Tag: life-stories

  • India divided after Hindu man refuses to accept food from Muslim rider

    India divided after Hindu man refuses to accept food from Muslim rider

    Neighbouring India has been left divided ever since a Hindu man refused to accept his order from a Muslim food delivery guy.

    “Just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN. They allocated a non-Hindu rider for my food they said they can’t change rider and can’t refund on cancellation [sic],” Amit Shukla of Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur city tweeted Tuesday.

    Zomato is an Indian restaurant search and discovery service that operates in 24 countries. It provides information and reviews of restaurants as well as images of menus where the restaurant does not have its own website and also online delivery.

    Shukla, through the app’s customer support, requested another rider and when asked what was wrong, he replied, “We have Shravan [month of fasting] and I don’t need a delivery from a Muslim fellow.”

    The company refused to change the rider on the basis of religion and the customer care executive’s response was widely shared over social media.

    “Food doesn’t have a religion. It is a religion,” Zomato tweeted.

    https://twitter.com/ZomatoIN/status/1156429449258250240

    The company’s founder, Deepinder Goyal, also tweeted:

    “We are proud of the idea of India — and the diversity of our esteemed customers and partners. We aren’t sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values,” he wrote.

    While Zomato’s stand against religious intolerance won many hearts, some stood up in Shukla’s support.

    https://twitter.com/ubereats_ind/status/1156552511509024768?s=21

    https://twitter.com/dnaasingh29/status/1156496007674208257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1156496007674208257&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fgulfnews.com%2Fworld%2Fasia%2Findia%2Findia-man-cancels-order-over-non-hindu-rider-zomatos-response-wins-the-internet-1.65549839

  • Jeremy wants to become US president ‘so he can meet Imran Khan’

    Jeremy wants to become US president ‘so he can meet Imran Khan’

    Comedian and “official United States (US) Ambassador of Pindi boys”, Jeremy McLellan, has said he wants to go back to his country and run for president “so that he can meet Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan”.

    Known for his love for Pakistan and its people, Jeremy is currently visiting the country for the second time in three years.

    He was spotted enjoying desi cuisines, cherishing the culture, eating mangoes and playing street cricket among other desi activities in and around Islamabad over the past two weeks.

    However, he is only left with two more days in the country and it does not look like he will be able to meet PM Imran on this trip.

    Expressing his disappointment on Twitter, Jeremy wrote:

    “Only two days left in Pakistan and it looks like I won’t be able to meet @ImranKhanPTI on this trip. My only option is to return to the United States and run for President so I can arrange for his return visit to the White House [sic],” he wrote.

    Here are some of his most memorable moments from the ongoing trip.

    We guess it’s safe to say that Jeremy is a legit desi.

  • DOCK 27 has a secret saviour

    DOCK 27 has a secret saviour

    Most restaurants in Pakistan, especially Lahore, operate on one theory: the more you have on the menu, the better it will be.

    Dock 27 sounds like a seafood joint and looks like one too… or does it? Nevermind, it’s complicated.

    The base of any chef, any restaurant or any food, is the basics. Books for professional chefs, bibles of food pairings, all emphasise the utmost importance of the basic commandments, which when perfected, are what the finer, complex ideas should stand on.

    Dock 27 is as confused as the “About Us” section they have posted on their Facebook page.

    The words, that jump at you from their Facebook page, don’t mean anything when put together. “Deepwater expeditions,” “Drifts and Jolts under the dark eclipse,” “journeys with dancing dolphins” and ultimately a “nautical hub” bistro. What did it all mean? I couldn’t tell.

    Dimly lit, the clashing interior of Dock 27

    Dock 27, a “worldly” restaurant in Lahore Defence, simply put, focuses on seafood, but also on cuisine from around the world. From Thai green curries to NY Strips, Italian pasta to Chinese stir-fried beef, it’s as if the owner and chef sat down and decided to make everything: because excess is always good, isn’t it?

    Not spoilt for choice, but feeling overwhelmed, my dinner partner and I asked the courteous waiter for his recommendations. In the dim lighting, I could barely see his face but appreciated the impeccable service. We ordered two mains on his recommendations.

    Tampa Chicken with mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables

    It is incredible how something as basic as BBQ sauce can save a restaurant’s review.

    What a BBQ sauce. The Tampa Chicken is grilled chicken slathered in shiny BBQ sauce, a bone dry potato mash (that I sent back) and decently grilled vegetables. The flavour was spot on, with the perfect balance of ketchup, Worchestershire and the tartness of what tasted like imli. Another bowl of the sauce was requested and dumped on everything else. Including the second main, the penne pasta with chicken and mushrooms in a creamy sauce. It elevated everything that touched it.

    Penne pasta with mushrooms and grilled chicken

    The al dente penne pasta had a solid flavour with and the right basics — decent white sauce, perfectly seasoned…but that was it. After a few luxurious bites, it became a little one-note — until I took a journey under the dark eclipse and mixed it with some BBQ sauce, licking the bowl clean.

    Singing praises of the sauce, I left thinking that I will not return again. The dim interior, the confused setting, and the loud music left me feeling disoriented. But I would definitely send someone to pick up anything with extra BBQ sauce.

  • 19th century abandoned Sikh temple to be reopened

    19th century abandoned Sikh temple to be reopened

    Following the Kartarpur Corridor initiative, the Pakistani government is playing an active role to restore abandoned religious sites in the country. Only recently, a Hindu Mandir was reopened in Sialkot after 72 years.

    Recent reports have revealed that The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) is planning to restore and reopen the historical 19th century abandoned Gurdwara Chowa Sahib in Jhelum and has also unveiled a plan for it.

    The gurdwara, which is one of the most sacred Sikh temples, is situated at the northern edge of the majestic Rohtas Fort’s Talaqi gate near Punjab’s Jhelum city and dates back to 1834. Gurdwara Chowa Sahib means “Gurudwara of the exalted spring”, and it commemorates the site where Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion, was popularly believed to have created a water spring.

    According to a Sikh legend, Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana were travelling in the region and had arrived at the site during hot summer in 1521. When Bhai Mardana told Guru Nanak that water was scarce in the area, Guru Nanak is said to have then struck the earth with his cane and moved a stone thereby revealing a natural spring. The water of the spring was considered to be so holy that Ranjit Singh would reportedly have it specially transported to him in Lahore. Singh had also commissioned the present-day structure of the Gurdwara in 1834.

    ETPB Secretary Shrines Imran Gondal said that the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and Sikh leaders would perform the inauguration of the multi-million restoration project. However, did not specify a date.

  • CNIC must for shopping over Rs50,000

    CNIC must for shopping over Rs50,000

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has made it mandatory for citizens to show their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC) for purchases over Rs50,000.

    According to reports, the said purchases shall be made from a registered sales tax vendor, while in case of a female buyer, the CNIC of her husband or father would also be acceptable.

    The development comes as the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tightens the noose around undocumented individuals making purchases without paying taxes.

    According to Dawn, all such measures are primarily aimed at bringing small, medium and even some large retailers into the sales tax net. FBR further states that transactions under ‘good faith’ will not be penalised.

    “No action will be undertaken without the approval of the chief commissioner of the jurisdiction.”

    Furthermore, where the incidence exceeds Rs5 million, the action will require further approval of member operation or director general (export-oriented sector). No action will be taken unless it has been undertaken against the person who has used a fake CNIC, reports said.

    This condition will help avoid unverifiable and fictitious business buyers which results in huge sales tax losses.

  • Lahore board announces matric 2019 result, check yours here

    Lahore board announces matric 2019 result, check yours here

    Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore on Monday announced the result of 2019 matriculation examinations.

    Students can check their result from here.

    A day earlier, the board announced names of the top position holders. Danish Athar clinched the overall first position in both sciences and humanities groups by scoring 1,092 marks out of 1,100.

    Anoosha Zikriya, Syed Hassan Abbas and Muhammad Affan Amir shared the second position with 1,090 marks each and Saba Iqbal and Saira Hayyat shared the third position.

    A prize-distribution ceremony in the honour of the position holders will also be held today at a local hotel where Provincial Minister for Higher Education Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfraz will be the chief guest.

  • American woman accepts Islam, marries unemployed Nawabshah youngster

    American woman accepts Islam, marries unemployed Nawabshah youngster

    Another social media interaction-turned-love affair met a happy ending when an American woman reached Nawabshah and got married to an unemployed local youngster, a private media outlet reported.

    According to reports, Claudia and Rashid Rasool Rajput tied the knot in a simple ceremony held earlier this week.

    Rashid told the media that he met Claudia on a social networking site and the interaction gradually turned into an affair. He used to post Islamic teachings and messages on his account, which influenced the woman.

    Later, she embraced Islam prior to their decision of getting married and changed her name to Khadija. The wedding was held at the office of Nawabshah deputy superintendent of police (DSP).

    The groom said he is jobless and Khadija is well aware of his financial position. The bride, on the other hand, is a degree holder in weather sciences and is currently serving as a university lecturer.

  • Lahore High Court bans promotional texts to telecom customers

    Lahore High Court bans promotional texts to telecom customers

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to take action on complaints against unwarranted promotional text messages and calls to telecom customers.

    Hearing a citizen’s petition questioning business promotions by different companies on Friday, Justice Shahid Jamil Khan observed that mobile phone users frequently complained about receiving text messages from water tank cleaning service providers.

    The PTA representative stated that there was no mechanism to control such text messages being received on a daily basis. However, the judge said that the authority could take action against mobile numbers used for sending these unnecessary promotions.

    The petitioner’s lawyer, on the other hand, demanded that PTA being a regulatory body be ordered to ban such promotional activities on phones.

    The hearing was then adjourned till July 19 and the judge hinted at summoning the PTA chief if an action was not taken on complaints against unwanted text messages and calls.

  • Karachi teen accuses mother of ‘getting her raped for money’

    Karachi teen accuses mother of ‘getting her raped for money’

    A 15-year-old girl has accused her mother of having her “sexually assaulted for money” after she refused to get into a relationship with the alleged rapist, Geo News reported.

    Reports quoted the Gulistane Johar resident as saying that her mother was “a woman of bad character” and eight months ago had told her to get into a relationship with a man named Javed.

    “Upon refusal, she [the mother] beat me up and had me raped by Javed over and over for many months. In return, she took money from him,” the victim claimed in the First Information Report (FIR) against her mother.

    She further said that her mother had released a fake video of sexual assault on social media and filed a rape case against a man named Raza Bugti. “My mother had gotten into an argument with Bugti and forced me to support the allegations against him.”

    When the victim refused, her mother allegedly beat her up and threatened to make the same rape allegations against her brother, Kabeer.

  • The plight of the brown bear in Islamabad Zoo

    The plight of the brown bear in Islamabad Zoo

    Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo has time and time again landed itself in hot waters over the inadequate treatment given to the animals who reside there. In the last few years, the zoo has seen the demise of over 20 animals and animal rights activists have often criticised the government for its lack of attention towards the zoo.

    The zoo has recently come under fire again because of a Himalayan brown bear who is in a sorry condition and has multiple injuries. The source of her injuries are not known but zoo authorities say Soozi got her face and right leg injured during mating, which is apparently a common phenomenon. Zoo authorities claim that the bear is being treated for injuries and that the wounds have almost healed up but pictures and videos on social media paint a different picture.

    As per social media, the matter first came to light when PAWS Pakistan posted a video of the Himalayan brown bear limping and nursing an open wound.

    https://twitter.com/pawspakistan/status/1138532356598509568

    Soozi is being kept in a small cage, which barely fits her, restricting her movement. The zoo director said that keeping the injured animal in a small cage was “necessary for her proper treatment” and that the veterinary doctor recommended it.

    https://twitter.com/wildpakistan/status/1142079219033354240

    Even then, the enclosure where Soozi and her partner, Balu, are kept is not suitable for such animals. In fact, most of the enclosures in the zoo are inadequate and reportedly do not meet the standard operating procedure (SOP). The lion’s enclosure is also too small as is that of Kavaan, the lone elephant.

    According to media reports, the government is considering transferring the administration of the facility to the Ministry of Climate Change. A few months ago, Minister for Climate Change Zartaj Gul had requested the government to hand over the zoo’s administration to them. Meanwhile, a case regarding the conditions of the Islamabad zoo is currently ongoing in the Islamabad High Court.

    Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz stated that maximum facilities were being provided in the given funds and that the government has not allocated any funds to the zoo. In fact, the PTI government has even dropped a project by the PML-N government worth Rs200 million for strengthening and upgrading the zoo.