Tag: Pakistan

  • Italy: Pakistani parents sentenced to life-imprisonment for killing daughter

    Italy: Pakistani parents sentenced to life-imprisonment for killing daughter

    A Pakistani couple was sentenced to life in prison by an Italian court on Tuesday for the 2021 murder of their daughter after she refused an arranged marriage.

    Saman Abbas, 18, was living in Novellara near Bologna when she disappeared in May 2021, having rejected the previous year her family’s demand that she marry a cousin in Pakistan.

    A tribunal in Reggio Emilia in central Italy ruled that the parents ordered the murder and that an uncle had strangled his niece.

    The uncle was sentenced to 14 years after accepting a plea bargain, while two cousins were acquitted in an affair that shocked the country.

    Abbas had denounced her parents to the police and social workers placed her in a shelter in November 2020.

    But she visited her family in April 2021, planning to pick up her passport and start a new life with her boyfriend, whom her family disapproved of.

    She disappeared soon after, and police, alerted by the boyfriend, raided the family home in May but the parents had already left for Pakistan.

    The young woman was probably killed the night of April 30 to May 1, according to surveillance camera footage showing five people leaving the family home with shovels, crowbars and buckets, before returning two and a half hours later.

    A year later Abbas’s body was found in an abandoned farmhouse with a broken neck.

    Her brother told police that he had overheard his father talking about the murder and that it was the uncle who had killed his sister.

    The father, Shabbar Abbas, was arrested in Pakistan and extradited to Italy in August 2023.

    The uncle, Danish Hasnain, was turned over by French authorities while the cousins were arrested in Spain.

    The four men were present at the trial, but the mother, Nazia Shaheen, is still a fugitive.

  • The Rickshaw driver didn’t know the singer was in the back: Watch ‘Kana Yaari’ wali nay kya kaha

    The Rickshaw driver didn’t know the singer was in the back: Watch ‘Kana Yaari’ wali nay kya kaha

    Rapper Eva B shared a heartwarming video of listening to her song during a Rickshaw ride.

    The singer was in a rickshaw ride when vehicle’s driver played her super hit Coke Studio Season 14 song on his stereo.

    Eva filmed herself listening, writing in the caption of the video she posted, “Ab rakshe wale ko kese bataun ye hamara gana hai.”

    Social media users are in love with the cute video.

    Unrelentlesslyyours aka Dr. Mehrub wrote, “Love love love! I heard Kana Yaari playing at a roadside stall in Kathmandu in Nepal this January.”

    ken_doll_dubaiii, a famous social media influencer wrote, “Hayeee that feeling ”

    User stuckinmarch2020 commented, “This is the coolest thing I’ve seen a Pakistani musician post. Ever!”

  • Landlord’s son kills renter couple, baby survives shooting after father comes between her and bullets

    Landlord’s son kills renter couple, baby survives shooting after father comes between her and bullets

    Islamabad Police has reported that the son of a house owner killed the couple who had rented his house in Barakahu after an argument. The couple’s 18-month-old daughter miraculously survived the attack. ⁠
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    Twitter account Islamabadies posted details about the victims: “The 23-year-old Rida Noor, along with her husband Asim, was shot dead in their car by unknown Shooters. The only witness to this horrific incident, their 18-month-old daughter Sabrina, was also injured in the attack. They were shot down on their way to her mother’s place in Islamabad on Monday night,” the account posted.⁠

    The account also urged the authorities to take action and provide justice to the little girl Sabrina.⁠
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    It was claimed that the attack was targeted, and aimed at murdering the entire family.⁠
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    Islamabad police has said that the police is in search of the suspects.⁠

    According to media reports, two men gunned down the couple in the limits of BharaKahu police station on the night of December 4.⁠
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    The killers were identified as Shareefullah and Ismail, the couple’s neighbours who had a heated argument with them and opened fire at them when the victims’ vehicle blocked their passage. ⁠
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    A brief altercation over the use of the path led to the double murder. On the day of the incident, the two groups once again had a dispute on the use of the passage, reports Dunya News. ⁠
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    The police has confirmed that the culprits were Afghan nationals who managed to escape after committing the crime, reports Express Tribune.⁠
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  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa schools in plains get short winter holidays

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa schools in plains get short winter holidays

    Winter vacations have been announced for all the educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a notification released by the provincial Education Department.

    Holidays in all the plain areas, typically the summer zone, will span from December 23 to December 31. However in the winter zone, including the mountainous region, winter vacations will be for an extensive time, from December 23 to February 29.

    The long break in the mountainous regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan is due to the severe winter conditions in the region which brings all the activities to a halt.

  • Pope Francis gives approval for priests to bless same-sex couples

    Pope Francis gives approval for priests to bless same-sex couples

    A document released by the Vatican states that Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, has formally cleared the way for priests to bless same-sex couples without subjecting them to “an exhaustive moral analysis”.

    The Pope, however, has maintained that marriage is a lifelong sacrament that can only be between a man and a woman. Blessings can be offered because, “Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God,” the document said.

    The document laid out the conditions in which a union like this can be blessed. Blessings should not be offered at the same time as a civil union or with the garb traditionally used in weddings.

    Another condition is that the priest should use “pastoral charity” when blessing such couples.

    Monday’s announcement is not a total surprise as the Pope has hinted in the past that he might formally approve same-sex blessings. It has also reversed a 2021 ruling which condemned same-sex unions as a “sin”.

  • Watch: Supporting Palestine – A strong message at Pakistan Bridal Show

    Watch: Supporting Palestine – A strong message at Pakistan Bridal Show

    A three-day bridal fashion show is going on in Lahore, in which famous Pakistani actors and personalities, including models, exhibited wedding dresses of famous designers.On the second day of the show, actor Ahsan Khan walked down the runway wearing clothes designed by Imran Rajput. But what made his appearance more special is that he held signs to show support for the people in Palestine, with messages of peace for the children in Gaza.

    Later, Amna Ilyas also walked the runway wearing clothes by Imran Rajput, with Palestinian anthems playing. Nine designers presented their collections on the first day.

    Many famous actors like Dur-e-Fashan, Imran Ashraf, Kanza Hashmi, Feroze Khan, Resham, Hara Mani, Komal Mir, Saboor Ali, Saba Qamar, and Iman Ali, among others, also walked the runway.

  • Election candidates can submit their nomination papers by tomorrow

    Election candidates can submit their nomination papers by tomorrow

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will start receiving nomination papers from expected candidates tomorrow as the upcoming general elections are set to take place on February 8 next year in the country, The News has reported.

    District Retuning Officers (DROs) and Returning Officers (ROs) will take oaths today as per the Election Act of 2017. After that, the process of receiving nomination papers will start.

    A day earlier, at least 859 ROs completed their training for the upcoming polls while 144 DROs will complete their training today. The training of DROs and ROs was halted on December 14 after the stay order of Lahore High Court (LHC) on a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) petition against the appointment of officers.

    However, the Supreme Court (SC) suspended the LHC order and directed the ECP to release the election schedule as well as restore the training of DROs and ROs.

    Candidates who want to take part in the upcoming general elections can submit their nomination papers to their respective ROs from December 20 to December 22.

  • PECA law enforced in passport offices

    PECA law enforced in passport offices

    The federal government has taken an important step to stop issuance of illegal passports and theft of sensitive data.

    According to the sources, reported by Geo News, PECA law has been implemented to permanently block access to Pakistani passports for foreigners including Afghans.

    The Federal Cabinet has implemented the Anti-Electronic Crimes Act on six sections of passport offices.

    Sources elaborated that entry into important offices in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi has been made inaccessible except for certain officers and employees with security clearance — all to prevent data theft of sensitive information, passports, visas, theft of citizenship and applicant data.

    Approval has been taken from the caretaker federal Cabinet through a circular on the summary of the Ministry of Interior.

  • Army chief praises Pakistani-American businessman Tanveer Ahmed for donating nine million dollars to NUST

    Army chief praises Pakistani-American businessman Tanveer Ahmed for donating nine million dollars to NUST

    Pakistani-American businessman has donated nine million dollars to the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) for unprivileged students, reports Geo.

    The donation will help 200 students every year through an endowment fund. This is the biggest ever fund given to any Pakistani university.

    Tanveer Ahmed also donated 50 million dollars to flood affectees in 2022. Business tycoon Tanveer went to America as a student and started working in a restaurant.

    Recently, as reported by Dawn, he met Army Chief General Asim Muneer in Washington DC where the chief praised him for his contributions for Pakistan. “I met the army chief along with dozens of other community members. More than 70 people were in attendance. We had an open and frank discussion with the army chief. He interacted with everyone and was very receptive,” Ahmed tweeted after the dinner.

  • India celebrates minority rights day as Ram Mandir set to open in place of Babri Masjid next year

    India celebrates minority rights day as Ram Mandir set to open in place of Babri Masjid next year

    Every year on December 18 Minority Rights Day is celebrated in India but this year, the country topped the list of atrocities on minorities.

    In the Northern Indian city of Ayodhya, once marred by communal rights because of Babri Mosque, Ram Mandir is about to be inaugurated on January 22. The establishment of Ram Mandir is a long overdue promise of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    Ayodhya is expecting about 4.5 million tourists a month – more than Ayodhya’s entire population of three million – once the first stage of Ram Mandir opens in the upcoming days.

    Ayodhya made international headlines in 1992 when a Hindu mob razed Babri mosque – where the Mandir will stand – saying it had been built on the site of an earlier Hindu temple.

    The incident spurred nationwide riots that left 2,000 people dead, most of them Muslims.

    After decades of legal wrangling, India’s Supreme Court in 2019 awarded the site to Hindu groups for the temple.

    While the $180 million temple project in Uttar Pradesh is funded by donations, the state government – controlled by PM Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP- is pulling out all the stops.

    In a Reuters report cited by the Business Recorder where they interviewed people from the locality of the temple, Hindus expressed excitement for the launch because this will attract business for them. Muslims, on the other hand, fear being marginalized further.

    The Supreme Court also said authorities must allocate the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, which advocates for Muslim rights, “suitable” land at a “prominent” place to build a new mosque.

    The board was issued land 15 miles from the temple, just next to the city border.

    That effectively means Muslims are excluded from the development boom-brought by the temple-downtown, said Azam Qadri, president of Ayodhya district committee of the board.

    “Everyone is focused on the temple. There should have been a focus on promoting mosques too,” Qadri said.

    Muslims still don’t have wide acceptance in the city and even if the community tried to build hotels, Hindu religious tourists might not visit, he added.

    It’s not just Muslims, other minorities in India are suffering as well. On April 21, 2022, 50 thousand houses of Muslims were demolished in the state of Hyderabad, and in 2023, 400 incidents of violence against Christians were reported in 23 states of India. On August 25, Indian extremists killed hundreds of Christians and burned 600 villages in the Kandhamal district of Orissa, reports Samaa News.

    Sikh riots intensified after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, in which around 17,000 Sikhs were killed. Farmers remain protesting across Punjab but the government did not pay any heed to their demands.

    As per DW, 60,000 crimes against Dalit Hindus were reported. On average, an incident of violence against a Dalit occurred every 10 minutes in 2012.
    National Crime Bureau said that over 250,000 hate crimes against lower castes were reported in the last 5 years while as per the report US Institute on Religious Affairs, there have been systematic attacks on Muslims, Christians, and Dalits in India.

    The head of the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom said that religious freedom in India has suffered a sharp decline under the Modi regime.
    Since 2020, the US Commission on Religious Affairs has included India in the list of countries of concern, and human rights organizations have declared India as a dangerous country for minorities.