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Blog
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Newsletter- 4th January 2021, Monday
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Due to zero political interference, NAB recovered Rs389bn in two years: PM
Prime Minister Imran Khan said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) managed to recover more money in the first two years of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government as compared to the entire tenures of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
In a tweet, PM Imran said that the reason NAB was able to recover money during his government was the fact that it was functioning “independently” and without any sort of “political interference”.
“Total recoveries by NAB in 2019 & 2020 amount to Rs.389 bn in comparison to previous 10 yrs (2008-2018) recoveries of Rs.104 bn,” the prime minister said.
Imran also appreciated the performance of Punjab’s Anti-Corruption Establishment, saying it recovered Rs206bn in 27 months of Buzdar-led government, whereas it had only managed to recover Rs3bn during the two tenures of PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif.
He said the money recovered by the two accountability watchdogs show that accountability worked best when institutions are independent. Imran went on dub the tenures of the PPP and PML-N as “dark ages under corrupt rulers”.
The opposition leaders, on the other hand, accuse NAB of political victimisation. They claim that NAB is working to target the rivals of PM Imran Khan. Similar remarks were also made by the Islamabad High Court in a graft case against PML-N leader Saad Rafique and Salman Rafique.
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Cuteness overloaded: Maryam’s toy shopping on video call with granddaughter goes viral
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has been spotted speaking to her granddaughter while looking for toys, a video of which has gone viral over the internet.
In the video, reportedly shot at a rest-stop on the Bahawalpur-Lahore route, the PML-N leader was seen speaking to granddaughter Serena, telling her what she had bought for her and asking what else did she want.
“I got red chips for you,” Maryam was seen telling the kid on a video call. “You want to see?” She is then seen heading over to a wall where a toy doctor set is hanging. “Look… look at this doctor’s set Serena. You want this one?” “You want the doctor’s set or do you want the bus?” she asks before reciting the nursery rhyme “Wheels on the Bus”.
“Maryam Nawaz specially stopped at a rest area on her way back to Lahore from Bwp to get things for her granddaughter Serena… Showing her toys on a video call,” PML-N’s Sania Ashiq wrote while tweeting the video.
“The pleasures and joy of being a Nano,” Maryam said while reacting to it. On May 6, 2018, Mehrunisa, Maryam’s daughter and the granddaughter of former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, gave birth to the baby girl. A picture of the baby in Maryam’s arms had also gone viral later.
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PIA plane flies with only one passenger on board
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flew its plane from Islamabad to Manchester with only one passenger on board. According to reports, the plane which had a capacity of 371 passengers carried only one passenger to the destination.
While Geo News has reported that the flight took off from Islamabad, journalist Murtaza Ali Shah said that the plane flew from Manchester to Islamabad.
In the video posted by Shah, a PIA’s staffer, while pointing towards other empty 370 passenger seat, remarks that the passenger on board is the “lucky” one. The only passenger on the flight was a native of Gujrat.
Read more – Imran govt likely to rid PIA of Rs500 billion debt
Meanwhile prominent aviation journalist Tahir Imran Mian said PIA’s flight was not the only one that flew empty.
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Memes break the internet after Shafqat Mahmood announces reopening of schools
Amid the second wave of coronavirus, the government has decided to open educational institutions in phases from January 18.
Soon after the news was announced, memes started doing rounds on social media adding to the popularity of Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood.
Mahmood’s memes also went viral earlier after he announced that educational institutions would be closed till January 11 due to rising COVID-19 cases. In an exclusive interview with The Current, the minister talked about the memes and which ones were his favourite.
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Punjab govt ‘temporarily’ shuts down free WiFi service
In a bid to save money, the Punjab government has decided to shut down the free WiFi service in public spaces for an indefinite period.
The decision was taken by the provincial government led by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to save Rs190 million that the project was costing.
The WiFi service launched by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in 2017 was available in several cities of Punjab, such as Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan. The government had created at last 200 hotspots to provide free internet to the residents. It was also available at airports, railway stations, metro stations, colleges, and universities.
Chief Minister’s aide Firdous Ashiq Awan was reported as saying that the service has been shut down temporarily and it will be resumed soon. However, she didn’t give any specific date.
In 2019, the government had halted the free internet service due to a lack of funds. According to a report in Dawn, the service was stopped after the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) failed to pay Rs150m to the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).
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Ayesha Omar claps back at troll criticising her choice of outfit
Ayesha Omar gave a befitting reply to a troll who criticised her for her choice of outfit.
Commenting under a post which talked about how Omar promoted women empowerment by wearing a local label run by two women to the Lux Style Awards, a social media user commented: “If she is promoting women to expose of their body (via such clothes), then that surely is not ‘women empowerment’.”
“Such a misquoted term,” they added.
Responding to the comment, Ayesha wrote: “I’m definitely not promoting/ asking/urging women to expose their bodies. That is their own choice as wearing this dress was mine. As wearing whatever you want is yours.”
Talking about the outfit, Ayesha said: “This dress was sent to me as it is. I had no input in the design, length, structure or type of dress they were making for me. They only asked for my size. They contacted me themselves and sent me this outfit in June.”
The actor continued: “I wasn’t paid to wear or promote it either and was waiting for an appropriate opportunity to wear it. I’m promoting and showcasing their work/talent: the beautiful beaded hand embellishments.”
“If you could look beyond a bit of my limbs showing, it would be nice to appreciate someone’s hard work without being judgmental. Try it. It uplifts both parties.”
Ayesha concluded her note by sharing the meaning of the word empowerment.
In another comment, when a user remarked that such outfits provoke rape cases, Ayesha hit back saying: “Oh so that explains 4-month-old babies, 5-year-olds and 7-year-old girls and being raped?”
Read more – Komal Aziz Khan hits back at troll for moral policing her
Later, in an Instagram post, Ayesha said that 2020 was a crazy year and she saw many people suffer physically, emotionally and financially which is why she decided to would try and help as many people as she could in whatever capacity.
“One of those ways was to use my social media platforms to promote social causes, NGOs, public service messages and small businesses throughout the year. (completely free of charge),” said the actor. “Every day I would receive quite a few packages, messages and queries and I tried to promote as many products and services as I could.”
Omar has often been criticised for her choice of outfits but she has always clapped back brilliantly.
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Karachi among world’s most polluted cities
Karachi has been listed among the world’s most polluted cities ranking sixth on the global Air Quality Index on Monday.
As per details, the number of polluted particles in the air in the provincial capital was recorded at 186 particulate matter.
The capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek was on the top of the list while India’s Kolkata ranked second among the world’s most polluted cities.
According to the classification, pollution from 151 to 200 degrees is harmful to health, pollution from 201 to 300 degrees is extremely harmful to health, while more than 301 degrees indicates hazardous pollution.
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Rape cases: LHC declares ‘two finger test’ illegal, discriminatory
The Lahore High Court has declared “two finger test and hymen test carried out for the purposes of ascertaining the virginity of a female victim of rape or sexual abuse” discriminatory and against the constitution of Pakistan.
In a ruling issued in response to a plea filed by women activists seeking a ban on the discriminatory practice, the court said: “It is declared that two finger test and the hymen test carried out for the purposes of ascertaining the virginity of a female victim of rape or sexual abuse is unscientific having no medical basis, therefore it has no forensic value in cases of sexual violence.”
The plea had argued that the virginity tests are “neither necessary nor reliable or relevant for the purpose of investigation into the incident of rape or sexual abuse”.
The court said the test “offends the personal dignity of the female victim and therefore is against the right to life and right to dignity enshrined in Article 9 and 14 of the constitution”. It further said the hymen test also discriminates against women as it is carried out on the basis of gender.
The judgement written by Justice Ayesha Malik noted that the hymen test can be carried if it is “warranted medically or for treatment purposes” and the medical officer must “stipulate the reasons” for carrying out this test.
In a reference to a recent anti-rape ordinance by the federal government, the court said: “Notwithstanding the promulgation of 2020 Ordinance
which specifically prohibits the two finger test by way of Section 13, the federal government has taken no steps to enforce the requirements of the 2020 Ordinance or any steps to create awareness and training in order to change the habits of the medico-legal officers in carrying out the virginity test.”It said the practice is ingrained in the processes of the medico-legal examination which cannot be ended without proper training and awareness. According to the LHC, the federation and provincial government should take necessary steps to ensure that virginity tests are not carried out in medicolegal examination of the victims of rape and sexual abuse.
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Punjab schools to open from Jan 18, universities from Feb 1: minister
Amid the second wave of coronavirus, the Punjab government has decided to open educational institutions in phases from Jan 18.
According to provincial education minister Murad Raas, the government has decided to open schools and universities in three phases. In the first phase on Jan 18, schools will resume classes for students of matric and intermediate. In the second phase, the primary and middle schools will resume class on Jan 25.
In the third phase, the government will reopen universities on Feb 1. The minister said the educational institutions “will have 50 per cent students on alternate days as before”.
Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood had announced in November that all schools across the country will close down from 26th to January 10, 2021, to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Before this, the schools remained closed from March till September amid the first wave of coronavirus. But due to an increase in the infections in the students, the schools were shut down again.