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  • Criminal negligence or accident? Bahria University student falls to death

    Criminal negligence or accident? Bahria University student falls to death

    A student of Bahria University Islamabad passed away after falling from the fourth floor of the university building.

    The deceased, 23-year-old Haleema Amin, was a bachelors student in her second semester at Bahria University. According to the police and hospital staff, she fell from the fourth floor of a new university block which is currently under construction.

    The hospital staff claimed that the Haleema was conscious when she was brought to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in the afternoon by university staff, including a doctor.

    She had suffered multiple fractures including her backbone and was kept under observation and provided treatment. However, she passed away in the afternoon around 4:30 pm. The staff added that her body was later taken from the hospital by the same people who brought her to Pims.

    Meanwhile, the Margalla police said they found out about the incident when the woman was brought to the hospital. They said they were told she fell off the building while taking a selfie.

    The police said that the university did not allow them to investigate the scene of the accident and said that they would inform the police later and submit a report in this regard.

    The police also shared that the woman’s family has yet to be approached for legal action, and her body is not with the police or the hospital. They said legal action will be taken, including an autopsy, if a complaint is lodged with the police.

    Meanwhile, students of Bahria University said that their colleague passed away due to negligence by the university. They said that some of their classes were being held on the fourth floor of a new university block which is currently under construction and Haleem fell because of no proper fencing.

    The students took to social media and the streets to protest against the university for being negligent and hiding the facts of the case and are demanding justice for their friend.

    https://www.facebook.com/amna.asif.9277/posts/2399791793449586

    Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazaari also took notice of the incident and asked Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood to institute an inquiry.

  • Qandeel Baloch’s brother gets life imprisonment for murder

    Qandeel Baloch’s brother gets life imprisonment for murder

    A model court in Multan sentenced Qandeel Baloch’s brother Wasim Azeem to life in prison for murdering his sister. Life imprisonment means 25 years in jail.

    The social media star was strangled to death in Multan in July 2016 and her brothers Waseem Azeem and Aslam Shaheen were accused of murdering her. The brothers said that they killed their sister because she brought dishonour to their family and the “Baloch name” with her inappropriate videos and statements. While Waseem was arrested immediately, Aslam, who was accused of urging Azeem to kill Qandeel was arrested in Saudi Arabia this year with the help of Interpol.

    Waseem

    Waseem had initially admitted to drugging and killing his sister but later changed his statement. The court had been hearing the case for three years. A high court had dismissed his bail applications twice before. The court had reserved its verdict after the defence and prosecution completed their arguments.

    Meanwhile, six others accused in the case, including Mufti Abdul Qavi and Qandeel’s other two brothers Aslam and Arif, were not found guilty. Arif was reportedly the one who instigated Waseem to strangle his sister to death. Mufti Qavi was showered with rose petals as he exited the court.

    While Qandeel’s father had initially lodged a murder case against his son Waseem and his accomplices in 2016, he later had filed a petition seeking a pardon for his sons but the court turned it down.

    The affidavit said that the Anti-Honour Killing Laws (Criminal Amendment Bill) 2015, which prevents killers from walking free after being pardoned by the victim’s family, was passed months after Baloch was murdered and cannot be applied to her case.

  • Imran mocked for saying ‘Jinnah had cancer’

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that Quaide Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah “had cancer and he kept it a secret from everybody”, in a blunder that has left Twitterati wondering if the premier is oblivious to what Jinnah really had — tuberculosis.

    Speaking at Asia Society in New York on Thursday, PM Imran said that Jinnah was his role model who had a mission and joined politics for it alone. “He was in it for the mission, not the fame or power. Dreamers change the world, but career politicians never do.”

    “He [Jinnah] didn’t tell anyone that he was battling cancer because he had a dream he wanted to fulfill,” the premier added, landing himself in crosshairs of netizens, who criticised the premier for “not knowing that Jinnah did not have cancer”.

    Here’s what they had to say:

    Another “thanked god for Imran not saying that Jinnah got treated at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital”.

    https://twitter.com/MoxtOpinionated/status/1177380137014308865

    This is not the first time PM Imran has said that Jinnah had cancer. A few months ago, he had said that the founder of Pakistan “didn’t disclose that he was suffering from cancer so that the enemy couldn’t create hurdles and delay the process of creation of Pakistan”.

    JINNAH’S DEATH:

    From the 1930s, Jinnah suffered from tuberculosis; only his sister and a few others close to him were aware of his condition. Jinnah believed public knowledge of his lung ailments would hurt him politically.

    Tuberculosis is a disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but they can also damage other parts of the body.

    As his health deteriorated over time, Jinnah passed away in Karachi on September 11, 1948, at the age of 71, just over a year after Pakistan’s creation.

  • ‘DON’T kiss babies’: Mother-of-four whose infant son nearly died begs adults

    ‘DON’T kiss babies’: Mother-of-four whose infant son nearly died begs adults

    A mother-of-four is warning others against kissing their newborns during the flu season after her own son barely survived a severe respiratory infection.

    Ariana DiGrigorio’s son Antonio caught the flu when he was still an infant.

    For two months, they could not figure out why the symptoms persisted. Antonio was then diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

    Ariana shared a heart-wrenching photo of son in the hospital with all manner of supportive and monitoring tubes and wires coming from his tiny body on Facebook, urging parents to keep their babies away from relatives’ kisses, for the infants’ good.

    RSV is a common viral infection but for the elderly, those with compromised immune systems and especially babies, the virus can be dangerous.

    Most instances of pneumonia and bronchitis in infants are triggered by RSV.

    Antonio pulled through, but it was a terrifying time for the DiGrigorio family. Antonio finally pulled through.

    ‘Don’t be the reason a baby is hospitalized (or dead) because the baby was “just so cute I had to kiss her!”‘ Ariana wrote in a Facebook post that was shared over 2,500 times.

  • VIDEO: Jahangir Tareen rescues sick British tourist in Gilgit on private helicopter

    VIDEO: Jahangir Tareen rescues sick British tourist in Gilgit on private helicopter

    Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secretary-general, disqualified Jahangir Khan Tareen, has flown a sick British tourist out of Fairy Meadows National Park in his private helicopter.

    Fairy Meadows, named by German climbers and locally known as Joot, is a grassland near one of the basecamp sites of Nanga Parbat, located in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan.

    According to the details of the incident, a British tourist on Wednesday fell unconscious after her health deteriorated during a camping trip in Fairy Meadows. Tareen, who was also present in the area as part of his trip to Gilgit-Baltistan, brought the sick tourist back to the airport in his helicopter.

    The woman was later shifted to a nearby hospital while a video of the rescue has gone viral over the internet.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    FUEL FOR TAREEN’S CHARTERED FLIGHT:

    Meanwhile, Tareen’s trip to the country’s northernmost territory has been marred by controversy regarding the fuel for his chartered flight from Gilgit City to Skardu.

    In a letter addressed to the Skardu deputy commissioner (DC) by the general manager operations of Princely Jets — Pakistan’s first private charter jet operator — three barrels (600 litres) of JP-1 fuel have been requested for Tareen’s helicopter.

    https://twitter.com/Psfkami/status/1176870816199446528

    Even though the letter does not appear to be in violation of any rules, netizens argue the need for a private company’s general manager “to request acquisition of government fuel from an official for Tareen’s chartered flight”.

  • Firdous bashes Sharmeen, Malala for ‘double standards’

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan has criticised Nobel laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai as well as Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy for their “silence over the Kashmir crisis”.

    “Our sister Chinoy, who used to speak-up for acid victims in Pakistan and received an Oscar for her documentary, is now lost somewhere. Kashmiri sisters and mothers are calling out Sharmeen Chinoy to speak up for their rights,” PM’s aide said while addressing a press conference Thursday.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tax8eV-qnuA&feature=youtu.be

    “She [Sharmeen] and NGOs [Non-Governmental Organisations] were always ready to project a negative image of Pakistan to the world whenever an incident related to minorities occurred. But now when Kashmiri women are facing tough situations in the occupied valley, these organisations are sleeping.”

    Firdous alleged that they “used to receive foreign funds for promoting the negative image and now the rights of Kashmiris were not a part of their financers’ agenda”.

    She even criticised Malala for not speaking up for Kashmiris. “Malala used to speak for the rights and education of children in [erstwhile] FATA [Federally Administrated Tribal Areas] and received many awards and appreciation from the United Nations (UN) and the world… I want to hear her voice for Kashmiri children as well”.

    SHARMEEN & MALALA:

    This is not the first time that Chinoy is being received criticised for her works as her Oscar-winning documentary “Saving Face” on acid attack survivors and their tough battle for justice received much hatred for “projecting Pakistan’s negative image”.

    Malala has also been facing severe criticism for not speaking up for Kashmiris, even though she has expressed her concern for the people of the held valley.

    “I am deeply concerned about reports of 4,000 people, including children, arbitrarily arrested & jailed, about students who haven’t been able to attend school for more than 40 days, about girls who are afraid to leave their homes [sic],” she tweeted earlier this month.

  • Peshawri chappal gets wings

    Peshawri chappal gets wings

    A Pakistani-American designer Saks Afridi collaborated with the shoe brand Markhor to create the Hawa Sandal which is an upgraded version of the traditional Peshawari Chappal.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Ry1QQl4GH/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=dlfix

    The footwear is part of Saks Afridi’s space mosque collection that has a sci-fi Sufism theme. The designer has elaborated the concept behind the chappal in this Instagram post:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B2T88sFFrip/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=dlfix

    He also shared shots of people wearing the Hawa Sandal and levitating.

    Previously, French fashion designer Christian Louboutin and British fashion designer Paul Smith have attempted (and failed) with their versions of the Peshawari chappal which is native to Pakistan’s northwestern regions.

    What do you think of this version of the Peshawari chappal?

  • PM Imran’s Kashmir campaign reaches Times Square

    PM Imran’s Kashmir campaign reaches Times Square

    With the situation in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) worsening as the valley remains under lockdown for 53 days, the ordeal of Kashmiris has been highlighted at Times Square in New York City.

    All eyes are on New York where dozens of global leaders have gathered for the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

    With Pakistan, especially Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, continuing to voice concerns over Indian occupying forces’ brutalities against innocent Kashmiris and Narendra Modi-led government’s move to rob the held valley of its autonomy, a movement to express solidarity with Kashmiris has taken the world by storm.

    “With the extraordinary efforts of PM Imran Khan, Kashmir issue has now become a Global concern. The voice of people of IOJ&K is once again being heard in the highest diplomatic forums. ‘Stand With Kashmir’ has been highlighted in Times Square New York, today [sic],” government of Pakistan tweeted Thursday.

    Earlier, protests marred Modi and United States (US) President Donald Trump’s rally in Houston, Texas, where members of Pakistani and Indian minority communities gathered to raise their voice for the Kashmir cause.

    The “anti-Modi demonstration” outside the “Howdy, Modi” event venue, called attention to the “racist Modi regime” and its ongoing human rights violations in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

  • You can’t please everyone: Emraan Hashmi responds to DG ISPR’s tweet on ‘Bard of Blood’

    Shah Rukh Khan and Emraan Hashmi’s Netflix project Bard of Blood received immense criticism when its trailer released late last month. Most Pakistanis, including Director General ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor slammed Bollywood for its anti-Pakistan storyline. (In case you missed that controversy, you can follow this link for a quick update.)

    The eight-episode series, which revolves around the story of an ex-RAW agent in Balochistan, will premiere on Netflix this Friday. Based on Bilal Siddiqi’s novel of the same name, Bard of Blood has been produced by SRK and starres Emraan in the lead.

    Emraan has been promoting and discussing the projects on various platforms. In a recent interview, when asked about his reaction to DG ISPR’s comments on the series, Emraan responded, “This way, you don’t end up making any film because whenever you have content that has even remotely anything associated with anything political related to these two countries [India and Pakistan], emotions do run high. And you have to bear the brunt in this. Social media is full of this.”

    He continued, “I think that one tweet [Gen Asif Ghafoor’s] led to other people spewing hate. But to put things to rest, there is no propaganda here.”

    “This is based on a book that is written by a then 20-year-old kid back in 2014,” Emraan added. “The political climate at that point of time was very different.”

    Emraan finished off saying, “There is no agenda to it. Our show is based on that book and that’s that. You can’t please everyone. You make a show of this nature, which has some kind of political relevance, and it going to snowball and you will have people talking. Everyone has an opinion these days.”

    Meanwhile, in another interview, Emraan said that he doesn’t let such issues bother him and said that he is “excited” for the series “since the promo got a lot of traction.”

    “I want everyone to see it and I’m sure everyone will love it,” he said.

    Speaking to Gulf News, Hashmi said that inordinate care has been taken not to hurt any particular country’s sentiment.

    “Remember, it’s primarily for entertainment … It’s a pure work of fiction and all the character and are mission are fictional,” he stated.

    Meanwhile, the series has opened to positive responses from critics.

  • Irregularities worth Rs118 million detected in Lahore metro bus project

    Irregularities worth Rs118 million detected in Lahore metro bus project

    The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has detected irregularities worth around Rs120 million in the decoration of the Lahore metro bus’s track, Dunya News has reported.

    According to reports, the Parks & Horticulture Authority (PHA) and contractors allegedly colluded, resulting in losses worth millions of rupees to the national exchequer.

    Discovering irregularities of Rs118.49 million in the report, the top auditor stated that there was no plantation on the track and funds simply “vanished”.

    The AGP has issued orders for departmental proceedings against the PHA officials concerned and said that the administrative control of the officers was also found to be extremely poor.

    The Lahore metro bus project was completed in 11 months by former Punjab chief minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif and began its services on February 11, 2013. The total expenditure of the project stood at Rs29.896 billion.