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  • How to apply for Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship programme?

    How to apply for Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship programme?

    Prime Minister, Imran Khan has launched a needs-based undergraduate scholarships under the Ehsaas programme. 

    Under the programme, 50,000 scholarships will be given to deserving students with a special focus on disadvantaged areas of the country. The scholarships awarded by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) will be valid in both public and participating private sector universities and colleges.

    Who can apply?

    The eligibility criteria for the scholarship programme is:

    These undergraduate scholarships apply to the public sector and the participating non-profit private sector colleges and universities.

    Students admitted on merit at any public sector university.

    Family income should be below the poverty threshold.

    How to Apply?

    Follow the following steps to apply for Ehsaas Scholarship Programme

    Apply online at HEC’s portal of Ehsaas Programme. Here is the link of the website:

    https://ehsaas.hec.gov.pk/hec-portal-web/auth/login.jsf

     Submit properly filled forms at the Financial Aid Office of the respective university

    Applications sent directly to HEC or BISP will not be entertained

  • Kate and William’s Pakistan tour in-flight menu revealed

    Kate and William’s Pakistan tour in-flight menu revealed

    The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge undertook a whirlwind tour of Pakistan late October. While it has been a couple of days since they left, the couple is still sneaking into our conversations as we reminiscence the days they spent here.

    Little details of their trip continue to excite us and a chef has now revealed what Kate and William ate on their flights as they travelled to different places within Pakistan.

    Read more: Royal Visit Day 2 – Kate & William explore the mountainous North

    Chef Samina Gul, a former Professional Cookery student at University College Birmingham, shared pictures of the food the royal couple ate while in-flight during their recent five-day tour of Pakistan.

    Fresh salad with beetroot and quinoa

    Samina Gul, a product development chef with Pakistan’s KC Flight Catering, made elevenses, afternoon tea and dinner for Prince William and Kate on two of their Royal Air Force flights during their visit. KC Flight Catering is the largest private in-flight catering operator in Pakistan.

    Samina shared pictures of her delicious delicacies on Facebook and we have to say they look mouth-watering.

    And it appears that the people on the flight loved the food because Samina’s company received a letter from the catering manager of 101 Squadron Royal Air Force, Sgt Steve Roberts, expressing his appreciation of the in-flight chefs’ services and hard work.

    EXCLUSIVE: What did Mehwish Hayat & Prince William talk about and other inside details from the grand royal reception

    Previously, Samina also got to cook for Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during one of his visits to the country.

  • India’s Davis Cup tie in Pakistan shifted to neutral venue

    India’s Davis Cup tie in Pakistan shifted to neutral venue

    India’s Davis Cup tie against Pakistan at Islamabad this month must be played at a neutral venue after the latest advice from the International Tennis Federation’s independent security advisors, the world governing body said on Monday, Reuters reported.

    According to the details, the Asia/Oceania Group I tie, originally scheduled for Sept. 14-15 in Islamabad, was postponed by the ITF to Nov. 29-30 following a security review amid political tensions between the bitter neighbors.

    The All India Tennis Association (AITA) had asked the ITF to shift the tie to a neutral venue.

    “As per the Davis Cup Regulations, the Pakistan Tennis Federation now has the choice to nominate a neutral venue and has five working days to confirm their proposed venue,” the ITF said in a statement.

    Pakistan expelled India’s ambassador and suspended bilateral trade and all public transport links with its neighbor in August after New Delhi removed “special status” from its portion of the contested region of Kashmir.

    The nuclear-armed neighbors have fought two wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.

    They came close to a third in February after a deadly attack on Indian police by a Pakistan-based militant group resulted in air strikes by both countries.

    The AITA had named a six-member squad in August for the tie against Pakistan but a couple of players and captain Mahesh Bhupathi had made themselves unavailable to travel to the neighboring country due to security concerns.

    While the national governing body chose Rohit Rajpal in Bhupathi’s absence, they will soon name a new team for the tie with Bhupathi having made himself available again.

    “We are very happy and welcome the ITF decision about the venue change,” AITA General Secretary Hironmoy Chatterjee told Reuters by phone. “We will wait for the PTF to choose the venue and then name our team.”

    Pakistan was forced to host Davis Cup ties at neutral venues for more than a decade as teams refused to travel to the country citing security concerns.

    They played their first home tie after a gap of 12 years against Iran in 2017, while Hong Kong were relegated and fined by the ITF after refusing to travel to Pakistan the same year.

    An Indian tennis team last traveled to Pakistan in 1964 for a Davis Cup tie, defeating the hosts 4-0, while Pakistan lost 3-2 on their last visit to India in 2006.

    Multiple doubles Grand Slam winner Bhupathi said it was great news and he was “of course available” to captain the side now that the tie has been moved out of Islamabad.

    “I think it’s just a sensible decision with the current situation,” he said in a text message.

    “Davis Cup is already a high pressure situation and having additional stress on security issues was not ideal for anyone.”

  • Govt releases special song for Kartarpur

    Govt releases special song for Kartarpur

    Ahead of the historic inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor which will connect Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur in India to Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Kartarpur, the government has released a special song, which highlights the message of peace, love and religious harmony.

    The song was released in a special ceremony in Islamabad by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan. Members of the Sikh community were also present at the event.

    See pictures: Kartarpur Corridor is ready to welcome Sikh pilgrims

    Addressing the ceremony in Islamabad, Dr Awan said the opening of Kartarpur Corridor is the execution of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of protection and freedom of all minorities, Radio Pakistan reported.

    Dr Awan said this song will go a long way in promoting a soft image of peace and inter-faith harmony in the country and that the release of this song will send a signal to the world about the true face of Islam.

    The song, which has a Punjabi beat, features Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

    https://twitter.com/RadioPakistan/status/1191415420256968704?s=20
    https://twitter.com/RadioPakistan/status/1191417114168614913?s=20

    Meanwhile, preparations for the 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev are underway in full swing. Thousands of Sikh yatrees have arrived in Pakistan for the special occasion and to witness the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor on November 9.

    The corridor will facilitate visa-free movement of Indian pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Guru Nanak.

    Along with the song, Pakistan has also released a commemorative postage stamp and a coin to mark the occasion.

    Read more: Pakistan introduces commemorative coin for Guru Nanak’s 550th anniversary celebrations

    Pakistan is home to several sacred Gurdwaras including Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hasan Abdal, Gurdwara Janamasthan, Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Sacha Soda Farooqabad among others.

  • Men dig up grave to rape woman’s dead body

    Men dig up grave to rape woman’s dead body

    A group of unidentified men dug up the grave of a woman in Karachi’s Landhi Town area and raped the dead body.

    As per reports, the deceased’s family did not want to file any cases concerning the horrible incident. A large number of the late woman’s relatives and neighbors reached Ismail Goth Graveyard after they were informed of the dreadful act. They were told that a group of men had dug up the grave and raped the body who had been buried just one day earlier.

    Meanwhile, it is unclear how many men were involved in the act.

    The family said the undertaker responsible for the maintenance of the graveyard had told them that a dog had removed the slab from the grave. However, it appeared impossible for an animal to remove the slab.

    Police have collected evidence from the site of the crime and confirmed that the grave-digger had disappeared but the search for him and his accomplices in underway.

    The late woman’s relatives said that they will not be taking any legal action over the incident but appealed that such incidents should not take place in the future.

  • ‘Perfumes vs attar’: Hamid Mir points out differences between 2014, 2019 Azadi marches

    ‘Perfumes vs attar’: Hamid Mir points out differences between 2014, 2019 Azadi marches

    Senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir has said that there is a lot of difference between the ongoing Azadi March of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and that of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from 2014.

    “When one used to visit the 2014 sit-in, you could smell perfumes. When you come here, you can smell attar. So it’s perfume versus attar,” Mir said when approached by a private media outlet during his visit to Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Islamabad protest last week.

    He further said that Imran Khan’s sit-in “had scores of rich people”. “You could see a lot of lipsticks. At this sit-in, what you see is…” the journalist added as he pulled in front of the camera a JUI-F worker.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The viral video then shows the worker kissing a smiling Mir on his forehead. It isn’t later that another JUI-F activist to the journalist’s left, pulls and kisses him.

    “Do you understand the difference now?” he then asks the reporter, laughing.

  • PM’s aide wants ‘corrupt politicians & officials’ to be locked at Lahore Safari Zoo

    PM’s aide wants ‘corrupt politicians & officials’ to be locked at Lahore Safari Zoo

    Sahibzada Jahangir, Prime Minister’s Spokesperson on Trade and Investment in UK & Europe, came under fire yesterday for his tweet in which he called for all “corrupt politicians and officials” to be locked at the Lahore Safari Zoo in Raiwind.

    In a now-deleted tweet, Jahangir had said: “Visited Lahore Safari Zoo. Beautiful park and with great tourist potential. I urge Imran Khan PM to lock all corrupt politicians and officials here for weekend camping & let their fade [fate] be decided by Allah.”

    He later deleted his tweet when Twitterati gave him a piece of their mind.

    Sahibzada Jahangir, also known as ‘Chico Jahangir’, is the elder brother of Fauzia Kasuri. Ms. Kasuri parted ways with PTI after almost 17 years.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has known Mr. Jahangir for more than three decades. Khan’s walima with Jemima Goldsmith was held at Jahangir’s residence in London.

  • Air purifier installed at Taj Mahal to save it from smog

    Air purifier installed at Taj Mahal to save it from smog

    New Delhi and the areas surrounding the city have been engulfed by a cloud of smog which is choking the city and its residents. The air quality index has reached hazardous levels as the Indian capital has been hit by the worst pollution in three years. A public health emergency has been declared and people have been advised to stay indoors.

    According to a report in Khaleej Times, as smog levels exceeded, authorities parked a van with an air purifier near the Taj Mahal – the iconic 17th-century marble mausoleum 250 kilometres (150 miles) south of Delhi – in a bid to clean the air in its surrounds.

    The air purifier van deployed by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has the capacity to purify 15 lakh cubic metre air in eight hours within a 300-metre radius.

    Regional Officer of UPPCB Bhuvan Yadav shared that a mobile air purifier van has been deployed at the west gate of the Taj Mahal keeping in mind the developing situation and consistent deterioration in air quality.

    Pollution around the white marble mausoleum has been a cause of concern for a long time as it has been damaging the monument, one of the seven wonders of the world. Pollution causes the white marble of the monument to turn yellow.

    Read more: Air purifiers that are effective and available

    Meanwhile, the Delhi government has declared a public health emergency in the city following the deterioration in air quality. The local government also directed the closure of all schools till November 5 in the interest of the health and safety of children. Free pollution masks were also handed to the children to limit their exposure.

    Construction work in the city has been put on hold and private cars have been banned on the roads to limit pollution.

    According to a recent study, almost one million Indians died prematurely every year as a result of inhaling this pollution-ridden smog. Experts have warned that both state and national governments needed to go beyond short-term remedies and find a solution to combat this problem which hits every year.

    Read more: Tips to beat the toxic smog this winter

    Across the border, Lahore is also suffering from the effects of smog. The air quality index in the city has also reached hazardous levels making breathing tiresome for the residents.

  • Here’s how ‘Azadi March’ protestors are charging their phones

    Here’s how ‘Azadi March’ protestors are charging their phones

    Considering that the participants of the JUI-F’s Azadi March have to sit-in for long hours, they came prepared for their Islamabad protest.

    According to reports, the participants are using solar panels and power banks to charge their mobile phones. In fact, these solar panels are even being used to provide electricity in some tents.

    A protester shared that they have been using power banks to charge smaller mobile phones while the panels are being used to charge bigger phones. He added that the panels are also being used to provide electricity in some tents too.

    Despite the government’s ban on cellular signals in the areas where the protest is being staged, protestors are walking up to four kilometres to share updates from the march on social media.

    The JUI-F workers and supporters have been staging a protest at Islamabad’s H-9 Ground near Peshawar Morr with the aim to topple the PTI government.

  • Pak army to generate own electricity to reduce burden on economy

    Pak army to generate own electricity to reduce burden on economy

    Pakistan Army is all set to generate electricity for its garrisons and establishments across Pakistan to cut their expenditure on power which is estimated to be around Rs 15 billion for 240 MW (megawatt), a private news outlet has reported.

    As per reports, the Pakistan army is planning on harnessing renewable energy through solar parks with an aim to establish 1-5MW solar parks in each garrison. The pilot project will generate 40MW energy and no public money will be used on solar parks for 25 years.

    This step will reduce the burden on the Army’s budget as a huge portion of it goes to electricity payments to various electricity distribution companies, and the costs are rising due to increasing tariffs.

    The Defence Division has informed the federal cabinet that army possesses robust distribution systems, which means that it can easily shift to renewable energy alternatives.

    The division has sought the government’s approval for making the payment on account of purchasing equipment from private companies offering solar solutions, adding that it will be at least 20-30% cheaper than DICSOs.

    The cabinet was also informed that the stakeholders including Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA), Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), Power Division and Finance Division have also endorsed the electricity project.