A fire broke out in the lounge of Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore on Thursday morning, reportedly affecting the immigration process at the airport , while the first Hajj flight from Lahore has also been delayed.
According to airport sources, the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the ceiling of the immigration counter.
Civil aviation personnel extinguished the fire, and brought it under control.
According to the authorities, after the immigration process was affected by the fire, Hajj pilgrims are being processed from the domestic counter.
The bodies of a 32-year-old father and his five-year-old son were recovered from a private hotel room in Naulkha area of Lahore.
Danish had booked a hotel room with his son Ayaan, but when he did not come out of the room, the hotel management contacted the police.
Police say that when they entered the room, the child was dead while Danish’s body was hanging from the fan.
Dawn News has reported that the father killed his son first and then himself because of poverty and unfavourable circumstances. The family has decided against registering the case but police and forensic teams have collected the evidence and the case is under investigation.
Students of Government College University (GCU) held Palestinian flags while protesting against a US Consulate-sponsored concert of the American band Raining Jane in Lahore.
University administration canceled the concert after the students protested by raising the Palestinian flag at the US Consulate concert.
In videos that emerged from the protest, it can be seen that students remained undeterred and raised the popular slogan, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
demands that the students apologize and give an undertaking on stamp paper within an hour, which has passed, however the students stand firm on their stances. The student cards of the aforementioned students have been confiscated, and they are now being threatened with strict + pic.twitter.com/68jeToUf91
— Progressive Students’ Collective (@PSCollective_) May 2, 2024
GCU Vice Chancellor Dr. Shazia Bashir told Dawn that all the demands of the students were accepted and the event was postponed. She said no disciplinary action was taken against any of the students.
The much-hyped Netflix series ‘Heeramandi’, directed by renowned Bollywood filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is now streaming on Netflix. It marks Sanjay’s debut as a director on OTT platforms and features a stellar cast including Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Richa Chadha, Fardeen Khan, Sharmin Segal and Shekhar Suman. The ‘Heeramandi’ team has been giving many interviews on social media and in the media as they promote the expensive project.
Bhansali shared in an interview on YouTube that he once thought about casting top Pakistani actors for the series. “I thought about casting many actors over eighteen years. Initially, I considered Rekha Ji, Kareena, and Rani Mukherji. Later, I had Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and Imran Abbas in my mind for ‘Heeramandi, but I ended up with this ensemble cast.”
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is a visually stunning drama, easily identifiable as a Bhansali production. It tells the stories of courtesans, known as tawaifs, living in Lahore’s red-light district of ‘Heera Mandi’ during the Indian independence movement in the British Raj.
Following the death of a student at Avicenna Medical College and after scores of shocking stories of fellow students are being shared by netizens, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) is taking notice of the death of the student and launching an investigation.
The monitoring body of medical colleges, University of Health Sciences (UHS) has taken up the serious complaints of students regarding alleged heavy fines, harassment, torture and physical punishments. It has directed all the affiliated public and private sector medical colleges of Punjab to establish ‘Students Counselling Cells’ (SCCs). The cells must have senior faculty members, including teachers from the psychiatry departments, besides the students themselves to address the issues of alleged harassment of any kind and other such complaints. It declared the setting up of cells mandatory to prevent reported incidents like the one that recently surfaced at the Avicenna Medical College in Lahore.
The decision was made in a meeting chaired by UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Ahsan Waheed Rathore, exclusively called after the death of a female student, Mahnoor Nadeem, of the Avicenna Medical College, followed by a protest by its students.
“It is our duty to ensure the holistic well-being of our students, particularly in light of the demanding nature of professional education in the medical and dental fields,” reads a letter issued by the Vice Chancellor to all the 12 public and 44 private medical institutes of Punjab. The letter was addressed to the principals of the medical colleges.
Answer within 72 hours
Additionally, the Avicenna Medical College has been directed to give its point of view within 72 hours so that ‘responsibility can be ascertained’.
“The PMDC, as the apex regulatory body for medical and dental education in Pakistan, is deeply saddened by the loss of a promising medical student and extends its heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones affected by this unfortunate incident,” the statement read.
PMDC President Prof Dr Rizwan Taj stated, “We are deeply concerned about the circumstances leading to the untimely demise of a medical student and are committed to ensuring that justice is served. The welfare and well-being of students are of paramount importance to us, and any form of misconduct or mistreatment will not be tolerated.”
He also added that the deceased student’s family will be welcomed to reach out to the council to file the complaint.reported Dawn.
What happened at Avicenna?
An Instagram handle ‘thenewspaper.pk’ shared a report slider detailing the alleged abuse students at Avicenna Medical College had to face by the management of the college. The slider was titled, “Avicenna Takes Another Life: Student found dead”. It laid out how the chairman, Abdul Waheed Sheikh, along with his daughters — both at key positions of the administration — are allegedly ‘abusing students mentally and financially’.
The report detailed that heavy fines are allegedly imposed on students, as much as Rs60,000. Students are also not allowed to take any days off. Quoting the statement of a student in the slider, allegedly Sheikh said to a student, “Your father is alive, isn’t he? Ask for a leave when he dies.” According to the report, Sheikh’s daughters — Shandana Sheikh and Fazilda Sheikh — in-charge of leave applications and finances respectively are also allegedly complicit in the reported exploitation of students.
The slider also explains how Mahnoor Nadeem, the student who according to them committed suicide, was stressed, according to her mother. The slider details that even though she was a bright student, Mahnoor was allegedly made to sit on floor for four hours as punishment and her ‘total fine for last year was 92,000 rupees’. A day before her death, Mahnoor had reportedly gone to ask for a leave as she was not feeling well but her ‘request was declined by management’.
Alleged ‘Torture’
Another slider by the same handled is titled as, “Horrors at Avicenna: Student testimonials and proof” and contains an alleged audio where Abdul Waheed Sheikh can be heard abusing a student using curse words like “motherfucker” whereas the student is apologising, asserting that his name has been wrongly added to a list. Another alleged video shows the chairman tearing up the shirt of the student because it was not properly tucked in. The report also mentions that girls in the college are allegedly verbally ‘abused and character assasinated’ for not wearing a dupatta.
According to details, in 2018, The Express Tribune reported on a viral video of a man destroying cell phones of students at the college.
The Instagram account has also posted the video and in the background a person can be heard saying, “I’ve said break them, break them.”
Students are reportedly not allowed to bring phones with cameras to the colllege. This video was reportedly secretly filmed by one student to show how the phones were smashed.
According to the Instagram post, the head of the Human Resource department, Amna Haroon allegedly kept track of all ‘posts on social media so if someone speaks against the college, he or she has to pay fines, and worse than that is the non-issuance of roll number slip.
The Current talked to a student at the college and upon the condition of confidentiality, the student revealed that the attendance made mandatory by the monitory body (University of Health Sciences-UHS) of medical colleges is 85 per cent but students are not allowed any leave. “My phuppo (paternal aunt) passed away but they did not grant me leave.”
She recounted that the punishment for failing a test in the college is that a student is made to sit for hours on the floor outside the chairman office. This policy is called “pink list” and according to the student, any teacher can impose it. “Fans and AC are turned off as punishment,” the student shared.
She recounted that the punishment for failing a test in the college is that a student is made to sit for hours on the floor outside the chairman office. This policy is called “pink list” and according to the student, any teacher can impose it. “Fans and AC are turned off as punishment,” the student shared.
“The thing that I personally witnessed was that on our white coat ceremony, a boy’s shirt was untucked and he [Chairman Sheikh] called that boy: ‘Oye kuttey kay bachey idher ao tumhari shirt kyu bahir ha, isko 20,000 ka fine lagao.’ (O you son of a dog, why is your shirt not tucked in the pants? He should be fined 20 thousand rupees.)”
The student also revealed that when students had any issues, “the chairman and his daughter say ‘they damn care’.”
The student further added that students were allegedly financial exploitated as well. The student described how a practical notebook worth Rs3,000 is being given to students for Rs7,200. “If we don’t buy these, they tear our books,” she shared.
Student Protest and the Chairman’s reaction
Students and parents protested outside the college on April 29, in support of Mahnoor and against the alleged abuse faced by students at the college. “We are in medical college. We don’t deserve this,” said the student talking to The Current.
Chairman Sheikh came out to address the protesting students and parents, as seen in a video shared on social media. A YouTube channel Digital Diary 7127 shared those videos but are now deleted.
While the videos of Sheikh addressing the student protest have been deleted from YouTube, we have a recording.
Sheikh assured students of ‘compensation for the grievances of the past’. He started off by saying, “I will be more sympathetic in the future.” Moreover, he said, “Mein aap ki har bat sunon ga, taqreeban manon ga” which can be translated as, “I will listen to you and will almost agree with you as well.”
Later, while addressing the crowd, Sheikh announced that the “pink list” policy of punishing students will be terminated. Additionally, there shall be no fines in the future and the policy of issuing a leave will be in accordance with the monitoring body of UHS (University of Health Sciences). He promised the students that no action will be taken against those who are protesting.
It was also notified that Professor M.N Tabassum, who was allegedly fired from King Edward Medical University on allegations of sexual harassment, will not be involved in any sort of teaching and academic activities.
In another video on social media, a reporter asks Sheikh about the allegation that he uses abusive language with female students, which he denies it altogether. When he is asked about alleged physical altercations in viral videos, he said, “It used to happen in the past, probably before 2015 but it does not happen anymore.” The students behind the camera can be heard saying, “Woh mukar gaya hai” meaning “He has backtracked.”
Student response
The Current spoke with another student on the condition of anonymity. When asked if the student felt the issue was resolved, the student said, “For now, yes, but in the long run I don’t know. This thing has been going on for so long and on such big scale… it can’t be resolved just like this. According to many students we might have gotten this off our backs but we will still face the consequences,” the student said.
Netizens reacted to the video in which Sheikh is pledging to address the students’ demand. Hmad Nawaz wrote, “Concern after being exposed is always hollow.”
Meet Abdul Waheed Sheikh, an Ex-Army man, now running a prison called Avicenna Medical College who came up with grotesque punishment concepts like “pink-lists”, shaving heads, cutting clothes, protecting sexual harassers. Concern after being exposed is always hollow. pic.twitter.com/72TPQrbxR1
ASP Shehrbano Naqvi, the brave police officer who shot to fame after rescuing a woman from an extremist mob in Lahore, is capturing hearts once again; this time for her wedding festivities.
Recently, photos from her Mehndi circulated on social media, sparking an outpouring of praise and well wishes from users.
The snapshots show Shehrbano glowing in a beautiful Mustard Lehnga, while her groom charms with his traditional attire. Online, the pictures of the couple holding hands are warming hearts as they start their new journey together.
Previously, the Punjab Police recommended Shehrbano for the prestigious Quaid-e-Azam Police medal in recognition of her brave rescue operation. Now, as she celebrates her wedding, the public continues to admire her courage and determination, wishing her a lifetime of happiness.
A 9-year-old domestic worker has died of burns in Lahore’s Millat Park area, reported Geo News.
As soon as the incident was reported, police arrested the head of the house where the child worked and registered a case.
The police said that the actual facts of the death will be revealed after the autopsy. The suspect has said that the girl was burnt when a gas cylinder exploded in the kitchen.
The Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, has initiated a pilot project to provide free WiFi services at 50 spots in Lahore. The project aims to promote connectivity by giving citizens access to the internet.
“Free WiFi started at the following (50 spots) in Lahore. Rest of Lahore is being done too. Alhamdolillah! We promise, we deliver,” CM Maryam said in an X (formerly Twitter) post.
During a high-level meeting with Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) officials held in March, the chief minister approved the launch of the free WiFi pilot project in Lahore.
Maryam Nawaz directed the IT department officials to begin offering free WiFi service, focusing on educational institutions, airports, railway stations, and bus stands. In Lahore, the Punjab government will provide free WiFi at 516 locations in total.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced on Saturday that the process of privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be completed by June this year. Islamabad airport might also be privatized shortly after.
“The government has no business being in business,” the minister declared at a Saturday afternoon news briefing, explaining the government’s plan to divest from state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
“We expect the bids for PIA to come in the next two to three weeks, and by the end of June or early July, we can move it to the investors,” he said. “The Islamabad airport would be the next,” he added, “followed by the airports in Karachi and Lahore.”
The finance minister didn’t respond on a question when asked if Pakistan is selling its skies to prospective buyers.
Mr Aurangzeb didn’t give an explanation when a journalist asked if the government will keep some shares in PIA after privatisation or sell all its shares.
The minister wrapped up his visit to Washington DC on Sunday with 62 meetings in a week. During these meetings, he explained decisions, made pledges, and sought understanding from both multilateral and bilateral donors.
