Tag: Karachi

  • ‘Karachi walon’: Shahid Afridi has a message for Karachiites

    ‘Karachi walon’: Shahid Afridi has a message for Karachiites

    Former Pakistan cricket team captain Shahid Afridi has a message for Karachiites after some good weather in the city.

    Taking to his social media accounts, Shahid wrote: “Karachi walon!!! Weather enjoy karo aur safe raho. (People of Karachi!!! Enjoy the weather and be safe.)”

    In one of the pictures, Afridi can be seen enjoying the cloudy view with a tea mug in his hand. In another picture, he can be seen driving around the city with his daughter in the car beside him.

    The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast intermittent rains in Karachi later today after morning showers turned the weather cold.

    Weather experts said that the thunder cells, present over the coastal belt of Balochistan, were heading towards Karachi.

  • Sindh announces to pass all matric, intermediate students in practical exams

    Sindh announces to pass all matric, intermediate students in practical exams

    The Sindh Board Committee of Chairmen has announced to pass all matric and intermediate students who could not appear in their practical exams, reports Geo News.

    The notification was issued on Sunday in which another change has been introduced: those students who wish to reappear in a paper for the purpose of improvement can now do it four times. Previously students were only allowed to retake the exam only once.

    The Chairman of the provincial board, Professor Saeed Uddin said that the decision has been taken in line with the system in place for federal board students.

    He also said that special examinations will be conducted for students in February 2022.

  • Senior citizen found dead in Karachi under mysterious circumstances

    An elderly man was found dead in unusual circumstances at his residence in Orangi Town, Karachi, during the presence of a welder who was working inside the house.

    According to the statement given by the welder, Salam, to the police, the older man fell on the floor and got injured. He put a pillow on the face to stop the bleeding. Later, he hid himself under the bed after his family members knocked on the door.

    The family members immediately took the elderly man to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

    The welder was caught by the family members. They called the police when they found him lying beneath the bed for several hours. The police arrested the man due to the mysterious death of the citizen, Hashamuddin.

    A hammer was also recovered from the suspect, which the police has sent for forensic examination. The police officials said that the interrogation is still underway from Salam as it is claimed to be a mysterious incident.

  • PTI MNAs call for Hammad Azhar’s resignation, threaten to protest in NA

    PTI MNAs call for Hammad Azhar’s resignation, threaten to protest in NA

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Abdul Shakoor Shad has reportedly demanded Minister of Energy Hammad Azhar’s resignation over the gas crisis in Karachi.

    Shad said, “For the rights of Lyari people, I will protest in National Assembly (NA).” Apart from Azhar’s, he has also demanded the resignation of the Managing Director (MD) of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).

    Another PTI’s MNA Captain (R) Jamil Ahmed Khan has threatened to protest in the House. He has written a letter to the federal minister that people from his constituency (Malir) are not happy because of the gas shortage.

    Prior to this, PTI’s Aftab Siddiqui also wrote a letter to the administration that Azhar’s behavior is discreditable and disclosed that the minister doesn’t even respond to messages. He warned that PTI can lose by-elections in Karachi as they did in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    On the other hand, Hammad said on Friday that he is aware of the gas crisis in Karachi but refused to accept any responsibility and blamed the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) restraining order.

    The provincial court restrained the Ministry and Sui Gas companies from giving any effect to the government’s notification of suspending gas supply to non-export general industries.

    In a press conference, Azhar said that for the past several years, the system has faced gas shortage in the winter season, while demand increases 3-5 times.

    While addressing the gas crisis in the country, the federal minister admitted that, “The government could not provide the fuel source through expensive imports beyond a limit and that the system has faced depletion of output with a 9 per cent reduction each year.”

    Azhar added that imported Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), which Pakistan has increasingly relied on in recent years, has become “extremely expensive”.

    “There is a stay on the provision of gas to priority areas. In the next hearing on December 30, we will bring it up,” he stated.

    Moreover, the minister assured, “SSGC and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) teams are working day and night to improve gas management despite rising demand and yearly decline in gas reserves.”

    SSGC has said that it currently faces shortages of around 250 to 260 million standard cubic feet per day (mmcfd), with demand in winter rising to 1,250 mmcfd.

    Due to the immense shortage, residents are forced to buy cylinders for regular chores not only in Karachi but all over Pakistan.

  • Minor girl killed during crossfire in Karachi store robbery

    A four-year-old girl was killed in a cross-fire between a store guard and dacoits at a mini-mart near Landhi Manzil Pump in Karachi last night.

    According to the closed-circuit television (CCTV), three robbers entered the store to rob it. The security guard retaliated with his firearm when three dacoits opened firing during an escape from the mart.

    According to the police, the guard shot and injured one of the suspects, Pyar Ali, while two others fled from the crime scene. During the shoot-out, a minor girl was shot, who was passing by with her older brother on a motorbike.

    The wounded girl was rushed to a nearby hospital but she was declared dead on arrival. Her brother is demanding justice from the government.

    The body of the girl was transferred to Jinnah Hospital for her postmortem to investigate whether the victim was killed from a gunshot by the security guard or the robbers. The injured robber was also moved to a hospital.

    Police arrested the injured suspect and also recovered weapons and Rs 50,000 cash from him.

  • ‘VIP style’: Governor Sindh attends convocation with dozens armed guards

    The Governor of Sindh Imran Ismail attended a convocation ceremony at the Sindh Madressa-tul-Islam University on Wednesday along with heavily armed guards due to “security concerns”.

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) leader reached the venue late and the degree-awarding ceremony had to start without him.

    Upon his arrival, guards stood around the stage and directed the teachers and students present there to maintain a certain distance. They told a teacher and a gold-medal student to step down from the stage.

    The Provincial Minister for Universities and Boards Ismail Rahoo also attended the ceremony.

    The university awarded 528 degrees this year. A total of 32 students were awarded Master of Science (MS) degrees, while 37 students were awarded Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees.

  • Balochistan detects 32 cases of Omicron, all from one district

    Balochistan detects 32 cases of Omicron, all from one district

    During a vaccination and diagnostic process, 32 suspected cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been reported in Balochistan’s Kalat district, reports Geo News.

    The suspect cases have been confirmed by Kalat District Health Officer (DHO) Nasrullah Lango. He said that the samples taken from the suspected patients have been sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad.

    All the suspected patients don’t have any travel history. As of now, the condition of the patients is stable and they have been quarantined in their homes. Moreover, doctors have also been told to be careful.

    The DHO said that the suspected patients include a woman who recently delivered a baby.

    However, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has not confirmed the news but Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has sought a report from the health department.

    Last week, NCOC confirmed the first-ever case of the Omicron variant in Karachi, Sindh.

    The Covid-19 positivity rate stands at 0.65 per cent in Pakistan today.

  • ‘Someone will tell you’: Shaniera Akram shares how Pakistanis will body shame

    ‘Someone will tell you’: Shaniera Akram shares how Pakistanis will body shame

    Social activist, Shaniera Akram recently took to her Instagram stories to share her opinion on how Pakistanis will overstep their boundaries while commenting on changes in someone’s body.

    Shaniera shared two stories on her Instagram, explaining that comments by Pakistanis on someone’s weight are common and people talk about ‘when you will also lose weight.’

    Shaniera is known for speaking out about sensitive topics on social media especially when it is related to basic etiquette that should be a part of every human’s life.

    This is not the first time Akram has discussed manners that Pakistanis need to be addressed frequently. Last time, she talked about road safety measures and publicly called out Minal Khan and her husband Ahsan Mohsin Ikram for not wearing seatbelts and shooting videos while driving.

    Last year, she, along with her husband and former cricketer Wasim Akram, also addressed the horrible trash situation at Clifton Beach, Karachi.

  • Supreme Court orders Education Commission to close illegal private universities

    Supreme Court orders Education Commission to close illegal private universities

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) on Wednesday ordered the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to close down campuses of private universities all over the country that are running illegally.

    The SC remarked campuses of Preston University and Al Khair University have been set up illegally in Lahore and Karachi. Students sought help from the court about the HEC not issuing degrees to those who have studied from these universities.

    The case was heard by a three-member bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial.

    The court gave directions to HEC to make special arrangements to award degrees to the students who had graduated from these illegal campuses. It also said that policies of HEC should be implemented with uniformity all over the country.

    The bench gave remarks that there should be no compromise on the provision of higher education to all young students. Provincial and Federal governments need to work closely and cooperate to maintain the standards of HEC.

    The SC noted that the issue was whether private universities are allowed to open sub-campuses outside their territorial limits or not. It added that HEC already made it very clear that they could set any sub-campuses and they issued many alerts as well.

    Counsel for students, Ali Zafar said that the session court had ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to take action against these universities. However, Justice Bandial replied, “The HEC has the powers. There is no need for NAB to investigate the matter.”

    The court said that the federal government would be ordered to change the laws if HEC is weak.

    “The students had approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) for their degrees. The LHC declared the [sub-]campuses of private universities illegal,” the counsel added.

    Justice Bandial acknowledged the high court verdict and emphasised pursuing the shut down of illegal campuses at the earliest.

  • PAK vs WI: Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein along with three others test positive for Covid, series in doubt

    PAK vs WI: Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein along with three others test positive for Covid, series in doubt

    Following PCR tests administered on Wednesday in Karachi, Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed that five more members of the West Indies touring party have tested positive for Covid-19 and will now undergo a period of self-isolation.

    Three players, wicket keeper-batter Shai Hope, left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, all-rounder Justin Greaves; along with Assistant Coach Roddy Estwick, and Team Physician Dr Akshai Mansingh returned positive results in the latest round of testing carried out by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

    All three players will therefore miss the upcoming matches and all five individuals will remain isolated from the rest of the West Indies squad and are now under the care and supervision provided by the medical officials. They will remain in isolation for ten (10) days or until they return negative PCR test results.

    With a total of six players now ruled out of the tour due to Covid-19 and a finger injury to Devon Thomas (sustained in the 1st T20I), CWI and PCB Officials will be meeting on Thursday morning, once all members of the touring party have been tested again, to determine whether the tour can continue.

    As per the latest updates, today’s T20I match and the One Day Internationals (ODIs) can also get cancelled if any other team member gets a positive result of Covid-19.

    The Windies team has come to Pakistan to play three T20Is matches and as many ODIs. Team Pakistan has already won two of the three-match T20I series and were set to play the third and final T20I today (Thursday) at the National Stadium Karachi.