Tag: islamabad

  • ANF seizes 52.6 kg drugs near Islamabad motorway toll plaza

    ANF seizes 52.6 kg drugs near Islamabad motorway toll plaza

    During an operation on Wednesday, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) was able to seize over 52.66 kg of drugs and detain three suspects.

    An ANF headquarters spokesman said that during an operation near the Islamabad Motorway toll plaza, ANF recovered more than 52.60 kg of drugs, including 45.60 kg of charas, 4.10 kg of heroin, and 3.60 kg of opium that were hidden in two cars’ hidden compartments. The operation saw the arrest of three further suspects by ANF.

    According to details, a case has been filed against the drug traffickers and the accused’s accomplices would also face prison time.

    In a similar raid, ANF detained two individuals and seized more than a tonne of drugs at the start of this month.

    After receiving a tip, the ANF conducted a raid in the Islamabad area, capturing nearly one tonne of drugs, including 28.8 kg of heroin, along with two members of an inter-provincial drug smuggling ring, according to a spokesman for the ANF headquarters.

    The ANF has been active in carrying out raids in various cities, making it practically hard for traffickers and smugglers to move drugs within the country or across the border.

  • PTI MNAs using govt residences despite resigning from NA

    PTI MNAs using govt residences despite resigning from NA

    After former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan was ousted through a no-confidence motion, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Members of National Assembly (MNAs) tendered their resignations together.

    Months have passed but the party’s MNAs still have not evacuated the residences given to them by the government at the parliamentary lodges. It has been reported that not even one MNA has vacated the place.

    Including the lodges, 42 side rooms are also in use by the MNAs.

    When the magistrate was informed, he expressed disappointment and contacted the court in this matter.

    On July 29, National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf accepted 11 resignations of PTI MNAs members under Article 64(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan.

    Additionally, 29 PTI members were still enjoying privileges as Members of the Punjab Assembly (MPAs) despite tendering their resignations, reported Dawn earlier in the month.

    According to the news outlet, salaries are being transferred to PTI members’ accounts as their resignations have not yet been formally accepted. Therefore, members are still enjoying the perks.

  • How to apply for government jobs in Pakistan

    How to apply for government jobs in Pakistan

    Many Pakistanis prefer working for the government over the private sector since a government job not only offers job stability but also other incentives that encourage people to work for the government.

    People from middle-class households typically favour working in the government. We have addressed the benefits that favour government jobs for career advancement because there are some benefits that the private sector does not provide.

    Here are some advantages of government jobs:

    Working hours

    The benefit of choosing government employment over the private sector is the flexible work schedule. In contrast to positions in the private sector, when employees are occasionally required to work a little bit extra, occupations in the public sector have set working hours. However, in some government agencies, working overtime is required without compensation.

    Job security

    The biggest benefit of working for the government is job stability. And there is no job security in the private sector. In contrast, there is very little chance that any government official will lose his or her job.

    Employees in the private sector are displaced like houseflies because this perk is only available to those working in government sectors.

    Promotions

    Another crucial element in the public sector is the promotional benefit. Promotion in government positions is always contingent on how well and how long you work. However, this can occasionally be both a benefit and a drawback because someone who is above average may not be able to develop as quickly as his typical counterparts.

    Benefits and perks

    Next in the government sector are the perks and rewards. As a result, the government sector offers a wide range of benefits, including pension plans, retirement benefits, health care, housing loans, and childcare, among others. However, several significant private sector enterprises do provide such advantages.

    In the government sector, however, retirement becomes crucial since it guarantees the longevity of a person’s career.

    Read more: Here’s how to use a SIM in a non-PTA approved phone

    Lesser stress

    The government sector, as we’ve seen above, has set working hours. Therefore, these hours will result in reduced work-related stress. The best time frame to finish the work on time and in the best way is offered by government jobs, which is not available in the private sector.

    Respect

    Along with all these advantages, working for the government increases respect. Everyone will treat you with respect if you work for the government because of your authority and position.

    Salary increments

    The other best perk of working for the government is, of course, wage increases. As a result, your compensation will rise without regard to how well you perform. So this is fantastic if you are an average performer.

    These multiple advantages provided by government employment may provide you a competitive advantage over the private sector. A government career is the ideal option, though, if you are considering doing something exceptional in the future and need job fulfilment.

    Where to apply?

    There are currently hundreds of job vacancies on the websites below:

    National Job Portal

    Punjab Jobs Online

    These websites allow interested applicants to submit applications for several Pakistani government job positions. Numerous openings, from entry-level to senior-level ones, are listed on these websites.

    Applying for posts in the following categories is possible: BPS-01, BPS-04, BPS-05, BPS-09, BPS-11, BPS-14, BPS-15, EVP/SEVP, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, Grade-10, Grade-11, Grade-12, MP-I, MS-VIII, PPS-10 and PPS-12.

    People who live in Punjab can apply for the most recent positions that the Punjab Government has posted, including those in the departments of planning and development, energy, and health care, by visiting Punjab Jobs Online.

  • Missing person returns home after court warning

    Missing person returns home after court warning

    Haseeb Hamza, who had reportedly gone “missing” in August has been produced before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) by the police, a day after the court issued a strict warning to the police and intelligence agencies to locate him by Wednesday.

    His father, Zulfikar Ali, told the court that his son phoned him in the morning to inform him that he was near the Shifa International Hospital in the capital.

    During the hearing today (Wednesday), IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Athar Justice Minallah asked Haseeb where he had been, to which he replied that he was blindfolded at the time he was taken and had no knowledge of where he was.

    Haseeb’s father had filed a petition in IHC, which stated that on the night between August 22 and August 23, around 20 people — 15 of them in black uniforms — entered his house without a warrant and whisked away his son along with a laptop computer, five mobile phones and some documents.

    After Hamza’s return, Justice Minallah ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to conduct an investigation into the kidnapping case and to submit a report to the registrar of the high court by September 22.

    ’Produce missing person by tomorrow, else intelligence services must appear at court’, Court directs police

    A day earlier, Justice Minallah gave strict orders to find Hamze by 10am tomorrow (Wednesday).

    The court also added that if the person is not produced by tomorrow, sector commanders of Military Intelligence (MI), Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Special Branch and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) must appear before the court.

    His father Zulfikar Ali filed a petition in which he said his son was picked up from their home on August 22. According to him, he filed a First Information Report (FIR) at the time but all in vain.

    Zulfikar had said that his son was a labourer who worked in Layyah in Punjab.

    The IGP duly appeared before the court and confirmed that FIR had been lodged.

    Moreover, the petition said that the police say that Haseeb is with the intelligence agencies.

    Justice Minallah said that under an earlier court verdict IGP and other concerned officials should be held responsible for the disappearance of a citizen.

    Earlier, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif appeared before IHC and assured the court that all-out efforts will be made to recover missing persons.

    “I cannot say that all of the missing persons will be recovered, but we will leave no stone unturned”, he had promised.

  • Sharp rise in Dengue cases in Karachi

    Sharp rise in Dengue cases in Karachi

    Karachi is witnessing a sharp increase in dengue fever cases with 113 new cases of the vector-borne disease reported in the city in the past 24 hours.

    According to officials at government-run hospitals, the number of dengue cases in Karachi has surpassed 3,000 this year. So far in September, 843 people in Karachi have contracted the virus. Approximately 3,428 dengue cases have been registered in the province of Sindh overall. Yesterday, no dengue cases were reported in the districts of Hyderabad and Larkana. It should be noted that a large number of dengue cases have been reported in Karachi’s East area.

    In the past 24 hours, 62 patients were diagnosed with dengue in Lahore, while 55 new cases were reported in Islamabad.

    Dengue fever is one of the world’s leading mosquito-borne illnesses and infects millions across the globe annually.

    Read more- Dengue cases on the rise in Punjab

    Dengue is transmitted by the Aedes Egypti mosquito, which thrives in densely-populated tropical climates and breeds in stagnant pools of water. The mosquitoes picks up the virus from infected humans and pass it along through bites.

    Dengue is potentially fatal, with a severe version of the disease called dengue hemorrhagic fever causing internal bleeding which could lead to death.

  • Exclusive: Apple user or Samsung loyalist? What phone does PM Shehbaz use?

    Exclusive: Apple user or Samsung loyalist? What phone does PM Shehbaz use?

    Android or iOS—which one is better? We have heard this never-ending debate many times. Now, the debate has turned towards the power corridors of Islamabad. The question being asked on social media is, what phone does our Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif use?

    Earlier in the day, PM’s Focal Person on Digital Media, Muhammad Abubakar Umer, shared a video of the Premier who was sitting with United Nations (UN) Chief Antonio Guterres. They both visited the flood-affected areas of Sindh.

    In the video, PM Shehbaz pulled out his phone which appears to be an iPhone 7.

    Abubakar has also mentioned the model of the phone in the caption. He said, “PM Shehbaz doesn’t normally carry/use his mobile phone in public. This is probably the first time he pulled out his phone during a meeting—to show a flood-related video to UN Secretary-General— and guess what? It’s not iPhone 14, not even X or 9. It looks more like iPhone 7.”

    Upon asking the reason behind PM not upgrading his phone, Abubakar told The Current, “He [PM Shehbaz] uses the phone only for necessary functions and not for entertainment or luxury. He would use the phone as long it serves the basic purpose of call or text and sometimes video message or call.”

    The focal person also revealed that when he met PM Shehbaz back in 2011 he [PM] was carrying a phone that “looked like Nokia 3310”. He said that it was a very “basic” phone.

    “PM has all the resources to afford a new phone but he is doing great even without keeping up with the latest phone models”, he added.

  • LGBT activists allegedly sentenced to death in Iran on accusation of promoting homosexuality

    LGBT activists allegedly sentenced to death in Iran on accusation of promoting homosexuality

    A court in Iran sentenced two LGBTQ rights activists to death on allegations of encouraging homosexuality.

    According to the Hengaw Kurdish rights organisation, the two women, Zahra Sedighi Hamedani, 31, and Elham Chubdar, 24, were sentenced to death by a court in the northwestern town of Urmia.

    They were convicted of “spreading corruption on earth.” This accusation is routinely levied on individuals who are found to have violated the country’s sharia regulations.

    They were also charged with preaching Christianity and communicating with international media.

    Iran’s judiciary has confirmed the sentences but said they were connected to human trafficking and not with LGBT activism.

    “Contrary to the news published in cyberspace and the rumours that have been spread, these two individuals have been accused of deceiving women and young girls and trafficking them to one of the countries of the region,” the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reported.

    Homosexuality is illegal in Iran, and same-sex intimacy for both men and women is officially criminalised in the penal code.

  • ANF confiscates more than one tonne of drugs during an operation in Islamabad

    ANF confiscates more than one tonne of drugs during an operation in Islamabad

    During an operation on Sunday, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) was able to recover more than a tonne of drugs and take two suspects into custody.

    According to a spokesman for the ANF headquarters, the ANF carried out a raid in the Islamabad area after receiving a tip, seizing nearly one tonne of drugs, including 1,020 kg of hash and 28.8 kg of heroin, as well as two members of an inter-provincial drug smuggling ring.

    The refrigerated container contained medicines that were being transported out of Balochistan. After filing a case against the accused, ANF began a new investigation to find other gang members, he continued.

    In other news, the Airports Security Force (ASF) recovered 7 kg of heroin on Sunday as a result of two separate raids at the airports in Lahore and Karachi.

    Asif Ali, a passenger travelling from Lahore to Bangkok, had 5.12 kg of heroin hidden in his hand luggage, according to Anti Narcotic Force (ANF) officers. The accused had expertly concealed the heroin in his hand luggage.

    In the second operation, which was carried out at the Karachi Airport, 1.47 kg of heroin was found in Ahmed Sher’s suitcase, who was travelling from Karachi to Medina.

    While ASF representatives said that the accused had been given to ANF for additional legal proceedings, including drug charges.

  • ‘September sitamgar hoga’: Sheikh Rasheed announces Khan’s march in Islamabad

    ‘September sitamgar hoga’: Sheikh Rasheed announces Khan’s march in Islamabad

    Former interior minister and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed said on Sunday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan will give a call to his supporters to march towards Islamabad once the flood situation eases down.

    Rasheed took to his Twitter handle and warned: “Sitambar Sitamgar ho ga (September will be cruel)”.

    The former federal minister pointed out that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made yet another agreement of Rs608 billion with the government. “First they robbed the treasury and now the people’s pockets”, he said.

    “Floods have opened the eyes of the people of Sindh, the floods have destroyed the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) reputation. How will other countries give aid when the people of the country refuse to give money to money launderers?”

    He said that the people can not bear the burden of increasing petrol and power prices, yet the “government continues to raise them”.

    In a series of tweets, he said that IMF knows that there is a weak majority of the government and people can come to the streets.

    “The time is not far when factories and shops will be closed, people will be on the streets”, he warned again while adding that floods have become a matter of “political point scoring”.

    Rasheed’s statement came a day after Imran Khan warned the government to stop the “persecution” of his party workers otherwise he will again march on Islamabad.

    He said the government would have “no place to hide” in the event he comes to Islamabad.

  • ‘Mujhe itna dewaar say mat lagain ke mai sari qaum ke samnay unki shaklain rakh doon’: Imran Khan

    ‘Mujhe itna dewaar say mat lagain ke mai sari qaum ke samnay unki shaklain rakh doon’: Imran Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan warned his opponents against pushing him against the wall.

    “I have been tolerating all this for the last four months. The more you try to intimidate me, the more I will fight back,” said Khan while addressing a gathering in Sargodha, on September 1.

    “Mujhe itna dewaar say mat lagain ke main sari qoum ke samnay unki shaklain rakh don jinho nay apnay mufaad ke liye mulk ko mushkil main dala [Don’t push me against the wall otherwise I will expose all those faces to the nation who have put the country in trouble for their interest]”, warned Khan.

    Talking about his public support, the former Prime Minister said that he can shut down the federal capital whenever he wants.

    “My nation is standing by me. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is spread all over, from Gilgit Baltistan to Khyber Pakthunwkan. We’re in Punjab and Azad Kashmir. Whenever I want, I can shut down Islamabad,” he said.

    “I am telling you again, don’t push me that much. The more you will try to put pressure, scare me and file FIRs, I will fight back more strongly,” he told his opponents.

    Khan further alleged that conspiracied were hatched to sideline him. “It was decided in closed door meetings to side line me. I thank God I got to know about their plans. I have made a tape and recorded the names of four people who hatched the conspiracy against me. If any thing happens to me I know my country will not spare them,” he told the crowd.

    Responding to Imran Khan’s speech, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that when one loses power they talk in a similar manner as does Imran Khan.

    “He [Imran Khan] must try and block Islamabad. You have provincial governments, you must spend your time making the lives of people better there, rather than claiming to shut down the capital. This is not the way democracy works,” rebuked the former Premier.

    “It is the people who will push Imran Khan to the wall for all the lies he has been telling,” said Khaqan.