Tag: home-life

  • Hindu pilgrims from India reach Pakistan to attend religious festivities in Sindh

    Hindu pilgrims from India reach Pakistan to attend religious festivities in Sindh

    After thousands of Sikhs, over 50 Hindu pilgrims, including women, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday from India to attend religious festivities in Sindh.

    According to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) spokesperson Amir Hashmi, “as many as 51 Hindu pilgrims arrived in Pakistan via Wagah border where officials of the ETPB received them.”

    Hashmi said the pilgrims also include women and they left for Sindh province on special buses in high security to take part in their religious festivities.

    “The pilgrims will visit temples in Mirpur Mathelo, Sukker and Ghotki during their 10 days stay in Pakistan,” he said, adding the pilgrims will not be allowed to visit any other places. It is pertinent to mention here that the majority of Pakistan’s Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows.

    Talking to the media at Wagah, the group leader of the visiting Hindus, Yudeshtar Lal, said they have brought a message of peace and love and stressed for enhancing people-to-people contact. He appreciated the Pakistan government’s decision to open some of the centuries-old temples in the country.

    Last month, the Pakistani government handed over centuries-old historical Shawala Teja Singh Temple in Sialkot to the Pakistan Hindu Council for worship after the completion of its renovation.

    Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country.

  • PayPal not coming to Pakistan despite Asad Umar’s promise

    Former finance minister Asad Umar, earlier this year, had announced that the government was pushing for PayPal, the online payment system that supports online money transfer in over 200 countries, to come to Pakistan.

    A delegation from Pakistan’s Information Technology Ministry visited the United States in October to convince them to come to Pakistan but failed.

    Urdu News reported that PayPal officials told the delegation that Pakistan was not included in its three-year road map because it didn’t have adequate business opportunities.

    A Pakistani official of the National Institute of Technology said that PayPal changes its road map every year and Pakistan is still hopeful that they might come into the Pakistani market in the future.

  • Zainab Abbas tied the knot in a beautiful afternoon wedding

    Zainab Abbas tied the knot in a beautiful afternoon wedding

    Sports presenter and journalist Zainab Abbas tied the knot in a beautiful and intimate afternoon wedding in Lahore.

    Zainab and her husband, Hamza Kardar looked regal in complimenting white and bronze outfits.

    Courtesy – Zamal & Saman Photography

    Zainab donned an outfit by Saadia Mirza while Zara Gul did her makeup.

    How absolutely stunning does she look in this picture.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QLgwygU7U/

    That glow though.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QiJd1Aoy8/

    A family portrait. Zainab is also PTI’s Andleeb Abbas’ daughter.

    Soon after Zainab made the announcement, congratulatory messages began to pour in for the happy couple.

    Meanwhile, in a candid interview with The Current, Zainab had revealed three things she was looking for in a life partner.

    “He should be mature. He should be independent and more importantly, understand my work,” Zainab had said in the interview.

    Watch the full interview here:

  • $80,000 trophy hunting licenses issued for rare Astore markhor

    $80,000 trophy hunting licenses issued for rare Astore markhor

    The wildlife department of Gilgit Baltistan has auctioned four licenses for hunting the markhor, the official national animal of Pakistan.

    According to a report in Arab News, the Ministry of Climate Change agreed to the licenses, including for trophy hunting of the much in demand flare-horned Astore markhor, a large goat species native to Pakistan. Under the government’s scheme, 12 licenses for markhors are issued every year in Pakistan, four in Gilgit Baltistan.

    Each license was sold for over $80,000, from which 80 percent will go to the villages where the hunt takes place for developing their infrastructure. A total of $500,000 was reportedly raised from the auction.

    The report, quoting president of a wildlife conservation community in Astore, Abdul Sami, further said that the before the licensing was introduced two decades ago, both residents and influential people would just hunt the animals for fun and meat.

    Sami shared that the licensing has benefited rural communities, as the money from permits becomes their development funds.

    “We have built schools, hospitals, water supply systems, and maternity homes from the trophy hunting scheme in the area,” Sami said, disapproving criticism against markhor hunting.

    Earlier this year in February, a photograph of American hunter Bryan Kinsel Harlan posing with an Astore markhor he killed had invited social media outrage. Harlan had reportedly paid a record $110,000 to shoot it on a tourist expedition to Pakistan’s northern Himalayan region of Gilgit-Baltistan.

    Meanwhile chief conservator Zakir Hussain claimed that the markhors would have been extinct had it not been for the licensing program. The population of markhors in the Astore Valley is currently 2,500. According to the wildlife department’s data, the markhor population in the province has increased to over 6,000 from a mere 200 in the 1990s.

    Trophy hunting season runs from November to April. As markhors prefer cold, they can usually be found at the height of 8,000-11,000 feet, however, during winters they descend to 5,000-6,000 feet.

    Markhor hunting usually takes place at dawn or dusk. Hunting of female and young animals below the age of six is strictly forbidden. The age of the markhor is determined by its horns, the older the markhor is, the bigger its horns will be. Markhors live about 15 years on average. The hunter is accompanied by wildlife department officials who ensure that everything is done as per the law.

  • Robbers leave loot after learning about recent death in house

    Robbers leave loot after learning about recent death in house

    Karachi witnessed a very strange story of a robbery, in Korangi No.5.

    According to reports, thieves entered a house in Karachi where they held three women hostage.

    The robbers started looting and had grabbed all valuables inside the house. After raiding most of the cupboards and rooms inside the house, they entered the room where they had held the women hostage.

    One of the women from the three shouted out and prohibited them from entering claiming that her husband had died recently and she was in “Iddat” and according to Islamic values and traditions she was not to see another man till a set period of time.

    When the thieves got to know this, they left all the valuables and left the house, asking the women to pray from God so that he may ease their difficulties.

    The women then told the whole story to their surprised neighbours. They did not report the matter to the police and the inquiry of local police came back empty-handed.

  • Nadia Jamil shares heartbreaking stories of child rape

    Nadia Jamil shares heartbreaking stories of child rape

    Nadia Jamil has been using her social media to bring awareness to a cause she feels deeply about.

    The actor-activist has been sharing some heartbreaking stories of children being raped and her words are enough to send a shiver down your spine.

    Reader discretion is advised.

    Nadia is not sharing heartbreaking stories to raise awareness, she is also calling out the authorities to take swift action and work towards the protection of children.

    Meanwhile, Nadia’s upcoming drama serial Damsa will also highlight child abuse and trafficking.

    Nadia will play a nurse in the drama which will “highlight the concepts of marriage, children and the dangerous reality of child trafficking.”

    Nadia said that she dedicates her performance to “all the children of Pakistan, who wait and never give up hoping.”

  • Khadija Shah receives a signed ‘Thank you note’ from Kate Middleton

    Khadija Shah receives a signed ‘Thank you note’ from Kate Middleton

    The Royals tour of Pakistan was definitely one of the highlights of the year and the Princess’ wardrobe was the cherry on top. Duchess Kate stole the show with a number of traditional dresses from local designers including Maheen Khan, Gul Ahmed and Khadija Shah.

    • Gul Ahmed
    • Maheen Khan
    • Élan

    And it appears that the Duchess was very pleased with her wardrobe because Khadija of Élan got a signed thank you note from Kate herself.

    Khadija shared a picture of the letter on Twitter and expressed her happiness over receiving it.

    Along with appreciating the designer for her work, the letter also said: “Pakistan really is a wonderful country, which we both thoroughly enjoyed visiting and hope to return one day soon.”

    https://twitter.com/khadijah_shah/status/1197541416420986880?s=20

    Kate had worn a cream and black embroidered outfit by the designer label as she boarded a plane back to Islamabad after an unexpected storm had disrupted their schedule and forced the royal couple to spend the night in Lahore.

    Kate wore the same outfit to a private visit the royal couple undertook to the SOS Village in Lahore.

    Kate and William visited Pakistan for the first time in October. Their five-day tour had a jam packed schedule which included visits to Lahore, Islamabad and Chitral.

  • Ehsaas partners with Facebook to fight malnutrition

    Ehsaas partners with Facebook to fight malnutrition

    The Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) has announced that it will partner with Facebook to handle malnutrition in Pakistan.

    As per details, Ehsaas will host a first-of-its-kind ‘Design Hackathon’ on malnutrition at the National Incubation Centre, Islamabad on December 14 and 15.

    The Designed Hackathon will connect experts in malnutrition with
    digital marketers who with the help of Facebook, will build innovative digital
    campaigns around the specific challenges of malnutrition.

    Speaking on the matter, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar said, “Ehsaas is bringing together the smartest talent in digital marketing and technology to tackle malnutrition across the country and improve millions of lives.”

    “Social media is an important medium through which we can educate the public, and we are excited to see the results of this pioneering,” she added.

    Millions of children in Pakistan suffer health and development consequences due to malnutrition. At least 703 children have died due to malnutrition and different diseases in the Tharparkar district in 2019.

    The Ehsaas Programme with this partnership with technology and social media platforms aims to reach new people across Pakistan with educational messages on malnutrition and the different sides associated with this disease.

  • Islamabad robbers used ‘nullahs’ to carry out their thefts

    Islamabad robbers used ‘nullahs’ to carry out their thefts

    Who would have thought that Islamabad’s nullahs would be used to carry out thefts and provide shelter to robbers?

    Turns out that a gang of robbers, who have been creating panic in the capital, were using the drains, or nullahs, to carry out their activities.

    According to reports, the police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (CIA) made the discovery after they found a hideout near Jinnah Avenue in F-7 and uncovered a makeshift room in one of the drains, with all the requirements for a bedroom and living room.

    An investigation into the matter was carried out after more than a dozen robberies took place in F-10, F-11, G-10 and G-11. The investigation team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Hakim Khan studied the areas where the robberies took place and found that all the houses that were robbed were located near drains.

    Surveillance of the drains revealed that the suspects were using them for their movement.

    Though most of the suspects escaped the police raid, two people were later arrested and the stolen goods confiscated. The police said that there were eight to 10 tributaries leading off from the drain they raided, which made it difficult to follow the suspects further.

    Those arrested during interrogation revealed that they were part of a five-member group and the remaining three members had fled to Afghanistan following the raid. They shared that they stayed in a city for a few weeks, robbed several houses, and then travelled to Afghanistan with the stolen items with the help of local facilitators who were given 10 to 15 per cent of the stolen items.

    The apprehended further said that houses near nullahs were chosen for robberies to be carried out at sunset and sunrise. They revealed that they entered the houses by cutting through grills and then held residents hostage before carrying out their robberies.

  • Did Greta Thunberg time travel?

    A picture that was taken 121 years ago has a Greta Thunberg lookalike. It sparked a new conspiracy theory about the environmentalist being a time traveller.

    Twitterati started claiming that one of the people in the photo from 1898 that shows three children from the Yukon Territory in Canada has a face that’s so identical to Thunberg’s that it couldn’t possibly be anybody else.

    The girl said to be Thunberg also has the same braided hairstyle that the Swedish teen is known for. And although the timeline certainly doesn’t add up, many are saying that it’s proof that Thunberg is from a different time.

    Here are some of the snippets of this conspiracy debate: