All public and private educational institutes are closed in Balochistan until March 15 to protect children from the spread of Coronavirus. After two cases were confirmed in Pakistan on Wednesday, one in Karachi and one in Islamabad, governments are taking precautionary measures.
The notification states that all public and private educational institutes, as well as madrassas, will be closed for more than two weeks.
“The ongoing examinations of Grade 9 and Matriculation are also suspended,” the education minister said in a video message, “We want to keep our children safe’. He also said that it was a safety measure and no one needed to panic.
Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani also announced that the schools in the province would remain closed on Thursday and Friday, after the confirmation of a case in Karachi on Wednesday night.
All Govt and private educational institutions will remain closed on Thursday & Friday (27th & 28th Feb). https://t.co/mo8mAVCcme
The State Minister for Health Dr. Zafar Mirza tweeted last night, confirming the two cases.
220/ I can confirm first two cases of corona virus in Pakistan. Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols & both of them are stable. No need to panic, things are under control. I will hold press conf tomorrow on return from Taftan.
He said that everything was under control and also tweeted a helpline number.
223/ If you or somebody you know have recently returned from China, Iran or a country where #COVIDー19 is prevalent and if there are symptoms like fever, cough, difficulty in breathing – please report by calling at 1166.
He asked people to refrain from sharing personal information of the patients saying that the patient in Karachi, as well as his family, was immediately placed in quarantine at a private hospital on the National Stadium Road while the one in Islamabad was moved to the capital’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
Omar Shahid Hamid’s best-selling debut novel The Prisoner is coming to Netflix, though it’s unclear whether as a movie or a series.
In an exclusive interview with The Current, when asked when his novel is being made into a movie, the officer responded, “Its production is underway and it is hoped that a deal will soon be made with Netflix or some streaming service.”
“And most likely, we’ll start shooting it in summers. So…fingers crossed,” he added.
Inspired by his experiences in the police service, Omar penned the novel, while on a sabbatical. The book is centred around an American journalist who is kidnapped.
A brief synopsis of the novel reads: “On an unusually cold December evening in Karachi, American journalist Jon Friedland is kidnapped from one of the city’s poshest neighbourhoods. His captors plan to post a video of his execution on Christmas Day. The kidnapping has come at a bad time, embarrassing the Pakistani government in front of their US allies. The clock is ticking. Will the police and Intelligence Agencies recover Friedman alive?”
“The story careens through the streets of Karachi, taking the reader into an all too real world of jihadis, corrupt police officers, and bloodthirsty political henchmen – all placed together in a city where no one is quite what they seem.”
Hamid is also the author of The Spinner’s Tale (2015), The Party Worker (2017), and The Fix (2019).
Karachi Police have released a traffic plan for Pakistan Super League (PSL) cricket matches scheduled to be played at the National Stadium today.
For those heading to the National Stadium to watch their favourite players in the ground, they can park their vehicles at the parking spots after showing their tickets and CNIC.
Parking lots and routes
Those coming from central and west districts such as Liaquatabad No 10 can use Hassan Square, take a left at University Road and park their vehicles at Expo Centre. From there, audience will be taken to the stadium via a shuttle bus.
Those travelling from Malir and East districts can use Safoora and NIPA while those coming from Sohrab Goth via Gulshan Chowrangi can use Gulshan Chowrangi, take a left at University Road, AG Sindh U-Turn, then again University Road and park their vehicles. From there they will be shifted to the area adjacent to Expo Centre through a shuttle bus
Those travelling from East and Malir districts coming from Drigh Road via Shahrah-e-Faisal can use Drigh Road, take a right turn at Rashid Minhas Road, left turn to Millennium Mall and park their automobiles at the Gharib Nawaz Football Stadium near Millennium Mall. From there they will be shifted to Bahria University adjacent the National Stadium via shuttle bus.
People coming from South, City, West and Korangi/Defence districts and areas via Shahrah-e-Faisal can use Sharah-e-Faisal, Shahrah-e-Quaideen, Allah Wali Chowrangi, Society Light Signal, PP Chowrangi, University Road, Hassan Square, Baitul Mukaram U-turn, Expo Centre Gate 1 and then park their vehicles at Rana Liaquat Ali Khan Girls College from where they will go out from the Expo Centre Gate No 2 of the stadium or Shahrah-e-Faisal, Drigh Road, Rashid Minhas, NIPA, University Road to Expo Centre’s Gate No.1.
Those travelling from Central and West districts coming from Nazimabad and Liaquatabad No10 can use Hassan Square, take a left towards University Road, Baitul Mukaram U-turn, Expo Centre Gate 1 and park their vehicles at the Expo Centre, KDA Club and China Ground from where they will go out from Expo Centre’s Gate No 2 for the stadium.
Diversions
Karsaz: Traffic coming from Nursery shall not be allowed to proceed to Habib Ibrahim Rehmat ullah Road towards Stadium (Sir Shah Suleman Road). These vehicles will be diverted towards Drigh Road, Sharea Faisal, left turn Rashid Minhas Road, Millennium to NIPA.
Millennium: Traffic from Rashid Minhas Road shall not be permitted to proceed towards the stadium.
These vehicles will be diverted towards NIPA, Askari-IV (Millennium), Drigh Road to Shahrah-e-Faisal or Millennium, NIPA to Safoora Chowrangi or NIPA to Gulshan Chowrangi to Sohrab Goth.
New Town Chowrangi: From University Road, all kinds of traffic will not be allowed to proceed to Stadium Road from New Town Chowrangi turning. Traffic will be diverted towards Jail, Shaheed-e-Millat or straight towards PP Chowrangi. Public coming from Aga Khan Hospital and Liaquat National Hospital will be allowed from the New Town PS side.
University Road, Shaheed-e-Millat Road and Rashid Minhas Road will remain open for traffic. All commuters from Central, East, Malir, South and West can use the Lyari Expressway’s both sides from Mirza Adam Khan Chowk, Mauripur Road up to Sohrab Goth.
Heavy traffic
Heavy traffic will not be allowed from Sohrab Goth to Nipa, Liquatabad No 10 to Hassan Square, Peoples Chowrangi towards University road.
Traffic coming from Shahar-e-Faisal shall not be permitted to proceed towards Stadium.
These vehicles will be diverted towards NIPA, Askari-IV (Millennium), Drigh Road to Shara-e-Faisal or Millennium, NIPA to Safora Chowrangi or NIPA to Gulshan Chowrangi to Sohrab Goth.
Vehicles entering from University Road shall not be permitted to proceed towards Stadium Road from New Town Chowrangi turning and it will be diverted towards Jail Road, Shaheed-e-Millat or straight to Peoples Chowrangi.
Traffic coming to Aga Khan Hospital, Liaquat National Hospital will be allowed from New Town PS.
500 thousand dollars cash (7 crore, 72 lakhs rupees) is what the Pakistan Super League winners will take home this year and the runner-up will get 200 thousand dollars (3 crore, 90 lakh rupees).
The league, in a press release, shared that the total prize money is one million dollars and 4,500 dollars (6 lakhs 95 thousand rupees) have been set for each man of the match award after each match.
80 thousand dollars (one crore 23 lakhs) will also be distributed among the best batsman, player of the tournament, and ‘for the spirit of cricket’ award. Other prizes include best catch, best run-out and most sixes.
The 5th PSL will begin from Feb 20th in Karachi. There will be 34 matches in total, with nine matches in Karachi, 14 in Lahore, eight in Rawalpindi and three in Multan.
The six-team tournament will be held across four venues with Karachi staging nine matches, Lahore 14 matches, Rawalpindi eight and Multan three matches.
In the opening match defending champions, Quetta Gladiators will take on two-time former winners Islamabad United at the National Stadium in Karachi.
A groom was beaten over contracting third marriage in Karachi without the consent of his first two wives.
As per reports, a groom named Asif was subjected to torture by his first wife and her family at the valima reception of his third marriage in Karachi.
Failing to convince his first wife and her family, Asif ran to the police station to save his life and when he was coming out of the police station, his in-laws attacked him again. Seeing the media on the spot, the groom ran from the spot and saved his life by taking shelter beneath the truck.
“Asif has already two wives and now he has contracted the third marriage without any consent from them”, said Asif’s first wife.
A man in Karachi has come forward to bear the educational expenses of a child who recently went viral on social media. Video shows the boy selling samosas outside a local hospital.
“I come here after I am done with school,” the boy had said in the video. When asked about the grade he studied in, he replied, “I am in class four.”
A school principal, Basim Ahmed Faridi took to social media to announce that he had decided to take up his educational expenses.
“I got a chance to meet this child whose videos went viral past day, Zahid is a son of an Afghan-origin family and he lives near Mamji Hospital water pump in a house where his grandfather and mamu worked for 30 years,” he wrote, adding that Zahid’s family was an upright and honest one.
“I have offered to his parents that Zahid can study at my school, Speak & Spell Schooling System near Ayesha Manzil, up to his matriculation and I can even teach him up to his intermediate.
“All the time I only thought that these days do bring joy to that poor hardworking child, but where this community will take this child, by interviewing him, calling him on media sets, boosting their TRPs and then leave him alone to the same life pattern that he is living right now,” he wrote.
“This will definitely hurt this child a lot, so I just decided to take a permanent and long-lasting step for him just by giving him what can never be taken away education,” he added.
Praising the boy, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar on Friday said: “We can all learn from him.”
Wife of the late Murtaza Bhutto and Pakistan People’s Party-Shaheed Bhutto (PPP-SB) chairperson Ghinwa Bhutto, in a first, has joined a gathering of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) in Karachi to show solidarity with the rights-based alliance.
According to reports, the PTM on Sunday held a rally in Karachi to mark the first death anniversary of their comrade Arman Loni — allegedly killed during a police crackdown on a PTM protest in Loralai last year — and also demanded the release of its chief, Manzoor Pashteen.
PTM had maintained that Loni was killed in a police crackdown and demanded that the Balochistan government take notice of his death. However, a later report did not find any marks of violence or injuries on the deceased’s body.
The PTM had obtained permission to hold the public meeting with a crowd of 300-350 people, Deputy Inspector General (East) Amir Farooqi told a private media outlet. He added that the demonstrators had assured authorities that they would abide by the law.
The PTM also held a gathering in Loralai, thronged by a large number of people.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed has reprimanded officials from the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) over their failure to stop the rise of encroachments in Karachi, directing them to demolish all illegally constructed buildings in Punjab Colony, Delhi Colony, PNT Colony and Gizri Road areas of the metropolis.
According to Daily Times, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) — headed by the CJP and comprising Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah — while hearing a case pertaining to encroachments in the provincial metropolis, at the apex court’s Karachi Registry on Friday issued orders to clear illegal structures built on government properties in the port city.
During the hearing, the CJP reprimanded both DHA and CBC officials over their failure to stop the rise of encroachments in Karachi, directing them to demolish all illegally constructed buildings in Punjab Colony, Delhi Colony, PNT Colony and Gizri Road areas of the metropolis.
He admonished the CBC land director for “closing his eyes when ill-gotten money was being made”, and lamented that fortunes had been amassed and now the court was being told that the buildings are illegal. “If permission is granted for ground-plus-one buildings in cantonment areas, how is it that high-rise buildings have been built in these sectors? Buildings with nine stories are being built, and they must be razed to the ground,” the CJP told the CBC.
“If an investigation is launched [into encroachments], the entire DHA would be found to be illegal. All leases will be dismissed, and hum bhi farig hojaein gay [we will be made to walk as well],” said the CJP as he himself lives in DHA. “But that does not matter, we have to live by the law.”
Addressing the attorney general, the CJP once again questioned as to who gave permission for constructing the buildings. “It’s not as if the cantonment board can go around doing as they please,” he said.
This prompted officials from the CBC to say that they have taken action against illegally-constructed buildings on several occasions. “We have given orders for razing unlawful constructions,” stated an official, adding that the laws allowed for constructing ground-plus-two buildings on residential plots and five-storey buildings on commercial plots.
The court also directed the chief secretary to get rid of all the encroachments in the city and put in a request for the re-settlement of the residents of the katchi abadis and the affected people. He also directed the officials to invite the recommendations of experts through media.
