritage, sent her into the Grammy record books.
It was a less shiny night than predicted for British star Dua Lipa, who was shut out of the major categories but won Best Pop Vocal Album, for her sparkly disco ball of a record released just as the pandemic took hold.
Though most of the rock fields were unprecedentedly dominated by women, The Strokes won for Best Rock Album for The New Abnormal, their first Grammy ever.
Rap legend Nas also won for the first time after 14 nominations, with his King’s Disease winning Best Rap Album. Nigerian superstar Burna Boy also scored his first trophy for Best Global Music Album, ecstatically accepting the prize which he said: “is a big win for my generation of Africans all over the world.”
But it wouldn’t be the Grammys without controversy.
The Weeknd has pledged to stop submitting music for awards consideration after he surprisingly received no nominations, despite a big year commercially, while Zayn Malik has openly criticised and lashed out at the Grammy jury for excluding him.
