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  • Rawalpindi police foil jailbreak bid, suspect detained

    Rawalpindi police foil jailbreak bid, suspect detained

    Rawalpindi police have foiled a bid to break Adiala Central Jail and registered a case against the suspect who tried to smuggle in a hacksaw for the purpose.

    According to reports, stepson of a prisoner, Khalid Khan, came to visit his father in jail. The son, named Amaan Abbasi, had also brought food and other stuff for his father, but when the police official inspected his luggage before the meeting, they found a hacksaw and other such stuff in his box.

    Subsequently, the police officials took the visitors in the custody and also confiscated the hacksaw. A case has also been registered against Abbasi by the SHO of Saddar police station, Rawalpindi.

    According to Assistant Superintendent Jail Saqib Amin, the police have averted a major untoward incident by seizing the hacksaw before it could reach the hands of the prisoner.

  • COVID-19: Pakistan begins registration of senior citizens for vaccination

    COVID-19: Pakistan begins registration of senior citizens for vaccination

    The Head of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar announced on Monday that the government has started registration for COVID-19 vaccination of citizens above 65. The vaccination drive for them will begin in March.

    “Pleased to announce that registration for getting COVID vaccine is now open for all citizens 65 and above,” wrote the minister on Twitter.

    Umar said those interested in getting themselves vaccinated can write down their CNIC number and send a message on 1166. 

    “InshAllah vaccinations for this age group will start in March,” he added.

    Read More – Here’s how you can register for COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Taimur Jhagra praised the NCOC, SAPM on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and NCOC head Asad Umar for their efforts.

  • Minal Khan, Ahsan Mohsin Ikram make it official

    Minal Khan, Ahsan Mohsin Ikram make it official

    Minal Khan and beau Ahsan Mohsin Ikram have made it official. The couple, on Valentine’s Day, subtly announced that they have gotten engaged!

    Ahsan revealed the news in an Instagram post, sharing a picture of Minal showing off her engagement ring.

    “Happy Valentine’s Day,” wrote Ikram in caption along with a heart emoji.

    Earlier in the day, Khan shared a photo from their intimate Valentine’s Day celebration as she posed alongside Ikram in front of a pink wall with a heart-shaped balloon.

    “Love is in the air. Simple and sweet,” wrote the actor in the caption.

    Commenting on Minal’s post, Ahsan wrote: “I love you.” However, Minal later closed the comments section of her post.

    Soon after, congratulatory messages poured in for the newly engaged couple from fans and colleagues.

    The news of Minal and Ahsan’s engagement comes just days after Minal was spotted at Ahsan’s grandmother’s (Dadi) birthday celebrations.

    The couple had officially confirmed their relationship on Minal’s birthday in November 2020 with a picture that received immense backlash on social media.

  • VIDEO: MG electric cars damaged in Sindh trailer overturn

    At least 13 MG (Morris Garages) electric cars imported from South Korea were damaged when a loaded trailer overturned near Nawabshah.

    According to the media reports, the speeding trailer turned turtle near Dino Machine area of Daulatpur in Nawabshah on National Highway on Friday.

    Motorway Police shared the details of the accident, saying that the trailer was on its way to Lahore from Karachi when it overturned.

    They added that no loss of life was reported due to the accident. In terms of monetary value, each car was worth almost Rs9 million.

    In December, the federal cabinet had approved Pakistan’s first Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy. The EV Policy and the Mobile Manufacturing Policy was endorsed by the Federal Cabinet, following their approval by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on December 16.

    Earlier, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, while attending the ceremony of an upgraded version of Lahore Chambers of Commerce website, said that the battery-powered electric cars would hit the roads of Pakistan very soon.

    He further added that the government is taking every step to make Pakistan environmental friendly and economically strong.

  • Aamir Liaquat trolls Vawda over award of Senate ticket

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Aamir Liaquat has taken a dig at Faisal Vawda, who is also an MNA from Karachi, after he was named by the party as its Senate nominee from Sindh.

    Vawda, who is facing a case in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for allegedly lying about his dual nationality, might get disqualified from holding the NA seat. And many observers see his candidature as an attempt to circumvent the potential disqualification.

    In a jibe at the Senate ticket for Vawda, Aamir Liaquat in a series of tweet ranted about the former getting a nomination for the upper house even though he didn’t deserve it.

    The Karachi lawmaker also shared a picture of PM Imran Khan and Faisal Vawda that was captioned with a fictional dialogue between the two. “Only a Senate ticket… but you promised me tickets for provincial assemblies, Azad Kashmir Assembly, Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, and Lok Sabha ticket that Nawaz Sharif didn’t disclose in his documents. Not just these, you also promised to give me Green Line Bus ticket on a priority basis,” the PTI leader mocked his colleague.

    He also criticised PM Imran for giving ticket to Vawda.

    The PTI leadership in Sindh is not happy with Vawda either. According to reports, key party leaders from three zones of rural Sindh approached the Sindh governor on Sunday to express their displeasure over the award of the Senate tickets of Vawda and Saifullah Abro.

    The leaders who signed the letter included Sadaqat Ali Jatoi, brother of former Sindh chief minister Liaquat Jatoi, PTI Sukkur President Mubeen Jatoi, Allah Bux Unnar and Raja Khan Jhakrani, former provincial secretary general Mehfooz Usrani, a former candidate from NA-214 Shaheed Benazirabad Gul Muhammad Rind, former provincial minister Agha Taimoor Khan Pathan, Papu Khan Chachar and other party leaders.

  • Maryam accidentally tweets picture of Khadim Rizvi’s welcome, mistaking it for her own

    Maryam accidentally tweets picture of Khadim Rizvi’s welcome, mistaking it for her own

    In yet another faux pas, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has accidentally retweeted, and then deleted, a picture of welcome of the late Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) leader Khadim Rizvi, mistaking it for her own in.

    As per the details, Maryam retweeted the picture of Rizvi’s welcome at the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore, falling for the claim that the rose petals-covered roads were from Daska where she arrived on Saturday ahead of a by-election in the NA-75 constituency.

    The election on February 19 comes after the seat fell vacant following the demise of the PML-N’s Syed Iftikharul Hassan Shah.

    “Alhamdulillah,” Maryam had written while retweeting the picture that can no longer be found on her Twitter.

    It wasn’t later when people, especially members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), pointed out what was wrong with the tweet.

    Earlier, Maryam said that the by-election in Daska was not just an election but a “battle”.

    The PML-N has given ticket to late MNA Shah’s daughter Nosheen Iftikhar.

    In her speech, Maryam blamed the government for rising inflation in the country.

    “When their ministers are told that inflation has increased and people are dying of hunger, they say decrease your expenses,” the PML-N leader said, referring to Information Minister Shibli Faraz’s recent statement.

    She added that the government had promised to create 10 million jobs in Pakistan but not a single man in Daska got any job.

  • IN PICTURES: Shahid Afridi celebrates youngest daughter’s first birthday

    Shahid Afridi had the perfect Valentine’s Day.

    The former captain of the Pakistan Cricket team celebrated his youngest daughter Arwa’s first birthday on February 14 with an adorable pink and red-themed party. Lala shared pictures from the birthday on social media along with a heartfelt note.

    “Happy 1st Birthday to the youngest of my girls, Arwa,” wrote Lala in the caption. “MashaAllah you’ve brought our family so much happiness in such a short time.”

    “I pray Allah gives you and all our children the best of everything,” added the proud father.

    “Love you to the moon and back.”

    Afridi, who will be playing for Multan Sultans in this season’s Pakistan Super League (PSL), welcomed his youngest daughter in February last year.

  • Govt ‘tested tear gas on protesters’: Sheikh Rasheed draws flak over ‘cruel’ statement

    Govt ‘tested tear gas on protesters’: Sheikh Rasheed draws flak over ‘cruel’ statement

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed is under fire for making an insensitive statement regarding the use of tear gas against the government employees who were protesting at D-Chowk, Islamabad, last week for better wages.

    In a comment on the demonstration, while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, Rasheed said that the government gave a 25 per cent pay raise to the protesters and used some “tear gas” as well because it was “necessary”.

    “We have already tested the teargas during the protest of government employees last week in Islamabad. The test was necessary as these teargas shells had not been used for a long time,” he said in a warning to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

    Last week, one policeman was killed and multiple injuries were reported after the protest organised by the government employees in Red Zone turned violent. The government had used tear gas and baton-charge to disperse the protesters.

    The remarks were criticised by the opposition leaders, civil society, and journalists who termed them “cruel” and “insensitive”.

    Former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair said that a statement like this “would mean immediate firing of the minister”. However, the current government is “shameless” so the minister will retain his portfolio.

    A Twitter user said that the statement by the minister was “quite shameful”.

    https://twitter.com/AmirChaudhry_/status/1360947901850075141

    Senior journalist Murtaza Solangi pointed out that “many people got injured during the exercise and a cop died too”.

    The current government “keeps stooping lower and lower”, commented activist Tooba Syed.

    The interior of minister of Pakistan says that it was important to use tear gas on the protesting employees, wrote another journalist.

    Another Twitter user called the statement of the minister “criminal”.

  • Prince Harry, Meghan Markle ‘overjoyed to be expecting their second child’

    Prince Harry, Meghan Markle ‘overjoyed to be expecting their second child’

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expecting their second child, their spokesman told British media in a Valentine’s Day announcement on Sunday. The child will be eighth in the line to the British throne.

    The couple released a black and white image of them under a tree, all smiles, with Markle, 39, showing signs of pregnancy. The photo was reportedly taken remotely via iPad by their friend and longtime photographer, Misan Harriman.

    “We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother,” the spokesman said, referring to the couple’s son. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.”

    The couple’s announcement on Valentine’s Day was a nod to Princess Diana, who 37 years ago on the same day, had announced that she was pregnant with Prince Harry.

    Meghan and Harry, 36, who is Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson, quit frontline royal duties in March last year and now live in California.

    The news follows Markle’s disclosure in The New York Times in November that she had suffered a miscarriage in July.

    A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “Her Majesty, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales and the entire family are delighted and wish them well.”

    The couple’s departure last year — dubbed ‘Megxit‘ by the British press — was a far cry from 2018 when they married in a ceremony at Windsor Castle watched around the world.

    The mood soured as reports circulated about a rift between Harry and his brother Prince William, second in line to the throne.

    Since leaving, they have launched several legal cases against news outlets alleging invasion of privacy — including one that ended on Thursday with a victory against Associated Newspapers in the UK.

    The cases have attracted criticism from some, as the couple are also launching themselves into the public eye with high-profile commercial projects.

    Last year they launched a non-profit organisation, Archewell, after giving up a “Sussex Royal” brand as part of the terms of their departure from frontline royal duties.

    They have started other ventures, including signing a deal with Spotify to produce podcasts that tell “uplifting and entertaining stories”. The couple also signed a contract, reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars with streaming giant Netflix to produce “impactful” films and series.

    Read more – Archie speaks publicly for the first time on Meghan, Harry’s first podcast

    Harry and Meghan’s announcement came days after Princess Eugenie, a granddaughter of the queen, gave birth to a baby boy.

  • UAE’s Hope returns with first image of Mars

    UAE’s Hope returns with first image of Mars

    The spacecraft Hope sent by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the orbit of Mars has returned with stunning pictures.

    The spacecraft entered into the orbit on Tuesday and made UAE the first Arab nation in history to create a scientific presence on the Earth’s near neighbour.

    The spacecraft was sent to study the weather and climate system and other areas of astronomy.

    The state of the art Hope is performing two jobs including capturing high-resolution pictures of the surface of Mars and acting as a telecommunications reply station for landed robots in contact with Earth.

    The picture is captured by Hope’s EXI instrument from the distance of 24,700 Kilometers (km) above the Martian surface on Wednesday, one day after entering the orbit of the Red Planet.

    “The transmission of the Hope Probe’s first image of Mars is a defining moment in our history and marks the UAE joining advanced nations involved in space exploration,” the mission’s Twitter account stated. “We hope this mission will lead to discoveries about Mars which will benefit humanity.”

    Hope is now orbiting around Mars as close as 1,000km from the planet and goes out to almost 50,000km.

    Hope will be carrying high-level research on Mars like monitoring how energy moves through the atmosphere from the bottom to the very top.

    Out of several, one of the main things Hope was to study is the leakage of hydrogen and oxygen neutral atoms in space.

    This research will open wonders that will help the scientists to understand how Mars has turned from a wet, water abundant planet to a cold and dusty ball.

    This coming week, it is the turn of the Americans. Their Perseverance rover reaches Mars on Thursday and will try immediately to land in a near-equatorial crater called Jezero.