Tag: Lahore

  • 46% of Pakistanis are fully vaccinated against Covid-19

    National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) Cheif Asad Umar has revealed 46 per cent of Pakistan’s eligible population has been fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

    In a tweet, the federal minister said, “Amongst the federating units, Islamabad leads with 77 per cent fully vaccinated persons. Punjab is at 51 per cent, Gilgit-Baltistan 46 per cent, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 45 per cent, Balochistan 42 per cent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 41 per cent, and Sindh at 37 per cent.”

    Umar also confirmed that 63 per cent of the country’s population has been administered the first dose of the vaccine.

    The country reported over 500 covid cases in a day on Friday, positivity rate stands at one per cent.

    Health experts have linked the rise in Covid-19 cases with the Omicron variant as nearly 89 cases of the new strain have been reported alone in Karachi.

  • ‘Will issue visa within 24 hours and pay for Nawaz Sharif’s ticket’: Sheikh Rasheed

    ‘Will issue visa within 24 hours and pay for Nawaz Sharif’s ticket’: Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Sunday said that if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif wants to return to Pakistan, he will issue a “visa” to him within 24 hours and will also “pay for his air ticket”.

    The interior minister said that Nawaz had left the country citing medical reasons but “never visited a doctor” once he reached England.

    Answering a question related to the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, Rasheed said: “Your threats will not affect us in any way; you should look at your own conduct. No one else has been as corrupt as you, so you cannot hold us accountable for anything.”

    Rasheed went on to say, ” Both the Sharif and Zardari families, are corrupt, so Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will continue to fight against their corruption till his last breath”.

    Reacting to Sheikh Rasheed’s statement, senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said that the mere mention of Nawaz Sharif’s possible return to Pakistan “has sent alarm bells ringing” for the government, adding that once the PML-N supremo returns, “Imran Niazi, Rasheed, and their hired spokespersons will find no place to hide.”

    “The fear of Nawaz Sharif’s return is not letting him [Imran Khan] sleep,” he said. “Those responsible for causing a tsunami of inflation, incompetence, and corruption are screaming [out of fear now]. They can do whatever they want, but they will eventually have to leave.”

    “We have only one message for Imran Niazi and that is ‘bas aap ne ghabrana naheen hai’ (you must not worry),” said Sanaullah.

  • Shaheen Afridi to lead Lahore Qalandars in PSL 7

    Shaheen Afridi to lead Lahore Qalandars in PSL 7

    Pakistan’s young pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi will be the captain of Lahore Qalandars in Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) seventh edition.

    The franchise made the announcement in a press conference at the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore.

    “Thank you Lahore Qalandars, this is not just a team, it’s a family. I thank them for placing their trust in me for this role,” said Shaheen.

    “I will try to ensure that the team shows good performances on the field,” he added.

    The speedster is the highest wicket-taker for the Qalandars, with 50 wickets in 37 matches, after having joined the franchise in 2018.

    Afridi has replaced Sohail Akhtar, who was the captain of the team since 2018.

    Aqib Javed, the Director Cricket Operations and head coach of Qalandars, also heaped praise on Afridi and hoped that the left-armer will take the team to new heights.

    “We are very happy to appoint him as captain of Lahore Qalandars and looking forward to see his wonders both with ball and his leadership skills,” Javed said. “He has been with us since 2018 and this is the right time to provide him the opportunity to lead the Lahore Qalandars’ young outfit.”

    The seventh edition of PSL will start on January 27.

    Matches from January 27- February 7 will be played at the National Stadium, Karachi, whereas the remaining fixtures will take place at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore with the final set to take place on February 27.

  • Higher consumption of BBQ the reason behind smog, PDMA tells court

    Higher consumption of BBQ the reason behind smog, PDMA tells court

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday heard petitions regarding environmental issues, including smog. During the hearing, an official of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) told the court  that increase in the consumption of grilled fish and BBQ in the winter season was one of the factors contributing to pollution and smog.

    The official also asked the court to order early closure of these (BBQ) shops. However, the suggestion was not approved by the court.

    Lahore recorded the worst air quality in four years on Wednesday (December 15).

    Read more-Lahore’s air quality reaches 981, normal air quality should be below 50

    An Air Quality Index (AQI) of 981 was recorded near the Mall Road, Samaa has reported. As per United States Environmental protection agency, the hazardous category indicates an AQI of 301–500. The ‘good’ category is 0–50, which is followed by ‘moderate’ at 51–100 while anything in the 101–301 AQI range is considered unhealthy.

    Meanwhile, in November, Provincial Minister of Punjab for Environment Protection Muhammad Rizwan claimed that there has been no smog in Punjab, including Lahore, for the last two years.

  • 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.

  • Teenage son adds drugs to biryani, tortures, kills father for refusing pocket money

    A teenager in Lahore murdered his 50-year-old father for not paying him pocket money by electrocuting him to death. The two boys who also assisted him were his cousin and friend which took place in Johar Town, Lahore.

    According to the initial investigation of the police, which took place on Tuesday, the victim’s teenage son gave a drug-laced biryani to his father and then tortured him for “two to three hours.”

    The police said that he handcuffed his father and violently mistreated him through electrocution.

    Saddar Division Superintendent of Police (SP) Operations Hafeez ur Rehman Bugti said, “The three teenagers, including the son, plotted the murder.”

    Bugti added that the perpetrator wanted to inherit his father’s property as he would not pay him pocket money.

    The police have arrested all three accused including the deceased’s son, cousin, and his friend for the murder.

    The teenage boy is the only son of the victim, he added.

    The young son confessed his crime and also claimed that he murdered him because neither he was paying him pocket money nor letting him do a job.

    The body will be handover to a family after a postmortem.

  • Pakistanis in trouble again as more tax hikes planned by the government

    With rising inflation, and an increase in taxes, the poor and working middle-class are being adversely affected.

    At the moment the government is planning on tightening the budget of tax hikes and spending cuts if the country is to get the $1 billion it needs from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    “I never thought it would become so difficult to survive,” said Sibte Hasan, a 43-year-old construction supervisor from Pakistan’s second-biggest city Lahore.

    The Pakistani rupee has also fallen to around 14% since May, which is a historic low.

    Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin is still hopeful things will be better but little to no relief is being given by the government as the country faces an inflation and gas crisis and rising taxes.

  • Nawaz is against Pakistan says Zardari, Shehbaz lashes back

    Nawaz is against Pakistan says Zardari, Shehbaz lashes back

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif has criticised Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari for his remarks against Mian Nawaz Sharif.

    “Zardari Sahib’s statement about Mian Nawaz Sharif is unfortunate. Mian Sahib’s unwavering commitment to Pakistan has always been unquestionable. Zardari sb. knows the conditions in which MNS had to go abroad. We should refrain from such remarks & work for [the] greater good of [the] country,” tweeted Shehbaz.

    Without taking Nawaz Sharif’s name, Asif Zardari had accused PML-N chief of being against Pakistan. “They are against my homeland. Those who don’t wish to die in my homeland, what can they do?”

    Zardari said, “We belong to this land and we will die here.” The former president was addressing a media talk on Monday in Lahore.

    On Sunday (December 5), PML-N’s Shaista Pervaiz Malik defeated PPP candidate Aslam Gill in Lahore’s NA-133 by-polls. Shaista Malik secured 46,811 votes while Gill’s votes were 32,313.

  • Sania Mirza visits Nishtar Park Lahore, plays tennis with Aisam-ul-Haq

    Sania Mirza visits Nishtar Park Lahore, plays tennis with Aisam-ul-Haq

    Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza, who is also Pakistani superstar cricketer Shoaib Malik’s wife, visited Sports Board Punjab’s State of the Art Tennis Stadium in Nishtar Park Sports Complex (NPSC) Lahore on Tuesday and played tennis with Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq.

    On her visit, Sania played practice tennis matches for one and a half hour with Pakistan’s international tennis stars Aisam-ul-Haq and Aqeel Khan.

    On the occasion, Sania appreciated the top standard facilities provided at SBP Tennis Stadium. “SBP Stadium is equipped with all modern facilities and it will help a lot in producing several top class tennis players in future,” she added.

    The 35-year-old athlete said Pakistan has plenty of tennis talent and SBP’s tennis stadium and academy are playing key roles in further nurturing the emerging male and female tennis players.

    Her visits to Karachi and Lahore have grabbed the attention of the Shoaib-Sania fans.

    In one of the videos shared earlier, she praised the taste of Karachi’s biryani. “Though I am from Hyderabad in India, the taste of Karachi’s biryani is the best.”

  • Much-talked Harry Potter festival begins at Government College University in Lahore

    Much-talked Harry Potter festival begins at Government College University in Lahore

    The famous fantasy novel character Harry Potter festival has begun at the Government College University (GCU).

    The one-week festival kicked off yesterday (November 29) with the grand release and screening of Pakistan’s first Harry Potter fan movie titled ‘The Last Follower and the Resurrection of Voldemort’.

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    The university will hold the festival till December 5. The Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Asghar Zaidi of the university has enthusiastically taken part in all the promotional videos. He said, “Our youth has immense potential and we just need to provide them opportunities, little guidance and support.”

    The movie is based on the years after Lord Voldemort’s death. Waleed Akram, who is a director, editor and cinematographer revealed that they started working on this project in 2018 but it got delayed due to Covid-19. He said they are premiering an updated version of the film after re-shooting.

    Other than the screening of movies, the festival includes Harry Potter experiential space, Harry Potter-themed food stalls, face paint and posters, photo booths and much more.

    The teaser of this non-commercial movie is making rounds on social media gaining attention from the youngsters.