Tag: Karachi

  • Who hasn’t paid house rent for the last 12 years?

    Who hasn’t paid house rent for the last 12 years?

    Janay kab hongay kum, PTI leadership ki zindagi kay gham

    The owner of ‘Insaf House’, PTI headquarters in Karachi, who rented the place to PTI leadership, has approached a court to seek unpaid rent worth more than Rs 10 million accumulated over the past 12 years, as per Geo News.

    Dues calculated till July 2023 are Rs 13.9 million. The rent agreement was signed between the landlord and PTI’s late leader Naeem ul Haque, President Arif Alvi, and former Sindh governor Imran Ismail. Meanwhile, Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Samar Ali Khan signed the agreement as ‘guarantors’.

    Under the rental agreement, PTI leaders including Alvi, Ismail and Haque had agreed to pay Rs100,000 in rent each month.
    Party leaders, including President Arif Alvi, might face legal consequences after the owner filed a case under section 15 of the Sindh Rental Ordinance Act 1969.

    As per the documents, PTI leadership not only faces legal consequences due to unpaid rent but also might face charges for violating the agreement’s clause that prohibited any political activities at the premises.

    If the case is decided in favor of the landlord, Alvi, Ismail, and the guarantors might even face disqualification.

    PTI had moved the court to de-seal the Insaf House after it was cordoned off following the May 9 riots. The court directed authorities to de-seal the party’s office and barred any gathering of more than five people at the premises.

  • PTI leaders arrested in Gawadar

    PTI leaders arrested in Gawadar

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) central leader Farrukh Habib, along with eight other people, have been arrested in Gwadar by security forces.

    Balochistan Caretaker Minister for Information Jan Achakzai confirmed the arrests to Dawn.

    Security personnel in plain clothes conducted a raid and arrested Farrukh Habib and eight other people from a local hotel in Gawadar after they got a tip-off. Habib was minister of state for information in the PTI government and president of PTI’s western Punjab wing.

    Those arrested in the raid include Habib’s brother and father-in-law, who were taken to an unknown place after their arrest.

    “The PTI leader reached Gwadar along with his brother, father-in-law and six other people to cross into Iran from Gwadar,” Mr Achakzai told Dawn.

    Habib, his brother and father-in-law have been shifted to an unknown place while six other people were handed over to Gawadar police, who have been released on bail after initial investigation.

    Those released on bail were: Jawad Ehsan Raza, Muhammad Mohsin, Abdul Jabbar, Muhammad Nadeem, Muham¬mad Saqib Nasim and Mudassir. They belong to Lahore, Karachi and Bahawalpur.

  • Here is why you should give Green Line train a try

    Here is why you should give Green Line train a try

    With continuous hikes in petrol prices and dearth of good transport facilities that are comfortable, clean, and economically reasonable, travelling to another city within Pakistan can be a hassle.

    We spoke to Omer Khan, a passenger who recently travelled from Lahore to Islamabad on the Green Line train.

    Khan claims to have had a very pleasant experience.

    In a four hour journey, he was served two samosas and “excellent” chai which can be ordered as many times as one wants.

    Credit: Dawn

    He said that there were only a few other passengers, probably owing to ticket price of Rs 3250 for one way. However, as Khan stated, it is still way cheaper than travelling from one’s own car as the petrol will now cost between Rs 25,000 to 30,000.

    The seats are said to be comfortable and rotatable. Additionally, functional sockets with charging ports are available.

    Most importantly, the train and its bathrooms are clean, and Khan hopes that the standard will be maintained because often times, the standard of facilities decline.

    Green Line train was first inaugurated by Nawz Sharif in 2015, operating between Karachi and Islamabad. It reportedly only stops at main train stations.

    In 2022, however, the train operation was suspended following floods that drowned train tracks. On November 28, 2022, China Railway Construction Corporation delivered 46 high-speed coaches to Pakistan Railways in accordance with an agreement signed in 2021.

    This year in January, the-then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reinaugurated Green Line Express train service.

    Travelling between Islamabad and Karachi, it starts its journey from Margalla station and stops at Rawalpindi, Chaklala, Lahore, Khanewal, Bahawalpur, Rohri, Hyderabad and Drug Road on the way.

  • Minor housemaid missing from Pir’s house

    Minor housemaid missing from Pir’s house

    It has been a month since a minor housemaid working at an influential pir family in Karachi went missing.

    The girl’s father, Ayaz Chandio, fears that his 16-year-old daughter, Aqsa Chandio, has either been killed or sold by her employer.

    Aqsa went missing on August 15 and as the father filed a complaint, Darakhshan police registered an FIR under Section 365-B (Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel for marriage etc) of the Pakistan Penal Code on August 17.

    Ayaz spoke with Times, a Sindhi news channel, expressing fears that Aqsa has either been killed or sold by the frmale employer.

    The employer had informed Ayaz Chandio of Aqsa’s disappearance after which he came to the coastal city from Khairpur. However he has claimed that he was detained at the family’s house for two days.

    He also said that the neighbour recalled that they could hear Aqsa’s cries and screams every night.

    The employer’s brother threatened Ayaz and warned him that he would not be able to return to his village, Pir Jo Goth, if he highlighted the disappearance.

    He has also complained that the police have not been taking the case seriously.

    According to DIG-South Syed Asad Raza, Aqsa was kidnapped from the Seaview apartment on August 15.

    The police constituted a special team, probed some suspects and arrests were expected very soon.

    According to investigators, Aqsa had a mobile phone that she secretly used which infuriated her employees. Ayaz was called but by the time he arrived, Aqsa had left.

    The mobile phone is currently in police’s custody.

  • ‘Daku’ bnaya ishq nay

    ‘Daku’ bnaya ishq nay

    Love can make a daku out of a normal guy.

    A private bank’s cash van carrying Rs 6 crore and 35 lacs was robbed on September 19 in Karachi’s Korangi area.

    The suspect, Zohaib, has not been arrested yet.

    According to investigative authorities, Zohaib was the employee of a private security company, and had been working in Karachi since the past 10 months. He left his job two months ago to get married to his love.

    Officials revealed that after reaching his wedding destination in Okara, Zohaib found out that the girl he was interested in had already gotten married elsewhere.

    In a statement provided by relatives to investigative authorities, it was mentioned that the suspect was distressed due to the failed love affair and became a robber.

    Investigative authorities further revealed that Zohaib returned to Karachi and rejoined the same security company. He robbed a bank’s cash van in September and is still on the run.

  • Karachi ranked most polluted city in world, second day in row

    Karachi ranked most polluted city in world, second day in row

    Karachi has been at the top of the list of the world’s most polluted cities for the past consecutive two days.

    Dawn newspaper quoted ‘IQAir.com’, an air quality monitoring website, stating that Karachi topped the chart, followed by New Delhi.

    The concentration of 2.5 particulate matter (pm) in Karachi is 20.3 times higher than the annual air quality guideline value of the World Health Organization (WHO) as last night it recorded an air quality index of 175.

    Air quality index readings in the range of 151 to 200 are considered unhealthy, while air quality index readings between 201 and 300 are dangerous and severely harmful to health.

    According to the annual report released by ‘IQ Air’, the level of pollution in Karachi has not improved over the past few years, in fact it has increased.

  • Aijaz Aslam was once mistaken for another celebrity by robbers

    Aijaz Aslam was once mistaken for another celebrity by robbers

    Karachi walahs never change.

    Aijaz Aslam was a guest on Samaa News’ show ‘Had Kar Di’ where he opened up about a hilarious instance when he was robbed twice in Karachi, and how when the first time this happened, the robbers thought he was the late religious television host, Junaid Jamshed.

    The actor recalled that when he was in Karachi during Ramzan, a group of robbers approached him by first politely tapping on his car window. The ‘Cheekh’ actor chuckled saying that when he rolled down the window, the robbers greeted him by saying ‘Junaid bhai’, but after recognising him, they apologised and asked for his phone.

    The second time Aijaz recalled being robbed was when he was coming out of a friend’s studio, and when they were about to enter their car, two young boys approached him with a silver gun and demanded that the actor and his friend hand over their phones.

    “I took out my phone, he looked up to recognise me and said: ‘Array! Oh maaf kardien Aijaz bhai, mein tou boaht bara fan hoon’,” the actor laughed. The robbers handed them back their phones and apologised as they left.

    Listen to the hilarious encounter here.

  • Who was Zainab Market named after? Twitter has a hilarious discussion about road names

    Who was Zainab Market named after? Twitter has a hilarious discussion about road names

    Ever thought about what was the meaning behind names of popular roads like Tariq Road in Karachi or Abdul Rehman Road in Lahore? A Twitter user decided to finally decode the question, posting a Tweet on X (formerly Twitter) asking who were the people after whom these roads were named.

    “Anyone ever wonder who the Zenab behind Zenab market, Tariq behind Tariq Road, Hasan behind Hasan Square really are? Who are these people? How did they become so iconic and important to Karachi?”

    A user was kind enough to explain Zainab Market’s name, and it turns out because that’s the name of the owner’s daughter.

    Soon, people brought up some hilarious road names and attempted to decode what they had really meant. For instance, there’s really a road in Karachi called Anda Mor?

    Then there’s another place called Mochi Mor? Kya mochi sirf wahan par baithtay hain?

    And Bandar Road doesn’t actually mean Monkey- but it’s the road that leads to the port.

    Finally we got an explanation behind Tariq road, it’s named after Tariq bin Ziyad, the Muslim General who led the invasion on Iberia.

  • Increase in Pink Eye cases; IHRA releases SOPs

    Increase in Pink Eye cases; IHRA releases SOPs

    Lahore is in the throes of the spread of Pink Eye — medically known as conjunctivitis.

    According to health department officials, 85 new cases of conjunctivitis have been reported in the city within the past 36 hours.

    Several cases have also been reported in Karachi, Hyderabad, Rawalpindi and other cities.

    What is Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)?

    Eyes have a transparent membrane called conjunctiva which covers it. Pink Eye is when the blood vessels become swollen or inflamed, which causes the eye to turn red.

    This often causes irritation and severe itching.

    While in some cases conjunctivitis heals on its own, some cases are severe and require consultation with the doctor.

    Symptoms

    According to Aga Khan University Hospital, symptoms include redness in the eye, increased tears from the affected eye, burning sensation, itchiness, and thick yellowish discharge from the eyes

    How does it spread?

    Pink eyes can be caused by a virus, bacteria or an allergy from dust, pollen, chlorinated pool, or any other item.

    It can also spread from person to person through close contact with the infected person or by touching the used items of the infected person; coughing and sneezing

    Treatment

    Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) has released guidelines for the viral infection.

    It states that viral conjunctivitis can be treated with an antibiotic eye drop and/or a steroid eye drop. This helps in reducing the inflammation but does not treat the infection.

    The symptoms can also be countered with cool compress and lubricant eye drops like artificial eye drops (which can also be refrigerated to keep it cool and soothe the eyes).

    How to stop Pink Eye?

    1. Discard tissues that come in contact with the infected eye discharge.
    2. Do not share towel, soap, pillow and other similar items with others if you are infected.
    3. Do not share eye drops even with the infected person.
    4. Wash hands with soap for at least 20 seconds; especially before and after washing applying the ointment to the infected eye.
    5. Wash your hands after coming in contact with the infected person or with the items used by the patient.

    Remember to seek medical help in case of severe pain and sensitivity to light, weakening of vision, and if redness persists more than 10-14 days.

  • Karachi-Lahore flights encounter GPS signal disruptions

    Karachi-Lahore flights encounter GPS signal disruptions

    GPS signals for flights between Lahore and Karachi reportedly ran into difficulties in receiving signals.

    The GPS signals got disrupted approximately 100 nautical miles around Karachi and Lahore.

    Civil Aviation Authority has issued Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) regarding the problem and instructed the pilots of the aircraft to immediately inform them about difficulty in receiving the GPS signal.

    Complaints were also received around Rahim Yar Khan Airport that the planes were not getting the signal.

    This raises safety concerns for aircrafts.

    According to Samaa news, issues regarding GPS signals have been raised before as well but it still has not been resolved.