Tag: Pakistan

  • Student from Swat invents vibrating ‘smart shoes’ for visually impaired

    A matric student from Swat has invented  “smart shoes” for visually impaired people that warn them with a sound or vibration about any obstacle on their path within a radius of 120 centimeters.

    The 17-year-old told Arab News he had an interest in repairing and fixing damaged battery-operated toys and this is how he entered the world of innovation.

    “Visually impaired people will no longer need walking sticks or guides after smart shoes acquire popularity,” Wasiullah said.

    “The shoes are fixed with ultrasonic sensor and Arduino board to keep blind people safe while they are walking. Such individuals can get prior notification of any looming hindrance.”

    Physics teacher Muhammad Farooq said Wasiullah was his most bright student and that he had planned to design a new type of wheelchair to help visually impaired people navigate their surroundings, but he could not afford its financial constraints. 

    Financial problems did not hold him back and he came up with “vibrating shoes” instead.

    “I still believe he has the potential to emerge as a leading scientist if he gets proper coaching and opportunity,” Farooq said.

    “Smart shoes for visually impaired people are available in foreign countries,” Farooq said. “But their prices are beyond the reach for many in Pakistan. The government should own the project because the shoes Wasiullah has made are comparatively cheaper and more affordable.”

    Mian Sayed, a social activist from Swat, has seen Wasiullah’s smart shoes and is positive that they could even become an export product. 

    Wasiullah said the price of a pair of his smart shoes can be fixed at Rs4,500 ($26), but he would not be able to manage production himself as he also needs to finance his studies himself. 

    An opportunity may come from the local government.

    Sajid Shah, head of the provincial directorate general of science, told Arab News the shoes will soon be evaluated by experts.

    “After evaluation by our scientists,” he said, “our department will promote the project of smart shoes invented by Wasiullah for commercial purposes.” 

  • PDM announces nationwide protests against inflation from October 20

    PDM announces nationwide protests against inflation from October 20

    Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday announced countrywide protests against rising inflation and poor economic policies from October 20, reports Dawn.

    Speaking to the media after the PDM meeting, Maulana Fazl said that the nation is suffering due to high inflation, adding that the PDM stands with the public shoulder to shoulder.

    “Rallies and demonstrations will begin from the district level while all PDM component parties will meet at the provincial level. PDM will lead rallies and demonstrations, stand shoulder to shoulder with people and get them their due rights,” Maulana Fazl said.

    “We will go a step further and hold wheel-jams and long march, but step by step,” he said and also called for fresh general elections in the country.

    “We are not discussing local bodies polls – the main issue is holding of free and fair general elections in the country. There is no reason of holding local government elections when there is no legitimate government in the country,” said Maulana Fazl.

  • VIDEO: Babar shows ultimate sportsman spirit by calling back Shimron Hetmyer

    VIDEO: Babar shows ultimate sportsman spirit by calling back Shimron Hetmyer

    Pakistan Cricket Team’s captain, Babar Azam, showed the ultimate sportsman spirit as he called back West Indian batter, Shimron Hetmyer, to bat during the 2021 T20 World Cup warm-up match on Monday.

    Hetmyer was adjudged out after he was caught by wicket-keeper, Mohammad Rizwan, off the bowling of right-arm pacer, Hasan Ali. While the decision looked correct, Hetmyer said that he did not touch the ball with his bat and complained that he was wrongfully given out.

    Babar decided to go against the decision of the umpire and decided to bring the batter back to the crease as the batter could not take a review because it was not allowed in the warm-up matches.

    Take a look:

    Pakistan brushed defending champions West Indies aside in their first warm-up game, crushing Kieron Pollard’s side by seven wickets with 27 balls to spare. In a comprehensive all-round bowling performance, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Imad Wasim, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali found themselves amongst the wickets while keeping the run-scoring down, before a majestic half-century from Babar Azam, and an unbeaten 24-ball 46 from Fakhar Zaman put West Indies out of their misery.

    West Indies had won the toss and opted to bat first, but found themselves tied down by a disciplined Pakistan bowling attack.

    Pakistan will face South Africa in their next warm-up match on Wednesday. While the Shaheens will be playing their first match of T20 World Cup on Sunday against India.

  • ‘All is settled, new DG ISI notification to be issued this week’: Fawad

    ‘All is settled, new DG ISI notification to be issued this week’: Fawad

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said, “All the matters have been resolved” and announced that the notification of the new director-general (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency would be issued this week.

    Chaudhry denied speculations that a new summary with names of candidates for the position of ISI chief had been sent to the Prime Minister (PM), reported Dawn.

    While mocking the Opposition, Fawad said, “It [Opposition] is thinking that there are some differences between the government and security institutions but its euphoria is gradually fading.”

    Fawad also invited the Opposition to work collectively with the government but rejected any possibility of holding discussions with its leaders on corruption cases.

    On inflation, Chaudhry said, “We don’t live on another planet. If there is a worldwide increase in the prices of oil, then we will also witness a hike in the prices.”

  • 78% Pakistanis think women ‘not safe’ here: Survey

    78% Pakistanis think women ‘not safe’ here: Survey

    Almost 78% of Pakistanis believe that no woman is safe in Pakistan while only 20% believe that women are safe in the country, a survey conducted by Pulse Consultant has shown.

    At least 18,000 Pakistanis participated in the survey conducted by a Karachi-based marketing and social research company, Pulse Consultant. 

    Most of the Pakistanis who think women are unsafe in the country were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    The survey showed that 35% of citizens of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa consider women safe to some extent in Pakistan, while only 19% consider them completely safe.

    Similarly, 35% of people in Punjab saw women as unsafe in Pakistan, 41% saw them safe to some extent, and 21% saw them completely safe.

    The rate of people who consider women unsafe in Pakistan from Sindh was 26% in the survey, while the rate of those who consider them safe to some extent was 49%. Meanwhile, 24% of the survey respondents considered them to be completely safe in the country.

    The survey showed that most Pakistanis who see women safe to some extent in Pakistan are from Balochistan, where 74% of people vouched for it.

    Whereas, 19% of citizens of Balochistan saw women as unsafe in Pakistan. Only 7% of the respondents from the province saw them as completely safe.

    The statistics compiled in the survey based on social status suggested that 45% of people from the lower class believe that women are not safe in Pakistan.

    The rate of people who saw women as unsafe from the lower middle class was 35%, 30% from the middle class, 29% from the upper-middle class, while 34% from the upper class.

    Meanwhile, statistics based on gender showed that women were more positive than men when it came to their safety in Pakistan.

    As many as 29% of women believe that they are safe outside the home, while only 22% of men vouched for it. 

    The survey was conducted through CATI (Computer assisted telephonic interviews), a state-of-the-art technology where all calls are recorded.

    Overall Perception of Women Safety in Pakistan

    •  Only 20% of Pakistanis feel that women are ‘safe’ in Pakistan
    •  43% believe that women are ‘somewhat safe’ – it means their opinion is in between – neither they believe that Pakistani women are ‘unsafe’ nor do they believe that Pakistani women are ‘safe’
    •  35% of Pakistanis believe that Pakistani women are entirely not safe in Pakistan
    •  Highest perception of “unsafety” reported from KP (46%) followed by Punjab (35%)

    Women Safety – Outside the home – Women’s Perception

    •  29% of the Pakistani females feel that they are ‘safe’ when they go outside the home
    • However, 35% of females believe that they are “smewhat safe” and similar population (35%) believes that they are absolutely “unsafe” when they commute in society
    •  The highest perception of “unsafety” again reported from KP (46%) followed by Punjab (36%)
    •  Almost half (51%) of the female respondents from ‘Upper Class’ & one third (38%) from ‘Lowest Class’ have a concern about safety when commuting outside the home

    Women Safety – Outside the home – Male’s Perception

    •  Interestingly, males consider females less safe (22%) in Pakistan as compared to female respondents (29%)
    •  The majority 45% of males believes that their family female members are “somewhat safe” and 30% believe that their family females’ members are ‘unsafe’ outside the home
    •  Interestingly, contrary to females belonging to ‘Upper Class’ (Where 51% believe that they are unsafe), almost one-third of males belong to the same class have the opinion that their female family members are safe (36%) and only one-fourth (25%) have the opinion that females family members are ‘unsafe’
  • After marriage, women can keep their father’s name on CNIC: NADRA

    After marriage, women can keep their father’s name on CNIC: NADRA

    Chairperson of The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Tariq Malik, while addressing the concluding session of the 14th Annual Rural Women Conference, has said that Women now free to retain their father’s name on CNIC after marriage.

    The chairperson said that NADRA is abolishing an “unofficial policy” that made it compulsory for women to replace their father’s name with their husband’s name on their computerized national identity cards.

    He clarified that there was no official policy by NADRA that made it compulsory for women to change their surname after marriage, Dawn News has reported.

    Earlier you were required to get a new card with your husband’s name on it. That restriction has now been lifted.

    “We are breaking down this policy and women now have the authority to register themselves with their father’s or husband’s name…It’s their choice and not of a man’s,” said Malik.

  • Forced conversions are against the spirit of the constitution 

    On Wednesday, a parliamentary committee rejected the anti-forced conversion bill after the Ministry of Religious Affairs opposed the proposed law. According to Dawn, Religious Affairs Minister Noor-ul-Haq Qadri said the “environment is unfavourable” for formulating a law against forced conversions and warned that forming a law on forced conversions would “create further problems for minorities” as they will be made more vulnerable. He also said the proposed law will deteriorate peace in the country.

    It is unfortunate that the minister thinks such a law will lead to problems and will affect peace in the country. Minorities in Pakistan make up a very small number as more than 96 per cent population of the country is Muslim. So why would a bill that is against forced conversions, something that our religion also does not allow, make the minorities vulnerable? The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees that the rights of the minorities would be fully protected. Forced conversions are against the spirit of the Constitution as well as our religious teachings. 

    The Joint Action Committee for People’s Rights (JAC), a collection of  37 human rights groups, in an open letter has urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to take legal as well as administrative measures to protect minorities, especially the under age girls from forced conversions and marriages. The letter has also urged PM Khan to ensure the approval of the draft bill for timely legislation. The JAC also expressed its concern on the statements of the Minister for Religious Affairs on the draft bill to curb forced conversions, recalling that such statements are not only against the spirit of the Constitution, judgments of the Supreme Court of Pakistan but are also in contradiction with the stand taken by the PM against forced conversion of minority groups in Pakistan.

    Hopefully, the government will address this issue soon. We know that the majority of these forced conversions are underage girls from minority communities. Such practices should not be condoned by the government. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had envisioned a Pakistan where the minorities would feel safe. We should not let our founding father down. 

  • In pictures: Bani Gala decorated for Rabiul Awal

    Prime Minister Imran Khan shared a picture of his Bani Gala home, which is decorated in preparation for the Rabiul Awal celebrations.

    Rabiul Awal is the third month in the Islamic calendar. Muslims all over the world celebrate this month for the birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

    Bani Gala can be seen decorated with lights and lanterns.

    PM Imran Khan, in a special message, announced, “12th Rabiul Awal will be the biggest celebration in the history of Pakistan, the world will see that such joys have never been celebrated before.”

  • Petrol price goes up by Rs10.49 per litre

    Petrol price goes up by Rs10.49 per litre

    The federal government has issued a notice to increase the price of petrol by Rs10.49 per litre. Apart from this, the price of high speed diesel (HSD) has been increased by Rs12.44 per litre.

    The prices of kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO) have been increased by Rs10.95 and Rs8.84 per litre respectively. The new price of kerosene is Rs110.26 per litre and that of LDO is Rs108.35 per litre.

  • Reham Khan loses defamation case to Zulfi Bukhari, pays £50,000

    Prime Minister Imran Khan’s former wife Reham Khan has lost to former Special Assistant Sayed Zulfi Bukhari in a defamation case and has reportedly paid £50,000 as a contribution towards Bukhari’s costs and damages, reported Murtaza Ali Shah for Geo News.

    In a statement attached with the court order, which she agreed to publish, Reham withdrew all allegations and rendered a full and unconditional apology.

    Khan posted her apology on Twitter, in which she wrote, “On 6 and 7 December 2019, I published a video on my YouTube Channel, my Facebook page, and on my Twitter account in which I asserted that Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari, more commonly known as Zulfi Bukhari, was involved in a corrupt plan with the Prime Minister of Pakistan to sell or acquire the Roosevelt Hotel in New York at an undervalue for his benefit.”

    “These allegations were false and untrue. Zulfi Bukhari, as I now understand, was not involved in any corrupt plan PM Khan to sell or acquire the Roosevelt,” she added.

    https://twitter.com/RehamKhan1/status/1448797012728688644?s=20

    Reham also posted her apology video on her youtube channel.

    https://youtu.be/_1ecyzzXcmc

    Zulfi, in a tweet, while reacting to Reham’s video said, “TRUTH ALWAYS WINS!”

    In the settlement agreed between the two parties, Reham agreed that she will tweet the apology and clarification and pin it to her Twitter account for at least three consecutive days.

    Reacting to the development, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said, “Reham being a liar was proved once again. She is actually a habitual liar.”