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  • Faulty product costs online retailer heavy fine

    Faulty product costs online retailer heavy fine

    A consumer court imposed heavy fines on prominent online retailer Daraz.pk for providing a faulty product to a customer.

    According to reports, consumer court judge Mukesh Kumar Talreja directed Daraz.pk to pay Rs50,000 to the claimant in compensation and also pay a fine of Rs15,000 to the government treasury account.

    The court also directed the online retailer to change the product or return the amount (Rs7,795) paid by the customer for the product and improve its services and standards as per the expectation of consumers. It further ruled that if the defendant failed to fulfill these orders within one month, he or she will be punished with imprisonment along with a heavier fine.

    The court in its order said it is undderstood that when mental torture, agony and emotional stress was made out then the court has to grant damages as compensation and therefore, the court quantified the general damages for suffering mental agony and emotional distress as Rs50,000.

    Dania Kashif filed a complaint against Daraz.pk via its managing director under Section 26 of the Sindh Consumer Protection Act, 2014. She ordered one Play-Doh DohVinci from the website of Rs7,795 which was delivered in a sealed parcel in November, but the product was dry and in bad condition and the price mentioned on the box was Rs6,730 instead of Rs7,795. The plaintiff felt severe stress and agony because of the faulty order. Before approaching the court, she had filed a complaint through the website’s helpline, but they did not entertain it.

    The defendant party denied the allegations and argued that the claim was filed beyond the legal period of 30 days and the complainant ordered the product by agreeing to terms and conditions of the website which read that the defendant was not a party to the contract with either the seller or any other third party. However, the court did not rule in their favour and slapped them with a fine.

  • Imran vs govt? FIR registered against student marchers despite PM expressing support

    Imran vs govt? FIR registered against student marchers despite PM expressing support

    A sedition case has been registered against organisers and participants of the recently held Students’ Solidarity March despite Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan expressing his government’s willingness to allow the restoration of student unions subject to the establishment of a “comprehensive and enforceable code of conduct”.

    “Universities groom future leaders of the country and student unions form an integral part of this grooming,” the premier tweeted Sunday.

    Referring to the student unions of the past, PM Imran said that they had become “violent battlegrounds and completely destroyed the intellectual atmosphere on campuses”.

    He, however, clarified that unions will be “restored and enabled to play their part” in grooming the future leaders of the country. The premier said that a “comprehensive and enforceable conduct” based on the “best practices in internationally renowned universities” will be developed so that their restoration can be made possible.

    The tweets came a while after reports claimed that a sedition case had been registered against participants of Friday’s march.

    According to reports, Lahore’s Civil Lines police, on behalf of the state, registered the case on sedition charges against Ammar Ali Jan, Farooq Tariq, Iqbal Lala (father of Mashal Khan, who was lynched over allegation of blasphemy in Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan), Alamgir Wazir (nephew of MNA and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement leader Ali Wazir), Mohammad Shabbir and Kamil Khan, besides 250-300 unidentified participants.

    The action flew in the face of the recent statements by several ministers and government representatives, including the premier, who supported the students.

    On Friday, the students had taken to the streets in 50 cities of the country to voice their demands, including the restoration of student unions.

    According to the FIR, complainant Sub-Inspector Mohammad Nawaz said he was on patrol when he received information that a rally of 250-300 people led by Ammar Ali Jan, Farooq Tariq, Iqbal Lala, Alamgir Wazir, Mohammad Shabbir and Kamil Khan was being taken out. He said he reached Faisal Chowk on The Mall where the protesters were forcibly blocking the road to set up a stage to deliver speeches.

    “The speakers incited the students against the state and its institutions and speeches and slogans were recorded on mobile phones and can also be checked through PPIC3 cameras,” he claimed.

    Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Zulfiqar Hameed told Dawn that one of the suspects, Alamgir Wazir, was arrested two days ago in the case. He said the case was registered on behalf of the state because the students were delivering provocative speeches and chanting slogans against the state and its institutions. He said police would arrest the other people involved in the case as well.

  • Maiden trial of India’s ‘nuclear-capable’ missile ends in failure

    Maiden trial of India’s ‘nuclear-capable’ missile ends in failure

    The maiden night trial of India’s “nuclear-capable” Agni-III missile ended in failure on Saturday after it crashed into the sea in Odisha, according to a report published by Indian news outlet New Indian Express.

    According to the details, the missile deviated from its flight path and the mission team had to terminate it.

    “Starting from the launch to the first phase separation, everything was smooth in accordance with the mission plan but suddenly it started behaving abnormally” the publication quoted sources as saying.

    “It could possibly be due to metallurgical defects,” it added.

    The missile, which could carry both conventional and nuclear warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes, had already been inducted in the inventory back in 2011.

    Two other variants of the missile, Agni-I and Agni-II, have failed during both development and user trials in the past. Agni-II had failed to deliver desired result during its first night trial in 2009.

  • How much did the ‘Azadi March’ cost the government?

    How much did the ‘Azadi March’ cost the government?

    Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s ‘Azadi March’ which took place from October 31 to November 13 cost the government over Rs240 million, Rs248 million to be exact.

    According to a report in Dawn, this amount is payable to contractors/vendors whose services were hired for security and other arrangements which included lodging, meal and transportation of police called from other districts.

    As many as 5,000 from the capital police along with 3,000 Frontier Constabulary, 1,500 Punjab Constabulary, 2,000 from KP police and 500 from Kashmir and railway police were deployed in Islamabad during the sit-in. 550 containers were also arranged to block roads as a part of security measures and 105 vehicles, including 88 buses, were used to transport the security personnel.

    The rent of a 40-foot container was Rs20,000 a day and Rs14,000 for a 20-foot container. On the other hand, the rent of a bus was Rs25,000 per day and Rs15,000 of a wagon/truck. The fuel for these vehicles cost the police Rs 20 million.

    The capital police also purchased anti-riot gears to deal with confrontations, though none took place in the 13-day sit-in.

    Other expenses included the rent of nine buildings hired for the force requisitioned from other provinces.

    Meanwhile, Rs695.6 million were spent during PTI and PAT’s dharna in 2014.

  • CJP says Supreme Court will soon get female judges

    Chief Justice Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa has revealed that the judiciary is working towards inducting female judges in the Supreme Court.

    Addressing the concluding session of Women Judges Conference in Lahore, Justice Khosa said that more than 300 female judges are working in the district courts of Pakistan and that they are doing a brilliant job.

    “Our women judges have proven their abilities through their verdicts and by the way they have handled complex cases,” said Justice Khosa, adding, “We have as many as 300 women judges in district courts and we hope to soon have at least one or two in the Supreme Court. I had the opportunity to propose two names and they are being actively considered.”

    Justice Khosa said that the top court is working on women’s rights and with time, the differences between male and female judges will be eliminated, adding that women must be empowered for the society to develop.

    Explaining that the Constitution ensures equal rights and treatment to all citizens including minorities, Justice Khosa said that they are encouraging women to enter the judiciary.

    Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Shamim Khan, while addressing the conference, said that “the judiciary plays an important role in structuring and restructuring of the society.”

    Justice Shamim said that gender-based violence courts were being established in Punjab to protect the rights of women and children.

  • Islamabad to get chairlifts?

    If reports are to believed Islamabad’s Margalla Hills may be getting chairlifts.

    According to a report in Samaa News, the wildlife ministry is considering installing a chairlift at the Margalla Hills for tourists. The idea has also received positive feedback from environmental experts who believe that this will help reduce the number of cars that visit the hills on a daily basis.

    The ministry says that there are two benefits of installing the chairlifts: one people visiting the area will get great ariel views of the hills and two the number of cars going to the hills will reduce. Officials of the ministry say that the hills and Islamabad’s national parks need to be protected.

    Reports suggest that almost 5,000 cars cross the foothills of the Margalla every day.

  • The Current Life with Khadijah Shah

    The Current Life with Khadijah Shah

  • Which way does ‘Swing’ swing?

    Which way does ‘Swing’ swing?

    Cool pinks, misty greys and pastel mint, swings, flowers and all is the newest cafe in town – Swing.

    Though the interior appears to be inspired by the Elan Cafe in London, this place is quite synonymous with its name, it has cute swings for seating, in addition to the regular chairs. Pink, mint and gold crockery and cutlery, good service and the brother/sister duo (owners) in attendance was just the cherry on top.

    Apart from the regular salads and appetizers, the food thankfully had some delicious twists.

    While their hot sellers, Vietnamese Paper Rolls, Salmon roll-ups and Prawn trio are great in presentation and taste, the mains, however, are the ones you’ll be going back for.

    My favourites were the Beetroot Risotto with Snapper in Saffron Sauce, Halloumi Beef Bowl, Marrakesh Chicken, Asian Beef Bowl and Indiana Snapper. Cooked to perfection and full of flavour, each dish was a foodie’s delight.

    After a pleasant meal, we decided to indulge our sweet tooth with the Lotus Cheesecake, Nutella Brownie with Ice-cream and Flourless Brownie. While the Nutella Brownie was decadently sinful, the Flourless Brownie was light and airy.

    What was truly commendable about the place was the attention to detail and presentation – you could tell that the owners wanted to give their clients an experience, not just food. The menu also has pizzas, mocktails and coffees. Priced reasonably, Swing is here to stay.

  • Meray Paas Tum Ho: Kya abh shaadi honay wali hai?

    Episode 16 isn’t coming slow and the teaser for Episode 17 has a lot more to promise.

    Danish (Humayun Saeed) after his hero act of beating up and threatening villian Shehwar (Adnan Siddiqui) has found a new love for being rash. The episode starts off with Danish hanging out with his son Rumi and it’s really hearwarming to see how their father son realtionship is blooming. It seems like their relationship has changed for the better since Mehwish (Ayeza Khan) left.

    Father son love

    Wedding is in the air for Danish as well as his son Rumi announces that Hania (Hira Mani) is the best girl for Danish and works on getting the both together till the end of the episode. What this loosely suggests is that Hania and Danish will most likely get married because it is the cute thing to do.

    Hania and Danish might get together while Mehwish’s plans keep getting delayed

    Shehwar on the other hand is pissed off at Danish and feels kinf if onsulted at being beat up so badly. He tells Mehwish to go sort out her son’s issues herself and meanwhile finds out that his company is getting bankrupt and its shares have badly fallen.

    Rash Danish finds out that Shehwar’s company is in a temporary crisis and decides to invest all the lakhs he made for selling his house to buying shares in Shehwar’s company (which obviously means that he will take over Shehwar’s company one day). He also gets a really nice looking place on rent and decides to live a little.

    townhouse for sale/rent

    The fast paced episode is the perfect lead in to the teaser for Episode 17. Mehwish and Shehwar are getting married, it seems, and there’s a knock on Mehwish’s room door and we are willing to bet it’s Shehwar’s wife. Now thats what we are all waiting for.

  • Karachi man sends 50,000 trees to Iraq to provide shade to pilgrims

    Karachi man sends 50,000 trees to Iraq to provide shade to pilgrims

    A retired industrialist from Karachi sent thousands of saplings to Iraq on Friday to bring shade to pilgrims.

    Mohammedi Durbar, 85, wants to plant nearly 50,000 trees along the entire 80-km pilgrimage route between Iraq’s Najaf and Kerbala. In a conversation with Reuters, Durbar said the idea came to him when his relatives returned from a holy site with sunburn.

    Millions of people make the pilgrimage every for the religious ritual of Arbaeen. They walk most of the way under a baking sun. Among the worshippers last year were Durbar’s grandson and daughter-in-law, who returned to the country tanned and with photographs showing a barren landscape.

    This was when Durbar got the idea and then travelled to Iraq, spoke to officials and got permission for his project, and a promise the trees would be cared for.

    He also planted some trees in Najaf to see if they could thrive there.

    A first batch of 9,800 saplings of eight types of trees, up to eight months old, set off from Karachi by truck on Friday, for their journey across Iran to Iraq. The shipment was delayed about a month because of anti-government protests in Iraq and last-minute visa delays.

    Durbar says the saplings will be well looked after on their journey with the truck stopping to ensure they get regular sunshine and water. He is confident they will arrive in good shape and plans to travel back to Iraq to work on the plan.

    The trees will spend the winter in a nursery in Baghdad, with the planting due to begin in March. He said about a dozen people would plant the trees, with the help of small digger he is also sending from Pakistan.

    Durbar estimates it will take three years to plant all of the trees at a cost of Rs25 million, which he is paying. He is not sure if he will live to see pilgrims walking under his trees, but he knows he has found his calling after a lifetime in the industry.

    “I thank God, at this age, he has put me on the right path,” he said. “Partnership with nature is good.”